Category: MAM

  • Mankind awards creative duties of 4 brands to McCann Erickson

    Mankind awards creative duties of 4 brands to McCann Erickson

    MUMBAI: McCann Erickson has won the creative duties of four Mankind Pharma brands: Addiction, men’s deodorant; Manforce condoms; Gas-o-fast, digestive tablet and pregnancy detection kit Prega News.

    The agency will start working on the brands immediately. The two parties, it is learnt, were in discussions for a month now.

    A senior official at the pharmaceutical company confirmed the development and also said that the mandate was given without any official pitch process.

    Until now, an in-house team was taking care of the creatives.

  • Reliance Trends, Shane Warne launch ‘Spinners’ collection in India

    Reliance Trends, Shane Warne launch ‘Spinners’ collection in India

    BANGALORE: Former Australian spin bowler and IPL-4 Rajasthan Royals cricket team captain Shane Warne and Reliance Trends announced the launch of Warne’s apparel label ‘Spinners by Shane Warne’ in India. At present, the tie-up is exclusively with Reliance Trends for India.

    Over a million units of men’s and boys ‘Spashion’ (sport + fashion) ‘Spinners by Shane Warne’ apparel have been sold since its launch in 2009 in Australia, informed company sources.

    ‘Spinners by Shane Warne’ is a partnership between Warne and local Australian brand development company ‘lime door brands’. After India, the brand will be launched in the UK.

    Warne described the expansion of the brand into India as a logical step, given his eminent status in India. “Indians are so passionate about cricket and I am always welcomed and supported here. The move into the Indian market is something that we have planned for a long time and something that I have a lot of faith in. Shane along with his son Jackson is one of the few celebrities that help’s design the apparel rather than just run a business,” said ‘lime door brands’ CEO Michele Hamdorf.

    The initial ‘Spinners by Shane Warne’ offering is a limited edition collection of men’s t-shirts designed for the Indian Premier League season in a price range of Rs 399 to Rs 699. The complete range of men’s and boys’ activewear will be launched in the festive season with future categories including sports performance wear, boys’ and girls’ apparel ranges.

    Reliance Trends CEO Arun Sirdeshmukh said, ”A brand endorsed by a celebrity like Warne will do better business than the other brands. With cricket in the air, we are very confident that this brand will be well received in the Indian retail market.”

    Reliance Trends with 44 outlets in the country closed the last fiscal with revenues of Rs 3.5 billion. Sirdeshmukh informed www.indiantelevison.com that revenues have been doubling every year and he expects the trend to continue in the next fiscal as well. By end March 2012, Sirdeshmukh said plans are afoot to up the number of Reliance Trends outlets to over 100 in the country.

  • Hindware gets a new identity & positioning

    Hindware gets a new identity & positioning

    MUMBAI: Sanitary ware products manufacturer, HSIL, has unveiled a new identity for its ceramic brand, Hindware.

    With the new identity, the company intends to position Hindware as a young, vibrant and contemporary brand, which is representative of ‘Change, Positivity and Passion‘.

    Hindware‘s new brand identity is designed by UK’s design consultancy Fitch, a part of WPP.

    The change in the identity of Hindware showcases the transition of the original logo, which was symbolic of quality and reliability, to the new young logo that reflects confidence and dynamism while maintaining the core values for which the brand has stood for across the years.

    HSIL joint managing director Sandip Somany said, “Hindware is one of the most prestigious brands in India today and it gives me immense pleasure to introduce the new brand identity to all our customers and stakeholders. We at HSIL believe that change lies at the core of evolution. It is this philosophy that helps us keep up with evolving consumers and markets.”

    The new look will flow across products, packaging, signage and all communication. As a part of Hindware’s promotion strategy, it plans to roll out a pan-India campaign across the media spectrum. This will comprise both ATL (above-the-line) and BTL (below-the-line) activities.

    ATL activities will include print and electronic media with all major dailies, magazines and general interest, business and news channels.

    Providing additional support will be the outdoor and radio campaigns. While BTL activities will consist of road shows, product parades along with on-ground mall activities and interesting initiatives at dealer outlets will promote the new brand identity.

    The fresh identity is in a shade of red. The readable and simple lower case font has been chosen to portray the brand as ‘engaging and approachable’ and is immediately recognisable as Hindware.

    The logo aims to convey modernity and an innate sense of style. The brand graphic element derives from the negative and positive space found within the new brand identity. It creates an additional layer of brand recognition and recall and can be used across all brand applications.

    Somany said, “The new look reinforces the trust and equity in consumers minds and reaffirms the credibility of the brand. The new face of brand Hindware symbolises a set of values that are- ‘young, global, contemporary and dynamic’. The unique brand identity supports our desire to balance function and form to the highest degree. This fresh rendition is a manifestation of the global outlook of brand Hindware and reflects the group’s ambitions and commitment. Therefore, it is a fundamental change for us going forward.”
     

  • IPL4 online viewership up 62% in first week over IPL3

    IPL4 online viewership up 62% in first week over IPL3

    MUMBAI: The IPL 4 online viewership has witnessed a surge of 62 per cent in the first week, over last year.

    In IPL 3, during the same period, YouTube had recorded over 5.5 million channel views, whereas this year the combined page views of Indiatimes and YouTube for the same period has grown to 8.8 million.
     
    According to Indiatimes, 12 April recorded the highest page views for a single day: 1.7 million.

    On this day, two matches were played, Rajasthan Royals versus Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore versus Mumbai Indians.
     
    The concurrent users on an average have been 40,000-45,000 during the match.

    Times Internet CEO Rishi Khiani said, “We are excited about the response we’ve got so far and it will continue to build as we progress in the tournament. We are foreseeing a bright future for online screening of IPL matches in coming years.”
     

  • Nitin Suri quits Dentsu Marcom

    Nitin Suri quits Dentsu Marcom

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Marcom national creative director Nitin Suri has resigned from his position.
     
    Suri will be serving his notice period till middle of May.

    Suri’s resigning comes just a few months after his elevation from executive creative director to NCD.
     
    Suri has an experience of nearly 18 years. He began his career with Rediffusion-Y&R and worked there for 11 years before joining Dentsu Marcom as executive creative director.
     
    Later Suri moved to Bates 141 as ECD before returning to Dentsu Marcom two years later.

    During his stint at Dentsu, he has worked on various clients including Iffco-Tokyo General Insurance, Canon cameras, FedEx, Park Avenue and Honda Accord.
     

  • Scarecrow bags creative mandate of Nestle’s upcoming brand

    Scarecrow bags creative mandate of Nestle’s upcoming brand

    MUMBAI: Nestle India has appointed Scarecrow Communications as creative consultant for one of their soon-to-be launched brands.

    The company and the agency have denied revealing any further details about the brand.

    According to Scarecrow Communications founder director Manish Bhatt, the mandate was given based on the agency’s credentials—without any pitch involved

    Scarecrow Communications founder director Raghu Bhat added, “To work on a Nestle brand, after just one year of launch, is an incredible boost for Scarecrow. But what has been a real eye-opener is the receptivity, the courage of conviction and lengths to which the Nestle team goes, in the pursuit of a great creative idea. We thank Nestle India Brand team (Virat Mehta and team) for keeping the faith and hope to repay their confidence with communication that moves hearts as well as the market share needle.”

    Manish Bhatt also stated, “Nestle is one of the most trusted and legendary brand in the world. Everyone has born and brought up using Nestle products at the various stages of the life span. Nestle India considering Scarecrow as its Creative Consultant for one of its brands is really overwhelming. And we, at Scarecrow will put our best to fulfill the expectations from Nestle India in terms of creating effective

  • Hiking ad rates a tough task for music channels

    Hiking ad rates a tough task for music channels

    MUMBAI: MTV India has decided to hike its ad rates even as it has readied international format show launches, something the youth-music genre has found it difficult to enforce in a cluttered environment.

    The change in positioning of music channels has followed a market logic – that non-music content can command higher ad rates. Channel [V] had launched some big-ticket shows in the past for the same reason and has recently started airing a fiction show. UTV Bindass also has a mix of non-fiction and fiction shows where they claim to charge a premium.

    While the youth-music channels do have shows where they can ask for a premium, making them profitable has not been easy as content costs are higher.

    Can pure play music channels up ad rates?

    Says 9X Media EVP network sales Pawan Jailkhani, “9XM time and again has got rate hikes from the market because the channel is most stable and dependable in terms of deliveries and it is one of the most cost efficient and relevant channels in the client’s plan.”

    So does the industry, which is marred with high competition, similar or no exclusive content, and high cost of non-fiction, have to increase its ad rates to survive? Media executives believe that they have to. Jailkhani says, “The music genre has to have rate hikes as it is still undervalued in terms of rates vis-?-vis deliveries.”

    But some media pundits feel players need to understand that there has to be consistency in their performance.

    A media buyer said it will be hard for youth and music channels to ask for higher rates. “Advertisers have already put in money on Cricket World Cup and now IPL. They may not be interested on spending more money on these channels this year.”

    The existing players can be broadly categorised under three categories. The youth channels consist of MTV, Channel [V] and UTV Bindass; the pure play music channels are 9XM, Mastiii, Music India, B4U Music and Zing; and the Bollywood entertainment/trade channels include Zoom, ETC, E24 and Big Magic (earlier known as Imagine Showbiz).

    So will MTV‘s decision lead to an ad rate hike in the youth channel category? Channel [V] has no such plans. EVP and GM Prem Kamath believes that whenever advertisers see value in the offering, they do pay premium. “Advertisers look for fair value,” he says.

    UTV Software Communications‘ Bindass did not want to participate in this story.

    For the pure play music channels, the game will get tougher.

    How will players like Zing and ETC be impacted? Says Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) chief revenue officer and head, niche channels Joy Chakraborthy, “Increasing the ad rates is a continuous process. In the new fiscal, we are signing deals on incremental price.”

  • Synovate launches research solution BrandLife

    Synovate launches research solution BrandLife

    MUMBAI: Global custom market research firm Synovate has announced the global launch of its BrandLife solution, a research technique that allows respondents to utilise images instead of words when responding to surveys.

    BrandLife allows respondents to select images in response to survey questions and, through careful analysis of the chosen images, their thoughts and feelings on a category, brand or positioning can be determined.

    The approach, based on proven concepts from Construct
    Psychology and Behavioural Therapy, helps companies understand their customers’ unique vision and discover the constructs (rules) that govern their decisions.

    The technique is based on the notion that all people share a common visual language regardless of culture, age or history. It uses a validated library of thousands of images to decode what people think and feel without relying on them to verbally share, and therefore usually edit, their words.

    Each component within an image (shape, size, color, angle, etc.) is coded as to its universal meaning and then validated mathematically. This highly researched set of codes has identical meaning across cultures, regardless of the image’s actual content.

    Synovate Global Practices and Capabilities CEO Ged Parton said, “BrandLife helps reveal what‘s really going on inside people’s heads and guiding their choices – especially if they can‘t rationally articulate it themselves. It addresses clients’ needs that have previously been unmet since BrandLife provides information that people feel is too private to share verbally, information that they are aware of but incapable of communicating for whatever reason, as well as information on their needs and influences, which they may be completely unaware of at the conscious level.

    BrandLife has been utilised by global companies across industries and in more than 90 countries. This flexible and award-winning research method can be used in focus groups, one-on-one interviews, as a plug-in within various quantitative studies, and as a standalone quantitative study. It is especially useful for advertising, package and logo testing.

  • Egypt turmoil, Japan quake shave off $2.4 bn in ad spend: ZenithOptimedia

    Egypt turmoil, Japan quake shave off $2.4 bn in ad spend: ZenithOptimedia

    MUMBAI: Zenithoptimedia has revised the ad spend growth forecast down from 4.6 per cent to 4.2 per cent due to the turmoil in Middle East and the earthquake in Japan.

    These events have knocked off $2.4 billion in this year’s global ad expenditure.

    The immediate consequences of these events have most affected these markets: Egypt and Japan.

    In Egypt – one of the largest ad market in the Middle East – there was almost no advertising on television during the revolution, and in the aftermath advertisers have been very careful about their messages, the agency stated.

    Also, Japanese broadcasters replaced almost all commercial ad slots with public-service announcements for weeks after the earthquake, and blackouts and distribution problems will hinder media consumption for months to come.

    The agency, however, doesn’t expect these shocks to derail the global recovery in the long term. Some of the missing advertising may reappear later in the year, followed by strong growth in these markets in 2012. Japan is forecast to shrink 4.1 per cent this year before growing 4.6 per cent next year, while Egypt follows this year’s 20 per cent drop with 12.1 per cent recovery in 2012, Zenithoptimedia concluded.

    According to the quarterly forecasts, the underlying recovery remains healthy. ZenithOptimedia has upgraded its forecast for 2012 from 5.2 to 5.8 per cent. The developing markets will increase their share of global ad expenditure from 30.9 per cent in 2010 to 35.1 per cent in 2013.

    The Internet will become the world’s second-largest advertising medium in 2013, overtaking newspapers.

    There is strengthening in Western and Central and Eastern Europe, where advertisers are becoming more confident of the long-term economic prospects. The large disparity in growth rates between developed and developing markets continues.

    The agency also forecasts North America to grow by an average of 3.1 per cent a year between 2010 and 2013 and Western Europe to grow by 3.5 per cent. It expects Japan to grow just 0.7 per cent a year, though this obscures the big drop in 2011 followed by the recovery of lost ground over the next two years.

    It also predicted 0.1 per cent annual growth in the Middle East, as advertisers tread carefully amid political instability. Meanwhile, it forecasts Latin America to grow by 8.2 per cent a year, Central and Eastern Europe by 12.4 per cent, Asia Pacific by 6.6 per cent and Asia Pacific excluding Japan to grow by 10.2 per cent.

    Developing markets – which are everywhere outside North America, Western Europe and Japan – will increase their share of the global ad market from 30.9 per cent in 2010 to 35.1 per cent in 2013.

    There are now two ‘developing’ markets in the world’s top ten ad markets, and there will be three in 2013. China (forecast to grow at an average 13.6 per cent a year to 2013) will overtake Germany (forecast 2.4 per cent annual growth) to become the world’s third-largest ad market in 2011, and stay at that position throughout the forecast period.

    China is currently just over half (54 per cent) the size of Japan, the second-largest ad market, and will be just over three-quarters (77 per cent) of its size in 2013. Brazil (with 15.4 per cent annual growth) will overtake France (with 2.9 per cent) to take sixth place in 2011. Russia (23.3 per cent growth) will rise from 12th place in 2010 to tenth in 2011, eighth in 2012, and then seventh in 2013.

    However, the next five largest contributors are all developing markets: China (which contributes almost as much as the US, $10.8 billion), Russia ($6.9 billion), Brazil ($3.3 billion), India ($2.5 billion) and Indonesia ($2.4 billion).

    The agency predicts that the Internet will overtake newspapers to become the world’s second-largest advertising medium in 2013. While it has long expected this to happen in the near future, this is the first time this event has fallen within its forecast period.

    Newspaper ad expenditure was still 51 per cent larger than Internet ad expenditure in 2010, but newspaper expenditure is shrinking by 1.4 per cent a year, as circulations continue to fall in developed markets, and readers migrate to the Internet.

    Internet advertising continues to grow at breakneck pace, at a forecast average rate of 14.4 per cent a year between 2010 and 2013.

    The agency forecasts newspaper ad expenditure to fall from $95.2 billion in 2010 to $91.2 billion in 2013, while Internet ad
    expenditure rises from $63 billion to $94.5 billion over the same period.

    This year display advertising has taken over from search as the main driver of Internet ad growth. Display, broadly defined here to include online video and social media, has been invigorated by these fast-growing segments.

    Affordable, do-it-yourself tools to create streaming video ads have opened online video to small and local advertisers. Social media sites now attract huge audiences, though click- through rates and, therefore, costs are often very low.

    The agency expects global display ad expenditure to grow at an average of 16.4 per cent a year to 2013, while paid search grows by 12.8 per cent and classified by 10.2 per cent.

    Television remains by far the largest medium and is continuing to increase its market share. Television attracted 40.4 per cent of global ad expenditure in 2010, up from 37.3 per cent five years earlier, and we expect it to attract 41.7 per cent in 2013.

    Bigger and higher-quality displays, more channels delivered by digital television, and the convenience of PVRs mean people are watching more television than ever. zenithOptimedia forecasts television ad expenditure to rise from $180.3 billion in 2010 to $216 billion in 2013.

  • Star hires Gayatri Yadav as marketing director

    MUMBAI: Star India has appointed Gayatri Yadav as its marketing director.


    Yadav has joined Star from today. She was earlier with General Mills where she was working as marketing director.


    General Mills has a range of food brands in the Indian market, including Pillsbury (Chakki Fresh & Multi Grain Atta and Dessert Mixes), Betty Crocker Mixes, Green Giant, Nature Valley Crunchy Granola bars and Häagen-Dazs ice-cream.


    Yadav has taken charge from Star India EVP marketing and communications Anupam Vasudev.


    Confirming the development to Indiantelevision.com, Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “Yes Gayatri has joined us and will be taking care of marketing and communications.”
     
     
    There is speculation that Vasudev will move into a corporate role at the network.


    Gupta, however, declined to comment on Vasudev‘s role.


    Yadav joined General Mills in 1996 and was with the company till June 2010. Prior to that, she had worked with Procter & Gamble. She is an IIM Calcutta graduate.