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  • Earns top ratings in customer service, global footprint, market presence, management team, executive vision, mobile, social and more, finds Forrester Research

    Experian CheetahMail achieves a leader status

    By A Correspondent

     

    Experian CheetahMail, the leading global technology services provider of integrated email, social, mobile and display marketing, on Thursday announced that Forrester Research has deemed it among the leaders in its January 2012 report, “The Forrester Wave: Email Marketing Vendors, Q1 2012”; most notably recognizing CheetahMail’s customer satisfaction scores and rave client reviews

     

    As reported by Forrester: “We count on high services and customer satisfaction scores from Experian CheetahMail and it did not disappoint. Its large support teams – which are staffed and operated independently of the larger Experian organization – win customer kudos, particularly for their availability, operational expertise, collaboration and practical, proactive advice. Retailers love this firm because of its experience managing promotional emails although it suits any marketer who needs some extra hands on his email program.”

     

    The report continues: “Experian CheetahMail shines on services. Experian CheetahMail, the study’s largest vendor, lands as our third leader because of its well-staffed, capable professional services teams, tenured management, 14-country international footprint, and near-perfect customer satisfaction scores. Rave client reviews of this vendor’s social and data security solutions…”

     

    “I was gladly a reference for Experian CheetahMail for this year’s Forrester Wave and gave them top marks across the board. I’ve worked with a number of email service providers referenced in the report and have never worked with an email services provider who has made as significant of an impact on our business,” remarked Jenn McClain, vice president of online marketing for Chico’s.

     

    “We are truly obsessed with our clients, and it’s always great to receive recognition for the service, expertise and technology we provide them with every day. Our continued global growth; 97 per cent client retention rate; and investment in emerging mobile, social and display technologies are just some of the things that illustrate our dedication to our clients’ success. We were thrilled to not only be recognized for our customer service, but also for our technology. We received the highest scores for ‘Market Presence,’ highlighting the fact that we continue to be the largest email services provider in the world,” said Navin Chandani, Managing Director, Experian Marketing Services inIndia.

     

    The Forrester Wave: Email Marketing Vendors, Q1 2012, evaluated six Email Service Providers (ESPs) based on a variety of 37 weighted criteria, including current offering, strategy and market presence. Ratings also were based on Forrester Research’s opinion of each ESP’s corporate strategy, product road map, vertical strategy and revenue. Technology demonstrations and in-depth interviews with a number of customer references and top executives also were included in the evaluation process.

     

  • Mudra Max has exclusively implemented a high decibel campaign in Mumbai and Delhi through a mix of digital, experiential, on ground and OOH execution

    Volkswagen & Mudra Max go 360 on OOH for Think Blue

    By A Correspondent

     

    Volkswagen is not just a brand but a proud bearer of automotive heritage. ‘Think Blue’ is a philosophy of the brand’s ecological and sustainable activities that has been designed to promote it’s key corporate objective of sustainability and environmental protection.

     

    The current initiative aims at strengthening the brand’s ‘Think blue’ philosophy using the opportunity provided by the Delhi Auto expo.

     

    Mudra Max has exclusively implemented a high decibel campaign in Mumbai and Delhithrough a mix of digital, experiential, on ground and OOH execution. The campaign is based on the international template which tells the story of the Volkswagen brand’s evolution as a responsible brand leveraging the ‘Think Blue’ philosophy.

     

    Mudra Max and Volkswagen installed an exceptional art-piece of the iconic Beetle created wholly out of scrap collected from various Think Blue clean-up drives undertaken by Volkswagen at different locations.

     

    The concept has given life to lifeless objects that have been discarded. The team took 15 days to put together a real-sized Beetle, made entirely of scrap ranging from discarded mother boards, keyboards, disposed machinery parts, mobile phones, cans, plastic bottles, cassettes, wires and other such scrap.

     

    To maximize impact and reach, the Delhi T3 terminal served as the venue to exhibit the Beetle art-piece along with a holistic mix of media elements, ranging from a constant running AV on the Think Blue philosophy and the making of the Beetle, a digital set up which connected the location live to Volkswagen’s micro-site and pages on Facebook, cameramen to capture pictures of passersby and giving them away in custom made ‘Think Blue’ photo jackets as mementos, with promoters engaging people to a classic steel-plated information kiosk on the heritage of Volkswagen and Think blue.

     

    At the same time garbage collection drives were initiated where the trash collected were mounted in cases and put on billboards to spread awareness and to have a more responsible behaviour towards the environment.

     

    Taking the display of the art-piece forward, the Beetle was brought back to Mumbai and is now exhibited at Mahim causeway, one of the most significant junctions in the city catering to high decibel traffic and footfalls all day long.

     

    This would further heighten the impact and buzz created by the art-piece and would create talking points around the brand’s philosophy of Think blue and achieving sustainability while creating something beautiful.

     

    A concept of ‘Fence branding’ preceded the entire ‘Think blue’ activity. A global template campaign of Volkswagen was rolled out worldwide on December 15, 2011. The primary requisite was continuous running space which would complement the ‘story telling’ creative of Volkswagen.

     

    Huge fences at Inorbit mall, Travelators at Delhi T3 airport, Fence branding at the T1 Delhi Airport were taken up. The size of the media was enormous running up to 700 square feet at one go.

     

    In addition, an entire Delhi Metro train was wrapped with the ‘Think Blue’ story to create higher impact and interest. This was coupled with a block-out media presence across significant stations of theDelhi metro & DAME.

     

    Speaking on the execution, Vikas Nowal, Vice President, Mudra Max-OOH on behalf of the Mudra Max team said: “We wanted to ensure that the Volkswagen campaign receives equal prominence in the communication across media. Therefore, the need of the hour was to create disruptive opportunities for the message to hit home. The Earth Hour activity was probably the simplest yet most relevant introduction to the brand’s commitment to taking care of the environment. The Beetle installation is something we are all extremely proud of achieving, and is the best embodiment of the iconic brand, and the worthy cause it champions. We continue to look at how we can help spread the brand’s message to a wider audience.”

     

    Bishwajeet Samal, Head of Marketing Communication at Volkswagen India said: “Our aim was to create buzz and drive home the message of ‘Think Blue. Drive Blue.’ With Out of Home activations like the Beetle art piece constructed purely out of scrap, branding of a Delhi Metro with the ‘Think Blue.’ message, creating the ugliest billboard in New Delhi from garbage collected from cleanliness drives in New Delhi; our outdoor agency effectively positioned Brand Volkswagen as a responsible automobile manufacturer.”

     

     

  • Milestone Brandcom is slated to venture into the rural communication space with Milestone Rural, the digital space with Milestone Digital and aims to set up a creative agency too

    Coming soon: Milestone Digital and Milestone Rural

    By Robin Thomas

     

    In a bid to extend its services, out-of-home media agency, Milestone Brandcom has big plans and is all set to enter the rural communication and digital space and set up a creative agency, all within the next one year.

     

    Milestone Brandcom is slated to venture into the rural communication space with Milestone Rural in the next three to six months. The next six to twelve months will see Milestone Brandcom entering the digital space as well with Milestone Digital. In addition to these developments, in a year’s time, Milestone Brandcom aims to set up a creative agency under the brand name Milestone Brandcom. It will be a mainstream creative agency which will handle the entire creative communication programme, be it TVC, print or radio.

     

    Through Milestone Digital, brands will be able to explore social media campaigns, digital OOH innovations and various other digital initiatives and campaigns. Milestone Brandcom, therefore, is aiming to provide enormous opportunities for brands to extend their communication ambit in the digital space.

     

    “Digital and Out- of- Home works hand-in-hand and therefore it increases enormous possibilities for brands. Since the digital and social media space is unique and real time, it just scales up the opportunities. You will see us in the digital space in the next 6-12 months time,” said Mr Nabendu Bhattacharyya, Managing Director, Milestone Brandcom.

     

    Milestone Rural, on the other hand, aims to reach out to the rural consumers, particularly in those areas where television and print have limited or no access at all. “Milestone Rural is about communication in ruralIndiawhere television and press don’t reach all marketers and brands looking at next destination for their growth story. We would be launching Milestone Rural in next 3-6 months time” shared Mr Bhattacharyya.

     

    Today, Milestone Brandcom has an Out of Home media division – Milestone Out of Home, a retail division – Milestone Last Mile and an event promotion division – Milestone Connect. With the soon to be launched digital and rural communication initiatives, Milestone Brandcom aims to build an entire vertical which will provide complete integrated solutions to their clients.

     

    Milestone Brandcom is said to have over 70 established brands in its kitty. Tata Docomo, Colors, McDonalds, Binani Cement, Axis Bank, HDFC Mutual Fund, Dish TV and Franklyn Templeton to name a few. The recent additions to its client list are L’Oreal Paris and Garnier.

     

    Speaking about Milestone Brandcom in 2012, Mr Bhattacharyya observed: “In just two years we have reached a stage where we are one of the leading agencies in the country. We have already touched the Rs200 crore plus mark in turnover. In 2012, we will try and offer our existing clients more solutions and we will continue to expand our services. We have been growing 100 per cent since the last two years, and this year is going to be no different.”

     

    In the next three years Milestone Brandcom aims to plough back the profitability into the business with more investment on quality talent, manpower, on production set up, and technology.

     

  • Ameer Ismail, Executive Director, Lowe Lintas opens up about his successful tryst with the PR and communications space, how LinOpinion has managed to outperform its growth every year, and his plans for the agency in 2012.

    [PR Channel] 2012 is about growth: Ameer Ismail

    It sometimes helps not pushing oneself too hard to prove one’s worth in the market. It is better if the industry itself does that for you and puts you on the pedestal where you deserve to be. It has been a similar experience for PR agency LinOpinion that has been doing brilliant work without creating much noise or fanfare about its work. Part of the reason for the agency’s good standing is the leadership team, and particularly a person who has been at the helm for a loyal 17 years.

     

    In conversation with Johnson Napier of MxMIndia, Ameer Ismail, Executive Director, Lowe Lintas opens up about his successful tryst with the PR and communications space, how LinOpinion as an agency has managed to outperform its growth every year and his plans for the agency in 2012. Excerpts:

     

    Q: It’s been a long run for you in the PR and communications space. How would you chart your personal journey thus far?

    It has been quite a long journey for me. When I joined the profession it was in a nascent stage but that also threw up a lot of interesting opportunities for young and aggressive people like me. In effect, it has been a journey where I have never stopped learning and I have never looked back. In the process of working in the PR space, I have done a lot of work in the communications space as well. So I do not consider myself only a PR professional; I consider myself first a professional, second a communications professional and third, a PR professional within the communications space. So the journey has been a satisfying one, to say the least.

     

    Also, it has enhanced my knowledge and skill-sets in certain areas – there’s management expertise, financial expertise, you have to be a motivator for your team, a seller, a marketer, a businessperson… all roles rolled into one. So it has been a journey of creation. This business did not exist around 20 years ago; even 10 years ago, it was not that developed. There were people who saw the potential and jumped into the business and started scaling up fast. That has not been our philosophy as an agency and it has never been my philosophy as well. We believe there is potential but we need to grow it in a certain space and we have been very successful in our own space and in our own way. We have built a very successful practice which today is one of the most successful marketing practices and continues to grow and outstrip everybody’s expectations.

     

    Q: Your stint at LinOpinion is one of the longest ever seen. How has the agency evolved under your leadership?

    LinOpinion has been a culmination of a dream. It has been a dream to have worked in a world-class institution that is respected for its values, work, ethics… this agency is bigger than just people. It was a dream to join the agency; more so, it was a dream to get an opportunity to be entrepreneurial within an agency system. When Prem Mehta hired me into the agency, I remember him telling me, “Listen, if you want to sell toothpaste and stuff like that then this is the wrong place for you, but if you want to create something out of ideas and build something really good and get exposed to all kinds of learnings in that journey then this is the space.” And the journey is by no means even close to getting boring or over.

     

    Q: The communications landscape is seeing a constant evolution in the way it functions as an industry. How in your experience has it changed over the past five years to what it is today?

    Not just five years, I see change in what we do five months from now and what we do five months from then. Though I would say that change is constantly happening in the way we think, the way we react, the way we structure, the way we benchmark and offer our services… The industry itself is in a phase of constant evolution itself. Anybody who tells you that we have got the systems and that these are the golden benchmarks is just bullshitting. At the end of the day, the PR agency business is constantly evolving itself across the globe. Every day is a day of learning for the PR industry. There are now centres and teams that are managing these kinds of developmental areas for us.

     

    Q: Has 2012 begun with a bang for the agency?

    Jan 2012 has been much more promising; we have shown good growth compared to January 2011. But there are signs that we may see less enthusiasm from clients where allocation of budgets towards PR is concerned. In terms of negotiations and new business, we actually get into high gear in the last quarter of the previous year. In that timeframe we talk to multiple clients across categories and segments and it is at that stage that you can actually gage the commitments that are happening for the new year. So we definitely see signs of a slight slowdown but I would say that in an evolving market and an evolving country, things are not going to slow down hugely.

     

    Q: How would you rate the growth story for LinOpinion in 2011?

    2011 has been a fantastic year for us because we did many things that stood out in the minds of our clients and the industry per se. We were even recognised for some of our achievements – we got recognised for several innovations that we brought to the table including Suzlon PR campaign for P.A.L.S where we worked in an integrated way with the entire group machinery and several other things. It was also a great year in terms of finance and business performance. We even bagged the best Marketing Services award within the group for business performance. So it was a fantastic year for us.

     

    As for the wins, a few notable ones include Tourism Victoria, Times Television Network, Polaris…then there was a consolidation of all the Starwood businesses where we now handle all of their mandates. We also managed to win clients like DHI, Siemens, and several others. To sum it up, we have had at least 40-45 retainer businesses added on. We also consolidated our teams; we launched training programmes and many other initiatives that we set out to do last year. And this year will see further change and evolution – more of a recasting exercise from our end. As for our growth last year, it would suffice to say that it has been over industry standard. Now we have to temper that growth with reality, we have to temper that growth with manageability… so anything is possible in this space. The criteria is to see what the industry is doing, what we need to do and how we can manage it best and then decide on throwing up numbers. But the numbers we achieve are good, and we achieve it on profit margins that are on par with advertising businesses.

     

    Q: How would you sum up your performance against other players from the industry?

    The thing is that we don’t like to benchmark ourselves against anyone because this industry has seen crazy growth. So for instance, you predict a growth of 50 per cent or more the question is whether you can sustain that kind of growth or no? That’s because the basic and fundamental fuel to that growth is talent – there are not enough talented people out there who stick to jobs. I have spent 17 years in this agency, which is huge, but I too in the early part of my career wanted to keep on jumping for better opportunities. So Ii do not blame people who want to move but when you move at that early stage so often it doesn’t reflect well on your career prospects.

     

    Having said that, we too have faced talent issues and we continue to do that. There is enough business out there but to get the right kind of people to service the needs is a tough thing. The other thing is when you get the talent in, you expect them to hone in skills much faster. We as an agency imbibe a lot of values and would never be found doing things that are unethical. We would rather give up a business but we won’t take the wrong path to appease a client. Our core competence is understanding where the brand needs to be and getting you there. And that can happen with sensible strategy and creative. The other challenge is in making the clients believe that there is a value in what you do more than what they are willing to pay for. There are still some clients who perceive PR to occupy the lower part of the communications chain; but that’s changing. While there are a few clients at the top who don’t mind paying a premium for your services, a majority of the clients in the middle of the pyramid still want to settle the deal for less. And with that kind of income you cannot deliver the quality of work that is desired. So people have to understand that the more you invest the better the returns.

     

    Q: Domain wise, how have each of the units contributed to the growth of the agency?

    We are not a lifestyle-only PR agency as some claim us to be. There are other domains that we cater to. We have a well-rounded portfolio; we have FMCG, brands, financial, power, etc. In fact we are not in the lifestyle space in a big way as before. May be we are not promoting ourselves well enough but that will change. We now offer well-rounded services across sectors. Where our thrust is concerned, one part of it will be in the area of where PR as an industry is headed towards – which, for us, would be helping clients around business issues. So we would be defining areas and how PR can fit in to help with those business issues for clients. The second is in the area of where media is headed. These two would be the main areas where our strategy for moving forward is concerned.

     

    Q: How do you view digital as a practice for the industry today?

    Digital is an extremely complex and badly understood medium, but is extremely powerful. I think the power of the medium is yet being defined. Even if you look at mobile you are looking at a completely different paradigm. It is so mind-boggling that even agency folks don’t have a command on it. The kind of communication that works on that space sometimes doesn’t work anywhere else. What is really interesting about this medium is the possibilities it offers. The dynamics of me sitting in India and doing a campaign for a client in Africa – why not? I can come out with a brilliant creative and I can tell you that the ability for our thinking as Indians is pretty damn good. We can be thrown into any situation and we can come out shining. That is the kind of innovation that works on the digital medium. I do foresee a future where a PR guy sitting here would be creating a campaign for a client in some other corner of the world. Creative is not the domain of just one or two people any more.

     

    Q: What are your expectations from 2012?

    We expect 2012 to be a great year again. We believe in being steady with everything that we do. As I said earlier, it would be a year where we would be recasting our offerings a bit. It would mean a couple of more interesting developments from our end. To put it mildly, it is going to be about growth for us in 2012.

     

    Q: How would you react to claims of the industry being largely disorganised? What would you estimate the industry size to be?

    According to my estimates, the industry size hovers around US 100-150 million dollars. There’s no way that Assocham’s figure of some billions is true at all. In terms of the industry being disorganised, I totally agree with that view. Do the senior PR industry folks even meet each other? We don’t. I am not interested in being in a coterie, to be part of something; I will run my business the way I want. Yes, there are common issues that would make sense for people to deal with commonly but we need to have the right forums to deal with it. When there is an appropriate forum, we will definitely be a part of it. I would be happy to be supporting a professional body which has teeth. But for that we all will have to get together and it is the agency heads that need to take that lead.

     

    Q: Have you contemplated turning an entrepreneur or is this where you will continue to exist?

    As of now, I am very happy being here in this agency. I have spent 17 years out here and that would make me a loyalist. The agency has given me the kind of growth that I require for my career. I sit at the top management today and have multiple responsibilities to look after. This is the thing I started with and I do want to see it go to great heights.

     

  • Taste, Timing, Hygiene & presentation of the dish are some of the parameters based on which the contestants will be judged. Srujan Lokesh the well known face of Kannada television will be the host of the show.

    Suvarna TV launches Kitchen Khiladigalu

    Star Network’s Kannada General Entertainment channel Suvarna has announced the launch of a cookery based reality show called “Kitchen Khiladigalu”.

     

    On this show, people who passionately cook as a hobby and have absolutely no experience in the food industry fight for the title of ‘Best Cook of Karnataka’.The show gives an opportunity to common people to showcase their culinary skills.

     

    Sihi Kahi Chandru the face of cooking in Karnataka will be the judge of the show, Taste, Timing, Hygiene & presentation of the dish are some of the parameters based on which the contestants will be judged. Srujan Lokesh the well known face of Kannada television will be the host of the show.

     

    Miditech is the production house who will be in charge of executing the show.

     

    The show goes on air from 30th January 2012 – 8 pm, Monday to Friday. The Title sponsor of the show is Knorr.

     

    Business Head of Suvarna Anup Chandrasekharan said, “Karnataka is a state of various cultures, traditions & food habits, this show will not only be a competition for the best cook in Karnataka but will also showcase the different types of food people eat in the state. The participants of the show will represent the various regions of the state. Overall the show will be a family entertainer, which will have fun, contest and food.”

     

    He further added, “We have already done auditions across various regions in the state to identify the contestants who will compete for the ultimate Kitchen Khiladi’s position. These contestants where identified based on their culinary skills and the passion they have towards the art of cooking.”

     

  • comSCORE reports company's premium publisher network as reaching nearly 500 million unique users worldwide.

    Tribal Fusion is now world’s 2nd largest digital display ads provider

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tribal Fusion, the global online advertising provider owned by Exponential, is the world’s second largest source of display advertising, according to comSCORE’s December 2011 rankings of the leading global display networks.

     

    Site reach measurement service comSCORE reported that Tribal Fusion’s premium publisher network reached more than 490 million unique users globally, behind only Google (1.2bn) and just head of AOL Advertising (477m), which includes its advertising.com ad network subsidiary.

     

    The company said the new ranking reflected its growing global presence and increased demand from brand advertisers for campaigns that take advantage of its rich-media capabilities to offer more engaging creative executions.

     

    Dilip DaSilva, founder and CEO of Tribal Fusion and parent company Exponential, said: “Brand advertisers across the globe are increasingly looking for new ways to leverage digital media to connect with their prospective customers and are looking for the same kind of high-impact and emotionally engaging creative messaging that they get from traditional TV advertising. And beyond just reaching their prospective customers, our tight integration with our publishing partners, allows brands to connect at scale with prospective customers using high-impact, engaging messaging.”

     

    Founded in 2001, Tribal Fusion has expanded across the globe and now operates offices in 37 locations worldwide including theUnited States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.

     

    “Digital media can be accessed by visitors in any country; as a result most premium publishers attract a global audience. Through our ability to monetize publisher inventory in so many countries, we have now become the partner of choice for premium publishers in every country,” said DaSilva.

     

  • Ogilvy Delhi has created a new 'talkative' TVC for Best Rice

    Simply talking rice with Ogilvy Delhi

    By A Correspondent

     

    How often does one talk about rice? Mostly during lunch, one would guess. In the last few weeks, though, the little white grains have become the talk of the town. Thanks to the “talkative” commercials that are currently on air for Best Foods International. In consumer-speak, they are a treat to watch. But what has gone behind cooking up these tasteful advertisements is another story.

     

    It all started when Dinesh Gupta, Managing Director, Best Foods Ltd decided to rope in Ogilvy & Mather, New Delhi to design its corporate brand identity. Complete, from stationery to new packaging design. The new pack was an instant rage in the market because of its fresh and ethnic Indian look. It was a sweet start to a new relationship and somewhere in this was hidden a big idea for the commercials.

     

    Best wanted their rice to be in everyone’s mouth and their brand name on everyone’s lips. In came the requirement to create TV commercials. Dr Aayushman Gupta, Business Director, Best Foods Ltd says, “We had an interesting challenge to reposition rice from an uninvolved product for the consumer to a desirable brand. The positioning and communication had to be out-of-the-box, clear, uncluttered and keeping with the times through its cues and presentation. The entire team at Ogilvy Delhi thought wonderfully to help us plan and execute the same.”

     

    Ajay Gahlaut, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy, New Delhi elaborates on the idea, “There are various ways of bringing the thought of “The Perfect Match” alive and several were tried. But experience shows that consumers always warm up to human stories. Specially love stories, which is where we hit upon the idea of using different couples to make our idea talk. The chemistry between the couples brings charm to the commercials while effortlessly communicating the brand benefit.”

     

    Three scripts were devised for three strategic markets. Each commercial weaved a story about a perfect couple. Nitin Srivastava, Senior Creative Director, Ogilvy New Delhi recalls, “Cracking the idea was the hard part but fleshing it out was immense fun. We enjoyed writing stories after stories before we finally rested at three. Here, I would like to specially mention the efforts of Umesh Grover and Jonathan George who behaved like the perfect match on this project.”

     

    Amit Sharma of Chrome was a wise choice to shoot these scripts. His adept handling of emotions and dialogues comes out in full glory in the series. The films showed how couples from different age groups, mindsets and geographies have something in common – the flavour. Chrome Films did thorough planning and research for two months before finalising the casting. All films were shot in a single take to bring out natural reactions from the couples.

     

    Best Foods Ltd have already begun their plans for the coming year. Ogilvy, New Delhi is gearing up to lay out a brand new, sumptuous experience of films. The consumers too, are waiting eagerly for a fresh serving.

     

    Credits:

    Company: Best Foods Ltd.

    Product: Best Rice

    Production House- Chrome Pictures

    Director- Amit Sharma

    Creative team: Ajay Gahlaut, Nitin Srivastava, Umesh Grover & Jonathan George

    Client servicing team: Sharmista Dev, Vineet Kindra, Shivani Sharma & Lagun Sehgal

     

  • Mr Gotlieb will focus on the overall strategic direction of GroupM; Mr Proctor will oversee management of GroupM’s agencies worldwide

    Change time @ Group M. Irwin Gotlieb is chairman, Dominic Proctor is prez. Nick Emery is new Mindshare CEO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Media agency major GroupM has announced that Mr Dominic Proctor, long-time CEO of Mindshare Worldwide, will be President of GroupM. The position is newly created.

     

    The announcement was made by GroupM Global CEO Mr Irwin Gotlieb, who said the move is designed to strengthen the company’s senior management team in order to successfully meet today’s marketplace challenges and opportunities.

     

    In his new role, Mr Proctor will continue to report to Mr Gotlieb, who officially becomes GroupM Chairman as part of the reorganization. Mr Proctor will be succeeded as Mindshare Worldwide CEO by Mr Nick Emery, currently the London-based Chief Strategy Officer for Mindshare.

     

    “These changes represent a logical and important progression for us, and we’re confident that our clients and staff will prosper as a consequence,” Mr Gotlieb said, making the announcement. “Our rate of growth and the complexity of our business require that we constantly evolve. Media investment management sits at the crossroads of media, data and technology and we must be positioned to capture the significant opportunities that are on the horizon.”

     

    Under the new structure, Mr Gotlieb will focus on the overall strategic direction of GroupM and ensure that the company deploys data and technology to drive change for the benefit of GroupM clients and stakeholders. Mr Proctor will oversee management of GroupM’s agencies worldwide, which in addition to Mindshare include Maxus, MEC, and MediaCom. GroupM’s regional heads, as well as the CEOs of the company’s four major media agencies, will report to him.

     

    “I’m especially pleased that Dominic, who has been so instrumental in the long-term success of Mindshare, has agreed to move into this new and important role in GroupM and concentrate on the global management of our company,” Mr Gotlieb said.

     

    Mr Proctor has deep experience in managing media agencies. He launched Mindshare Worldwide in September 1997 as WPP’s first media investment management agency and led the company over the ensuing years to its current position as one of the leading media shops in the world. He started his career in 1979 and worked in various advertising agencies before joining JWT in London, where he became Media Director in 1989, Managing Director in 1991, and Chief Executive in December 1992. He held this position for five years, during which time he also had a seat on the board of JWT Worldwide.

     

    “GroupM has become a large and complicated company requiring more hands on the wheel than in previous years,” Mr Proctor said. “We have many more moving parts and we need more operational management to maximize the opportunities across our agencies. I’m delighted to step into this role, and equally pleased that Nick has accepted the CEO role at Mindshare. He has been a great partner since the start, and Mindshare will go from strength to strength under his leadership.”

     

    Mr Emery, a Mindshare veteran who joined the company when it was founded in 1997 and has worked closely with Mr Proctor ever since, said: “Mindshare is a great global network with fantastic, market leading talent and clients. I’m honoured and privileged to be able to take over from Dominic.”

     

  • A vibrant market for regional as well as national music, the FM radio scene in South India still has immense potential for expansion and revenue.

    FM Radio rocks in South India… and how!

    By Robin Thomas

     

    The FICCI-Deloitte report on Media and Entertainment in South India says that radio in South India will grow with a CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of 20 per cent by 2015. The reach of FM radio is said to be far higher in South India than its counterparts in other parts of the Country. According to Ms Nisha Narayanan, Senior VP Projects and Programming Red FM, South India has 28 per cent share of existing radio channels and it will have 28 per cent representation in FM phase III as well.

     

    Besides the larger FM stations like Red FM, Big FM, Radio Mirchi and Radio City, there are many local or smaller FM stations as well, such as Radio Hello, Club FM, Best FM, Suryan FM and Radio Mango, to name a few. Unlike the North, FM radio stations in the South play music in multiple languages as prominence is given to the local language. Big FM for instance plays only Kannada music in Bengaluru whereas in Hyderabad it plays Telugu and Hindi music. Club FM, a Kerala-based FM station, plays mainly Malayalam music with a mix of Tamil and Hindi music whereas Red FM in Andhra Pradesh mainly plays Telugu.

     

    Rabe T Iyer
    Nisha Narayanan

    Rabe T Iyer, Business Head, Big FM, the radio arm of Reliance Broadcast Network was of the opinion that compared to the rest of the country, the reach of radio in south India is much higher. Mr Iyer was also quick to point out that in some key markets like Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad the reach of radio is significant, higher than most news channels, and is on comparable terms with leading GECs.

     

    “Given the inherent strengths of the region backed by a strong film and music Industry, added to its rich cultural diversity, it is not surprising that radio in South India has relatively higher penetration than other regions. The south of India has done some innovative radio over the years. It continues to be a huge focus area for all players given that it has three big metros which are important from both listenership ratings and revenue perspective,” he added.

     

    Nisha Narayanan of Red FM said, “South has been an integral part of radio and its growth in India. Radio is more close to people’s lifestyle here than any other part of India. Radio Ceylon had created a strong base for radio even before the advent of FM radio in India. FM radio penetration is the highest in South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu. In the long term, obviously there is tremendous growth and we are in the early stage of that growth.”

     

    Shaan Menon, Manager Content, Club FM noted, “FM in South India is going to take a huge leap as it is waiting for the next bidding. Even the smaller cities and small townships in Kerala will get a chance to taste the feel and warmth of FM culture. South Indian film music is the strongest music industry in terms of production. Although CD sales are deeply affected due to rapid downloads, FM industry is full of the new genre of music and music directors.”

     

    Challenges and Opportunities

    Some of the key advertisers in the south are retail, textile, jewellery, real estate, hospitality, FMCG, consumer durables etc. Big FM claims its advertising and content ratio to be 1:4, while Red FM says it plays 45 minutes of music and 15 minutes of ads every hour during off peak season whereas in peak season the inventory time is slightly more. One of the reasons why radio is said to be doing well in the south is because of its strong regional film and music industry. “Given the diversity, there is tremendous potential for localization which radio can capitalize on and deliver. The opportunities to create a unique brand identity in this market are immense,” explained Mr Iyer.

     

    He further said, “A challenge any product faces in its life cycle is finding the ‘differentiating quality’ after the market matures. The same applies to the radio industry and its many players. With a market that has matured and grown manifold and poised to grow further, novelty and innovation in content will be a key component for success and will decide further growth of the category.”

     

    Ms Narayanan on the other hand observed that time has come for radio to look for new revenue streams. She was also of the view that radio stations must experiment beyond the traditional programming formats, and that music royalty still remains a challenge. “Content has to evolve a lot as most of the programming strategies are music based. We are still into traditional programming formats and the time has come to take it to the next level. The ability to create new revenue streams is ideally needed at this hour, as the only source of revenue for radio stations has been advertising sales. Music royalty is another area of concern as we pay needle per hour, whereas the international markets follow the revenue sharing model. These are the challenges faced nationally too.”

     

    The road ahead

    The much awaited FM Phase III policy seeks to extend FM radio services to about 227 new cities. Phase III will cover all cities with a population of one lakh and above, simultaneously there will be a total of 839 new FM radio channels in 294 cities. The local players in particular expect to further expand their radio station into the southern markets. However, one of the possible challenges after FM phase III is launched could be to attract listeners to the medium and then to sustain its listenership.

     

    Mr Iyer of Big FM observed, “We foresee huge growth in the radio industry in the coming years. There will be more stations leading to more innovation in content and communication. This will result in more revenues and hence more profitability for all players.”

     

    Ms Narayanan remarked, “South India has 28 per cent share of existing radio channels and it will have 28 per cent representation in phase III as well. Radio will be a national medium and the true mass medium with the number of channels coming in Phase III. In the south 75 to 80 per cent of the licenses are for the ‘D’ and ‘C’ cities which will be a great boost for advertisers as a medium breaking across demography.”

     

    Mr Menon stated, “The challenge during FM Phase III is to convince the small town public that FM radio is equally or more entertaining than TV. It will be difficult to make them taste the sample, but the current popularity of FM industry in the main towns will definitely help to fight the difficulty of convincing the new public.”

     

  • The exits of bossmen Sonal Dabral & Sandeep Pathak have led to questions about the stability at Bates. A case of just too many changes?

    Is all well at Bates?

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    It doesn’t require any insider to tell you this. Bates, ‘the changengage people’, has been going through too many changes and appears to have failed to engage its own people. Amidst the numerous rechristening from Bates Clarion, Bates Enterprise, Bates David Enterprise, Bates 141 to Bates Asia, the agency has seen losing many of its top talent especially in the last three years when the entire transition happened from Bates Enterprise to Bates David Enterprise and then to Bates 141.

     

    Bates Asia a,s it is known today, is part of the WPP network. The reason behind so many mergers that the agency has gone through was to create a large or mid-sized agency rather than having too many boutique-sized in the bouquet. However, among all these mergers, the agency has lost its focus says an insider who has been closely associated with the agency. He says that there are so many changes not just of top management but also of methods and philosophies hence leading to a lack of focus in the agency. He said, “The agency is not sticking to one story but has been moving ahead without any plan thus lacking any consistency.”

     

    Sometime in 2005, Bates India and Enterprise Nexus merged with Subhash Kamath was appointed as the CEO while Mohammed Khan, the founder of Enterprise Nexus took charge as the Executive Chairman. While the agency was still trying to adapt to these changes, another merger was announced. This was in 2007, when David, Ogilvy’s second agency that was headed by Josy Paul was merged with Bates Enterprise. Paul decided not to get into this new entity especially as David was his own baby probably not wanting to see his agency being sandwiched between Bates and Enterprise.

     

    However, Bates David Enterprise didn’t last long and in between one saw Bates acquiring Sercon which was essentially a BTL agency and the agency took on the new avatar of Bates 141. In all this, Subhash Kamath, the CEO moved out to BBH. During the period, there were many exits from the agency, including that of Alok Agrawal who was heading the Delhi branch, Ashok Vidyasagar, the Bangalore Branch head among others. Russell Barrett quit Bates where he was the ECD to join BBH. Not to forget, in the APAC region too there were movements, like in 2010, Edward Pank the MD of Bates 141 had quit. Jeffrey Yu, the Chairman of Bates141 quit and so did Digby Richards, the CEO of Bates 141 Asia Pacific. The reason for quitting of Yu was over ‘disagreement of the future direction of the agency network’. That’s when Tim Isaac, the current Chairman of Bates took over.

     

    There was management rejig in 2008 post Kamath’s exit with Sandeep Pathak being appointed the CEO, Manosh Mukherjee as the COO, Dheeraj Sinha, Chief Strategy Officer and amongst others significant being Sonal Dabral being appointed India Chairman and Regional Creative Director. Also Sagar Mahableshwarkar joined as the National Creative Director for Bates141 in 2010. So for a bit it seemed Bates141 had finally settled it at least with its top management in place. However, there was no buzz around the agency. The news of Colgate-Palmolive business being parked at Bates brought some cheer.

     

    It was only in October 2011, it was announced that Bates Asia will take its current avatar sans the 141 tag. However, with the recent development of Dabral moving out who had just started to be a visible representative of Bates Asia and then soon after news of Sandeep Pathak too quitting has led one to question if all is well at the agency? Senior people within the agency vouch that there is nothing wrong at the agency and its mere coincidence that two senior resources are moving out at the same time. But it is learnt that many at the agency also the senior management are already circulating their CVs and looking for greener pastures.

     

    But one does wonder whether all these mergers really did any good to the agency of paved way for this kind of instability. It definitely is a herculean task to merge two agencies what with staff, designation, accounts, office and different methodologies. And to think that Bates has been on this path since 2005 definitely gives a shaky image to the agency. Let’s just hope that Bates Asia has reached its final avatar and the agency will only grow from now as the worst has happened. However, as an aside, there is always the possibility of merging with big daddy Ogilvy!

     

  • After working with TBWA for almost 4 months,yatra.com is again on a lookout for a creative partner. Sources close to the development have confirmed the news to MxM India.

    Yatra.com on lookout for a creative partner

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    After providing TBWA with its creative mandates in August last year, yatra.com, the travel porch has once again called for a creative pitch. The account size then was pegged to be around Rs15-20 crore.

     

    Before TBWA, Yatra.com had appointed Rediffusion Y&R as its creative agency in 2009; while Leo Burnett was the official agency in 2007.

     

    The online travel company entered the market in August 2006. It had initially appointed Everest Brand Solutions as its creative agency, and Mudra’s media agency, Optimum Media Solutions (which was re-christened Mudra Connext), handled its media duties.

     

    Yatra Online Pvt Ltd. is a travel company providing information, pricing, availability and booking facility for air travel, hotels, buses and car rentals across 5,000 large cities and small rural areas around the globe. It acts as a complete tour planner for travellers and is a one-stop shop for every travel need.

     

  • Trashing and making fun of religion leads to no change at all, it's simply a mischievous trick to get instant attention. Exactly as a naughty pupil would chuck a piece of chalk at the teacher to get her attention.

    Anil Thakraney: Freedom of expression – conditions apply

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I write this piece on Republic Day. And, in the fitness of things, would like to discuss that much used and abused phrase, ‘Freedom of speech’. The only sad thing is that on this occasion the debate has been fired by that rabble-rouser called Salman Rushdie. Wish the trigger had been a nobler soul.

     

    Anyway, let’s first understand Sir Rushdie’s latest antics: I can assure you the colourful author is extremely thrilled with all the free attention he just got at the Jaipur Litfest. And he must be celebrating the drama over some hard stuff. In fact, Vinod Mehta was being quite accurate when he said, during a TV debate, that Rushdie himself ‘inspired’ all the madness involving him.

     

    I have been writing quite edgy columns and stories in the mass press and the trade press for some years now, and I have had my share of dissing and abuse from readers. Not only do I treat negative feedback as par for the course, I encourage it because it helps further dissect an issue. It provokes thought, and in my world view, that’s the whole objective of writing. Sugary puff pieces do not lead to any change (apart from inflicting diabetes) and are therefore a waste of time. Given that ideology, I obviously support and cherish the freedom of speech we enjoy in this country. And yet, I have no time or respect for people like Salman Rushdie and MF Husain. No, they certainly did not deserve violent threats, but it’s equally true that they abused the freedom of speech.

     

    So here’s my own stand on the matter. No, the freedom to express isn’t conditions-less, it carries with it a great deal of responsibility. As writers and artists, while we must provoke thought, we must never hurt people by trashing objects/issues close to their hearts. Trashing and making fun of religion leads to no change at all, it’s simply a mischievous trick to get instant attention. Exactly as a naughty pupil would chuck a piece of chalk at the teacher to get her attention. In all these years of writing, I have taken utmost care not to mock people’s religious beliefs or scoff at their faith. Sure, we can and must discuss religious practices, even debate them, but we must NEVER take ‘creative liberties’ with holy figures. I did not go to a communication school (in fact, I studied microbiology!) but this is like common sense stuff for me.

     

    So let’s get this right: Rushdie had no business making fun of the prophet. And Husain had no business sketching goddesses in the nude. Both gentlemen, both very intelligent beings, knew perfectly well there would be a backlash. They courted trouble, got it, and then paid a price for it. Therefore I have no sympathy for them. Since Husain saab is gone, all we can say is may his soul rest in peace. As for Rushdie, his continued belligerence and irrational support from his fans is quite worrying. This means quite a few literate people still haven’t understood the idea of freedom of expression.

     

    No, it isn’t absolute. In fact, nothing in this world is absolute except for the vodka brand.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Was recently reminded of David Ogilvy’s hottest tip for writing great copy. This is for the benefit of those who may not have read his books: “If all else fails, I drink half a bottle of rum and play a Handel oratorio on the gramophone. This generally produces an uncontrollable gush of copy.” Have fun. But drink responsibly. And more importantly, create responsibly.