MxMIndia

Tag: South India

  • Dentsu Communications has won the creative mandate of Jos Alukkas, one of South India's largest jewellery groups

    Dentsu Communications wins Jos Alukkas business

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Communications has won the creative mandate of Jos Alukkas, one of South India’s largest jewellery groups.

     

    Jos Alukkas’s relationship with gold began as early as 1964 and it is now one of the south’s largest jewellery groups. They take pride in being the first jewellery group for having received an award for quality.

     

    With expansion plans targeted at scaling the national market and the Asia Pac region they plan to invest over Rs 550 crore in the following year to establish itself further in the southern markets while slowly moving into the four metro cities at the same time. They already have 26 showrooms spanning Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh.

     

    Jos Alukka, Chairman of Jos Alukkas, expressed satisfaction on appointing Dentsu Communications and said, “We are happy to be associated with the Dentsu team who will partner us in our journey ahead. The team has a good understanding of the market and we believe they’ll help us connect better with our customers.”

     

    Commenting on the expansion, Arijit Ray, CEO Dentsu Communications said, “Jos Alukkas is a brand of great stature and enjoys a deep connect with people in the South. We are absolutely thrilled to have a reputed Jewellery House like Jos Alukkas as our first client in our Kochi operation. Apart from being a great brand we are delighted to work with some great people at Jos Alukkas. I am sure Saji Jayakumar and the team at Kochi will work very closely with the brand team to take this relationship to next level”

     

    Ashwin Parthiban, Regional ECD South, Dentsu Communications said “I’m really looking forward to working on a brand with such a sharply defined raison d’etre.”

     

    Jeejo PP, Corporate Marketing Manager, Jos Alukkas added, “The recent campaign with superstar Vijay and his mother Shobha Chandrashekar is the talk of the town. We’re looking forward to do more exciting work with the Dentsu team which will stand out from the clutter.”

     

    About Dentsu Communications

    Dentsu Communications is one of the three full-fledged advertising agencies that are a part of the Dentsu network in India. With its headquarters in Bangalore, it has branch offices in Gurgaon, Chennai, Mumbai & Kochi. Dentsu Communications is a part of the Dentsu India Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dentsu Inc., Tokyo. Mr. Rohit Ohri is the Executive Chairman and Mr. Soumitra Karnik is the National Creative Director of the Dentsu India Group.

     

    About the Dentsu India Group

    The Dentsu India Group, a 100% subsidiary of Dentsu Inc., Tokyo, comprises four independent, full-service advertising agencies – Dentsu Communications, Dentsu Marcom, Dentsu Creative Impact and Taproot India, a media company – Dentsu Media and a digital company – Dentsu Digital. Besides the core advertising and media business, the group also houses world-class expertise in the areas of communication design, activation and sports marketing. Fully integrated with the Dentsu Network, the Dentsu India Group is geared to usher ‘The Dentsu Way’ in India to deliver, not just incisive integrated communication solutions to clients but also, embody the world-class service quality which Dentsu is known for the world over.

     

    About Dentsu Inc., Tokyo

    Founded in 1901, Dentsu Inc. has held the position of the world’s largest single-brand agency for almost 40 years. Through its unique “Integrated Communication Design” approach, Dentsu offers multinational clients the most comprehensive range of advertising and marketing services in the industry. While continuing to pursue innovation in the digital arena, Dentsu is active in the production and marketing of sports, movies, anime and other entertainment content on a global scale. The Dentsu Group has more than 6,000 clients and close to 20,000 employees worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.dentsu.com

     

     

  • Dentsu Communications, a full service independent communications agency and a part of the Dentsu India Group, has begun operations in Kochi

    Dentsu strengthens Southern India network

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Communications, a full service independent communications agency and a part of the Dentsu India Group, commences operations in Kochi.

     

    Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman said, “Our commencement of operations in Kochi is part of our larger strategic plan of accelerated growth in India. We’re now fully equipped to offer integrated communication services to all our clients in the Southern India. Arijit Ray, CEO Dentsu Communications, Suresh Mohan Kumar, National Planning Head and Ashwin Prathiban, Regional ECD (South) will drive this new initiative. I’m confident that under their leadership, we shall see a new spurt of growth in this region.”

     

     

    Commenting on the expansion and the South market, Arijit Ray, CEO Dentsu Communications said, “We are extremely upbeat about our operations in the South. The Bangalore operation is our largest and most integrated with 3 pillar clients. Toyota, Nissin and TVS. With a clear focus on building the Bangalore operation into a hub of excellence to cater to all markets in the South, the capability and talent building process is bearing fruit. With a fully integrated, Creative, Events, Media and PR Team, that has conceived and executed the Etios Motor Racing programme, the team is set to leverage integrated opportunities on current and potential clients. What is heartening is that we have been able to build our strategic integrated capabilities around our clients brand and business mandates.”

     

    Adding further, Mr Ray said, “We see a lot of potential in Kochi. We have a great team that understands the local nuances to start our journey in Kerala. Saji Jayakumar our Kochi head and his team will surely do everything to make it a stellar operation.”

     

    Ashwin Parthiban, Regional Executive Creative Director, Dentsu Communications said, “Dentsu’s Kochi presence offers exciting creative possibilities, and an interesting opportunity to work on a mix of both local and national brands that are based in Kerala. There is a refreshing appetite for path-breaking creative ideas among clients here, and benchmarks are set very high. But most importantly, Keralites have a rich story-telling culture, not to mention a very evolved appreciation of film, and this mix provides delightful creative inspiration.”

     

    Suresh Mohan Kumar, National Planning Head, Dentsu Communications said, “Kochi office underlines Dentsu’s emphasis on and commitment to southern markets. Our key differentiator would be our ability to conceive and deliver totally integrated communication solutions. Bangalore will continue to be the planning and creative hub but we will tap into our teams’ local expertise to provide our clients with solutions that make a difference in the market place.”

     

  • A vibrant market for regional as well as national music, the FM radio scene in South India still has immense potential for expansion and revenue.

    FM Radio rocks in South India… and how!

    By Robin Thomas

     

    The FICCI-Deloitte report on Media and Entertainment in South India says that radio in South India will grow with a CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of 20 per cent by 2015. The reach of FM radio is said to be far higher in South India than its counterparts in other parts of the Country. According to Ms Nisha Narayanan, Senior VP Projects and Programming Red FM, South India has 28 per cent share of existing radio channels and it will have 28 per cent representation in FM phase III as well.

     

    Besides the larger FM stations like Red FM, Big FM, Radio Mirchi and Radio City, there are many local or smaller FM stations as well, such as Radio Hello, Club FM, Best FM, Suryan FM and Radio Mango, to name a few. Unlike the North, FM radio stations in the South play music in multiple languages as prominence is given to the local language. Big FM for instance plays only Kannada music in Bengaluru whereas in Hyderabad it plays Telugu and Hindi music. Club FM, a Kerala-based FM station, plays mainly Malayalam music with a mix of Tamil and Hindi music whereas Red FM in Andhra Pradesh mainly plays Telugu.

     

    Rabe T Iyer
    Nisha Narayanan

    Rabe T Iyer, Business Head, Big FM, the radio arm of Reliance Broadcast Network was of the opinion that compared to the rest of the country, the reach of radio in south India is much higher. Mr Iyer was also quick to point out that in some key markets like Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad the reach of radio is significant, higher than most news channels, and is on comparable terms with leading GECs.

     

    “Given the inherent strengths of the region backed by a strong film and music Industry, added to its rich cultural diversity, it is not surprising that radio in South India has relatively higher penetration than other regions. The south of India has done some innovative radio over the years. It continues to be a huge focus area for all players given that it has three big metros which are important from both listenership ratings and revenue perspective,” he added.

     

    Nisha Narayanan of Red FM said, “South has been an integral part of radio and its growth in India. Radio is more close to people’s lifestyle here than any other part of India. Radio Ceylon had created a strong base for radio even before the advent of FM radio in India. FM radio penetration is the highest in South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu. In the long term, obviously there is tremendous growth and we are in the early stage of that growth.”

     

    Shaan Menon, Manager Content, Club FM noted, “FM in South India is going to take a huge leap as it is waiting for the next bidding. Even the smaller cities and small townships in Kerala will get a chance to taste the feel and warmth of FM culture. South Indian film music is the strongest music industry in terms of production. Although CD sales are deeply affected due to rapid downloads, FM industry is full of the new genre of music and music directors.”

     

    Challenges and Opportunities

    Some of the key advertisers in the south are retail, textile, jewellery, real estate, hospitality, FMCG, consumer durables etc. Big FM claims its advertising and content ratio to be 1:4, while Red FM says it plays 45 minutes of music and 15 minutes of ads every hour during off peak season whereas in peak season the inventory time is slightly more. One of the reasons why radio is said to be doing well in the south is because of its strong regional film and music industry. “Given the diversity, there is tremendous potential for localization which radio can capitalize on and deliver. The opportunities to create a unique brand identity in this market are immense,” explained Mr Iyer.

     

    He further said, “A challenge any product faces in its life cycle is finding the ‘differentiating quality’ after the market matures. The same applies to the radio industry and its many players. With a market that has matured and grown manifold and poised to grow further, novelty and innovation in content will be a key component for success and will decide further growth of the category.”

     

    Ms Narayanan on the other hand observed that time has come for radio to look for new revenue streams. She was also of the view that radio stations must experiment beyond the traditional programming formats, and that music royalty still remains a challenge. “Content has to evolve a lot as most of the programming strategies are music based. We are still into traditional programming formats and the time has come to take it to the next level. The ability to create new revenue streams is ideally needed at this hour, as the only source of revenue for radio stations has been advertising sales. Music royalty is another area of concern as we pay needle per hour, whereas the international markets follow the revenue sharing model. These are the challenges faced nationally too.”

     

    The road ahead

    The much awaited FM Phase III policy seeks to extend FM radio services to about 227 new cities. Phase III will cover all cities with a population of one lakh and above, simultaneously there will be a total of 839 new FM radio channels in 294 cities. The local players in particular expect to further expand their radio station into the southern markets. However, one of the possible challenges after FM phase III is launched could be to attract listeners to the medium and then to sustain its listenership.

     

    Mr Iyer of Big FM observed, “We foresee huge growth in the radio industry in the coming years. There will be more stations leading to more innovation in content and communication. This will result in more revenues and hence more profitability for all players.”

     

    Ms Narayanan remarked, “South India has 28 per cent share of existing radio channels and it will have 28 per cent representation in phase III as well. Radio will be a national medium and the true mass medium with the number of channels coming in Phase III. In the south 75 to 80 per cent of the licenses are for the ‘D’ and ‘C’ cities which will be a great boost for advertisers as a medium breaking across demography.”

     

    Mr Menon stated, “The challenge during FM Phase III is to convince the small town public that FM radio is equally or more entertaining than TV. It will be difficult to make them taste the sample, but the current popularity of FM industry in the main towns will definitely help to fight the difficulty of convincing the new public.”

     

  • India's diversity means that there is a strong need to focus on this side of the geography, argues Bina Sujit.

    The Anchor: 4 reasons South India needs its own special interest mags

    By Bina Sujit

     

    India is such a diverse nation and every region has its own unique characteristic. It is therefore, very difficult to cater to the sensibilities of everyone through a common magazine. There would certainly be a large segment of people who would tend to get neglected in this case. Hence a region-specific, special interest magazine is the answer to fill the gap. Our research before the launch of our magazine JFW (Just for Women), targeted at the women in South India, showed that there was a need to focus on women out here, and the success of our magazine just goes to prove that finding.

     

    The advertisers’ needs also vary from region to region and they would probably need to position/focus various products in different states /regions. That is why brands also have different brand ambassadors at the national and regional levels (for example, if it is Shahrukh for the national campaign then it is Suriya and Mahesh Babu at the regional level for a particular brand). Hence the availability of a regional medium of communication helps companies to communicate their region-specific brand message.

     

    Just like our country, personalities are also very varied in various fields. Speaking from JFW’s point of view, women from South India have been making a big mark in the national and international arena. A dedicated magazine for these women ensures that such achievers are given the focus and recognition they deserve.

     

    The outlook of people across different regions also varies in our country. This results in differing tastes and preferences in what people in South India would want to read and how they would like it to be visualised. Again, a region-specific magazine is the answer to cater to the preference of readers.

     

    Bina Sujit is the Director & Editor-in-Chief, JFW, CLub Class & A la Carte at Options Media Pvt Ltd.