MxMIndia

Tag: Shubhangi Mehta

  • It's Maharashtra & Gujarat Day today. We speak to select mediapersons and brand advisors on how the two high profile states are perceived

    So which scores higher – Brand Guj or Maha?

     

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Maharashtra and Gujarat can be regarded as two of the most prosperous states of India. Where Maharashtra outshines in the industrial aspect and Bollywood Bling, Gujarat, the state of our father of nation, Mahatama Gandhi, is a state which has bounced back despite major natural calamity like the 2001 earthquake.

     

    Manish Bhatt

    In terms of promoting the state, Gujarat’s campaigns featuring the Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan are all over the media whereas we haven’t seen any such promotions from Maharashtra. The reason for this is the capital of Maharashtra – Mumbai – which is by itself is a matter of publicity for the state. Iconic names like Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar all belong to Maharashtra and there is also Bollywood.

     

    Says Manish Bhatt, Founder Director at Scarecrow Communications Ltd: “I think Gujarat is being branded well because its government has a strong political view and agenda. The spirit of Gujarat is like a phoenix, they have a never say die attitude. Where as Maharashtra lacks a strong political drive towards branding the state with no consistent political rule hence they lack uniformity in the political agenda”.

     

    Lloyd Mathias

    Lloyd Mathias, well-known marketer and until recently with Tata Tele, reasons: “It’s a recent trend that we are seeing states promoting themselves by focusing on campaigns. Gujarat has managed the total branding really well whereas Maharashtra has been left behind, not only in terms of brand building but also because it needs a 360-degree development approach. In my opinion,  bureaucrats must try and use the public money in developing the state and using these state days as an excuse to launch their development programmes.”

     

    Gujarat has over 50 million people (5 per cent of India’s population) and contributes 21 per cent of exports and 13 per cent of India’s industrial production. The state has the distinction of achieving the highest GDP over 11 per cent in the country. In Maharashtra, Mumbai became the gateway to India in many ways. Today, it is the business capital and the entertainment capital of the country.

     

    Bharat Kapadia

    According to veteran mediaperson Bharat Kapadia both Maharashtra and Gujarat progressed remarkably well though in recent times, Gujarat is “doing wonders in terms of progress due to the consistent and visionary leadership”. “The quality of leadership in Maharashtra has not been stable for quite sometime. Maharashtra does have a rich heritage but it’s losing edge due to unstable political system, bad infrastructure and so on. In my opinion there isn’t any limit to growth, but it requires great vision which the leaders in Gujarat are showing,” he adds.

     

    Though the terror attacks in Mumbai and the portrayal of the city in films like Slumdog Millionaire may have stained the image of Maharashtra, but the region and its people are known since the old days for their strength and valour. While the famous Salt March started in Gujarat, it may be argued that the culmination of the Freedom Movement occurred in Mumbai with the naval revolt (or the Bombay Mutiny), which, many say, was what got the British to finally decide to leave India.

     

    Sudarshan Banerjee

    Says Sudarshan Banerjee, Head, Mudra Ahmedabad and Director, NBD, DDB Mudra: “When we speak about brand building, Maharashtra has in the past, done campaigns promoting the state and so has Gujarat. Though in recent times, Maharashtra is low key on such activities. The reason for this can be that Maharashtra is a state which does not need to talk so much about itself, people anyway come here. Gujarat, on the other hand, has promoted itself so well in the recent past that not only tourism but also the number of investors investing here has increased. And the future only promises growth for the two states.”

     

    It is obvious that both the states are economically extremely important for the country. But whereas the Gujarat government is taking a stand and developing it by leaps and bounds, a similar effort and vision is needed for Maharashtra as well.

     

  • Sheran Mehra has called it a day at Dhanlaxmi Bank. Will now be taking charge as Head-Marketing, Mahindra Holidays

    Sheran Mehra quits Dhanlaxmi, joins Mahindra Holidays

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Sheran Mehra who was SVP & Head, Marketing, Dhanlaxmi Bank will now be Head-Marketing, Mahindra Holidays. Industry sources close to the development have confirmed the news to MxMIndia.

     

    Sheran Mehra is a marketing and advertising professional with strong brand management credentials. She began her career in 1998 in advertising with a stint at SSC& B, Lintas and Ogilvy, handling several large brands across categories including HLL’s Huggies, Kotex, ICICI Direct, Amex and Pfizer. At Ogilvy, she was part of the account management team that was rated as the best by Kimberly Clark Lever Ltd (KCLL) in the Asia Pacific region. She has also won the prestigious Effies award for Huggies.

     

    Later, she moved to HSBC, where she managed their brand portfolio in India. Mehra had launched the popular brand campaign ‘Different People, Different Views’ and was part of the team that won the Best Brand Activation Award at the HSBC Annual Asia Pacific Regional Awards.

     

    She moved to a bigger challenge of launching UK’s biggest bank in India – ‘Barclays’. As Head of Marketing at Barclays, Mehra was responsible for devising and implementing marketing and corporate communications strategy for the bank. True to Barclays essence of ‘inventive spirit’, the launch of brand ‘Barclays’ and its products and services, including the first ever mobile banking service – Hello Money – were consistently innovation driven.

     

  • It's an oft-asked question: what offers better identification and generates stickiness for a brand. And how does a brand choose between the two?

    Who’s better for brands – mascots or celebs?

     

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Mascots can be regarded as the face of a brand. Be it the ‘Amul Girl’ who is a part of every household since 1967, ‘Chintamani’, 2005, the common man ‘RK Laxman’, 1954, ‘Maharaja’ 1946 or the latest ‘ZooZoo’. Mascots provide an identity to a brand which is equivalent to the brand itself.

     

    It was in the late ’90s when the advertising industry gained pace with more and more brands wanting to endorse themselves to reach out to the consumer is when the brands started associating with celebrities to create a mass appeal.  With Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and every other celebrity promoting not one but half a dozen brands.

     

    So what does a consumer gets hooked to Sachin’s Pepsi commercial or Fido’s 7UP? Abhishek Bachchan for Idea or Zoozoos for Vodafone?

     

    Sameer Satpathy

    Says Sameer Satpathy, EVP & head, Marketing, Marico Ltd, “Choosing a celebrity or a mascot depends on your brand strategy. Both are a legitimate way to communicate your message.  The celebrity route has higher risk as you get both the positives & the negatives of your brand ambassador, but you can get results quicker as it only depends on the ability of your brand to leverage the equity of the celeb. The mascot needs to be built, invested into and in time can become a powerful and exclusive property. Also, certain categories lend themselves better to brand ambassadors like beauty brands and some categories to mascots for example brands targeted at children. For me the most memorable celebrity for a campaign would be Tiger Woods! J But for the wrong reasons.”

     

    Abhijit Avasthi

    According to Abhijit Avasthi, NCD, Ogilvy &Mather, “There is never a set rule whether a brand should go with a celebrity or a mascot. It mainly depends on the nature of the campaign. A well known celebrity face has its respective positives and so does a mascot. Though there is a great chance of a brand being lost in the clutter while using a celebrity. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is presently endorsing over 20-25 brands but when it comes to recalling a brand I can only think of 5-6 of those. Hence it is very important that the celebrity, if used, is used perfectly. For me the ‘Amul Girl’ and ‘Zoozoo’ are two of the most memorable mascots. When it comes to celebrities, I think Titan and Coke have used Amir Khan perfectly and so has Pepsi used Sachin.”

     

    It may be noted that a mascot is created by keeping in mind the brand whilst a celebrity being a mortal, may be a perfect choice to endorse a brand at a particular time but with time the image of the celebrity may change, which in return may or may not fit with the brand image.

     

    Ajay Kakar

    Says Ajay Kakar,CMO – Financial Services,Aditya Birla Group,, “It is true that a brand can ‘own’ a mascot. While a celebrity is an asset shared by many brands. But I do believe that both these mnemonics or devices are not necessarily interchangeable. Both of them have a unique role that they can play in the life of a brand. Now it depends on the specific brand, as to what is the desired role.

     

    “A celebrity can definitely create a more immediate pull for a brand, because the celebrity is already well known and has a fan following. On the other hand, a mascot may take time to ‘grow’ on its target audience. Similarly, a celebrity can help create a more emotional or personal connect, due to the ‘human’ factor. So, it is a question of horses for courses.

     

    “The Amul girl is a ‘mascot’ that immediately comes to mind. It has withstood the test of time, across ‘generations’. “As far as a celebrity-brand partnership is concerned, regrettably, today’s celebrities tend to take-on one too many brand associations, so it is difficult to associate them with any single brand. The two exceptions that do come to mind are Abhishek Bachchan and idea. And Yuvraj Singh and Birla Sun Life Insurance.”

    The fact also remains that a celebrity can give instant boost to a brand whereas a mascot needs time investment before it becomes a household name. At times a mascot may not click with the audience but the ‘non-click’ risk remains minimal in the case of a celebrity.

     

  • Investor Karisma Kapoor is also throwing her weight behind online babycare shop Babyoye.com, promoting the shopping portal on TV.

    E-shopping hits busy young mums too

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zi9nBtflKY[/youtube]

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Babyoye.com has come up with its first advertising campaign and it aspires to convey a series of messages to the new and young working mothers who are pressed for time. Babyoye.com gives consumers more than 120 brands and over 30,000 products to choose from. With just a click of a button mothers can avail the best products for their children.

     

    The current campaign was worked internally by them along with the production house. Their media agency is OMD.

     

    The biggest innovation that Babyoye.com is, by bringing world class baby and kids products at the click of a button thus enabling parents to spend quality time with their baby. By providing a wide variety of choice, parents can make an informed decision.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biWxrRxGsio[/youtube]

    Arunima Singhdeo, Director & Co- Founder Babyoye.com said, “We had initially been focusing on the digital medium which still remains to be a big promotional tool. However, we have recently started experimenting with offline mediums also and if the response is good, we will definitely continue with the same”.

     

    Babyoye.com is focusing on digital-led campaigns which are generally product-led. They have recently launched their own line of baby apparel. The collection has been designed very thoughtfully keeping in mind the new born essential needs.

     

    Apart from that, the brand campaign is currently being run on the offline mediums – TV and they are evaluating using other mediums as well. They are also in the midst of tying up with various brands that target kids to run a few co-branded campaigns.

     

    The focus area for babyoye.com in 2012 would be to add more and more product range and catering to higher age group of kids as well and building the brand name would remain a priority.

     

    On the association, Karisma Kapoor comments, “I was thrilled to shoot for this campaign. As I personally indulge in shopping from Babyoye.com, I truly believe that Babyoye is a convenient platform for new mothers with hectic schedules who can shop while baby is sleeping or while watching TV.”

     

  • The world of luxury has a new entrant in the Indian market, Excluzen.com, a luxury goods website.

    The road ahead for Excluzen.com

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    The e-commerce boom has attracted a new player, Excluzen.com, a Delhi-based company offering luxury brands on the web. Launched in Jan 2012, the company aims to offer exclusive, tailor-made and personalized experiences to its members.

     

    The current size of the e-commerce industry is $11.2 billion with 8-10 million transactions a year. A lot of international luxury brands are providing their products and services in India through e-commerce channel. In November 2011 itself, 27.2 million online users in the age group of 15 and above accessed retail category from home. The fact that nearly 3 out of 5 internet users shop online speaks volumes about the impact and growth prospects of this industry.

     

    Excluzen not only provides premium brands but also lays emphasis on experiences that no other e-commerce portal offers, such as personalized charters, yachts, or group and individual coaching with pro golfers around the world. Also, some of the offers which are solely made for Excluzen members are not available under the respective brands.

     

    Urvashi Bahuguna Sahay, CEO & founder, Excluzen.com, said, “We don’t believe in the word ‘competition’. Excluzen is not a regular discounted portal. Even though online, it can customize and personalize services, right down to individual customers needs. The key target audience for us is HNIS, Corporate, SMEs, NRIs and Expats. Excluzen provides exquisite experiences for the customers.our major focus area is to position Excluzen as the finest brand and lifestyle experiences on the web. We have roped in Perfect Relations for our media relations and India Bulls for Digital ”

     

    The marketing and ad spend for the company is 30-35 per cent of its investment cost. They are also looking at magazine advertising. Excluzen has been doing below-the line activities like running a contest on its Facebook page. Online advertising is geared towards a user base outside India. They are targeting 50,000 transactions by end of next fiscal. The company is not following any advertising model but function on profit sharing with their partners where they charge 10-20 per cent of the product value as commission. They also have an ‘exclusive’ offering every month where a select partner can promote a limited edition product at a premium price and for this service, they charge higher margins.

     

  • Sriram Kilambi has put in his papers as National Marketing Head and is presently serving his notice period at Radio Mirchi. GG Jayanta, business head of Andhra Pradesh and Regional Marketing Head- South, Radio Mirchi will be the new National Marketing Head.

    Sriram Kilambi quits Radio Mirchi, GG Jayanta is new national marketing head

    By Robin Thomas and Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Sriram Kilambi who was the National Marketing Head for Radio Mirchi has called it a day. GG Jayanta Regional Marketing Head – South Radio Mirchi will be the new National Marketing Head. Prashant Panday, CEO, Radio Mirchi, confirmed the news to MxM India.

     

    GG Jayanta was the business head of Andra Pradesh for three years and Regional Marketing Head- South, Radio Mirchi and hence handled two roles simultaneously for Mirchi.

     

    Mr Kilambi will be serving his notice period till March end. It is being speculated that he might be moving to UTV.

     

    In May 2011, Sriram Kilambi, who was the Senior Vice-President and Cluster Head, ENIL Mumbai, had been promoted as Marketing Head for Radio Mirchi.

     

    Mr Kilambi has spent more than 12 years across FMCG and media sectors in various roles like sales, marketing, and customer management, and had started his career with Coca-Cola India in 1999. In 2006, he joined ENIL as Vice-President and Cluster Head, East, where he successfully ran the Kolkata station and launched the Patna centre.

     

  • Mr Uppal confirmed to MxM that he has quit Fever 104 FM and joined Red 93.5 FM

    Rajat Uppal is the new GM Marketing, Red FM

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Rajat Uppal has quit Fever 104 FM and moved to Red 93.5 FM as General Manager- Marketing. On being contacted Mr Uppal confirmed the news to MxMIndia.

     

    In his new role, Mr Uppal will be responsible for strengthening the brand “RED” and drive all marketing initiatives of Red FM. Mr Uppal comes with close to 10 years of marketing experience across Liquor and Media Conglomerates like UB Group, Radico Khaitan, Reliance BIG Entertainment (BIG FM) & Hindustan Times (Fever 104 FM).

     

    Prior to working with Red FM, he was the Deputy General Manager- Marketing at Fever 104 FM (HT Media Ltd.)

     

    At Fever 104 FM, he was working as part of the national marketing team and handling marketing for Fever 104 FM, Fever Entertainment( Events Division) & FAT Productions, a new business venture of creating, aggregating and selling content for all digital media including, but not limited to, Mobile, Internet, radio, TV, CDs and other similar storage hardware devices. He was also responsible for managing key national campaigns for trade & consumer audiences besides spear heading online, digital & new marketing innovations.

     

  • Creativeland Asia creates a series of TVCs and a micro site www.appyfizz.com for Appy Fizz as part of the campaign, adding more fun and excitement to hanging out.

    Appy Fizz finds a new buddy in Saif Ali Khan

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Appy Fizz, ‘the cool drink to hang out with’ has found Saif Ali Khan, a new and popular face as a pal. Popular amongst his gang of friends for his sparkling wit, one liners and tireless fizz, Appy Fizz, will now be seen hanging out with Saif Ali Khan, in a series of TVCs created by Creativeland Asia.

     

    In the films, we see Appy Fizz hanging out with Saif and friends during his shoots for films. In the first film from a campaign of three, we see Saif greet his friends as he enters his personal pad at the film studio right after pack up. Appy Fizz jumps out of the fridge eager to see his friend after his long hours at work, startling Saif. Saif then introduces Appy Fizz to his bunch of friends. And then there is no stopping Appy Fizz. In his typical witty style, Appy Fizz boasts to his new friends how Saif and he have done many films together, as even a confused Saif finds this unbelievable. Appy Fizz then explains how he was always present in the intervals at the popcorn-and-drinks counter. This funny banter continues and we see Appy Fizz win the hearts of his new friends with his light-hearted banter.

     

    Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director & CMO, Parle Agro, said: “Saif Ali Khan is a great youth icon who loves his work as much as his life. The actor brings in the cool quotient to Appy Fizz’s friends circle, and both complement each other and make a very entertaining duo. We’re sure the two will make a winning pair.”

     

    She added: “Right from inception, Appy Fizz has been a runaway success. It is the creation of not just a successful brand but a successful category and we are the only players offering such a unique product in the market. We see huge potential in this brand and its massive acceptance has us led us to investing heavily in it. We see a very large growth contribution from Appy Fizz this year and in the years to come.”

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder and Creative Chairman, Creativeland Asia, said: “I’m glad we have been able to design a campaign that preserves the sanctity of Appy Fizz communication over the years and yet build in a popularity factor through Saif Ali Khan as a celebrity cast. What makes it even cooler is the fact that it has been able to depict Saif Ali Khan as a hangout buddy and not necessarily a celebrity endorser in the campaign.”

     

    On this new association Saif Ali Khan said: “It gives me great pleasure to be associated with Appy Fizz and look forward to a long fruitful relationship with the brand. I believe brand endorsements are partnerships which go beyond what one sees on TV and Print. Appy Fizz came to me with really exciting concepts which got me interested. Many new ideas and innovations will be seen by the consumer shortly and I am confident that they will be loved.”

     

    As part of the campaign, Creativeland Asia has also designed and developed a microsite, www.appyfizz.com making hanging out even more fun and interesting and a lot simpler for friends. So, if someone wants to hang out with their friends all they have to do is visit the website, and choose one of the options for hanging out with friends either at a nightclub, a bar, a cafe, an entertainment or for a house party. Once they choose an option, Appy Fizz asks them a locality they are interested to hang out in and accordingly suggests to them suitable places they can go to in that specific area. If the visitor opts for a house party, Appy Fizz suggests places in the vicinity where they can buy drinks, food or any other supplies from. Friends can even create an event complete with details like time and place and automatically post it on Facebook and Twitter and invite friends for the same. Creativeland Asia has also developed aMobile application for those on the move.

     

    The website is designed like Saif Ali Khan’s personal pad at the film studio, complete with a music system that allows you to play your choice of sound track as you explore the website, and a Television that connects you to the Appy Fizz page on Youtube.

     

    The campaign has been conceptualised by Creativeland Asia and the films have been directed by Sajan Raj Kurup and have been co-produced by equinox and Crocodile films. The VFX and the animation has been done by Mfx inKuala Lumpur.

     

  • Percept H has won the creative duties for a new brand, Ditto TV, from the Zee Group. The account size is pegged to be at Rs10 crore.

    Ditto TV aligns with Percept H

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Percept H has won the creative mandates for the recently launched Ditto TV, the OTT (over the top) television offering from Zee. The win comes after a multi-agency pitch. The account size is pegged to be at Rs10 crore.

     

    Commenting on the selection, Manoj Padmanabhan, Head of Marketing, Zee Digital said: “Since this is a new category inIndia, we were looking for an intrinsic understanding of new technologies and media consumption trends. Percept H was a winner in terms of understanding of the business and also in terms of crafting impactful creative.”

     

    Ayan Chakraborty, Chief Growth Officer, Percept H said: “The team is excited to be working on this brand, which is surely going to set a new trend in terms of media consumption in this country.”

     

    While this is the first time any of the media majors have invested in this technology inIndia, OTT TV is a proven and very successful format globally, for on-the-go consumption of media and entertainment. Some of the leading players like Sky generate a significant amount of revenues through this channel format.

     

  • The new TVC for Tiger Balm shows how the product is a household name worldwide

    Quadrant creates Tiger Balm’s new TVC

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA4LTXqDMos[/youtube]

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    The latest Tiger Balm campaign created by Quadrant Communications portrays that Tiger Balm is so popular that most people across the world recall the balm brand and not the animal. The setting of a language class has been used to accentuate this. It’s a 30-second commercial in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi.

     

    The Indian balm market is dominated by heritage brands like Zandu and Amrutanjan. Tiger Balm too enjoys good brand recall in minds of the consumers, however it is more back of mind memory than top of mind memory. The brand has been away from media hence the motive of the campaign is to let the consumers recall the brand.

     

    On the TVC, Rajan Narayan, President, Quadrant Communications said, “During the researches conducted, following things clearly came across, Strong awareness of Tiger Balm as an international brand association of Tiger Balm as a strong balm, its unique packaging and logo. Recent communication by competitors within the category had not communicated anything new to grow the category. The fallout are new formats like gels and creams eating into the balm market share. Hence we devised this campaign which can be regarded as clutter breaking due to its approach”.

     

    The strategy was to leverage the fact that Tiger Balm is the trusted pain relieving balm in most countries across the world.

     

  • Birla Tyres has awarded its creative mandates to Grey Singapore; the account size is pegged to be Rs10 crore.

    Birla Tyres to roll with Grey Singapore

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    After assigning its creative duties to Dentsu in May 2011, Birla Tyres has now awarded the creative mandate to Grey Singapore. Industry sources close to the development have confirmed the news to MxMIndia.

     

    The account size of the business is estimated to be 10 crore.

     

    The incumbent on the account, DentsuIndia, was the first agency to work on the creative business of the account.

     

    Ever since its inception in 1991, Birla Tyres, a division of the BK Birla flagship Kesoram Industries Ltd, has seen a jump in its turnover from Rs1,947.22 crore in 2008-09 to Rs2,849.61 crore in 2009-10. The company is now looking to reach a target of Rs5,500 crore.