MxMIndia

Tag: Anchor

  • Panasonic Life Solutions India to reinforce vision to ‘Make a better, comfortable life with human-oriented solution’

    Anchor changes its corporate identity to Panasonic

    By A Correspondent

     

    Anchor Electricals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Panasonic, has announced the change in its legal entity to Panasonic Life Solutions with effect from April 1. With this, the brand has also changed its corporate identity from ‘Anchor by Panasonic’ to ‘Panasonic’.

     

    Said Vivek Sharma, Managing Director, Panasonic Life Solutions India Private Limited: “We are one of the leading players in the manufacturing and selling of electrical and construction materials. Our products are made from cutting edge and innovative Japanese technology and occupy a unique positioning in the market. We are delighted to unveil our new corporate identity which will help us in strengthening our position in our segment. With this change, we would position the brand as one that would take care of the expectation of modern India consumers”.

     

     

  • The account was won following a multi-agency pitch

    Anchor appoints Initiative & Leo Burnett for media & creative

    By A Correspondent

     

    Electrical goods maker Anchor has appointed Initiative for its media mandate and Leo Burnett India for its creative duties.

     

    Said Vivek Sharma, Managing Director, Anchor Electricals Private Limited, on the creative mandate to LBI: “We were looking for a partner whose innovative ideas and approach are in sync with our brand’s vision. We have partnered with Leo Burnett India as our new creative agency based on their strategic planning and innovative creative thinking. We believe and have complete faith in the team’s passion, commitment and their ability to do justice to our mandate. We look forward to a stronger collaboration and are confident that the partnership with Leo Burnett will help us further strengthen our ability to reach out to our existing and potential consumers with influential and relevant communication.” And this is what he said on the Initiative appointment: “As a company, we are strategically aligning ourselves to substantially improve consumer connect. AEPL would aggressively use mass media in building saliency and creating awareness for its businesses in the months to come. We, at AEPL, are happy to partner with Initiative in this exciting phase of growth”.

     

    Said Dheeraj Sinha, MD – India & Chief Strategy Officer – South Asia, Leo Burnett: “It’s a great opportunity to re-energise a brand that has tremendous local equity in the name ‘Anchor’, and now has the advantage of global expertise in the name of ‘Panasonic’. Our opportunity is to build a brand and a business in this category like it has never been done before.”

     

    Added Vaishali Verma, CEO, Initiative: “This is one more prestigious addition to our esteemed portfolio of clients. We look forward to working with Anchor and create cutting-edge, strategic media solutions. Working with an ambitious company like Anchor is a great challenge and we look forward to creating impactful business solutions through our proprietary global tools.”

     

     

  • Marketing of television properties has acquired an added dimension with changes such as the advent of social media. Akash Sharma explains how savvy marketers can make the most of the new scenario

    The Anchor: 5 non-conventional ways of financing and marketing television properties

    By Akash Sharma

     

    #1 Online marketing for television properties has been in the scene for quite some time. But what makes it unconventional is that it can be done for a cost or for free too. Social media campaigning of the property and utilization of online assets of the entities involved can bear fruits in reaching out to the target audience. This is exactly what we did with People’s Choice Awards (PCA). The voting activity for PCA was predominantly online. Hence, apart from on-air and other media, a major weightage of the campaigning happened online through the official website and social media.

     

    #2 Crowd funding & partnership: Getting similar minded people who have conviction in the property to invest in it has been executed in producing movies. A similar principle can be applied to television properties. Also, the broadcaster and sponsor can also be roped in as a partner in the venture. This rouses the parties to bring in more interest towards the project and the execution shouldn’t suffer due to financial reasons. In reciprocation, the format, themes & storylines can be matched with the funders’ market.

     

    #3 Merchandising: This is one of the most nascent ways of marketing a television property in India. During the making of ‘Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain’, Bulldog launched the biggest merchandising program for a TV show ever. From stationery to quiz books to game DVDs, we knew that our target audience was communicated and reminded about the show through the merchandise. We even had a ‘Paanchvi Pass’ ice-cream flavour, partnered with Baskin Robbins. You get to advertise your product to the consumer, and what’s even better is that the consumer is also willing to pay for the same.

     

    #4 Incorporating an unrelated industry which can be a sponsor for the show: Tapping an industry for sponsorship which may not be a direct fit with the property can be a tough task. But, once cracked, this opens sponsorship opportunities for the property and thus for similar properties in the market.

     

    #5 Pre-air distribution: Giving exclusive sneak peek video content to one of the online media partners can also be beneficial. These can be few minutes long or maybe entire episodes. This not only increases the curiosity amongst the loyal viewers towards the next episode, but also interests people who are not familiar with the show to watch it and thus expanding viewership.

     

    Akash Sharma is Co-Founder & Managing Director at Bulldog Media & Entertainment

     

     

     

  • The Twitterverse was abuzz on Sunday (November 4) as news filtered in that Ajmal Kasab was down with high fever and could have dengue

    The Anchor: 10 Kasab-dengue tweets that kept Twitterverse busy on a lazy Sunday

    So you thought the influentials keep their smartphones or iPads away on a lazy Sunday? The Twitterverse was active on the Congress and Nitish Kumar rallies, Girish Karnad and VS Naipaul and of course the news that the convicted Ajmal Kasab has high fever and suspected to have contracted dengue. We reproduce here 10 tweets that give you an idea of what India thinks given the news…

     

    Madan Sanglikar ‏@maddyisms

    At least our mosquitoes are fair, secular & democratic an believe in immediate justice #IncredibleIndia

     

    Sidharth Rao ‏@sidharthrao

    Jo Sarkar nahi kar saki, woh ek macchar ne kar diya?“@M2Od: It will be epic if #Kasab dies of Dengue, Incredible India.

     

    Kunal Purandare ‏@kunaljp

    Since the government is so keen on keeping Kasab alive, the mosquito tried its best to kill him

     

    Mohit Hira ‏@mohitoz

    Evidently mosquitoes are more efficient than our judiciary.

     

    Ramesh Srivats ‏@rameshsrivats

    I propose that we make mosquitoes our National Insect. Then the government will try to protect them and they’ll become extinct.

     

    Lk Gupta ‏@Lk_Gupta

    Dang you, mosquito! – Kasab

     

    Shunali Shroff ‏@shunalishroff

    The Indian mosquito will get to terrorists sooner than the Indian law. Machhar key haath bahut lambey hotein hain jaani. #kasabgetsdengue

     

    Seema Goswami ‏@seemagoswami

    So the Indian mosquito may achieve what the Indian justice system could not #kasabgetsdengue

     

    Piyul ‏@Piyul

    What an existential dilemma… So do we pull out all stops in taking care of him and then hang him? #kasab has dengue

     

    TheComicProject ‏@thecomicproject

    Mosquitoes replaced hangmen in 3 years – a record #tweetslikePMOIndia

     

    The UnReal Times ‏@TheUnRealTimes

    Pakistan complains to the UN; alleges India is testing biological weapons on its captured citizens

     

  • Madan Sanglikar makes a case for mobile advertising’s effectiveness.

    The Anchor: Madan Sanglikar on 5 reasons mobile advtg delivers more ROI than conventional media vehicles

    By Madan Sanglikar

     

    #1 No other medium in the world has the reach that mobile enjoys. While mobile implies reaching everybody, it is also targeted since mobiles are personal. Mobile phone is hardly ever an arm’s length away from us.

     

    #2 The mobile is the only device they can own and use. Most of the population in India today does not have an access to computer.

     

    #3 Mobile is an entertainment, communication, information device. from brand perspective, it allows the consumer to do anything and everything without moving away from the screen. various elements of phone work together.

     

    #4 Mobile is actually clearing the gaps that the internet as an advertising vehicle had.

     

    #5 As of today, mobile gives 2-to-5 times the response to even online advertising. The search level on mobile phone on lot of retail-based products, especially food-specific businesses, has already outpaced computers.

     

    Madan Sanglikar is the CEO of ad2c.

     

  • The Indian M&E industry is still in its nascent stages and hampered by issues such as rampant piracy and strong regulatory restrictions

    The Anchor: Renu Aggarwal on 5 reasons M&E is under-leveraged in India

    By Renu Aggarwal

     

    Media spend as a percent of GDP is very low in India (at 0.41%) and is half of the world average. The five major impediments for the same are cited below:

     

    #1 Low penetration levels: The Indian M&E industry is still in its nascent stages and a lot of developments have taken place only in recent years. Though India has a large and young population base, it is not fully tapped. The penetration levels are still quite low with TV penetration of 60 percent of households, cable penetration at 50 percent and DTH penetration at just 30 percent.

     

    #2 Low customer revenues: The average revenue per user (ARPU) in India is amongst the lowest in the world. When compared globally, ARPU (per month) in the US is USD 120, in the UK is USD 70, in China it is USd 5 while in India it is merely USD 3. This increases the payback time for the various channel providers and makes it less attractive.

     

    #3 High levels of piracy: Indian M&E industry is crippled by piracy, due to which it has not been able to monetize its content fully. Despite various technological advancements to curb piracy, the fact remains that industry is still losing significant revenues on account of piracy.

     

    #4 Digitization is still far-off: Digital infrastructure is still very weak in India and modern technologies are yet to be deployed. India has just ~30 percent penetration of digital TV compared to more than 95 percent in most of the developed countries. With lack of digitization, ARPUs continue to remain low and the last mile operator can carry a maximum of 70 channels only (in analogue network), whereas more than 600 channels are available in the country.

     

    #5 High regulatory framework: Industry faces strong regulatory restrictions in terms of FDI limits and taxation structures. Currently, the digital cable and DTH sector have to pay taxes at multiple levels – Central, State as well as local/city level. Also, the sector requires capital expenditure for the digitization and content creation, and thus, calls for rationalization of FDI limits.

     

    Renu Aggarwal is the  Principal Consultant at Wazir Advisors

     

  • A N Chorrea picks the 10 stars that made Zee TV a happening channel over the last two decades

    The Anchor: 10 all-time favourite ‘faces’ of Zee TV

    By A N Chorrea

     

    There have been many, many faces on Zee TV through these last 20 years. So it was a tough ask to pick just 10 faces of the channel… so you have a list that’s different from the one here, do inbox it to editor@mxmindia.com. Or just put it in the comments below. Meanwhile, check this list (in alphabetical order of their last names)…

     

    Mithun Chakraborty

    Mithun Chakraborty

    He obviously didn’t become such a huge star thanks to Zee, but as the endearing Grandmaster of Dance India Dance (and DID Li’l Masters), on the small screen, Mithunda has become bigger than you-know-who.

     

     

     

    Avinash Sachdev & Rubina Dilaik

    Avinash Sachdev and Rubina Dilaik

    As Dev and Radhika in Chhoti Babu and Chhoti Bahu 2, Avinash Sachdev and Rubina Dilaik are now household names whose screen lives are followed by lakhs of Indians on Zee.

     

     

     

     

    Annu Kapoor

    Annu Kapoor

    If Antakshari is not a popular music reality show on television these days, it’s because no one could do it better than Annu Kapoor, the constant factor on the Gajendra Singh-produced show. Kapoor is an accomplished star, but Antakshari made him a megastar.

     

     

     

    Prachi Desai and Ram Kapoor

    Prachi Desai and Ram Kapoor, Kasamh Se

    Yes, Prachi Desai got into the big league with Rockstar and Ram Kapoor is everywhere thanks to Bade Achhe Lagte Hain’s promos for Sony, but as Bani Dixit/Walia and Jai Walia respectively, Desai and Kapoor had already turned superstars for tele-viewers

     

     

     

    Sanjeev Kapoor – zeenews.com

    Sanjeev Kapoor

    Long before Masterchef entered Indian homes and long before we had 24×7 television channels devoted to food, Khana Khazana saw Sanjeev Kapoor get into the kitchens of nearly every Indian. Khana Khazana is now a full-fledged channel and even though Chef Kapoor runs his own Food Food channel, Zee’s got his Khazana on all the time!

     

     

    Mohan Kapur – Fotocorp

    Mohan Kapur

    He was rude but he was fun and also very entertaining. In the early days, it was the UTV-produced Saanp Seedi that saw Zee climb the ladder of popularity.

     

     

     

     

    Ankita Lokhande

    Ankita Lokhande

    It’s a complex story from the Balaji Telefilms stable, but Ankita Lokhande as Archana Manav Deshmukh in Pavitra Rishta has essayed an award-winning role.

     

     

     

     

    Navneet Nishan – Fotocorp

    Navneet Nishan

    Doordarshan had its star protagonists in the past, but Navneet Nishan in Raman Kumar’s Tara was a rock star in the serial which went on and on and on… on Zee.

     

     

     

     

    Rajat Sharma – indiatvnews. com

    Rajat Sharma

    We knew him as a journalist and editor, but it’s Aap Ki Adalat on Zee that made Rajat Sharma a household name and took him to where he’s today as Founder-Chairman and editor-in-chief of India TV.

     

     

     

    Nikki Aneja Walia

    Nikki Aneja Walia

    Her character of Dr Simran in Astitva – Ek Prem Kahani earned her the sobriquet of the Sridevi of the small screen. Although she has starred in several soaps thereafter, nothing to beat her in Astitva.

     

    A N Chorrea is a senior industryperson writing under a pseudonym

     

  • Gone are the days when 'creative' lived in a world of its own. Media agencies have to embrace creativity and assimilate it into their thought and work processes.

    The Anchor: CVL Srinivas on 5 reasons all media agencies need to be creative

    CVL Srinivas

    By CVL Srinivas

     

    #1 Media is part of the overall creative product – media agencies cannot be divorced from ideas and creativity. While a great amount of number-crunching and accountability measures can be brought into play, ultimately it is the power of the idea that makes a brand. Media agencies need to contribute to these ideas and not come in their way.

     

    #2 The role of a media agency is changing from managing throughput to creating experiences. To be able to create experiences and not just deliver exposure for brands, media agencies have to think creatively about their business and their future. Otherwise media agencies will remain throughput engines and soon lose their relevance.

     

    #3 Digital is bridging the gap between media and creative. If digital media solutions are to be effective, media agencies need to contribute as much to the creative as to the digital media strategy.

     

    #4 The explosion of content is fuelling media solutions of a different kind. Today there are numerous opportunities to ride on existing content or create a solution through a piece of entertaining content. Media agencies are equipping themselves to deliver on this front. It’s like having a mini creative agency within a media agency.

     

    #5 Given the high level of fragmentation and the mushrooming of specialist agencies, be it in digital or analytics or content, media agencies need to creatively tap into the ecosystem and work with partners to ensure that they stay ahead of the game. Media agencies can no longer live in their own siloed world.

     

    CVL Srinivas is the Chairman, SMG India and Managing Director, LiquidThread – APAC

     

  • Mitrajit Bhattacharya has a few guidelines for big-ticket names looking for the right avenues.

    The Anchor: 6 pointers for luxury advertisers when choosing a magazine

    By Mitrajit Bhattacharya

     

    #1 Whether the magazine caters to the right TG of the brand, not the TG that the planner/ advertiser belongs to, which may not necessarily be the same.

     

    #2 Most luxury brands in this country are consumed by the wealthy, so an income profiling is often better than SEC. The business community scores over the salaried class, who often simply cannot afford luxury (unless they are a rich banker). So, choose your vehicle accordingly.

     

    #3 Often a multi-brand distributor/ company has the same magazine list for all their brands. Decide for individual brands and not for the group; consumers finally see them individually.

     

    #4 Frequently check how the layout of copy/ edit pages is coordinated with that of advertisements. Many luxury magazines go to the extent of designing facing edit pages with relation to the ads and that really helps noticeability/ engagement.

     

    #5 Do not lose sight of sales; maintain the right balance of image-building (which is so critical for a luxe brand) without losing sight of the real impact on sales.

     

    #6 Be sure of the strengths of the medium and use it the best possible way, and not necessarily have the ‘same size fits all’ ad strategy across all media.

     

    Mitrajit Bhattacharya is the President & Publisher, Chitralekha Group & Vice President, AIM.

  • Tune in, and cash in. The medium that reaches everyone everywhere is here to stay, and grow.

    The Anchor: 5 reasons radio will flourish, forever

    By Sunil Kumar

     

    #1 It is Local:

    People are more curious about or interested in the happenings in their city or town. Interest in local culture is developing and radio caters to that local culture which other media just cannot. Radio is absolutely local.

     

    #2 It is Participative and Interactive:

    Radio is the only medium where people can air their voice… leave a request… and it provides numerous other ways for active listener participation. Increased density of mobile phones is encouraging this interactivity further. Even social media has its own set of limitations…

     

    #3 It has an Abundance of Content:

    Today different kind of music is played on radio. It is not limited to Bollywood. Since it is a local medium, the music played too is in local language and in accordance to local taste. Today large number of music is produced in India, especially local music. ‘Kolaveri Di’ is one example. Bhajans, Sufi music, or hymns are some other music one can hear in different parts of the Country. In addition to these, the availability of sports commentary and multiple frequencies will offer listeners with more even more differentiation of content.

     

    #4 Car Listenership is Rising:

    Nearly all cars today have FM stereo attached, and as the number of cars continues to increase, it will further increase car listenership. More cars on the road also means frequent traffic jams. There are also those who travel long distances, and as a result time spent in listening to radio is also likely to increase.

     

    #5 It’s Free:

    Unlike any other, radio happens to be the only medium which is actually free.

     

    Sunil Kumar is MD, Big River Radio and a veteran mediaperson

  • It has an unbeatable thrill, the sort you get when you are playing a game and want to achieve higher scores.

    The Anchor: 7 points to learn from being in business

    By Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer

     

    #1 That you are on your own; and you get your pay package based on how well not only you but your entire team works.

    #2 That how much you earn is dependent not only on how hard and how well you work but can fluctuate drastically with how the market, the competition and the client operate. You have no one to complain to, or another job to switch to.

    #3 That while it is not as easy or as fun as ‘being the boss’ appeared  when I was an employee, it has an unbeatable thrill, the sort you  get when you are playing a game and want to achieve higher scores.

    #4 That the challenges are only more exciting and tougher as you move ahead because the goal post just keeps moving forward.

    #5 That the success of any business is completely dependent on the business owner’s vision, drive and focus and this then helps to drive the quality of team members they can retain and attract, and the level of ownership that team members have towards their jobs.

    #6 That every department is critical for the success of an organization, be it admin, HR, production, strategy, etc… every link is critical.

    #7 Nothing can change the fortunes of a company than the ultimate truth   for any business, the acid test, which is customer experience through the product and service it offers. This means know the customer, know the market, continuously improve your offering, delivery and service.

    You simply have to be the best, the most preferred.

     

    Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer is the Founder-MD of BC Web Wise.

  • In advertising, it often happens that in search of a good idea we tend to make life too complicated for ourselves. In the end it is just about selling a product, selling an attitude and a shift in behaviour and nothing beyond that.

    The Anchor: Sonal Dabral on 6 ads that will always remain in his mind

    Liril with Karen Lunel:  I remember waiting eagerly to watch the ad in auditorium just before the beginning of a movie. The entire packaging of the ad makes it compelling and I think it was a unique leap that Mr Alyque Padamsee and Lintas had taken at that time. It was a commercial to sell a soap but done in an impactful manner. Kailash (Surendranath) had shot it tastefully so it was not vulgar even if you have a girl frolicking under a waterfall.

    Lifebuoy:  Lifebuoy hai jahan, tandrusti hai wahan. It was a simple ad but also a great idea. Such a wonderful and simple line captured the essence of the product. In advertising, it often happens that in search of a good idea we tend to make life too complicated for ourselves. We try too hard to be clever, ‘creative’ but we just have to remember that in advertising in the end it is just about selling a product, selling an attitude and a shift in behaviour and nothing beyond that. If we realize this then that’s where simplicity comes. Lifebuoy advertising was unpretentious, simple and did its job for many many years.

    The Freedom Run: This ad came at a time when I was just about to leave NID and it rebuilt my faith in advertising as a profession. At that point, I was at a crossroads whether to go into pure design, films or advertising. Suresh Mullick’s Freedom Run was not an ad but a film that brought pride when you watched it.  It was meant to bring pride and you could sense the passion with which it was made.  It is the truth that if you do something with passion, it generally turns out to be good.

    Cadbury’s girl dancing on the pitch: I had the wonderful opportunity to work in O&M and at one point  Piyush Pandey and I decided that we would turn around the agency one day and be the top agency in India, the region and possibly in the world. After tremendous hard work came the flagship campaign on Cadbury Dairy Milk which was the girl on the cricket field. I had worked on the ad along with Piyush and the team, and I think the ad was a milestone in Indian advertising and was somewhere even dubbed as ad of the century.

    Fevicol: The work on Fevicol has been landmark. The idea is great and has been well executed.

    Virgin Mobile: The work by Bates on Virgin Mobile is again pathbreaking and stretched the morals, if I can say, to a certain limit. Indian Panga League was daring, risky and pushed boundaries. It created a new lingo. Since I have worked on it, it might be selfish to say but it’s a personal favourite piece of work too. It was audacity to come out with 115 films and put on the web. Daring, risky and an amazing idea done amazingly well.

    Sonal Dabral is Chairman India and Regional Executive Creative Director, Bates Asia.