MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • According to a senior advertising executive with a rival agency, agencies have been invited to pitch for the Appy Fizz account, which was with Grey before Parle Agro shifted it to CLA

    Creativeland Asia, Parle Agro likely to part ways?

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    Advertising agency Creativeland Asia (CLA) is apparently on the verge of losing the Parle Agro business, an account that it has handled since it was founded in 2006. Several senior executives we spoke to;including employees of both companies indicated that Parle Agro has decided to move all its brands, including Bailley, Hippo and the recently launched Café Cuba. According to a senior advertising executive with a rival agency, agencies have been invited to pitch for the Appy Fizz account, which was with Grey before Parle Agro shifted it to CLA.

     

    Sajan Raj Kurup

    Sajan Raj Kurup, the founder and creative chairman of Creativeland Asia, is married to Nadia Chauhan, JMD & CMO of Parle Agro. When contacted, both Mr Kurup and Ms Chauhan denied that the accounts were being moved. In his response, Mr Kurup said, “Creativeland continues to handle all Parle Agro brands.”

     

    In her email response, Ms Chauhan said, “Kindly note that as on date, our brands are still with CLA. We do however have some interestingly new assignments running parallel (as always is the case with an FMCG) with some international and domestic firms of considerable repute.” Ms Chauhan also added that Parle Agro flagship Frooti is being revamped, and “therefore we have hired an international design agency.”

     

    Jasmin Sohrabji

    OMD continues to be the media agency of Parle Agro, although Jasmin Sohrabji, Managing Director at OMD, did not respond to the calls or messages sent regarding Parle Agro accounts.

     

    Although CLA was formed primarily with the Appy Fizz account from Grey and Frooti account from Everest, it quickly added Audi, Café Coffee Day, MTS and several others to its portfolio. While it lost the Audi account in 2014, a top official said, “The agency is likely to get a major account from the Godrej stable which is currently with Mudra.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The IAA Webinar will be held tomorrow (Thursday, October 16) at 4pm

    Maarten L Albarda to speak on ‘World Goes Digital’ at IAA webinar series

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter, has organised its next webinar on ‘World Goes Digital’ which will be addressed by Maarten L Albarda, renowned Marketing Consultant, former Global Director of Media & Communication Innovation, Coca-Cola on October 16, 2014 at 4pm.

     

    Maarten L Albarda has around 30 years of experience in advertising and marketing and started his career at JWT Amsterdam as a media planner. He moved to Leo Burnett and later to Coca-Cola, Japan where he developed the first integrated marketing campaign for Coke around the FIFA World Cup 2002. He moved to Coca-Cola Germany to share his World Cup learnings with the German marketing team for World Cup 2006.  In late 2005, Maarten relocated to Coke’s global HQ in Atlanta and then took on the responsibility for Media and Communication Innovation across all brands and key markets.

     

    In 2009, Albarda joined AB-InBevas as VP, Global Connections, with responsibility for all aspects of Media, Digital, Sports & Entertainment Marketing, CRM and Licensed Merchandise. In October 2012, he left the company to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities.

     

    “We are delighted to have someone of the stature of Maatren L Albarda to address the IAA Mentorship Webinar. I am sure brand managers and digital media practitioners would use this opportunity to interact with him,” said Srinivasan K Swamy, IAA India Chapter & Vice President, Development Asia/ Pacific Region of IAA.

     

    Abhishek Karnani

    Abhishek Karnani, Director, Free Press Journal and Manish Advani, Head – Marketing and Public Relations, Mahindra Special Services Group, are co-chairing the IAA Webinar series.

     

    The Webinar will be aired live on the IAA YouTube channel – www.youtube.com /iaaindiachapter on October 16, 4pm onwards.

     

  • Smartphones to represent 71 percent of the global mobile phone market in 2014

    Sale of Tablets to remain below 10 percent in 2014, notes Gartner study

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tablet sales growth is slowing in 2014 as new hardware buyers turn to alternative devices and existing users extend the lifetime of their tablets. Gartner, Inc. estimates that tablet sales worldwide will reach 229 million units in 2014, an 11 percent increase from 2013, representing 9.5 percent of total worldwide sales of devices in 2014. In 2013, tablet sales grew 55 percent.

     

    Worldwide combined shipments of devices (PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones) for 2014 are estimated to reach 2.4 billion units in 2014, a 3.2 percent increase from 2013. “The device market continues to evolve, with the relationship between traditional PCs, different form factor ultramobiles (clamshells, hybrids and tablets) and mobile phones becoming increasingly complex,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner.

     

    In the tablets segment, the downward trend stems from the slowdown in basic ultramobiles – new sales of iPads and Android tablets – and the lifetime extension of current tablets to three years by 2018. Gartner projects over 90 million fewer new tablet purchasers and 155 million fewer tablet replacements through 2018.

     

    “Some tablet users are not replacing a tablet with a tablet, they are favoring hybrid or two-in-one devices, increasing its share of the ultramobile premium market to 22 percent in 2014, and 32 percent by 2018,” said Atwal.

     

    Worldwide device shipments by segment (Thousands of Units)

    Device Type 2013 2014 2015
    Traditional PCs (Desk-Based and Notebook) 296,131 276,457 261,005
    Ultramobile Premium 21,517 37,608 64,373
    PC Market Total 317,648 314,065 325,378
    Tablets 207,082 229,085 272,904
    Mobile Phones 1,806,964 1,859,946 1,928,169
    Other Hybrids/Clamshells 2,706 6,462 8,609
    Total 2,334,400 2,409,558 2,535,060

    Source: Gartner (October 2014)

     

    The mobile phone segment will continue to grow in 2014 due to strong sales of lower-end smartphones. Sales of basic smartphones (including midrange Android devices) are projected to grow 52 percent in 2014, while utility smartphone units (including low-end Chinese white box devices) will double.

     

    “The market is clearly favoring those vendors offering value in lower-priced smartphones. This trend has become more apparent, especially in the second quarter of 2014 when most of the top Chinese smartphone vendors grew volume and market share,” said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner. “As smartphones reach lower prices, Gartner expects nine out of 10 phones to be smartphones by 2018.”

     

    The expansion of affordable mobile phones that are attracting replacements in many emerging countries has contributed to the increase in the global market share of smartphones, which is set to reach 71 percent in 2014, up 17 percentage points from 2013. Android and iOS have further entrenched their market positions in the global phone market, making it difficult for alternative ecosystems to become more than niche players.

     

  • The TVC shows a woman putting on her Jealous 21 jeans while talking about how she isn't concerned with society's opinion of her

    Butt Out, says Jealous 21 in new campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Jealous 21, the fashion brand for young women has unveiled a 360 degree campaign that includes TVCs, print, digital and outdoor work.

     

    The TVC shows a woman putting on her Jealous 21 jeans while talking about how she isn’t concerned with society’s opinion of her. She’s smart, independent, with her own style. Brilliantly positioned to reflect the attitude of women like her, while describing an amazing collection of jeans, the TVC also makes it a point to tell narrow-minded boyfriends, insecure ex-boyfriends, overprotective parents, judgmental neighbors, pretty much the whole world actually, to watch out. The print and online campaigns follow along on the same lines.

     

    Commenting on the new communication campaign, Shibani Mishra, CMO, Indus League said, “We believe that the new woman is independent and self governing. The brand, in line with the attitude of the current generation, talks about how clothes reflect an individual’s persona.”

     

    Speaking about the new communication campaign, VS Srikanth, CEO, Bates CHI & Partners said, “The television commercial was crafted around the attitude of the brand that matched the attitude of today’s young women, who are independent and carefree and can take a stand for themselves in the society. It is a nod too to the change in the fit story—going from denim wear that complements a woman’s shape to one that accentuates it. I’m confident that this campaign will strengthen the brand’s image as one that caters to women who are fiercely independent and unapologetic about it.”

     

    Jealous 21 is available at exclusive brand stores, large format retail stores like Central, Pantaloons and Reliance Trends.

     

  • The event brings together a historic panel of 7 World Cup Champions on 1 platform

    Aaj Tak to host Salaam Cricket

    By A Correspondent

     

    Aaj Tak seeks to celebrate cricket by hosting the show Salaam Cricket. As the countdown to the World Cup 2015 begins, 7 World champions and 14 Captains will converge on one stage to usher in the battleground 2015.

     

    Speaking of the event, Supriya Prasad – Managing Editor – Aaj Tak said, “Aaj Tak will bring together the greatest legends of the game in this definitive event. The inspiring discussions and expert opinions from the stalwarts will surely have the cricket viewers asking for more.”

     

    Ashish Bagga, Group CEO – India Today Group added, “The India Today Group is a leader in the space for creating benchmark News Events. Salaam Cricket with its inspiring line-up of legends on one platform is an Industry first that is a reflection of Aajtak’s commitment to being Sabse Tez.”

     

    The World Cup winning captains who will be part of the daylong event are – Clive Lloyd, 1975 & 1979 Champion, Kapil Dev, 1983 Champion, Allan Border, 1987 Champion, Imran Khan,  1992 Champion, Arjuna Ranatunga,  1996 Champion, Steve Waugh, 1999 Champion, Ricky Ponting, 2003 & 2007 Champion. The greatest Indian Captains including Sinil Gavaskar, Saurav Ganguly, Bishen Singh Bedi, Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja will also be part of the event. Key members of the Indian World Cup winning squad including Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla and Ashish Nehra will be among the many superstars who will take centre stage.

     

    The day will start with session – “Winning the World Cup – Start of a Revolution” by world cup winning captains- Kapil Dev & Clive Lloyd. This will be followed by the session “Thunder Down Under” addressed by the former Australian World Cup Winning Captains- Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricking Ponting. The next session will have Yuvraj Singh sharing his thoughts in – Story of a Winner.

     

    Emotions will run high around the session- India V/s Pak which will witness former Indian and Pakistan captains like- Sourav Ganguly, Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Inzmam-Ul-Haq & Aamer Sohail discussing the excitement and the high expectations when the two cricketing rivals go on to play.

     

    The day will close with the World Cup winning captains sharing the stage in the “Seven Wonders: All WC Winning Captains on One Platform”. The session will have Clive Lloyd, Kapil Dev, Allan Border, Imran Khan, Arjuna Ranatunga, Steve Waugh & Ricky Ponting sharing their views.

     

  • Ben Rickard, Richard Davies and Mudit Jaju assume senior roles

    MEC Global Solutions beefs up senior team

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ben Rickard

    MEC Global Solutions has made three new senior hires, Ben Rickard, Richard Davies and Mudit Jaju. Bolstering the team with three renowned digital experts, MEC demonstrates how it is setting out to embrace the ongoing seismic shift in data and digital in order to grow clients’ business.

     

    Ben Rickard joins as Digital Partner, and will be responsible for driving the agency’s mobile offering for clients across EMEA with particular focus on how mobile devices sit at the core of an “always-on” world through the intelligent application of data. Ben comes from JWT where he headed up their mobile division and was responsible for the launch of JWT NOW.

     

    Richard Davies joins as Digital Partner and will be responsible for heading up digital on the global Vodafone account. With nearly 20 years of experience across search, customer insight and CRM, and most recently as Media Partner at VCCP, Richard brings with him a fresh view on how digital and data is evolving and shaping business.

     

    Mudit Jaju joins as Digital Partner.  A WPP MBA Fellow, he graduated from Yale and worked at comScore. In his new role, Mudit will be working on digital product development and innovation initiatives across clients.

     

    Jeff Hyams, Chief Digital Officer, Global Solutions and EMEA said, “Ben, Richard and Mudit are highly experienced digital experts from very different backgrounds. They join MEC with new perspectives and will create an exciting dynamic which we believe is critical in order to drive the digital agenda for our clients. We have a vision of how we need to evolve and part of this is through creating a thriving digital culture across the whole of our business. Encouraging new ways of thinking and doing and adding key specialist talent helps this process.”

     

  • While it's known the former Madison Media CEO has quit Google, her next destination is unknown. For now, it's just some travel

    Will Punitha Arumugam revert to the media agency business?

    By A Correspondent

     

    Punitha Arumugam

    One of the media agency business’s best known second-in-commands until mid-2012, Punitha Arumugam, director, agency business at Google India, has decided to move on after a two-plus-year stint at the search-to-everything digital conglomerate. She will be in at work until November 30.

     

    While Ms Arumugam has confirmed the news and plans a holiday, what is known at the time of writing is her next destination. Could it be a media agency or working with a media owner, there is speculation on which direction she will head to next. She had surprised many when she exited Madison Media as CEO, an organisation she had worked at for around 13 years. However, even as she moved to Google, her linkages with the advertising business were strong. She has in fact been the chief organiser of the very successful Emvies Awards of the Advertising Club over the last few years.

     

  • Milind comes on board with vast domain knowledge and experience in mobile VAS, marketing & advertising, content, mobile CRM and m-Commerce

    Milind Pathak joins Madhouse India as COO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mobile marketing and communications company Madhouse announced the appointment of Milind Pathak as COO. He will be reporting in to Joshua Maa, Founder and CEO, Madhouse and Tushar Vyas, Managing Partner, GroupM Interaction, South Asia, and will be based in Gurgaon. Milind comes on board with vast domain knowledge and experience in mobile VAS, marketing & advertising, content, mobile CRM and m-Commerce.

     

    Prior to joining Madhouse, Milind was a part of the One97 Communications’ leadership team and held various roles like the Global Head- New Business & Head – Mobile & Enterprise Marketing. He has over two decades of experience in sales, business development, marketing, strategy and P&L Management. Milind moved to digital domain in 2005 as Co-CEO and Country Manager for Buongiorno and was responsible for setting up the company’s successful operations in India. He has been an active digital evangelist in the Asian market for Mobile Content, Marketing, m-Commerce and Internet.

     

    Joshua Maa, Founder and CEO, Madhouse Inc. said, “India continues to be a priority market for us and we look forward to working closely with Milind as he steers Madhouse India into its next phase of growth.”

     

    Commenting on Milind’s appointment, Tushar Vyas, Managing Partner GroupM Interaction said, “We are excited to have a senior leader from the industry in the Madhouse team. Milind comes with a rich and in depth experience from the telecom industry with depth of experience in Mobile marketing, content and commerce across consumer and enterprise segment. We are confident he will help our clients to seamlessly integrate mobile advertising into their marketing strategies.”

     

  • The conference will be held under the theme: "Print: Transform, Diversify, Grow"

    INMA to host 8th Annual Conference in New Delhi

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International News Media Association (INMA) will host its 8th Annual South Asia Conference November 12-13 at Eros Hotel, Nehru Place, New Delhi.

     

    The conference will be held under the theme: “Print: Transform, Diversify, Grow” specifically for news media companies in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and will bring together more than 200 delegates from the sub-continent. The conference is a fast-paced tour de force of ideas and innovations to grow newspaper advertising, circulation, brand and revenue by addressing key current issues in the print + digital ecology of the South Asia market.

     

    More than 25 speakers, several partners, press and 200+ delegates from newspapers across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Europe and the United States will be attending this conference.

     

    INMA is the only industry association that is able to pull together South Asia’s top publishers and specifically executives charged with growing advertising, circulation and brand. There will be excellent opportunities to network and share the “INMA conversation” among this exclusive fraternity of the world’s most innovative newspaper executives.

     

    The International News Media Association (INMA) is the world’s leading provider of global best practices and marketing ideas. It provides its members thought leadership and practical ideas to grow audience, advertising, brand and profit. Currently INMA has nearly 6,000 members in 82+ countries world-wide, which include several members from Indian and now Bangladesh and Pakistan newspapers.

     

  • Yepme will introduce the actor through an extensive television campaign for its upcoming Autumn-Winter collection'14

    SRK appointed brand ambassador by Yepme

    By A Correspondent

     

    Online fashion brand Yepme has roped in superstar Shah Rukh Khan as its brand ambassador. This makes Yepme the first ever online fashion brand in the country being endorsed by Shah Rukh Khan. Yepme will introduce the actor through an extensive television campaign for its upcoming Autumn-Winter collection’14.

     

    Speaking on the announcement, Sandeep Sharma, Co-founder and COO, Yepme.com, said, “We are thrilled to have Shah Rukh on board. This association will definitely help build a strong connect between the brand and his fans across the country.  Shah Rukh commands a huge fan following across all age groups in India and abroad and his presence will drastically increase the aspirational value of Yepme. He is the King of hearts, extremely hardworking and well read and carries himself with a sense of style that is a class apart. His style is effortless and casual and that is what we, at Yepme are all about.”

    The company has built its business around the Fast Fashion Model on the lines of leading global peers. The talented team of in house designers hand-picked from the top design institutes operates on high agility to create fresh and new designs on an everyday basis. The team drives its inspiration by real-time research and analytics on latest fashion trends running in the global fashion markets. This model operates by keeping the online store exciting with Fresh Fashion merchandise showcased daily.

     

    The brand will widely promote the association with SRK through a TV Commercial across leading TV Channels and will associate with top performing TV Shows, along with print media campaigns with leading newspapers and magazines. The brand will widely run social media campaigns on Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus and the digital launch will include a YouTube campaign.

     

  • New Pencil line-up for 2015 designed to bring clarity to award levels

    D&AD to introduce Wood and Graphite additions to the Pencil family

    By A Correspondent

     

    D&AD is set to replace its In Book and Nomination Awards with two newly designed Pencils as part of an Awards-wide refresh, bringing better clarity and coherence to the existing levels.

     

    Coming into effect from the 2015 Professional Awards onwards, D&AD will award Wood and Graphite Pencils at the equivalent bronze and silver levels, bringing them into line with the Yellow, White and Black Pencil structure. The new Pencils are designed by Turner Duckworth and will be incorporated across all of D&AD’s Award programmes, including the New Blood Awards and the new Next series of Awards, launched earlier this year.

     

    The new line-up is as follows:

    :: Wood Pencil (formerly In Book): Our equivalent to a bronze award. The best in advertising and design from the year, worthy of a place in the D&AD Annual.
    :: Graphite Pencil (formerly Nomination): Our equivalent to a silver award. Standout work, beautifully executed with an original and inspiring idea at its core.
    :: Yellow Pencil: The iconic D&AD Yellow Pencil, awarded only to the most outstanding work that achieves true creative excellence.
    :: White Pencil: Awarded to Yellow Pencil-worthy work that demonstrates the power to affect real and positive change in the world through creative thinking.
    :: Black Pencil: The ultimate creative accolade, reserved for work that is ground- breaking in its field. Only a handful of Black Pencils are awarded each year, if any.

     

    In addition to the two existing special Awards:

    :: Most Awarded: Presented to the top advertising agencies, design studios, production companies and clients of the year. This award is calculated using a weighted system with points awarded for each Pencil won.
    :: President’s Award: A golden Pencil awarded for an outstanding contribution to the creative industries, as selected by the D&AD President.

     

    Tim Lindsay, Chief Executive at D&AD, explains the changes: “The D&AD Pencil is a universal icon that resonates across our industry as the pinnacle of creative achievement. D&AD is renowned for being the toughest, most rigorous show around, yet In Book and Nomination, as awards, are often undervalued or simply misunderstood. So we set out to rectify this, but without handing out more awards and without compromising our existing Pencils.

     

    “We wanted to make things clearer, but stubbornly, not by adopting the same system as everyone else, for the very good reason that we’re D&AD. We like to be a bit different. It wouldn’t feel right to revert to convention, with our twin icons, Yellow and Black, already sitting outside of it.

     

    “Admittedly, finding a satisfactory solution hasn’t been easy. But our new Wood and Graphite Pencils strike the perfect balance of being instantly recognisable and achieving that degree of clarity, but with a D&AD twist.”

     

  • He will be responsible for conceptualizing and executing cutting-edge content that speaks to a global audience

    Ruchir Joshi appointed Head of Content at FoodFood

    By A Correspondent

     

    FoodFood has appointed Ruchir Joshi to head the content of the channel. Ruchir Joshi, a creative media professional, with over 17 years experience, will be responsible for conceptualizing and executing cutting-edge content that speaks to a global audience.

     

    Prior to joining FoodFood, Ruchir, was a co founder & promoter –Via Earth that made TV shows that have aired on broadcasters like BBC, CNN and Discovery. He has also done shows for Zee TV/ Zee Cafe, Star One, Sahara Filmy among others.

     

    Commenting on his appointment, CEO, SK Barua said, “We are extremely happy to have attracted a talented executive like Ruchir for programming, overlooking on air promotions, supporting new media…He comes with a proven track record of leadership and we are extremely pleased to have a content head with his experience to drive the channel’s growth and profitability. We look forward to his success in this new role.”