MxMIndia

Tag: British Council

  • Archetype was the agency on record for the British Council going into the pitch

    Archetype bags British Council’s communications mandate

    By A Correspondent

     

    British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, has renewed its public relations mandate for India with Archetype (eka Text100).

     

    Said Nirupa Fernandez, Director Marketing India, British Council: “In Archetype, we have a partner that understands the complex communications ecosystem for a brand like ours. Their strategic consultation, insights-driven approach and creative storytelling competencies assure us that they are the right partners to help us communicate effectively with our multiple stakeholders in an ever-evolving world.”

     

    Added Sunayna Malik, Managing Director, India and Senior Vice President, APAC at Archetype: “We are delighted to work with the British Council and are looking forward to a successful partnership with such an iconic brand. The ultra-wide canvas that the British Council operates across presents us with great learning opportunities.”

  • The mandate includes media strategy, planning & buying, digital and social duties

    Havas Media bags integrated media duties of British Council

    By A Correspondent

     

    Havas Media India has bagged the integrated media duties of British Council Examinations and English Services India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of British Council, UK, specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities with presence in over 100 countries.

     

    The mandate includes media strategy, planning & buying, digital and social duties. The account will be handled out of the agency’s Gurgaon office.

     

    Michael King

    Commenting on the partnership, Michael King, CEO, British Council Examinations and English Services India Pvt Ltd said: “Agility and a consumer-centric mindset from our partners is key to our deliveries, as is reliance on deeper customer insights and data-driven actions. We are confident that Havas Media with its integrated media approach and market expertise will deliver the desired results for the brand. We are excited about this partnership and look forward to working with Havas Media.”

     

    Mohit Joshi

    Added Mohit Joshi, Managing Director, Havas Media Group India: “We are delighted to be partnering with British Council, an international organisation that aims to celebrate the modern-day relationship between both countries and build meaningful connections via creativity, collaboration and cultural exchange. Digital is at the core of Havas and we are proud to be associated with a digital-first brand that has created world-leading digital cultural experiences, opening up the worlds of dance, music and theatre to millions of young Indians.”

     

     

  • Created by India-based tech artists – Archana Prasad and Sean Blagsvedt, with R&D by Jaaga and Microsoft Research India, DARA aims to help Indian creative professionals collaborate with international peers

    British Council’s chatbot for creative professionals

    By A Correspondent

     

    British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations, has announced the development of Dara – India’s first chatbot for creative professionals making them a part of a global creative community. The digital assistant will help aspiring/emerging Indian creative professionals discover potential international collaborators for their ongoing projects. It will provide them access to greater resources, more networking opportunities and potentially a wider global audience for their work.

     

    Said Jonathan Kennedy, Director Arts – India, British Council: “Emerging Indian creative entrepreneurship is making its mark on the global stage and we hope that the innovation of the DARA platform will help Indian creative professionals take their work to the next level through access to the UK creative community and global networks. DARA’s innovation in India comes at a time when the British Council is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the World Wide Web through a global campaign called Anyone//Anywhere: the web at 30. We believe digital arts projects and platforms like DARA will facilitate greater creative collaboration between Indian and UK artists as well all aim to connect, create and collaborate.”

     

    Dara is currently being hosted on its website – https://dara.network as well as available through a dedicated Facebook page – www.facebook.com/dara.network.

     

     

  • The project is a partnership between the British Council and BFI Flare

    British Council launches its LGBTQ+ digital campaign in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    British Council has revealed the film line-up for the fifth season of #FiveFilms4Freedom, the LGBTQ+ digital campaign. The project, a partnership between the British Council and BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival, will see five short films from the BFI Flare programme made available to Indian and global audiences through the British Council’s global digital platforms, free of charge.

     

    Talking about the #FiveFilms4Freedom programme in India, Tom Birtwistle, Director North India, British Council, said: “Cinema is a powerful medium, and perfect artistic format for the internet age. #FiveFilms4Freedom shows the power of human connection and reminds us all the love is a human right.”

     

     

  • The consultancy will also help effectively communicate knowledge sharing and collaboration of best practices between India and the UK

    British Council awards India PR mandate to LinOpinion GH

    By A Correspondent

     

    LinOpinion GH announced that it has won the prestigious PR mandate for British Council, UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities for India. The mandate is to assist British Council in India to develop strategic communication routes and create consistent visibility for the organization. The consultancy will also help effectively communicate knowledge sharing and collaboration of best practices between India and the UK. LinOpinion GH won this mandate in a multi-agency pitch and this account will be led by its Delhi office.

     

    Ameer Ismail

    Commenting on this strategic win, Ameer Ismail, Executive Director, LinOpinion GH and Lowe Lintas + Partners said, “We are delighted to partner with a coveted brand like British Council.  Cultural relations and exchange is at the core of international relations and so important to both India and the UK. We have been successful in understanding the wide ranging imperatives and we look forward to contributing to the core objectives of British Council in India and playing a strategic role in strengthening their relationship with the country.”

     

    “The thinking and strategic framework we recommended was well appreciated. In addition, our deep understanding of the media and the environment gives us an edge to recommend concepts that will work best with the media and we intend to use innovative platforms to reach out to the right target audiences with the right message. We take pride in designing and implementing public relations plans that result in a large impact in terms of share of voice for brands.” added Lavang Asthana Khare, Executive Vice President, LinOpinion GH.

     

    British Council comes as a significant addition to LinOpinion GH’s roster of clients in Delhi. The agency currently services some iconic brands like Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, Starwood Group of Hotels, DCM Shriram Ltd, Rapid Metro, Malaysia Airlines and Ciena among others.

     

  • Perhaps afraid of committing themselves with a "will", or wanting to sound polite and ineffable, more and more people are using "would" in the wrong place. Vidya Heble tries to restore order

    Speaking of Which – The Woulds Are Not Lovely

    By Vidya Heble

     

    Perhaps afraid of committing themselves with a “will”, or wanting to sound polite and ineffable, more and more people are using “would” in the wrong place. It is reminiscent of the backlash against “me”, which resulted in everyone saying “I” even when “me” was the correct word. That wave has begun to recede, fortunately, but there’s a new one upon us. It’s the tsunami of the “would”.

     

    I see it in at least one press release every other day, and I kid you not. There’s an announcement of someone’s impending appointment or a product launch or an event, and we are told, “So-and-so would take charge on Monday.” “The gadget would be priced at Rs x.” It should be obvious to the reader that “will” is the right word to use in these instances. So why don’t they say “will”? (Or are they secretly telling us that So-and-so would take charge on Monday if he could shake off the massive hangover he’s bound to get after the Sunday party? And that the gadget would be priced at Rs x if the marketers felt generous, but instead they are selling it at Rs x++, suckers?)

     

    I can only imagine that it is some sort of desire to sound fancy – that is what drives most of the drivel these days.  But being wrong is not fancy at all, and the sooner the would-wielders learn it, the better.

     

    “Would” is, of course, used by news writers when quoting someone in indirect speech, ie without inverted commas. For example: The announcement would revolutionize the industry, he said. “The announcement will revolutionize the industry,” he said. When “would” is used in the context of a future event, it indicates a condition attached to it – ie, “I would if I could”. It is also a super-polite way to say “will”, but not quite in Press Release Land: “Mr Tochuka Sui would be happy to attend.”

     

    There are many other legitimate uses of “would”, and who better than the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv43.shtml)  and the British Council (http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/modal-verbs/will-or-would) to explain them?

     

    I would hit the sack now if I could, but there are miles to go before I sleep.

     

    Vidya Heble is Deputy Editor at MxMIndia, when she is not twitching obsessive-compulsively.