Category: MAM

MUMBAI: Following a multi-agency pitch that was called in December last year, Publicis Ambience has won the creative duties for Reserve Bank of India‘s media awareness campaign on Indian banknotes. 
 
As part of its new mandate, Publicis Ambience will craft a national campaign that will educate everyone in India about the various security features present in an Indian banknote.

When contacted, Publicis Ambience chairman Aniruddha Banerjee denied an earlier media report staing the size of the account to be Rs 500 million. “The figure of Rs 500 million is wrong but I cannot reveal the exact account size on grounds of confidentiality,” he said. 
 
This multilingual and multimedia campaign is being conducted by RBI‘s Department of Currency Management. 
 
Publicis Ambience will unveil the campaign on 15 August.

MUMBAI: Following a multi-agency pitch, Grey Chennai has bagged the creative duties of Vummidi Bangaru Jewelers (VBJ).
 
The other agencies that contested for the account include JWT. Radical Advertising was the incumbent agency.
 
Said VBJ managing partner Vummidi Jitendra, “We were looking for a communication partner who will create exceptional campaigns – just like our jewellery. Grey‘s work demonstrated exactly that. We are looking forward to some fresh and exciting ideas which will take VBJ to new heights.”
 
Added Grey VP and South head Vijay Jacob¸ “We are happy to be partnering this heritage brand and are looking forward to providing a fresh perspective to this category. This win strengthens our presence in Chennai, an important market for Grey.”
 

NEW DELHI: In the first directive after forming its own Self Regulatory Guidelines, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has said that the advertisement of Amul Macho undergarments running on member channels is indecent, vulgar and suggestive.
 
The IBF Board of Directors recently decided not to run the advertisement in the present form on member channels.
 
The IBF Secretariat has issued an advisory to all members in accordance with the decision of the IBF Board of Directors.
 
The body had recently announced that it had formed self regulatory guidelines for content for non-news channels and the Complaints Redressal Mechanism.
 

MUMBAI: US kids broadcaster Nickelodeon and Pleasure Beach Amusement Park, a UK tourist attraction, have announced a licensing partnership to develop the first Nickelodeon-branded attraction in the UK.

Nick‘s shows and characters will come to life with more than 14 attractions covering an area of six acres at Pleasure Beach. Construction on Nickelodeon Land will begin this year and the opening is scheduled for next year.
 
Nickelodeon Theme Parks and Attractions senior director Gerald Raines says, “Pleasure Beach is a first-class amusement park and popular destination for families in the UK. This is an ideal location for Nickelodeon and a great opportunity to expand our global presence. We look forward to offering the Pleasure Beach patrons experiences that are unique to Nickelodeon and based on fan favorites like SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.”

Pleasure Beach MD Blackpool Amanda Thompson comments, “We are delighted to welcome Nickelodeon to Pleasure Beach. Both of our brands represent fantastic family fun and Nickelodeon Land will combine Pleasure Beach‘s reputation for amazing rides and attractions with Nickelodeon‘s favorite fun characters to produce a wonderful attraction, which will wow visitors to the park.”
 
Under the terms of the agreement, Nickelodeon will bring its characters, interactive shows, and signature green slime to Pleasure Beach. Nickelodeon Land also will feature new rides, attractions, retail shops, games and food service establishments themed with Nickelodeon‘s properties, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Fairly Odd Parents and Avatar: The Last Airbender. 
 
Nickelodeon Land at Pleasure Beach will be one of several Nick-branded attractions and parks around the world. In addition to Nickelodeon Universe in Minneapolis‘ Mall of America, Nick Central at Dreamworld Australia and Nickland at Movie Park Germany, there are Nickelodeon attractions at the Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida and Hollywood, California.

MUMBAI: Global market research firm Synovate has named Mamapudi Nkgadima as managing director for African Response.

Nkgadima will assume the role on 1 August 2010.

Nkgadima brings 20 years of market research experience to African Response including the management of her own seven year old company, MEDU Strategic Marketing and Research.
 
Said Synovate Africa CEO Jon Salters¸ “We are confident she will take African Response to even greater heights with her strategic leadership as well as her wealth of experience and technical knowledge in market research, marketing and entrepreneurship.”
 
Meanwhile, Beatrice Kubheka, the current MD, will take on the role of African Response chairperson and will retain a strong presence in the business, with particular focus on client relationships. She will also draw on her 35 years in market research to ensure that African Response continues to provide the best research experience and insight into the South African market.
 
“Beatrice made a massive contribution to the success of African Response during her tenure and we are thrilled that she will be staying with us until her retirement. She has become one of the most recognized, respected and well liked figures in the South African market research industry, and her ongoing involvement in African Response will continue to give the business a unique advantage,” said Salters.
 

MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network‘s OOH division, Big Street, has secured a five-year contract for the development of Delhi Metro Corporation (DMRC)’s high potential Line III.

The DMRC mandate to Reliance Broadcast includes OOH media inventory on Line III covering 21 stations spread over a 33.5 km stretch of high potential areas. This covers both west and central Delhi and touches over a million commuters every day.
 
Reliance Broadcast says with train frequencies every 3 to 4 minutes, averaging a person’s waiting time to 3 to 5 minutes at the station, it reaches an enormous captive audience.

The company will build special media inventory at strategic locations of the stations that will offer lucrative business options to brands across sectors including pharma, retail, FMCG, government and education.
 
Says Reliance Broadcast Network business head, OOH experimental marketing and digital, Rabe T Iyer: “Delhi, being one of our key focus markets, has seen some very strategic inventory acquisitions in the recent past. We are securing inventory which guarantee optimal returns while allowing us to innovate and bring in street furniture which is evolved and of international standards. Line III combined with Line II enable us to cover a significant portion of the customers‘ out of home requirements in the capital.”
 
The DMRC Line III mandate to Reliance follows its 22-year contract on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis for street furniture makeover with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Central Public Works Deparment roads close to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
 

MUMBAI: New-Jersey-based Bradford Licensing is fortifying its India presence via a joint venture with Franchise India Group to launch its global brands such as Marilyn Monroe and Beverly Hills Love in the country.

The joint venture, Bradford License India (BLI), will also tap new clients in India. It will offer integrated licensing solution services to both licensors and licensees and devise licensing strategies.
 
Global licensing agency Bradford will bring to the JV its existing clients that include Pepsi, 7 UP, Mountain Dew, The Wannabes starring Savvy, King Kong and Zorro. Franchise India has clients like HCL, MGF, Quality Walls, Tata, Gitanjali, HSBC, Levis, JK Tyres, Lakme, D‘damas, Adidas, Euro Kidz, The Apollo Clinic, Shiv Khera and Harbhajan Singh.

The JV will seek to develop the rapidly growing brand licensing market in India. BLI will act as a global agency and explore non-conventional licensing opportunities in India by capitalizing on the intellectual insight of Bradford Licensing.
 
Says Bradford Licensing president Michelle Minieri “India is a country filled with opportunities for licensing, and ready for significant expansion. As a byproduct of globalization, increased competition and industrialization, licensing is becoming critical to the success of business growth. I am confident that this synergistic relationship now known as Bradford License India is the ideal match that will generate some very exciting business opportunities.”

BLI has initiated the process of building the infrastructure with critical team members working throughout India to acclimate the local team to the world of licensing.
 
Says Franchise India Group president Gaurav Marya, “Bradford License India is perfectly geared to expand into diverse spheres of licensing in India. Its working parameters are primed by deriving licensing models as per the global standards and their integration with local marketing and networking strengths.”

Bradford License India aims to focus on comprehensive licensing programmes, including the design, development, and management of the acquired licensing property.
 

MUMBAI: Digital and direct marketing agency OgilvyOne Asia-Pacific has appointed Jerry Smith as its new regional president. Smith will be based in Hong Kong and will also join the OgilvyOne Worldwide Board. His new role takes effect immediately.

In his new role, Smith will oversee the OgilvyOne operations in 12 local markets across the region. This will involve oversight of all aspects of the OgilvyOne business, which includes a consulting division, digital labs (in Singapore and China), the digital media operation, Neo@Ogilvy, which will continue to be run by Neo@Ogilvy‘s Asia president Susana Tsui and a large number of digital and direct marketing specialists. 
 
The current OgilvyOne Asia president Kent Wertime will now take on the role of chairman of OgilvyOne Asia while he continues his current responsibilities as Ogilvy Japan president.

Smith is a long-term Ogilvy Asia veteran, having worked previously as COO of OgilvyOne Asia and more recently as chairman of Ogilvy‘s Red Works operations.
 
Said Ogilvy & Mather Asia chairman Tim Isaac, “Jerry has made many significant contributions to Ogilvy over several years. He is both an Ogilvy thought leader as well as an important commercial leader of our business.”

Ogilvy & Mather Asia CEO Paul Heath noted that Smith is the perfect pick to lead OgilvyOne Asia since the group‘s growth will come from ongoing expansion of its capabilities in new areas of the business. “Jerry has a mission to ensure that OgilvyOne extends its market leadership position at a time when clients are increasing their digital marketing commitments – and need informed agency guidance on the most effective ways to connect with Asian consumers.”

Smith‘s appointment comes at an important time for OgilvyOne Asia. The regional network continues to expand its operations in the region in-line with the growth of digital marketing, analytics, and offshoring demands from clients. 
 
Kent Wertime commented, “I am happy that Jerry is taking on leadership of the OgilvyOne Asia, as I know he will drive the next chapter of OgilvyOne‘s growth in Asia. In the coming several months, OgilvyOne will continue to have more news to share as it expands in areas such as digital consulting, digital production, mobile, and other areas of client need.”

MUMBAI: Chennai-based real estate company Hygrevar Estates and Hearth has appointed Ignitee Digital Solutions for its search engine marketing services.
 
Said Hygrevar Estates and Hearth MD Sivakumar, “We were looking for an agency which would understand the core functionality of our business and not just any usual online media agency. Ignitee fits the bill and we are happy to have them on board as our official online media marketing agency.”
 
Said Ignitee Digital Solutions COO Shankar, “Since inception, we have always worked on campaigns that have added value to customers. It is this history that has helped us in gaining the trust of reputed names from the industry. We are certain that with the talent and minds back at Ignitee, we will see these wins increasing even further-more.”

Some of the clients that Ignitee handles include Ministry of Tourism, Tata Building India, Aircel, Reliance Life Insurance, Teach for India, Aviva life Insurance, Essar Steel Hypermart, Kidzee, Whirlpool, ITM, Dubai-based Continental Coffee and Babyshop.

MUMBAI: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced that Red Bull has signed a four-year contract extension to remain the official energy drink partner to the England team until the end of summer 2013.
 
As part of the renewal, Red Bull, which first became an ECB partner in 2005, will supply the England team with products at all international matches.
 
In return, Red Bull will receive a range of sponsorship assets that includes in-ground advertising, ticketing and hospitality, branded drinks boxes around the boundary edge and product placement around international cricket stadia.

ECB head of sponsorship Mark Pearce says, “Red Bull is an established partner of the England cricket team and we are delighted it continues to see great benefit from its association with the team.”