Category: MAM

BANGALORE: It‘s brewing expansion. The UK headquartered Costa Coffee (Costa) is planning to open 10 outlets in Bengaluru by end 2010 and add another 15 outlets in the garden city the year after. This apart, it is planning to expand to other south Indian cities in 2011. Costa Coffee operates in India through its exclusive master franchisee Devyani International Limited (DIL).

The company unveiled its fourth outlet in Koramangala recently and is slated to open another two by this month end.
 
Speaking on Costa Coffee‘s expansion plans, Costa Coffee India CEO Santhosh Unni said, “Overall, Costa Coffee is aiming to add a new store every 15 days in India, taking our count to close to 70-75 stores by the year end.”

DIL CEO Virag Joshi revealed that his company intends to have around 500 Costa outlets in India over the next four to five years. Costa operates in 25 countries with 1,600 stores – 1,069 in the UK and 531 overseas.
 
DIL and Devyani Food Industries Limited which have other franchises for global food and beverage brands such Pepsi, KFC, Pizza Hut and Disney Artist have been promoted by RJ Corp.

Costa normally runs a brand building campaign through mass media in cities where it is present or is planning to introduce a new outlet. The media it uses include radio, printed handouts and BTL activities such as road shows. It also uses radio when it changes its menu, which according to company sources, is about once a quarter.
 
Costa‘s spends towards ATL and BTL activities until now have been about Rs18 million per annum, but with newer outlets to be launched soon, this figure will to go up informs Joshi while speaking with www.indiatelevision.com.

New Delhi based BEL Confluence Communications Limited handles the creative and the media buying duties for Costa in India.
 

MUMBAI: Reebok is set to launch the EasyTone TV commercial in India, created under the brand‘s new “Ree” marketing platform. 
 
To kick off the “Ree” campaign, the brand has created TV spots highlighting the key product, Reebok EasyTone asking consumers to “Reethink, Reesport And Reejoy”. 
 
The commercials were created by DDB Berlin. The Reebok EasyTone campaign also includes print, out-of-home, digital and in-store executions.
 
Said Reebok India Company director sales and marketing Sajid Shamim, “Seeing the healthy performance of Reebok EasyTone last year, we thought of enhancing the product line for all EasyTone enthusiasts. And, this year we bring in the new variants of Easy Tone which are high on style quotient apart from providing the benefit of toning the lower body.”
 

MUMBAI: IAA‘s India Chapter has been honoured with the 2010 IAA Chapter Excellence Award.

The award was given away at the 42nd IAA World Congress, Moscow, amidst 1200 delegates from 45 countries. 
 
IAA executive director Michael Lee praised the work that the India Chapter had done in the past two years and said he was pleased with the Chapter for making an outstanding contribution to the core values and mission of IAA – “in particular, the providing of a forum for international industry debate, advocacy and professional development opportunities and an exceptionally healthy growth in memberships.”

While presenting the award to IAA India Chapter VP Kaushik Roy, IAA chairman and world president Alan Rutherford said, “The inventiveness shown by the India Chapter is commendable and will, I am sure, resonate to all other chapters so that we can hear about similar initiatives by IAA chapters in other countries.”
 
Roy said that the award was the cumulative result of the strong business strategies put in place in the last few years, and their meticulous implementation under the leadership of the Chapter president Raj Nayak, which were beginning to bear fruits now.

The India Chapter of IAA was instituted in 1991, with a view to foster a healthy environment for the growth of globalisation in the communication industry.

MUMBAI: Wednesday brought good news for Star Plus, the flagship Hindi entertainment channel from the Star India stable. TAM ratings for week 19 showed that it had managed to generate its highest GRPs level in 94 weeks (almost two years).

Star Plus has been involved in a battle for leadership with its two major rivals Colors and Zee TV. For a large part of this year, Colors has been at the forefront with both Zee TV and Star Plus sneaking ahead for a week or so. 
 
But in the week ended 8 May it has taken a giant sized piece away from its rivals by generating GRPs of 337 (HSM C&S 4+), which is 59 points more than its nearest rival Colors.

Colors notched up 278 GRPs which means that it shed 10 points over its week 18 performance. Zee TV shaved off 12 GRPs to close at 267 and ended up at the No 3 spot.

Star Plus on the other hand gained 51 GRPs on the back of a strong weekend performance along with a healthy weekday afternoon band and its movie lineup.

Says a Star spokesperson, “While weekend original programming contributed 33 GRPs (13 in previous week) to the channel, movies attracted an additional 15 GRPs (4 in the previous week).” 
 
Its movies on 2 May De Dhana Dhan and Aladin delivered 1.5 TVRs at 5:30 pm and 0.8 TVRs at 1 pm respectively. What worked well for the channel was its one hour weekend special for its Monday to Friday show Pratigya. The special racked up a 11 per cent growth for the show by generating 5.5 TVRs.

The channel has also garnered the number one spot in the weekday afternoon adding three GRPs to its last week performance of 30. Meanwhile, Colors and Zee remain stable at 17 GRPs each in the slot.

“While Colors is still to gain firm ground in the afternoon slot, Star is already firmly entrenched in that time band. Their strategy to shift their non-performing primetime shows to afternoon seems to have worked well for the channel,” says a media observer.

Colors‘ GRPs drop was primarily led by weekend movies (29 GRPs as against 43 GRPs in the previous week), weekday primetime shows (119 GRPs vs 122 GRPs last week), and weekend original programming (11 GRPs vs 14 GRPs last week).

“Weekend movies have always helped Colors bulk up GRPs. This week too, the channel screened five movies. However, they failed to score for it,” says a media observer.

The movies that the Colors aired showed include Munnabhai MBBS, Bhoot Unkle, Yeh Dil, Bhaghban and Toh Baat Pakki.

Chak Dhoom Dhoom (Fri-Sat 9:00 pm) too slid as it averaged three TVRs [3.7 last] in its second week.
 
Zee TV ruled the week in both fiction and non-fiction with its shows Pavitra Rishta (5.5 TVRs vs 5.4 last week) and DID Li‘l Champs (5.2 TVRs vs 6.6 last week) respectively scoring the highest GRPs amongst all GEC channels.

“DID Li‘l Champs average viewership fell leading to the GRPs fall. The movie lineup for the week was also weak,” says a media analyst.

The movies on the channel this week included Dhol, Yaadein and Garam Masala.

Sony, the No 4 player (179 GRPs) will really have to take a hard look at its Yash Raj created content. The shows continued to sag with all of them raking up below 0.5 TRPs. Old hand CID contributed 72 GRPs while its new season of Indian Idol (Monday to Thursday 9 pm) was the star performer with 68 GRPs.

A peep at the performance of the other GECs: Imagine clocked 93 GRPs in the week (from earlier week‘s 104 GRPs), Sab 78 GRPs (80 GRPs last week) and Star One 34 GRPs (40 GRPs last week).

MUMBAI: Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has launched new television campaign to promote the SUV, Xylo. The company has roped in India‘s top fashion photographer Atul Kasbekar as brand ambassador.
 
Based on the theme ‘Happy Legs‘, the TVC aims to highlight the car‘s selling proposition – style, space and comfort, in keeping with its original theme, ‘Time of your Life‘. 
 
India‘s top fashion photographer Atul Kasbekar has been roped in as the face of the new TVC. The 40 second commercial showcases the luxury, style and comfort elements of the car. 
 
Says Mahindra and Mahindra SVP – marketing, automotive division Vivek Nayer, “This campaign is a refreshingly new interpretation of these key benefits through coining of the term ‘Happy Legs‘. The campaign captures the brand proposition of ‘Time of your Life‘ very well and who better than ace fashion photographer, Atul Kasbekar, along with some glamorous models to portray this so credibly on screen! “

MUMBAI: This year‘s One Show Design Awards gave away top honours to three Indian agencies.

While Bates 141 won one silver pencil, Karigari Designs and Out of the Box won one bronze pencil each. 
 
The Awards is one of the most recognised international design competitions in the world wherein winners are bestowed with gold, silver and bronze pencils. 
 
Bates 141 bagged the silver pencil for its work on Women‘s Grievances Cell in the Public Service Collateral – Single category. Karigari Design won bronze pencil for The Backpacker Company titled, ‘Soap Cards‘ under the Corporate Identity – Single category. While, Out of the Box won their bronze pencil for the work Presidium Senior Secondary School under the Public Service Collateral – Campaign category. 
 
The biggest honour for the ceremony, the Best of Show, went to Masashi & Hal & Magico & Masayoshi/USA for the music video of the song ‘Hibi No Neiro‘ (Tone of Everyday), sung by the Japanese pop-band Sour.
 

MUMBAI: Mudra Max has elevated Anurag Gupta to chief strategy officer CSO).

Gupta will continue to report to Mudra Group COO and Mudra Max CEO Pratap Bose and will now be in-charge of all non-media businesses of Mudra Max. 
 
He will also be tasked with building on the strategic capabilities across the entire agency. Gupta will help integrate various changes in the new management initiatives and guide the overall Mudra Max strategy.

Prior to this, Gupta was the president of strategic initiatives & integration at the agency. 
 
Commenting on Gupta‘s new role, Bose said, “We realize that as we grow in size and capabilities, a centralised control of vision and strategy is key to focused growth deliverables. Our key challenge in the medium and long term will be to manage organisational complexities, maintain market focus, and keep our offering clearly differentiated.”

“As CSO, Anurag will be the ‘go to‘ person for all such strategic shifts and execution. He brings a unique blend of organisational planning, creativity, entrepreneurship and a deep understanding of the business to this role and is the right person to take up this challenge,” he adds. 
 
Gupta brings with him 14 years of experience from sectors like advertising, brand management and media. He joined Mudra Max in 2008 and during the last two years was responsible for setting up and strengthening various units of Mudra Max.

Averred Gupta, “My new role will enable me to evolve Mudra Max to the next level, by bringing in fresh ideas, fresh offerings and new ways of doing business. I am thrilled about the prospects offered by this position and look forward to delivering consistent results.”

MUMBAI: It‘s Moscow ahoy for all those from the ad and marketing frat as they gather for another jamboree. This time it is for the 42nd International Advertisers Association (IAA) World Congress, which is being held from 12-14 May in the Russian capital at the State Palace Congress Center within the Kremlin.

Held once in two years, the IAA convention brings together the top business marketing and communication experts from around the world to share their views, discuss latest trends and talk on various aspects of the chosen theme.

For this year, the IAA gig will focus on ‘Change:Consequences‘. It has managed to get a top notch bunch of speakers to take part in the various sessions planned.

India‘s top media professional Madison World chairman and MD Sam Balsara and marketing wiz and Britannia Industries MD & CEO Vinita Bali will be speaking on two panels, ‘Media Opportunities for the BRIC Nations‘ and ‘What can we learn from Challenger Brands?‘ respectively.

Among the other big names who will be speaking at different sessions include: IAA chairman and world president elect Alan Rutharford, WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrel, UN under secretary general for communications and public relations Kiyotaka Akasak, Google global sales operations and business development president Nikesh Arora and Grupo Televisa CEO Emilo Azcarraga.
 
The other names include Draftfch CEO and president Laurence Boschetto, Microsoft Advertising VP global agencies Marc Bresseel, McCann World Group CEO Nic Brien, BBC World news presenter Jonathan Charles, Joanne Davis Consulting president Joanne Davis, Omnicom Asia Pacific SVP Serge Durmont, Vivaldi Partners, MD Erich Joachimsthaller, Publics Groupe chairman and CEO Maurice Levy, HP chief marketing officer and SVP Michael Mendenhall, Group M CEO Rob Norman, P&G global marketing and brand building officer Marc Pritchard, Yahoo senior VP Rich Riley, Shaw Media Holdings CEO Darren Shaw and Twenthieth Century Fox VP international digital marketing – Bettina Sherick. 
 
The get together aims to discuss the impact of the recent economic pressure faced by the world and the dynamic market changes that have come with it. It also intends to discuss ways of dealing with the global market slip. 
 
The key sessions of the conference will be: consumer marketing challenges; the digital influence on consumer behavior; how do key advertisers see the new world; the rise of challenger brands; the reaction of challenged categories; key trends in media and consequences for TV, print and OOH – in developed vs. emerging markets; new advertising models and their implications; improving creative effectiveness among others. The mixed format of the three-day program will include exhibitions, Q&A sessions, panels, and keynote speeches, which will provide a variety of ways to access and digest the information and insights, whether for those just beginning their careers or seasoned practitioners.

It is pertinent to note here that more than 1,000 delegates from 70 countries are expected to attend the IAA World Congress.
 

MUMBAI: Viacom18 Media has appointed Viraj Singh as national head – brand solutions.

The division that was set up to develop clients through the route of crafting customised solutions for them on MTV and Vh1.

Singh’s mandate is to focus on generating revenue opportunities through business development and setting up VBS (Viacom18 Brand Solutions) Live – the large format live event division for Viacom18 Media. He will report in to MTV India Sr VP-sales & marketing Aditya Swamy.
 
Swamy said, “In a short period, VBS has built some very valuable partnerships. Singh comes with a strong understanding of the media business and has done several integrated deals with large clients. He will be responsible for leading VBS into its next phase of growth. Our latest initiative, VBS Live has just been kicked off with India’s first bike and rock festival and I look forward to seeing Singh partner with key clients to create many such properties that add value to both sides.”

Added Singh, “VBS has evolved into a customer-centric solutions unit that focuses on creating long term relationships with clients through value creation. We have successfully collaborated with clients to create award winning solutions. I look forward to the exciting work with VBS.”
 
Prior to Viacom18, Singh worked with ESPN Star Sports and Reliance Media World (Big FM). At Big FM he worked across different roles that involved heading ad sales for the Northern region across 22 markets, setting up their Big Live division and finally as the national director of their integrated sales division, a team that super serves top clients across Radio, BTL and OOH.
 
VBS conceptualises, sells and executes solutions across ATL, BTL and digital platforms. The scope of work ranges from short format solutions, co-created customised shows and consumer engagement digital platforms to ground promotions, and soon large format live events. Some of the recent works under the VBS portfolio include Pulsar MTV Stunt Mania, MTV-Force India The Fast and The Gorgeous!, Samsung Mobile MTV Gang Next and Center fresh Zuban pe Lagam campaign.
 

MUMBAI: Until now The Economist has exploited outdoor and print media platforms extensively to reach out to its target audiences in India.

But now, for its fourth campaign, The Economist has opted for television and social media to capture the large audience set that still remains untapped in the region.
 
The company has designed two commercials as part of its television campaign. The first is based on the trend of Chinese workers migrating to work in Chinese-owned factories in India.

The second is based on the fact that African children are being increasingly being used to fight in civil wars, at a great cost to themselves and their societies. The commercials go on air on 17 May. 
 
Conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather, the TVCs have been directed by Shashanka Chaturvedi while Good Morning Films is the production house.

Other than television, these commercials will also be promoted in popular movie theatres and digitally on social media sites like YouTube, Facebook, Metacafe and Ibibo.