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Tag: Publicis Communications

  • Publicis communications has crafted the campaign around the line 'Jahaan Fan Dikhe, bol do"

    Publicis Communications conceptualises Sony LIV’s sports campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sonyliv, the OTT platform from Sony Pictures Network has released a 360-degree campaign for the upcoming cricket series of India.

     

    Publicis Communications has crafted the campaign around the line ‘Jahaan Fan Dikhe, Bol Do’. The thought behind the campaign comes from the fact that a fan of the game cannot but help share with his fan friends, any piece of news concerning the sport they love and the team they love.

     

    Said Uday Sodhi, EVP and Head – Digital Business, SonyLIV said: “By making India’s international cricket tour available to SonyLIV audiences we intend to reinforce our credentials as the online destination for fans to enjoy an ultimate cricketing experience. ‘Jahaan Fan Dikhe Bol Do’ fuels the passion that rages within each fan while celebrating this sport. The campaign urges cricket fans to spread the cheer and unite in the rallying cry of superior sporting action.”

     

    Added Paritosh Srivastava, Chief Operating Officer, Publicis Communications: “Indian cricket being available on SonyLiv is a huge opportunity. The idea is to maximise this in terms of attracting fans to our platform. Tough part was to come up with an idea on cricket that is fresh and unseen. We believe that ‘Jahan fan dikhe bol do’ captures the true spirit of the Indian fan and does justice to the religion cricket is on our country. The idea has the potential to make the fans the evangelists of the brand.”

     

    Said Jigar Fernandes, Head of Creative, Publicis Communications: “The insight here is that when a fan gets any news about his team, he cannot help but share it with his gang. For Indian cricket fans, the news that cricket is now on SonyLiv is big. All this campaign does is nudge these fans to go out and spread the word.”

     

  • PubCom CEO Saurabh Varma unveils new top deck: Nakul Chopra turns Advisor. Srija Chatterjee & Sudeep Gohil to join Bobby Pawar. Launches Marcel in India

    Rejig time at Publicis Worldwide

     

    It was the day of the Effies. A few days before the announcement, we had received indications that it could happen. But then it was an announcement that was long overdue.

    At the Effies itself, the new boss ensured that he’s not seen just as head of one of the arms that he led thus far.

    We’re talking about Publicis Communications and Saurabh Varma. On December 16, it was announced that Varma, the Leo Burnett Group CEO South Asia, would be incharge of Publicis Communications for India.

    The announcement assumed significance as Varma would also be incharge of three other major agencies: Publicis Worldwide, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi and MSLGroup and their respective subsidiaries.

    While MSL wasn’t going to be much of a problem with Amit Misra being at the helm after the exit of joint head Chetan Mahajan and he would report to Varma, there could be a problem at the other two. The communique sent to us then said that Nakul Chopra, the head of Publicis Worldwide for some years and Praveen Kenneth, head of L&K Saatchi & Saatchi will not report to Varma, even as Varma was to be incharge of the agency. Hmmm.

    But later it became clear. While Chopra continued to be in his position, he was no longer head of business (or overseeing the P&L).

    In the case of Kenneth, his commitments with Publicisare reported to end soon. The picture will get clearer on that front in the next two quarters.

    For Varma, the job on hand was tough.

    Having done a clean-up at Leo Burnett, getting an all-new team (okay, okay, we are euphemising the exiting of the old guard), integrating Indigo and Orchard into the system in a bigger way, it was time to look at Publicis Worldwide.

    A press release sent to us confirms the intent. Though the mainstay of the story has been tucked in at the end: Nakul Chopra, CEO, Publicis South Asia, will now be the Senior Advisor at Publicis Communications India. Chopra has spent over 20 years helming Publicis in India. He is currently President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (coincidentally when Varma took charge at Leo Burnett, CEO Arvind Sharma was also President of the AAAI).

    But along with the overhaul, there is also the announcement of the entry of Marcel from the group’s international shores to Mumbai. Marcel is a combo of a digital agency and creative boutique. Its clients include Uber, Instagram and Ray-Ban, but these aren’t coming to India with it for now.

    Said Charles Georges-Picot, Global CEO, Marcel: “We are thrilled to open a new office in Mumbai. Marcel is a precious brand that we only share with like-minded people. I know that together we will create amazing work. It is what drives us at Marcel.”Marcel has offices in Paris, Sydney, New York and Sao Paolo. In India, it will be headquartered in Mumbai.

    But while Marcel is good news on any day, here’s what make the March 30 announcement significant, other than the official announcement of Chopra’s advisory role: Currently, Publicis Worldwide has three agency brands – Publicis Ambience, Publicis Capital and Publicis Beehive. This will change with immediate effect.  Now, Publicis Ambience and Publicis Capital will become Publicis India. It will continue to build on the momentum of creating shareworthy ideas that impact share of wallet.

    And Publicis Worldwide will have a new leadership at the helm. Srija Chatterjee (Managing Director) and SudeepGohil, (Chief Strategy Officer and Managing Partner) will join forces with Bobby Pawar, (Chief Creative Officer and Managing Director). They will run all the Publicis Worldwide operations in India, including Marcel, and report to Saurabh Varma, CEO, Publicis Communications, India.

    We aren’t yet sure of who will have have the P&L responsibilities, because there’s got to be one clear leader for PublicisWW.

    Speaking about the new developments, Varma said: “I believe it is the right time for Marcel to come to India. ‘Lead the change’ can only happen through a disruptive model and a world-class International-Indian team. The leadership team has been carefully put together to deliver on our ambition for Publicis Worldwide, in India.”

    Chatterjee joins from MullenLowe Singapore, where she was the Global Business Director. On her new role, Chatterjee said: “When I met Saurabh and discussed the plans for Publicis, the potential and ambition for the agency left me both, excited and nervous. With its mantra of ‘Lead the Change’, and the focus on true integration across all our different platforms, I believe that Publicis is now at a crucial juncture, poised for exponential growth and recognition. I look forward to being part of this journey with Bobby, Sudeep and the team here.”

    Gohil moves from 72andSunny LA, where he consulted on the agency’s Asia-Pacific plans, and led the Adidas business globally. On his appointment, Gohil said, “The Publicis team really impressed me with their bold ambitions, tenacious attitude and passion for great work – they have great clients and an enviable team. The opportunity to work with Bobby, Srija and Saurabh was a big part of my belief and excitement for the plan ahead for Publicis. All of this combined with the bold mandate for the business both locally and in the region made it an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

    Echoing Varma’s sentiments on the evolution of Publicis Worldwide, Pawar added, “I am really excited for our people and our clients. We’ve been doing some cool work. With the addition of the world-class talent and global experience of Sudeep and Srija, I’m sure we will take it up a few notches. It’s game on.”

    Meanwhile, Publicis Beehive will stay focussed on offering holistic marketing solutions to Indian entrepreneurial clients. SanjitShastri continues as the CEO of Publicis Beehive and will report directly to Saurabh Varma. Paritosh Srivastava, the COO at Publicis Ambience, is now COO at Marcel.

    Next stop: L&K Saatchi & Saatchi.

     

  • He will report to Saurabh Varma, CEO, Publicis Communications India

    Prashanth Challapalli joins Leo Burnett as Chief Integration Officer for South Asia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Prashanth Challapalli

    Leo Burnett has announcedthe appointment of Prashanth Challapalli as Chief Integration Officer for South Asia. In his new mandate, Challapalli will report to Saurabh Varma, Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Communications India, and will work with leaders across Publicis Communications to drive integration. His last stint was with iContract, where he was the Executive Vice President and Digital Head.

     

    At Leo Burnett, his key mandate predominantly includes operationalising and scaling up Leo Burnett’s, Play methodology, which puts context at the heart of creating content.  Challapalliwill also be a key bridge between Publicis Communications and Publicis.Sapient, responsible for bringing the best of Publicis.Sapient to all Publicis Communications clients.

     

    Speaking about the new appointment, Varma said, “Prashanth joins us at a critical stage in our transformational journey as Publicis Communications. He brings with him boundless energy, and the ability to integrate across mediums. He will be key as we put digital at the core of our offering and increasingly create cutting edge ideas and stories which emanate from the product itself.”

     

    Added Challapalli, “When I met Saurabh, the people, ambition and momentum at Leo Burnett were the deciding factors for me. Publicis Communications is poised at the cusp of transformation right now with a diverse range of skill sets across mainline, digital, shopper marketing, PR and content production. My role will be to bring all of these together through PLAY. I have always been a big believer in the one brand, one consumer and one communication approach and most of the leaders at Publicis Communications are either ex-colleagues or friends for a long time. I am really looking forward to partnering all of them.”

     

    With over 19 years of experience, Challapalli has worked with agencies like Ogilvy, Lowe, Dentsu, Publicis Ambience and Rediffusion Y&R, and has also successfully built and lead Jack in the Box Worldwide and iContract in the digital space. He has won multiple national and international awards like the Effies, Spikes, and AME, among others, for his work across brands and campaigns like Puma, Pepsi, Slice, Louis Philippe, Durex and Kolaveri Di.

     

  • Its unique combination of Mica particles and Marble boosters consistently help deliver superior performance keeping one’s home strong and vibrant all year round

    Kansai Nerolac unveils Excel Mica Marble

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kansai Nerolac Paints has launched a new paint product for exteriors – ‘Excel Mica Marble’ as part of Nerolac Excel brand franchise, a leading range of exterior paint products. The product is a one of its kind offering that is an durable UV-resistant water based exterior emulsion.

     

    To highlight these extreme performance attributes of toughness and shine, a TVC featuring cricketers Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja from the IPL team Gujarat Lions has been launched.

     

    The ad film opens with the foursome enjoying a game of cricket. An old couple is then seen sipping tea on their balcony when a sudden loud thud of a cricket ball hitting the wall of the house interrupts their reverie. This happens to every house in the neighbourhood and the ball damages the exterior paint of the houses causing the paint to peel off. This sends out a wave of panic as homeowners scurry for cover. The houses then, much to the surprise of the viewer spring wheels and transform into trailers that line up behind one lone house. This house and its owner refuse to panic even as it stands guard against the cricketers.

     

    The cricketers take on this house next, but when the ball hits the wall, no damage occurs to the paint and the occupant is unperturbed enjoying the show of skill and even applauding the players.

     

    Speaking about the product, Anuj Jain, Director Decorative Paints at Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited said, “Nerolac has been pioneering innovative and break through products in India and Excel Mica Marble is one such unique product. A part of Nerolac’s Excel range of exterior products, it provides a unique blend of long lasting toughness and smooth finish for home exteriors, a first in India…. The TVC brief was to create an entertaining commercial that underlines the superior performance of the product. We decided to leverage our association with cricket to highlight the product benefits as nothing there is nothing better than sports to showcase the performance of a tough product. The Mica Marble TVC is different from the typical home exterior ads, much like the product!”

     

    Said Bobby Pawar, Managing Director, Publicis Communications, South Asia:  “The communication challenge before us was very interesting. How could we launch a new innovation in paints while leveraging Nerolac’s sponsorship of the Gujarat Lions?  How could we do justice to both, the benefit of the product (that is, the strength of Mica and the gloss of marble) and the celebrity value of the cricketers?  The answer came in the form of a simple idea. Pit the strength of the cricketers against the strength of the Nerolac Excel Mica Marble in an interesting way.”

     

  • Publicis Ambience, the incumbent agency on the brand has conceptualized and executed the campaign

    Skoda takes ‘Best-in-Next-Class’ positioning with Publicis

    By A Correspondent

     

    ŠKODA has launched the all new Superb with an aggressive positioning of ‘Best-in-Next-Class’. The ad shows a martial arts fighter standing under water, meditating and practicing his move as the voice-over takes the viewer through the campaign philosophy.

     

    Publicis Ambience, the incumbent agency on the brand has conceptualized and executed the campaign.

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Tarun Jha, Head of Marketing, Å KODA AUTO India, says – “The Å KODA Superb has always been our flagship product, and has a long heritage of delivering exceptional space, comfort and luxury. Our campaign highlights the new Superb’s ‘class beating’ attributes that makes it a real head-turner – more poised, expressive and emotionally-charged than ever before.

     

    Bobby Pawar, MD, Publicis Communications, says “The new Superb is a car that delivers above and beyond. It has class-beating performance machined into a sublime form. Our job, as we saw it, was to find a human metaphor that brought it alive.”

     

  • The pitching process included a total of 9 agencies

    Publicis bags MakeMyTrip biz

    By A Correspondent

     

    Saujanya Shrivastava

    MakeMyTrip has awarded its creative mandate to Publicis Communications. The pitching process included a total of 9 agencies including O&M, JWT, Lowe, Leo Burnett, Contract, Dentsu, Enormous and FCB (incumbent) had been part of the process.

     

    Welcoming Publicis on board, Saujanya Shrivastava, Chief Marketing Officer of MakeMyTrip said, “We are delighted to partner with Publicis to take the brand agenda forward and unlock growth opportunities in the online travel category. I am confident that Publicis, with the planning and creative horsepower it possesses will deliver on this exciting mandate. We look forward to the association which will kick-start with our new brand campaign to be launched shortly.”

     

    Hemant Misra

    Hemant Misra, CEO Publicis Capital added, “We unlocked some very interesting spaces that helped us win the pitch. This is one of those rare instances where the pitch work is also the final creative. The team at MMT has infectious passion that seems to have caught my entire team. We are looking forward to the travel ahead”

     

  • Lowe Lintas doesn't allow Ogilvy fifth consecutive 'Agency of the Year' title by 35 points as Hindustan Lever gets past Cadbury by 50 points

    Lowe Lintas, HUL win big at Effie 2013

     

    By Shobhana Nair

     

    It’s a fraternity which loves surprises. And the thousand-and-a-half-odd members of India’s advertising and marketing industry witnessed just that on Friday evening. The large contingent from Ogilvy & Mather India has made a habit out of winning big at the award events it participates in.  But the crew from Lowe Lintas ensured that the adlanders in black (as Ogilvy staffers always turn up at trade events) don’t experience their fifth consecutive win at the Effie, the annual advertising effectiveness awards conducted by the Advertising Club. Lowe won the coveted Effie Agency of the Year 2013 outwitting Ogilvy & Mather by just 35 points in the final tally. “This is one night of fun and party for 2500 bucks. We can’t have a cheaper party than this,” chuckled R Balki, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer at Lowe Lintas while celebrating his team’s victory.

     

    But it’s not that Pandey’s O&M cut a sorry figure. Other than scoring 130 points as compared to Lowe’s 165, Ogilvy also secured the Grand Effie for its Lifebuoy Roti campaign for Hindustan Unilever. Said Pandey who is Executive Chairman and. Creative Director, South Asia of the agency: “We have come first so many times and it feels great that Lowe is enjoying their win. Of course, being second is not a great feeling. You need to try harder.” The Aadat Campaign for Cadbury’s Bournvita and the Ear Muffs activation and Made for You campaign for Vodafone helped Ogilvy win its three golds.

     

    The other three agencies in the Top 5 were McCann Worldgroup, JWT and Publicis Communications at 60, 40 and 35 points respectively. Nakul Chopra, CEO, South Asia at Publicis admitted his agency could have done better but he’s bullish on the year ahead. “I am not happy and I think the kind of work that we will do in 2014 is what I am excited about. I think in the years to come Publicis is going to be a brand which will be known for quality work,” he said.

     

    From the client side, Hindustan Lever bagged the ‘Effie Client of the year’ after the total points came to 95. The campaigns for its brands Kissan and Lifebuoy were clear favourites of both the jury and the crowds at the awards. “Well, I think these awards are for effectiveness and we are quite delighted and proud to have received these awards,” said Hemant Bakshi, Executive Director – Home & Personal Care of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Chairman, Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA).

     

    Cadbury India which emerged the Client of the Year in 2011 and 2012 came second with 55 points.  “It is always a joy to win a few awards because it is recognition by the industry of the work that we have done,” said V Chandrmouli, Executive Director, Chocolates and Biscuits, Cadbury India. “Over the last few years, we have been getting recognition which pushes us to do better work,” he continue as Siddhartha Mukherjee, Director – Chocolate Category & Media added: “We have had a long-standing partnership with our agencies like Contract and Ogilvy who have produced excellent work over the years. And to get any award is a great reward to that partnership.”

     

    This year, the number of entries leapfrogged 20 per cent to 419 from 52 agencies participated while 1200 tickets were sold for the awards night.  On his impressions as the curtains came down on Effie 2013, Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer – Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group who was Chairperson of the Effie 2013 Committee said:  “Effie has grown in participation therefore in stature and respect which is gratifying. This is an awards show which is beyond question and controversy. Both agency and client happily participate at various stages.”

     

    Underscoring the role of the advertising effectiveness awards, K V Sridhar, Chief Creative Officer India subcontinent at Leo Burnett said: “Creativity will not matter without effectiveness and effectiveness doesn’t exist without creativity. The combination is what really works. This is why Effie is the most coveted award in India. Also, the fact is that there are no controversies attached to it.”

     

     

     

    Delighted: Hemant Bakshi

     

    Given the importance of advertising and promotion for its brands, it’s not surprising that Hindustan Unilever was crowned ‘Client of the Year’ at Effie 2013.  A quick Q&A with Hemant Bakshi, Executive Director – Home & Personal Care of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) on the win.

     

    How important are awards like the Effie for an organisation like Hindustan Unilever?

    Well, these awards are for effectiveness and we are quite delighted. We are proud to have received these awards.

     

    There’s this big debate about creativity versus effectiveness? What matters to you more?

    Well, it is good to know that we have created value through what we do in marketing. We acknowledge the external appreciation that we’ve got.

     

    And what are the goals you have set yourself for 2014?

    Clearly, we have to sustain what we achieved in 2013.

     

     

    In advertising, you are supposed to be more creative to be effective: R Balki

     

    If there was joy in breaking the winning run of Ogilvy at the Effie, Lowe Lintas & Partners’ R Balki was understating it.  A quick Q&A with the agency’s celebrated Chairman and Chief Creative Officer.

     

    How important are awards like the Effie you?

    What is important is to do the kind of work that you want do for the clients. Being able to do that right through the year and being satisfied with your own. Award or no award can’t increase or decrease the value of your work. You should know the value of your work before you have won or lost.

     

    There’s this big debate about creativity versus effectiveness? What matters to you more?

    I don’t know the difference between these two. In advertising, you are supposed to be more creative to be effective. Obviously, there’s connect but both are passé words.

     

    Apart from your work, which ads have managed to impress you?

    I love Ogilvy’s work. The Roti activation campaign for Lifebuoy was good. In fact I am a fan of their work.