ITV

Category: MAM

  • Post World Cup, Hindi GECs bounce back

    Post World Cup, Hindi GECs bounce back

    MUMBAI: Facing bouncers and googlies from the cricket World Cup, India‘s Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) have regained their old order in the television audience graph in the very first week after Dhoni‘s ‘Men in Blue‘ lifted the ‘Cup that Counts‘.

    The Hindi GECs mopped up 1209 GRPs, after having lost 108 GRPs in the World Cup‘s final week run.

    Star Plus has retained its pole position, after being ousted by Colors briefly for a week with a strategy that involved a cut down in ad inventory.

    Star Plus led the week ended 9 April with 334 GRPs (261 GRPs in previous week), according to Tam data (HSM, 4+, C&S). It added 73 GRPs (gross rating points) and its new 10 pm show, Navya, clocked an average TVR of 3.4 in its debut week.

    Star Plus also aired Star Parivar Awards on 3 April (Sunday), which clocked a TVR of 4.

    Colors lost 51 GRPs and is back to its No. 2 position with 249 GRPs.

    Zee TV, which was hit by the World Cup, added 50 GRPs tp close the week with 221 GRPs.

    The channel launched a new show, Choti Si Zindagi, at the 7 pm band, which got an average opening TVR of 0.9. All its weekday shows saw an increase in viewership and ratings. It also aired two special episodes, which got good numbers.

    Meanwhile, Sony Entertainment Television (Set) regained its No. 4 position by edging out sister channel Sab. Set added 32 GRPs to end the week with 152 GRPs while Sab, after adding 12 GRPs, took its week‘s tally to 139 (from 127 GRPs).

    Imagine TV continues to find the going tough, ending with a 12 GRP loss to collect 58 GRPs during the week (70 GRPs previous week).

    Star One and Sahara One were at 32 and 24 GRPs, according to Tam data.

     

  • Tanishq associates with Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan for an ad

    Tanishq associates with Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan for an ad

    MUMBAI: Jewellery brand, Tanishq, has associated with movie-stars Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan for their forthcoming diamond campaign.

    The campaign that is scheduled to go on air in mid April, aims to create awareness on how to evaluate the purity of these precious stones at the time of purchase.

    According to an official statement, this ad will educate consumers about the 4Cs: cut, clarity, colour and carat.

    Tanishq vice president Sandeep Kulhalli said, “With the growing demand for diamond jewellery category that contributes major part of our sales, our major focus this year will be to offer hi-quality diamond jewellery coupled with exquisite designs. Understanding the lack of awareness amongst customers in choosing right diamonds, we conceived the idea of educating our consumers through the ad campaign.”

    On Tanishq‘s association with the Bachchans, Kulhalli said that for this campaign they needed someone who would reflect the brand‘s standing, and connect with people across a wide spectrum.

    “We needed to create something that conveyed the desired message in an uncomplicated way. In line with this thought, we zeroed in on Mr. and Mrs Bachchan for this ad, whose combined fan following varies across 6 to 60 yrs of age, and will be desired personalities to reach out to the people easily spreading awareness on this precious jewel”, Kulhalli added.

    Said Amitabh Bachchan, “I am glad to be a part of this ad campaign. This campaign has helped me discover the finer details on buying diamonds besides giving me an opportunity to create awareness on this rarest and most beautiful form of the precious stone.”

    Added Jaya Bachchan, “While working in this campaign I got to know that the genuinity of a diamond depends on the cut, clarity and carat of the diamond, irrespective of the size. It is important for each one of us to know these intricate details, especially if there are any inclusions or spots in them.”
     

  • Law & Kenneth creates its first TVC for Tata AIG General Insurance

    Law & Kenneth creates its first TVC for Tata AIG General Insurance

    MUMBAI: Law & Kenneth has conceptualised its first television commercial (TVC) for Tata AIG General Insurance.

    Law & Kenneth CEO and managing partner Anil Nair said that they have chosen this concept as their first project because it coincides with the travel season.

    The spot has been created by Rishi Upadhyay and Pradeep Yeragi, creative directors, Law & Kenneth Mumbai. It has been directed by Ashwin Naidu and produced by content company No If, No But Films.

    Nair also added that they are targeting two different constituencies through this advertising – the first set of consumers who don‘t realise the importance of travel insurance and the other who are aware of it but don‘t take action thinking it‘ll be a difficult process.

    Added Tata AIG General Insurance managing director and CEO Gaurav D Garg, “While one may have meticulously planned every aspect of a trip abroad, there are still chances of things going awry due to events beyond our control. We or a family member could fall ill, lose our baggage or passport, have a flight delay and so on. For a complete bailout from such unnerving experiences in a foreign location, a travel insurance policy comes handy. And it is relatively inexpensive when compares with the cost of the holiday.”
     

  • Gullu Sen quits Dentsu

    MUMBAI: Dentsu India executive vice-chairman and chief creative officer Gullu Sen has put in his papers. He is currently serving his notice period. 
     
    Sen had joined the agency in 2003 as executive vice-president and national creative director and in 2006 was promoted as vice-president.
     
    Before joining Dentsu, he was national creative director at Rediffusion DY&R. 
     
    Starting his career in 1984 with HTA, Sen has also worked at Grey and Mudra‘s Interact Vision.
     

  • Scarecrow gets serious in Delhi, appoints Anindya Banerjee as ECD

    Scarecrow gets serious in Delhi, appoints Anindya Banerjee as ECD

    MUMBAI:Scarecrow Communications has roped in Anindya Banerjee to head its creative function in Delhi as executive creative director.

    Until now, the agency’s Delhi clients such as Religare and Bharat Petroleum were handled from Mumbai. With Banerjee on board, Scarecrow is intending to compete more effectively with Delhi-based agencies in new business pitches.

    Banerjee moves in from Law & Kenneth and has nearly 14 years of experience in agencies such as Ogilvy, Contract and Publicis.

    Says co-founder Manish Bhatt,” Andy will provide great creative leadership in Delhi. His equity comes from the work he has done, not from PR. He will also attract great talent and will make Scarecrow Delhi a happy, non-political, creative place to work in.”

    Banerjee has several successful campaigns on brands such as NIIT, Nestle, IBM, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Vodafone, Dabur Vatika, Allen Solly, LG Phones, Perfetti, Maruti, Unitech and Lotus Herbals.

    States Banerjee,” I have known Joy, Manish and Raghu for almost 15 years. And every time we have worked together, there was a vibe. And a joie de vivre that emanated from the sheer happiness of creating wonderful work without losing out on the objective of the campaign. In any case, I have always believed in the power of the independent agency, so when this opportunity arose, I grabbed it.”

    Also, amongst Banerjee’s two widely recalled campaigns have been the ‘Me and Meri Maggi‘ campaign and the relaunch of Limca.

    Says founder-director Raghu Bhat,” Andy brings many things to the table – subversive creativity, speed of thinking, a cool head primed by experience, bounce-backability, integrity and absence of ego. Hopefully, we should be able to announce a big signing in Delhi in the next few days.”

     

     

  • MTV revives youth marketing forum, launches youth research study

    MTV revives youth marketing forum, launches youth research study

    MUMBAI: MTV India, the youth destination, is reviving its iconic property – the Youth Marketing Forum. The company has also got Virgin Mobiles as the presenting sponsor for the forum – Age of Sinnocence.

    The day-long forum will kick start on 29 April in Mumbai. The theme for the forum is “Welcome to the new Generation where conventional virtues are replaced by delicious Vices.”
     
    MTV, which is also launching its yearly research report, noted from the research findings that the traditional vices that were frowned upon are now the driving forces in youth life. It also said that today’s youth is the “most connected” and “loudest generation” ever.

    It said that the youth poke, tweet, ping, chat and broadcast every minute through status messages and it is also the most “voyeuristic and narcissistic breed of youth”.

    The forum will discuss MTV’s research of Youth Vices and Virtues conducted across India. Different sessions during the forum will explore the relationship and attitude of Indian youth towards money, aspirations, career, ambition, romance, sex life all bundled into the‘Age of Sinnocence’.
     
    MTV India channel head Aditya Swamy said, “The signposts of youth culture are changing every couple of years. And the time in between sees lots of trends come and go within individual spaces. The only way to stay on top of this generation is to live their lives and here’s where our non- traditional insight techniques work. Age of Sinnocence is a chance for all of us to open our minds to the world of young
    people.”

    Swamy said the study was conducted across 22 towns in the 18-24 years demographic with over 2000 respondents.

    Over the years, MTV’s youth researches have thrown up some interesting insights on Indian youth. In 2002 the study focused on ‘Sources of Cool’ where cult branding took centre stage. In 2004, the study focused on ‘Tuning into the Youth’, which highlighted youth belief such as ‘live-and-let-live’ and more.
     
    On its association with the forum, Virgin Mobile India CEO Madhusudan Mandyam said, “At Virgin Mobile India, we are delighted to be partnering with MTV for this forum, which will further cement our presence and the strong relationship we enjoy in the youth segment.

    Virgin Mobile has always believed in reaching out to our target audience, get insights into their likes and dislikes, and then fashion our products and services to suit the requirements and needs of our customers.”

     

  • Pune Warriors ropes in TVS as team sponsor

    Pune Warriors ropes in TVS as team sponsor

    MUMBAI:New IPL entrant Pune Warriors received a shot in the arm with India‘s third largest two wheeler manufacturer, TVS Motor Company, leading as team sponsors.

    The deal was stitched together by Creatigies Communications.

    “In the recent past, TVS Motor Company has had successful associations with the game of cricket and when Creatigies presented us with this opportunity, we felt that it was a great platform to partner and support a new team like Pune Warriors India, as both of us are go-getters and are passionate about what we do,” said TVS Motor Company President – Marketing .H S Goindi.

    Sahara Adventure Sports director Abhijit Sarkar added: “TVS has been a home grown successful brand and we at Pune Warriors India are really thrilled with having such a brand as our Lead Sponsor. The values shared by both are similar, youthful, energetic and hungry for success”.

    The Pune Warriors India is in its first season with the DLF IPL, and is led by the World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh.

    “It is wonderful to see both TVS and Pune Warriors India finalise this partnership, as both valued the opportunity each presented,” said Creatigies Communications managing director Navroze D. Dhondy. “It‘s always a win-win for both partners when each finds synergy in the other. Both Pune Warriors India and TVS are looking at leveraging this partnership and maximising benefits for the respective brands.”

    Pune Warriors India, which won its first match, plays all its home matches this season at the Dr D Y Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai.

  • TMS to sell airtime for IPL’s broadcast on ITV

    TMS to sell airtime for IPL’s broadcast on ITV

    MUMBAI:Targeted Marketing Solutions (TMS) has acquired the rights to sell airtime and sponsorship of ITV‘s coverage of the IPL in the UK.

    With India winning the World Cup and a huge following for the game amongst the South Asians in UK, ITV has decided to market the appeal of IPL to that audience. ITV has partnered with TMS (Targeted Marketing Solutions) Ltd to penetrate into this local market.

    Recently, ITV secured a new four year deal with Nimbus Communications for the UK broadcast rights for Indian Premier League. Under the new agreement, live coverage of IPL matches will be broadcast free-to-air on ITV4 and simulcast live on ITV.com.

    The fourth season of the Indian Premier League kicked off on 8 April and runs over 74 matches to 28 May.

    ITV4 coverage will be produced by ITV Sport. Matt Smith presents live coverage of the opening match of season four. Joining Matt Smith throughout the tournament will be a host of big names from the world of cricket, including broadcaster and journalist Simon Hughes, current England Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood, and former England internationals Alec Stewart, Mark Butcher, Dimitri Mascarenhas and
    Vikram Solanki.

    ITV Group Account Director Leon Barnett said: “We are delighted to be working with TMS during the IPL cricket. TMS has an excellent knowledge of the South Asian advertiser market and we are confident that this association will open up new opportunities during the tournament.”

  • Ketchum acquires majority stake in Sampark PR

    Ketchum acquires majority stake in Sampark PR

    MUMBAI: Ketchum, Omnicom Group’s public relations unit, has acquired a majority stake in Indian communications agency, Sampark PR.

    Bela Rajan and NS Rajan, who founded Sampark PR in 1994, will continue to lead the India business as director and managing director and will retain a significant holding in the agency going forward.
     
    The leadership team of Bela Rajan, NS Rajan and managing partner Ajay Sharma will continue to manage the day-to-day operations of the agency in India as Sampark PR will now operate as Ketchum Sampark.

    Sampark PR has offices across Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad and boasts a network of 80 associate offices that extend throughout the 25 states.

    “Today marks another important milestone for Ketchum as we continue to implement our global vision of providing consistently excellent communications service to our clients in the key business and communications markets where they operate,” said Ketchum senior partner and CEO Ray Kotcher. “Our investments over the past six months, in Russia, China and now India, are predicated on this strategy and fortify the foundation we have in place for our clients and our people.”
     
    The move will expand Ketchum’s presence in South Asia, complementing Ketchum’s network in the Asia-Pacific region which includes Greater China, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

    Ketchum had, last year, completed merger with Pleon to form Ketchum Pleon in Europe, creating a diversified communications consultancy in the region.

    In addition, it also established a joint venture in the Middle East and North Africa called Ketchum Raad Middle East and a new exclusive affiliate relationship in South Korea with local market leader Prain.
     
    Ketchum senior partner and CEO of international operations Jon Higgins said, “India occupies a powerful place in the world economy today. With Sampark, Ketchum has acquired one of the most respected PR businesses in India. Ketchum has worked closely with Sampark’s leadership team for some time now, and we have tremendous respect for their people and business. We are eager to put our enhanced partnership on a path of even greater possibility for our clients.”

    As part of the transaction, in addition to Rajans, the India operation’s board of directors will include Higgins, Ketchum senior partner, COO and CFO Robert Lorfink, and, Diversified Agency Services (a division of Omnicom Group) chairman and CEO Tom Harrison.

  • Wonderla Holdiays to up media spends, in expansion mode

    Wonderla Holdiays to up media spends, in expansion mode

    BANGALORE: Regional amusement park player Wonderla Holidays plans to increase its mass media communication spends to Rs 90 million this year, up from the Rs 50 million plus that it spent last year.

    Wonderla also announced two new amusement park projects in Hyderabad and Chennai by 2014 and its advent into the ‘three star’ category hospitality segment by way of resorts at the location of its amusement parks.

    The amusement park major has plans to invest around Rs 3 billion towards these new ventures. Wonderla also announced two new rides at its facility near Bangalore – The ‘Equinox’ ride and ‘Cine Magic 3D’.

    Currently, Wonderla has two amusement parks – one each near Bangalore and Kochi. It has been using the regional media – print, television, radio, OOH, and outdoor on a need basis.

    “We have been using two or three television spots per day on most of the regional channels in Karnataka and Kerala as and when the need arises. We typically spend around 10 per cent of our revenues on mass media communications, and based on our higher revenues we plan to spend around Rs 90 million this year. Some of these funds will go towards mass media communications for the new properties. Once we start operations in Hyderabad and Chennai, our media spends will also go up proportionately,” revealed Wonderla spokesperson.

    Besides within Bangalore and Kochi, the company also uses radio in the major towns around these cities. Typically, this would be 3 or 4 stations per town, and the spend would be anything between Rs.150,000 to Rs. 300,000 per station per year.

    Kerala-based Media Mate handles the creative work and part of the media buying, while Wonderla handles most of the media buying including television media buying directly.