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Category: MAM

  • HDFC Life launches new ad campaign

    HDFC Life launches new ad campaign

    MUMBAI: Private life insurance company, HDFC Life, is launching a new ad campaign to raise awareness about online term insurance plans and the easy mode to buy insurance.

    The campaign has been created by Leo Burnett and produced by Code Red films.

    The ad campaign will be first launched on youtube.com, specifically targeted at the well-informed, digitally aware users.

    HDFC Life’s new ad campaign aims to reach out to about 4 million unique users on youtube who will watch the commercial before the television audiences.

    There are five TVCs that trigger the conversation that ensure complete financial security of loved ones forever; one needs to plan ahead – a thought articulated as “Ab mein bhi Sar Utha ke kah sakta hoon… I Love my Family” in a campaign message.

    The USP of this campaign is the tag line which maintains the initial core idea of the brand- ‘self respect and financial independence.’ HDFC Life’s new online term insurance plan, Click2Protect, offers the convenience of experiencing a simple, fast, convenient, transparent, and cost-effective way of buying a life insurance plan.

    HDFC Life EVP and head, marketing and direct channels Sanjay Tripathy said, “Following the launch of HDFC Life Click2Protect, we have embarked on this new marketing campaign to spread awareness about the importance of an online term plan, the needs they cater to, and how they are relevant to a consumer’s life.”

    “The expression ‘I love my family, do you?’ is derived from the insight that for Indians family comes first and they want to secure their family’s current lifestyle, dreams and goals even when they are not around. The entire campaign comprises five films addressing the most important need at different life-stages of the bread earner including securing old parents, marrying and securing one’s spouse, birth of a child, maintaining a comfortable standard of life & managing liabilities like home loan home loan,” he added.

    Leo Burnett NCD KV Sridhar said, “The campaign stems from a simple truth – if we love someone then we‘ll ensure that he/she will never have to suffer, after we‘re gone. Since ‘term insurance‘ as a product is designed to protect the family from any financial downfall in case of untimely demise of the policy holder, the above mentioned truth lends itself meaningfully to the creative idea. It is simple – if you really love your family, you will sign up for term insurance, which translates into a man proudly wearing the badge of ‘I love my family‘ and the things he does to ensure that at every stage of life his family is well protected. The campaign also showcases the benefits of term insurance at every stage of life in an engaging manner.”

    Apart from television and digital, HDFC plans to take this film to other mediums such as print and OOH.

  • Dentsu Communications hires Suresh Mohankumar as national planning head

    Dentsu Communications hires Suresh Mohankumar as national planning head

    MUMBAI: Dentsu India Group has appointed Suresh Mohankumar as national planning head at Dentsu Communications.

    Mohankumar will lead strategic planning and brand management at Dentsu Communications across its offices in New Delhi and Bangalore and will be based out of Bangalore. With nearly two decades of experience, he joins Dentsu from Mudra India where he was senior vice president and head of planning – Mudra South.

    Dentsu India executive chairman Rohit Ohri said, “Suresh has the right combination of passion, talent and commitment to partner our creative and account management teams to take our creative product to the next level.”

    Dentsu Communications chief operating officer Taira Kimura said, “Suresh brings on board strong experience across brand, categories and regions. I have great confidence in his abilities and expertise to add value to our service deliveries and up the ante at Dentsu Communications.”

    Mohankumar said, “The communications business is at a crossroads as convention increasingly gives way to real consumer engagement. That integration and media-neutral planning is the way forward is exactly what Dentsu believes in and I believe that Dentsu is uniquely structured to deliver that. Also as part of an organisation at the cusp of an exciting transformation, I am very excited about my journey ahead and look forward to my mandate at Dentsu Communications.”

    A commerce graduate, Mohankumar completed his MBA with a dual specialisation in marketing and finance from T.A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) in 1993. He started his career in account management with RK Swamy/BBDO in Chennai. Over the next seven years, he worked with Contract and Lowe in Bangalore. He switched to account planning in 2000 when he moved to Mudra Chennai. As a strategic planner, he then worked with Contract and JWT in Chennai.

    He has in the past been associated with brands like Tanishq, BPL, Ford, Volkswagen, Carbon, MRF, Lotte, TI cycles, Henkel, Fa, Reynolds, McDowell’s, Johnson & Johnson and Lipton.

  • Venkat Mallik to head Tribal DDB India & RAPP

    Venkat Mallik to head Tribal DDB India & RAPP

    MUMBAI: DDB Mudra Group has handed over the responsibility of heading Tribal DDB India operations to Venkat Mallik. He will also continue to lead RAPP India.

    Mallik comes in with nearly 20 years of experience. He joined RAPP in 2009 as their president India. Prior to this, he worked with companies like JWT, Leo Burnett, Euro RSCG and Unilever.

    Mudra Group CEO & MD Madhukar Kamath said, “With around a 100 million Internet users, digital advertising is acquiring mainstream proportions and it is important to create a leadership structure for Tribal DDB which understands both digital and mainstream brand marketing communications well. With his background in advertising, brand marketing, online gaming and data and digital communication, Venkat brings a combination of skills needed to build Tribal DDB, as well as RAPP at this juncture.”

    Mallik‘s brand experience spans 50 different brands and categories, including leading brands from companies like Unilever, SmithKline Beecham, ITC, Indian Oil, Ultratech, Sara Lee, Van Melle, CavinKare, Standard Chartered Bank, HDFC, Tata Communications and HP.

    On his new role, Mallik said, “It’s exciting to have the mandate to grow RAPP and Tribal DDB, both of which are leading global new age agencies. We are looking to scale up both agencies quickly while leveraging synergies between them.”

    Tribal DDB India has a client list that include Idea Cellular, Star TV, McDonald’s, Tourism Australia and Emirates. RAPP handles clients like Hewlett Packard, Standard Chartered Bank, Johnson & Johnson and Tata Communications.

  • Social media is changing consumer behaviour: Nick Decrock

    Social media is changing consumer behaviour: Nick Decrock

    MUMBAI: The social and mobile media revolution is changing the way people communicate, look at brand and media, seek information and purchase goods. This is forcing companies to completely rethink the way they do business.


    Yento! marketing technologist Nick Decrock, who was one of the speakers at Click Asia Summit, feels that social media is about relationships and people. With over 50 per cent of the world’s population under 30 years of age, 93 per cent of marketers use social media for business.


    “Social media has changed the way we do things. It is changing the consumer behaviour. I feel its basic human behaviour that has driven social media’s success. We have opinions which we want to share, we like to be a part of a group and that makes us feel stronger.”


    Decrock firmly believes that mobile phone penetration will drive social media’s success and vice-versa. “Now-a-days, you are always connected with smartphones. Social and mobile media have brought computing finally to a personal level. So its time to make marketing personal again. Soon, more people will access the mobile web than the desktop web.”


    According to him, consumers now expect marketers to be contextual and relevant all the time. Also, people want things that are for free. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, and search engine-Google, all are free for the users. “People will trade their privacy in return for honest rewards and full transparency,” he adds.


    He feels that privacy is just a modern invention. It has been nurtured by the rise of anonymous cities. “In old villages people shared as much as now on social networks”.


    Consumers want to take control over things. “What people expect from Facebook, they now expect from your brand too. Facebook is permission based, there is transparent profile data, and the user has communication control and can apply privacy setting. If FB can do it for 800 million users, why can’t the marketers do it for their customers?”


    Customers want to be invited; they should be brought into boardrooms to improve relationships.


    “People share news, views, and experiences, about the brands online. Often the brand experience is the main online conversation. Such is the importance of social media,” said Decrock.

  • Havas Media prepares for aggressive growth in 2012

    Havas Media prepares for aggressive growth in 2012

    MUMBAI: In a tough economic slowdown year, Havas Media had to ride through a quieter phase of growth as it parted with the Maxx Mobiles account, one of its top five clients, but retained the MTS business. And its prize catch was winning the entire media business of Parle Products, the account size of which is pegged at Rs 700 million.


     
    “2011 has been a tough but an on-track year. Maxx Mobiles is the only business we gave up due to the poor health of the handset category and, hence, payment issues. But we managed to retain the MTS business despite fierce competition. And we closed the year by gaining the complete Parle AOR,”said Havas Media India & South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar.


    Growth in 2011 was muted by the fact that there were lesser number of pitches called for. Havas participated in around ten bids and won about six.


    “The industry did not see too many pitches for new accounts in 2011. Hence conversions have been a bit slow but our new business targets are on track. We expect the scenario to change in 2012 and will aggressively go for new business,”said Nayyar.


    Havas formed alliances to ensure growth is smoother. Its media agency MPG partnered with Rediffusion‘s media brand TME to offer planning and buying services to clients of Rediffusion Y & R and its subsidiary Everest Brand Solutions.


    “We are already on the path of initiatives, one of the most recent being an alliance with TME, the media arm of Rediffusion , wherein media for Rediff and Everest clients is being handled by MPG. This has allowed us to have prestigious clients like Parle, Heinz, Tata Motors, Paras, TVS Tyres etc under the MPG-TME brand. We are looking forward to more such initiatives across our offerings,”said Nayyar.


    The agency also revamped its Mumbai office while Kolkata presence was established. Averred Nayyar, “We have revamped and strengthened our Mumbai office, which is gaining new clients and is ready to fight the market. The new clients that have come in after the revamp include History, Guffic, CNBC Awaz, Parle, Heinz, Taj, Tata Motors etc. We also have presence in the Kolkata market.”


    Havas Media has grown more than five times in the last five years. “Our growth is largely a function of two key factors – new business wins (like Hyundai, MTS, Kohler, Carlsberg, Bank of Baroda) and launch of diversified divisions like Havas Digital (Media Contacts, Mobext,Escelis), Outdoor- MPG Active, Havas Sports and Entertainment and BTL- MPG Solutions,”she stated, while refusing to disclose the financials.


    Charting out the road for 2012, Nayyar said, “Growth will be through the organic route and getting new clients is the oxygen for this. The focus is entirely on providing the best services to our existing clients and pitching for new business. Our integrated offering provides clients to choose all or choose from complete communication services.”


    “Digital is certainly the focus area with more and more clients realising and appreciating the role of the medium in their business.Endeavour is towards strengthening this offer in media, search, social media and performance marketing through specialised services including conversion rate optimisation, attribution modelling and quality score management to provide a complete digital offering to clients,”said Nayyar.


    Havas Media recently acquired a majority stake in Snapworx Mobile Inc, the mobile marketing arm of Philippines-based Snapworx Inc. Will it follow a similar route to grow its digital business in India?


    Nayyar said the digital wing of the media agency is the one to look out for in the coming year, without clearly stating whether it would adopt the inorganic route. “Digital is certainly the focus area with more and more clients realising and appreciating the role of the medium in their business. Endeavour is towards strengthening this offer in media, search, social media and performance marketing through specialised services including Conversion Rate Optimisation, Attribution Modelling and Quality Score Management,”she concluded.

  • DDB India launches Volkswagen’s Polo and Vento campaign

    DDB India launches Volkswagen’s Polo and Vento campaign

    MUMBAI: Volkswagen India has recently launched it‘s ‘once-in-a- lifetime‘ offer on the Volkswagen Polo and Vento.

    The communication has been conceptualised by DDB India.

    The idea behind the campaign is ‘An offer so special, you‘ll come back for it. Even if you have to travel over lifetimes!‘. The objective is to create consumer intrigue and excitement around the offer, even while keeping the brand values intact.

    Volkswagen head of marketing and PR Lutz Kothe said, “The new Volkswagen Polo and Vento campaign creates curiosity with the target to get prospective customers directly to the showroom. This also makes it different to other campaigns.”

    DDB India creative head on Volkswagen Rajeev Raja said, “Set in India of the 1970‘s, it‘s the story of a Parsi gentleman and his son. The Parsi gentleman, typically, is obsessed with his long owned Volkswagen Polo. He wipes away even the slightest blemish on his beloved car with a characteristic ‘tsk, tsk‘. Time passes on and so does the Parsi gentleman. His son now married with a baby, buys new Polo, and as they drive out there‘s a pleasant surprise in store for them. “

  • US online ad spend to exceed print in 2012

    US online ad spend to exceed print in 2012

    MUMBAI: US online ad spend that grew 23 per cent to $32.03 billion in 2011 is expected to grow an additional 23.3 per cent to $39.5 billion this year, pushing it ahead of total spending on print newspapers and magazines, according to a new forecast by eMarketer.


    Print advertising spend is expected to fall to $33.8 billion in 2012, from $36 billion in 2011.


    eMarketer‘s previous US online advertising forecast from July 2011 was among the more bullish estimates issued during the year, yet consistently stronger-than-expected results from major industry players and the IAB/PwC through the first three quarters of 2011 contributed to the upward revision.


    eMarketer principal analyst David Hallerman said, “Advertisers‘ comfort level with integrated marketing is greater than ever, and this is helping more advertisers and more large brands put a greater share of dollars online.”


    “The growing amount of time consumers spend with digital platforms and advertisers‘ view of the internet as a more measurable medium, especially as the soft economy forces businesses to be more accountable with their ad dollars—are both significant contributors to digital‘s growing footprint,” Hallerman added.


    Despite concerns about the economy among agencies and marketers, total ad spending in the US is expected to continue to rebound in 2012 after rising 3.4 per cent to $158.9 billion in 2011. US total media ad spending will grow an estimated 6.7 per cent to $169.48 in 2012, boosted by the national elections and summer Olympics in London, eMarketer estimates.


    The research company estimates for total media ad spending growth remain slightly more confident, a result of the rapid rise of digital advertising and brands‘ continued confidence in television advertising, despite increasingly fragmented viewership and the soft economy.


    Spending on TV advertising grew 2.8 per cent in 2011 to $60.7 billion, eMarketer estimates. This year, TV ad spending will grow an estimated 6.8 per cent to $64.8 billion.


    In the newspaper industry, digital revenues remain a sole bright spot. US digital ad revenues for newspapers will grow 11.4 per cent to $3.7 billion, after rising 8.3 per cent to $3.3 billion in 2011. Print advertising revenues at newspapers, however, will dip an additional 6 per cent to $19.4 billion in 2012, after falling 9.3 per cent to $20.7 billion in 2011.


    In case of magazines, US print ad revenues are expected to rise 0.5 per cent to $15.34 billion in 2012, up from $15.3 billion last year.US digital advertising spending at magazines is expected to grow 19.3 per cent to $3.3 billion this year, after growing 18.8 per cent to $2.7 billion in 2011.


    Radio advertising spending will grow 3.6 per cent to $16.7 billion in 2012, after growing 1.3 per cent to $16.1 billion in 2011 while spending on outdoor advertisements will grow 6.3 per cent to $6.8 billion. Directories ad spending will decline 8.5 per cent to $7.5 billion this year.

  • OLX rolls out new TVC conceptualised by Saatchi & Saatchi

    OLX rolls out new TVC conceptualised by Saatchi & Saatchi

    MUMBAI: The free online classified site OLX.in has launched a new TVC, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, to take its ‘Bech de’ campaign further. It is back on national TV with ‘Grandfather’ and ‘Baby Cot’ TVCs.

    The idea of the campaign is ‘everything sells for a price’.

    The first set of commercials was aired in June 2011 and the company claims that it worked well in driving traffic to the site as well in making OLX a household name in India.

    Encouraged by the campaign’s response in India, OLX ran the same TV ads in Pakistan as well and the same creative idea was reproduced in Portugal.

    Saatchi & Saatchi NCD Ramanuj Shastry said, “Not going for the so-called fresh situations to bring newness to a campaign and keeping the narrative within a family was a decision we didn’t have to think twice about. That aside, it was a tremendous feeling to have a seasoned actor like Ramesh Deo holding the fort in our latest script.”

    OLX India country head Amarjit Batra added, “Our core value proposition of ‘Individuals using OLX to sell personal goods that they don’t need or use’ comes out beautifully from these new TV ads. The use of same cast in all the films implies the huge need among every Indian Family to solve their daily problems of buying, selling products and services locally. With OLX they simply have to tell their friends and relatives to ‘BechDe’.”

    The new TVCs carry the distinct humour. So where the first one began from younger brother convincing the elder one to sell his old bike, and second one getting the two together to get their dad to sell off his desktop, the third one builds on this natural progression. Now the two brothers and the father get their grandfather to part with his cherished old car.

  • Fox unveils sponsors for 11th season of ‘American Idol’

    Fox unveils sponsors for 11th season of ‘American Idol’

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster Fox, 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia have announced that Ford, Coca-Cola and AT&T will return as the official sponsors for the 11th season of the music-based reality show ‘American Idol‘.

    As a leading partner since the show‘s debut in 2002, Ford has returned as the official automotive sponsor. Once again, Ford vehicles and the show‘s finalists will be featured each week in Ford music videos, airing Thursday nights. This content, along with candid ‘making of‘ segments featuring the contestants, will also be available on www.americanidol.com. In addition, Ford will launch an all-new online promotion, offering fans an exclusive chance to win the ultimate show experience.

    The show will continue to serve as a platform for a variety of Ford vehicles, including the all-new 2013 Ford Escape. Ford will award a brand-new vehicle to both the runner-up and winner.

    For the 11th season, Coca-Cola is offering programmes that bring “families together to enjoy moments of happiness and fun”. The show is the kickoff platform for the Coca-Cola Family Night program, which presents activities and recipes throughout January and February that encourage families to “make tonight a family night.” They will also launch the new “Coca-Cola Music Cover Artwork” contest. Fans can develop their own special music cover graphics at www.mycokerewards.com/family and they could win a trip to attend the live American Idol finale. Coming back for a second year is the popular Perfect Harmony program that provides teens and young adults the opportunity to write a song with an award winning artist.

    This collaboration will culminate in an incredible performance on the biggest stage in Hollywood during an American Idol broadcast. In addition, Coca-Cola will share exclusive behind-the-scenes content online at www.mycokerewards.com and www.americanidol.com, providing fans with an inside look at the contestant experience. Other activities designed to enhance the ‘American Idol‘ experience will be featured in a variety of retail outlets across the country.

    AT&T returns this year to celebrate its 10th anniversary as the official wireless sponsor of American Idol. Once again, AT&T makes voting easier and more convenient for its customers through exclusive unlimited text-voting during the voting window after each show. Additionally, AT&T customers will benefit from unique access to their favourite Idol moments through popular mobile phone content, including Vote Number Reminder, Social Sharing of Votes and Idol Trivia.

  • Karbonn Mobiles ties up with Hockey India

    Karbonn Mobiles ties up with Hockey India

    MUMBAI: Karbonn Mobiles has announced its association with the 5-match Test series between Indian men and South African men and a 4-match series between Indian women and Azerbaijanian women, hosted by Hockey India.

    To be named the Karbonn Cup, the Test series is to be held from the 15-22 January at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi.
     
    Karbonn Mobiles MD Pradeep Jain said, “We are pleased to host the Karbonn Cup and extend our support to the national sport. We being an Indian brand and Hockey being the national sport, the connection goes a long way in establishing the lost glory of Indian Hockey. India has always had a great tradition for hockey especially at the Olympic Games. We have won 8 gold medals at the Olympics and this is the highest among all national teams. This year 2012 being an Olympic year, the Karbonn Cup is all about supporting the Indian teams on the road to the London Olympics later this year.”

    The tournament apart from providing fast paced hockey action will also provide the Indian men’s and women’s Hockey team with the opportunity to prepare themselves for the Olympic Qualifiers to be held later in the year.