MxMIndia

Tag: PepsiCo

  • The idea stays simple, that is, every drop of Tropicana Slice equals rasbharaaaam

    JWT’s new twist for Tropicana Slice

    By A Correspondent

     

    In its journey through the years, Tropicana Slice has been synonymous with mango. This year, Tropicana Slice compass has taken a new direction by combining the mango drink with the experience of consuming a real mango, closing the gap between its bottle and a real mango itself via a fresh new mode of communication. The latest Tropicana Slice TVC by PepsiCo has been conceptualized by JWT-Delhi.

     

    The film opens with our avid mango-lover Katrina sitting in a beautiful outdoor café. She orders her favourite bottle of Tropicana Slice, refusing a glass, she picks it up and instead of uncapping it, she just bites into the bottle which itself is a real mango!!

     

    We can see the juice oozing out from between the cuts of the bottle. The onlookers are mesmerized, as the mango juice flows through her fingers while she’s taking bites from the mango-shaped bottle. It all looks beautifully surreal with this bottle providing an excellent pathway to a completely new product outlook. The TVC ends as another café customer orders the same bottle for her and the voice-over says, “TropicanaSlice, harghoontrasbharaaam”.

     

    This new take using the mango pattern of the Tropicana Slice bottle into a real mango reiterates the fact that this is a mango experience like no other. Tropicana Slice has played a major role defining the real longing and love for mangoes. The idea stays simple, that is, every drop of Tropicana Slice equals rasbharaaaam.

     

  • The company signed a deal to this effect with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) earlier this week

    PepsiCo gets back on pitch with 4-year deal, sponsor for all ODIs & Tests

    By Ratna Bhushan

     

    NEW DELHI: Just four months after exiting the Indian Premier League (IPL)as title sponsor, PepsiCo is back on the cricket pitch by bagging a four-year contract to become a ground sponsor for all one-day international and test matches to be played in India.

     

    PepsiCo signed a deal to this effect with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) earlier this week, said officials who were directly aware of the development.

     

    The maker of Pepsi cola and Lay’s snacks plans to display its sports drink brand Gatorade prominently on the ground, company officials said.

     

    A formal announcement is expected over the next few days. Neither PepsiCo nor BCCI divulged financial details of the deal. “We continue to remain committed to sports in India,” a PepsiCo spokesperson said. “Recently, we were the exclusive beverage sponsor for the All-Star cricket series, we associated with soccer through the ISL’s soccer league and were also the beverage sponsor for the Champions Tennis League started by Vijay Amritraj. Having said that, our association with cricket has become synonymous over the last few years,” the spokesperson said.

     

    PepsiCo had in October last year terminated its five-year contract as title sponsor for the IPL two years ahead of schedule on ethical concerns after a series of match fixing and betting scandals hit the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament, which ultimately led to suspension of two popular teams, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, for two years.

     

    Chinese mobile phone maker Vivo has replaced PepsiCo as IPL title sponsor for two years. An official directly aware of the development said, “PepsiCo is keen on cricket and it has picked up one of the sponsorship slots for cricket to be played in India. The firm disassociated itself with the IPL on ethics ground but it was clear it would return to cricket on other platforms.”

     

    Basabdatta Chowdhury, chief operating officer of media buying firm Starcom Mediavest, said: “Cricket is a natural pull factor; specially for marketers with a youth male audience the sport is an obvious choice, given the following it has in the country.”

     

    PepsiCo had committed Rs 396.8 crore as fee for title sponsorship of IPL for the period 2013-2017.

     

    Mid last year, mobile payments and ecommerce company Paytm had taken BCCI’s title sponsorship rights for Rs 203.28 crore, for a four-year period till 2019 for all domestic and international cricket matches.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Close to 70% of the ad inventory has been sold with two months to go before the tournament for the first time in IPL history, said Sony Pictures Network president Rohit Gupta

    During IPL 9, adspend may race to Rs 1,200 crore

    By A Correspondent

     

    The controversies that have bedevilled the Indian Premier League don’t seem to have dented its value as an advertising property.

     

    Advertisers will likely spend a record Rs 1,200 crore during season nine of the T20 league that will be held in April and May, top media buyers said. That’s up a fifth from last year.

     

    Exclusive broadcast rights holder Sony Pictures Network, which will air the tournament on the Set Max, Sony Six and Sony ESPN channels, has increased the number of presenting sponsors to three from two for the first time. They are telecom services provider Vodafone, ecommerce platform Amazon and first-time advertiser Oppo.

     

    Chinese smartphone maker Oppo recently named actors Hrithik Roshan and Sonam Kapoor as brand ambassadors and is looking for big play during the league. With rival PepsiCo exiting, Coca-Cola is among the new names in the associate sponsorship list along with discount wallet FreeCharge, owned by ecommerce company Snapdeal.

     

    Close to 70% of the ad inventory has been sold with two months to go before the tournament for the first time in IPL history, said Sony Pictures Network president Rohit Gupta.

     

    “IPL is a risk-free investment for advertisers, as both ratings and reach have been consistently growing year on year,” he said. “We are expecting 20% growth in overall revenues. The unprecedented levels of interest are despite the T20 World Cup and a host of other cricket.”

     

    Advertiser interest in upcoming tournaments such as the World Cup and the Asia Cup hinges largely on India’s performance. “The controversies seem to have settled down, which is bringing in advertisers,” Gupta said.

     

    “The high-definition feed is also working out as an additional revenue stream for us. The IPL ad sales have come on the back of a 20%-plus viewership increase the tournament saw last year.” Besides Coca-Cola and FreeCharge, other associate sponsors include Ceat Tyres, Vimal Pan msMala and Tata Sky.

     

    Sony Pictures Network got Rs 1,000 crore from ad sales last year. According to two media buyers, sponsorship slots have risen to Rs 5.25 lakh from Rs 4.75 lakh last year. Spot rates are up to Rs 1.5 lakh for 10-second slots from Rs 1lakh in season eight. “This year is the year of sports,” said Nandini Dias, chief executive at media agency Lodestar UM.

     

    “With so much sports, including Olympics, one would think that this time budgets would be reallocated from IPL. But currently, the IPL has already closed eight sponsors. So, obviously the demand is high.”

     

    Spot buyers include Panasonic, LG, Microsoft and mobile phone makers Micromax and Intex. “Despite all the controversies around the IPL, I don’t think that from a consumer standpoint there is a problem of demand, so advertisers will be there,” said Vinit Karnik, business head at ESP Properties, a sports and entertainment consultancy of media management giant Group M.

     

    IPL suffered a setback in image and brand valuation with spot fixing and betting scandals that led to a Supreme Court-appointed panel banning two popular teams—Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. Both teams were previous champions and CSK was led by India captain MS Dhoni. The IPL has added two new teams in their place—Pune and Rajkot, with Dhoni being acquired by the first.

     

    In October last year, PepsiCo ended its IPL title sponsorship two years ahead of its five-year term because of “concerns about ethics in the IPL tournament.” Chinese mobile phone maker Vivo has taken the title sponsorship for two years. FreeCharge plans to launch new forms of payment during IPL, COO Govind Rajan said.

     

    “The youth in the country are passionate about cricket and more so IPL and we see tremendous synergies for FreeCharge and IPL in this association,” he said. “The IPL is an opportunity to drive massive awareness.”

     

    Sky Li, president of Oppo India, said: “IPL is one of the most popular games for Indians. Oppo has also become the global official partner of ICC (International Cricket Council), which shows we are devoted to a lot of cricket.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

     

  • PepsiCo has asserted that it's not seeking to renegotiate the terms of its contract for title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League

    Pepsi has no plans to change IPL sponsorship contract

    By Ratna Bhushan & Ravi Teja Sharma

     

    PepsiCo has asserted that it’s not seeking to renegotiate the terms of its contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

     

    “This is absolutely untrue and there is no talk of bringing down the title sponsorship fee,” a PepsiCo spokesperson said. “Issues raised by PepsiCo are based on our commitment to ethical conduct and the spirit of fair play in sports.” Pepsi was reported to be seeking to pull out of the IPL because spot-fixing accusations have tainted the tournament and fewer teams could be playing next season. There was speculation that the parent may have also been seeking to reduce costs.

     

    The company categorically rejected this. “We are committed to sufficiently invest behind our brands and there is no change in that commitment,” the spokesperson said. Pepsi had committed Rs 396 crore for a five-year period to BCCI for title sponsorship for 2013-17, roughly Rs 80 crore a year and twice what predecessor DLF had paid.

     

    A senior BCCI official said Pepsi and the administrator are trying to sort out the matter amicably. “We can encash the bank guarantee but we are not doing that. They have been good partners in the last few years. We don’t want to spoil the relationship,” he said. A clause in the contract allows BCCI to reassign the title sponsorship, he added.

     

    Meanwhile, there are a handful of contenders willing to take over the role if it’s vacated, said one of the BCCI officials cited above. “The picture will get clearer in the next few days. There are four-five different companies that we are in touch with for the title sponsorship but those companies are yet to get a clearance from the board,” he said.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • PepsiCo has asserted that it’s not seeking to renegotiate the terms of its contract for title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League

    Pepsi has no plans to change IPL sponsorship contract

    By Ratna Bhushan & Ravi Teja Sharma

     

    PepsiCo has asserted that it’s not seeking to renegotiate the terms of its contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

     

    “This is absolutely untrue and there is no talk of bringing down the title sponsorship fee,” a PepsiCo spokesperson said. “Issues raised by PepsiCo are based on our commitment to ethical conduct and the spirit of fair play in sports.” Pepsi was reported to be seeking to pull out of the IPL because spot-fixing accusations have tainted the tournament and fewer teams could be playing next season. There was speculation that the parent may have also been seeking to reduce costs.

     

    The company categorically rejected this. “We are committed to sufficiently invest behind our brands and there is no change in that commitment,” the spokesperson said. Pepsi had committed Rs 396 crore for a five-year period to BCCI for title sponsorship for 2013-17, roughly Rs 80 crore a year and twice what predecessor DLF had paid.

     

    A senior BCCI official said Pepsi and the administrator are trying to sort out the matter amicably. “We can encash the bank guarantee but we are not doing that. They have been good partners in the last few years. We don’t want to spoil the relationship,” he said. A clause in the contract allows BCCI to reassign the title sponsorship, he added.

     

    Meanwhile, there are a handful of contenders willing to take over the role if it’s vacated, said one of the BCCI officials cited above. “The picture will get clearer in the next few days. There are four-five different companies that we are in touch with for the title sponsorship but those companies are yet to get a clearance from the board,” he said.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Mindshare topped the award tally with four golds and Agency of the Year in mobile; PepsiCo declared Marketer of the Year

    Mindshare, Pepsico win big at Smarties

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Mobile Marketing Association Forum (MMAF) Delhi 2015, came to a close with the announcement of the Smarties India 2015 awards. Gold, Silver, and Bronze award winners were announced in 15 categories ranging from Brand Awareness to Cross Media Integration. In addition to the category awards, the Smarties India 2015 also introduced the Blue industry awards that included Agency of the Year in Mobile, Marketer of the Year in Mobile, Publisher/Media of the Year in Mobile, Enabling Technology Company of the Year in Mobile and Best in show titles.

     

    Mindshare and PepsiCo were the big winners for the night. Mindshare led the race with 4 Golds winning the Agency of the Year in Mobile Award while PepsiCo was chosen as the Marketer of the Year in Mobile. The other winners for the night included Facebook as the Publisher/Media of the Year in Mobile, Paytm as the Enabling Technology Company of the Year in Mobile and the Best in Show award was shared by Red Fuse Communications for their campaign ‘Spreading a Million Smiles with a Mobile’ and Mindshare India for ‘Lays hid the Treasure Hunt inside Google Maps’.

     

    “I’d like to congratulate all the award winners. I think I speak not only for myself but also on behalf of the Jury when I say that we were really impressed with the entries this year. They were truly representative of the innovation that drives the mobile marketing industry and great work that’s happening across India. We hope to inspire marketers to further push the envelope in their own campaigns and look forward to more innovations and participation in the future.” said Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director, Mobile Marketing Association Asia Pacific.

     

    Commenting on the wins Prasanth Kumar, CEO South Asia said, “I must admit, this year is turning into a great run for us.  I would firstly like to thank my team, our esteem clients and our partners who help us to do better. We are extremely happy to win the ‘Agency of the Year in Mobile’ award this year and have been able display wins across brands and also across categories. We will continue to do exemplary work for our clients in adaptive marketing strategies and solutions with best in class service standards.”

     

    The 2015 Smarties India Blue Industry Awards Winners:

     

    The 2015 Smarties India Awards Winners:

     

     

  • The cola giant mulls not rebidding for the title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League after its contract ends in 2017

    Is IPL the right choice for Pepsi?

     

    By Ratna Bhushan

     

    PepsiCo may not rebid for title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League after its five-year contract ends in 2017, three industry insiders said, a day after a Supreme Court panel called for the suspension of two IPL teams for two years.

     

    “There has been too much controversy in the IPL and the internal thought process is that the company doesn’t want to re-bid for the title sponsorship,” said an executive with knowledge of internal discussions at Pepsi.

     

    “Title sponsorship is a direct association with the brand image, which directly risks getting impacted by controversy,” the executive said.

     

    PepsiCo won the right to attach its name to the tournament with a .’396 crore bid for a five-year period that started 2013, the very year in which the spot fixing scandal broke with the arrest of three cricketers. Pepsi’s bid was almost twice what the previous sponsor, real estate firm DLF, had paid the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the 2008-12 term.

     

    The company declined to comment on the matter.

     

    “We do not comment on speculation,” said Vipul Prakash, vice president, beverages, PepsiCo. “We have not seen the copy of the complete order and hence will not be able to comment any further at this stage. We remain committed to ethical conduct in sport and expect that issues surrounding IPL are adequately and swiftly addressed. The faith of cricket fans is important and needs to be restored in the interest of the game.” The Supreme Court-appointed RM Lodha committee on Tuesday suspended the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchises for two years, besides banning Gurunath Meiyappan of the first team and Raj Kundra of the second for life. The move could force the IPL to go into the next season with just six teams, although the CSK owner plans to appeal the decision. The other team is also expected to appeal.

     

    TIES TO CONTINUE

    The beverage company won’t be snapping its ties completely with the tournament after 2017, said the persons cited above.

     

    “PepsiCo, however, will continue to be associated with the IPL through other platforms, such as on-air broadcast sponsorship, pouring rights etc. That’s because IPL, which is held in April-May, is peak season for soft drink firms and PepsiCo spends heavily on marketing,” said one of the executives. Since becoming the IPL title sponsor, PepsiCo has pegged its summer strategy to the tournament. This year, it ran the “Crash the IPL” campaign, which asked viewers to create their own Pepsi ads. The previous year, it had run the “Oh yes, Abhi” campaign. Summer accounts for 40 per cent of overall soft drinks sales, and the April-June quarter generally sets the pace for the rest of the year.

     

    PepsiCo chairperson and chief executive Indra Nooyi had alluded to some discomfort over the IPL spot-fixing scandal in an interview in 2013. “We would like to see no controversy of the sport… We hope they fix it,” she had told ET. “We are a highly ethical and principled organisation. So we want to associate with organisations that are principled and ethical. We hope the current problems of IPL are short term and they are addressed. But if they are not, we will have to go back and rethink.”

     

    Brand consultant Harish Bijoor drew comparisons with the Maggi noodles episode. After the product was banned in June for excessive lead content, brand endorsers such as actresses Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta also got sucked into the row.

     

    “This (latest development) has stirred a hornest’s nest and all lead sponsors would question their association with the team. In the consumer’s mind, lead sponsors could be also painted with a negative brush, which is what the brands have to be careful about,” Bijoor said.

     

    An executive involved with PepsiCo’s advertising campaign said the company may have to rework its marketing strategy because CSK team captain MS Dhoni has been one of the most visible brand ambassadors of Pepsi Cola and Lay’s chips.

     

    “As a brand, anyone wants to be associated with something positive,” said Varun Gupta, managing director at global consultancy American Appraisal. “There will be some negative connotations with the tournament at least in the short term. But this also gives the IPL an opportunity to clean up and move forward competitively.”

     

    To be sure, IPL has been an attractive property for advertisers despite the various controversies attached to it. This year, tournament broadcast rights holder Multi Screen Media (MSM) generated about Rs 1,000 crore from sponsors and the sale of advertising time. Besides PepsiCo, key IPL sponsors included Vodafone, Hero MotoCorp, Amazon, Paytm and Magicbricks.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Harshad brings with him over 20 years of cross-sectorial experience in the FMCG and media & entertainment spaces

    Harshad Jain made CEO at Fever FM

    By A Correspondent

     

    Harshad Jain

    HT Media Ltd. has elevated Harshad Jain to CEO of Fever. Prior to this promotion he was Business Head, Radio and Entertainment, HT Media Ltd. He has been working with HT Media for the last four years and will lead the business which now moves into an expansion stage with M&A and Phase 3 licensing round the corner and will involve building partnerships and expanding Fever brand into new geographies and beyond FM into entertainment and digital space.

     

    Talking about his new role, Harshad Jain, CEO – Fever, said “I’m humbled by this new role. Fever is a vibrant and dynamic organization, which has witnessed tremendous growth over the past few years. My focus will be to lead fever to the next level of growth and innovation and tap newer opportunities in the digital and entertainment space and phase 3 of FM radio.”

     

    Harshad brings with him over 20 years of cross-sectorial experience in the FMCG and media and entertainment spaces. On completion of his business studies in Sales and Marketing he joined PepsiCo and was with them for 14 years in roles across sales, marketing and business at regional and corporate level.

     

  • The convention is being hosted at the FICCI House

    EEMAGINE Summit to be held in Delhi next week

    By A Correspondent

     

    The premier convention of the live events and experiential marketing industry, EEMAGINE SUMMIT 2015, will be hosted between April 6-8, 2015 in Delhi. The event will bring together global professionals and imagineers from the events, entertainment, sports, cinema, advertising and marketing industry under one roof to discuss trends and map the future of the industry in a path-breaking convention.

     

    The convention organized by Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA), the apex body of the events industry, is being hosted at the FICCI House on 6thApril and then moves to the Hyatt hotel in Manesar for 7thand 8th April. Headlined by David Zolkwer, Project & Creative Director of Olympic and Commonwealth Games ceremonies in Manchester 2002, Athens 2004, Melbourne 2008 and Glasgow 2014, as well as many other international public ceremonies, celebrations and commemorations.

     

    Shiv Shivakumar from Pepsico, Rahul Bhatia, founder of Indigo Airlines, renowned film maker Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, FICCI President Jyotsna Suri, advertising genius Prasoon Joshi, Chairman of McCann Group Worldwise India will be a part of this convention that captures the mood of the country in its theme, “Inspiring India”.

     

    “The events and experiential marketing industry is growing at a brisk pace and delivering communication platforms for the world’s leading brands, for governments, sports bodies, tourism initiatives and influencing the media and hospitality industry in a remarkable way. Bringing the key stakeholders together to share thoughts and define the way forward is key for the EEMAGINE Summit,” said Sabbas Joseph, President – EEMA.

     

    The speakers include global success stories, thinkers, business icons, industry leaders and our country’s political leadership in the key deliberations and presentations.

     

    Key Speakers at the convention include Matteo Carvino, the renowned wedding designer for Italy, Sarah Gardiner, one of Scotland’s most accomplished experience creators; Poonam Mahajan, MP, Venky Mysore, CEO of Red Chillies and Kolkatta Knight Riders, Dr. A Didar Singh, Secretary General of FICCI, Vikas Agnihotri, Director- Google, Rishi Kaitly, Country Head – Twitter, film-maker Bharatbala Ganapathy, renowned for the Vande Mataram and National Anthem re-creations with music maestro AR Rahman, Rannick Colaco, leader of the NBA’s India program, Ravi Krishnan and Nitin Kikreja, Business Head Star Sports.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, David Zolkwer said, “I’m thrilled to be returning to India! I’ve always been a huge fan of Indian creativity and ingenuity. The region is the source of so much brave and untethered thinking – I know I’m going to be inspired by the EEMA 2015 experience.”

     

    “I’m delighted to come to India to participate in EEMA 2015 – it’s a special honour. I spend much of my life connecting with people, places and their stories and then bringing those stories to the stage – so to finally be visiting a nation steeped in such proud and ancient storytelling traditions is very exciting,” commented Sarah Gardiner.

     

    Expert panels will bring together some of the brightest minds cover diverse areas such as experiential marketing, public events, concert management, ticketed events, rural marketing, sports marketing, personal events, events tourism, creation of event brands, digital activation, integrated marketing and celebrity talent management.

     

  • The initiative will bring out-of-this-world films, once-in-a-lifetime music events, unique sports experiences and a global movement that will light up entire communities

    Game to take on the #PepsiChallenge?

    By A Correspondent

     

    Pepsi has unleashed its biggest socially-led, content driven initiative ever with a variety of global and local challenges designed to galvanize consumers around the world to defy convention, make every moment epic, and truly “Live for Now.” Issued on Pepsi social and digital channels and via renowned ambassadors from around the world, #PepsiChallenge will incite consumers to take on different challenges for amazing life experiences and rewards.

     

    Imbued with the cultural standing that has become its trademark, the 2015 content- driven, socially-led Pepsi Challenge will bring world-class films, music events, unique sports experiences and a global movement that will light up entire communities.

     

    “Pepsi Challenge is an iconic piece of our brand equity and in many ways established our can-do attitude and spirit,” said Kristin Patrick, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, PepsiCo Global Beverage Brands. “When we talked to consumers around the globe about what challenge meant to them today, they resoundingly said that it entailed challenging convention and daring to do something differently. We used that sentiment as our inspiration to expand beyond just taste and re-imagine the Pepsi Challenge for new generations, creating this cross-pollination of experiences, events, community and social advocacy, designed to ignite a mindset that challenges the status quo, our fans and ourselves.”

     

    The global challenges will be augmented by regionally relevant challenges designed to capture the authentic essence of each market. Examples from around the world include, among others, an interesting challenge in India that urges youth to stop being spectators and uncork their creativity; regional food-focused challenges in Thailand; and a Latin America summer music challenge tied to La Gira Refrescante.

     

  • While some big brands such as PepsiCo and Videocon may put their money on both the events, most marketers will have to choose one over the other because they cannot afford both

    Advertisers in dilemma on World Cup v/s IPL, Pepsi & Videocon may back both

    By Ratna Bhushan & Ravi Teja Sharma

     

    With India’s two most popular sporting events the cricket World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL) coming barely a week apart, advertisers in the country are caught in a dilemma over where to invest their money. While some big brands such as PepsiCo and Videocon may put their money on both the events, most marketers will have to choose one over the other because they cannot afford both.

     

    “Outlays on both properties are huge and any brand wanting to be noticed will have to spend a minimum threshold of money. This will naturally stretch annual budgets. Most of us will have to choose between one of the two properties,” said Mayank Shah, deputy marketing manager at the country’s largest biscuits maker Parle Products.

     

    Mr Shah said Parle hasn’t yet taken a call on whether to invest on the World Cup which is high stakes because it involves national pride and India is defending champion, or IPL which will see the biggest names in international cricket competing for the trophy. The maker of Hide & Seek and Monaco biscuits has been a top sponsor of the IPL in the past. The two big sporting properties are expected to see combined ad spends of Rs2,200-2,500 crore in the four months from February to May, according to leading media buying firms. While the IPL, which kicks off in April, is expected to rake in close to Rs1,000 crore, the World Cup that starts next month in Australia may fetch the ICC close to Rs1,200-1,500 crore, estimate media buyers. The companies say deciding where to invest is a tough call for brands.

     

    “The spends are entirely going to be a function of returns on investments,” said Basabdatta Chowdhuri, CEO at Platinum Media, part of the Madison Media Group, which represents telecom services provider Bharti Airtel, chocolate maker Mondelez and cigarettes and consumer goods firm ITC. “While IPL is an assured bet and is like a fixed deposit, investing on the World Cup is like punting — if India does make it to the final league, brands will naturally want to associate with the tournament even though rates will go up dramatically,” Ms Chowdhuri said.

     

    The concern about World Cup is that if India gets knocked out early, like it happened in 2007, interest levels and ratings will fall drastically. But then, India is more or less assured to be a qualifier in the quarter finals. Also, four of the six India matches in the league stage are on the weekends, which have been structured by the ICC to attract maximum TRPs.

     

    “World Cup for impact, IPL for consistency – that’s the split,” said Navin Khemka, managing partner (north and east region) at Group M-owned media buying agency Maxus, which represents personal care firms L’Oreal and Dabur. While IPL, coming on the offset of summer, is a big bet for products such as soft drinks, ACs and refrigerators, media buyers say the usual IPL buzz is missing this year due to the World Cup.

     

    “By January usually a lot of brands start to talk about IPL. This year though it has been relatively quiet so far,” said Indranil Das Blah, COO of entertainment management firm Kwan. “This could be a function of people still evaluating which of the two properties to go with. The uncertainty around IPL hasn’t helped,” he added.

     

    IPL has been mired in controversy, with spot-fixing allegations and a probe by authorities is underway. And the successful launch of new leagues in other sports may have given alternative avenues for brands to reach Indian sports lovers. Yet, cricket remains a must for most large brands as its popularity is unmatched. One reason why many brands are not talking about IPL yet could be that many advertisers believe booking at the last minute can get them a better deal as it happened last season.

     

    PepsiCo — title sponsor of the IPL and global sponsor of the World Cup — plans to activate its Lay’s potato chips during the World Cup and its soft drink brands during IPL. Its rival Coca-Cola will have to limit itself to largely leveraging the online space.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The campaign will be supported by a thematic TVC that shows both the actors overcoming their personal 'Mountain of Fears'

    Mountain Dew appoints new brand ambassadors

     

     

    PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew has signed on two new brand ambassadors – actors Arya and Akhil. As an extension to its philosophy of ‘Who Dares, Wins’ the brand has announced the launch of a new campaign #RiseAboveFear in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The campaign will be supported by a thematic TVC that shows both the actors overcoming their personal ‘Mountain of Fears’.

     

    Speaking on the association, Ruchira Jaitly, Sr. Director, Marketing (Social Beverages), PepsiCo India said, “With Mountain Dew, our endeavour has always been to inspire the youth to face their fears and overcome them to achieve something. We are proud to associate with Arya and Akhil who embody the spirit of ‘Who Dares, Wins’ and are a part of our #RiseAboveFear campaign. We believe we have created a great film with them and are excited to get feedback from our consumers.”

     

    Senthil Kumar, National Creative Director, JWT said, “Mountain Dew as a brand has stood for challenging oneself and overcoming our inner fears. In the film, our protagonist is out to search for the Kurinji flowers that bloom once in 12 years in the Western Ghat region of India. While they encounter a number of road-blocks which challenge their belief and force them to reconsider their decision of scaling the mountain; they eventually overcome their fear and successfully win over the Mountain of Fear.”

     

    The #RiseAboveFear campaign will be supported by a 360-degree approach including outdoor & on-ground activations and an exciting digital engagement programme. It will also be rolling out an innovative and exciting sampling with bikers, who will be showcasing their skills. Mountain Dew, the soft drink exhilarates like no other because of its active and citrus taste. Challenge, a can do attitude, adventure and exhilaration are deeply entrenched in its brand DNA and the brand has always celebrated the bold and adventurous spirit of the youth. The brand enjoys high salience in the Indian market via a deep and compelling consumer insight of ‘Who Dares, Wins’. The campaign encourages consumers to overcome their inner fears and try something new, explore new boundaries to emerge victorious.