ITV

Category: MAM

  • Mid Day becomes broadsheet for Colors’ Ring Ka King

    Mid Day becomes broadsheet for Colors’ Ring Ka King

    MUMBAI: Colors, the Hindi general entertainment channel from the Viacom18 stable, is leaving no stone unturned to market its soon-to-be-launched sports entertainment reality show, Ring Ka King – Wrestling Ka Mahayuddh.

    The print campaign revolves around the theme ‘Size Does Matter‘ with Mid Day highlighting the “larger than life” characteristics of the wrestlers. On 25 January, readers will see the publication in a “broadsheet avatar” to bring forth the idea that the wrestlers are so large that they would not fit in the tabloid‘s normal format.

    MiD Day Infomedia MD and CEO Manajit Ghoshal said, “This broadsheet innovation employed by us is a powerful and stimulating manner of advertising. It introduces a surprise element, which helps in better absorption and recall of the communication. The broad sheet innovation issue also ensures and nice and fresh break for our readers. It has been our continuous endeavour to create path-breaking strategic solutions for each of our clients to reach their target audience. This innovation has been one more step in that direction, as it strengthens our repute to innovate and advertise in the market.”

    Colors head – marketing Rajesh Iyer added, “The Ring Ka King thriller campaign is the physical representation of the excitement that the show embodies. We wanted to bring the action of the ring alive throughout our communication. To bring out the adrenaline pumped exuberance of the show into our promotional activities we collaborated with our creative partners to come up with a campaign which could do full justice to the thought. All our promotions for Ring Ka King, be it the print innovation with Mid Day or disruptive campaign across outdoor, radio and TV, is high on volume and scale.”

    The outdoor campaign, through a mix of billboards and other mediums, aims to showcase the scale and impact of Ring Ka King in 70 trade markets. Audiences will witness billboards being stretched or ripped apart by the wrestlers so that the magnitude of the show can be highlighted, the channel said.

    The overall theme for the television, radio and cinema campaigns is ‘Disruption‘. Ads and promos running across media will focus on wrestlers interrupting regular content to talk about the show.

    Colors has partnered with Radio City to take Ring Ka King on air and engage with listeners. Two special characters will be created on-air that will talk about the show.

    The channel is also associating with Agneepath to promote Ring Ka King through cinema. Additionally, the digital campaign involves creation of special applications on social media platforms like Facebook to interact with audiences and build connect with wrestling.

    The show premieres on 28 January at 8 pm.

  • WWK in licensing pact with Nick in India

    WWK in licensing pact with Nick in India

    MUMBAI: Wiesner Worldwide Kreations (WWK) has entered into a licensing agreement with kids entertainment channel Nick to sell Keymon Ache products in India.

    WWK is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wiesner Products Inc, New York and a fashion conglomerate, focused on product variety, brands, licensing and private labels.

    The collection will be available under the apparel, footwear, bags and bag packs range.

    The Keymon Ache merchandise designs will be crafted by designers from the US who have an expertise in developing products for licensed goods. The designs will be global in scope yet personal in nature, bringing a blend of both international flavours and Indian desires.

    WWK VP-South East Asia Bhavna Jha said, “We are delighted to have Keymon Ache on our board and believe that this is an ideal fit for us. Keymon Ache has emerged to be a local hero of kids in India, in a short span of time since the show was introduced on Nickelodeon in May 2011. The success of the show lies in the 360 degree approach, adopted by the channel to promote the character, be it downloadable games, videos and ringtones. Keymon Ache is also popular on Facebook. We are proud to be associated with India’s first non-mythological contemporary show and be a part of this achievement by introducing Keymon Ache’s merchandise in India.”

    Viacom18 Media Sr. VP- consumer products Sandeep Dahiya added, “We are excited by the opportunity to create this partnership. WWK has provided a platform to promote the popular character with kids by bringing out the special edition of Keymon Ache’s merchandise. We are certain that these products will be a rage amongst the kids and they will love them.”

    Wiesner Products Inc., New York has already been associated with the licenses of Nicklodeon for Dora/Spongebo and Diego, the famous cartoon characters.

  • McCann Erickson to design IBF’s digitisation campaign

    McCann Erickson to design IBF’s digitisation campaign

    NEW DELHI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) is launching a countrywide awareness campaign to apprise viewers of television about the benefits of digitisation.

    The campaign is being designed by McCann Erickson (India). The agency was selected out of four which had responded to bids invited by the IBF.

    IBF director (finance) Naresh Chahal told indiantelevision.com that a major focus of the campaign would be to encourage people to buy digital set top boxes as the four metros covered under Phase I of digitisation would not be able to get either free-to-air or encrypted channels from 1 July this year unless they have switched to new STBs.

    He said the aim would be to educate the viewers about the fact that a digital STB would enable him to get more channels, give additional value added services, and ensure transparency, apart from proving to be economical in the long run.

    Asked about the budgeting of the campaign, he said the TV channels would bear their own costs as every channel was going to be affected by digitisation. However, IBF would work out further details as it decides to use the print media, cinema, out-of-home, and online advertising as the next step.

    Although he refused to name the other three bidders, it is understood that they included O&M.

    Parliament has already passed the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Second Amendment Bill to speed up the process of digitisation of cable networks.

    The Government has set 31 December 2014 as the final sunset date for digitisation of the cable networks. It had earlier announced a timetable for complete digitisation of cable television in the four metros by 31 March 2012, but this was put off to June 2012 in a notification issued subsequently.

    The target date for completely digitising cable sector in cities with population of more than one million was 30 March 2013, all urban areas by 30 September 2014, and the whole country by 31 December 2014.

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has been authorised under the Bill to fix the tariff for ala carte basis.

    Apart from improving the quality of reception, digitisation would also empower the cable operators to give larger number of channels to the consumers. There will be no prime band after digitisation.

  • Raj Kamble quits BBH, Russell Barett takes over

    Raj Kamble quits BBH, Russell Barett takes over

    MUMBAI: Raj Kamble, managing partner at BBH India, has called it quits.

    Russell Barett, who served in the agency as executive creative director up till now, will replace Kamble.

    Prior to his post at BBH, Kamble was senior vice-president and creative director, global P&G and Gillette businesses, BBDO Worldwide New York.

    BBH global founder Sir John Hegarty said in an official statement released by the agency, “It is always sad when great creative people leave you, but it‘s even greater when you can promote an outstanding creative leader from within. Barett has created most of our best work and put BBH India on the creative map. I believe with his creative leadership our Mumbai office will go from strength to strength.”

    Barett, who joined BBH India in April 2010 as executive creative director, will join managing partners Subhash Kamath and Partha Sinha in leading the Indian operations. In the past year, Barett has handled campaigns for clients such as Google Chrome, TVS Wego, World Gold Council, and VAT 69, amongst others.

  • Bates CEO Sandeep Pathak quits

    Bates CEO Sandeep Pathak quits

    MUMBAI: Ending his 5-year stint at Bates, Sandeep Pathak will be stepping down from his post as CEO.

    The news comes amidst media reports of Bates Asia Pacific and India chairman and regional creative director Sonal Dabral exiting the agency.

    It is speculated that Dabral is moving to Mudra, replacing Bobby Pawar, who recently joined JWT India.

    Pathak joined Bates (then Bates 141) in 2007 as Mumbai head. He was elevated to the role of CEO in September 2008. Prior to Bates, he was associated with Leo Burnett as brand partner.

  • DC Entertainment reveals new brand identity

    DC Entertainment reveals new brand identity

    MUMBAI: DC Entertainment, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company and home tobrands DC Comics, Vertigo and Mad, has revealed a new brand identity.

    The new identity is reflective of the company‘s mission to fully realise the value of a rich portfolio of brands, stories and characters, distinguished by incredible breadth and depth across publishing, media and merchandise. A new logo for DC Comics was also introduced, closely aligning with DC Entertainment‘s new mark.

    DC Entertainment executive VP of sales, marketing and business development John Rood said, “It‘s a new era at DC Entertainment and the new look reflects a dynamic, bold approach while at the same time celebrates the company‘s rich heritage and robust portfolio of characters. It was just a few months ago that Superman, Batman and many of our other Super Heroes were updated when we launched DC Comics – The New 52 and now it‘s time to do the same for the company‘s identity while remaining true to the power of storytelling which is still at the heart of DC Entertainment.”

    DC Entertainment worked with Landor Associates, a brand consulting and design firm to develop an identity that creates a visual connection among the company, its three brands (DC Comics, Vertigo and Mad) and its array of properties as well as celebrates the power of the company‘s stories and characters.

    The design of the new DC Entertainment identity uses a “peel” effect – the D is strategically placed over the C with the upper right-hand portion of the D peeling back to unveil the hidden C – symbolizing the duality of the iconic characters that are present within DC Entertainment‘s portfolio.

    Landor‘s San Francisco office executive creative director Nicolas Aparicio said, “It was our goal to capture DC Entertainment in a dynamic and provocative identity. Our solution is a living expression which changes and adapts to the characters, story lines and the ways fans are consuming content. The new identity is built for the digital age, and can easily be animated and customised to take full advantage of the interactivity offered across all media platforms.”

    The new brand identity will come to life across all consumer touch points in order to create a clear and consistent message in support of DC Entertainment.

    The new identity will begin to appear on comic books and graphic novels as well as new websites in March. Consumers will also see the new identity rolled out over time on other DC Entertainment products from Warner Bros. including film, television, interactive games and merchandise.

    DC Entertainment senior VP of franchise management Amit Desai said, “We believe our new brand identity will strongly resonate with our loyal fans who will want to proudly express their affinity for DC Entertainment and their passion for their favorite stories and characters, this new look allows them to easily do this. In addition we were excited to update our identity, it‘s not often a company gets to revisit something as important as its brand and we took the opportunity to make sure it represented the multi-media business we set out to build with the formation of DC Entertainment”.

  • Puma signs up Rehan Poncha in run-up to London 2012 Olympics

    Puma signs up Rehan Poncha in run-up to London 2012 Olympics

    MUMBAI: Puma has announced a long term partnership with Indian swimmer Rehan Poncha.

    Poncha will sport Puma accessories and fitness, training and lifestyle apparel for all the key tournaments and will become another key icon in the sport lifestyle brand’s global community.

    Being a youth icon and one of the best athletes in the nation, Poncha will feature prominently in Puma’s sports communication as another top tier asset spearheading communication around the marketing campaigns.

    Having unveiled the new Fitness and Lifestyle range at Puma, Poncha said, “I am very excited about this new partnership with a brand like Puma that embodies youth, fun and passion. This brand has a great attitude and has some very exciting plans ahead, which make me feel privileged and excited to be an ambassador for many years to come.”

    Puma India MD Rajiv Mehta said, “We are delighted to welcome Rehan Poncha to the Puma family. With his pace and skills, he has made an impressive start in his career that speaks volumes for his ability and determination to succeed.”

  • Komli Media launches research centre for ad services

    Komli Media launches research centre for ad services

    MUMBAI: Media technology company, Komli Media, has announced the launch of Komli Labs, a centre for research in advertising sciences.

    Srinivasan H Sengamedu (SHS) has been appointed as the vice president and head of Komli Analytics and Labs.

    Komli Labs will be primarily focused on driving innovation in digital advertising through applied research and big data analytics, in the areas of real time bidding, audience measurement and targeting, ad verification and traffic quality management. This, in turn, will help create innovative solutions to deliver more relevant ads to users, maximizing value for advertisers and publishers.

    Komli Media CEO Prashant Mehta said, “Komli Media is committed to bringing scientific and technological innovation to the digital advertising ecosystem for the benefit of our customers. With SHS’s leadership, I am confident Komli Labs will help create huge differentiation for us.”

    SHS said, “There are three aspects to what we do – developing best-in-class technology to power Komli products, creating long-standing IP and authoring high-impact research papers. The Labs team is armed with deep technical knowledge and data expertise. At the same time we are passionate about solving practical problems and fearless about being hands-on.”

    SHS, former director of research at Yahoo Labs, is a researcher in the field of machine learning and data mining. He has a PhD in computer science from the Indian Institute of Science and has extensive experience in research, technology leadership and entrepreneurship with over 100 research papers published, 30+ patents filed and patents granted.

  • Soumitra Karnik joins Dentsu India as NCD

    Soumitra Karnik joins Dentsu India as NCD

    MUMBAI: Dentsu India Group has appointed Soumitra Karnik as national creative director.

    Karnik joins Dentsu India from his creative consultancy company.

    Dentsu India executive chairman Rohit Ohri said, “Soumitra is a truly gifted creative and great leader. He will partner the creative leaders at Dentsu India and me to take our creative product to the next level. Soumitra believes in integrated communication solutions and as a key member of the India leadership team, I see him helping us effectively deliver this core Dentsu belief to our clients.”

    On his new role Karnik said, “As far as my role is concerned, my first priority shall be to build a solid network of talented creative teams across Dentsu companies and to create a ‘boredom-less’ and fearless creative culture. I will also partner our clients in developing thought leadership and strategic superiority in their respective markets by the process of collaboration and co-creation.”

    “We have pressed the ‘Refresh’ button at Dentsu and are pretty serious about being the very best, both for our clients as well as our own people. We want to be known as a place with a large heart where people with great minds work. And I can certainly promise a lot of action around us in the coming times,” Karnik added.

    Karnik brings in over 20 years of experience. Prior to this he has worked with JWT, Delhi. In his over 11 years with JWT, he worked on brands like PepsiCo, Nestle, Hero Honda, Sony, GSK, Congress and Airtel. Among the campaigns he is known for creating include ‘Youngistaan’ for Pepsi, ‘Aamsutra’ for Slice, ‘Yaari ki Gaadi’ for Hero Honda and ‘Dil jo chahe paas laaye’ for Airtel to name a few.

    He has also worked with small sized ad agency Pace, Percept, Lintas.

  • Colgate- Palmolive cuts ad spend in Q3

    Colgate- Palmolive cuts ad spend in Q3

    MUMBAI: For television broadcasters hit by a slowdown, this is a piece of bad news. FMCG major Colgate-Palmolive India has reduced its ad spend by 10.86 per cent for the three-month period ended December, taking a reversal from their earlier two quarters in which promotional budgets had gone up compared to the year-ago period.

    The company spent Rs 1.07 billion on advertising and sales promotion in the quarter under review, compared with Rs 1.2 billion a year ago.

    Colgate Palmolive launched products like Colgate 360° Sonic Power (a battery operated toothbrush), Colgate ZigZag anti-Germ, Colgate Barbie and Colgate Spiderman in the toothbrush category.

    In the tooth paste category, the company launched Colgate Barbie and Colgate Spiderman in the kids range. The company also rolled out the annual Oral Health Month during the end of the third quarter.

    Meanwhile, the cut in ad spend coupled with a price increase, has positively impacted the bottom line, as the company posted a 74 per cent jump in the net profit.

    Colgate-Palmolive net profit stood at Rs 1.16 billion, from Rs 662.4 million in the earlier year.

    Sales during the quarter rose 20 per cent to Rs 6.7 billion, up from Rs 5.58 billion a year ago.

    Analysts say the company will have to increase its ad spends soon, as Procter & Gamble (P&G) prepares to foray into the branded oral care sector in India, which is pegged at around Rs 45 billion.

    Recently, Colgate roped in tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi and film star Rahul Bose as brand ambassadors for Colgate Total.

    For the nine months ending 31 December, the company has spent Rs 3.21 billion over marketing and promotions compared to Rs 2.61 billion a year ago. Net sales stood at Rs 19.38 billion, up from Rs 16.39 billion.