Category: MAM

MUMBAI: Radio One, the joint venture between BBC worldwide and Mid-day Multimedia, has signed up music directors Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy as its exclusive brand endorsers.
 
Said Radio One MD Vineet Singh Hukmani, “We are the first radio station to ‘create a music passionate product‘ and our listeners tend to see us as the only real music station in a sea of generic radio stations.” 
 
“And now to add a face to our promise we felt the need to associate with a superlative iconic music icon and creator who stands for that same passion. Someone who can also demonstrate the live music revolution that is sweeping our country. We saw eye to eye in our beliefs with Shankar Eshaan Loy who epitomize everything that new age to classic music stands for and so we have signed them up as our brand endorsers for the year,” added Singh.

Radio One is working on a multimedia communication plan with SEL to build awareness of the station‘s position.

MUMBAI: Nissan Motors, the Japanese car manufacturing company, is entering in the Indian small-car market with Nissan Micra in India in July.

The company, going with the preferred marketing model, has roped in Bollywood‘s newest cool dude Ranbir Kapoor to be their brand ambassador.

Nissan Motor India Pvt Ltd (NMIPL) has signed a three-year contract with Kappor, during which he will endorse its products and services.

Nissan Micra will be priced somewhere between Rs 400,000-600,000 and will be available at 20 outlets across India. The company already started bookings for the car since 25 May and has recieved 400 requests so far.
 
However, the Indian hatchback car market is a tough one as Nissan is coming in after a host of other international players. Nissan‘s Micra will have to offer something distinct to compete with the likes of Hyundai (Santro, Getz, i10 and i20), Maruti (Swift, Ritz, WagonR, A star), Chevrolet (Beat) and the more recently launched Fiat (Punto) and Volkswagon (Polo).

With Shah Rukh Khan promoting the Hyundai cars, R Madhawan being WagonR‘s new blue eyed boy and Saif Ali Khan Chevrolets brand ambassador, all hard and soft selling their brands via TVC‘s and other marketing promos, will Ranbir and Nissan be an also ran, or can they push the right buttons of the Indian consumer?
 
NMIPL MD and CEO Kiminobu Tokuyama said, “We are delighted to have Ranbir Kapoor as our brand ambassador. Nissan is a car company with a ‘Passion for Cars‘. Our brand heritage stands for producing cars that maximize life and provide the joy of everyday driving. We believe Ranbir with his uber cool charm and mass appeal brings in a perfect connect with our brand.”

The company plans to open up 36 outlets across India by the end of the year. The first two TVC‘s with Ranbir have already been shot and they will start airing from 10 June onwards. The marketing campaign revolves around simpler city driving, convenience and better living within the chaos of everyday city life.
 
Kapoor said, “It is an honour and privilege to be associated with Nissan, which is a leading global automotive brand. I have been a great admirer of Nissan cars during my days spent in Europe. Some of their cars like the GTR, 370Z, which has been introduced in India are all iconic products. I am happy to know that Nissan is very serious and commitment in their plans for India and they have an exciting range of products lined up beginning with the new Nissan Micra. The Micra is a class-defining product and I am particularly excited, as it has been designed for city driving.”

The next in line from Nissan will be the Sedan that would be launched sometime next year.

MUMBAI: Football icon and two times FIFA World Cup champion Franz Beckenbauer proudly launched The Quest; adidas‘ new interactive FIFA World Cup football campaign in Johannesburg.

Beckenbauer unveiled an exclusive painting by the adidas African artist team which features 32 players from the 32 federations playing at the FIFA World Cup and signals the start of adidas‘ activities in South Africa.
 
The Quest is the culmination of a long term campaign positioning the world‘s best players and their skills as what ‘Every Team Needs‘. The campaign sets up the question on everyone‘s lips – “Who Will Lead Their Team To Victory?” and puts football fans firmly in the driving seat by inviting them to engage, interact and converse with other fans from all over the world and the world‘s biggest football brand during the world‘s biggest sporting event.

Kicking off with a star-studded film, created in the style of a movie trailer, The Quest challenges fans from all over the world to sign up to a multi-platform digital innovation. Highlights include a Live Graphic Novel that combines live action and animation in an interactive experience that reacts as the tournament unfolds. And the adidas FIFA World Cup Match-Ups in which fans are encouraged to participate and set up head to head with 32 players from 32 countries and make their predictions on which player or team will win. Accurate predictions and social interactions with other fans on www.facebook.com/adidasfootball can earn participants valuable reward points with the opportunity to win unique awards and prizes such as adidas gear signed by their favourite player or Official FIFA World Cup Jabulani match balls.
 
Director of adidas Global Football Communications Levin Reyner comments, “The 2010 FIFA World Cup is the greatest football event on the planet and the perfect platform for us to launch our new campaign which enables consumers worldwide to interact with each other and engage in the tournament like never before. Our previous campaigns only highlighted certain players and teams, ‘The Quest‘ incorporates players from every team – something never done before!”

The group of African artists will capture those moments on the pitch that make history – a wonder goal, a penalty shoot out, pure elation, the pain of defeat, individual brilliance or team effort – these incredible moments will be interpreted into daily paintings and form the Live Quest. The paintings will then be auctioned via e-bay throughout the tournament with proceeds going to the Nelson Mandela 46664 Foundation.
 
The Quest, created by adidas and 180 Amsterdam/RIOT, launches worldwide on 8 June and features 32 players from all 32 federations playing at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They include FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi (Argentina), Steven Pienaar (South Africa), Jozy Altidore (U.S.A), Shunsake Nakamura (Japan), Salomon Kalou (Côte d‘Ivoire), Eljero Elia (The Netherlands), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), David Villa (Spain), Yoann Gourcuff (France) and Steven Gerrard (England).

MUMBAI: Consumer electronics company Sony India has announced the launch of the Vaio E Series laptops for which it will spend Rs 200 million towards marketing.

Marking the launch of the new E series, Sony will also launch a brand campaign called ‘Go Vivid‘ with brand ambassador Kareena Kapoor.

The E-series is available at a starting price of Rs 34,990 for both 35.56 cms and 39.37 cms screen size respectively.

Sony plans to increase its market share from 12 per cent to 20 per cent this year with the launch of the new Vaio models. Sony‘s sale of 1.2 lakh notebooks is expected to go up to 2.5 lakh this year.
 
The consumer notebook market in India is currently estimated at 1 million units and is expected to increase to 1.25 million units by the end of the year.

Ten per cent of Sony India‘s business comes from Vaio. Says Sony India MD Masaru Tamagawa, “With the message of Go Vivid, brand Vaio sets a befitting tone with youngsters making them the proud owners of great looking, vibrant laptops.”

For pushing the product, the marketing will involve print and electronic media, online, outdoor and shop-front.
 
The new range of notebooks will be available across Sony Center stores and retail partners across the country.

Sony will expand its channel network to 1,500 counters across 200 cities, up from 700 sales counters last year. Vaio brand shops are also to increase to 50 counters this year.
 
The company says that Kapoor‘s exuberance and vivacious personality brings in a direct connect to the vibrancy of Vaio E Series colours. The aim of the TVC is to communicate the fact that like Kapoor, who strikes a chord in the minds of the masses, Sony Vaio E series leaves a vivid memory of an expression that’s truly refreshing and vibrant, and that’s why the message, Go Vivid.

Kapoor says, “Go Vivid is an expression that transcends simplicity, and highlights the vivacity of life. Vivid is standing-out, it’s being truly bold, refreshing & effervescent and that’s why I see a direct connect with my personality.”

MUMBAI: Rediffusion Y&R has appointed Gautam Talwar as executive VP of new business development and special projects.

Based in Mumbai, Talwar will report to Group CEO Mahesh Chauhan.

Prior to Rediffusion Y&R, Talwar was with Kaleidoscope Entertainment as creative and business head.
 
Chauhan said, “Talwar brings along vast experience on various aspects of advertising. With our new structure in place and our ultimate goal in focus, it was the perfect opportunity to hire someone dynamic to lead our new business development team. I am confident of his strong business acumen and intellectual resources which will help support our growth and will add value to our business.”

Talwar added, “It is a pleasure to be associated with Rediffusion Y&R. It is an opportunity for me to apply my learnings in the advertising, mobile and entertainment space within the agency construct and hopefully create newer business models for Rediffusion Group.”
 
Talwar comes with over a decade of experience in the advertising and entertainment space.

He started his career with Grey and serviced businesses like Johnson & Johnson, Diageo, Elf, Akai and Cadbury Schweppes amongst others. He then moved to Ammirati Puris Lintas where he serviced the Unilever hair franchise before becoming the strategic planner on Fair & Lovely and PSI (Population services International) for whom he developed the Balbir Pasha campaign. He then moved to handle the Unilever business for Lowe for the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.
 
He joined Kaleidoscope Entertainment in 2006 where he set up the mobile content division of the company while also executive producing two full length feature films. At Kaleidoscope, he was responsible for setting up the mobile content division and was also instrumental in developing original concepts and video content for the mobile space.
 

MUMBAI: Percept/H has bagged the creative account of ‘Adhaar‘, an initiative by Nandan Nilekani-headed Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Industry sources say Percept/H will handle the creative duties for Aadhaar‘s pilot phase while the media duties will be handled by Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP). The pilot phase will commence in August 2010 and end around February 2011.

The pilot phase advertising spend could be anywhere between Rs 100-150 million, while the overall advertising yearly budget can go up to as much as Rs 500 million. To implement Adhaar completely it will take another four years, by the end of which the ad spends are sure to accumulate.

Percept/H beat other agencies such as Lowe Lintas, Rediffusion Y&R, Crayons Advertising, Dentsu Marcom, Concept Communication and Span Communications to clinch the account.

MUMBAI: Navia Asia, Starcom MediaVest Group‘s out-of-home (OOH) media arm (earlier known as StarSight) has appointed Cyrus Dumasia as head – Western Region.

Based in Mumbai, Dumasia will report into Navia Asia CEO Sanjay Shah.
 
Shah said, “We have been looking for dynamic and able people to join our team and lead our key businesses. In Cyrus we have found the right combination to spearhead Navia in the western region. I welcome him on board and I’m confident he will bring fresh thinking and interesting insights to the firm.”

Dumasia will work with the Navia leadership team and focus on business development in the region. He replaces Vikas Nowal who had recently quit.
 
On his new role, Dumasia said, “Exciting times lie ahead and Navia provides the right platform to explore the ever evolving world of out of home.”

Cyrus comes with over 15 years experience with stints in publishing houses including Magna and India Today Group besides Star TV. He joins Navia from TDI International where he was business head, Maharashtra and Goa.
 

MUMBAI: Following a multi-agency pitch, Richfeel Health & Beauty has appointed AMO Communications (a Percept Hakuhodo Company) to handle the brand, Richfeel.
 
Said Brand Richfeel founder Dr Apoorva Shah, “AMO‘s biggest strength is its expertise in the beauty, cosmetic, wellness categories and the most important aspect of AMO is their clear understanding about the target profile and consumer behaviour. Another major advantage that it possesses is its access to other communication elements requirement such as events and celebrity endorsements.”
 
AMO Communications will be responsible for developing the visual identity, brand imagery and regular advertising for the brand Richfeel. The media mix for the campaign involves television, press, outdoor and below-the-line activities such as seasonal promotions at the local city / town level.
Managing Director for AMO Communications Elvis Dias remarked, “This is a significant win for us. We have used proprietary planning models to bring out some unique insights in the category, which will help translate it into a brand experience. Our association with Richfeel will give us an added knowledge on the health, beauty and wellness category.”
 

MUMBAI: In a bid to further strengthen its Mumbai creative team, Grey has brought on board Aarati Kakkad as creative director – copy.

Aarati, who joins immediately after the addition of Karan Rawat, will work with ECD copy Rohit Malkani.

On her appointment at Grey Mumbai, Kakkad says, “I‘m excited and looking forward to doing great work for Grey‘s Mumbai clients, not to mention, working with such a great team.”
 
Kakkad began her career at Concept Communications as a trainee, writing copy for brands like Onida. She moved on to Enterprise Nexus (Bates India) and worked on Times of India, Femina, NECC and ICICI credit cards before joining O&M where she spent 5 years working on campaigns for Vodafone, Emirates, Kotak Mahindra Insurance and DHL. After a short stint at Leo Burnett, working on brands like Whisper and McDonalds, Aarati has joined Grey Mumbai.

Aarati won significant recognition for her work on Vodafone including a Gold at the Effies for the Vodafone Alerts Campaign and a Silver Abby for Integrated Campaign for Hutch Small, Medium & Large. 
 
Says Malkani, “Aarati is a hugely talented Creative Director with a delicious mix of strong brand work, commitment and madness. Her work on Vodafone has been exemplary and she will be a huge asset to Grey Mumbai‘s creative department.”

MUMBAI: Having already bagged three different accounts in the past few weeks, Vizeum has now added Aegis Global Academy (an Essar Group enterprise) to its current mix of clients.

Aegis Global Academy, which will be bringing to India the first ever institute offering B-school equivalent post-graduate course on Customer Experience Management, has signed on Vizeum as their media agency on record (AoR).
 
Confirming the decision to appoint Vizeum, President of Aegis Global Academy Subir Ghosh said, “Vizeum clearly had the benefit of being the Essar AoR, when we were looking for a media partner. The satisfaction levels of Essar further added to their merit. And we had no doubt about the partnership when we started interacting with them.”

The Institute of Customer Experience Management aims to create professionals suited for the services sector from India and overseas. The curriculum will embrace mind-set, skill set and knowledge ethos to the optimal degree by focusing more than 65 per cent of course time on hands-on work experience and 16-week internships. This 15-month course will be conducted at the Coimbatore campus of the Academy.
 
Targeted at potential/fresh graduates as well as employees with less than two years of experience, the course is ideal for students aspiring to build careers in the booming services sector.

Commenting on the win, managing director for Vizeum- Indian Subcontinent S Yesudas said, “We are extremely thrilled at this win. There can‘t be anything better than the satisfaction levels of an existing client getting translated into a business opportunity for us. This business will be handled out of our Mumbai office.