MxMIndia

Tag: WPP

  • The campaign ad film is conceptualized by RedFuse, WPP’s integrated communications partner to Colgate India, and is directed by director Vikramaditya Motwane

    Colgate’s new campaign showcases journey of elderly singles

    By A Correspondent

     

    Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited has written to us about a new communication under its ‘Smile karo aur shuru ho jao’ campaign.

     

    Talking about the TVC, Arvind Chintamani, Vice President, Marketing, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, said: “While the pandemic has been a time of uncertainty and difficulty, it has also given people a chance to reflect and reassess their individual life journeys. One such opportunity for revaluation is the challenge of loneliness faced by elderly single people who often remain single burdened by the fear of social judgement in starting afresh and finding companionship. Our story, narrated wonderfully by Deepti Naval, encourages people to be positive and look beyond the worry of what society might say and celebrate their lives fully. We, at Colgate, strive to tell such stories to inspire hope and courage to reimagine a better future…and smile karo aur shuru ho jao.”

     

    The campaign ad film is conceptualized by RedFuse, WPP’s integrated communications partner to Colgate India, and is directed by director Vikramaditya Motwane.

     

    Said Delna Sethna, Executive Creative Director, RedFuse: “Since the beginning, Colgate’s Smile karo aur shuru ho jao campaign has narrated stories of confidence and courage. The latest ad film touches upon the topic of remarriage, which is known to be a sensitive topic in India, especially among women. We want to encourage conversation on this often taboo subject and try to normalize the culture of women in India remarrying, for whatever reason they deem worthy. The overall aim of the film is to encourage optimism and to look beyond the fear of judgement and act with the hope of a positive future.”

     

     

  • Creating experiences across screens by keeping consumers at the heart of the engagement

    Geometry Encompass launches Pro.digi to “enable human connections in a virtual world”

    By A Correspondent

     

    WPP agency Geometry Encompass has announced the launch of its DLX (digital live experience) practice Pro.digi, to help brands “connect with their consumers in the virtual space”.

     

    Said Roshan Abbas, Founder at Geometry Encompass: “Given the seismic shift that experiential marketing is witnessing, it is imperative to create new and engaging environment for our consumers. The digital screen is the new currency for experiential, through Pro.digi we create data driven and digital experiences to create lasting brand engagement for our audiences”.

     

    Added Ranjit Raina, CEO, Geometry Encompass: “The pandemic has ushered in digital transformation at a scale never seen before. Through our early experiments in the virtual space we are convinced that it is possible to stay real in the virtual world and enable human connections. Commerce is so much more than just a transaction and Pro.digi aims at creating solutions for real growth”

     

  • The risks and opportunities are evolving as quickly as the rapid political and policy changes, notes a GroupM report

    Future of Safety for Brand Marketers

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    A new brand safety report has been released by GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, offering new category-specific recommendations for marketers on the future of brand safety.

     

    The report reveals how brand safety may evolve into the future within the context of political, social and technological shifts impacting brand safety at a high level. Then looks to specific challenges in five categories currently undergoing rapid transformation: Connected TV, Digital Out-of-Home, Location Data, Audio and Gaming.

     

    Said John Montgomery, GroupM Global EVP, Brand Safety: “In the first six months of 2020 alone, CCPA has taken effect, Google announced they would be phasing out third cookies, the home stretch of the 2020 presidential campaign has come into full focus – increasing the attention on fake news – the world has been hit with a global pandemic and most recently protests related to racial inequality,” adding: “Each of these events marks a unique opportunity to continue to challenge our brand safety practices. And, as people continue to evolve in how they consume content, there is always opportunity to push the envelope to create an even safer, more trustworthy online world. We look forward to continuing to do that for our clients and partners.”

     

    Some of the key items to consider in the evolution of brand safety:

    • Policy shifts such as GDPR and CCPA, among many others around the world, have created a seismic ripple throughout the industry, the full effects of which are yet to be felt. As old measurement methodologies such as third-party cookies fall away, the industry has an opportunity to collectively create better standards.

     

    • The Covid-19 pandemic has established a ‘new normal’ ‘digital first’ lifestyle for the majority of the global population. Consumption habits have changed (more news, gaming and streaming content). Where consumers go, advertising follows and, with it, new opportunities to strengthen brand safety measures arise. Aggressive keyword avoidance demonetizes online news, especially so during the Covid crisis, as the audiences increase and at a time when the public needs reliable information. Local news faces an existential crisis.

    Fake news and technologies that create deepfake videos are growing more sophisticated and threaten to further erode institutional trust. Brands must be more proactive than ever in preserving their core assets and demand transparency in all transactions.

     

    • Connected TV promises to command a larger share of budget in the coming years. However, measurement is fragmented across devices and publishers. Brands should demand greater transparency and interoperability among key players.

     

    •  Digital Out-of-Home is set to grow more advanced and complex as programmatic buying becomes more commonplace. While out-of-home has long been used for broad awareness, it remains an open question as to whether brands will have—or need—access to more granular targeting and measurement solutions.

     

    •  Gaming presents a huge opportunity in terms of audience, but brands must navigate a vast landscape of platforms, titles, player personalities and publisher relationships. Esports continues to grow in popularity, but brands must be aware of adjacency risks (violence and language, particularly). If people continue to stay home in the aftermath of the coronavirus, gaming audiences will retain some of the recent, rapid growth.

     

    Added Christian Juhl, GroupM Global CEO: “Consumers and brands use technology to access media in new and interesting ways. As behaviours, habits and preferences shift with social factors, responsible brand safety requires a constant assessment of these changes and their impact on how brands continually earn consumer trust. GroupM has long acted as an industry advocate in shaping how we manage brand safety across new and established media partners. It’s never been more important than it is now, and we stand by our commitment with this latest guidance.”

     

  • WPP is the #1 Most Effective Agency Holding Group in the world as per the Global EFFIES Index 2020

    Ogilvy India is the #2 Most Effective Agency globally

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Global EFFIES Index 2020 has announced today that Ogilvy India is the #2 Most Effective Agency in the World and the #1 Most Effective Agency in Asia. Also, as per the report, WPP is the #1 Most Effective Agency Holding Group in the world.

     

    Said Piyush Pandey, Chief Creative Officer Worldwide and Executive Chairman India, Ogilvy: “It is yet another recognition of our continued belief in our founder David Ogilvy’s words, ‘we sell or else’. I am extremely proud of our clients and Team Ogilvy for winning us this recognition.”

     

    Added Prem Narayan, Chief Strategy Officer, Ogilvy India: “This is a tribute to the great partnership between our clients and the Ogilvy planning, account management and creative talent that we have fostered over the years in India.” A communique from Ogilvy India informs that the 2020 rankings reflect a compilation of over 4000 worldwide Effie winners and finalists announced between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019.

     

     

  • WPP and kidtech platform SuperAwesome have announced a partnership to advance the standards of privacy for children in the global digital ecosystem

    WPP & SuperAwesome announce partnership to ensure privacy & safety for kids and families

    By A Correspondent

     

    Given the shifts in children’s online consumption patterns, WPP has announced a parternship with kidtech platform SuperAwesome.

     

    WPP agencies and clients will have access to the team at SuperAwesome and its kid-safe engagement platform and insights tools, including the company’s KidAware certification programme that ensures online engagement complies with the latest privacy legislation and advertising standards. The partnership builds on existing controls GroupM has helped to establish that excludes or minimises the risk of exposure to unsuitable content for children in social media.

     

    Said Mark Read, CEO of WPP: “We’re already seeing big changes in family life as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and how we all interact with technology. WPP’s partnership with SuperAwesome is part of our commitment to ensure children’s safety while engaging with content online. It sets the first benchmark for digital privacy for children and provides our clients with access to industry-leading strategies and the latest privacy-by-design technology for the under-16 digital media space.”

     

    Added Dylan Collins, CEO of SuperAwesome: “Kids’ opinions are increasingly important in the family and for society. Retail, personal care, entertainment and brands in many other verticals understand the influence youth have on their businesses, but have been struggling to understand how to engage responsibly and compliantly. It’s a business imperative to evolve how we interact with and support the under-16 audiences, especially as their digital consumption patterns will be forever changed by their Covid-19 experiences. We are proud to be working with WPP and their clients to proactively lead best practices for kid-safe digital engagement everywhere.”

     

     

  • Aims to forge a deeper connect with women…

    Team WPP crafts new ad for Parachute Advansed

    By A Correspondent

     

    Marico’s Parachute Advansed has launched its new campaign  Mere Baal, Meri Jaan. With an aim to forge a deeper connect with women, the campaign captures the importance of hair in every womans life and how it is a reflection of her being.

     

    Conceptualised by Team WPP, the integrated team set up by marketing services conglomerate WPP to service Marico, the TVC builds on modern beauty imagery while using real-life instances where hair is fundamental to the expression of a womans emotions and frame of mind. It goes on to depict women for whom hair symbolizes their resilience, love, freedom, determination, happiness, motivation, hope and optimism.

     

    Said Koshy George, Chief Marketing Officer, Marico Limited: “Parachute Advansed, a brand that stands for care, nurturance and beauty, has over the years build a strong emotional equity amongst todays women. Synonymous with hair care, it truly understands the importance of hair in a womans life and in the expression of her identity, feelings and moods. Through this campaign, it aims to celebrate this symbolism and deepen the love for the brand – Parachute Advansed.”

     

    Added Rohit Devgun, Executive Creative Director and Abhijit Dube, Senior Vice President of WPP: “There is a reason why ‘Bad hair day’ is among the most searched things on the internet. Her hair is at the very heart of her identity for every woman. She loses sleep over the health of her hair. She loses hair too. Hair is her first love. Acknowledging a womans feelings about her hair is the only way we thought we could arrive at something meaningful, something that would connect with her.

     

     

  • The global leaders from WPP are in Mumbai for a week-long visit to engage with key clients, partners and local WPP teams

    India is #5 market for WPP. Growth is 10%, says Mark Read in maiden presser

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mark Read, CEO, WPP with CVL Srinivas, India Country Manager, WPP

    India is marketing services conglomerate WPP’s fifth largest market and the business is growing by 10% year-on-year, said CEO Mark Read in his maiden press conference in the country. Read also officially inaugurated the integrated Bay99 campus in Mumbai. WPP’s global executive committee is also currently in Mumbai for a week-long visit to engage with key clients, partners and local WPP teams.

     

    Added Read: “Creativity powered by technology is critical to meeting client needs and the demands of a dynamic marketplace. Our investment in our campuses supports WPP’s new sense of purpose and enables us to instil a culture of creativity, collaboration and openness while attracting and retaining the best people. India is very important for WPP, as one of our fastest-growing countries and a top-tier global market.” Read also confirmed the announcement of winning the global advertising business of tech major Intel.

     

    Added CVL Srinivas, WPP’s Country Manager for India: “There is a real internal evolution that’s ongoing at WPP in India in the way that our teams work. Our teams are now better integrated and working in close alignment with our clients. We are reinventing ourselves to respond to structural changes in our market and to capture the new opportunities for growth. Beyond that, we are also excited about the work that we are doing in sustainability and social purpose.”

     

    Read and Srinivas spoke on how the integration of all WPP units in one office building will help build synergies. Srinivas spoke of a similar integrated office coming up in Gurugram.

     

     

  • It’s the tenth anniversary of the awards

    Thackeray Jr & WPP CEO at Olive Crown Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The 10th Anniversary of the International Advertising Association (IAA) Olive Crown Awards will be held in Mumbai on March 3. Environment, Tourism and Protocol Minister Aditya Thackeray, WPP CEO Mark Read and Headspace founder Andy Puddicombe are scheduled to be present.

     

    Punit Goenka

    Said Punit Goenka President IAA India Chapter: “The Olive Crown Awards are very important because they are the only awards to celebrate creative excellence in communicating sustainability. And we have spared no effort to make the 10th Anniversary of these prestigious awards very special.”

     

     

    Megha Tata

    Added Megha Tata, Chairperson Olive Crown Awards: “This year the response has been very good – both from agencies as well as corporates. The Olive Crown Awards have always been run as a cause, so there were no entry fees charged and the attendance to the awards function is also strictly by invitation.”

     

     

  • He most recently served as lead of Programmatic Sales at Times Internet

    Starcom appoints Anil Shankar as VP, Digital Media Solutions

    By A Correspondent

     

    Anil Shankar

    Starcom India has announced the appointment of digital leader Anil Shankar as its Vice President, Digital Media Solutions.

     

    Shankar has more than 16 years of experience in digital marketing and technology working across digital media platforms. He most recently served as lead of Programmatic Sales at Times Internet and has also worked with leading media companies such as WPP, GroupM and Affle.

     

    Rathi Gangappa

    Said Rathi Gangappa, CEO, Starcom India: “We are delighted to have Anil join us. He brings a wealth of digital expertise, strong leadership and new perspectives to Starcom and will lead our overall digital agenda, vision and offering. His extensive experience across agency, client and publisher ecosystems makes him an invaluable asset. Anil is passionate about Starcom’s Human Experience approach,  future-facing work streams and culture of collaboration. He will add tremendous value to our clients.”

     

    Added Shankar: “These are thrilling times. We have merely scratched the surface of digital possibilities. From banners to big data, big screens to mobile screens, even our smallest of towns are getting digitally equipped. This makes India the most exciting digital market in the world. I am confident that Starcom’s robust client portfolio, talent, infrastructure with strong technology and programmatic solutions will surely help in further deepening the client’s confidence.”

     

     

  • The new mandate will see Contract India become the global hub for strategic and creative duties

    Contract India wins global creative mandate for Bata

    By A Correspondent

     

    Following a multi-agency global pitch, Contract India has won the creative mandate for Bata brands globally. The new mandate will see Contract India become the global hub for strategic and creative duties for the European footwear major’s key geographies in LATAM, Europe, Asia and Africa with the support of its group companies within Wunderman Thompson, part of the WPP network that it belongs to.

     

    Speaking on their decision to award the global mandate to Contract, Isabelle Sakai, Bata Group Chief Marketing Officer, said: “Contract India is a key strategic and creative partner for the Bata India operating company. The ‘Surprisingly Bata’ campaign has helped shift consumers perception about the brand, driving footfall to our stores and increasing sales. We are glad to award Contract India the Global mandate to roll out the ‘Surprisingly Bata’ campaign across the Bata world, smartly adapting the campaign idea to capture the local nuances of consumers insights. We are looking forward to a great partnership beyond the boundaries of India.”

     

    Said Raji Ramaswamy, Chief Executive Officer at Contract India: “We are delighted to be chosen by an iconic brand like Bata to partner with them in supporting their strategy and shaping their communications narrative across markets. Having done some great work for Bata in India, it is truly rewarding to now become the global creative and strategic hub for them which is a significant win for us and probably an industry first. Our team’s experience and capabilities in offering a multi-discipline integrated offering makes us well poised to drive the desired impact and achieve business outcomes for the brand across markets.”

     

    Added Tarun Rai, Chairman and Group CEO, Wunderman Thompson South Asia: “Contract has partnered with the Bata India team extremely well to deliver fantastic business results. It is this partnership that gave Contract the opportunity to pitch for Bata’s global mandate. I am truly delighted that we could demonstrate the strength of our network around the world to help win this very prestigious account. I also feel a sense of pride that a campaign created in India is going global and will be executed in so many countries across the world. My congratulations to Raji, Rohit, Sagar and the entire team at Contract.”

     

     

  • It provides insights into what is tipped to be the next disruptive formula to owning China's marketplace

    WPP highlights key social commerce trends in China

    By A Correspondent

     

    With ecommerce firmly established as an integral part of China’s highly competitive retail scene, businesses are now looking to social commerce to fuel their next phase of growth. WPP has released a “Content, Conversation & Commerce” white-paper, providing insights into what is tipped to be the next disruptive formula to owning China’s marketplace.

     

    Buying and selling on social media apps have become commonplace in China. The consumers of today are better informed, sophisticated and particular about what they like. ‘Casual shopping’ is on the rise, driven by the 5Cs; namely content, customer voice, convenience, conversation and commerce, adds a communiuqe.

     

    Said Patrick Xu, CEO of WPP China: “Chinese shopping habits differ from the rest of the world, due to the tremendous reach of ecommerce and high penetration rates of social media. With unique functions such as Key Opinion Leader (KOL) live-streaming, social activations, content sharing and referral selling, social commerce is challenging the status quo of traditional commerce.”

     

    China’s social commerce market is forecasted at CNY 2 trillion this year, with more than 48 million users and a growth rate of over 60 percent on-year, according to the Internet Society of China.

     

    Since 2014, ecommerce sales have more than doubled, thanks to its 650 million users in China. Seasonal events like Alibaba’s Singles Day, the increased adoption of digital wallet usage within rural China, and the creation of market places for buyers and sellers on the same platform have all contributed.

     

    Key learnings:

    – The ‘now’ consumer

    They are known as the now consumers – shoppers who are quick to browse, bookmark products and buy. Chinese consumers today are better informed and feel more empowered about their purchase decisions. A recent Kantar survey found that consumers’ insights are most effective in influencing purchase decisions. Consumers are more trusting of knowledge that is self-sourced, especially those based on other users’ reviews.

    – New ways of interaction
    The now consumer follows trends and has unplanned brand experiences and retail interactions. They can be shopping while at home, at work, on the go, or just before bedtime. In fact, it is this behaviour that is driving the need for new approaches to planning social commerce.

    – Social-first customer conversion
    Brands are challenged to go beyond traditional marketing strategies. From a desire to buy to making an actual purchase, the customer conversion process now has to be augmented by social-first approaches. These include user-generated and promoter-generated content (UGC/PGC) and live broadcasting. Social commerce channels have had a late start but they are steadily catching up. Wechat Commerce has grown seven-fold since 2014, while other platforms like Pin Duo Duo has doubled its sales in just two years.

    – Measurable customer ‘voice’

    User reviews are verbatim and customer ‘voice’ measurable on ecommerce channels. Such feedback better informs brands on how to build their content and messaging strategy to impact sales conversion. Through these, brands are also rewarding consumers for their referrals and for being brand advocates.

    – Countering inflationary pricing pressures with content

    The advertising and promotional expenses for leading ecommerce platforms have increased notably. CPM (cost per thousand impressions) has tripled within a few years (2015 to 2018) and ecommerce operational costs have increased. As paid ad inventory on ecommerce channels increase in costs, brands are compelled to leverage brand content (UGC/PGC) as an alternative for growth.

    “Brands need to find more efficient ways to connect with consumers. A strategic approach using data and technology would allow brands to tap into the full benefits of social commerce. Should brands rely exclusively on ‘classic’ commerce activities for growth, they may risk long-term brand equity in exchange for short-term gains,” said Xu.

     

     

  • Partnership to help marketers enhance brand experiences for consumers

    WPP ties up with InMobi for marketing solutions

    By A Correspondent

     

    WPP and the InMobi group have entered into a long-term strategic partnership. Leveraging the best of expertise from InMobi Group and WPP agencies, including GroupM and Kantar, the partnership aims to simplify complexity for Indian marketers, notes a communique, adding: “WPP will provide in-depth expertise and a creative approach through four pillars – content, media, data and research. WPP’s GroupM will provide data-driven marketing and media planning with end-to-end audience insights integration and will also be sharing its unique engagement approach for in-app mobile content marketing. This partnership will also benefit from Kantar’s research insights, including recommendations that combine delivery, engagement and impact measures through media.”

     

    Said CVL Srinivas, Country Manager – India, WPP: “WPP’s partnership with InMobi will simplify marketing processes for businesses. We recognize the challenges associated with managing and translating data insights into timely and relevant brand activity. Today’s consumers are inundated with brand messages and we want to enable marketers to cut through the noise to provide their consumers with meaningful connections.”

     

    Added Naveen Tewari, Founder and CEO of InMobi group: “User journeys in a mobile-first world have become increasingly complex, and brands need an end-to-end solution that helps them to uncover and drive insights into action seamlessly. InMobi and WPP’s strengths in technology and marketing expertise mean that we are best positioned to take the guesswork out of complex data and provide integrated solutions for brands to help them drive real connections with consumers.”

     

    Added Abhay Singhal, Co-founder of InMobi Group and CEO of InMobi Marketing Cloud:  “WPP and InMobi have had a long-standing successful relationship,”  “We are thrilled with the evolution of this relationship into a strategic arrangement. We hope to co-create value for the entire ecosystem through innovation that leverages data, technology, media, and content.”