MxMIndia

Tag: Sandeep Bomble

  • The Mumbai-based agency has launched its new TVC 'Live Fearless' with 'Fearless' Ranvijay Singh

    Palasa bags Streax Xenoh deodorants

    By A Correspondent

     

    Palasa Creative Place, a Mumbai-based agency set up in 2004 by Sandeep Bomble bags the Streax Xenoh Deodorants the adventurous deodrant brand of Hygienic Research Institute Private Limited (HRI).

     

    The commercial features celebrity Rannvijay Singh, Brand Ambassador Streax Xenoh.

     

    Riding on the idea, ‘Live Fearless’ created by Palasa, the new TVC is about the difference and a chase between a group of guys and a single fearless guy. It’s about the decisions that this single protagonist featuring Ranvijay takes with confidence in his stride.

     

    The new TVC highlights the way Xenoh deodorant adds to one’s personality. The basic message is to convey that if you are fearless, you get things your way.  At the same time, through this commercial the new Xenoh variant Night Out is introduced.

     

    Sandeep Bomble

    Speaking on the idea and the concept behind the commercial, Sandeep Bomble, Founder & Creative Director, Palasa Creative Place, said, “The thought was to portray that the attitude of the man lies in his confidence to face the world. Also we had debates on things that impress women and we came to a conclusion that no doubt good looks, roses, letters, etc are known to impress them but today women seek beyond these things. They look up to men who are fearless and confident. Thus, Palasa’s idea of ‘Live Fearless’ perfectly blends with the thought, which gives man a larger than life attitude. Hence we personified the product to something that brings forth the fearless instinct of the man that allows him to go ahead and get what he desires.”

     

    With increasing competition in the deodorant segment, the communication breaks free from the clutter of today Indian men becoming extremely conscientious about their personal grooming and hygiene levels. The brief was simply to retain the oomph factor but have something more as an idea that could be communicated to the audience and not simply go the cliched way of showing the girl being attracted to man with just the whiff of the fragrance. Men love sports and adventure; however this passion also brings along with it the unnecessary baggage of body odour.

     

    Credits:

    Client: Streax Xenoh Deodorant

    Executive Director, HRIPL: Ashish K Chhabra

    Concept: Palasa Creative Place

    Production: Red Ice Films

     

  • Talented people are self-assured and positive that visibility through good work only, can win them fame and money and perks are the next obvious that will follow, says Sandeep Bomble

    The Anchor: Sandeep Bomble on four ways agencies can attract top talent

    By Sandeep Bomble, founder, Palasa

     

    1. Money! The obvious five letter word that is expected to shoot up once the above question is fired. Let us first dig and understand the working of an advertising industry. Innovation is the crux of any agency. One must know that every department, be it creative, media, client servicing should possess the ability to compete with latest innovative ideas and ways to explore. But at the same time, a lot of them prefer sticking to the age old methods or ways of going about, and not take the risk of capitalizing energy, money or time by going off the track. And sadly a talent hits a dead end, driving it off. It is here, where a fine bait to attract a great talent lies.

     

    2. Of course, there can be zillion ways to source talents but, personally I believe, there is only one way an agency can hook a ‘great talent’ in their team and that is ‘The agency has to go Gutsy!’ An agency that has the courage to go bold and brazen in their thoughts and actions, is like a charged magnetic field. It automatically attracts to it unexceptionally talented people. A great talent is hungry and is constantly on a lookout for an agency which is in the position to explore ideas. They believe the agency will do justice to their ideas and will churn out the best from the deepest crevices of their mind. The gutsy agencies act as catalyst to the effervescing minds of ever-fangled talented guns who are ready to venture into a territory that will facilitate their ideas and take them to a next level altogether.

     

    3. Money is certainly an important part when you look to feed yourself but it is very subjective in this case. It is surprising but true that a great talent will least care about money and not look at it as their first priority. And if one delves deeper into the psychology of these people, one understands the logic behind their motive of not being money minded. They are confident of what shall follow next, once they find their base to breed their creative energies. They are self-assured and positive that visibility through good work only, can win them fame, that’ll get them noticed in the industry. Money and perks are the next obvious that will follow. When a talent believes in agencies good work and ability to take forward the idea, he/ she won’t be bound by any limitations then. Their minds are free to explore realms unexplored. They soar high to think big and different. And an agency should know that investing in a great talent is any day much viable option than having hundred workers with lack of talent.

     

    4. Today, it’s a pitiful state that a lot of agencies are simply satisfied with their cash registers ringing and look at work through business perspective and are not inclined towards exploring newer ideas; they play ‘safe’. With every passing day one can only hope that an agency dares to hone its powerful magnetic field. We are an industry that has courage to defy the conventional and passion to take a leap of faith in ideas we believe in. And what more can a great talent want than to truly, madly, deeply be in love with an agency that harbours such a principle.

     

    “Great Talent Will Never Ask For Money”

     

    Sandeep Bomble is founder, Palasa

     

  • On May 1, 2012, Palasa, the creative thought shop, completed 8 years of its journey in the industry

    Palasa’s 8 years of challenging the conventional

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    What started as small agency of five creatives in 2004 at Shah and Nahar Industrial Estate is today seen as a well-established and dependable communication partner equipped with a team of 22 creatives. Indeed, Palasa is an energetic hotshop with clientele spanning across various verticals, from technology to lifestyle products.

     

    Says the agency’s founder Sandeep Bomble: “Palasa is a thrilling ride of endless possibilities. Life has been one mad ride with thrilling ideas, fervour running in the nerves of every creative. Challenging the conventional and coming up with newer ideas at every opportunity is the crux of the Palasa belief and its ultimate success story since its inception.”

     

    The diktat is clear: “It’s not what you want to say, but what they want to hear. In this consumer-driven world, it is important to communicate through various innovative mediums, discover newer prospects to reach out the hearts of millions.”

     

    The Power of an idea can be everywhere, and this is what is communicated effectively through Palasa’s work. It is this hub that has cleverly shaped and built the identity of the brands like iBall, YOU Telecom, Circle, and so on right from the scratch.

     

    Palasa has essentially focused on removing barriers between ATL and BTL. In fact it has re-defined the way BTL advertising is perceived: by executing it with a class of breakthrough ideas and not mere adaptations.

     

    Laying emphasis on BTL advertising, Palasa successfully launched its sister concern, GOD – Gang Of Designers – where cutting edge designing takes life, encompassing corporate identity, brochures, packaging, conceptualising designs to events et al. The clutter breaking communication has won Palasa laurels, both nationally and internationally.

     

    The Abby win for Umax DM, at Goafest 2011, for Circle’s Vein packaging and best art direction, for JJAAAN’s Radio spot in 2010 and a bevy of awards still under its hat, and print ads occasionally featured in ‘The Archive’, are witness to Palasa’s versatility at 360-degree marketing.

     

    Palasa successfully completed its 8 years of trials, tribulations and victories on May 1 – ‘8’ standing beautifully unique, holding within it the power of infinity, beckoning the effervescing minds at Palasa to venture and seek crevices untouched. Three, err, eight cheers to that!

     

     

  • Behind every great commercial is super strategy. Every week, MxMIndia will bring you the brief and the strat as given by the client and whatever else that went into creating a winning ad. AdStrat is compiled by Shubhangi Mehta.

    Ad Strat: Palasa Creative Place

    Sandeep Bomble, Founder, Palasa

     

    1. Name of the Campaign: Ghost Campaign

     

    2. The Brief: To promote an exclusive weight loss package by Iosis Medispa

     

    3. Research insights:

    Everyone today wants to feel good about himself/herself. Keeping this notion in our minds, we came up with a strategy of doing away with the “ghost” lurking inside. This “ghost” is the fat in our bodies that causes the feel good factor to diminish, and eventually, take a back seat.

     

    Excess of fat in the body causes obesity, leading to many other ailments such as high cholesterol, diabetes, lethargy, cardio vascular attacks and so on.

     

    Apart from the physical harm fat causes, it also attacks you mentally. An overweight person will feel low, left out and in many cases will also have a severe inferiority complex. Having friends and peers with slim bodies around will only make it worse.

     

    4. The thought process behind the creative:

    Understanding the insight of how obesity affects one’s life, we realized there is a huge opportunity for making the audience aware about the evils of obesity and provide them the right solutions against it.

     

    As the insight was strong enough to put across a strong message, we visualized obesity and treated it as evil. The evil that is set free making the man/woman feel happier and lighter with a range of slimming packages from Iosis Medispa.

     

    5. Media vehicles chosen:

    The leading media was Print, which was supported by Outdoor and the distribution of leaflets in the local vicinity. To make it interactive, the campaign was backed by innovations like the ‘ghost’ stickers pasted on the mirrors of multiplex washrooms, instigating the audience to consider their fitness.

     

    6. Key issues kept in mind while executing the ad:

    The campaign was built around the insight that obesity is the root cause for some of hazardous evils trapped within the human body. The evil obese figure emerging out of the slimmer man/woman adds enough drama that would act as an immediate hook for the audience. The settings were easy going in nature, expressing that it’s not only about looking good; but feeling good inside. The clutter breaking communication minus vague promises and loud claims, effectively stirred up the message of ‘set free to healthy living’ in a distinctive yet effective way.

     

    7. Does the treatment do justice to the brief?

    The ad is interestingly dramatized by showing obesity in an evil light, treating it as a ghost. It talks about getting rid of the excessive fat from your body, leaving you happier and lighter from within. The woman and man in the ad were shown in a composed and relaxed state with toned, healthy figure. The personified ghost acts as the bad unwanted fat that has a feel good factor to it once disposed. The ad achieved the desired response as it was different from the usual ‘before and after weight loss ads’, thus, breaking the market clutter to good effect.

     

    8. What according to you is the differentiating factor about the ad?

    The dramatic execution came out as a refreshing change from the regular ‘Before and After’ slimming ads. The communication set a different tone within the industry, opening up the thinking verses the mundane pre and post differences in the figure. The idea and the expression proved interesting enough to stand apart from the rest.

     

    9. Market and client feedback:

    This ad received an optimistic review across the market span. It was well understood, across classes, as a clutter breaking ad. The market audience was already weary watching the same clichéd ‘before and after weight loss’ ads done by the competitors. So, the ‘ghost ads’ came out as fresh interesting breeze amongst the muddled space, elevating the brand value.With the ad covering a number of media across, the brand presence was visibly felt.

     

    Walk-in targets exceeded along with increase in phone calls and queries after the launch of the campaign. The client felt confident about the positive air envelope the brand, Iosis.

     

  • Call it the mystique of art or just hardboiled application of effort, creativity still does not get its due in India. Sandeep Bomble draws up the chargesheet.

    The Anchor: 9 reasons creativity in advertising is underpaid

    By Sandeep Bomble

     

    Famous Myths

    #1 India still believes in paying for tangibility. Working hard is often recognized. Man hours matter and define work. Thinking is still an intangible quality which is perceived to be present in everyone.

     

    #2 Creative beings are often mistaken and perceived as souls only hungry for quality work. They can go to any extent to attain their desired passion. Money is secondary for them as long as their passion is groomed on the right track.

     

    #3 In India, qualifications and degrees are everything for a well-settled life. A degree holder can demand a big pay cheque. And why not! After all he has spent a bomb on his professional course. How could he consider a 10th pass Art professional as his peer? How can creativity come with a ‘qualified’ tag? “He can’t possibly be creative with no degree backup,” is something often heard, whereas this creative fellow could be a visionary with immense guts to break every clutter.

     

    #4 It is about the client’s attitude towards creativity. The “anyone can do what you do” attitude. Today, a creative agency goes all out to crack a brilliant communication strategy. Intensive research. Deep thinking. Uncompromised approach on the final execution. Great efforts together bring out that distinctive piece of work. Which can be simple in nature. And the simplicity which isn’t so easy to achieve after reading the most complicated brief often draws the comment: “Oh, even my secretary can write better than this.” Or “My 6-year-old son can draw a better logo for me”. Well, so how would creativity get its due respect and worth?

     

    Brutal Facts

    #1 The clients have become better negotiators than the agencies. With the advertising market expanding, the retainer figures are going down considerably. even the biggest of the agencies are going low on retainership. Consequently, suppressing the quality small agencies to further compromise on creative fees. As a result, the agencies aren’t comfortable in approving heavy salary cheques down the line. It’s sad but true. This is definitely affecting the quality of work. As the industry isn’t working on what they deserve, but is rather content with what is available.

     

    #2 The growth in advertising revenue, though being healthier every passing year, can in no way be compared to a lot of its major peer sectors. The turnover of the advertising industry is significantly less in contrast to telecom, IT or financial sectors. Thus the advertising agencies cannot afford to pay their creative employees more than their annual budget.

     

    #3 Many of the budding creative people lack confidence to ask for the best price for their creative abilities, during their onset. It is only after some years that they realize their creative potential and develop enough self-esteem to rely on the instincts, abilities, conviction and gain the right exposure to demand a more lucrative pay slip.

     

    #4 The young guns who are fresh entrants seek a break to release their potential to the best of their abilities. They vie to work with the best of the creatives, so, if they go to the well-known industry they come mentally prepared to work for peanuts in bargain for their own development. They fear losing an opportunity in a reputed, sought-after ad agency, and thus sadly settle for whatever the agency wishes to pay them.

     

    #5 If the creative guys ask for double the salary as compared to their peers or what the agency thinks is best for them, then they have a greater possibility of not being selected because equal numbers of creatives are ready to work for the same or even lesser amount than the industry standards. Thus the agencies rather go the cliched way of having two brains for the price of one expensive quality brain.

     

    If only we could break these hardbound myths and dispose of them, by practising a common slab of retainership. For instance, charge Rs 5 lakh as retainer fees even to the smallest client. In return, the client enjoys the gradual brand growth, justifying the creative fees in the long run. This way we could standardize the industry format, solving some of the brutal realities, so that creativity breathes fresh and takes pride in matching shoulders with other mighty sectors, head-on.

     

    Sandeep Bomble is the founder of Palasa.

     

  • 2011 has been a year to make us believe 'the smaller, the better'. Independent agencies fair well as the founder brings in loads of experience

    Independents rule adland in 2011

     

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Looking at 2011 and how well the independent agencies have performed this year, it can be said that this has been the year of independence for the independents who have managed to attract some big ticket clients.

     

    Law & Kenneth has excelled this year in terms of business wins, Anil Nair, CEO and Managing Partner, Law & Kenneth, said: “As an independent agency, we have everything and give appropriate solutions to our brand. Our services are not restricted to just creative campaigns for a brand. We can offer all that a bigger agency can do. The advantage that we have over them is that we focus on the task in hand without any bias. Bigger agencies need larger income, hence the client has to spend big. For us honesty and integrity are high currencies, hence we have the courage to call a spade, spade.”

     

    Most of the independent agencies these days let their work talk for them. Ideas@work won the creative mandates for Big Rock, Gelusil, Rustomji and managed seven awards at Goafest.

     

    Saints & Warriors and Scarecrow have done equally well and bagged some good businesses. Ditto with Creativeland Asia which has excelled.

     

    Mahesh Chauhan, Salt Brand Solutions, said: “In my opinion 2011 can actually be known as the year of independence for smaller agencies. Larger agencies offer infrastructure, whereas we, as independents, go to a client and say we’ll work for them, which a bigger agency cannot do. We partner with our clients and this has motivated the transition. As for me, working as a founder of an independent agency means being a player of the team and not the captain.”

     

    SALT has won the creative mandates for Kaya Skin Clinic, BSE and Big RTL this year.

     

    Early this year ‘Hum mein hai hero’ came across as a clutter breaker. Similarly Pepsi ‘Change the Game’ and the Airtel’s latest ‘Har friend Zaroori hota hai’ have made one feel that there is a change in the thought process of the client as well.

     

    Happy Creative, a creative boutique, managed to cull out a name for itself in terms of awards and has done some great work for Flipkart.

     

    Rahul Kansal, CMO, Bennett & Coleman, said: “As a client, we are looking for less of strategy and more of creative input, hence we want to deal directly with the creative person who is more readily available in smaller/independent agencies. We no longer want to work with middlemen. Second, if we are comfortable working with a particular individual, then we prefer working with him, it doesn’t really matter if it his own startup.”

     

    Agnello Dias, Taproot India said: “This year has been reasonably good for independent agencies. Clients are looking for a fresher take, hence they are moving towards agencies who can give them personalised service as they have lesser work.”

     

    It can be said that when we sell something, even if it is an idea, there has to be a personal touch. And that’s exactly what these boutique agencies are offering to their client. Right from suggesting a brand name to designing and packaging, a lot of these agencies are providing services beyond the creation of a brand communication for a brand.

     

    Sandeep Bomble, founder director, Palasa said: “The business we won this year was Iball mobile phones, Housefull Furniture and Rawwar Fashion. We also won 3 Goafest awards last year for different categories like Best Packaging, Best Art Direction and Best Direct Marketing Event. One-to-one client interaction, cost effective and lesser process driven are the primary reasons for survival of independent agencies. The people working in the agencies will come and go, but in a small set up, the head that drives remains forever. Which is why, a client enjoys personalised attention without losing out on quality in the long run”.

     

    The bigger agencies have always been big, but it is a striking fad to see that creativity more than anything is getting the utmost importance in India, just like it is in other countries.

     

    What we can figure out from the views of the experts is that in the end, it isn’t about being big or small, instead it’s more about being ingenious and impeccable.

     

     

  • Palasa has managed to win the creative mandates for KG Beverages, RESTLESS and BUZZ

    Palasa now creative partners with KG Beverages

     

    Sandeep Bomble
    Nitin Gupta

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Palasa has managed to win the creative mandates for KG Beverages, RESTLESS and BUZZ. Along with creative mandates, Palasa will also be involved in the packaging and marketing of both the products.

     

    RESTLESS is an action drink which will be competing with the likes of Red Bull and Cloud 9. KG Beverages will also be launching range of carbonated drinks like Lemon Clear drink,Orange, Green Apple Cola and Jeera Masala. BUZZ is premix alcoholic beverage which will be available in three exciting flavours.

     

    Sandeep Bomble, founder, director, Palasa, said: “We have been associated with KG beverages since 8 years and we have created this product range together. Many others wanted to be a part of it but no one else could win it, as it is our baby”.

     

    Nitin Gupta, CEO/founder, said: “I have worked with Sandeep for almost eight years for SYKZ and having seen his work, there was no question of calling other agencies to pitch. Sandeep’s work has always impressed me and we are already quite happy with whatever they are doing for the brand.”

     

  • Palasa, the creative workshop has added two new accounts to its kitty, Housefull and Rawwar

    Palasa obtains the creative mandates for Housefull and Rawwar

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Palasa is on a roll, having bagged two businesses back to back, one for a low-cost furniture brand called Housefull and the other for a young fashion brand to be launched in February, named Rawwar. Palasa is a creative workshop formed by Sandeep Bomble, better known as ‘Bomble’ in the advertising circuit.

     

    The account size for both the businesses is estimated around Rs 20 crore. Palasa won the Housefull account by just recommending a communication strategy and a defined path to make Housefull a reliable furniture brand in the industry. For Rawwar the communication strategy gives a lift to the catalogue advertisement. They are also designing the T-shirts and the exclusive retail outlets for the brand.

     

    On the win, Sandeep Bomble, Director, Palasa, said, “Palasa as a creative place is different from other advertising agencies as we do not have any ATL and BTL barrier. No job is small or big; a visiting card or packaging or even merchandizing is as important as a television commercial. Both require idea and thinking. For Houseful we’ll be doing creatives across mediums from ATL to BTL.

     

    The approximate media spent is about Rs 12 to 15 crore. Housefull are on an expansion spree and plan to open maximum number of stores across India in the year 2012. “We saw this as a great opportunity to make Housefull ‘the’ household furniture Brand of India,” he added.

     

    The second account Rawwar, a young fashion brand to be launched in February, was recommended by Palasa. Mr Bomble explains their communication strategy, “To survive in this ever-evolving fad, being raw isn’t good enough. To overcome, situation demands a reverse in trend or to announce a fashion war. The idea is in the name itself the mirror reflection of RAW is WAR. And with Rawwar, it’s a Win-Win situation.”

     

    Mr Bomble had spent nine years at Ogilvy from where he moved to JWT and stayed for three and half years. The mix of creative sparks in Ogilvy and strategic strengths from JWT initiated Palasa’s birth. Palasa believes that as long as the clients are happy they do not need to come out and create any buzz.