ITV

Category: MAM

  • Airtel to sponsor Indian Grand Prix

    Airtel to sponsor Indian Grand Prix

    MUMBAI: Telecom company Bharti Airtel is the title sponsor of Grand Prix of India.


    In India‘s F1 foray, the telecom company has seen an opportunity to tie up with Formula One and make innovative offerings.


    Announcing Airtel as the title sponsor for this sporting event, Bharti Airtel CEO – India and South Asia Sanjay Kapoor and Formula One Group CEO Bernie Ecclestone together unveiled the official logo of Airtel Grand Prix of India. To be hosted at Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida on 30 October, this first ever Airtel Grand Prix of India will put India on the list of countries on the global F1 map and give Indian fans their first ever chance to experience the adrenaline rush.
     
    Kapoor said, “A sports phenomenon that initially originated from Europe and went across the globe to become a rage – Formula One today enjoys the cult following of a whopping 500 million plus fans. Airtel – with its 200 million plus customers which significantly represent the young and vibrant population, is delighted to be affiliated with F1 to bring this international sports event to India for the time first time ever! Right through its growth path, Airtel has been associated with speed, performance, calculated risks and excitement, the very words that spring to mind when you think of Formula One. Hence, it is only natural that Airtel and Formula One together bring to life the dreams of millions of young and passionate sports enthusiasts in India, giving them an opportunity of a lifetime to watch the very first Airtel Grand Prix of India in person”.


    Ecclestone said, “I am very pleased with our association with Bharti Airtel which has demonstrated that they are the very forward thinking company that I believe and was the reason for seeking their help in promoting Formula One in India through their 200 million plus customers. We are very good partners as we both project the same forward thinking”.


    As part of its association with Airtel Grand Prix of India, brand Airtel will leverage several exciting entitlements that other
    prominent global brands associated with Formula One have enjoyed thus far. Formula One enthusiasts can look forward to a host of innovative offerings and initiatives by Airtel, which will be rolled out and announced in weeks to come.
     

  • MUMBAI: What Sony Entertainment Television (Set) was planning to achieve with the launch of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), it has got one week ahead.


    MUMBAI: What Sony Entertainment Television (Set) was planning to achieve with the launch of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), it has got one week ahead.


    Set has replaced Zee TV to grab the third spot among the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs). As per TAM data for the week ended 13 August, Set has ended with a total of 195 GRPs (gross rating points), five points ahead of rival Zee TV.


    In the previous week, Sony had clocked 187 GRPs and was just three GRPs away from Zee TV. The GRPs of Zee TV stayed flat (190), TAM data shows.


    Sony expects to consolidate its position with the launch KBC, the ratings of which will get reflected from 15 August.


    Meanwhile, Star Plus and Colors, the top two GECs, lost 27 and 33 GRPs respectively. Star Plus ended the week at 277 GRPs, while Colors earned 236 GRPs.


    The new 9.30 pm fiction show, Parichay, on Colors debuted with a 2.7 TVR and the first week average was 2.5 TVR.


    The pecking order of the channels remained unchanged at the rung after that. Sab recorded 127 GRPs compared to 124 GRPs in the preceding week; Imagine TV closed with 71 GRPs, up one GRP from last week‘s tally of 70.


    Star One and Sahara One ended the week with 36 GRPs each.

  • Everest Brand Solutions hires Meraj Hasan as VP – strategic planning

    Everest Brand Solutions hires Meraj Hasan as VP – strategic planning

    MUMBAI: Everest Brand Solutions has appointed Meraj Hasan as vice-president, strategic planning.

    Hasan will take care of the entire planning of the agency that is spread across cities like Pune, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata.

    Hasan brings with him 11 years of experience across India and Sri Lanka. Prior to Lowe, he was strategic planning head at Rediffusion-Y&R. He was also actively involved in the launch of Bharti Airtel‘s telecom operations in Sri Lanka.

  • Mohan Sanda is JWT senior creative director

    Mohan Sanda is JWT senior creative director

    MUMBAI: Further strengthening its creative team, JWT has appointed Mohan Sanda as senior creative director.

    Sanda, who was earlier with Rediffusion-Y&R Mumbai as creative head, art, will report to executive creative director Tista Sen. His mandate includes working on brands like Lux, Sunsilk and D‘décor.

    Talking about his joining JWT, Sanda said, “JWT has always been a home to me. Before I joined Rediffusion Mumbai four and a half years ago, I was with JWT, Bangalore. After that I moved on to Mumbai with a quest to work on bigger brands and teams. Here, I will get the opportunity to work on brands in the premium segment.”

    Sanda started his career with Rediffusion Bangalore where he spent around three-and-a-half years. From there, he moved to JWT Bangalore. “At JWT Bengaluru, I had the opportunity to work on several fashion brands, and was introduced to a more understated form of communication,” he revealed.

    After about four-and-half years, Sanda moved to Rediffusion Mumbai where he worked closely on brands such as Kaya Skin Clinic and Tata Nano.

  • McCann awarded creative duties of History Channel

    McCann awarded creative duties of History Channel

    MUMBAI: AETN-18, a joint venture between A & E Networks and TV18, has awarded creative duties for the soon-to-be-launched History Channel in India to McCann Erickson.

    The agency will work on the launch communication strategy for the channel in India. The appointment comes after a multi-agency pitch.

    Says TV18 President A+E Networks Ajay Chacko, “History has always been associated with the past, but with the new channel, we hope to change people‘s perception of History. The channel today is contemporary. It is also about action, thrill and adventure as much as it is about events and people that have shaped our lives. With the right blend of strategic insight, cutting edge creative and innovative thinking, we are happy to have McCann Erickson partner us best in our ndeavor to position History as the most relevant and engaging factual entertainment channel.”

    Adds McCann Worldgroup India executive chairman Prasoon Joshi, “I‘m very excited with our partnership with History Channel and I‘m looking forward to doing great work together, especially because the AETN-18 team believes in out of the box thinking.”

  • Fox Crime mandates creative duties to Ogilvy

    Fox Crime mandates creative duties to Ogilvy

     
    MUMBAI: As part of its plans to get active on the communication circuit in a bid to expand its subscriber base and get more advertisers on board, Fox Crime channel has handed over its creative duties to Ogilvy India.

    The agency‘s Mumbai branch will handle this account.

    Said Star World VP programming Jyotsna Viriyala while commenting on the channel‘s plans, “There are many elements that work for this campaign. But most of all, it‘s the strong and innovative creative output from a powerful insight about the genre. The campaign involves the viewer/user like the genre would. With minimal advertising, Fox Crime already has a very high awareness score. The purpose of this campaign has been built on it and gets the channel into the immediate consideration set of viewers.”

    It is also learnt that an aggressive ad campaign for Fox Crime will break in the near future. The media mix for this campaign will include television, OOH (out of home), and digital media platforms.

    It may be interesting to note that Ogilvy India already handles the creative mandate for prominent channels from the Star TV stable including Star Plus, Star Gold and Star Jalsha.

  • Span wins Rs 2 bn global media mandate for Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism

    Span wins Rs 2 bn global media mandate for Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism

    MUMBAI: Span Communications has won the global media mandate of Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism.

    The size of the business is estimated to be around Rs 2 billion.

    A multi-agency pitch was called in May this year. Thirteen leading media agencies including GroupM, OMD, Ogilvy India, MPG, Mindshare, Maxus Global, ZenithOptimedia, Omnicom Group, Crayons Advertising, Prabhatam Advertising, Integrid Media, Allied Media (Percept), Purnima Advertising, Carat Media, Sterling Advertising, ITDC, TDI International India Ltd and Span Communications had taken part.

    The mandate involves handling global television and print campaign for Ministry of Tourism in America, South East Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, Japan, China and a host of other countries. Span Communications has been handling the Incredible India account for more than 5 to 6 years now.

    Talking about the mandate, Span Communications CEO Naresh Kheterpal said, “Incredible India is one of the most respected Indian brands globally and it is indeed a matter of pride and prestige for us to win this campaign again. At the same time, it is a testimony to our excellent media skills and the confidence that the client has placed on us. The campaign is slated to begin soon and would encompass all mediums focusing on the American, European and Asian markets.”

    Span has a large number of leading corporate, government and PSU clients like G‘Five Mobiles, Ansal Group, SRS, Goa Coastal Resorts, State Bank of India, IndianOil, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Central Bank of India, Delhi Government, ESIC, India Post, Andaman Tourism, Election Commission, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Civil Aviation and National Commission for Women among others.

  • Percept Media hires Raman as chief planning officer

    Percept Media hires Raman as chief planning officer

    MUMBAI: Percept Media, the media planning, buying and evaluation arm of Percept Ltd, has appointed Srikanth Raman as chief planning officer (CPO).

    Raman joins from Starcom MediaVest, where he was general manager handling research and strategy for their clients. He spent six years in the company.

    In his new role, Raman will be responsible for creating differentiated strategic based media solutions for the clients. These solutions will be sourced from research and consumer insights undertaken by him and his team, the company said.

    Over and above developing media solutions for the company, he will also be leading Percept Media‘s strategic alliance with Pointlogic which was announced recently. He will be responsible for overseeing the integrated intelligence services offered under this association for marketers in India.

    Raman comes with over 20 years of experience in the media industry in developing communication and media strategies for brands. He started his career in strategic planning in Enterprise and Nexus Equity. Later he joined Mudra Communications and spent close to seven years.

    Raman has been a part of the leadership team in all his past organisations, overseeing macro level of communications for clients like Proctor & Gamble, Jet Airways, Asian Paints, Raymonds, Singapore Tourism, LIC, Indian Oil and Western Union.

    Percept Allied Media CEO Shripad Kulkarni said, “Srikanth‘s varied background across critical branding portfolios will add tremendous value to Percept Media which is a young company growing at a break neck speed. He is the best person to take forward our exclusive tie-up with Pointlogic.”

    Raman added, “Percept Media has successfully created a robust business model in a very short span of time and are the market leaders today in the media spectrum. I am extremely delighted to join them at their current diversification curve and do look forward to apply my learnings in building various successful verticals within the company.”

  • Kooh appoints Shrikant Hazare as CMO

    MUMBAI: Kids out of home (Kooh), a company providing international standard, professional sports training to children, and a fully integrated outdoor gaming programme for corporate, community and their family, has announced the appointment of Shrikant Hazare as its CMO.


    Hazare, an industry veteran with over 2 decades of marketing experience, will lead Kooh‘s marketing efforts for their sports (KoohSports) and events (Fun @ Field) divisions.


    Set up in April 2011, Kooh‘s mission is to deliver sports training of international standards and provide an out of home experience through their outdoor games for schools, communities, workplaces et all.


    Moreover their exclusive partnerships with international bodies like Off Limits Corporate Events ltd. (UK- based sports event company that own and operates the props and games show spun out from the popular BBC ‘It‘s a Knockout‘) and Indian tie-ups like Underdog Sports Solutions (manages sports activities in schools & colleges in India), has given them a headway in the industry.


    Hazare will be responsible for introducing the concept of sports development utilising disruptive marketing ideas through unconventional mediums to its core audiences. He will drive the marketing strategy and brand management functions including brand communication, brand design, sports marketing, offline and social media marketing.


    Kooh co-founder and chairman Susir Kumar said, “Kooh is a fledgling organization with a clear aim to rekindle love for the outdoor in the lives of kids, parents and communities. Shrikant is a passionate professional with deep marketing experiences spanning consumer, entertainment and B2B segments, and we found in him the right qualities to drive Kooh‘s marketing function. Given his proven leadership skills, sharp business acumen and track record in building brands; we look forward to leveraging Shrikant‘s skills in achieving our mission.”

  • O&M ups Anand Badami to group MD, Malaysia

    MUMBAI: Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) has promoted Anand Badami to group MD of its Malaysia office. This is in addition to his current responsibilities as regional business development director for Nestle.


    Anand will shift base from Singapore to Malaysia and take over the position from Andre Nair later this month. Prior to this, Badami was Ogilvy & Mather, Indonesia country head.


    Anand will oversee the growth and development of the Malaysian office as well as partner with the agency‘s key clients which include Maxis, Nestle, MAS, Shell, IBM, Guinness, BAT, Coke, Goodyear and Pizza Hut.


    “We are delighted that Anand has accepted this new challenge and are grateful to Andre for his commitment to strengthening the agency during his two-year tenure. Malaysia is key to our Southeast Asia growth strategy and an agency we‘ll continue to invest in,” said Ogilvy & Mather ASEAN Regional Director and president, Ogilvy Action, Asia Pacific John Goodman.


    Badami had joined Ogilvy in India where he played an instrumental role in launching Dove. During his 15-year career with the network, he has worked across multiple Asian markets on clients portfolios that include Unilever‘s Dove and Ponds, Nestlé‘s MILO and UPS.