Category: MAM

MUMBAI: It‘s made a roaring start. The annual jamboree of the international advertising fraternity, The Cannes Lions, has seen a spurt in the number of entries it has received from around the world. In its 57th edition, the International Advertising Festival (IAF) has reported that it has got 24,242 entries from 90 countries for its 12 categories, the fourth highest in its history. 
 
Festival CEO Philip Thomas said, “The Cannes Lions reflects the communications industry, and these results tell a fascinating story. Firstly, of course, they suggest that the industry as a whole is recovering from the distress of 2009 (entries to the Festival were down 20 per cent last year) and indeed they show recovery coming not only from places you would expect like Latin America or India, but also countries like Sweden, Turkey, the UK, France and the USA, all of which have picked up considerably. We look forward to welcoming the 12 juries to Cannes where they will take on the daunting task to view, judge, deliberate and honour the best creative work from the world‘s communications industry.” 
 
The categories which saw the maximum increase from 2009 are the PR and Promo and Activation sections which rose by 32 and 43 per cent respectively. These are relatively new categories in the festival and they seem to be picking up fast. The entries in the Cyber and Media sections also rose by 18 and 17.5 per cent respectively. The Press, Outdoor and Film continue to be the most competitive categories in terms of number of entries, even though all three of them saw a fall in number of entries from 2009. 
 
The festival is set to kick off on 20 June.

NEW DELHI: A young art-copy team from Mudra India’s South (Bangalore) office has won the prestigious AAAI-Cannes Young Lions Creative Competition.
 
This year, the theme of Cannes Young Lion competition was ‘Don’t buy Animal tested products’. 
 
Copywriter Shruti Sadani and Creative Supervisor Pradeep Ravindran‘s ’entry was adjudged the best amongst 200 competing entries by senior creative leaders who judged the competition.

Shruti and Pradeep win an all-expense paid trip to France to represent India at the global Young Lions competition at Cannes.
 
The judges included Chief Creative Officer of Contract Advertising Ravi Deshpande, NCD of Saatchi & Saatchi Ramanuj Shastry, and Creative Partner at Dentsu Adrian Mendonza.
 

MUMBAI: Leading Indian Hindi general entertainment television channel Zee TV has signed up with US-based viewership monitoring firm Rentrak Corp for its TV Essentials television measurement service.

Zee TV says that this will help it generate a more precise picture of its audience‘s viewing habits and that it will help the network assess and fine tune its programming to better serve its viewers‘ entertainment needs. 
 
Zee TV country head – Americas Subroto Bhattacharya said, “This partnership signifies not only our long-standing reputation and commitment to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of the south Asian diaspora, but also our strategic approach to create fresh, entertaining and socially relevant programming that resonates with our viewers.
 
“Rentrak‘s far-reaching viewing habit data collected from millions of TVs will enable the network to step up its game a notch further for its ever-growing audience.”

Since its launch in the US in July 1998, Zee TV has grown to reach more than two million viewers, offering a mix of programming from India, Pakistan and the UK designed to appeal to a wide-ranging audience of south Asians living in the US. 
 
Rentrak Sr VP business development, Advanced Media Carol Hinnant said: “We feel confident that the TV Essentials TV currency will provide Zee TV with not only a bigger picture view, but also a microscopic view of its core audience based on the viewing habits extracted from millions of digital televisions nationwide.”

NEW DELHI: Actor John Abraham, who has become the new brand ambassador for the Haier in India, today said he agrees to endorse a brand only when he himself forms a perception about it and understands the socio-economic class it is meant for.
 
Similarly, he endorses causes like the one on saving tigers and his production on ‘The Return of the Tiger’ directed by Mike Pandey only when he is moved by the cause, though commercial considerations are bound to weigh as well.

He was answering questions after introducing several new products of Haier, including 46 inch LED and a 55 inch LCD Television sets. He said he himself was a user of the LCD TV.
 
Haier also exhibited the new television commercials that have been made with Abraham for the various products. John will feature across all brand communications as well as product advertising for its wide range of consumer durables and electronics products.

Abraham said, ‘Haier is one of the youngest brands globally that has made a mark in the industry by reaching the global number 1 position in a very short span of time. This youthful brand is known for its innovative product offerings and advanced technology worldwide.’

Haier India President Eric Braganza told indiantelevision.com later that the advertising campaign would involve expenditure of around Rs 630 million and would be done in stages in print, electronic and other media including hoardings.
 
He said Abraham will feature across all brand communications as well as product advertising for its wide range of consumer durables and electronics products. “The actor personifies Haier’s youthful imagery and exemplifies the same dynamism attached with the brand. He not only possesses a great aspirational value with the youth but also mirrors the dreams of millions of youngsters owing to the value and morals that he stands for”, he said.

Haier, which has shown a 260 per cent rise in the first quarter of 2010-11, has covered by May this year what it had earned – Rs 3.5 billion – between January and December 2009. Targeting 100 Haier Experience Centres and Zones in 2010, the company is also focusing on its service support through Haier Insta Cares. Haier has recently tied up with a new Call Centre to further strengthen its customer response time.

With soccer mania gripping entire India, Haier also launched a Soccer Scheme – ‘Free Kick offer’. It is a scratch card scheme where on purchase of any LED/ LCD TV above 81 cm (except 32S9), a customer can win 100% cash back or an Adidas track jacket with an autograph from John Abraham, worth Rs. 2290.

Haier also announced its entry into other products besides refrigerators and washing machines for which it is known. These include TV sets, air conditioners, water heaters, blenders, toasters, Citrus Juicers and Electric Kettles. The LED Edge Light TV is Full HD, 120 Hz with USB 2.0, memory card reader and SRS Trusurround XT.
 

MUMBAI: Neville Shah has joined Mudra North & East as creative director. Shah will work on the agency‘s North & East‘s portfolio of clients, which include Dabur, HBO, Philips, Wrigley and Unicef.
 
Said Mudra North & East EVP & head Ajay Naqvi, “Neville will add to our creative teeth in providing fresh solutions to clients in Delhi and Calcutta. His simplistic approach towards bringing out the best on a brief is what makes him a good fit in further strengthening our creative prowess. His strong experience across brands and categories coupled with a fantastic attitude towards people will only help catapult Mudra North and East to greater heights.” 
 
Prior to this, Shah was with TBWAMumbai as copy supervisor. At TBWA, he spent four years working on brands such as Set Max, BPL Mobile, Standard Chartered Bank and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance. 
 
Said Shah, “It‘s a great challenge to take on and I hope to offer a new perspective and create simple and refreshing communication for the agency.”
 

MUMBAI: In victory, Dhoni‘s ‘Men in Blue‘ proved to be much more popular than his IPL franchise. While the cricket World Cup final notched up a whopping rating of 23.21, the match in which Dhoni won the Indian Premier League for his franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was much less watched.

IPL fanatics may say that it is an unfair comparison to make as national pride will always occupy a higher pedestal. But even in IPL versus IPL, the third edition has won over the fourth. And since the fourth has raked in more moolah (Rs 10 billion) for the official broadcaster Max, advertisers are questioning whether the ad rates should be reworked or it is a stray case where the IPL suffered an immediate punch from the World Cup in which India triumphed.

The lopsided final, which saw CSK defend its crown against Royal Challengers Bangalore, rated a mere 6.96 TVR, according to data from TAM Sports for C&S 4+, six metros market. This is the first time that an IPL final did not reach double-digit ratings. Last year, the final between Mumbai Indians and CSK got a rating of 12.85 TVR.

What makes the tourney anti-climatic is that the first match with 7.77 TVR stayed as the most-watched of all.

Worse, the IPL could not manage an average TVR of 4 in the six-metro market, registering a 29 per cent drop in the average ratings over the third season. The 74 matches have averaged a TVR of 3.91 compared to a rating figure of 5.51 last year, 4.66 in the second season when the event was held in South Africa and 5.39 in the debut year. This, indeed, is the first time in the event‘s four-year history that the IPL has landed up with a tournament rating below 4.

Even the last four matches of IPL 4 could not draw higher ratings as they managed an average TVR of 6.1 compared to a TVR of 8.07 in the earlier year.

The only highpoint this season was that the total viewers who watched IPL have grown to 160.2 million, according to the All India market data from TAM Sports. In the last season, 143.7 million viewers had tuned in to the event.

Despite the decline in ratings, the IPL still remains a highly watched event. Maxus Global National Trading Head Sidharth Parashar notes that while the cost efficiencies were affected to an extent compared to last year, one cannot call the IPL a disappointment. “A rating of nearly 4 over such a long period is still a good performance. Having said that, the BCCI could have a re-look at the format. I think that the increase in the number of games led to a certain amount of monotony setting in. The BCCI could also look to have more matches during primetime. Also, the World Cup did have an impact in terms of viewer fatigue.”

VivaKi Exchange COO Mona Jain believes advertisers would be more cautious when they negotiate next time. “They will not be so blasé and just put money down, expecting the IPL to automatically perform. This time the ratings did not show up as was expected. Advertisers will be looking for benefit. I also think that 74 matches are a stretch for the event. Advertisers will take a conscious call next year.”

LG CMO LK Gupta says that while the company is satisfied at the level of visibility, the fact that the ratings came down was a disappointment. “Consumers spent a lot of their energy on the World Cup and there was fatigue. The World Cup had offered the highest class of cricket and there was a dampening effect to an extent when the IPL came along as it is about club against club. However, the IPL is still the biggest platform during this period. It is very much viable. I am satisfied at the delivery of cricket during the World Cup and IPL. It is not that fans are fed up of cricket. This has been an expensive but a good time for marketers.”

Asked about the challenge of clutter, Gupta argues that this is something that one has to live with. “We took on-air sponsorship as we wanted the largest share of voice in our category. While competitors also advertised, their time was much less and so it wasn‘t an issue for us. The key is to creatively break out of the clutter. This time we focused on our LCD TVs. Our core audience was males.”

NEW DELHI: A young art-copy team from Mudra India’s South (Bangalore) office has won the prestigious AAAI-Cannes Young Lions Creative Competition.
 
Copywriter Shruti Sadani and creative supervisor Pradeep Ravindran were the winners of the all-India competition organised by industry body AAAI and the Times Group. Shruti and Pradeep win an all expense paid trip to France to represent India at the global Young Lions competition at Cannes.
 
This year, the theme of Cannes Young Lion competition was ‘Don’t buy Animal tested products’. Shruti and Pradeep’s entry was adjudged the best amongst 200 competing entries by senior creative leaders who judged the competition.
 
The judges included Contract chief creative officer advertising Ravi Deshpande, Saatchi & Saatchi NCD Ramanuj Shastry, and Dentsu creative partner Adrian Mendonza.

NEW DELHI: Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu has joined Saif Ali Khan as the new brand ambassador of Wynncom Mobiles.

While introducing the new brand ambassador, Wynncom displayed seven new models of mobiles, ranging between Rs 1400 to Rs 5000. All the models had several VAS like camera, music and radio. 
 
Basu said that she chose to be associated with Wynncom because “I feel that this brand reflects my attitude in life. Like me it symbolises a will to succeed and a passion to go beyond the ordinary.”

Meanwhile, Wynn Teleco founder and Chairman Rakesh Malhotra announced that it has become the first Indian mobile phone company to start its wholly owned subsidiary in China. The company expects staffing in the Chinese subsidiary to over 200 in the next one year. 
 
The company is also setting up a manufacturing plant in Himachal Pradesh which will be ready to produce 1.2 million handsets every month by July next year, said Wynn Telecom co-founder and MD Arvind R Vohra.

The handsets recently launched are a mix of utility, multimedia and qwerty phones. Utility phones come with a high efficiency battery, attractive looks, and multiple language support. 
 
Wynncom is the first brand of mobile phones to launch its products simultaneously through a PAN India network of 400+ distributors and 25,000+ retail counters.

MUMBAI: The Jim Henson Company will further enhance awareness for its key brands with new licensing agents
in the Asia Pacific region.

The announcement was made by The Jim Henson Company senior VP, Global Consumer Products Melissa Segal.

Wild Pumpkin, Medialink and Empire have been signed to develop consumer products programmes. 
 
Wild Pumpkin will represent various brands in Australia and New Zealand including the company’s newest pre-school brands like Sid The Science Kid and Dinosaur Train together with Fraggle Rock and lifestyle brand Skatelab.

Nickelodeon Australia currently airs Sid The Science Kid and will debut Dinosaur Train later this year.
 
Medialink will represent Dinosaur Train in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan while Empire will represent Sid The Science Kid and Fraggle Rock in those territories.

Said Segal, “The Pac-Asia region offers a vast array of opportunities, and we now have solid partnerships in place with these reputable agencies that have the expertise needed to penetrate the marketplace. 
 
“The Jim Henson Company has a built-in global brand awareness and a proven track record for delivering top-quality properties that are both entertaining and educational. We look forward to offering these stellar children’s brands to the region.”

MUMBAI: Sanyukta Developers has appointed Vizeum India as communication consultants and media AoR. The size of the account is pegged at Rs 100 million.

As part of its new mandate, Vizeum will integrate with internal partners to provide appropriate solutions to Sanyukta Developers. While Carat Fresh will provide support on the communication strategy and creative development, Posterscope and Isobar will contribute on the OOH and digital possibilities respectively.
 
Established in 2004, Sanyukta Developers is venturing into the development of premium luxury townships and group housings. It also has plans to enter into the affordable housing space, targeting major tier II and tier III cities.

Said GM Tech for Sanyukta Developers Mr P L Raina, “We are sure we have the right partners in them as we begin our brand building journey.”
 
 
Added Vizeum Indian Subcontinent MD S Yesudas, “The business will be handled out of our Delhi office under the leadership of Harit Pant, with contribution from Sampath Shenoy, Carat Fresh integrated.”

Recently, Vizeum won accounts of Credila and Asia Motor Works.