ITV

Category: MAM

  • Platinum Media bags Dixcy Textiles’ media mandate

    Platinum Media bags Dixcy Textiles’ media mandate

    MUMBAI: Madison Media Group’s Platinum Media has won the media planning and buying account of Dixcy Textiles.

    The account is estimated to be around Rs 250 million, the company said.

    The incumbent agency on the account is MPG.

    Platinum Media CEO Basabdutta Chowdhury said, “We are delighted that Dixcy has appointed us as their Media AOR and am confident that we will be able to add a lot of value to their business and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership.”

    Dixcy Textiles director Rahul Sikka added, “Talks were on for almost two years about this shift and also new product launches and the expertise of the agency to handle the same has made us take this decision.”

    Tirupur-based Dixcy Textiles is a hosiery company. It markets its products under the brand names of Dixcy and Dixcy Scott. The company is into inner wear, thermal wear and casual wear.

  • Tata Motors to initiate mass media campaign for Sumo Gold

    Tata Motors to initiate mass media campaign for Sumo Gold

    BANGALORE: Tata Motors Ltd. (TML) will be initiating a mass media communications campaign for the new variant of its Sumo- Gold over the next few days. The campaign will include television, newsprint, outdoor and online media.

    “Our media buying company Lodestar has prepared a comprehensive media plan for the new Sumo Gold,” said TML head of Utility Products Vehicle Group Ashes Dhar.

    About four months ago, during the first phase, TML had launched the Sumo Gold in a few markets like Maharashtra, West Bengal, NCR region, UP, etc. TML says that the response has been good and it has seen the sales volumes tripling with the new Sumo Gold.

    The second phase of the launch is now on and among some the regions that the Sumo Gold is being launched include the northern belt of the country, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

    The Sumo Gold was launched in Bangalore today. The company plans to push the sales of the vehicle through a national level mass media campaign, informed TML officials.

    For television, TML has planned to air TVCs on GECs, news channels, Doordarshan, and regional channels such as those belonging to the Sun Network, Asianet in Kerala, TV9 and Mahuaa, Maa TV among others. On the Internet, a TVC will be placed on YouTube today, besides which TML plans to use Google ad words among other initiatives.

    O&M handles the creative duties for Tata Sumo Gold.

  • Colors one step away from Sony

    Colors one step away from Sony

    MUMBAI: Colors is one step behind Sony Entertainment Television, the closest it has got to this year as it strives to occupy the No. 2 spot in the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) space.

    Colors gained marginally through its weekend one-hour special airing of a fiction property while Sony lost eight GRPs (gross rating points) to narrow the gap between the second and third GECS to just a single point.

    Colors scored 208 GRPs for the week ended 11 February, helped by its recently launched daily fiction property, Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha, that clocked 2 TVR in its special airing on Saturday-Sunday. The Viacom18 channel added 4 GRPs over the preceding week, gaining 5 GRPs from its weekend programming.

    Sony, on the other hand, rested the week ended 11 February with 209 GRPs, down from 217 GRPs. The channel, which rejuvenated on the back of the Amitabh Bachchan-hosted game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) last year, lost six GRPs from its weekday primetime content and two points from the weekend properties. Its two top-rated shows, C.I.D and Bade Achche Lagte Hain, fell to an average TVR of 3.8 and 2.9 respectively, from their trailing week ratings of 4.1 and 3.2.

    The narrowest gap between the two rivals this year was seven GRPs in the week ended 28 January, after Colors had briefly toppled Sony in the last week of 2011 due to its in-house television awards show, Golden Petal Awards that fetched a TVR of 4.98.

    “The place for the second position has opened up. It will be interesting to see what strategies Sony and Colors adopt in the year,” says a media analyst.

    Market leader, Star Plus, lost 36 GRPs and ended the week with 273 GRPs, according to TAM data for the Hindi speaking markets (C&S, 4+). The channel saw a dip in viewership in all the slots (weekday primetime, weekend primetime and afternoon). The channel‘s popular shows, Saathiya Saath Nibhana, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Ha, Diya Aur Bati Hum and Iss Pyar ko Kya Nam Du lost ratings.

    Zee TV, the fourth GEC in the pecking order, added 23 GRPs on the back of Zee Cine Awards (4.38 TVR) that was aired on 5 February at the 8 pm slot. The channel ended with 202 GRPs (last week 179).

    Sony Entertainment Network‘s second offering, Sab, registered 142 GRPs (last week 132). The channel’s most-watched fiction comedy, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma, found its way to the Top 10 GEC programme list for the week ended 11 February, garnering 3.84 TVR.

    Life OK, Star‘s second GEC, gained 4 GRPs to end the week with 87 GRPs.

    Imagine TV with 57 GRPs (last week 55) and Sahara One with 46 GRPs (last week 48) continued to occupy the bottom of the GEC ladder.

  • Carat ventures down south, opens office in Bangalore

    Carat ventures down south, opens office in Bangalore

    MUMBAI: Continuing with its growth and expansion plans, Carat Media Services has launched its South operations with its regional office in Bangalore.

    Joydeep Raha has been roped in to head the division.

    Carat MD Kartik Iyer said, “We will work to delivering our unique integrated communications planning solutions to clients based in the region. We have over the past few years been working on consolidating our North and West operations and are now ready to present our suite of cutting edge solutions to clients from this crucial region.”

    Iyer also confirmed that Raha will head the South outfit. “We couldn’t have found a better person than Joydeep who knows the region so well. He has over the past few years proven his ability in not only managing businesses but also continuously acquiring businesses,” he said.

    Being in the south is very important to Carat as quite a few of its major clients including The Muthoot Group, Air Asia and Philips have interests in the region which require a very localised level of servicing.

    “This development is in line with our focus to deliver micro market solutions to the best of our abilities to our clients and nothing could be better than having feet on the ground,” said Iyer.

    Raha is a mechanical engineer and graduate from MICA. He has in the past worked with Bates, Enterprise Nexus and was with Lintas for the last eight years. During this period, he handled brands like Raymond. ABN AMRO 3M, Britannia, Jockey, BPL, Sanyo, Citizen Watches, Manappuram Finance ,Manappuram Jewellery, Metro Cash & Carry, Wockhardt and Infosys.

    Raha said “I have had the opportunity to be exposed to some of Carat’s which have been very impressive to say the least. These tools and processes will definitely make a huge impact in the market and will all add up to delivering huge efficiencies to clients here. What is truly impressive is their Integrated solution capabilities they have developed so quickly in the market with each division being domain experts in their respective fields. I am very excited about taking these capabilities to the market in South and am certain that these capabilities combined with Carat’s global learnings and best practices can be harnessed most effectively towards providing highly effective communication solution to the clients here.”

  • Omnicom Q4 net income up 10% to $272 mn

    Omnicom Q4 net income up 10% to $272 mn

    MUMBAI: The Omnicom Group has posted a 10.3 per cent jump in its net income for the fourth quarter of the fiscal ended 31 December 2011.

    The marketing and corporate communications company’s net income for the quarter stood at $271.9 million, as against $246.5 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

    In a tough economy, the company’s worldwide revenue has seen 7.4 per cent increase to $3.85 billion, as compared to $3.59 billion in the year ago period. Company’s domestic revenue during the quarter has seen a 5 per cent increase to $1.93 billion (from $1.84 billion). International revenue increased 9.9 per cent to $1.92 billion compared to $1.75 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

    In category wise division, the revenue from advertising made up for 47.5 per cent of the total income at $1.83 billion followed by CRM at $1.39 billion (36.1 per cent), speciality at $318.8 million (8.3 per cent) and PR at $310.6 million (8.1 per cent) in the fourth quarter.

    Geographically, United States region recorded a growth of 5 per cent at $1.93 billion. The UK recorded a growth of 5.9 per cent at $328.3 million. The Euro currency markets region was the only region to register a negative growth of 2.9 per cent with revenue of $723.3 million. The rest of the world recorded maximum growth of 25.5 per cent, garnering a revenue of $872.6 million.

    Meanwhile, for the full fiscal ended 31 December, Omnicom‘s net income jumped 15.1 per cent to $952.6 million, from $827.7 million a year ago.

    Revenue during the fiscal jumped 10.6 per cent to $13.87 billion, from $12.54 billion. Advertising contributed to 46.1 per cent of the total revenue at $6.40 billion while CRM made for 36.5 per cent of the yearly revenue at $5.07 billion.

    PR fared better over the whole year as opposed to the fourth quarter bringing 8.8 per cent of the revenue at $1.21 billion, followed by specialty at $1.19 billion (8.6 per cent).

    During the full fiscal, the other markets recorded a 30.7 per cent growth, the UK market grew at 12.5 per cent, the US markets saw 5.5 per cent growth while Euro currency markets grew at 4.9 per cent.

  • Marico to acquire Paras personal care biz from Reckitt Benckiser

    Marico to acquire Paras personal care biz from Reckitt Benckiser

    MUMBAI: Consumer products and services group, Marico Limited, is acquiring Set Wet, Livon, Zatak and certain other personal care brands currently owned by Reckitt Benckiser (RB).

    RB had acquired these brands from Paras Pharmaceuticals in a deal completed during April 2011. The transaction envisages transfer of all key assets including intellectual property rights, supply agreements and third party manufacturing. These assets are in the process of being transferred to a separate company in which Marico will acquire 100 per cent shares over the next few months.

    The Paras PC business is expected to achieve a turnover of over Rs 1.50 billion during FY12. Brands in the portfolio are amongst the top three positions in the hair gels, male deodorant and leave-on hair serum categories. The acquisition of this business is expected to further reduce Marico’s dependence on edibles oils and hair oils.

    This acquisition gives Marico an opportunity to participate in the rapidly growing deodorant and male grooming categories in India. The portfolio addresses the grooming needs of the youth and is supported by India’s demographic profile. Marico will also leverage its distribution strength in India to provide a fillip to the growth of the brands.

    Marico CEO consumer products business Saugata Gupta said, “I am excited about this acquisition. It fast-forwards our journey towards creating a portfolio for the future with a significant presence in the male grooming and post wash hair care segments.”

    Marico group CFO and CHRO Milind Sarwate stated, “This strategic acquisition is a significant building block for value creation for Marico shareholders through profitable sustainable growth over the long term. We will fund the acquisition through a judicious mix of internal accruals, equity and debt.”

  • Red Digital wins Mirinda’s social media biz

    Red Digital wins Mirinda’s social media biz

    MUMBAI: Red Digital has bagged the social media mandate of Pepsico’s Mirinda.

    The agency will build and execute social media strategies that will help Mirinda brand reach out to their audience on social media platforms. It will play a key role in creating online buzz about the brand’s new offerings along with launching various campaigns and building engagement across social networks.

    For Mirinda, Red Digital’s immediate mandate on social media is to create an impact for its latest campaign, with which it has launched two new flavours, Mirinda Orange Masala and Mirinda Orange Mango, while continuing with the base Mirinda Orange flavour.

    Red Digital founder and MD Harsh Jain said, “Social media provides seamless opportunities to build interest groups. Digital is no longer just about showing banners and clicking on them. It’s about generating engagement, activation and creating convergence between the online and offline worlds. We are glad to have an innovative partner like PepsiCo onboard and look forward to creating path-breaking innovations in new media in the near future. The new activities for Mirinda brand emphasize our continued focus on digital innovation aimed at bringing value to our clients.”

    PepsiCo India EVP- marketing, beverages (flavours) Ruchira Jaitly added, “Social Media has become a very important tool for engaging with consumers and having a dialogue with them on a constant basis. We are pleased to have Red Digital on board as our social media partner for this initiative. Their prior experience in handling leading brands coupled with a deep understanding of consumer behavior in the digital space will ensure there is a high level of engagement and traction for Mirinda’s campaign on 3 Flavors.”

    The launch of new flavours is supported by a 360-degree campaign called the taste twister challenge, supported via radio, outdoor and on-ground activation along with social media. Red Digital will help in bringing the experience of this program me to Facebook and on-ground.

    Red Digital will also exploit new disruptive full sleeve packaging that captures the taste and fun experience of drinking Mirinda through applications on Facebook. These applications use the prominent aspect of the packaging: the emoticons, to bring alive the new flavors. The applications range from allowing fans on the Mirinda India Facebook fan page to enter into an augmented reality world and play with the emoticons to classifying friends in various taste categories. The agency will also be creating an augmented reality iPhone and Android application.

    The campaign will also see Red Digital creating TweetMobs though the duration of this campaign. These will be high impact subjects being Tweeted by Mirinda and re-tweeted by a group of people within a specific time frame.

  • Indian media ad rev to grow by 8.7% in 2012: MPA

    Indian media ad rev to grow by 8.7% in 2012: MPA

    MUMBAI: Media ad sales will grow by 8.7 per cent in net terms this year against the background of a slowing economy with the real GDP falling from the historical range of 8-9 per cent to 7 per cent, says Media Partners Asia.

    The absence of the Cricket World Cup that took place last year will also impact slow ad growth.

    The ad revenue growth in 2012 will be primarily driven by MNCs investing in India. There could be upward revisions made in the second half of 2012.

    The outlook for ad growth across key categories is mixed.

    FMCG: Media buyers expect robust growth from the FMCG sector, which is the largest advertising category, contributing 30-35 per cent to total ad spend.

    MNCs are expected to report robust numbers, while a few large MNC accounts (with annual ad budgets in the region of Rs 2-3 bn) are looking to increase spends by 50-70 per cent for the coming year.

    Domestic FMCG companies are expected to see only marginal growth as the profits of these companies have deteriorated due to rising input costs.

    Auto: Traditional companies such as Maruti and Hyundai have reduced spends, but global car manufacturers investing in India are driving the overall growth for the sector.

    As suggested in the recently held Auto Expo 2012, the sector will benefit this year from new launches in the two-wheeler and utility vehicle segments in subsequent quarters.

    Telecom: The year will see flat-to-declining spends among the telcos as their profits are falling.

    Life insurance: MPA forecasts steady growth in the life insurance sector, a prevailing trend in this category since 2008.

    A reversal of interest rates will be the underlying factor influencing consumption and ad spend across sectors. The rising interest rate cycle seems to have peaked out. After raising interest rates by 13 times since March 2010, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may shift its approach towards the country‘s monetary policy.

    Inflation is likely to fall considering the high base last year, and in order to bring the country‘s economic growth back on track, the RBI is likely to reduce interest rates gradually in 2012. This will encourage investments and spending, in turn benefiting the ad market, especially in the second half of 2012.

    Consumption demand has held up reasonably well though rural demand may be a concern going forward, highlighted by a recent slowdown in sales of two wheelers and durables.

    Other key factors that will have an impact on the ad marker include:

    Competition in Hindi GEC: Competitive intensity in the Hindi general entertainment channel space is nothing new, though new competition is accelerating amongst second-tier channels. There has been a change in the pecking order of top three Hindi GECs, with Sony climbing up to the No. 2 spot while incumbent Zee TV has now slipped to No. 4.

    “Based on our discussions with some of the major media buyers, the genre currently has limited supply of inventory, which should keep ad rates healthy,” MPA said.

    Digitalisation to create new niches: Before the first phase of digitalisation is implemented in June 2012 (it may be delayed to December 2012), broadcasters are already rolling out new niche channels in various genres like action and comedy. This will attract advertisers who are willing to target and segment their audience not just from demographic but also psychographic parameters.

    FDI in single-brand retail: Opening up of FDI in single-brand retail (precursor to opening up multi-brand retail) will benefit regional print companies.

    State elections: In the near to medium term, print media will benefit from the upcoming closely contested elections to be held in five states: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur.

  • Rakesh Singh to join mediaReach OMD in March

    Rakesh Singh to join mediaReach OMD in March

    MUMBAI: ZenithOptimedia AVP Rakesh Singh is joining mediaReach OMD, media specialist unit of OMD, as head of media planning in March.

    He is currently serving his notice period at ZenithOptimedia.

    Singh confirmed his movement to OMD‘s media specialist unit.

    In his new role, he will be looking after the Accra office of the agency. He will report to the MD and cross report to Vodafone, UK. His key responsibilities would be heading key accounts like Vodafone, GSK, MTN, apart from growing the business in the region. Singh began his career with Eenadu Television in sales in the year 1999, post which he started media planning profile with Mediacom, then part of Greyworldwide.

    He comes in with 14 years of work experience and has worked with media agencies in India like Mediacom, Madison and Mindshare Fulcrum and Mindshare before joining ZenithOptimedia in 2010.

    Some of the key accounts handled by him in the past were Unilever (Sunsilk, Vaseline, Huggies, Ponds), Kingfisher Airlines, Castrol Lubricants, McDowells, Airtel, Rolex, Wrigleys, Arvind Mills and Ceat Tyres.

  • Mindshare appoints Anupriya Acharya as Leader Team Unilever – South Asia

    Mindshare appoints Anupriya Acharya as Leader Team Unilever – South Asia

    MUMBAI: Media agency Mindshare has appointed Anupriya Acharya as leader team Unilever – South Asia.

    Acharya takes charge from 16 February and will lead team Unilever overseeing India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at Mindshare Fulcrum.

    Acharya will relocate back to Mumbai from Singapore and takes over the post previously held by Mindshare South Asia leader Ravi Rao.

    Rao said, “Anupriya moves into this role from Singapore where she was CEO Aegis Media Singapore and is credited with doubling the operation in just over two years. Prior to Aegis Media, she was President TME (The Media Edge) from 2005-2008. She is also no newbie at Group M. She set up mConsult under Vikram Sakhuja in 2004 and has been an integral part of Fulcrum from 2000-2003. So we welcome her back.”

    Acharya said, “I was looking to get back to scale and lo! This assignment was so timely and perfect. I look forward to working closely with Ravi, Roy Sudipto who heads the team Unilever for APAC and David Pullan, Global Head of Team Unilever at Mindshare London, and to drive the aggressive Unilever agenda forward across South Asia. The scale is truly exciting and humbling at the same time. I am raring to go.”

    She added, “Aegis Media Singapore position helped me gain an international and regional perspective and honed my intercultural management skills while TME taught me handling extremely diverse set of clients and their different requirements. CP, Parle AOR, Indian Oil, Viacom 18’s Colors and Citibank were some of the key clients then.”

    Anupriya has also worked at McCann Erickson and Ogilvy in her earlier years. A Post Graduate in Analytical Chemistry from IIT – Roorkee, she has over 16 years of experience in Communication solutions. Her interests are adventure sports, photography and travelling for leisure.