MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • He has worked previously at Ogilvy, Dentsu, Percept-Hakuhodo ​ and DDB Mudra

    Pramod Sharma joins Soho Square as Senior CD

    By A Correspondent

     

    Soho Square Mumbai has announced the appointment of Pramod Sharma as Senior Creative Director of Soho Square Mumbai.

     

    Anuraag Khandelwal and Satish deSa, Executive Creative Directors & Creative Heads, Soho Square Mumbai shared: “In Pramod we found the ideal mix of maturity and crazy ideas. He is very ambitious, and yet very down-to-earth. We believe we have found one more member of our tribe.”

     

    Moving from Everest Brand Solutions, Pramod enters Soho Square with over 14 years of ​work ​experience. He has worked previously at Ogilvy, Dentsu, Percept-Hakuhodo ​ and DDB Mudra.

     

  • Lenskart.com, India's largest online retailer of fashionable and stylish eyewear has appointed Platinum Media, a part of Madison Media Group as its media agency

    Platinum Media wins Lenskart Media AOR

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lenskart.com, India’s largest online retailer of fashionable and stylish eyewear has appointed Platinum Media, a part of Madison Media Group as its media agency.

     

    Commenting on this development, Peyush Bansal, CEO and Founder, Lenskart.com, said “Lenskart has firmly established its brand identity in the mindscape of Indian consumers. As we go along we keep introducing newer conveniences for our patrons such as the home eye check-up programme, try-before-you-buy, virtual studio etc. Through our association with the Madison Media Group, we wish to create a consistent and effective engagement with our new and existing customers and attain new heights of brand loyalty and salience.”

     

    Said Basabdatta Chowdhuri, CEO, Platinum Media: “We are delighted with our partnership with Lenskart and are confident that we can add strategic value to this online brand and make it a household name across the country.”

     

  • SVG Media acquires Networkplay Media for over Rs 92 crore, turns India's largest adtech firm

    India’s all-new Adtech Superpower

     

    By Krithika Krishnamurthy

     

    Adtech company SVG Media has acquired Networkplay Media, the digital media unit of German firm Gruner + Jahr for Rs 92 crore(over $15 million), making SVG Media one of the largest independent mobile advertising networks by revenue in India.

     

    Manish Vij

    SVG has platforms that can work on mobile, web and banners and is on track to earn revenue of Rs 210 crore this fiscal, according to a company executive who did not wish to be named “After consolidating our position in India with this deal, we hope to become the largest digital advertising platform in Asia,” said Manish Vij, 36-year-old cofounder of SVG Media who claimed his company has a 7% market share in India.

     

    The digital advertising spend in India is estimated to touch Rs 3,575 crore by March 2015, according to Digital Advertising in India Report.

     

    The deal, SVG’s second since inception, will expand its outreach to over a 100 million users in India. As part of the deal, Haryana-based startup Seventynine, which was acquired by Gruner + Jahr in November 2012 will also move to SVG. Seventynine will add the video ad-serving capability to SVG’s portfolio.

     

    In 2012, SVG bought out another ad network DGM India from AIM Listed Asia Digital Holdings.

     

    And more consolidation in the space is on its way, said experts. “The Indian digital market is going through a boom phase, with all aspects of digital media showing strong growth from e-commerce right to messaging services,” said Neha Dharia, research analyst at Ovum, who was not able to validate the SVG’s claim of becoming the largest ad network in India.

     

    “As with any boom period, we will see the growth of a multitude of advertising networks (innovating and disrupting established ad tech companies), after which we can expect a wave of consolidation to occur about a year or two down the line.”

     

    Manish Vji

    Founded in 2007 by Harish Bahl and Manish Vij, the ad tech firm has access to markets in South East Asia, Australia, and Middle East. So far, SVG Media has raised $2 million from Accel Partners, Whatsapp’s Neeraj Arora and Silicon Valley-based VC firm, Xplorer Ventures.

     

    And Gruner + Jahr’s exit from the digital media business in India seems to be SVG’s gain.  “Those at the headquarters have decided to exit the digital media play to concentrate on other markets. SVG proved to be a good option,” said Alexandra Harrop, director of Business Development Asia at Gruner + Jahr.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Candy Crush to launch designer clothes, handbags; inks licensing deal with Dream Theatre

    Now get Candy Crush Saga clothes, bags, shoes and even candies

    By Ratna Bhushan

     

    Developers of Candy Crush Saga, perhaps the world’s most popular online and mobile game, plans to cash in on its popularity in India by launching high-street designer clothes, handbags, shoes and, of course, candies under the Candy Crush brand.

     

    King Digital Entertainment Plc, the London-based owner of Candy Crush, has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Mumbai-based Dream Theatre, to license and sell Candy Crush branded products across South Asia.

     

    “Since women between 18-25 years have been identified as the primary consumers of Candy Crush, our core focus for extending the game to products is women’s fashion clothing, accessories, handbags, footwear and even home furnishing,” said Jiggy George, founder and CEO of Dream Theatre, an entertainment, sports, fashion licensing and brand management firm.

     

    Dream Theatre is close to signing a contract with a top Indian fashion designer, he said, but refused to name the person.

     

    In July, fashion designer Manish Arora had showcased a fall/winter collection for Amprapali jewellery inspired by Candy Crush.

     

    Mr George said Dream Theatre will also partner a confectionery player to leverage the obvious synergy between Candy Crush and confectionery by launching Candy Crush candies and confectionery.

     

    Candy Crush Saga, a match three-puzzle video game developed by King Digital in 2012 on Facebook, and later as a mobile app for smartphones, surpassed Farmville 2 as the most popular game on Facebook last year, with over 46 million average monthly users. Candy Crush has been installed over 600 million times on Facebook and iOS/Android devices, and was the most downloaded iOS app last year.

     

    It enjoys huge popularity in India too. “The Candy Crush is like a new-age virus – whatever its pros or cons may be,” said Shailendra Singh, joint MD of entertainment and sports marketing firm Percept.

     

    He said recently at a function in Meerut he saw one of the people manning a sweets stall playing Candy Crush on his mobile.

     

    The brand licensing market in India is estimated at $450 million, or about Rs 2,780 crore, at retail sales. It’s not even 1% of the global market estimated at $200 billion, but is growing about 20% a year, helped by online retail and organised retail.

     

    Licensing content and characters emanating from digital games and applications is a fast accelerating trend, replacing television and cartoon characters.

     

    Angry Birds, the first such success, has so far been the biggest hit with two billion downloaded games worldwide. Angry Birds has followed the original game with multiple extensions, animation shorts and an upcoming movie in 2016.

     

    For the Indian market, Dream Theatre, which also has licensing rights for Angry Birds, has launched products across 14 categories, including toys, board games, apparel and stationery.

     

    Angry Birds’ branded products are now available across 1,500 stores besides multiple online platforms.

     

    Mr George said with rights to licences for three digital properties – Candy Crush, Angry Birds and Talking Tom app – Dream Theatre was targeting Rs 150 crore of retail sales within three years.

     

    Globally, the gaming market is forecast to grow to $103 billion by 2017 with mobile gaming doubling its share to 34%.

     

    King Digital’s latest results showed profits down by 20% in the July-September quarter compared to last year, and it has been trying to increase market share in an intensely competitive mobile game industry.

     

    King Digital’s stockmarket debut in March this year was among the worst in the US. The company said it was diversifying beyond its core Candy Crush game and that its ‘non-Candy Crush’ game portfolio is now contributing 49% of its revenues.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Shine.com has also added exclusive features on its mobile app that lets candidates leverage their personal networks to find people in companies where they want a job

    Shine launches new advertising campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Shine.com has put up a good show this year that saw them launch a portal exclusively for IT jobs (tech.shine.com), increase their database to 15 million, venture into e-learning offerings for candidates and substantially increase their new client count apart from improving satisfaction levels of existing clients.

     

    Seeing the increasing usage of mobile phone in job search, Shine.com is now targeting to become a ‘mobile-first’ company where the entire registration and job search process for a candidate can happen only on a mobile phone. Apart from simplifying the user flows on mobile, Shine.com has also added exclusive features on its mobile app that lets candidates leverage their personal networks to find people in companies where they want a job.

     

    Commenting on this unique feature, Amit Garg, Business Head – Digital, HT Media, said, “For us to give value to jobseekers and recruiters, we are always experimenting with new technology to create brand new solutions that would take the industry ahead. While doing so, our research pointed us to the ‘power of weak ties’, a seminal study that says that your next career move is likely to come from people who are not our closest friends but are likely to connect you to professional circles that you don’t have access to. Our new app leverages these ‘weak connections’ of a candidate and our consumer proposition says that Shine.com will come to your use where your best friends cannot.”

     

    Rohit Ohri

    Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Dentsu India and CEO Dentsu Asia Pacific (South), said, “We’re really excited about the new Shine.com campaign. Conceptualised by Soumitra Karnik and the Dentsu Creative Impact team, the campaign introduces a mascot for brand Shine.com. A mascot who is an innovative thinker and a quick solution provider to everybody’s job-related problems. We’re hoping that Mr M will become a brand property that will give Shine.com memorability, relevance and ultimately leadership in the category.”

     

  • Brand Bhaskar is a leader in print readership operating in the highest growth markets in India, being an integral part of daily lives of 19.8 million readers

    Ogilvy to handle creative communications for Brand Bhaskar

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dainik Bhaskar has awarded Ogilvy the creative duties for its brand Dainik Bhaskar. With a single state presence till the year 1997, the brand has aggressively expanded its footprint across 14 states in India since then; the most recent launch being in the state of Bihar in January 2014. Today, Brand Bhaskar is a leader in print readership operating in the highest growth markets in India, being an integral part of daily lives of 19.8 million readers.

     

    As the new partner, the creative agency will be responsible for all creative communications which will be rolled out under the brand. Ogilvy will focus significantly on building strategic pillars for the brand’s communication and articulating it’s positioning to Brand Bhaskar’s relevant audiences across the country.

     

    Girish Agarwal

    On aligning with Ogilvy as the brand’s creative partner, Girish Agarwal, Director, Dainik Bhaskar commented “Brand Bhaskar has come a long way and we constantly ask ourselves ‘what next and where do we take the organisation and the brand’. We welcome Ogilvy on board as they bring with them their expertise and strong repute of building sustainable brands. The Bhaskar way of journalism has always believed in ‘kendra  mein pathak – putting the reader first’ and is highly trusted for its unbiased, objective coverage. As our partners the Ogilvy team plays an immensely significant role in integrating our values and philosophy in their creative approach that will resonate with our audiences in a way that they continue to take pride in associating with the Bhaskar Brand.”

     

  • Mindshare Introduces 'Search As SignalTM' and brings Google Search Insights to THE LOOP

    Mindshare, Google team up and launch ‘Search As Signal’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mindshare has announced a new product, Search As SignalTM (SAS), to inform media decision-making for Mindshare clients.

     

    Search As Signal has access to aggregated, indexed search trends that can be filtered by country to give marketers information on whether they are trending up or down relative to their norm or the category norm. With proprietary category definitions crowdsourced, analyzed, and defined by Mindshare and Google, SAS looks at brand and category activity outside the brand-messaging vacuum. The SAS alert system gives Mindshare clients an early indicator if a category or brand is accelerating, giving teams real-time insights to turn into media actions that influence content, keyword search and paid media decisions.

     

    SAS, unique to the marketplace, lets Mindshare clients access customized, fliterable, aggregated and anonymized search trends relevant to their brands and categories (on an non-exclusive basis). Thus Mindshare clients can understand where a brand sits in the larger cultural environment of search activity. The initiative combines Google’s global reach and Mindshare’s global network to bring unprecedented insight and data to Multinational clients.

     

    “Leading agencies, like Mindshare, are helping to offer their clients’ a holistic view of how their campaigns are performing across channels as search activity is a strong signal,” said Anya Paul, Global Agency Business Leader, Google.

     

    “We’re happy to work with them to make insights available through THE LOOP and Search As Signal to enable their clients to make smarter investment decisions.”

     

  • Home buying is still a long struggle accentuated by problems such as tedious booking procedures, lack of trust, no transparency

    FCB Ulka Digital and Tata Value Homes unveil ‘One Nation One Price’ proposition

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tata Value Homes Ltd. (TVHL) along with FCB Ulka Digital has pioneered the journey of online home booking with Tata Value Homes. Leveraging on the opportunity of festive season and championing the e-commerce route, Tata Value Homes launched the first-ever e-commerce portal for buying homes with a retail pricing proposition of One Nation One Price. So far over 300 homes have been booked within just few days of the launch.

     

    For decades the behaviour and method of buying homes in India has remained the same. Home buying is still a long struggle accentuated by problems such as tedious booking procedures, lack of trust, no transparency, etc.

     

    Keeping these challenges in mind, a year back, FCB Ulka Digital with Tata Value Homes embarked upon this online journey of facilitating house buying. The communication objective during the festive campaign was to reinforce this convenient and innovative method of buying homes online.

     

    To give further impetus to the idea, the team promoted India’s First Real Estate Website for buying homes. This website for the first time ever sold houses across cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune at the same price on the theme – One Nation, One Price.

     

    The campaign received an overwhelming response with thousands of users showing interest in the campaign leading to an online sale of over 300 houses. “Evolution of Indian consumer over the years to embrace the e-commerce platforms has opened up the market for consumers across the globe. With the increasing internet penetration, this new platform builds on the vision of being the largest provider of homes. We believe this will enhance the overall experience of the consumer in completing his online home buying experience”, shared Brotin Banerjee – MD & CEO Tata Housing.

     

    Commenting on the success, Satish Ramachandran, Sr. Vice President of FCB Ulka Digital said, “We have always believed digital can work wonders for brands and this campaign testifies the same. It introduces a whole new behavioral change amongst the customers, thus changing the marketing trend in the real estate segment.”

     

  • The images for the contest are required to capture Mumbai’s mood

    Jury announces the winners of Mumbai Moments 2015

    By A Correspondent

     

    The judging process for the photo contest – Mumbai Moments 2015, came to a close on December 4, 2014 by a three-member jury comprising of Mahesh Bhat, film director, Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM and Mukesh Parpiani, Senior Photo-journalist and Head of Piramal Gallery, NCPA.

     

    The images for the contest are required to capture Mumbai’s mood – the memorable moments that make the city what it is. About 70 photographers submitted their entries with photographs numbering nearly 800.

     

    The following entries have been judged as the best 13 that will be included in the Mumbai Moments 2015 calendar:

     

    Cover Swapnil Sakhare – DNA
    January Ashish Rane – Mid-Day
    Februry Amay Kharade – Mumbai Samachar
    March Ashish Raje – Mumbai Mirror
    April Shadab Khan – Mid-Day
    May Nimesh Dave – Mid-Day
    June Raju Shinde – Mumbai Mirror
    July Indranin Mukherjee – AFP
    August Nimesh Dave – Mid-Day
    September Anshuman Poyrekar – Hindustan Times
    October Shadab Khan – Mid-Day
    November KK Choudhary – Times of India
    December Sanjay Hadkar – Times of India

     

    The winners will receive a certificate, trophy and cash prize when the calendar is formally released later this month.

     

  • The second batch of LLAP will start on July 1, 2015 with the recruitment process currently underway

    Lowe Lintas + Partners announces second edition of its apprenticeship program – LLAP 2

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lowe Lintas + Partners has announced the rollout of the second edition of its training program – Lowe Lintas Apprenticeship Program in India.

     

    As one of the leading communication agencies in the country, Lowe Lintas + Partners has always supported unique training and recruitment initiatives that aims to broaden its already diverse talent pool. Thus was launched a unique 18-month training program in August 2012 known as the Lowe Lintas Apprenticeship Program (LLAP). The objective of the program is to seek out the oft-overlooked talent available in non-metro cities, identify those with potential and give them the opportunity to succeed in the marketing communications industry. In the first edition, the agency reached out to eight cities across India and received enrollment from about 3000 students. In fact, the apprentices from the first batch of LLAP are currently working as full-time employees across various divisions in the company and are shaping their careers as advertising professionals.

     

    Building on the success of LLAP 1, the agency plans to broaden the initiative by visiting more colleges for the second edition of the program. Thus Lowe Lintas + Partners has moved off the well-trodden path of recruiting from ranked B-Schools, and approach Institutes and Colleges in smaller cities that are making a name for themselves on the parameter of educational excellence. These colleges are evaluated basis the faculty and management focus on the overall development of the student, the opportunities for self-expression provided, and where students are focused on achieving excellence, rather than a singular emphasis on placements. Graduate students with backgrounds as varied as Geology, Zoology, Computer Science, Physics, Commerce, Dentistry, Management, Economics, Engineering and Journalism apply for this program.

     

    The second batch of LLAP will start on July 1, 2015 with the recruitment process currently underway.

     

    Joseph George

    Sharing his views on the program, Joseph George, CEO, Lowe Lintas + Partners said, “This is an important and exciting talent initiative for the Lowe Lintas + Partners, which is investing a significant amount of time and resources in this course. The program is intensive, practical, and represents an absolutely unique opportunity to tap into the tremendous potential of the smaller cities of India. The group of students finally selected represent extreme diversity – different academic pursuits, varied socio-economic backgrounds, they all come from different parts of the country, their personalities and interests are divergent. But what is common is the hunger to achieve, the willingness to put their all into this program with the unshakeable belief that they will succeed.”

     

    Michelle Suradkar

    Of the total applicants, 25 students will get a chance to train for 18 months at Lowe Lintas + Partners. “Apprentices receive training on a wide range of topics related to creative thinking, branding, consumer insight generation, advertising appreciation, and design. These classroom sessions combined with reading assignments, live projects, immersion stints and hands-on experience on live accounts, ensures a packed 18 months,” added Michelle Suradkar, HR Director, Lowe Lintas + Partners.

     

    Basis their performance and ability to excel on the job, the Apprentices stand a chance to secure a permanent job at Lowe Lintas + Partners. During their apprenticeship the students will be provided with a stipend along with accommodation in Mumbai.

     

    After visiting Aligarh University a few days ago, the next stop on the selection tour is Bhubaneswar where the agency has already received enrollment queries in excess of 2000 students. Selections will happen between the 8-11th  of December. The agency is expecting enrollments to the tune of 5000 students for the second edition of the program.

     

    The final rounds of selection will be conducted in April and May 2015 through panel interviews with business and creative heads of the agency.

     

  • The first awards of the season will be a 100 per cent people’s choice offering, right from the nominations to the final winners

    5th edition of Big Star Entertainment Awards announced

    By A Correspondent

     

    Having collaborated jointly over the past four years, 92.7 BIG FM and Star Plus have announced the rollout of the fifth edition of BIG Star Entertainment Awards in Mumbai. The awards ceremony will acknowledge and celebrate the biggest entertainers of the year across the fields of Bollywood, Television, Music and Sports and their contribution to the entertainment industry.

     

    The awards have grown in popularity over the years. Like in previous years, the first awards of the season will be a 100 per cent people’s choice offering, right from the nominations to the final winners. The robust voting process will see radio, television and digital being enabled for audiences to vote for their most deserving artist.

     

    The award function will also be marketed across radio, television, print and social media to ensure maximum tune-ins on New Year’s Eve on Star Plus.

     

    Tarun Katial

    Speaking of the 5th Edition of the BIG Star Entertainment Awards, Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network stated, “The award and our partnership with Star Plus has matured wonderfully and we are happy to once again bring together a congregation of the finest entertainers from across industries. This is part of our endeavor to empower audiences with a democratized award which allows them to choose their most favorite entertainers. We look forward to celebrating the evening with the industry and offering audiences an engaging watch on New Year’s Eve.”

     

    Mystifying the viewers with nominations and providing them with edge-of-the-seat excitement as the biggest stars come on stage to receive their awards, the BIG Star Entertainment Awards in its continuous effort to recognize and felicitate some of the most accomplished members of the industry, is ready to engage audiences and entertain them all over again this year.

     

  • The Johari family started MaXposure in 2006 and scaled it to be one of the largest magazine publishers in India

    Johari family buys back MaXposure Media from Gruner + Jahr

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Johari Family has bought back the business of MaXposure Media Group from Gruner + Jahr (the publishing division of European media conglomerate Bertelsmann) for an undisclosed amount. Gruner + Jahr had acquired a majority (78.75 per cent) interest in MaXposure back in 2011. The remaining 21.25 per cent were held by the Group’s co-founder Prakash Johari.

     

    Prakash Johari is leading the company as Managing Director and CEO of MaXposure and would continue to do so, along with his brother Vikas Johari, who leads the creative departments as the Publisher and COO.

     

    Talking about his future plans, Prakash Johari says, “It’s interesting that we got this opportunity to get back in the exciting media space with controlling interest at MaXposure. We learnt and grew significantly over the last three years under the guidance of Gruner + Jahr. We plan to realign the company’s vision for the next three years under the new majority leadership and continue to expand our leading position in the corporate publishing space in India and enter foreign markets.”

     

    The Johari family started MaXposure in 2006 and scaled it to be one of the largest magazine publishers in India. MaXposure publishes over 30 magazines in the corporate and consumer space, with India’s largest corporate publishing portfolio. It is the largest in-flight magazine publisher in the Indian subcontinent with in-flight magazines of Air India, Spicejet, Vistara.