The Leo Group has announced the appointment of Kaizad Pardiwalla to head Orchard Advertising (one of its group companies), based at their Head Office in Mumbai.
Saurabh Varma, CEO, The Leo Group said, “We are delighted to welcome Kaizad to The Leo Group. Orchard, over the last year, has grown by 40 per cent y-o-y and has an incredible momentum. We required a leader with integrated experience to take Orchard Advertising to the next level. Kaizad, with his media-agnostic approach to brand building, is possibly the best candidate to add value to our clients’ businesses.â€
Kaizad comes with 18 years of experience in the business with the last three being at Grey where he ran the Mumbai operations. He started his career with Lowe Lintas in 1995 and moved to Ogilvy in 1997. After spending seven years at Ogilvy, in 2004, he was appointed as business director, OgilvyOne Worldwide, the digital and direct marketing division of Ogilvy, where he headed the operations in the western region. After three years, he took over as the national head of OgilvyOne India.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL)Â has announced the appointment of Sunil Buch as Chief Business Officer (CBO). Sunil will be responsible for the business deliverables critical to the organization via effective and quick implementation of prioritized strategic initiatives across the organization. In addition, Sunil will also head Network Marketing, Audience Content Research, Brand Activation & Identity Strategy.
Punit Goenka
Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL, said “As we work towards accomplishment of our Vision 2020 goals, we want to undertake enterprise-wide strategic initiatives that focus on not only enhancing business performance but also bring in operational excellence and efficiency across the network. We are confident that Sunil’s high degree of consumer connect, his creativity and communication skills coupled with his sharp business focus and ability to manage a wide spectrum will enable us to gain significant competitive advantage.â€
Sunil has over two decades of well-rounded experience in Functional & General Management across various sectors including FMCG, Advertising, Media & Entertainment and Telecom Retail. Prior to joining ZEE, he was the Business Head – Reliance Own Retail at Reliance Communications.
After its successful launch in the UK and India, Viacom18 and IndiaCast have announced the launch of the Hindi general entertainment channel ‘Rishtey’ in the US and Canada. Adding the festive fervor for viewers in the region, Rishtey is now available to the US audiences on Dish and Dishworld on channel 699 and to Canada viewers on Rogers Cable on channel 924.
With seven channels already available in North America, IndiaCast currently has a comprehensive portfolio of brands in the region that covers a wide range of entertainment offerings. Rishtey is the eighth channel in the region and will be available on a paid subscription format. With the launch of the Rishtey on Dish and Dishworld, the channel will now be available to around 160K households in the US.
Commenting on Rishtey’s foray into the US & Canada, Gaurav Gandhi – Group COO IndiaCast said, “US and Canada are the most important international markets for South Asian entertainment and we are delighted to launch our second Hindi entertainment channel, Rishtey, in this region. Our flagship brand Aapka COLORS has seen unprecedented success in the region over the last 4 years. With the launch of Rishtey, we address the audience’s need for variety entertainment and Rishtey will be the classic ‘family channel’ with something for everyone in the South Asian household. Over the last two years, the Rishtey, in its different avatars, has developed a strong foothold in the UK and in India and we are extremely confident that the brand will be a huge success here as wellâ€
Hathway has announced the launch of high-impact advertising solutions’ suite on its digital platform. To reach out to the nation-wide marketing & advertising fraternity, Hathway has tied up with Aidem Ventures.
Hathway’s cable operations straddle across 140 key Indian cities and towns. It is currently India’s largest cable broadband services provider. Its subscriber base constitutes approximately 52 per cent of the total cable broadband market in India.
Jagdish Kumar
With Hathway’s digital STB footprint of 8.3 million households and an average family size of 4.5 members per household, Hathway reaches an average of 37.35 million viewers daily. With its high-impact ad solutions, Hathway delivers meaningful campaigns to a captive audience through traditional television advertising. The ad solutions have been created to ensure that brands can capitalize on Hathway’s reach for new product launches and campaigns.
Announcing the news, Jagdish Kumar, MD & CEO, Hathway said, “We are confident that once advertisers experience these ad capabilities, they will be back for more. We plan to roll out more ad products over the coming year, while ensuring that they offer great ROI to advertisers and build a long term partnership.  We are happy to partner Aidem in this journey in creating a market place for Hathway’s ad products and I am confident that they will be able to successfully bridge these partnerships.â€
Vikas KhanchandaniNikhil Sheth
“The Hathway ad solutions suite provides clutter-free and exclusive space on TV. It is already emerging as a powerful media option in the hands of advertisers. It is great to see such a positive response in the market. We are very happy about our association with Hathway,†said Vikas Khanchandani, Director, Aidem Ventures.
“In spite of the proliferation of various screens, time spent with TV continues to dominate viewing. Advertisers are seeing a huge captive reach and SOV in the Hathway ad platform. They will benefit immensely by the number of organic and inorganic exposures that it delivers.†added Nikhil Sheth, Business Head, Hindi Entertainment & Niche channels, Aidem Ventures.
Continuing with its mandate of essaying Maruti Suzuki Alto as the family car for the masses, Lowe Lintas has unveiled a new campaign that takes the viewers through new features that the refreshed car brand has to offer. Having undergone transformation over the years, the car has evolved to be strong and sharp in its focus, just like the TG it caters to – the “chase generation†– comprising the young and zippy, who are not willing to wait for life to take its twists and turns but chase their dreams.
The new Alto K10 campaign reflects the chase attitude of its target audience where a young boy takes on a playful challenge thrown by his girlfriend. The storyline is set against the backdrop of a chase between a young boy and his girlfriend. The boy proposes to the girl, who in turn teases him and challenges him to chase her, while she takes off for a paragliding sortie. The young boy spontaneously decides to chase the girl in his new Alto K10. As the girl reaches the landing site, she is surprised to see the boy waiting for her with a ring. The girl is bowled over and accepts his proposal.
Naveen Gaur
Speaking about the new campaign, Naveen Gaur, President, Lowe Lintas said, “The new K10 is a peppier Alto, ideally suited for the young urban Indians. The communication for it must revitalise the brand’s integration with their lives. Setting up the new K10 as the car for the “chase generation†accomplishes the task beautifully by bringing together a consumer attitude, the spirit of spontaneity, that is intrinsic to Alto brand, and giving raison d’être to the peppy performance of the car.â€
The campaign will be tapping all media including television, outdoor, digital etc. to popularize the new offering to the masses.
ADFEST is inviting agencies, production companies and creative studios across the Asia Pacific and Middle East to enter the 2015 ADFEST Lotus Awards.
Celebrating excellence in advertising, design, production and marketing, the ADFEST 2015 Lotus Awards will include 18 categories including Film Lotus, Press Lotus, Outdoor Lotus, Radio Lotus, Interactive Lotus, Mobile Lotus, Direct Lotus, Promo Lotus, Design Lotus, Print Craft Lotus, Film Craft Lotus, New Director Lotus, Media Lotus, Branded Content & Entertainment Lotus, Effective Lotus, Integrated Lotus, INNOVA Lotus, Lotus Roots.
“This region is producing some of the most engaging branded content and entertainment in the world, which makes this Lotus category especially exciting,†said Vinit Suraphongchai, Chairman of the ADFEST Working Committee.
There are seven sub-categories within Branded Content and Entertainment Lotus: Best Use of Fiction Film, Best Use of Non-Fiction Film, Best Use of Music, Best Use of Experiential, Best Use of Interactive & Social Media, Best Use of Games, and Best Integrated Campaign.
To enter the 2015 Lotus Awards, one has to visit adfest.com and click ‘Entry Submission’ to submit the work.
Time Out Group has announced that Time Out World, the personalised event discovery platform will power the launch of fifteen new cities by the end of November 2014.
Time Out World provides one of the world’s most comprehensive lists of local events and venues, giving Time Out fans relevant events based on their preferences as well as their location.
The sites, curated by selected Time Out community tastemakers showcase the best events and our audience’s favourite venues with relevant expert Time Out editorial content and will launch in India in November with Time Out Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Surat, Pune and Jaipur.
This is the first step in a roadmap of exponential growth for Time Out community curated city sites and coincides with Paprika, the Time Out Group licensee in India, replacing its three city magazines with a national network of events which will complement Time Out Group’s digital expansion across the country. “We are pleased that the Time Out community will expand in India and look forward to doing more events and continue to build on properties in India†said Smiti Kanodia, founder of Paprika Media.
David Woodley managing director International, Time Out Group said “India is an exciting area of growth for us on the digital side of the business and we will continue to see expansion across the country. The Time Out World platform enables us to efficiently and quickly deliver a city website providing comprehensive event and venue information to inspire people to get the most from their cityâ€
Time Out will also launch community curated city sites in the USA with Time Out Atlanta, Austin, Seattle, Dallas and Philadelphia.
D&AD has revealed the global line-up of creatives set to take part in the 53rd edition of its Professional Awards.
In keeping with tradition, the D&AD Awards will be judged by some of the international creative communities’ highest profile members. They include: Eric Kallman, Executive Creative Director at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (Integrated & Innovative Marketing); Rei Inamoto, Chief Creative Officer at AKQA New York (Mobile Marketing); Harriet Devoy, Creative Director at Apple Europe (Branding); PJ Pereira, Chief Creative Officer at Pereira & O’Dell (Digital Marketing); Jonathan Kneebone, Co-Creative Director at The Glue Society (Film Advertising Crafts).
Following a hugely successful 2014, which saw Indian agencies pick up 25 awards, Indian creativity will be well represented with six creatives, including one jury foreman: Jury Foreman: Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director at Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai (Press Advertising); Meera Sharath Chandra, Founder & Chief Creative Officer at Tigress Tigress (Digital Advertising); Preeti Vyas, CEO at Vyas Giannetti Creative (Crafts for Advertising); Senthil Kumar, Executive Creative Director at JWT Bangalore (Film Advertising); Sonal Dabral, Chief Executive Creative at DDB Mudra Group (Outdoor Advertising); Ektaa Aggarwal, Creative Director at Landor Associates Mumbai (Branding);
For 2015, a new category has been introduced for Branded Film Content & Entertainment. First appearing in 2011 as a sub-category, TV, film, online and documentaries will now be judged by a standalone jury, in addition to a new tactical sub-category.
To celebrate those pushing the boundaries of technology, innovation sub-categories have been added to Packaging Design, Product Design and Radio Advertising. Innovation in media is also recognised through the revamped Integrated & Innovative Media category.
TV & Cinema Advertising category has been renamed to Film Advertising and features a new Tactical sub-category for film advertising. There is a new sub-category Casting for Film Advertising introduced within Film Advertising Crafts and, following its successful re-addition at the 2014 Awards, there are two new sub-categories introduced within Music Videos: Direction and Production Design.
Tim Lindsay
Tim Lindsay, Chief Executive at D&AD, commented, “The role of creativity and the value of design in our society has never been greater. Whether as vehicle for social change, enriching quality of life or finding the means to do well by doing good, we’ve seen some truly impressive innovation from across the advertising and design industries in recent years as boundaries are pushed and limits tested. After a remarkable 2014, we’re all looking forward to seeing what 2015 brings in the field of creative excellence.â€
LinOpinion GH announced that it has won the prestigious PR mandate for British Council, UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities for India. The mandate is to assist British Council in India to develop strategic communication routes and create consistent visibility for the organization. The consultancy will also help effectively communicate knowledge sharing and collaboration of best practices between India and the UK. LinOpinion GH won this mandate in a multi-agency pitch and this account will be led by its Delhi office.
Ameer Ismail
Commenting on this strategic win, Ameer Ismail, Executive Director, LinOpinion GH and Lowe Lintas + Partners said, “We are delighted to partner with a coveted brand like British Council.  Cultural relations and exchange is at the core of international relations and so important to both India and the UK. We have been successful in understanding the wide ranging imperatives and we look forward to contributing to the core objectives of British Council in India and playing a strategic role in strengthening their relationship with the country.â€
“The thinking and strategic framework we recommended was well appreciated. In addition, our deep understanding of the media and the environment gives us an edge to recommend concepts that will work best with the media and we intend to use innovative platforms to reach out to the right target audiences with the right message. We take pride in designing and implementing public relations plans that result in a large impact in terms of share of voice for brands.†added Lavang Asthana Khare, Executive Vice President, LinOpinion GH.
British Council comes as a significant addition to LinOpinion GH’s roster of clients in Delhi. The agency currently services some iconic brands like Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, Starwood Group of Hotels, DCM Shriram Ltd, Rapid Metro, Malaysia Airlines and Ciena among others.
ZeeQ has rolled out a brand new TVC for its young audience. Keeping in mind the objective of establishing itself as a provider of ‘clean entertainment but with unlimited masti’, the channel has picked up an important element of a child’s characteristics which is – “Mastiâ€. The new TVC is trying to establish the position that ‘Masti’ keeps both the body and mind of the child active.
The TVC showcases four distinct situations in a kid’s life where Masti plays a pivotal role, true to the channel’s philosophy. The acts show children in a regaling act full of masti and fun, playing innocent and fun-filled pranks which amuse and add cheer to every person around them. So be it jumping into the puddle with the friends and laughing away to the little joys of life, to playing smart pranks on family members, the common factor that is all encompassing in all the scenes of this TVC is Mind-full Masti.
Aparna Bhosle, Deputy Business Head, ZeeQ expressed her views on the new TV Campaign, “Our vision is to make ZeeQ India’s best suited entertainment channel for kids that offers mind-full content but with endless entertaining masti and our new TVC conveys just that.â€
Apart from the on-air telecast of the new TV campaign, ZeeQ will also be leveraging their campaign concept “Ham hain Mastikhor kids†on a 360 degree promotional platform of Digital, Radio, On Ground through exciting audience outreach programmes namely contests and other engagement activities across various cities in India.
The wait is over. The licence has been bagged. India’s first channel on Indian history, mythology and folklore will be on air on November 19. Nau baje! Spearheaded by Mahesh Samat, who is Managing Director of the EPIC Television Networks Pvt. Ltd., this is the first genre-specific Hindi entertainment channel that will showcase content based on Indian history, mythology and folklore in a contemporary format.
Messrs Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra and Rohit Khattar are promoters of the company. Says Mr Mahindra, Chairman and Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra says, “The landscape of Hindi entertainment is undergoing a dramatic transformation. In order to appeal to a far more evolved audience, and to sustain their engagement, there is definitely a need for a revolution in the broadcast space. We have all been entertained with the history and mythology of India through books and grandparents’ stories. These stories will now come to life and can be enjoyed on television in a contemporary manner.â€
Added Mr Samat, “We aim to bring a whole new experience for the television viewers with an innovative segmented Hindi entertainment channel. With a contemporary take on the rich history of India, our objective is to give the audiences an opportunity to consume genre-specific content to suit their liking.â€
The channel will go on air with its four driver shows – Siyaasat, Dharmakshetra, Dariba Diaries and Daanav Hunters. It also has an interesting mix of non-fiction shows like Adrishya, a show about Indian spies, Ekaant, the story of abandoned places while Raja Rasoi Aur Anya Kahaniyaan takes you on a journey of the food that the Royals ate and Kahi Suni explores the myths and legends of India.
As is known, Divya Radhakrishnan’s Helios Media has been mandated with the ad sales function of the channel. IndiaCast is reported to be looking at the distribution.
Star Plus gained much in Week 44 of TAM’s ratings even as there was no change in the pecking order of Hindi GECs
Â
Week 43
Week 44 2014
Channels
GVTs (000s)
GVTs (000s)
Star Plus
594810
655006
Colors
432202
456912
Zee TV
393501
404561
Sab
287077
306976
Life OK
256520
305155
Sony Ent TV
247617
285145
Big Magic
59042
56061
Pal
26221
31405
Zindagi
26625
31302
Sahara One
11314
9869
Since TAM has been restrained from feeding the media with ratings numbers, we are forced to depend on subscribers to give us the same. We trust them to give us the correct numbers so we are publishing them. However, we urge advertisers and media agencies to make their own enquiries to get bona fide data. Meanwhile wee are praying BARC will share data with us directly.
Time Out Group has announced that Time Out World, the personalised event discovery platform will power the launch of fifteen new cities by the end of November 2014.
