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  • Honda Brio: Not a Love Story (with apologies to Ram Gopal Varma!)

    Anil Thakraney’s Debrief: All you need is…

    The Honda guys have finally realized there’s an aam aadmi in the Indian market. So they’ve launched a hatchback called Brio, and it’s affordable. (Jazz, their other hatchback, is much too ridiculously priced… one can buy a nice sedan at Jazz’s price point.)

     

    The positioning for Brio is rather interesting… ‘Brio loves you back’. The commercial features a guy and his girl romancing. At the same time, the bugger also romances his Brio. This love-all saga goes on till the poor guy discovers his lover has been cheating on him. But instead of burying himself in booze, he returns to his car. Why? Well, because as the ad says, Brio loves him back!

     

    Despite the fact that the desi middle class doesn’t buy cars for love… they buy them mainly for economy and resale value… I think the concept of love does have potential. But the execution messes things up, because it’s a convoluted tale. The ad has to establish love between the two human beings. Simultaneously runs the story of the chap’s love for his car, and this requires many car shots to be showcased. And in this dual love story, things get rushed through, the cutting is too fast, and the victim is emotion. And what’s love without emotion?? You only see a mish-mash of many visuals. To make things worse, the video don’t sync well with the languid, easy paced background score.

     

    Bottom-line: Promising idea let down by a not-very-smart script.

     

    [youtube width=”450″ height=”250″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQJ4OOupGHE[/youtube]
    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1.5. Didn’t feel the love.

     

    Anil Thakraney’s ad review column DeBrief appears twice a week.


     

     

     

     


  • SBI Funds Management Pvt Ltd calls for invite agencies to handle their creative mandates, requests for proposals for advertising agency on record.

    Creative call by SBI Mutual Fund

    By Shubhangi Mehta

    SBI Mutual Fund has invited advertising agencies to handle its creative mandate through a tender.

    The selected advertising agency will be responsible for complete planning, strategizing and execution of communication / branding requirements of SBIFMPL according to the brief sent by them, the agency will have to keep a track of all campaigns / activities of competition and provide an analysis of the same periodically for strategic inputs, the agency will be also being responsible to provide innovative ideas / concepts which can be executed.

    The agency will be appointed for a period of a year which may be extended further based on its performance.

    SBI Mutual Fund is one of the largest mutual funds in the country with an investor base of over 5.4 million. With over 20 years of rich experience in fund management, SBI MF is the most preferred Asset Management Company for all classes of Investors.

  • Star Plus has announced the launch of its app for the iPhone and iPad, becoming India’s first GEC to make an entry into the iPad/ iPhone app store.

    Star Plus launches iPhone & iPad app

    By A Correspondent

    Star Plus has announced the launch of its app for the iPhone and iPad, becoming India’s first GEC to make an entry into the iPad/ iPhone app store in India and over 120 countries around the world. This initiative will make entertainment content available on the go.

    With iPhone sales topping 100 million and over 25 million iPads already sold, the Star Plus App is an enriching addition to viewers, who can download the app on to their devices from the iTunes App store.

    Mr Sanjay Gupta, COO of Star India, said, “We have always provided our growing viewers with discerning content using cutting-edge technologies. Our entry into the iPad, iPhone App store will enable our upwardly mobile viewers to watch their best loved programmes on the iPhone and iPad wherever they are and whenever they want to.”

    Mr Lalit Bhagia, VP Digital of Star India, added, “The iPhone and iPad devices have changed the way people consume content globally. With the Star Plus app discerning viewers will now have access to the best entertainment content available on their personal iPhones and iPads.”

    The app offers features like, live TV, catch-up of missed episodes of the last two days, and updates/news from Star Plus current and upcoming shows. A unique, built-in interactive feature also allows users to connect with their favourite Star Plus characters through audio blogs and pictures.

    The application has been launched in India and in over 120 countries around the world. The app also offers unique interface which enable users to browse content either by the show or by the characters.

    The launch of the application comes soon after Star India announced global same-day telecast of its flagship GEC brand in India, Star Plus, with English subtitles. Star has been leading the industry in bringing to viewers new and innovative products including Asli HD that is shot, recorded and edited in HD and mixed for 5.1 Dolby surround sound.

  • BIG CBS Networks unveils fresh programming and future plans for the network

    New programming to make BIG CBS bigger

    By A Correspondent

    BIG CBS Networks Pvt. Ltd., an equal joint venture between Reliance Broadcast Network Limited and CBS Studios International, has announced its new fresh programming line-up and future plans for its channels. The network, which went live with three channels in a record breaking time of under six months, has captured hearts of the discerning Indian audiences and stands as the No 1 English General Entertainment Network today.

    In keeping with its promise of offering the latest seasons of programming, airing concurrent to the US, the channel has acquired fresh content from leaders in the international entertainment space like Boman Bridge, Alfred Haber, Bobby Goldstein and Medi-Asia. Offering audiences more than 25 hours of original fresh programming each week, on each channel, the Network offers audiences a further assortment of programming, and advertisers, the best platform to partner with for their brands.

    Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nikhil Mirchandani, Business Head, Television Channels, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd said, “We are very pleased with the way the channels have shaped and delivered. The channels have grown the market and we have been able to successfully bridge the existing void in international quality programming that existed. We now enter our next growth phase and are completely equipped with our hand-picked shows that match the tastes and sensibilities of our target audiences.”

    Mr Mirchandani further added, “BIG CBS’ programming is in keeping with our endeavour to offer Indians the latest, freshest and hottest content straight from America. Today, audiences have evolved and are looking for more than just soaps and films. The well travelled Indian viewer is always looking for quality content and we continue to bring the best of American television to our viewers here. Also, our effort to give audiences India-grown content has worked excellently for us with the overwhelming response to India’s Sexiest Bachelor. Tracing this success, BIG CBS is now launching the next Indian property, India’s Glam Diva. With this and more shows planned BIG CBS Network is poised to become a network to reckon with.”

  • David Hill becomes the new chairman of FIPP; next congress in Rome, Italy

    David Hill is new FIPP chairman (Video story)

    By A Correspondent

    Videos: Shruti Pushkarna

    David Hill on becoming the new FIPP Chairman
     David Hill on key points to look at on assuming the role of FIPP Chairman

     

    Mr David Hill, President and CEO, IDG International Publishing Services was named the new Chairman of FIPP. Mr Aroon Purie handed over the reins of his Chairmanship and announced it at FIPP World Magazine Congress 2011, New Delhi.

     

    Mr Purie had been the Chairman of FIPP for the last two years. This was his second term as a Chairman of FIPP. Before announcing the name of the new FIPP Chairman, Mr Purie congratulated everyone for a successful magazine congress.

     

    Mr Hill thanked Mr Purie for his dedicated service to FIPP. Mr Purie took over as the Chairman of FIPP two years ago, while the industry was threatened by recession.

     

    The next magazine congress is set to take place in Rome, Italy, announced Mr Maurizio Costa, Deputy Chairman and CEO, Arnoldo Mondadori, Italy.

  • Lowe Lintas drives new business at a scorching pace

    Lowe aims high

    By A Correspondent

    Lowe Lintas, one of India’s largest and most storied communication groups has won a staggering number of new accounts across the country this year. In just the first 9 months of this year, the agency has signed on 80 new clients; and with three months left to go this year, is hoping to cross the 100 mark for the year. Lowe Lintas has won these businesses across the country – in both metros and non-metros; and in advertising and in specialist communication fields like PR, Healthcare, Rural and Design.

     

    So while wins for Lowe Lintas’ advertising division include names like Suzlon, 3M,Tata Interactive, Birla Ultratech, Videocon D2H, GE Healthcare, UIDAI, Muthoot Pappachan Group and Expedia; its specialist PR division, LinOpinion’s wins include businesses like Tourism Victoria, Starwood Hotels & Resorts,  Samsonite and Times Now.  Lowe Lintas’ specialist Healthcare division, LinHealth’s wins include Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Sun Pharma; its specialist Rural Communications division, LinTerland has been signed on by Johnson & Johnson and Nokia.

     

    Speaking on this performance, Mr Joseph George, CEO, Lowe Lintas India said, “I personally believe that the tremendous equity that Lowe Lintas enjoys is under leveraged. Which is why, we set ourselves an aggressive growth target for 2011 and simultaneously went about putting in place an “enabling eco system”. I am happy to say that the first three quarters have been spot on plan; with every win making everyone across levels and functions hungrier the subsequent quarter. What is equally gratifying is that we have been able to win businesses across not just diverse categories, but also across all our offerings – Lowe, LinOpinion, LinHealth, LinTerland, LinProductions, LinTeractive and dCell.”

  • With a booming retail market and over 100 million internet users in the country, e-commerce is likely to enter a high growth phase in coming years.

    Travel industry to lead e-commerce trade in India

    By A Correspondent

    With a booming retail market and over 100 million internet users in the country, e-commerce is likely to enter a high growth phase in coming years, economic advisor at the Department of Information Technology Mr BN Satpathy has said.

    Travel will continue lead the online trade of goods and services in India and globally as new business models emerge in e-commerce space, he said while addressing delegates at a conference organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

    Mr Satpathy said the government is working on a new Information Technology Policy which will propel the growth of low-cost, internet-enabled and hand-held devices. He asked business chambers like Assocham to be an interface so that industry data gathering and dissemination can be made online.

    Chamber secretary general Mr DS Rawat said the market size of e-commerce industry is expected to be Rs 46,520 crore by December 2011 with 81 per cent travel transactions and 6 per cent product purchases.

    “India is poised to be one of the top e-commerce hubs in the near future as number of internet users boom. This will bring in a new revolution in retail industry,” he said, adding that the size of e-commerce globally is about 700 billion dollars.

    Accelerated innovations have expanded the online retail market to $241 billion in Europe, $176 billion in the United States, $76.4 billion in China and $10.3 billion in India.

    The Indian retail industry is currently estimated at $520 billion and e-commerce is a sub-set of it. With high GDP growth rate figures, young population with a median age of 25 years, large and relatively insulated rural tracts coupled with people’s hunger for achievement, the country is projected to witness maximum growth coming from tier II and tier III cities.

    At present, small towns contribute 40 percent of all e-commerce transactions due to increasing broadband penetration. Industry experts say the numbers of people who have ever used internet and personal computer literates have increased to 88 million and 119 million respectively.

    India has the second fastest growing travel market globally which is estimated at $42 billion. Of this, the online travel market is expected to grow from $2.9 billion in 2008 to $7 billion by next year.

    Others who spoke during the conference were Mr Balendu Srivastava, group business director of e-Tech Group at IMRB International, Mr Kashyap Vadapalli, director of Category Management at eBay India, Mr Dhruv Shringi, co-founder and CEO of yatra.com, Mr Harish Bijoor, CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc and Mr Bikky Khosla, CEO of tradeindia.com.

  • How you want to grow is up to you. What kind of partnerships you want to make happen is up to you. The philosophy of the place and people is up to you choose.

    The Anchor: Priti Nair on 8 plus points about being an entrepreneur

    #1 True and real happiness. There is a certain joy you get every day when you walk in see your place, your people.  It’s yours. Yours to nurture and grow. It’s a tremendous feeling. To see your partner who you know is so much the right person to have there with you. A kind of deep comfort of looking at the changes day in and day out. And you always think to yourself you spent so many years in the business to finally do this.

     

    #2 You stay on your toes constantly. With the joy comes a humongous responsibility that rests on your shoulders. The responsibility of people who left what they had and joined you. The responsibility of clients who put their faith in you. To make sure you live up to that keeps you constantly on your toes. You take care of every little detail.

     

    #3 You learn new skill sets. It’s amazing the number of new things you learn. Right from when you start forming the company. The laws the rules the paperwork. Then the get the place right. LAN connections, seating, tea, coffee supplies. Lighting. Then your people. To make them feel comfortable and treasured. Your clients, the way you approach the way you do things. You learn a lot that kind of enhances your life further.

     

    #4 You have only yourself to applaud or blame. There is no system or management above you to blame. No black hole that you can throw your troubles or excuses at. It’s yours for making, breaking, taking and shaping. And it matures you as a human being.

     

    #5 Even if you get messed it’s on your terms. There are frustrations and scrambles that happen like they happen anywhere. But it’s on your terms. What you have chosen. And you can deal with the scrambles much much better with that confidence sitting in your head.

     

    #6 You have the right of refusal if principles don’t match. When principles, morals, integrities don’t match you have the right to say no and bow out. Because how you want to grow is up to you. What kind of partnerships you want to make happen is up to you. The philosophy of the place and people is up to you choose.

     

    #7 You actually give proper quality time to brands and clients. Your interactions with clients are far closer and more intimate. They are almost one on one every time. You put extra effort in every client because they have put their faith into you despite your size, despite you being new. And for that there is a sense of eternal gratitude that stays in your heart so you give more and more of the best you’ve got.

     

    #8 Fewer people, less lost in translations and agendas. You form your world of like-minded happy people. And the number of people are fewer. It’s more hands-on and transparent. Things don’t get lost in layers and layer of several people doing the same thing. And most importantly, effort does not get wasted amidst egos and unknown agendas.

     

    Priti Nair is Founder, Curry Nation.

  • The I&B Ministry has clarified that there is no doubt about the broadcast bodies’ self-regulatory capabilities.

    All’s well as I&B promises to route content complaints via self-regulators

    By Ritu Midha

    Putting broadcasters’ concerns at rest, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has said that cases related to the violation of content code would be sent to the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA).

    Members  of NBA, IBF and BEA met  the Information & Broadcasting Minister Ms Ambika Soni and a few ministry officials in the late afternoon on October 11. According to sources, the meeting ended on a very positive note, with the ministry clarifying that there was no doubt about the broadcast bodies’ self-regulatory capabilities.

    The minister, as per the sources, appreciated the work done by the broadcasters in the area of self regulation, and also stressed on the need of strengthening it further.

    It is now understood that objections, if any, pertaining to the content on any of the private television channels, would be routed to the NBSA, headed by Justice Verma. Action, if any, would be taken post deliberations by NBSA.

    As is known, NBA was not too happy with the proposal for amendment in policy guidelines for uplinking/downlinking of TV channels approved by the Cabinet last Friday. The proposal among other things stated, “Renewal of the permissions of TV channels will be considered for a period of 10 years at a time subject to the condition that the channel should not have been found guilty of violating the terms and conditions of permission including violations of the Programme and Advertisement Code on 5 occasions or more.”

  • 141 revamps itself; will henceforth be called Bates.

    Just Bates, now

    By Shubhangi Mehta

    WPP agency Bates 141 has dropped the ‘141’ from its name in its third rebranding employ. The agency is planning to adopt new attitude and corporate identity to underline its new agency model. With a new name and agency model, Bates now also has a new logo.

    The new logo features the Bates typeface in contemporary Helvetica and three speech balloons (in original Bates pumpkin, red and blue), replacing the former eye mnemonic.

    Bates has embarked on a new journey to become the changengage* people. Changengage* is the philosophy for the new Bates agency model.

    Changengage underscores a sea of change in the way the agency is structured to deliver better solutions to clients. It is a complete mindset and behavioural change.

    Dheeraj Sinha, Regional Planning Director, Bates, said, “All the previous rebrandings of Bates have happened due to acquisitions and mergers, Bates 141 was also a result of that. This time the rebranding is solely for the new prospective of a new world, the world is changing and so are we. Bates has not just been an advertising agency but we provide digital, rural marketing solutions as well, we will take this a step forward a continue our focus on new engagement-led strategy for the client where digital will definitely play a major role.”

     

    It may be recalled that the agency logo was refreshed in 2008 and represented Bates and 141 fully integrated as one company with one vision and an integration of their offering.

     

    The visual identity comprised repeating ‘eyes’ with one set facing the other direction, expressing Bates 141’s Change vision of ‘Change happens when you look at things differently.

     

    The name 141’s origins lie in the address of the division’s original London HQ, 141 Westbourne Terrace.

     

    Sonal Dabral, Regional Executive Creative Director and India Chairman, Bates, remarked, “In the new Bates we don’t think ATL and BTL, we think integrated and we believe all our ideas should lead to engagement for brands. We decided to drop 141 from the name Bates as 141 symbolizes our activation arm and therefore doesn’t find a place in our new agency model.The new logo has been designed by the Bates design team internally, mostly by the Kolkata and Mumbai teams. The added colours depict Bates as more vibrant, novel and youthful. The cluster of speech blurbs above the name is symbolic of vibrant conversations and debates we will aim to provoke through our work. The overlapping blurbs are also a subliminal reminder of tag clouds, the language of now and the future.”

    In terms of solutions, a large part of the agency’s revenue currently comes from engagement (eg, OOH, online, interactive, shopper marketing, activation, etc). Bates will continue to strengthen these pockets of expertise by enriching its talent mix with technologists, shopper marketing planners and designers to deliver more sparkling engagement solutions.
    It will also continue to bolster its cluster operating model (Greater China, India and Southeast Asia) which provide the means to leverage pockets of category and discipline expertise across markets/offices.
    Bates is a marketing communications network under the WPP Group.Located in 11 countries in Asia. They work with global and local brands including Accor, Café de Coral, Cheung Kong, Diageo, Disney, Fiat, Finnair, General Mills, HSBC, IDEA, Shanghai General Motors, Singapore Polytechnic, Unilever and Virgin Mobile.

  • Entrepreneur Guru Mantra lecture series’ second edition in Mumbai with Phaneesh Murthy.

    2nd Guru Mantra with Phaneesh Murthy

    By A Correspondent

    Entrepreneur magazine in association with Client Associates is presenting the second edition of its Guru Mantra lecture series with Phaneesh Murthy, CEO of iGate Patni, better known as the man who built a US$1 billion empire in just seven years.

    An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Murthy began his journey in 1992 as a part of Infosys. His contribution to Infosys has been widely regarded as one of the major reasons why Infosys became the IT giant that represented the booming Indian economy along with other luminaries. Since his exit from Infosys in 2002, Murthy has served first as the founder of US-based consulting firm Primentor and then as the co-founder of Quintant Services in 2003.

    The latter was acquired by iGate in 2003, bringing Mr Murthy to the top of a major IT giant once again. At iGate, Mr Murthy has helped to improve the company’s performance by bringing in a new management team, changing the firm’s business models, putting emphasis on higher offshore revenue contribution, increasing resource utilization, amongst other measures.

    Mr Murthy also spearheaded iGate’s acquisition of Patni Computers, the sixth largest IT company in India for US$1.22 billion, creating an IT behemoth that employs a talent pool of 26000 people to deliver solutions to 360 Fortune 1000 clients across the Americas, Europe- Middle East-Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

    Mr Murthy will be talking to a select gathering of established entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and corporate executives at the ITC Grand Central, Parel on October 18, 2011 at 7.30 pm. The talk will be followed by an interactive Q&A session on the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem with the audience, where Murthy will discuss his trials and tribulations as an entrepreneur and what it takes to succeed in the modern economy.

    Registration for the event is at entrepreneurindia.in/gurumantra.

    MxM Media will help to take the event to the relevant online community as the Online Media partner.

    Organized by Entrepreneur magazine, Guru Mantra is a lecture series that celebrates the spirit of entrepreneurship, organized at premium venues across different cities. Every session has a successful entrepreneur as the guest mento who shares his or her entrepreneurial journey with the attendees, followed by a Q&A session where the attendees get a chance to ask questions specific to their business.

  • The Indian mediascape is lined with ads that make false/exaggerated promises. The dubious list is long.

    Anil Thakraney’s Hard Knocks: The damned misleading adverts

    So, finally the government has woken up on the issue. No less than the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has gotten into the act. The plan is to come up with policies that can control the malaise of misleading ads.

    Well, to be honest this should have been done a long time ago. The Indian mediascape is lined with ads that make false/exaggerated promises. Health drinks that will make your child grow tall. A magic lotion that will sprout hair on that bald pate. Cars that give you outstanding mileage on Indian roads (wow!). The dubious list is long.

    Yes, the ideal solution is self-regulation. But it will never work, there are just too many brand managers ready to play mischief for that extra market share point. Therefore unfortunate though it is, we do need some powerful and implementable regulation in force so that consumers don’t get fleeced.

    However, and this is the crux of the problem: More than policies, we need hard punishment delivered to the offenders. Because penalties for misleading ads are very light in India, it becomes tempting to cheat. In the US, consumers can file for huge sums in damages if a brand has lied to them. And they do often get rewarded with the big bucks, and quite swiftly too. This ensures that brand managers think many times before misleading their consumers. In India, harassed grahaks have to do a lot of legwork at consumer courts; and even when the ruling is in their favour, the compensation is a pittance.

    So let’s have the regulation in place by all means. But there needs to be severe penalties spelt out to discourage mischievous marketers.

     

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    PS: Ads for cars have seen a sudden surge; almost every other commercial is for a gaadi these days. Guess sales are down because of massive hikes in price of petrol and diesel, and there’s a bit of panic in the auto companies. But instead of offering cash discounts and other usual freebies, why don’t they offer schemes like ‘Free 10 litres petrol every month for one year’. That’s actually just Rs 9,000, but it could strike a chord with a junta reeling under murderous fuel price hikes.