Category: MAM

MUMBAI: Following a multi-agency pitch, Coca-Cola India has appointed OgilvyAction, the activation arm of Ogilvy India, for creating shopper marketing programmes for the company‘s brand portfolio.

As part of its new mandate, OgilvyAction will work across all key channels where Coca-Cola India operates in the country.
 
Said Coca-Cola India VP customer & commercial leadership Sumanta Dutta, “We are excited to appoint OgilvyAction as our agency partner to drive Coca-Cola India‘s entire shopper marketing business programme in the country. We look forward to working with them in this fast changing retail environment.”

Coca-Cola India has chosen OgilvyAction to invest heavily in shopper marketing as a strategy to increase incidence levels. OgilvyAction, through its specialist shopper marketing practice, will assist Coca-Cola India to create innovative programmes to engage and convert shoppers into buyers at critical points of sale and drive consumption.
 
According to O&M India group president – North & East Sanjay Thapar, “Over the last two years, we have invested time and resources in setting up a good team of shopper marketing professionals who understand shopper behaviour and recommend ideas that convert shoppers into buyers.”

Adding further, OgilvyAction vice president – retail Rahul Saigal, “We understand the change that is needed from merely creating danglers and posters that mimic ATL campaigns to creating in-store ideas that marry a brand‘s philosophy and channel objectives to the shopper‘s behavior and journey.”
 
OgilvyAction specialises in managing and helping marketers win in “The Last Mile” by utilising a discipline-neutral mix of communications services in the areas of shopper, trade, experiential and promotional marketing, across rural and urban markets.

MUMBAI: The recently concluded soccer World Cup on ESPN saw 64 million viewers tuning in, up from the earlier edition‘s base of 40 million viewers, while the final duel notched up a rating of 2.52.

The match between Spain and Netherlands, which ran into extra time and was locked in defensive warfare, earned less ratings than the 2006 final contest between France and Italy that got a TVR of 3.4.

Overall, the soccer World Cup got an average TVR of 0.83, lower than the 2006 average of 1.1 TVR, according to Tam data.

Not surprisingly, the viewership emerged stronger among males 15+ SEC A,B. In this coveted TG, the average TVR stood at 1.64 compared to 2.2 in 2006. 16 million males watched the event this time compared to nine million in 2006.
 
This year‘s final got an average TVR of 5.6 compared to 6.2 in 2006, among males 15+ SEC A,B. The last four matches (semis, final and third place) got an average TVR of 1.5 for c&s4+ and 3.4 among males 15+ SEC A,B. This was a slight decline compared to 2006 where the figures were 1.6 and 3.5 respectively.
 
In West Bengal, the average TVR for the entire event reached 4. In Assam it was 3.8 and in Kerala 3.2.

The viewership profile was similar to that of 2006. 67 per cent of viewers were male compared to 66 per cent in 2006. SEC A,B made up for 59 per cent viewership compared to 56 per cent in 2006. The 35+ TG contributed 47 per cent viewership compared to 44 per cent in 2006.
 
This time the top ad categories were Cellular Phones, Cellular Phone Service, Two Wheelers, DTH Service Providers and Non Aerated Soft Drink. The top advertisers were Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Nokia, Samsung and Hero Honda.

MUMBAI: MTV and Wildcraft have launched the MTV range of premium bags and adventure gear.

The range includes travel and adventure bags, duffel bags, laptop bags and tote bags amongst others.

The products are priced between Rs 745 and Rs 2,995 and are available across exclusive Wildcraft stores as well as trade shop-in-shops.

The range also comprises a special Roadies line that includes bags as well as adventure gear for riding, hiking and cycling as well as other outdoor equipment including a range of sleeping bags and tents. 
 
Announcing the partnership, Wildcraft India director and head – marketing Gaurav Dublish said, “This initiative mirrors our constant endeavour to attempt the seemingly impossible, keeping up with the fickle and constantly changing youth. MTV, known for their close connect with the youth are the obvious partners and choice for this initiative. We hope to reach out to our consumers as a dynamic new brand becoming the ultimate answer to their needs in our category.”
 
Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez along with MTV VJ’s Rannvijay, Ayushmann and Bani J, unveiled the merchandise range today. 
 
Viacom18 SVP consumer products and communications Sandeep Dahiya said, “We are excited to partner with Wildcraft to enter into yet another important category in the youth space. What makes this range unique is the mix of innovative product features with international creative & design elements.”

Wildcraft manufactures backpacks, rucksacks and travel & survival gear with up to 25 year warranty across product categories.

MUMBAI: Primesite, Mudra Max’s out-of-home solutions unit has roped in Monisha Mitra as GM. 
 
Prior to this appointment, she was with Kinetic, GroupM as its Head – Strategy and Planning.
 
Mitra has over 14 years of experience. She began her career with Trikaya Grey and then moved to Pratibha Advertising as senior account executive. In 2000, she joined Percept and later moved to hungama.com as Promotion Heads before heading to the Gulf. 
 
Some of the notable clients she has worked on include Arrow, MTR, Ruf&Tuf, BPL, Airtel, Hero Honda, HTC, Tetra Pak etc. Monisha was also involved in noteworthy campaigns like launch of AT&T in ROM, Gujarat and Goa and launch of Airtel Magic.

MUMBAI: Percept Talent Management (PTM) has roped in former Globosport Digital CEO Rajnish Sahay as its CEO.
 
In his new role, Sahay will be in charge of all three new business verticals in PTM – creating intellectual properties (IP’s) for talents; client servicing which involves creating a customised talent pool based on the client base; and the traditional model of acquisitioning and managing talents across all genres.
 
Percept joint MD Shailendra Singh added, “Talent management has soared to a new plateau in today’s digital age. With Rajnish’s unique background in both the talent management and the new media business space, we look forward to PTM going global and scaling new heights.”
 
At Globosport, Sahay was responsible for providing a 360-degree approach to celebrity management which included the new media business portfolio also. He has also worked with UTV, Star TV, Rediff.com and Indiatimes in the digital and telecom business vertical.
 

MUMBAI: Starcom MediaVest Group’s small town and rural marketing unit Xpanse Asia has appointed Sheetal Dasgupta as business director.

Based in Mumbai, Dasgupta will report to Xpanse Asia country head Sandip Bansal.

In the newly created role, Dasgupta will lead the business development, opening new categories of clients. She will use her exposure in rural and urban marketing communications to add meaning to the ambitions of marketers in this space.
 
Bansal said, “The rural marketing space is evolving rapidly and clients are looking for innovative solutions to achieve their objectives in the most productive manner. In this new role, Sheetal will help us identify new clients and work with existing clients to reach the small towns and rural hinterland with a fresh set of ideas.”
 
Dasgupta comes with over 15 years of experience, of which 10 years have been spent in rural marketing with RC&M where she headed the marketing function as general manager. 
 
Most ecently, she ran her own entrepreneurial venture. She has also worked with Hungama Digital, Solutions Digitas and Times Innovative Media.
 

MUMBAI: Goldmine Advertising, which is in process of broadening its service offerings portfolio, has partnered with WPP’s digital marketing agency Quasar to extend digital services to its clients.

The company said that this strategic alliance will “harness and capitalise the strength of both Goldmine and Quasar in their respective domains.”
 
Goldmine boasts a vast array of clientele ranging from PSUs like MTNL, BSNL and Western Railways to international clients like CIBA Vision and G-Data antivirus solutions.

Quasar, as the digital arm of Goldmine Advertising, will manage all aspects of digital communication for the clients of Goldmine, which would include account planning, strategy development, media buying, creative development and new initiatives in the online space.

Quasar will draw synergies from its team across India to service the clients of Goldmine. 
 
Goldmine Advertising MD Madan Singla said, “Goldmine Advertising is committed to delivering 360 degrees communication services to its esteemed clients. Our new initiatives in the field of media, BTL etc have met with good response and success. Our strategic alliance with Quasar will now bring on board expertise in online and digital services which we are sure will be beneficial to our clientele.”
 
“We are excited about the partnership of service offering through Goldmine”, said Quasar business head – west Moneka Khurana. “Today, a client is keen on hiring a full service agency to drive both offline and online integration to meets its communication objectives. This partnership has opened up new avenues for both the agencies.”
 

NEW DELHI : In a bid to reach out to youth consumers, Lenovo India has launched a new multi-city campaign that will offer a sneak peek into its latest range of notebooks/desktops.

Called ‘Fun-on-Wheels‘, the campaign, undertaken in association with Intel, has been initiated in Bangalore and will move on to Hyderabad during the month. 
 
As part of the initiative, a road show will be conducted across various locations within these two cities. A mobile van with Lenovo’s new ‘Fun’ brand positioning will showcase the brand‘s latest range of flagship consumer products across key vicinities in these cities.

The Lenovo ‘Fun-on-Wheels‘ will cover most parts of the city with different routes each day. 
 
Consumers can view the company‘s latest TV commercials and select product videos, enabling them to relate to Lenovo’s fun proposition, and get their queries answered and make spot booking of a particular product they want to purchase.

To propagate the concept of ‘Fun’ amongst consumers, Lenovo will organise various contests based on the concept of fun, thereby offering the audience an opportunity to win exciting goodies. 
 
Said Lenovo India VP HSB (Home and SMB) Alex Li, “We are enhancing our focus on the young Indian consumer with our ‘Get closer to consumers’ strategy. The primary objective of this campaign is to engage with our consumers at a closer level and deepen brand connect. This campaign will provide consumers a ‘touch and feel‘ of Lenovo’s new range of products that are packed with a multitude of features complementing fun. Through this campaign, we also intend to fortify our relationship with our channel partners and regional distributors and increase our sales.”

MUMBAI: Below-the-line marketing firm Theme Ventures has launched an SME marketing cell. To begin with, the division has inked a distribution and marketing deal with Delhi-based BCC cement and Kolkata-based Mahalaxmi TMT bar for establishing BCC‘s entire cement and TMT bar‘s distribution channel across Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Bihar and Jharkhand.

For BCC cement, Theme Ventures aims to devise a massive rural marketing drive attempting to penetrate into small towns and kasbas across Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan to encash on the growing demand for cement for housing as opposed to the traditional mud hut concept.
 
Meanwhile, the company has already begun appointing retailers for BCC cement and Mahalaxmi and is managing its day to day sales operations.

Says Theme Ventures CEO Rajan Guha, “We hold a mandate to establish micro-level distribution for both the brands at small towns, villages and kasbas. These mid size brands are fighting for market share amidst established biggies who however have not made an attempt to go to town with one lakh population.” 
 
The launch strategy of both these infrastructure product brands is two fold: First, penetration and second, outreach.

Theme Ventures has started appointing dealers of TMT bars and cements across the smaller towns. Alongside, Theme Ventures has started tying up with panchayat pradhans in different villages to make them recommend cement as an alternate to mud brick houses.

In the meantime, BCC cement shall provide Theme Ventures a couple of mobile vans with audio visual and trained housing construction experts to visit every village where it has appointed dealers to advice villagers on usage of cement and make them understand the difference between various qualities of cement. 
 
Additionally, an extensive shop level visual merchandising programme has been devised for both BCC cement and Mahalaxmi across North India and Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand based on the footprint of the respective brands.

Said Guha, ” Distribution and channel sales is a very complicated affair . Its also the nerve center for product marketing. With manpower cost spiraling, regional SMEs are finding it extremely difficult to retain and procure specialized distribution professionals. Theme Ventures is trying to fill in this void with a large pool of high quality trained professionals on its payroll, to set up and manage the day to day micro level product distribution for various companies across the country.”

MUMBAI: Aegon Religare Life Insurance has launched its new campaign that plays on the proposition, “uncertain world, certain solution”. 
 
Crafted by Ogilvy & Mather, the three films have been shot by Prakash Varma of Nirvana Films. The creative team is led by executive creative director Anup Chitnis while the team comprises creative director Anuraag Khandelwal and associate creative director Satish De‘sa. 
 
The campaign will see a heavy TV burst supported by a five-six pan India campaign. There will be more than 5,000 TV spots and will have presence in all genres that include news, GEC, regional, movies and music.