MxMIndia

Tag: Lowe Lintas

  • Britannia is aiming at getting 10-15 per cent of additional revenue from Snackuits tp contribute to its Rs480 crore business (as valued by AC Nielsen)

    Britannia introduces Snackuits for guilt-free snacking

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    There is no need to feel guilty about snacking any more, Britannia has launched a new product, 50-50 Snackuits keeping in line with its Taste Bhi, Health Bhi formula, this product aims at making snacking enjoyable experience and at the same time getting rid of any guilt that comes with it. Snackuits was launched in January and is already available in North, West and East. Now Britannia is gearing to launch the product in South.

     

    Talking about Snackuits, Shalini Degan, Category Director, Delight and Lifestyle, Britannia Industries said: “The truth is that people want to snack and then they feel guilty which leads them to snack some more, making them unhappy. We want our consumers to feel ‘Snack Happy’. The idea being that we know that people want to snack and we don’t want them to feel guilty about eating in between meals. We decided to make a product that satisfies some need of the consumers but fundamentally it removes guilt. So we have been telling people, please have this whenever you feel like and be snack happy.”

     

    The highlight of the product is that it is baked and there is no ostensible calorie intake. In fact, healthy snacks have become a fad of sorts with many players joining the bandwagon and talking about health and nutrition such as Lays Baked, Aliva and even Nestle’s Maggi.

     

    Not deterred by many players jumping into the health platform, Ms Degan said: “People like to follow Britannia. We took to this platform much before the rest. It’s nice to know that others are following us. For us it is simple, we are here to make sure that our consumers are emotionally satisfied, we are here to ensure that along with the taste, we ensure that nothing that we do makes one unhealthy. That is something we have been doing for many years now.”

     

    But the question is whether the consumers are convinced enough to pick up a packet of such ‘healthy’ baked products? Degan clarified: “It depends on what your reference point is. We are not saying we are as healthy as an apple but yet as far as snacks goes we have an innovation that is healthy as well as satisfies your taste buds!”

     

    Britannia is aiming at getting 10-15 per cent of additional revenue from Snackuits tp contribute to its Rs480 crore business (as valued by AC Nielsen). It’s looking at achieving this target in two years time. Snackuits will probably see more flavours being launched or a variation in shape or formats but that is once it establishes itself among the consumers. It is now available in three flavours – Swiss Cheese & Chilly, Chinese Hot & Sweet and Italiano Pizza in 30 gms pouch for on-the-go consumption and 50 gms box for in-home consumption.

     

    In the Rs7000 crore salty snack business which has been growing at a CAGR of 20 percent per annum, the success of Snackuits is not overestimated. And to make it a reality, Britannia has planned a 360-degree campaign to talk to its consumers about this new product.

     

    Created by Lowe Lintas, Britannia will soon launch four TVCs that features homemakers who enjoy snacking on Snackuits along with their witty take on everyday incidents of life. The ad is all about breaking the ‘bechari’ stereotypical image of a homemaker one sees in many ads being bogged down by worries of domestic life.

     

    On the campaign, R Balki, Chairman and CCO, Lowe Lintas, said: “Who says housewives are boring? If only we could put a camera on when they are with their friends…husbands will be shocked! It’s not just teens who hang around with snacks. 50-50 Snackuits is positioned as an accompaniment to the housewives adda!”

     

    Along with TVC, the other multi-media platform will explore the ‘naya concept hai ji’ tagline that sums up Snackuits aptly. There will be spots on radio and various on-ground activation which will try and find places where 50-50 Snackuits can interact and engage with housewives

     

  • The Lowe Lintas big boss freewheels with Anil Thakraney about Bs big and small, talent, and why he won't participate in the Abby

    Awards have no relevance to advtertising: Balki

     

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    It’s always fun meeting the big boss of Lowe Lintas. Since we have worked together before and since Balki is always forthright and politically incorrect, one is assured of an exciting but meaningful exchange. Here is he, speaking his mind on various issues. Movies, advertising, the challenges facing the industry, the kind of people he’d like to hire, and yes, about his continuing allergy to advertising awards.

     

    You have to respect the man for the wonderful work he’s been doing on both, the small and the large screen. And more so for being that rare individual in the ad world who has the balls to stand up for something he believes in.

     

    Still around in advertising? Shouldn’t you be busy making big films with Big B?

    I am making a movie a day, it’s the same thing. An idea is an idea whether it’s three hours or thirty seconds. The day I stop tripping on getting the high when one gets an idea, that’s the day I will stop. In fact, I haven’t done a film in the last two years, I have been caught up with Lowe Lintas. I do have an idea for a film which I will work on towards the end of this year.

     

    And it will back to Bachchan, I suppose.

    Not back to, WITH Bachchan. I haven’t gone away from him.

     

    What’s with the Bachchan fetish?

    When you work with the ultimate guy it becomes difficult to work with somebody else. He’s phenomenal. Such hunger and greed for performing at the age of 70… it’s truly inspirational. I can keep on making films with him for the rest of my life.

     

    Are you a fan of Abhishek Bachchan too? His career isn’t going anywhere.

    Actually I found his performance in ‘Paa’ the best. It was the most difficult role. I think his problem is more the choice of films rather than the quality of his acting. He’s got his niche, he’s very good at certain things. He’s also a good friend.

     

    So that’s why you keep using him in the IDEA commercials, often when he’s not even needed.

    He’s a better friend of IDEA than he’s of mine. I didn’t choose him, IDEA chose Abhishek.

     

    What are the learnings from movies you’ve taken to advertising?

    The biggest thing that happens when you come back from cinema to advertising is that you are even more impatient. Because cinema takes so much time to execute, you want to make the ads even faster. That’s the reason I like making ads. You make them fast and you move on. There’s an idea a day, and that’s an addiction which is difficult to escape.

     

    Your wife’s directing ‘English Vinglish’. Are you the producer? And what’s it about?

    Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has co-produced it with me, along with another investor. It’s about the insecurities of a middle class woman who doesn’t know English in today’s context. It’s about how she overcomes the fear of English. It’s a very relevant issue to a lot of people in this country. In India, it’s money, fame and (knowledge of) English which determine the class and quality of a person.

     

    Let’s cut to Lowe. Are you still as hands-on as ever?

    I am. There’s so much of work, yaar. Today, Arun (Iyer) and Amer (Jaleel) have taken on a hell of a lot, they handle 50 percent of the business. My travel has come down but my ideation hasn’t. So yes, I am still involved in major things, I know what’s happening. This is not a profession where internal structures and motivations of the agency can dictate solutions for a client. The client comes to an agency for a solution and we have to get it, by hook or by crook. Gone are the days when creative directors would sit on a revolving chair and give motivational advice to people on how to crack things.

     

    Piyush Pandey said to me the reason he isn’t making movies is because he’s not bored of advertising.

    It’s about the number of things you can do, it has nothing to do with being bored of advertising. So maybe some people are capable of doing a lot more and some people are not.

     

    Significant changes you’ve observed in the ad world in recent times.

    It’s the same, in so far as it’s still a problem/solution business. What I find is that the clients today are hungrier for more interesting solutions. I find that clients don’t want to waste an idea. And because of the complexities of the marketing issues, the problem articulation is no longer simple. You can no longer say this is small, this is big or that is cheap. It’s about understanding the complexities and simplifying them. And I find that fewer and fewer people are able to do this. Therefore far more is expected of a creative person today than it ever was. The creative person is now seen as the solutions provider. Planning is now playing a big role in the articulation of the problem. Planners are now working more for the clients than for the agency. This shift is something I don’t quite agree with, but it’s happening. This situation requires more discipline, rigour and understanding from a creative person than ever before.

     

    And I guess this impacts your hiring policies.

    It impacts that hugely. The three Cannes Gold winners don’t make sense any more. Today a lot of senior creative people have to grow within the current system. So you hire junior people who are clever and intelligent and then groom them into the system of understanding problems. It’s very dangerous hiring very senior people from the outside. We went through a phase in advertising where we said we are losing our respect as an industry. That’s changed. Today the clients respect the advertising agency for providing solutions.

     

    Both, Prasoon Joshi and Piyush Pandey told me that the industry is losing talent. There seems to be too much pressure from clients, they no longer pamper creative people. And opportunities have opened up for agency personnel in other industries.

    I don’t agree with this. I actually think there’s never been a better time to be in advertising. You are no longer respected for your whacky ideas, being a maverick won’t get you any special respect. The problem isn’t that the industry is losing talent, the problem is it’s not attracting talent. It’s damn difficult to find talent to address today’s problems. In fact, today there are a lot of people in marketing who want to join advertising. Where we are not attracting the right talent is at the junior level. We as an industry haven’t been able to articulate what is the kind of people we want.

     

    As an old-world creative director, do you find yourself struggling with the new media?

    No. Clients want you do virals in the new media, but it’s still film. The video will never die, though the medium for broadcasting it may have changed. The production methodologies may also have changed. But the idea is the key to it all.

     

    You are not even on Twitter and Facebook. How will you ever understand the digital world?

    The reason I am not on it is that I don’t want the world to know what the fuck I am doing. That’s a personal choice, it has nothing to do with the new media. In fact, today if I am on Facebook, I am a fuddy duddy cock.

     

    The problem, Balki, is that all you uncles are obsessed with the TV commercial.

    I approach a problem very simply. There is a solution, and there is an idea. And if the solution demands a certain kind of medium, you use that. Nobody knew how to make films before or how to make a digital programme. So it’s all about expression. And you go into that particular medium and do it. I didn’t know how to shoot a film earlier, so I went to the experts to do it for me. I don’t watch television at all, but that doesn’t mean I am fuddy duddy on television.

     

    Small shops are springing up. People like Aggie are doing very well. Does that worry you?

    It’s always been happening. What do you think Mohammed Khan and Ravi Gupta did? If Ogilvy and JWT don’t worry me, then why should they? They are all competition. In fact, the more the merrier, it means more people are doing better ads, and that’s fantastic for the ad industry.

     

    Why are so many creative directors branching out on their own?

    In some cases they believe their talent is far superior to what a large agency can harness. The other reason is there are only so many people who can grow to a point in an agency. So it could be the frustration of not being able to grow beyond a point. They have to start their own thing to be what they want to be. The third thing of course is money. Some people want to be richer than what they are.

     

    Words of wisdom for young creative people.

    I think if you like sport, you should come to advertising. There is a hurdle to be crossed every day, there is a goal to be scored, there is a wicket to be taken, there are problems that come your way. It is like a game. The moment you start taking it too seriously, it’s very difficult to function in this business. A lot of things don’t make sense out here.

     

    Shashi Sinha tells me he’s cleaned up the GoaFest judging process. All the scams have been dealt with. But you still won’t take part.

    I believe the advertising industry needs credible awards. But how do you judge advertising? You say, ‘Haha, this is so funny! Oh, what a technique in this one!’ And based on that you award some ads. And two months later the agency loses the business. So obviously it doesn’t work. What the fuck are we doing in advertising? We are supposed to solve a problem interestingly. You are supposed to state the problem and the judges are supposed to ask if that ad could have solved that problem. I judged at Cannes once, and I refused to judge after that. I’ll give you an example of what happens: Those Coke print ads, where someone is sleeping under the shadow of Coca Cola bottles, has been hailed as the greatest piece of creativity. And then you have those great TVCs of Coke with Aamir Khan, which the nation loved, but which they (the Cannes jury) didn’t understand! This kind of judging has no relevance to what the purpose of advertising is. Basically the award show is a game and you play it. So it’s not about cleaning it up, I don’t value what you award.

     

    And you also have a problem with your peers doing the judging.

    Some of them I respect and some I don’t.

     

    So what sort of jury will satisfy you?

    Having some respected marketers on the jury would help. And some very good advertising people. Right now they ask anybody who’s free to come and judge, and that’s not the way to do it. You can’t choose people just because you want representation from various agencies. Thing is, before I give you a piece of work to be evaluated, before I give you the right to say if I am good or bad, I need to be assured you are a person who’s capable of telling me that. We need to first judge the judges.

     

    What disappoints you about the ad world?

    What pains me is the amount we try to market the barometers which decide who’s good and who’s bad in the Indian industry. The Gunn report, the Asian awards, etc, they tom-tom the barometers rather than the advertising itself. And all this has absolutely no relevance to what we do here. It’s time we found a barometer or an evaluation process that tells India which is a good agency. A method through which clients can credibly choose agencies beyond just the surveys and the awards. And this lack of a proper barometer has led to personality driven agencies. This propels a lot of false media management. PR for advertising people happens because of this.

     

    Why don’t YOU work on that barometer?

    Piyush Pandey and I have had many whiskies discussing this, but we only walk away promising that we should drink some more, and that’s about it. (Laughs.)

     

    Click here to view all Goafest 2012 stories

     

  • Axis bank launches its new campaign created by Lowe Lintas, 'Badhti ka naam Zindagi'

    Axis, banking on life’s growth story

    By A Correspondent

     

    Axis Bank has launched a new brand campaign, ‘Badhti ka naam zindagi’. Having established its credentials as a customer-centric bank, the new campaign aims to highlight the bank as a preferred partner in progress.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ar0AoIAVCs[/youtube]The campaign, designed by Lowe Lintas, features Axis Bank’s new brand philosophy of “success as a never-ending story”.

     

    Speaking on the launch of the campaign, Manisha Lath Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Axis Bank said, “Badhti ka naam zindagi or ‘progress on’ is an expression that encapsulates Axis Bank’s belief on the meaning and purpose of life that everyone wishes and works towards. We believe that success today is no longer about having accomplished a goal. It’s about setting newer goals and achieving each one of them. People today feel inspired about their own capabilities and that in turn triggers hope towards a better life.”

     

    R Balki, Chairman, Lowe Lintas, added, “It is fascinating to see how much movies have impacted our lives. When we fall in love there is background music playing in our heads. When we are angry, happy, sad, successful we have begun to see ourselves as actors in our own private film. This is a reality. So to express the philosophy of ‘Badhti ka naam zindagi’ it was interesting to visualize the real journey of life as if it were a film and use a director’s language to plot every step.”

     

    The repositioning of Axis Bank from ‘Aapka Solution’ to ‘Badhti ka naam zindagi’ is an important milestone in the journey of Axis Bank brand. The new campaign marks the evolution of Axis Bank brand from playing the role of a ‘problem solver’ in the customers life, to that of an ‘encouraging and enthusing partner’ by owning an attitude and belief that resonates with the target audience in everyday life.

     

    Axis Bank has also launched two applications, Meri Zindagi ka Safar and Meri Zindagi ki Picture, on its Facebook page. Meri Zindagi ka Safar is an application that lets users mark the places they have travelled to, thus enabling them to find out how much distance have they covered in these journeys of their life. The premise is that one is enriched by one’s experiences as one travels, and this helps people learn and grow and progress in their lives.

     

    Meri Zindagi ki Picture lets users compile their images in a showcase of their life’s story.

     

  • After calling for a pitch in October last year, Colorplus has decided to partner with Lowe Bangalore.

    Lowe Lintas Bangalore to handle ColorPlus creative

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    The creative mandates for Colorplus, casual wear offering from the Raymond Brand, have been awarded to Lowe Bangalore and industry sources close to the development confirmed the news to MxM India.

     

    The incumbent on the account was Rubecon. The creative agencies on Raymond’s roster include RK Swamy BBDO and TBWA. RK Swamy has worked on this account for around a decade whereas TBWA Mumbai was added to the roster in January 2011.

     

    The media agency on the Raymond account is the RK Swamy Media Group. In December 2010, Raymond had consolidated its media planning and buying with the RK Swamy Media Group, comprising Media Direction, Digital Direction, Hansa Media Services, and Hansa Outdoor.

     

    It may be recalled that in December last year, Raymond released an ad campaign aimed at popularising its lesser known product offerings, one of which was ColorPlus. The campaign was rolled out with the objective of informing customers that The Raymond Shop is a one-stop shopping destination for men, complete with all Raymond’s brands under one roof. The ad marked a digression from the parent brand’s age old positioning – The Complete Man.

     

    ColorPlus is a complete lifestyle brand that was launched in 1993, and stands for luxury and style.

     

  • Ogilvy & Cadbury were Client & Agency of the Year respectively @ Effies 2011. Vodafone & JWT were runner-up. Taproot bagged Grand Effie for Pepsi

    Cadbury & O&M top Effies 2011 honours

     

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    On an exhilarating race day, at a place where horses would be galloping and competing their way for a finish to the top, yesterday it was the turn of the advertising fraternity to trot the turf and vie for their prized silverware. Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai was host to Effies 2011, the only awards show of its kind that recognizes effective advertising by creative agencies.

     

    Having finished as the agency with the highest number of shortlists, Ogilvy & Mather didn’t disappoint as it swooped a bagful of awards – 19 metals in all – leading it to be pronounced the Effie Agency of the Year for 2011. With a tally of 195 points – 7 Golds, 6 Silvers and 6 Bronzes, Ogilvy thumped its nearest rival JWT by almost thrice the number of metals, a milestone that has been a regular affair at the awards. JWT came a distant second with 65 points – 3 Golds, 1 Silver, 2 Bronzes, while DDB Mudra and Lowe Lintas were tied for the third spot with 45 points each.

     

    The icing on the cake for O&M was when its coveted client Cadbury was declared the Effie Client of the Year. With 4 Golds and 2 Silvers, Cadbury edged out Vodafone India – an Ogilvy client as well – which occupied the second spot with 2 Golds, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze. HUL came third with a single Gold and 4 Bronzes.

     

    Flagging off the awards ceremony, Shashi Sinha, President of the Bombay Ad Club welcomed the gathering by stating that it had been a stellar an experience for the organising committee and the judges who managed to sieve and rummage through a bundle of noteworthy entries. Apart from the big number of entries and new additions the event managed to attract, Sinha said that the awards was different from the others, as it was run on international guidelines and was importantly, controversy-free.

     

    Lavishing praises on the event, Chairperson – Effie Committee and fellow-member, Ajay Kakar began by citing an anecdote. “During my early days as an executive in an ad agency, I used to often hear marketers say that half the money I spent on advertising is wasted and the trouble is, which half was wasted was not known. But with the instituting of the Effies, that perception has changed. In fact, it is the only awards show where both the client and the ad agency walk together to collect the awards.”

     

    According to Kakar, it was truly a remarkable experience for the organising committee this year as there were more categories – 12 in all, which saw around 300 entries and the 80 judges had the arduous task of shortlisting the best.

     

    Winning stance

    Elated with another super showing, Abhijit Avasthi, NCD, Ogilvy India remarked: “We are absolutely thrilled, given that Effies is a culmination of the year’s efforts and that it is the right balance between creativity and effectiveness in the marketplace. What’s more reassuring and satisfying is that the wins are across a lot of categories and clients.”

     

    When asked to comment on his client bagging the Client of the Year award Avasthi said: “Though we are happy that Cadbury has bagged the Client of the Year award, we have been supported phenomenally well by our other clients too.”

     

    Not disheartened by the performance of his agency, Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT India, which came in second, said: “Every year, around this time, we review the works that we do for our clients and given our standing at the Effies this year, we hope to start 2012 with a brand new team so as to compete closely with the No 1.”

     

    On Effies being a great creative platform for agencies, Colvyn said: “I think Effies is a great platform for one to showcase their work, because finally, creativity may be everything but this is as important, if not more important, from a client’s point of view. If you are not successful in the marketplace, then nothing else matters. So my ambition is obviously to do well at the Effies and back that up with a good creative showing as well.”

     

    It was a night of thrilling proportions for Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi from Taproot India as they bagged the envious Grand Effie award. Sharing his initial reaction on the win, Agnello Dias, co-founder, Taproot India said: “It keeps getting better. When I won for Lead India, I thought this is it; I won’t get another Grand Effie. Then Teach India happened and this year I won a Grand Effie again. So it keeps getting better. It’s even more satisfying that we are doing it outside of a large network agency and we are doing it on our own.” On the hopes for next year, Aggie said that he aimed to continue the feat with Airtel and maybe also Pepsi.

     

    Enumerating on their win, Santosh Padhi, co-founder of Taproot India said: “We had sent four entries, of which three were shortlisted, while two bagged awards. So I guess it was a pretty good showing. Considering the size of our agency – we have around 30 people, versus other big agencies that have 3,000 people, or more. Competing with them and coming fifth is an outstanding achievement for us. This shows that it is not numbers that matter but the power of an idea that is important.”

     

    Joseph George, CEO, Lowe Lintas, which tied for the third spot, said: “I think we could have done much better because Effies are the only awards that we seriously participate in. Actually, we were a bit disappointed with the shortlist itself considering we had sent more than 20 entries. But no worries, we will try harder and do better next year. What is important is that the No 1 tag is never to be taken for granted and the same goes for No 2 and 3. So we hope to be back next year, bigger and stronger.”

     

    The other commendable awards for the night included Marico Uncommon Sense Award that was bagged by O&M for Vodafone’s ‘Blackberry for Everyone’ and Brand Equity Bravery Award that was bagged by BBDO India for Gillette Mach3 Turbo – Shavesutra.

     

    Tally:

     

    Effie Client tally:

  • 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.”

  • Lowe Lintas has bagged the creative mandate for Videocon D2H and UltraTech Cement

    First on MxMIndia: Lowe Lintas wins Videocon D2H and UltraTech creative biz

    By A Correspondent

    It’s high five time at Lowe Lintas. MxMIndia learns that Lowe Lintas has bagged the creative mandate for Videocon D2H, direct-to-home (DTH) service provider arm of Videocon Group and UltraTech Cement. Although there is no official confirmation of the news, reliable sources have affirmed that the deed is done. The incumbent for Videocon D2H is Publicis Ambience whereas for UltraTech it is Interface.

     

    The creative pitch for UltraTech was called last year and had seen the participation of agencies such as Lowe Lintas, McCann Erickson, JWT and Mudra.

     

    Videocon d2h is a pay TV provider, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to commercial and residential customers in India.

     

     

    Part of the Aditya Birla Group, UltraTech Cement one of the largest exporters of cement clinker in India. The export markets span countries around the Indian Ocean, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

     

    It may be remembered that last year, Lowe Lintas had undergone a restructuring as Charles Cadell CEO India bid adieu to the agency. It brought in the dual NCD structure with Amer Jaleel and Arun Iyer as the head reporting to R Balki, Chairperson of the agency. And then Joseph George was elevated to the post of CEO. Meanwhile, the agency has been consistently pocketing new businesses. It has won creative mandate for Suzlon, 3M and iProf among others. The agency has also been in the news for its recently created campaign for Suzlon titled p.a.l.s (Pure Air Lovers Society) and Idea Cellular’s population control campaign – 3G pe India busy.