MxMIndia

Tag: Vinay Piparsania

  • Ford India has sacked its employee who cleared the controversial ad for entry to Goafest

    #Scamadgate: Ford sacks employee who cleared ads + MxM View

    By A Correspondent

     

    After MxMIndia first wrote that Ford India is equally responsible for #Scamadgate given that the Abby entry was approved by its marketing head (reportedly someone at the level of vice president), Ford India has issued a statement: ”We deeply regret this incident and agree with WPP that it should have never happened. The posters are contrary to our values and everything we believe in at Ford. We sincerely apologize that they ever were created. After internal reviews, both Ford and WPP have taken appropriate actions. We take this very seriously. Together with WPP, we are reviewing our processes and increasing our education efforts to help ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”

     

    The “appropriate actions” haven’t been elaborated on by Ford’s spokesperson Deeptie Sethi. While Ms Sethi doesn’t give us the name, a report in the Detroit Free Press quotes Jim Farley, Ford’s head of global marketing, as saying in an interview that the Ford India employee who approved and signed off the award for the Abby “no longer works for Ford” (link: http://www.freep.com/article/20130328/BUSINESS0102/130328066/3-employees-at-Ford-of-India-fired-over-controversial-ads).

     

    MxMIndia has the name of the person who signed off the ads for the Abby, but given that there’s no official confirmation at the time of writing, we are not revealing her/his name. What we do know is that the people helming the marketing department at Ford India are: Vinay Piparsania who is Executive Director of Marketing, Sales and Service and Sriram Padmanabhan who is Vice President, Marketing.

     

    Update/Mar 29, 12.30pm:

    When quizzed further to identify the employee who has been dispensed with, Ms Seth said: “The Ford India employee no longer is with the company. Per our policy, we will not identify the individual publicly.”

     

    MxM View: While MxMIndia is aware of the name of the person whose services have been terminated with, we will not proactively reveal it. While part of the reason is that we do not have official confirmation, we also believe it will be unfair to the employee, his/her family and to the organisation. We didn’t want to do this with Bobby Pawar and Vijay Simha, but by early morning the name was public. It appeared that JWT India folks didn’t mind the media carrying the names, as it showed the client that they have cleansed themselves. We believe it is an unfortunate development. The fact of the matter is that both organisations do not appear to have any clear policy on scam ads, and all the stuff about standards etc is BS. If there was a policy in place, we wouldn’t have had the scam ads in the first place! We urge JWT India/WPP and Ford India to do their bit to ensure their ex-employees are rehabilitated. That will be their good deed for the Holy Weekend.

     

    See also: Ball in Ford India’s court now,

    Mediaah!: After Bobby Pawar, will Ford marketing head also go?

     

  • EcoSport Urban Discoveries will leverage television, radio, print, mobile, press and social internet channels

    Ford launches EcoSport Urban Discoveries campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ford India has announced the roll-out of its integrated marketing and communications product experiential campaign, EcoSport Urban Discoveries. The 360-degree campaign is the foundation for the launch of Ford’s upcoming urban SUV, EcoSport. Hosted on an online platform, www.ecosportdiscoveries.co.in, the campaign aims to reach out to a target customer base spread across the country.

     

    The scale of this campaign will be achieved by a high output, simultaneous amplification strategy that will be leveraged through multiple paid, owned and earned media channels. Ford will additionally carry out in-programme placement that will help take the EcoSport directly to home television screens in India through general entertainment channels.

     

    Announcing the roll-out, Vinay Piparsania, executive director of Marketing, Sales and Service for Ford India, said, “We at Ford believe that real people and their real experiences truly bring out the best in our products. This has inspired us to empower the people of India to set the stage for EcoSport’s launch in the country. EcoSport Urban Discoveries will give over a hundred customers, the opportunity to drive and experience our exciting Ford EcoSport ahead of its market launch. This campaign will help us go further in engaging with our customers and educating them about our upcoming big product.”

     

    EcoSport Urban Discoveries will be executed in two phases divided by consumer activation roadshows across 12 key cities – New Delhi (including NCR), Mumbai (including Navi Mumbai), Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Kochi, Ludhiana, Chennai, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Kolkata to cover North, South, East and West regions. These roadshows will feature modular interactive zones that will be set up in high-footfall malls in each city to offer potential customers a touch and feel experience of the product and its features.

     

    “With EcoSport Urban Discoveries we would like to help customers make the right purchase decision for them to enjoy an unforgettable ownership experience and, en route, take away fascinating stories which they can share back home with their family and friends,” said Mr Piparsania.