MxMIndia

Category: SPECIALS

  • The delays in holding Goafest meant much time away from the high pressure work as CEO – South Asia of Publicis Worlwide

    Goafest blues continue. Nakul Chopra steps down as chairman, org committee

    By A Correspondent

     

    Nakul Chopra

    The Goafest Organising Committee appears to have suffered another blow with the confirmation of the news that Chairman of the Organizing Committee Nakul Chopra has stepped aside from the position earlier this week.

     

    Confirming the news to MxMIndia, Mr Chopra said the festival is still sometime away and his primary work of leading Publicis Worldwide in the region is taking a fair amount of time, it was tough for him to reconcile both.

     

    Although Mr Chopra was unwilling to comment on the dates, as per information received by MxMIndia, it’s likely to that Goafest dates may get pushed to end-May to avoid a clash with the elections. “They should have ideally happened in the first week of April, but since they didn’t, the only option is to have it at the end of May. The next window is in October, when people get busy with the festival activity.”

     

    At the time of writing it was still not known who will replace Mr Chopra, though there are naysayers that his decision is indicative of the growing disinterest in Goafest. “The total silence will only benefit the alternative D&AD-Kyoorius initiative.”

     

  • The decision on the date has been delayed by fear of a clash with dates of the general elections

    It’s mid-Feb and no Goafest/Abby dates yet!

    By A Correspondent

     

    Arvind Sharma

    It’s the second week of February and no date has been announced for the 2014 edition Goafest , pointing to issues that the committee is facing on the dates. When MxMIndia called AAAI President Arvind Sharma late last month, he said he would announce them last week.

     

    When MxMIndia asked an officebearer about the date, he replied in the same vein: The dates will be announced soon.

     

    The reason for the delay is that the organizers want to avoid a clash with the general elections. But that an agency told us is not tenable as a reason because this is not the first time the elections have clashed with Goafest. “Do it in the last week of March or first week of April, and there will be no clash,” he said. “The question is do we have enough quality participants at the Creative Abby. And do we have enough sponsors coming in for the festival and the Industry Conclave.”

     

    What MxMIndia  has been told is that despite the absence of some of the top agencies, the event will be held.  One of the dates mooted is April 28, but that too could clash with the polls, is the worry.

     

    As has been reported, the London-based international not-for-profit D&AD has announced its intent to bring its awards with Kyoorius, a not-for-profit body which would conduct an annual design fest in Goa. TheKyoorius Awards are scheduled to be held around June 2014 in Mumbai, and the entries will be accepted with effect from March 20.

     

  • A chat with with the Ogilvy & Mather National Creative Director revealed the agency is still awaiting the Abby organizers response to its demands

    Abhijit Avasthi: As of today, Ogilvy not participating in Abby. But if Ad Club accepts its demands, it could…

    By A Correspondent

     

    Abhijit Avasthi

    Even as the Advertising Club, the Advertising Agencies Association of India and the Goafest committee finalise the dates of Goafest 2014, there’s no confirmation on whether Ogilvy & Mather will participate in this year’s Creative Abby.

     

    At its inhouse Envies awards, National Creative Director Abhijit ‘Kinu’ Avasthi , had told MxMIndia: “There are certain changes that we are looking for at the Abbys and till the time they do not happen, we definitely would not be thinking about it.” And should the changes happen? “We will think about it then.”

     

    So when we called Mr Avasthi for his reactions of the D&AD-backed Kyoorius Advertising Awards yesterday and asked him on the Abby participation, he said matter-of-factly: “No, not as of now. However, if they accept our conditions and change their stand, we may consider.”

     

    Last year, while confirming the news on not participating in the Abby, Mr Avasthi had told us: “We felt that they were not energizing our people as they used to earlier.”

     

    And when asked if Ogilvy will participate at the Kyoorius Awards, Mr Avasthi said: “We’ll want to hear a little more. I don’t know much about it.”

     

    An industry and Abby observer told us that by deciding to hold the awards in Mumbai and having very few judges, the Kyoorius hosts meet two of the main demands of Ogilvy. In addition, Mr Avasthi & Co are said to be peeved about too many unimportant categories and a skew towards domains where there is not much creative work done through the year.

     

    Watch this space for more.

     

  • It was a day of knowledge sessions and some humour followed by the Media and Publisher Abby

    Goafest starts with some gyaan, fun

     

    By Shobhana Nair

     

    True to its credo, Goafest 2014 kickstarted in real ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ isshhtyle at the Grand Hyatt hotel in North Goa. The three-day fest witnessed big names from the advertising, media and marketing fraternity. Guy Hearn, Chief Innovative Officer, Omnicom Media Group held a knowledge session for delegates on kids in this digital world. “It’s our responsibility to make kids digitally fluent,” he said, adding: “Brands can help by driving utility.” Coincidentally, the next knowledge session was presented by the youngest app developer duo also the founders of Go Dimensions, Shravan and Sanjay Kumaran. Apart from sharing their experience with an impressed audience, the whizkids also shared their goals of helping children by giving 15 percent of their income to charity! This session won quite a few ‘likes’ in the crowd. “I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The good part of it was we didn’t have traditional marketing sessions. The novelty of the kids is that the youngsters know what you know and these youngsters take it in their stride and take it much ahead,” said Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM.  Her agency (the victorious team is pictured above), btw, won 11 metals in the Media Abby.

     

    After some heavy duty insights, it was the turn of stand-up comedians All India Bakchod who left the audience in splits. “I loved the Bakchod session. It was nice humour and a good start to the festival,” said Mandeep Malhotra, President, DDB Mudra Communications.

     

    S Yesudas, Managing Director – Indian sub-continent at Vizeum India was excited about the list of speakers at Goafest. “This year, the variety of speakers is very good. The topics are not really crude advertising or brands but there’s a message registered at the subconscious level.”

     

    The last knowledge session was conducted by Riley Peter, Head of Creative Shop – APAC, Facebook who urged everyone to think about social media as a connection and not disruption.

     

    For Satyamurthy NP, President and Head – Media at DDB Mudra, the key takeaway was ‘authenticity’. “In creativity, authenticity is the most important thing. We try to create ads and ad-like situation which is not going to be appealing to a lot of consumers. Authenticity is the building block for any creative product and that is what I liked.”

     

    Suresh Balakrishna, CEO, BPN highlights ‘breaking the mould’ as his takeaway from today’s sessions. “Having Sanjay and Shravan was a coup. I think they spent a lot of time building the case on how to do things differently and how to break the mould.”

     

    All in all a good start to a day which ended with the Media and Publisher Awards and some festivities and celebrations.

     

     

     

  • A quick chat with Ravi Rao, Leader, South Asia, Mindshare who was Chairman of the Media Abby jury at Goafest 2014

    Dire need for pathbreaking ideas: Ravi Rao

    Ravi Rao

    A quick chat with Ravi Rao, Leader, South Asia, Mindshare who was Chairman of the Media Abby jury at Goafest 2014

     

    Your views on the Media Abby this year. Any visible trends, any shifts from last year?

    Truly digital has become the bedrock of most ideas. Open source is another one where ideas can come from anywhere. The third is real intergration and engaging with consumers or customers. Overall, Goafest reflects what it stands for – ideas, innovations and exhilaration

     

    The number of participating agencies increased in the Media Abby, though just 17 of the 53 that entered won. And only five agencies won five or more metals. And as many seven categories without any Golds. Comments?

    There is a dire need for real pathbreaking ideas. Few entries won multiple awards explains the scenario. But there were some real brave ones that made it to 14 Golds and one Grand Prix.

     

    The Media Abby has attracted participation from all with no one statying away. Unlike the Creative counterpart. Would you attribute any reasons for this?

    We always fight hard but we gladly applaud the best work. Nothing inspires as much as a fab idea.

     

  • Lodestar UM bagged the maximum metals (11 of them!) at this year's Media Abby on Day 1 of Goafest 2014

    Helps being a strategically driven agency: Nandini Dias

    Nandini Dias

    A total of 11 metals comprising 2 Golds, 3 Silvers and 6 Bronzes were awarded to Lodestar UM at the Media Abby on Day 1 of Goafest 2014. Shobhana Nair caught up with Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM minutes after she and jubilant team got together for a group pic:

     

    Did you expect to win so many awards?

    In all honesty, I was a part of the jury so I had some idea that we had done well. But didn’t know how well, because when the categories go on and when we are judging, it goes on one after another. To that extent I am pleasantly surprised and happy to win these many awards. We have done a very good job. I am just dying to go back to the team and show them all the awards. Unfortunately, a limited people came to Goa and I am sure everyone back home will be surely celebrating.

     

    Who would you attribute the entire success the most? Which are the factors that have led to this win?

    I think in the last 10 years, we have always won whether it’s as a winner or a runner up. We have been doing well at the awards and thankfully, we continue to do so. The teams across the agencies really push themselves. At Lodestar, we see ourselves as a strategically driven agency… the kind of investment we do on the strategic front, the amount of investment we make to train our people and it is not about training them in an individual medium but across all mediums. I think anybody who has been at Lodestar will vouch for the best strategic thought processes that happen in the agency so I think it is an outcome of the kind of work, training and thinking that goes within the agency.

     

    Any category where you were not anticipating a win, but you did!

    In fact, it’s the other way round, personally Coke studio is by far the best youth work that has happened in the country in the last couple of years. Though it may have been a work that has happened from the agency, I can’t think of a better consistent campaign with the kind of marketing and ground activation that has been happening. We started off as a single MTV channel but it runs across on Colors with an occasional run on Doordarshan. It also airs across various radio stations so the kind of work in Coke studio is really amazing. I am surprised that it didn’t come through and that is a big disappointment. However, today is the winning day and I can’t be saying that I am not happy.

     

    Apart from Coke Studio which is close to your heart, any other work that you are really proud of which has won an award.

    We did an amazing job on Tata Safari 24. It’s amazing how the new age collaboration has come through. Everyone at Colors, Tata Safari 24 and Lodestar did things differently this time. It was not only about just buying FCT and going ahead. At every episode, we knew what’s going to happen and how would we integrate it. This is a great example of how content will be leveraged by brands in the future.

     

    You were a part of the jury and so have closely looked at the entries. Any favourites from other agencies?

    I loved BeBeautiful. In a simplistic way, it may look like a website but the kind of detailing that has gone into it is amazing. I am not surprised that it won as many Golds as it did including the Grand Prix. Unanimously, the jury voted for it!

     

     

  • A quick interview with Rachana Dharia, VP – Digital & Mobility Services, PHD India. PHD won a Grand Prix for BeBeautiful at the Media Abby

    Didn’t anticipate Grand Prix, but our work has been really good: Rachana Dharia, PHD

    In the first year of its formal existence in the country, PHD India from the Omnicom group has won a Grand Prix for BeBeautiful in the Best Digital Content Creation Strategy Category. Shobhana Nair spoke to Rachana Dharia, VP – Digital & Mobility Services on the occasion

     

    What was the brief that was given to you by the Client – Hindustan Lever?

    Our campaign was to create India’s largest beauty destination. It’s actually larger than Vogue, Femina and all the women’s magazine. It’s got one million-plus viewers coming that’s what it merits it as the largest beauty destination.

     

    What is the one reason that you think got you the Grand Prix?

    I think our agency has a specialized core team and that’s the reason why we have won it as we are a passionate team.

     

    Did you expect to win the Grand Prix?

    We didn’t anticipate the Grand Prix but we know our work has been really good and it has been appreciated by our consumers because of its uniqueness.

     

     


  • In terms of maximum metals: Lodestar won 11 in the Media Abby while Hindustan Media Ventures bagged six in the Publisher Abby. PHD won the Grand Prix in Media, Bennett, Coleman won 3 Golds in the Publisher Abby

    Lodestar leads in Media Abby, inaugural Publisher Abby presented

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading media and marketing services agency Lodestar UM bagged the maximum metails at this year’s Media Abby. The first day of Goafest 2014 saw the presentation of the coveted Media Abby and the inaugural Publisher Abby.

     

    While Lodestar bagged 2 Golds, 3 Silvers and 6 Bronzes, PHD India bagged the coveted Grand Prix plus 3 Golds and 1 Silver. Siblings Mindshare and Maxus bagged seven metals each, though Mindshare’s tally had 2 Golds while Maxus took away 6 Silvers.

     

     

    The Media Abby awards received 619 entries from 53 agencies. While the number of agencies participating increased by four, the number of entries decreased by 20-odd, informed the organising committee.

     

    At the Publisher Abby, 62 entries were received in seven categories and 20 awards were presented, of which 7 were Golds. Hindustan Media Ventures bagged 6 metals (2 Silvers, 4 Bronze), followed by Bennett Coleman winning 5 (3 Golds, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)), Dainik Bhaskar (1G, 1S, 1B) and Chitralekha (1G, 2S) bagged 3 each and Amar Ujala (1S), Hindu (1G) and Forbes (1G) one each.

     

     

  • Day 2 of Goafest 2014 saw all of this and more. There were 2 Grand Prix at the Abby awards presented for eight categories

    Dance, masti, knowledge, awards

     

    By Shobhana Nair

     

    Picture this: A rain dance, instant caricature, foot massage, a cycling competition with a co-worker… all this and more in Goa happened on Day 2 of Goafest 2014, the annual congregation of ad and media professionals. Apart from the knowledge seminars which witnessed marketing gurus doling out gyaan, there were enough opportunities for delegates to unwind. Andthen there were the Abby Awards presented for eight categories. The Grand Prix were awarded to JWT India for Bay beat Collective in Direct Abby (pictured above) and Alok Nanda Company for India Bulls Group in the Design Abby.

     

    The second day kickstarted with Preethi Mariappan, Executive Creative Director at Razorfish Germany’s session where she spoke about how it wasn’t about getting more ‘likes’ for your brands but it was about building an engagement with people. “You need to connect with people for engagement. Talk to them. There is no magic formula,” she said. Melanie Varley, Chief Strategy Officer – Global, MEC said “Social is the new TV’ during her knowledge seminar.The afternoon saw a session by Ashish Mehrotra, Business Head, Vubites & Senior Vice President, Rediff India who emphasised on the usage of internet technology to turbo-charge a TV ad campaign.

     

    But the highlight of the day was clearly the Advertising Conclave with top-notch marketers on the panel. Sanjay Warke, Country Head–DS Division, Toshiba India presented the keynote. Deepika Warrier, VP, Pepsico, Sanjay Tripathy, EVP, HDFC Standard Life; Sameer Satpathy, EVP and Business Head, Marico; Anuradha Narasimhan, Director – Marketing, Britannia Industries presented their views on the relationship that clients and advertising agencies share. This ‘high on thought’ session was moderated by Karthi Marshan, Head, Marketing, Kotak Mahindra Group and it evoked a mixed response from the packed hall.

     

    Anupriya Acharya, Group CEO, ZenithOptimedia confessed that this session was very interesting as there were clear contextual points relevant to today’s problems. Do ‘integrated’ agencies work in today’s age and time was one of the most discussed topics at the session. Warrier clearly was in favour of hiring the best people to get work done but it was met with a differing viewpoint from Shekhar Swamy, Group CEO, R K Swamy Hansa in the audience. “The speakers were well-prepared and engaging. We are delighted to have them. But it’s not necessary to agree with them. The whole point of such forums is to get a debate going and sometimes you ask a question to get the debate going,” Swamy said.

     

    Acharya though agreed with what Warrier said. “You do need the best talent in every shop. Just because an agency has set up an integrated operation doesn’t mean that they do have the best talent in each of their verticals. I think more than integrated, time has come for agencies as well marketers to be comfortable in working in an environment which thrives on extended eco-systems. It’s more about working in eco-systems which help you succeed rather than one stop shop which means everyone should be under one agency.”

     

    Sanjay Tripathy pointed out some key issues that concern the clients and the agencies. “Agencies have issues with the remuneration part of it and how it has to be structured. Agencies don’t think they are getting enough remuneration for the work they are doing. Sometimes, they are unfairly judged. The client has bigger problems – accountability and capability of the team.”

     

    If the session got the audience charged, what it ended in had many in the audience with goosebumps: Starting with Deepika Warrier all the marketers on stage sang in chorus ‘Humein Tumse Pyar Kitna Yeh Hum Nahin Jaante’, a song from the 1981 film Kudrat, echoing their sentiments for the ad agencies.

     

    So if Day 2 went off well with energizing seminars, did any one miss the top guns from the fraternity? Said Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow: “Goafest had lot of challenges as the media made it look like it was a boycott by the agencies. Actually it is not! Goafest is for the young talent and it’s not the question whether honchos are participating or not. These young talented people keep floating from one agency to another. It is here that they get recognised by these very ad agencies who are not here.”

     

    Hmmm. With just  a day to go, guess there are many more fun and invigorating times in store.

     

    Photographs: Shailesh Mule/Fotocorp

     

  • The CCO of ANC on what winning the Grand Prix for Design and many more metals means to his agency and him

    Bigger deal to win a Grand Prix in Goa than Cannes: Prasanna Sankey, Alok Nanda Company

    Low profile agency, but highly visible work, the 12-year-old Alok Nanda Company won the Grand Prix for Design on Day 2 of Goafest 2014. It was awarded to them for their Environment Design ‘The Rising’ for India Bulls Group. It also won 3 Golds, 2 Silvers and 1 Bronze on the day. Shobhana Nair spoke to Prasanna Sankey, CCO, Alok Nanda Company on what winning a Grand Prix means to him and ANC.

     

    Your thoughts on the wins, especially the Grand Prix?

    I didn’t see this coming through simply because what we did was so new and different. It was first accepted by the clients and the advertising industry. I didn’t know it would happen and that’s why we are thrilled that we tried something new and the industry has accepted it.

     

    What kept you going as you said it was a new concept?

    At our agency, we have put in a lot of passion and hard work into seeing an idea through to its final stages. That’s what has paid off. It doesn’t only matter that you have good ideas. It matters how you treat it like your own baby and see it till the end.

     

    Tell us, what does winning the Grand Prix at Goafest mean to an agency which has received many accolades?

    I think it’s a bigger deal to win a Grand Prix in Goa than in Cannes because it is your own industry and your own country which has recognized what they have done.

     

    And would you attribute any factors that led to this recognition?

    I think the most important thing of any award season is that you do good work but you have to have a team of young, motivated people around you. They get ideas and produce it really well. There has to be morale of the agency and they should feel like coming to work every day and create something new.

     

  • On Day 2 of Goafest 2014, awards were presented in eight categories, a few of which are part of the larger Creative Abby bouquet

    8 Abby categories awarded

    By A Correspondent

     

    On Day 2 of Goafest 2014, awards were presented in eight categories, a few of which are part of the larger Creative Abby bouquet.

     

    In Print Craft, there were 27 awards presented from the 189 entries received. In Outdoor, there were only 29 metals of the 290 entered. Both Design and Direct saw a Grand Prix being awarded. In Design only 25 of the 188 entries got awards, while in Direct, 13 of the 55 entries received took away awards. In Branded Content and Entertainment, 21 of the 54 entries received secured awards. In Brand Activation and Promotions, 18 of the 108 entries received were awarded. In the newly created Public Relations and Broadcast Abby categories, there were 24 of 42 and 33 of 99 entries respectively.

     

    The Grand Prix were awarded to JWT India for Bay beat Collective in Direct Abby and Alok Nanda Company for India Bulls Group in the Design Abby.

     

  • I&B minister Prakash Javadekar, who took charge of the portfolio earlier this week as a Minister of State with independent charge, was at the Leadership Summit at Goafest 2014

    I&B minister Prakash Javadekar @ Goafest 2014, plans to revive DD, AIR

     

    By Shobhana Nair

     

    He came, he saw, he conquered.  I&B minister Prakash Javadekar, who took charge of the portfolio earlier this week as a Minister of State with independent charge, was at the Leadership Summit at Goafest 2014.

     

    Prakash Javdekar on Key Issues:

    On FDI in News:

    It’s at a certain percentage. We need to see what impact it makes on the content as we have our civilization and cultural ethos. We need to analyse what impact it will have on India. We are not stopping businesses from partnering with global media.

     

    On freedom of expression in the social media:

    It’s a 10-year-old IT act which is being followed. Every freedom is accompanied with some responsibility which needs to be preserved but by not putting people to jail.

     

    On FM Radio Phase III launch:

    A decision on Phase III and IV of the digitisation process will be taken soon.

     

    Speaking to a packed hall, he emphasized on the differences between the UPA-led government and the newly elected one. “For 10 years, there was no leadership but since 10 days, there’s been complete leadership. The previous government had no mission without commission. But we believe in mission without commission. There’s been a paradigm shift in Indian politics.”

     

    Having tasted success through recent advertising campaigns during the Lok Sabha elections, Javadekar spoke on the effect a good advertising campaign can have on people. The new I&B Minister also set the tone clear for anxious media professionals on whether the freedom of press will be curtailed. “I believe in freedom of expression through advertisements, messages, media and every platform. There has to be an absolute freedom. Assurance of complete freedom to the media is important in new India. The right to criticism is your right. Only when that freedom is nurtured, can we say that we have achieved as a democratic nation.”

     

    Without making any commitments or announcements, the former BJP spokesperson assured that all stakeholders will be consulted in the media before taking any decision for the bigger interest of the public.  However he had a very clear agenda in reviving Doordarshan and AIR. “My passion is simple. I want to make DD a competitive and a prominent channel. We also need to re-energize and put air into AIR which is very popular and has fantastic content.”

     

    Commenting on the issue of television audience ratings, the minister commented, “It’s a private issue as advertisers are ready to believe in them.” And added in jest: “Miya biwi raazi toh kya karega kaazi… humein kya karna hai!” However, he was aware of the industry-backed BARC.

     

    The minister promised the audience that will take key decisions only after taking the views of all stakeholders.

     

    Photograph: Fotocorp/Shailesh Mule