MxMIndia

Tag: Madison World

  • Here's the detailed Pitch Madison Advertising Report as released last week, courtesy of Madison World

    ‘PMAR’: Full Report

    By Sam Balsara, Vikram Sakhuja & Nilesh Bagaria

     

    Key Findings – 2015

    1. The Indian advertising industry in 2015 grew by another 17.6%, close on the heels of
    LY growth of 16.5%. This growth is 4 percentage pointshigher than our mid-year projections of 13.8%. The Indian Media Industry is BOOMING, like never before. It is interesting to note that it took 5 years (2008 – 13) for Industry to add Rs10586 crores,moving up from Rs21520 crores to Rs32106croresbut only 2 years (2013-15) to add Rs11885 crores to reach Rs43991crores. With this growth, India finally earned the distinction of being the fastest growing Advertising market in the world.

     

     

    In terms of absolute numbers, the Indian advertising industry has increased by Rs.6,586crores to touch Rs. 43,991crores in 2015. The categories who have contributed most to the overall growth in 2015 are FMCG, E-commerce,Autoand Telecom/DTH. FMCG continues to be the most dominant sector with a 28% share of the total Indian advertising industry followed by E-commerce (10%) & then Auto (9%). Contrary to the general perception that it is E-commerce that has taken the media market by storm, it is good old FMCG that has contributed more than Rs 2050 Crores to the overall growth. E-commerce came a distancefourth with a contribution to the overall growth of Rs793 Crores. E-commerce, though has become the second largest category, a distant second, but second, after FMCG

     

    2. TV has grown by a whopping 22% to reach Rs. 17,261crores and is on track with our mid-year projections of 21% growth. With close to 40% share, television continues to be  the largest contributor to the advertising pie. In terms of absolute numbers, TV advertising has grown by Rs. 3,103crores

     

    • The main categories who have fuelled the overall growth ofRs 3103crores in 2015 are FMCG (Rs1413crores), Telecom/DTH (Rs499crores), E-commerce(Rs 457crores ) and Auto (Rs 326crores)
    • E-commerce category grew dramatically by 60% to reach Rs 1223crores. However in absolute terms it contributes only 7% to overall TV market
    • 2015’s biggest cricketing event ICC Cricket world Cup contributed approxRs 500 crores tothe overall growth. IPL had another successful year and netted almost Rs 1000 crores in 2015
    • In terms of category contribution, the pecking order remains the same with a marginal 2%agepoints shift in contribution from FMCG to E-commerce.FMCG however, continues to rule the roost contributing 52% share of total TV spends (down from last year’s 54%), followed by Telecom / DTH (10%) & Auto (8%).
    • Looking at genres, within Television, Hindi GEC contributes nearly 28% of the overall TV revenue and continues to remain the leader of the pack. In terms of growth, Hindi GEC, Sports and South regional show substantial increase.

     

     

    • With all networks selling HD channels separately for regular as well impact properties, revenue from HD channels has grown dramatically in 2015 although the base is very small still.
    • The impact of TRAI’s 10+2 ruling seems to be on the wane, with many channels having telecast more than 12 mins/hr of FCT. This has also been confirmed by TRAI in their latest press release. This increase in FCT has also been a major contributing factor to the dramatic increase of 22% in the TV Advertising Market.

     

    3. Print has also grownsubstantially, by as much as 11% (compared to our forecast of 5.3 %) to reach Rs. 16,935crores and continues to be the second highest contributor after TV to the total advertising pie, with a share close to 39%. While dailies increased by 12% in 2015 over 2014, magazines as a medium failed to gain advertiser interest and has seen anegative growth of 3% in 2015. Nearly 70%, of Print’s growth of Rs 1661 crores is accounted by just 3 categories-Ecommerce (Rs 398 crores), FMCG (Rs393crores)and Auto (Rs360 crores). Another 22% is accounted by Education (Rs 224crores) and HH durables (Rs 144crores) to the overall growth.

     

     

    In terms of category contribution, the decision of many publishing houses to follow a differential pricing for FMCG has begun to bear results and now FMCG is also the largest contributor to the Print Pie, with a contribution of 15%. Automobiles is second largest contributor at 13%, followed by Education (10%). Also whilst in contribution E-commerce comes way down, it shows the highest growth of 120%.

     

    While only 4 categories account for 75% of Television advertising, it takes as many as 10 categories to contribute the same to print advertising demonstrating that print is less vulnerable to any category degrowth.

     

    In terms of Volume Cc among dailies, Hindi publications continue to be ahead of English Dailies. Hindi publications contribute 35% of the total volume while English publications contribute 25 %.In our estimates, though in terms of growth of volume Ccboth English& Hindi publication have grown at same rate of 7 – 8%.  Telugu publications also grown at the same rate.Bengali & Oriya publicationsshows the highest increase of 13 – 14% but Gujarati publications show a decline of 4%.

     

     

    4. Digital – At 29%, growth in digital media is in line with our earlier expectation. Digital advertising market now crosses the Rs. 5000 crore mark.

     

    Though the absolute spends on Search have increased, its share of the digital pie has gone down due to the fact that video, social and mobile display have grown at a faster rate last year. Desktop display growth has also further slowed down, as mobile is the all –pervasive platform of choice today.

     

    While E-commerce players are by far the biggest spenders on digital, spends are skewed towards Search and Social with Mobile as a key platform. The uplift in Video comes from the fact that more and more FMCG players are using the digital space to reach out to their audiences to support their television campaigns.

     

    5. Radio has grown by 20% in 2015 to become aRs1545 croremarket and has maintained its share of the total Advertising pie at 3.5%.In terms of absolute numbers, Radio advertising has grown by Rs. 260 crores.

     

    E-commerce advertisers have emerged as one of the main contributors to the growth followed by Automobiles category. Revenue from Ecommerce players in facthas almost doubled in 2015 on Radio on account of various offer-based tactical campaigns. Automobile category has grown by more than 36% on radio in 2015 on the back of new launches across segments.

     

     

    In terms of category contribution, Real Estate &FMCG sector continue to lead the pack contributing to 10% each of total Radio spends followed by Telecom / DTH& Auto sector (both at 7%).E-commerce now shows up as a major contributor at 6%.

     

    The growth has come on the back of higher inventory sold across stations.

     

    6. OOH –Our OOH estimates now include Digital OOH & Malls which are growing quite rapidly and hence we have re-cast OOH revenue figures for last 3 years when this sub segment began to emerge. Digital OOH & Malls revenue are estimated at Rs 300 crores in 2015 (Digital OOH & Malls netted additional 100 Crores in 2014 & 50 crores in 2013). The OOH market has grown by  14%, in 2015. Transit media though grew by 13%.

     

    In terms of absolute numbers, OOH advertising is now a respectable Rs 2665 crores market.  Retail, Real Estate & Automotive continue to be thetop 3 categories in terms of contribution.

     

    Highest growth was in E-Commerce category (110%) followed by Automotive (66%), both together, contributing 60% of the overall growth. The usual big spenders- TV Channels, Banks, Print Media, Mutual Funds etc reduced their OOH spends in 2015.

     

    FMCG which is the largest contributor to TV, Print & Radio does not use OOH substantially except perhaps HUL, therefore FMCG contribution to OOH is only 7%

     

     

    In terms of city wise spread, Mumbai continues its lead as a major contributor (22%) followed by Delhi (19%). Bangalore replaces Kolkata as the number 3 city with a contribution of (10%).

     

    OOH has maintained its contribution to the total media pie, at 6%.

     

    7. Cinema

    We recognize that we have under-reported cinema advertising in our earlier estimates. Cinema advertising from various government agencies and many local / retail advertisersusing static slides are  a substantial contributor and growing quite rapidly. Therefore we have included spends by these advertisers for this year and also in our estimates of previous years.

     

    This has led Cinema to grow by 21% and now contributes 1% to the total advertising pie with total revenue of Rs. 465 crores in 2015. The multiplex boom in smaller towns, digitization of single screens, and substantially increased activity on marketing of movies (both Bollywood & Hollywood)has created interest around the medium thathas attracted new advertisers.

     

    8. Top Advertisers of India.This year in response to many requests from the advertising & media professionals, we are releasing approximate spends of top 50 advertisers of India for the year 2015.

     

    Advertising continues to be a game of the big boys. Top 50 advertisers account for 36% of the advertising market. This number is significant considering that there are over 2 lakhs advertisers in Print and over 12000 advertisers in TV. Top 10 advertisers account for as much as 17% of the total market and contribute to 47% of the total 50 list. By the time you reach rank 50, you are down from 2300 – 2500 crores to a 100 – 150 crores. A note of caution, some advertisers who in our list  rank between 50 – 60 may well be in reality in the top 50 list or vice-versa.

     

    HUL continues to lead the pack with  spends of about Rs. 2500 crores followed by Amazon India, Procter& Gamble,  Flipkart,Maruti Suzuki, Mondelez, Godrej,ITC, Snapdeal and Reckitt who has spends  between 400 – 1000 crores and who make up our  Top Ten list.

     

    We may mention that many Madison clients feature in this list but we hasten to add that we have not used confidential information that we are privy to in arriving at this list. The list has been arrived at using a standard structured process.

     

     

    HUL also leads the pack of top advertisers in OOH media for the year 2015

     

     

    2016 Forecast

    Our prognosis for 2016 is that it is going to be yet another GOOD YEAR for Media. In arriving at the numbers we are conditioned by the fact that the Indian economy has become the fastest growing economy of the world; our GDP growth rate at 7%+ is the envy of the western world, now  looking at India in new light; our BJP govt tells us that it has made a number of structural interventions to prepare the economy for high growth and continues to remind us that they are strongly focused on stimulating the country’s economic growth for which pro- business policies are essential; at the same time not ignoring subsidies for the poor, which should also add to purchasing power of Rural India  and finally Commodity prices including that of Oil  are likely to remain soft throughout 2016. Although Indian businesses have expressed concern that all the positive actions taken by the Govt. have not resulted in growth on the ground, we feel that India Inc. remains very optimistic about India’s future and they will once again invest heavily in advertising to protect and gain market share of their brands and also launch   a number of new brands and variants and ecommerce platforms and apps to capture the imagination and meet the requirements of modern India.

     

    All this will help the advertising market cross the Rs. 50,000 croremark.

     

    1. We expect the market to grow by more than Rs. 7300 crores to reach a total size of Rs. 51365 crores, which represents a growth of 16.8% over 2015.  India will also retain the distinction of being fastest growing advertising market in the world for the second consecutive year.

     

    On the supply side a big contributor of this growth will be the ICC Cricket T20 World Cup and the busy schedule of India Cricket for next 6 months. TV will continue as the largest contributor to the overall advertising pie with a share of 40% gaining a further one percentage point. Share of digital spends will increase to a respectable 13% of the overall advertising pie.

     

     

    2. TV: Paradoxically, as India races to have 500 million users on the Net, we expect TV, most Brands’ all-time favourite medium to grow by another Rs 3450 crores or 20% in 2016 to reach a total figure of Rs. 20,713 crores.

     

    Factors that will lead to this high growth are:

    • Organic growth coming from  the largest contributor to TV Market, FMCG.
    • Entry of new Chinese manufacturers that will enter India specially in Electronics and Mobile Handsets like Vivo, Xiomi, Le-Eco and many others.
    • Big bang launch of Reliance 4G services Jio anytime soon, and the defensive efforts of existing telecom operators.
    •  30 new car and 25 new two wheeler launches expected in the Auto industry.
    • Continued emergence of new E-commerce advertisers, covering more and more categories and new services.
    • Election campaigns of  Political parties, given that 5 State assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Pondicherry  & Kerala are scheduled in  2016.

     

    New channel launches from existing networks will increase inventory supply to absorb this growth, as also the inevitable rate increases.


    3. Print: We expect the Print advertising market to grow by a further 10% in 2016, mainly from dailies, taking the total print market close to Rs. 18,600 crores. Most of this growth will come from language publications and new editions by regional publishers that will attract new Retail advertisers.

     

    Other factors contributing to growth of Print advertising market are likely to be:

    • Election campaign in the 5 States heading for Assembly Elections this year
    • Organic growth  from various  Print loyalists  like  Auto, Durables and Education.
    • Big Bang launches, using Front page jackets  by new Mobile apps and stream of tactical offers by Ecommerce  and Retail companies
    • Multiple launches across both 4-wheelers and 2-wheelers from all leading auto companies

     

    4.       Digital

    We expect Digital to gain momentum and grow by about 30% in 2016 to reach close to Rs 6,650 crores. Search spends are likely to stabilize and Desktop Display would see a further downward trend in terms of share of pie.

     

    Programmatic Buying has seen some traction in 2015; this is likely to get further strengthened in 2016. With more  users on mobile, spends will be strongly focused on this platform; and whether it is Search, Social or Video, about 80% of all ad impressions will be delivered on the mobile device.

     

    As the reach of digital crosses 400mn, digital will start coming into its own; some advertisers will begin to use it  as a reach and awareness building medium; it will, however, not lose its importance as a ‘conversion’ or ‘performance’ medium and as a strong support medium to TV.

     

    FMCG, telecom, consumer durables, real estate, apparel and BFSI will continue to be growth drivers; E-Commerce will remain the backbone of the industry.

     

    5. Radio: We expect Radio to grow by 18% in 2016 taking the total Radio Advertising market close to Rs. 1,800 crores

     

    Factors contributing to this growth will be:

    • Election campaigns in the 5 States heading for Assembly Elections this year.
    • Multiple launches across both 4-wheelers and 2-wheelers from all leading auto companies
    • Many new radio stations emerging  after winning bids in the recently held Phase 3 auctions.

    6. Outdoor: We expect Outdoor to grow by 13% in 2016  taking the total Outdoor Advertising Market to more than Rs. 3000 crores.

    Many of the factors outlined for Print and Radio will also be responsible for driving the growth of Outdoor. We see also a higher adoption of Digital and Technology and greater usage of Transit Media at Airports and Metros .

     

    7. Cinema: We expect cinema to grow by 15% in 2016 taking the total Cinema Advertising revenue to Rs. 535 crores.  Digitisation of single screens, presence of multiplex screens in tier-II and III towns & increasing popularity of Hollywood & Regional films in India are expected to fuel the  growth of Cinema advertising.

     

     

    In conclusion, 2016 promises to be yet another high growth year for the Indian advertising market. Perhaps no market anywhere in the world has grown consistently across last 3 years to achieve a growth of 60 %from 2013 to 2016.In the previous 3 years from 2010 – 2013, the growth has only been 28%.

     

    Paradoxically the market enablers are growing at a faster rate than the markets they hope to stimulate. Not many categories in the past 3 years would have grown by 60%.

     

    A sure sign that India Inc. has confidence in India’s future.

     

    Source: Madison World

     

  • A Q&A with the Madison World chairman on the Pitch Madison Advertising Review released last week

    Industry will once again invest heavily in advertising: Sam Balsara

     

    According to the recently-released Pitch Madison Advertising Report 2016, adspends grew by 17.6 per cent in 2015 and are expected to notch up another 16.8 per cent growth this year. Given the poor shape the markets and the economy are in, this does seem a tad unrealistic. But Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World, doesn’t think so. He tells Pradyuman Maheshwari that the optimism is not misplacedand if advertisers and media owners to read the full report, not only would they get a better understanding of the media market, but also sharpen their strategies in line with that.

     

    A 16.8 per cent, overall growth is huge. And we hear of doom and gloom all over. The markets are tanking, the economy isn’t looking hunky-dory either. So is the report being over-optimistic about  2016 adspends?

    The report outlines, in reasonable detail, the reasons for our optimism. Please see the commentary under Forecast 2016.  Primarily, confidence of the Indian Industry in Indian markets is growing by leaps is high and accompanied by low commodity prices. The industry will once again invest heavily in Indian advertising. Advertising is recognised as a trusted engine to stimulate demand.

     

    And the 17.6 per cent growth of 2015 confirms it’s ‘achche din’?

    Yes, the figures took us by surprise too. As you know, we revised upwards the TV figures mid-year, but the final figures for TV exceeded our mid -year revision, and all other media too grew more than our forecast. In fact, print grew at twice the growth rate we projected.

     

    Madison has always known to be more conservative than the others in its spends forecast…

    Our attempt is always to be realistic. And we try to base our forecast on data and numbers.

     

    Is this essentially on the back of ecommerce, 4G and telecom hardware, and the sporting encounters and leagues?

    FMCG, with its dominant size, will be the largest contributor to growth, supported by what you mention.

     

    Television is seeing a huge growth still. What would you attribute this growth to?

    Television continues to be the large advertisers’ chosen and dominant medium for brand-building. Many advertisers now use a support medium, though. TV, along with digital, makes for a potent combination today, with TV working at top of the funnel and  digital at the middle-to-lower end.

     

    And there’s no sign of print growing in a big way. But in print do you see different trends in English mainstream, regional and magazines?

    Print will grow by another 10 per cent in 2016, according to our forecast. Regional will grow at a faster rate than English. Magazines will remain flat.

     

    Would you predict the demise of the print magazine as it is today by, say, 2020

    No. Magazines are a useful medium and have a role, though limited in the marketing mix.

     

    Most forecasters are bullish about radio, and said the good times will begin with Phase 3. But do you really see much happening there? It’s the second-lowest among media vehicles in 2016…

    Over the next two years, radio should show high growth. It’s a good medium for new advertisers where entry barriers are low.

     

    The Top 10 spenders account for 17 per cent of the total market. In a sense, it’s far from the 80-20 Pareto Principle. But three e-commerce players in it, and no devices or telecom major in there. How come?As we said, advertising is a Big Boy’s game. The e-commerce players are in the growth stage and looking forward to converting millions more to e-shopping. Telecom is in a mature stage. But data wars will see more action here in 2016.

     

    The FMCG growth of 20 per cent to Rs 12,364 crore is heartening. Would you attribute this steady rise to any reason or was it expected?

    Soft commodity prices is one major reason. And FMCG advertisers know that it is very expensive to regain lost share, so nobody wants to let go.

     

    The Madison report is the last of the four annual adspend reports releasing at this time of the year. An unfair question to ask, but how would you differentiate this from the others which exist?

    We like to wait till we have seen data for January-December, and most companies in India follow an April-to-March panning cycle, so its timing is perfect.

    A slightly shorter version of this appeared in dna of brands on Monday, February 15, 2016

     

  • Facebook did not get its 'free basics' campaign right, say brand consultants

    So what went wrong with Free Basics?

     

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    MUMBAI: Facebook didn’t get the tone of its extensive Free Basics campaign right, said brand consultants and advertising veterans.

     

    The social media company failed to gain enough public support, win over the government or convince the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which ruled against discriminatory pricing for data services on Monday, effectively shutting down the initiative.

     

    “It’s fair to say it was a mishandled campaign for a company that’s trying to launch a new initiative,” said Futurebrands India CEO Santosh Desai. “It was a naked show of muscle power.

     

    Also, the campaign didn’t fit with their alleged intention at all.” The campaign was accused of seeking to manipulate opinion, with Trai publicly expressing displeasure over a Facebook survey that purported to show widespread public support for Free Basics.

     

    It may have been a better idea to show that Facebook was working in collaboration with the government’s objectives instead, the experts said. The campaign was too “in-your face,” said brand expert Harish Bijoor. “Bureaucrats’ political masters are a voter-sensitive audience,” he said.

     

    The Narendra Modi government has been at pains to distance itself from allegations of crony capitalism, he pointed out. It was surprising that Facebook seemed to get this wrong.

     

    Industry sources say Facebook had earmarked upwards of Rs 150 crore for the Free Basics campaign. By November last year, the company had spent around Rs 25-30 crore on print, digital and outdoor campaigns, according to media agency sources, including ads in this paper.

     

    It may have spent about Rs 50 crore on the Free Basics advertising campaign until this week, they said. “I think the campaign missed a trick or two,” said Sam Balsara, chairman of Madison World.

     

    “While the campaign or its aggressive nature cannot be the only reason behind Trai’s decision, I think Indians didn’t relate to it so well.” MG Parameswaran, former executive director of FCB Ulka, said Facebook should have employed more subtle methods.

     

    “They should have reached out to influential bloggers and used social media more effectively to explain what it actually meant,” he said. Some experts pointed to the manner in which overseas companies such as Uber and Nestle have sought to deal with difficult situations in India.

     

    The taxi aggregator has had to deal with the fallout of a passenger being raped in an Uber cab and hostile scrutiny of the way in which it does business.

     

    Uber hasn’t embarked on advertising campaigns to build its business in India as it has overseas. It has instead tried other strategies, including social media messaging.

     

    After being banned briefly, Nestle’s Maggi noodles returned with an advertising campaign created by Prasoon Joshi of McCann India aimed at winning both the trust of consumers and the government. And Joshi’s take on the Facebook campaign? “It will be unfair to blame an ad campaign for what the democracy or the government decides,” he said.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2016, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The event saw important facts about the necessity of toilets being discussed

    Madison IES executes innovation on World Toilet Day

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison IES, the activation and experential unit of Madison OOH and Madison World recently completed another interesting event on World Toilet Day for its client ROCA Bathroom products by creating a giant WC installation in DLF Place Mall, Saket, New Delhi. The event saw important facts about the necessity of toilets being discussed and customers were motivated to be a part of this noble initiative by signing a Pledge. ROCA further pledged to create 50 toilets for every 10 pledges they received at the event.

     

    Sharing the objective behind the activation, Jyotsana Singh Kaushik, Sr. Manager PR & Digital Marketing, ROCA says, “The objective behind this event was not to just create awareness or brand presence, but to invite the public to pledge their support towards hygienic sanitation for every Indian in line with the PM’s vision. We have received an encouraging response and are in the process of allocating the toilets for under-privileged sections of society.”

     

    Speaking about the activation Saumen Roy, VP & Head, Madison IES says, “People generally hesitate to have a discussion on such a private topic as a toilet; but this activation succeeded in breaking this taboo. It inspired, motivated and educated those present to talk, discuss, inspire and sensitize others on the need to have proper sanitation for all.  Moreover we were all really delighted that we could pull off the project, from idea to execution in just 3 days time.”

     

  • Madison Media Group has been on an account winning spree, having won a host of new businesses in 2015

    Madison Media wins accounts across offices

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison Media has just announced a slew of key business wins over the past two months. They include Hamilton, glassware and Thermoware Company that owns Milton and Treo brands; Piramal Realty and celebrity lifestyle company USPL with brands WROGN and Imara in Mumbai. In Bangalore, the agency has won the accounts of ilovediamonds.com and Phaneesh Murthy’s healthcare portal zigy.com. The agency has also won Delhi-based shoe company Aerobok with the brand Aqualite.

     

    Sam Balsara

    Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World said, “I am delighted that we have won so many new accounts and it is heartening to know that many of these have been won without a pitch based on our agency credentials.”

     

    Madison Media Group has been on an account winning spree, having won a host of new businesses in 2015 including Snapdeal, Shaadi.com, Oyo Rooms, Viber, Lenskart.com, Zivame.com, Metro Cash & Carry, Gaana.com, Cricbuzz.com, Amul Hosiery, Bandhan Bank, amongst others.

     

     

  • The account will be handled out of the agency's Delhi office

    Madison Media wins OYO Rooms mandate

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison Media Plus, a part of Madison Media Group has just announced the win of OYO Rooms. The account was won in a multi-agency pitch. The account will be handled out of the agency’s Delhi office.

     

    OYO Rooms is India’s largest branded network of hotels founded by young entrepreneur, 21-year-old Ritesh Agarwal. OYO Rooms currently operates in more than 100 Indian cities including Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Goa, Chennai, Kolkata and others. OYO is present in major metros, regional hubs, leisure destinations and pilgrimage towns. According to a research carried out by CB Insights for The New York Times, OYO Rooms is among the companies that may be the next start-up unicorns.The company is backed by investors like the Softbank Group, Lightspeed India, Sequoia Capital and Greenoaks Capital.

     

    Says Abhinav Sinha, Chief Operating Officer, OYO Rooms, on selecting Madison Media, “Madison is the biggest name in marketing communications and we are very proud to be associated with them. I am sure that under the able leadership of Mr. Sam Balsara, the Madison team will take OYO to new heights and we will soon be a household name. At OYO, we believe that everybody deserves an amazing experience when staying out of home, and, it is great that Madison will be taking OYO’s message to the people.”

     

    Sam Balsara

    Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World, “I am delighted that we have won this young but extremely promising business and are looking forward to help OYO Rooms become a household name in the country. It is really exciting to see such a young entrepreneur making a mark so early in life.”

     

  • The brief given to Madison IES was to position Eros Now as a new age digital platform

    Madison IES unveils Eros Now

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison IES, the activation and experential unit of Madison OOH and Madison World has launched Eros Now, the online entertainment platform of Eros.

     

    The brief given to Madison IES was to position Eros Now as a new age digital platform and to achieve this, the logo was unveiled on a curved led screen. A mammoth logo entrance arch and a pink carpet presence went hand in hand with the theme of the event. Customized product stations were created  to give enhanced experience to media & guests.

     

    Akshay Sharma, Marketing Head, Eros Now said, “Madison really stepped up to the occasion to deliver what was expected from an event of this calibre. Their understanding of the brief to position Eros Now as a new age digital platform for today’s users reflected in every detail and at every stage of the event. The result was a blend of world class technology with flawless execution.”

     

    Saumen Roy, General Manager & Head, Madison IES, says, “Eros is an iconic brand and it is a matter of pride for us, having won the mandate from the pioneering global entertainment leader. We used a curved led and managed to setup  this mammoth task in less than 10 hours. We look forward to working on many such assignments with Eros in the near future.”

     

  • Madison Media will now be the Media Agency of Snapdeal effective July 1, 2015 but work on the account will start almost immediately, informs a communique

    Madison Media snaps up Snapdeal wef July 1

    By A Correspondent [updated]

     

    Madison Media Plus, a part of Madison Media Group, has just announced the win of Snapdeal. The account – run by OMD – was won after a multi agency pitch. The account will be handled out of the agency’s Delhi office. Madison Media will now be the Media Agency of Snapdeal effective July 1, 2015 but work on the account will start almost immediately, informs a communiqué.

     

    Said Srinivas Murthy, Senior Vice President – Marketing, Snapdeal.com on selecting Madison Media, “We are very happy to have Madison partner with us on media going forward. They bring tremendous experience across categories, with learnings across multiple growth industries that can be leveraged for us. Madison is known for the high quality of media professionals and we look forward to them helping us drive our business to new heights.”

     

    Sam Balsara

    Added Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World, “I am delighted that Snapdeal after an exhaustive competitive review has found Madison Media to be worthy of handling this large and demanding account. Today Madison Media offers an unparalleled depth of leadership, with unmatched experience and expertise and this will be further strengthened with the joining of VikramSakhuja in a few months as Group CEO of Madison Media and OOH.”

     

    Madison Media Group has won a host of new businesses in 2015including Viber, Lenskart.com, Zivame.com, Metro Cash & Carry, Gaana.com, Cricbuzz.com, Amul Hosiery, DHFL, Bandhan Bank, amongst others. The gross billing of Madison Media Group is about Rs 3750 crore, adds the communiqué.

    As reported earlier, the digital mandate for Snapdeal has been bagged by GroupM arm Mindshare.

     

  • The Madison World Chairman and Managing Director talks on bringing Vikram Sakhuja on board, on no plans to retire & the oft-asked question on selling out

    No stake sale on cards: Sam Balsara

     

    Hours after announcing the news of Vikram Sakhuja coming on board as an equity partner and group CEO, Madison World Chairman and Managing Director Sam Balsara spoke on the announcement, his expectations from Sakhuja and rumours on stake sale in an interview with Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    This is by far the biggest news of the year in the world of media.  Formidable rivals and now bedfellows, in a sense.  So clearly there is no permanent rivalry, in business?

    Yes, that’s true. In today’s complex and uncertain world, one learns to collaborate and compete at the same time. Look at our relationship with WPP. We collaborate with them in Mediacom with our 51:49 partnership and our Madison Media competes  with their Group M at the same time. Telecom companies compete fiercely in the market place for data and voice but collaborate on Towers.

     

    We have of course seen you together several times, you would jointly host a media quiz some years back, so there’s clearly a fairly good relationship that both of you have had over the years?

    Yes, I know Vikram very closely for the last over 20 years, first as a client in P&G and Coke, then as a media partner in Star and finally as a worthy competitor in Group M. I have the highest respect for him as a professional. WPP recognised his exceptional talent and performance by choosing him to be elevated straight from Country Head to Global Head.

     

    I hope your readers appreciate that in my own small humble way I have done my bit to arrest Brain Drain. India has enough potential and can offer rich playing field to top notch Indian professionals. They need not seek greener pastures abroad. I first got Gautam Kiyawat  back from Singapore; now comes Vikram, back from NewYork!

     

    Apart from him captaining the ship, what exactly does Madison hope to achieve with Vikram Sakhuja on board? Any specific targets.

    You will be surprised , at Madison we are not so focussed on financial targets. Yes we work with budgets, but we understand that budgets are after all budgets. It allows our people to operate in a non-pressured environment which is essential in our creative communication field. Remember, we are not a public limited company and do not have to report quarterly profits. But over a long period of time, I can’t say I am unhappy with Madison’s financial performance. It could be much better. But it’s fine.

     

    With someone of Mr Sakhuja’s stature on board, do we see you spending lesser time on the media agency business and concentrate more on others?

    I don’t play golf, so I can’t retire! I hope to stay actively involved and useful to the Company and my clients, without getting into Vikram’s hair!

     

    This is a question you are asked several times over. But we keep hearing of talks between you and international giants for a possible stake sale. Are discussions still on or with this development, all of that will be on hold?

    NO. It is not on the cards. The media and our competition needs something to talk about, so they pick on us. We are fine with that. Any news is good news. We have generally proved most speculative reports to be untrue.

     

    A message to competition on clients on the all-new Madison (with Vikram Sakhuja as Group CEO and Equity Partner)?

    There’s enough opportunity for every competitor to survive and thrive. Let’s all collectively do a good job. That will make the pie grow.

     

    First appeared in dna of brands dated April 22, 2015

     

  • As India's economic growth firms up, Corporate India is demanding sharper insights, strategic partnerships and world-class execution

    Madison PR adds 45 new wins in 2014-15

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison Public Relations has announced that 2014-15 has been yet another year of high growth for the agency. The agency has added 45 new marquee brands to its already formidable client roster.  The agency attributes its success to its innovative campaigns, digital PR, measurable business results and a strong work-life culture, where employees are encouraged to have fun at work, enabling high creativity and productivity.

     

    The agency with its focus on client delight, has established strong capability in the FMCG, Pharma, Hospitality, Luxury and Lifestyle segments and has been known for its long standing relationships with iconic brands and industry leaders such as Procter & Gamble, Britannia, Cafe Coffee Day, Godrej & Boyce, Levis, PUMA, GSK, Go Air, Apollo Health, HBO, Zee News and Lifestyle for many years.

     

    Sam Balsara
    Paresh Chaudhry

    Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World, said, “Increasingly more and more clients are wanting to augment their advertising spends through intelligent use of what the Public Relations discipline has to offer and I am glad that Madison PR has a cutting edge offering in this discipline which has registered substantial growth for the 3rd consecutive year.”

     

    Commenting on this year’s performance CEO, Paresh Chaudhry said, “As India’s economic growth firms up, Corporate India is demanding sharper insights, strategic partnerships and world-class execution. Increase in Digital innovation and engaging influencer- communication has led us to win National and International awards. I am extremely proud of my team’s deep commitment and passion to delight our clients. The year gone by has been a milestone in the journey of Madison PR with tremendous efforts being made in channelizing communications towards the digital route and the growth is a testament to Madison PR’s ability to address today’s dynamic client needs”.

     

  • Expectedly, Star India has hiked World Cup 2015 ad rates after India's performance

    Star twinkles as India shines

     

    By Ravi Teja Sharma & Ratna Bhushan

     

    Star India, official broadcaster of the ongoing cricket World Cup, has lost no time in hiking ad rates for the tournament even further, riding on the two big wins India recorded and all-time high television viewership of the India-Pakistan match. Rates have shot up by almost 25-30% over the past two days, and are in the range of Rs 18 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for a 10-second ad spot, up from close to Rs 12 lakh, said two media buyers requesting anonymity.

     

    Sam Balsara, chairman and managing director at media buying group Madison World said it was usual for broadcasters to up rates on highly watched shows. “India’s performance has been unexpectedly good so far. So its natural to hike rates for any broadcaster,” he said. Media planners say rates may peak that of the last World Cup which India won.

     

    Anita Nayyar

    “The India show gives India more muscle to stick to its rates. Even if advertisers think the rates are too steep, they don’t have a choice,” said a marketing head of a top foods firm. “When the World Cup started, there was scepticism. In the last two matches India has done phenomenally well giving a lot of philip to the tournament. With viewership increasing, Star is increasing rates,” said Anita Nayyar, CEO of Havas Media, India and South Asia. She said there are clients who are waiting for quarters, semi-finals and finals to advertise as they know that people will watch these games irrespective of the Indian cricket team’s presence in the stages.

     

    Media buying firms say now even unconventional advertisers are looking to buy one-off spots, even at a premium, with India almost certain to reach the final league stages. Without specifying the rates, a Star India spokesperson said: “The pricing for the remaining matches is dynamic and depends on the inventory left. Most brands are interested in buying spots for a group of matches, therefore single game spots are sold at a premium.”

     

    Star claims it has over 100 advertisers on the tournament. “The final stage matches will definitely get Star a higher rate. With India doing well, they will get their desired rates for these few matches,” says Vinit Karnik, national director, sports and live events, at GroupM ESP.

     

    The India-Pakistan World Cup thriller on February 15 was watched by 288 million people in India – the most watched event in the country since the last World Cup final, according to data provided by World Cup Star India. In comparison, on the opening day of the World Cup, the Australia-England match was viewed by over 100 million people. The match, which India won convincingly by 76 runs, got a rating of 14.8 TVR among male viewers.

     

    With Star launching commentary on its regional channels, about 76% of the total viewership during the match came from regional and Hindi while the rest came from English, said Star. The India-Pakistan match had also created history on the digital front with Star India’s digital platforms garnering over 25 million views, the highest in the world for a single game.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

    All Rights Reserved, Licensed to republish

     

  • The size of Airtel's media account is upwards of Rs 400 crore, say industry sources, with estimated spends of Rs 350 crore in above-the-line (ATL) advertising and Rs 50 crore on out-of-home (OOH) media

    GroupM bags Airtel account, to set up independent unit; Milestone Brandcom bags Airtel’s Outdoor biz

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta [see update at the end of this story]

     

    GroupM has bagged Bharti Airtel’s media account excluding outdoor, replacing Madison as the media manager of India’s largest mobile carrier by revenue and subscribers after a decade.

     

    The size of Airtel’s media account is upwards of Rs 400 crore, say industry sources, with estimated spends of Rs 350 crore in above-the-line (ATL) advertising and Rs 50 crore on out-of-home (OOH) media.

     

    Milestone Brandcom, which is the outdoor unit of Dentsu Aegis Media, has won the outdoor mandate, said a top official at Airtel. The firm’s creative mandate is split between WPP agency J Walter Thompson, Dentsu Aegis Network agency Taproot and Cartwheel. In response to an email sent to Airtel, a company spokesperson said, “No comments.”

     

    CVL Srinivas

    CVL Srinivas, CEO of GroupM South Asia, said, “We are delighted with the Airtel win.” He said the group will set up a separate ‘team Airtel’ to manage the account. It will be like a parallel unit within the group.

     

    GroupM is in the process of promoting an internal talent to head the Airtel team, who will report to Srinivas.

     

    Madison has been handling Airtel’s main media account since 2005 and its outdoor duties since 2010. The shift in accounts is only for India.

     

    Top officials in know said Madison will continue to handle Airtel account in Sri Lanka.

     

    Officials said the biggest reason behind this shift is because Airtel is looking for a strong partner to help it strategise through this extremely dynamic category. This was especially considering the digital space, “in which Madison has completely missed the bus”, one of them said.

     

    Sam Balsara

    Sam Balsara, CMD at Madison World, said: “Nothing went wrong. You win some. You lose some. Fortunately we win more than we lose.” He said, “Whilst we are sorry to part with Airtel, its impact on total revenue of Madison Media would be very marginal.

     

    It was one of about a dozen large accounts of Madison Media, one of over 50 accounts of Madison Media and one of over 200 of Madison World.”

     

    Airtel had called for two separate pitches. In November last year it put its media mandate on the block including television, print, radio, cinema and digital. This year it called for a separate pitch for the outdoor mandate.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

    All Rights Reserved, Licensed to republish

     

    [MxMIndia Correspondent adds:

    It is learnt that GroupM will set up an independent unit to take care of the Airtel account