MxMIndia

Tag: Lodestar UM

  • The IPG Mediabrands agency was #1 followed by DentsuWebchutney at #2. Jagran was #1 in Publisher Abby

    Lodestar is Media Agency of the Year 2018

     

    By A Corrrespondent

     

    Lodestar UM was numerouno at the Media Abby Awards presented on Day 1 of Goafest 2018. The agency bagged four Golds, three each of Silver and Bronze metals. Dentsu Webchutney came second with four metals. Followed by Wavemaker and Mindshare India. A total of 38 metals were awarded in the Media Abby.

     

    Earlier on Thursday, Goafest 2018 kicked off with a packed hall at the industry conclave. The thirteenth edition of Goafest also sees the conduct of the 50th edition of the Abby Awards.

     

    Also presented were the Publisher Abby where Jagran Prakashan was numerouno with five metals, followed by Times Of India with two metals.

     

    Speaking about Abby Awards, Vikram Sakhuja, President – The Advertising Club said: “It’s been 50 years since the first Abby Awards were handed out. That is 50 years of unfaltering dedication to identifying, shortlisting and felicitating creative excellence in the industry. Over the years the awards went through a lot of changes. So, we spoke to heads of agencies, to industry leaders and more importantly, to the young creative workforce out there are came up with two key changes to the awards this year. The changes include the rationalization of categories to stay relevant to today’s young and dynamic creative geniuses and the formation of a Master Jury made up of industry masters to guarantee effectiveness. And it gives me immense pleasure to see the industry not only embracing these changes with open arms but also supporting us in our endeavor to keep improving the quality of the awards being handed out.”

     

    Added Ajay Kakar, Vice President of The Advertising Club and Chairman – Awards Governing Council said, “For Abby Awards 2018, it was our mission to co-create the awards with the help, inputs and participation of our industry; starting from the stalwarts but not forgetting the youngsters. And what we see today is an outcome of that courtesy the participation of stalwarts who inspire and set the standards of creativity for our industry.”

     

    Goafest 2018 has attracted a registration of over 2000 delegates. At the Abby Awards, a total of 3033 entries came in. In the Media Abby, there were a total of 660 entries from 57 agencies. The number of entries was down from 1100 that came in last year.

     

    Said Sam Balsara, who chaired the Media Abby: “The entries highlighted ability to co-create solution with clients and work in tandem with multi-media context and campaigns – jointly with Radio, Outdoors and Digital, even TV in certain instances.A lot of entries showcased the significant efforts of publishers towards CSR, Societal connect and social impact in the their work. As many as 57 agencies entered 660 pieces of work of which a total of 38 awards have been given across 32 distinct pieces of work.”

     

    On what worked for the winners, Balsara said: “Most award winning work looks at Strategy, Idea, Execution and Results. I dare say that at the Abbys which celebrates creativity there is relatively more focus given on the Idea. The ideas that stood out included using the brand very cleverly in content (three cases), using the medium innovatively (Display, Cinema), Use of Technology in Traditional Mediums (OOH Ambient and Print), Clever integration of Content with Social, Actionable use of Big data, and just some simple cute ideas that work.”

     

    And this is what Pradeep Dwivedi, who chaired the Publisher Abby said: “For the Publisher’s awards, the experience was very interesting as we had almost the same number of entries as last year, while the categories had reduced. This led to an engaging screening by an eminent jury balanced across geography, language and industry leadership. The merits of entries and the creative quotient of the campaign became supreme criterion almost naturally.The entries clearly showcased the vibrancy of print medium and its endeavour to evolve with time.For me, one of the things that stood out was the quality of work and clear recognition that many other publishers are also doing great work on the ground, but somehow don’t pitch it at Abbys. A few of the like-minded jurors have agreed to take up this cause and help build an even more widespread entrant base for next year via roadshows, and celebrate the print industry in India which is growing and thriving, clearly bucking the global trend.”

     

     

  • Through this initiative, Dias is urging CEOs/HR heads to help Mumbai based companies to implement flexible office timings for employees so that they don’t risk their lives to reach their workplaces

    Nandini Dias leads IAA India campaign on ‘WorkToLiveToWork’

    By A Correspondent

     

    The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) has announce a new social initiative, ‘WorkToLiveToWork’. Said Ramesh Narayan, President, IAA India Chapter, said, “Every year IAA undertakes initiatives to show that communication can be an effective force for the good of society. This year Nandini Dias is spearheading this meaningful project.”

     

    Due to personal losses, related to railways, during rush hour in the last 18 months, Dias, a Managing Committee member of IAA and CEO, Lodestar UM India, conceptualised the project named WorkToLiveToWork’’. Through this initiative, Dias is urging CEOs/HR heads to help Mumbai based companies to implement flexible office timings for employees so that they don’t risk their lives to reach their workplaces.

     

    A campaign has been designed around WorkToLiveToWork, to end the irrational rigidity in Mumbai’s office timings and save lives. Reports shows that every day around nine people die on the suburban rail network which is nearly 3300 people in a year. Many of these people travel in overcrowded transit system just to avoid late mark as that leads to penalty on their salary.

     

    Ramesh Narayan

    Added Narayan: “Instead of waiting for the transport infrastructure to be fixed, which would obviously take a long time, Nandini’s idea was as practical as it was simple. When asked , most CEOs and HR heads agree that flexi timing is a good idea. In fact many also say that in their office they had implemented flexi timings since a couple of years. The fact is that while heads of offices are not against it they have done very little to actually roll it out and enable people. There is no data to say how many people actually are on flexi timing.  Also if it was real then the rush hour traffic would have eased out”

     

    Nandini Dias

    Said Dias: “The two excruciating losses I faced last year have left an irreparable wound in my life. Therefore this project is really close to my heart and almost a life mission.I am urging all companies to come forward and adopt this to save the lives of Mumbaikars. Let’s all agree that, besides expressing outrage we need to help the government in mitigating the crisis. So whether you are an employer or an employee, think about it, talk about it, bring it up as often as you can to drive change and save lives. Even if we reduce the number of people losing life from 9 to 7 per day we would have saved over 700 lives in a year.”

     

    To take this initiative forward besides Lodestar UM, IAA has the support of Taproot Dentsu who created the communication. In addition large media companies like Economic Times, Hindustan Times, Indian Express, Laqshya Media and Radio City have already come on board as media partners. MxMIndia is also supporting this move.

     

    To join in Log on to www.WorkToLiveToWork.com or write into #FlexiTimeSavesLife and #WorkToLiveToWork.

     

     

  • This mandate includes media investment and strategic partnership

    ALTBalaji appoints Lodestar UM as media agency

     

     

    OTT platform ALTBalaji has awarded its media mandate to Lodestar UM, part of the IPG Mediabrands Network. This mandate includes media investment and strategic partnership including print, television, online, out of home (OOH) and radio.

     

    Commenting on the association, Manav Sethi, Chief Marketing Officer of ALTBalaji said: “At ALTBalaji, we are pushing the boundaries and changing the way people consume digital content. ALTBalaji is the only platform to have launched 10 #ALTBalajiOriginal shows till now. As the largest home-grown creator of exclusive content, we are persistently driven to do best in every sphere. We look forward to Lodestar UM’s coming on board. They command a strong understanding of media and entertainment space along with strategic and innovative solutions which will be essential in supporting our business vision.”

     

    Added Deepak Netram, Senior Vice President, Lodestar UM: “We are really excited to win the ALTBalaji business. We believe the OTT space is both futuristic and promising. With a gamechanger like ALTBalaji, we have a great opportunity, to build on our global learnings and are fully geared to deliver solutions in this space.”

     

  • Media partner Radio City helps in amplifying this unique activity

    Lodestar UM executes ‘sweet’ initiative for Federal Bank

     

     

    Federal Bank recently launched a new brand campaign around the theme ‘Why Settle for less?’ Taking this campaign thought ahead, Lodestar UM conceptualised a unique initiative with Mumbai’s famed dabbawalas.

     

    Said Deepak Netram, Senior Vice President, Lodestar UM: “In all aspects of life, be it family career or home, Mumbaikars exemplify the ‘Why settle for less’ attitude. Hence we decided to celebrate this spirit of the Mumbaikars and give them a surprise in form of a Federal Bank goodie box,”.

     

    On August 19, the campaign kicked off on radio and on digital. Radio jockeys Rohit Vir and Harshit of Radio City led the campaign on air. Both the RJs accompanied the Dabbawalas to select corporates to deliver the message personally.

     

    The entire journey was encapsulated on camera including the wow moments of luncheons enjoying the sweet. The activity was hugely successful as Radio City received large numbers of calls from offices with people sharing their experience of the getting this unexpected treat from Federal Bank.

     

    Talking about the campaign, Rajanarayanan N, Deputy Vice President (Marketing & Investor Relations) Federal Bank, said: “Most ads in the Banking, Financial services and Insurance (BFSI) sector talk about products or services. But we decided to diverge from the beaten path. It is the mood of the campaign, its playfulness and its treatment that haloes the entire series of our Ad films. We wanted the demeanour of the films to come out loud and say ‘Why Settle for Less?’ and this is what distinguishes the commercials from others. We wanted to do on ground activities that would complement the spirit of our ad films. The dabbawalla initiative is an innovation ideated by Lodestar which I am sure will win a lot of hearts in Mumbai.”

     

  • GroupM agencies Mediacom and Mindshare won big at Festival of Media APAC Awards presented in Singapore on Wednesday

    Mediacom wins big at FOMA. Mindshare, Lodestar UM, others shine

    By A Correspondent

     

    MediaCom India won the prestigious Campaign of the Year title for ‘Ariel Dads Share the Load — Men for Laundry!’ as well as Agency of the Year. Specifically for India, Mediacom won four golds and one bronze, Mindshare won one gold, two silvers and one bronze, Lodestar won a gold and silver, PHD bagged two silvers, Zenith bagged a gold, Maxus a silver and Madison a brand.

     

    Overall, MediaCom won seven golds and four bronzes, Mindshare four golds, five silvers and three bronzes, while UM (Lodestar UM in India) took home four golds, four silvers and one bronze. Mindshare retained its title of Agency Network of the Year for the APAC region.

     

    In total there were entries from 20 countries, while the winners represented a wonderful mix of campaigns from across the region including golds from Australia, China, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, India and the Philippines. India topped the country rankings with seven golds, while Australia and New Zealand were second and third with five and four golds respectively.

     

    Key trends and insights that came out of the judging process included a significant increase in e-commerce, m-commerce, CSR, content, social, mobile and events as part of campaigns from around the region. Judges found the Best Experiential/Event, and Best Content Awards to be two of the toughest to decide on a winner as the competition and quality of work was so strong.All winning campaigns can be seen on http://www.creamglobal.com/.

     

  • The Hexa was rigged with 12 cameras to capture all angles of the fun and excitement within

    Lodestar creates carpool karaoke for Tata Hexa

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lodestar UM has created what is being billed by it as India’s first carpool karaoke with the star cast of the upcoming film Rock On 2 for Tata Motors’ Hexa, Lodestar UM Studios, the content division of the IPG Mediabrands agency, proposed the idea and the Hexa was rigged with 12 cameras to capture all angles of the fun and excitement within.

     

    Said Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM: “This is a true example of a unique collaborative innovation by team Lodestar, where two big brands getting launched in November were brought together on the universally loved Music platform. The video captures the mood and the premium driving experience in the Hexa, which can also be called the music machine.”

     

    Rock On 2 releases today (November 11) and bookings for the Tata Hexa are already open. “To take it further we urge consumers to create their own carpool karaoke experiences on Hexa and share it”, adds Dias.

     

    Commenting on the association, Vivek B Srivatsa, Head-Marketing for Passenger Vehicle Business Unit (PVBU), Tata Motors Ltd, said, “Hexa appeals to customers for its design, driveability and comfort and with this association we will be able to connect Hexa even stronger with the customers.” Added Deepak Netram, Senior VP, Lodestar UM: “Rock On 2 is representative of the youth of the country that is passionate about music and motoring and thus it’s an ideal fit for Tata Hexa.”

     

  • This follows a global media review with media agency conglomerate IPG Mediabrands bagging the entire media mandate including digital for Tourism Australia in India

    Lodestar UM bags Tourism Australia account

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading media agency network Lodestar UM has bagged the Tourism Australia account. This follows a global media review with media agency conglomerate IPG Mediabrands bagging the entire media mandate including digital for Tourism Australia in India.  The ambition is to create a dynamic digital, data and tech solution for Tourism Australia and increase footfalls from India and maximise visits, notes a communique

     

    Nandini Dias

    “Tourism Australia is a prestigious account to have in our portfolio and I am glad that the client entrusted us with this mandate. Our strategy, planning and business analytics, innovative buying practices and award-winning content programmes aided us to bag the account”, said Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM, adding: “For the Tourism Australia campaign technology and data will play a crucial role.”

     

    Lodestar UM has created a dedicated team of 15 people to handle the account which will be led by Deepak Netram, Senior VP, Lodestar UM.

     

  • Rangnekar is based out of Lodestar UM Mumbai and reports into Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM

    Nikhil Rangnekar joins Lodestar as Media Consultant

    By A Correspondent

     

    Nikhil Rangnekar

    Lodestar UM has appointed Nikhil Rangnekar as Media Consultant. Rangnekar moves from Spatial Access where he was CEO of the Media Audit and Advisory business. Rangnekar will be based out of the Lodestar UM Mumbai reporting into Lodestar UM CEO Nandini Dias.

     

    “Nikhil is an industry veteran and we are delighted to have him on board. He has a varied background having worked in various capacities driving strategy, business and audits. He brings in a lot of experience and strategic thinking which we intend to leverage,” said Dias.

     

    Armed with over 19 years of experience in the advertising and the media industry, Rangnekar started his career with Starcom in 1997 where in 14 years he climbed the ranks from a management trainee to executive director. In 2011, he quit Starcom to join Spatial Access. He is also the chairman of the marketing committee of IRS at MRUC.

     

    Talking about his new role, Rangnekar said, “I am extremely happy to join Lodestar UM in the role of a strategy consultant. For me, it’s a prestigious assignment working with one of the largest groups in the world and in India. I will be working with the individual brand teams in helping them take our strategy product to the next level. I will also be working closely with the Labcentre team on the various proprietary researches and tools that IPG Mediabrands has and aim to evolve them in line with the changes happening in the media environment in India. If my last role was more about driving efficiency, the new role is more about driving effectiveness. Lastly, I am proud to have got this opportunity to work with industry stalwarts like Shashi and Nandini.”

  • The company owns the largest music archives in India, one of the biggest in the world

    Lodestar UM wins media mandate of Saregama

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lodestar UM recently added another win by bagging the media duties of Saregama.

     

    The company started operations over 115 years ago and today goes by the name Saregama India Ltd. Saregama is the custodian of over half of all the music ever recorded in India. The company owns the largest music archives in India, one of the biggest in the world.

     

    After establishing its supremacy in India’s music scene, Saregama has now expanded into other areas of entertainment like publishing, television software and digital content. It also has full-fledged studio facilities in Kolkata making it one of the best end-to-end entertainment giants in the country.

     

    Commenting on the development, Vikram Mehra, Managing Director – Saregama, said “At Saregama India, we want the users to experience our rich content in a manner which is disruptive and at the same time, accessible. Whether it is our latest offering, Saregama Music Cards or our highly engaging music apps, Saregama Shakti and Saregama Classical, we don’t want to leave any corners unturned and for that we wanted to partner with an agency like Lodestar UM who understands our needs. We are listed on the NSE and BSE, and are India’s largest and best-known music recording company.”

     

    Nandini Dias, CEO Lodestar UM, seems very upbeat on this new win “We are happy and proud to have been trusted with Saregama and will partner the client across all its media needs. We are confident that with our differentiated offering and in-depth understanding of digital and offline media will help them get more value on the table”

     

    Bhavesh Shah, GM, Lodestar UM, Mumbai said, “I am delighted at the win of Saregama. Saregama is all about music and youth which we at Lodestar understand very well, with properties like Coke Studio”.

     

  • Simplilearn, a pioneer in online education for professionals, creates course programs, exams, and lab projects for professionals across the world

    Lodestar UM wins media duties of Simplilearn

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lodestar UM has been awarded the media mandate for Simplilearn, a professional certifications company. As part of the mandate win, the agency will take care of the brand’s media duties in domestic and international market.

     

    Lodestar UM has emerged as one of the dominant players in Bangalore market and has added yet another win to its vast portfolio of clients. Over the years it has built the biggest solutions network in the industry, offering integrated end-to-end solutions for its clients.

     

    Simplilearn, a pioneer in online education for professionals, creates course programs, exams, and lab projects for professionals across the world. The company successfully prepares them for the complete certification exams with ease. Simplilearn has over 300 short-term courses across business, technology, marketing and creative domains that enable professionals receive certificates from accredited bodies. It has its footprints in the US, Australia and Singapore.

     

    Vedanarayanan Vedantham, Head of Marketing, Simplilearn said, “Working with the Lodestar UM team was a pleasure. Their knowledge of the media space coupled with their strong focus on customer delight made them a pleasure to work with”.

     

    Commenting on the win, Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM said “We are happy and proud to have been trusted with Simplilearn and will partner the client across all its media needs. We are confident that with our differentiated offering and in-depth understanding of e-commerce and technology Simplilearn will further consolidate its leadership.”

     

    Vaishali Verma, Chief Operating Officer, Lodestar UM, Bangalore said, “I am delighted at the win of Simplilearn. They are defining this category and we look forward to partner them in their growth through our differentiated planning approach.”

     

    The win adds significant weight to Lodestar UM’s client portfolio, which includes marquee clients such as J&J, Coca-Cola, Mahindra & Mahindra, Samsung, Amul, Tata, Wipro, Zivame etc.

     

  • Mindshare topped the metals with 17 awards tally followed by Maxus with 7. Lodestar UM and Madison Media bagged six metals each

    Winnning ways for Mindshare

     

    Media agency major topped the metals tally at the Media Abby awards held on Day 1 of Goafest 2016. Mindshare was awarded two Golds, six Silvers and nine Bronze metals. The first runner-up was sibling Maxus with seven metals (one Gold, two Silvers and four Bronzes).

     

    The parameters we were looking for was work that is fresh and unique, said Pratap Bose, Jury Chair of the Media Awards, adding that the jury did not find any of the shortlisted entries making the cut for a Grand Prix, the highest level of the awards.

     

    Lodestar UM and Madison Media secured six metals each with four Silvers and two Bronze awards. New entrant The Social Street won two golds and two silvers.

     

    There were a total of 76 agencies which participated in the Media Abby, sending in 1015 entries this year. The number of jury members was 86 and a total of 77 metals were awarded (11 Golds, 36 Silvers and 30 Bronzes).

     

    For Prasanth Kumar, CEO, Mindshare South Asia, it is a continuation of the agency’s winning ways after the agency coming out tops at last year’s Emvies Awards of the Advertising Club. “Yes, we ended 2015 with 176 awards and this year has also been equally spectacular,” he said, adding that the emphasis is on providing innovative solution to clients to break the clutter and fragmentation.

     

    Along with the Media Abby, the Publisher Abby awards were also presented. Dainik Jagran newspaper was presented 10 of the 17 awards.

     

     

     

  • The appointment of Lodestar UM is a part of Helpchat's larger objective of strengthening its brand visibility and recall across geographies

    Helpchat appoints Lodestar UM as its media agency

    By A Correspondent

     

    Helpchat, the messaging based personal assistant app has announced the appointment of Lodestar UM, part of IPG Media brands, India to lead its media mandate in the country. In a multi-agency pitch, Lodestar was chosen because of its good record in strategy and approach. The current mandate for the agency spans across all affiliate media services including print, Radio, Digital and OOH.

     

    Kali Shukla, VP. Marketing, Helpchat said, “We evaluated several agencies on various parameters and finally decided to go ahead with Lodestar because of their sound strategy and approach, buying efficiency and ability to innovate. Also, Lodestar Bangalore has a head start and expertise in its understanding of e-commerce and the Internet service ecosystem by virtue of handling multiple brands operating in a similar space.“

     

    Nandini Dias

    Nandini Dias, CEO, Lodestar UM, adds, “We went ahead with a simple yet compelling strategy rooted in consumer insight for Helpchat. Lodestar UM has always believed that strategy lies at the heart of understanding the consumer and that solutions should connect with the audience, being media agnostic.”

     

    The appointment of Lodestar UM is a part of Helpchat’s larger objective of strengthening its brand visibility and recall across geographies. It has recently repositioned itself as a personal assistant app that lets you get more things done with its brand promise of “Do more by doing less”. Firmly embedding its market position in the consumer mindscape will be central to Helpchat’s brand building and media initiatives.