MxMIndia

Tag: WPP

  • Has appointed Anuraag Khandelwal and Satish deSa as Executive Creative Directors with effect from June 1

    Meridian’s creative leadership changes

    By A Correspondent

     

    Meridian Communication, a group company of WPP, the world’s largest conglomerate of marketing communications services, has entrusted the creative mantle of its Mumbai office to Ogilvy’s Anuraag Khandelwal and Satish deSa. Both have been promoted to the rank of Executive Creative Directors and will assume this new responsibility with effect from June 1. Mr Khandelwal and Mr deSa boast a collective wealth of 26 years industry experience that will reinforce Meridian’s creative output. A major part of their career has been spent forging a fantastic partnership at Ogilvy, Mumbai. During their association here, they have created stellar campaigns for big brands like TATA Motors, IPL, Cadbury, Tata Sky, Aegon Religare Life Insurance, Unilever’s Beverages, Oberoi Realty and Hutch, to name just a few.

     

    Announcing the appointment, Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy Group, South Asia, said: “Meridian has found itself two young men who are very ambitious and full of exciting ideas. I have asked them to make Meridian a place that gives their friends at Ogilvy sleepless nights. I’m sure it will be healthy competition and result in some great advertising on both sides of the family.”

     

    “When we were asked to head Meridian, Mumbai, I thought – here is another opportunity to challenge ourselves. Because each time we’ve done that, we’ve been encouraged by the outcome. We’re sure this time won’t be any different. Can’t wait to get started,” said Mr Khandelwal

     

    “We believe that our appetite for constantly reinventing ourselves, for setting new standards is what will differentiate Meridian in the near future,” Mr deSa added.

     

    On this infusion of young blood, Samrat Bedi, Head of Office, Meridian, Mumbai said: “The passion Anuraag and Satish have for new-age work is remarkable. Their recent IPL ‘Carnival’ campaign attests to that. And that’s exactly the kind of fresh creative energy that Meridian needs today.”

     

  • Leading WPP network (and Group M) agency MEC completes a decade of existence

    MEC turns 10!

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading media agency MEC is completing a decade of existence. Created in 2002 from the first ever merger in ad conglomerate WPP’s history, two innovative independent businesses, The Media Edge in North America and CIA in Europe, came together to become MEC.

     

    Named by RECMA as the fastest growing global media network of the decade, MEC was the first media agency to create a specialist digital operation, Outrider, as early as in 1995 and by 2003, these services were fully integrated within the agency, enabling it to offer a seamless Paid Owned and Earned product to clients.

     

    As a founding partner of GroupM in 2003, MEC pioneered the concept of group trading and GroupM remains a unique and groundbreaking concept in the industry.

     

    In their very first decade, the agency has racked up some remarkable achievements.

    • The first media agency to win a Cannes Media Lion
    • The only agency to win Advertising Age’s Global Media Agency of the Year twice in consecutive years
    • The only agency to win Adweek’s Global Media Agency of the Year twice in consecutive years
    • 53 Media Agency of the Year awards in local markets around the world

     

    Today, MEC has over 150 offices in 84 countries and employs over 4,000 people. In India, MEC was launched in 2004 and has full-service offices in Mumbai,Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru. Both their specialist divisions – MEC Interaction (digital services) and MEC Access (entertainment, sports and partnerships) – were launched in 2008.  Interestingly, this anniversary year has brought much cheer for MEC India.  Not only did the agency win most golds at Goafest 2012, they were adjudged winner at Festival of Media Global for creative of media.

     

    Says Shubha George, Chief Operating Officer, South Asia MEC, “I am delighted to be part of MEC’s journey in India.  And, I am proud that the fledgling agency that we were has blossomed into a super successful organisation that brings on board the best mix of strategic thought, innovative action and analytical measurement. MEC’s culture is unique and infectious and I thank all my colleagues – current and those who have helped build the agency in the past – and wish us an even more successful decade to come.”

     

    Speaking on the occasion, T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC India says: “I am proud to be a part of MEC, a global network that is an exciting combination of strategic communications planning  and an idea-centric culture. While we will continue to take inspiration from our prolific past, this occasion is apt time to renew our vows to our clients, staff and associates.”

     

  • Long time Ogilvy & Mather Chairman Shelly Lazarus decides to step down and move into the role of chairman emeritus

    Ogilvy CEO Miles Young to be new chairman

    By Amit Bapna

     

    There is a change of guard at WPP’s star agency, Ogilvy. At a recent board meeting in Sao Paulo it was announced that Ogilvy CEO Miles Young would take on the role of chairman effective July 1. This comes in the wake of the long time Ogilvy & Mather Chairman Shelly Lazarus deciding to step down and move into the role of chairman emeritus.

     

    Ms Lazarus has had a very successful stint at Ogilvy & Mather, having spent 40 years in the agency – beginning her career in account-management roles on brands like American Express and Unilever, before becoming general manager of Ogilvy & Mather Direct in the US. She was named CEO in 1996, and became the chairman in 1997. Now she has passed the baton to Miles Young who had taken over the role of the CEO in January 2009.

     

    On being asked what would be his top priorities as he takes full charge at the WPP agency, Mr Young shared in an exclusive email reply to The Economic Times: “A key priority for me will be to push our digital leadership even further. I see an inflexion point where the pure play offer has failed to satisfy clients. Our scale and 360 degrees approach to digital offers much deeper solutions.”

     

    Specifically about India he said: “Growing digital in India will be a critical priority for me.” To further acknowledge the importance of India, he intends to hold “the first Board meeting of my Chairmanship in India early in the New Year.”

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • Internet advertising hit $84.8 billion in 2011, representing a 16 percent increase over the previous year, according to a new report from GroupM

    GroupM study says global web spends up 16% in 2011

    By A Correspondent

     

    Internet advertising hit $84.8 billion in 2011, representing a 16 per cent increase over the previous year and accounting for more than 17 per cent of all global measured advertising expenditures, according to a new report from GroupM.

     

    North America led the pack in terms of overall digital ad spending with an estimated $34.5 billion; Asia-Pacific came in second with $24.8 billion followed by Western Europe with $21 billion, according to the study, entitled This Year, Next Year: Interaction 2012.

     

    The study is part of GroupM’s media and marketing forecasting series drawn from data supplied by parent company WPP’s worldwide resources in advertising, public relations, market research, and specialist communications. It was released on Wednesday by London-based GroupM Futures Director Adam Smith and New York-based GroupM Interaction Global CEO Rob Norman.

     

    The study also predicts that in 2012, digital advertising spending will reach $98.2 billion globally, almost 16 per cent more than this year.  The figure represents almost 19 per cent of all measured advertising investment.  In the 2012 forecast, North America once again ranks first with an estimated $38 billion in digital ad spend; Asia-Pacific follows with $31.4 billion followed by Western Europe with $23 billion.

     

    In the US, digital advertising spending hit $32.2 billion in 2011, representing a 22 per cent share of the overall domestic market and a 12 per cent increase over the previous year, according to the study.  This year those figures are expected to reach $35.4 billion for a 23 per cent share and a 10 per cent increase over 2011.

     

    The report also includes detailed commentary on the current state of various digital marketing developments and offers insightful observations on the evolution of digital communications and the inherent implications for marketers.

     

    “At the risk of an ‘oh really?’ response, it’s possible to argue that for the first time since these reports began that the last year has been one of evolution rather than revolution,” Mr Norman wrote in the report’s introduction.  “It seems that less is brand new and that a combination of scale of usage of an increasingly social and mobile web, the penetration of devices supported by it, and the continued atomization of audiences and content, in both their creation and distribution combine to tell the story of the year.”

     

    Mr Norman added: “In 2007 we speculated about a world that would be truly social, searchable, mobile, addressable and interactive and illuminated by data that could be collected and applied across all marketing functions; in 2012 that is no longer a matter for conjecture.”

     

    In addition to spending forecasts, the comprehensive, 20-country report also details ad investment in paid search and Internet display as well as providing data on broadband penetration, media time spent online and e-commerce per user data.

     

    Additional key findings in the survey include the following:

     

    • Digital advertising’s share of total ad investment rose from 4.4 per cent worldwide in 2004 to a projected 18.8 per cent in 2012.
    • The average percentage of consumers’ “media time” spent online increased from 11 percent in 2006 to 19 percent in 2011. The absolute number of broadband homes worldwide has nearly tripled in this period to reach 500 million, and the typical country has seen broadband penetration grow by half.
    • Aside from general monetary inflation, ad investment growth has two main vectors: aggregate audience hours, and advertising intensity per individual. Average online advertising investment per online user doubled between 2006 and 2011.  For 2011, Norway had the highest per-capita online ad investment in the study’s sample–$200.
    • E-commerce accounts for about 5 per cent of global retail sales today, with instant-on devices, secure and simple payment, vouchering, and the optimization of retail for mobile serving as catalysts for growth.
    • Consumer tablet penetration reached double digits in only three of the survey’s countries in 2011: the US, Finland and South Korea.  However, take-up is expected to be rapid and nine countries should reach double digit penetration in 2012.

     

  • Reported revenue for WPP was up 11.4 per cent year-over-year to $16.05 billion while Interpublic Group of Cos reported that it nearly doubled its net income for 2011, up 96 per cent to $551.5 million

    How the WPP and Interpublic Group fared in 2011

    By A Correspondent

     

    WPP reported record profits of more than $1.45 billion for 2011, up a whopping 43 per cent from the year prior, and the holding company expects to see continued momentum in 2012 due to increased ad spending for the US presidential election and this summer’s Olympic games, according to Ad Age.

     

    Reported revenue for WPP, the biggest ad holding company in the world and home to creative agencies such as Ogilvy, JWT and media-buying behemoth Group M, was up 11.4 per cent year-over-year to $16.05 billion. However, WPP’s CEO-Executive Director Martin Sorrell is less optimistic about 2013, as there are no big events to bolster ad spend, and political ad dollars will drop off following the election.

     

    “We think 2012 looks similar to 2011, maybe at a slightly reduced level,” said Mr Sorrell. “But the one big cloud on the horizon we feel the need to address in 2013 is deficit reduction after the US election.”

     

    WPP said North America performed well, and in Europe the debt crisis is impacting growth, but overall the company said it still fared well in the region thanks to strong growth in the UK and acquisitions in Western Continental Europe.

     

    The company reported that Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Turkey, all showed strong like-for-like growth for the year, but France and especially Greece, Portugal and Spain remained affected by the Eurozone debt crisis. In 2011, nearly 30 per cent of WPP’s revenue came from Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe.

     

    The company said that emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe represent the highest growth regions for WPP. The company plans to spend between $470 million and $630 million on acquisitions this year, Mr Sorrell said. The focus will remain on small and medium-sized agencies, particularly those in new markets or specialising in digital work, data analytics and technology.

     

    The past year saw a number digital agency acquisitions, including: F. biz and Gringo in Brazil; Rockfish and Lunchbox in the US; Who Digital in Vietnam; Promo in Russia and A4A in China. The company made a total of 38 acquisitions and 10 investments in 2011.

     

    The Interpublic Report-Card 2011

    US-based ad holding company Interpublic Group of Cos has reported that it nearly doubled its net income for 2011, up 96 per cent to $551.5 million, up from $281.2 in 2010, according to Ad Age. The company’s annual revenue was up 7.8 per cent, to about $7 billion.

     

    “Building on a very good 2010 result, we continue to show organic revenue growth that is at or near the top of our peer group,” said Interpublic CEO Michael Roth. “This performance keeps us on track to deliver on our goal of fully competitive profitability in 2014.” Mr Roth added all of the company’s regions grew in terms of organic growth in 2011, except for Europe, which is in the midst of a debt crisis.

     

    For the full year, continental Europe was down 0.1 per cent. The best region for organic growth last year was Latin America, which was up 17.8 per cent. For the fourth quarter, US organic growth was up 2.2 per cent, Latin American was up 30.4 per cent and Europe was down 3.2 per cent. Interpublic’s digital agencies, MRM, part of the McCann network, Huge and R/GA, significantly contributed to the company’s growth.

     

    In 2012, the company is targeting 3 per cent organic growth, noting “significant macro uncertainty on the global level.” Interpublic agency networks McCann Erickson and DraftFCB both saw major accounts defect in 2011. McCann Erickson lost Nescafe and other accounts, while DraftFCB lost SC Johnson and is now having to share Miller Lite with Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Chinese mobile ad network Madhouse enters India to offer comprehensive mobile marketing solutions

    Chinese Madhouse looks to wow India

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    Countless comparisons could be drawn on how two of the biggest and most admired economies are driving brands from all across the world to be a part of a growth story that is unparelled. Or how the APAC region is all about just these two economies today, putting the other developed nations in the region in a state of oblivion. Having wowed the world with growth stories that defy market odds, China and India today command attention from business stalwarts and entrepreneurs like no other, especially entrepreneurs from emerging mediums like Digital and Mobile that are shaping the way the world goes about doing its business. But despite the huge buzz around these two economies, there is very little that transpires when it comes to the two economies trying to venture into each other’s territory to gain mileage and expand base – especially in the digital space.

     

    But all that could change with the advent of the largest mobile solutions and advertising network firm from China- Madhouse. Launched in 2006, the company enjoys the reputation of being tagged as the most intellectual and largest mobile ad solutions company in China. In India, Madhouse will work towards providing brands, advertising and media agencies and marketers with a host of comprehensive mobile marketing solutions. It has already tied up with a host of strategic partners including WPP, Vivaki, Omnicom, Aegis and so on from the media agency side of the business and would work towards providing them holistic mobile marketing and advertising network solutions.

     

    The Madhouse India team would be headed by Vinod Thadani, who until now was handling mobile responsibilities for Group M India andSouth Asia. Given that the two countries share market complexities that are similar in nature and have a population base that is very high, it seemed like a natural extension for Madhouse to step in to India, making it the first such venture into foreign territory in APAC.

     

    Throwing light on how the APAC market compares to the other regions and reacting on his choice of targeting India as the hub for launching the venture, Joshua Maa, Founder & CEO, Madhouse Inc. said: “Today APAC occupies ad spends growth to the tune of 32 per cent, making it the largest in the world. These are led by the economies of China , India and Indonesia that are the key drivers of this growth in APAC. To gain success in a market like India requires the ability to manage complexity, and this is an area where we excel.”

     

    Hoping to leverage the opportunity of using mobile as a mass media device, Maa went on to elaborate the business module by stating: “If you compare the mobile markets of India and China, they are almost identical. While China has a mobile user base of 960 million, India’s number stands at 894 million. But where mobile internet users are concerned, China has 356 million users while India’s number stands at 150 million. Therefore, we foresee a huge growth in India and decided to make this our first market to launch in APAC.”

     

    In India, the agency’s focus would be centred around disciplines of mobile ad serving, mobile ad network and mobile marketing solutions. Having wowed clients in China like HP, KFC, Unilever, Intel, Coke, and others, Maa hopes to emulate a similar example here by getting important brands to align with the network: “Being the only full-service provider in the market and having a skilled and experienced team in place, we hope to attract a lot of clients in the days to come.”

     

    Emphasising on the partnership, Vinod Thadani, COO, Madhouse said: “Madhouse will offer mobile marketing solutions created and carried out for advertisers by a team of experienced media professionals that understand this medium. On a technical level, mobile advertising can now achieve accurate intelligent targeting and provide real-time reporting – a very convincing proposition for advertisers.” According to Thadani, the need of the hour is to unlock the potential of the mobile medium and they are therefore determined to grow the Indian Digital Media market from Rs125 crores to Rs1,000 crores in the next 3 years. “The need of the hour is to understand the medium thoroughly and this would be possible by partnering with the right partners and going back with the right solutions to clients.”

     

    Perhaps the best reason for elation among mobile clients in India was provided by Ranjan Kapur, Country Manager, WPP, who began by discussing how India, as an advertising market, was highly undervalued. “Despite India boasting such a good growth in economy, the advertising spends in China stand at US $55 billion while for India it is at US $6 billion, this shows that we are still an under-advertised and under-branded market.” Citing the reason for China leapfrogging ahead of India, Kapur said that the single biggest factor for India’s dismal record in getting more ad spends was because it jumped on to the services bandwagon and chose to ignore the manufacturing sector. “While the Services sector contributes about 55 per cent to the GDP growth, it is still very shy on spending on marketing and promotional activities. And this is an area where Manufacturing excels. But all that is changing and the Services industry is opening up and spending more.”

     

    On the ad spends growth in India, Kapur said that while there is a 15-20 per cent growth, it is digital that is intriguing the advertisers the most. “Digital ad spends recorded a growth of 30 per cent.Mobile, specifically, is a Rs125 crore industry today and given that there are 300 million internet users predicted by 2015, mobile advertising is expected to account for about one-fourth of conventional traditional advertising. So it can be said that a revolution in digital in India is beginning to happen now.” This growth will be boosted further by the Government’s efforts to spread mobile and internet usage in rural areas for which it has promised 2,50,000 nodes for broadband in the next four years. “So mobile marketing in the rural areas will be a mass phenomenon, once this plan gains momentum.”

     

    Another interesting addition to the venture would be Rovio Entertainment that is more popular for its Angry Birds concept around the world. “Madhouse is a valuable partner for us in China , and we are excited about the opportunity to extend our collaboration to India as well,” said Bijay Gurung, Key Account Director, Rovio Entertainment Ltd. “With India being the second largest Facebook market, it opens the door for us to entertain even more fans as we are aiming for one billion downloads by the end of the year.” The current number stands at 700 million. Apart from that, Rovio would also focus on pushing itself as a publishing firm, a large-scale animations firm and further look to enhance its merchandise business.

     

    In an era where it is becoming difficult to lead lives without smartphones, iPads and other such mobile gizmos and with a lot left to be accomplished in the Data, Voice and Text domain and lack of established tools and systems that makes it difficult to answer the question of how this medium can be leveraged by advertisers to reach out to their consumers, probably an established Chinese mobile dragon could well show Indian mobile companies the way this medium could be harnessed to its full potential.