Category: MAM

MUMBAI: Wynn Telecom, the company which recently forayed into the mobile handset market through ‘Wynncom‘, has roped in Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan as brand ambassador. 
 
Said Wynn Telecom co-founder and chairman Rakesh Malhotra, “We believe that the association is a perfect match between Saif‘s personality and what we stand for as a brand. We are glad to sign him as he is admired, aggressive and extremely popular within the youth.”
 
Added Khan, “I admire the brand‘s attitude and style and relate to it closely as it is refreshingly trendy and fast.” 
 
Wynn Telecom will launch its Wynncom brand of handsets in May this year and aims to be listed among the top three Indian handsets brands within the next one year.

MUMBAI: The ratings of Indian Premier League (IPL) 3.0 continue to hold firm as the event moves towards the climax stage. 
 
The average TVR of the last 43 matches is 4.6 compared with 4.7 and 4.1 in the first and second seasons respectively, according to Tam data.
 
The 10 matches played from 4 April-10 April managed an average TVR of 4.3. Three matches crossed a TVR of five, including the contest between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings on 6 April that fetched a TVR of 5.58.
 
The event has managed a cummulative reach of 135 million compared with 97 million in the first season and 117 million in the second season.
 

MUMBAI: The Indian ad market is on a swift recovery course and is set to grow at 9 per cent this year, leaving behind its slow crawl in 2009, as television and print see a strong rebound.

Upgrading its forecast for India, ZenithOptimedia said Wednesday television would accelerate to 11-12 per cent growth this year, compared to a 6 per cent growth in the earlier year.

Print will see a 7-8 per cent annual growth through to 2012, pacing up from a 5 per cent growth in 2009.

“Having consistently outperformed the economy as a whole for years, the ad market slowed to just 1 per cent growth in 2009. Recovery has been swift, however, and we forecast 9 per cent growth in 2010,” the study said.

Fuelling the ad growth in the television segment will be the spread of digital TV and new advertising opportunities such as sponsorship of new ‘larger than life‘ entertainment formats.

Sports will also drive growth in television advertising, partly due to the success of the Indian Premier League (IPL). “This trend is likely to continue as India hosts the Commonwealth Games this year,” the study said.

Television broadcasters, however, feel the sector is poised to grow faster than ZenithOptimedia‘s forecast.

“The television segment should post an ad growth of over 15 per cent. This will be a watershed year as television will overtake print in absolute terms. The economy is on a sound growth path and intense competition among the FMCG companies is leading to a correction of ad rates. Other categories are opening up and we see a strong rebound in the financial sector. IPOs (initial public offering) have been lined up. Hindi general entertainment channels have become much stronger and are not being affected by big-ticket items,” said Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd chief revenue officer and head niche channels Joy Chakraborthy. 
 
Star India is also bullish on the ad growth in 2010. Said Star India president, ad sales Kevin Vaz, “The ad spend on television is expected to grow at a minimum of 15-20 per cent this year. And the growth will be witnessed across categories. While FMCG will show a sharp upward ad spend, the advent of new telecom players and handset manufacturers will boost the growth further. Financial investment advertising will also show a comeback.”

ZenithOptimedia scripts a healthy picture for print as well. “India is one of the few large markets where newspaper advertising continues to grow. Rising literacy levels and improved distribution in the regions are steadily improving newspapers‘ reach. Magazines suffered a sharp fall in ad expenditure in 2009, though part of this fall may be ascribed to the fact that the indirect advertising and sponsorship option most consumer magazines now offer are not being picked up in the monitored ad expenditure figures,” the study pointed out.
 
Internet advertising in India remains low in reach but high in opportunity. Growth is being driven by the spread of the mobile internet and the youth culture of social media. Large corporations now value the opportunities offered by the media, and are investing more time and money. Thus, Internet advertising is expected to grow at about 25 per cent annually for the coming three years.

Global ad expenditure forecast

Zenith Optimedia expects global ad expenditure to grow by 2.2 per cent in 2010, up from the 0.9 per cent growth that it had predicted in December.

This is the agency‘s second upgrade in a row, stating a 1.3 percentage point improvement this time as compared to a 0.4 point improvement in December.

It has also upgraded its forecasts for the next two years, though not so dramatically. The agency predicts 4.1 per cent growth in 2011, up from 3.9 per cent, and 5.3 per cent in 2012, up from 4.8 per cent. According to Zenith Optimedia, this pattern of recovery is normal as after the previous two recessions, it took three years of progressive recovery for the global ad market to return to normal growth.

After suffering a deep 12.1 per cent decline in 2009, the developed markets (which are defined as North America, Western Europe and Japan) are stabilising, with occasional signs of surprising strength.

The study states that the UK‘s television market, which has been shrinking since 2005, was up 7 per cent in Q1 2010, and will be up at least 16 per cent in Q2. In the US, network radio is up about 20 per cent for the first half of 2010, with strong support from retail (which has nearly doubled its spend year on year).

Since the beginning of 2010, Spain‘s TV market has managed to absorb a 20 per cent reduction in capacity, after advertising was removed from all public channels, with little to no reduction in expenditure. At the moment these represent isolated pockets of recovery, but they demonstrate that advertisers are becoming more willing to take advantage of good opportunities when they arise.

The report expects the recovery to become more general as the year progresses, leading to overall growth next year. It forecasts a 0.8 per cent decline in developed-market ad expenditure in 2010, followed by 1.8 per cent growth in 2011. North America, having led the world into recession, will be last out, with a 1.5 per cent drop in ad expenditure in 2010, while Japan drops 0.7 per cent and Western Europe grows 0.4 per cent. 
 
Markets in the developing world (everywhere apart from North America, Western Europe and Japan) followed two very different paths in 2009. Many markets in Central and Eastern Europe suffered a very sharp drop in ad expenditure at the beginning of the year, when investors and advertisers were afraid that the financial crisis and drop in global demand would permanently damage these markets‘ prospects. Ad expenditure fell much faster here than in the developed world: across the whole of 2009 ad expenditure fell 23.1 per cent in Central & Eastern Europe, with drops as extreme as 42 per cent in Russia, 44 per cent in Latvia and 48 per cent in Ukraine.

“The fears of early 2009 have now largely receded, and we expect these markets to make up their lost ground quickly over the next few years. We forecast 5.7 per cent ad spend growth in Central and Eastern Europe in 2010, and 8.5 per cent in 2011,” the study said.

The rest of the developing world was more robust during the downturn. In 2009, ad expenditure grew 4.8 per cent in the Middle East, 0.4 per cent in Latin America and held steady in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan). Many markets in these regions continued to grow throughout the year, notably Lebanon (25.4 per cent), Indonesia (18.8 per cent), the Philippines (14.5 per cent), Argentina (12.7 per cent) and China (7.4 per cent). These growth rates demonstrate the fundamental health of these markets, which the agency expects to maintain similar performances over the next few years.

Other markets in these regions were not as resilient in the downturn and will not grow so quickly during the upturn, but most should comfortably outpace the developed markets. “Overall we forecast the Middle East to grow 4.7 per cent in 2010, Latin America to grow 9.3 per cent and Asia Pacific (again excluding Japan) to grow 10 per cent,” the study concluded.

MUMBAI: Miditech Private Limited and Global Agency have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Cannes to strengthen their partnership.

Under the pact, Miditech will produce television shows for Indian broadcasters using the formats developed by Global Agency while the latter will distribute the formats developed by Miditech to international broadcasters. 
 
Said Miditech managing director Nivedith Alva, “Miditech has consistently focused on developing original formats and drama series for the domestic market, many of which have the potential to travel globally. The tie up with Global Agency, with whom we‘ve built a strong relationship in India with Perfect Bride, will give us access to some of the biggest and most controversial global formats for the Indian market, as well as create an additional distribution network for own home grown formats .” 
 
Added Global Agency CEO Izzet Pinto, “With the burgeoning television audiences we are extremely bullish about creating a significant mark in the global television market. We merge our expertise of developing diverse formats that creates rapid buzz with Miditech to gain maximum exposure in the Indian television.”
 

MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Hero Honda Motors have announced a three-year partnership. According to the deal, Hero Honda will become a global partner with a major presence at all ICC events. 
 
The deal will include the upcoming ICC World Twenty20, which takes place from 30 April to 16 May in the West Indies, and will run all the way to the end of 2012. This formal commitment follows Hero Honda’s successful involvement in the last three high-profile events staged by ICC in England (ICC World Twenty20 2009), South Africa (ICC Champions Trophy 2009) and New Zealand (ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2010).

The deal will position Hero Honda alongside existing global partners Reliance Mobile, LG Electronics and Pepsi and will include ICC events like the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, the ICC World Twenty20 2010 and 2012, the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012 and the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 2010.
 
This agreement will entitle Hero Honda to exercise certain promotional, advertising, marketing and other commercial rights on a world-wide basis in connection with the events.

ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat says, “Hero Honda has already been a great supporter of cricket for many years and this deal is a great one for the game.” 
 
Hero Honda Motors MD, CEO Pawan Munjal says, “Hero Honda is all set to further strengthen its close to two decade-long association with cricket. It is a matter of great privilege and delight to once again be partnering the ICC as one of its global partners for all its international cricketing events.”
 

MUMBAI: McCain Foods (India), the Indian subsidiary of McCain Foods Canada, has appointed Leo Burnett as its creative partner following a multi-agency pitch.

The agency has been mandated to build awareness of the new brand in India by developing and implementing an integrated brand communication approach across all touch points.
 
Said McCain Foods India MD K S Narayanan, “We found a good strategic fit and decided to go with Leo Burnett in India. Leo Burnett won the multi agency pitch on the basis of their strong consumer insights and sound creative direction. We need to build the frozen foods category in India which would be accomplished over a period of time and have been working with Leo Burnett for the past few months in developing the brand strategy and communication plan.”
 
Said Leo Burnett executive director Samir Gangahar, “With McCain‘s diverse product categories for the Indian consumer and the prospect of building the frozen foods category in the country, we look forward to exciting times ahead.”
 

MUMBAI: Mudra MAX, part of the Mudra Group, has been awarded the media mandate of Shakti Pumps (India).
 
The size of the account is pegged at Rs 100 to 120 million.

Said Shakti Pumps (India) deputy general manager- marketing Ankit Patidar, “Considering our ambitious growth plans and vision to become the most valuable company amongst stainless steel submersible pump manufacturers, we felt the need to have a professional, informed approach towards media strategy and planning. We are pleased to have Mudra MAX as our media partner as we feel it is in sync with our approach as well as vision.”
 
“With the Commonwealth Games a couple of years away, the need to build a good transport system in Delhi was really important and Meru answers that call. Our taxis will be fitted with a GPS/GPRS device that will allow us to locate taxis and deploy it efficiently,” RoonAverred Mudra MAX media president LS Krishnan, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner Shakti Pumps as its media agency. It‘s a significant win for us. We will work together for all future launches and intend to help build the brand on a larger platform in the coming months.”
 

MUMBAI: HCL Technologies, a global IT services provider, has engaged Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) Delhi to work on a global brand strategy project. The first phase of the assignment starts immediately. 
 
Says HCL Technologies VP Krishnan Chatterjee, “Their fresh thinking, engaging operating style and cutting edge creativity are real assets to a partner like us. We believe we will receive a lot of value from this team yet again”.
 
Wieden+Kennedy Delhi was recently appointed by the Park Hotels for overall brand development and the launch of several new properties.
 

MUMBAI: Shantonu Aditya has joined Manhattan Communications, a total marketing solutions company, as co-promoter and executive director.

Besides Adris Chakraborty, other investors in Manhattan Communications and its affiliates include Bennett, Coleman & Co India, and original VC investors of PayPod Inc., USA. 
 
PayPod, a technology company developed by tech start-up guru Sashi Chimala, was acquired by MediaMorphosis in 2009. PayPod‘s proprietary AD network software currently powers the company‘s Ethniconline portal.

Manhattan Communications provides advertising, branding, public relations, marketing (media, interactive, ATL, BTL) and events management, in India and abroad. The company and its affiliates have offices in India, US and UK.

The company‘s New York headquartered US affiliate MediaMorphosis Inc. and the online portal Ethnic-online (EON) provide full suite of offline and online marketing agency services and solutions, specialising in targeting ethnic market spaces – specifically the rapidly expanding affluent South Asian diaspora in North America and globally. 
 
Manhattan Communications provides strategies and solutions to meet the marketing and branding objectives of clients, including aggressive customer acquisition strategies, guerrilla marketing and shaping of new market spaces.

Says Manhattan Communications chairman and founder Adris Chakraborty, “We are extremely excited to get Shantonu as our partner. His vast experience, expertise and relationships in the media and advertising space will help us chalk our aggressive growth plans, in India and globally. I am confident, that Manhattan Communications will scale new highs under Shantonu‘s leadership”.
 
Adds Aditya, “After working nearly 10 years in the television space with Sony Entertainment Television, Sahara One and UTV Broadcasting, and prior to that in the consumer durable and FMCG business, I am excited to become a full time entrepreneur partnering with Adris. Manhattan and its affiliate companies have a robust and scalable business model, and we have clear head start with focus on the global ethnic market with a complete suite of off line and online solutions”.

Aditya had quit UTV Global Broadcasting Ltd as executive director in late 2009.

MUMBAI: The rising popularity of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has forced the two arch rivals, Star Plus and Zee TV, to join hands.
 
In a common ad released on the front page of The Economic Times, the two channels jointly screamed that the “top Hindi serials outperform IPL.”
 
Using cricketing terms, the ad said the IPL was caught and bowled by Bidaai, Star Plus‘ top-rated show. Protecting Zee TV‘s turf, the ad also announced Pavitra Rishta (most-watched show for the channel) to have got IPL LBW (leg before wicket).

Quoting Tam data from week 11-14, the front page ad claimed the top four Hindi GEC shows – Bidaai, Yeh Rishta (Star Plus), Balika Vadhu (Colors) and Pavitra Rishta (Zee TV) – to have garnered more eyeballs than the IPL. 
 
“IPL match average remains lower than that of top four Hindi general entertainment shows (30-minute average ratings),” the ad said. The ad sources Tam data for C&S 4+, Hindi-speaking market.

While IPL scores a TVR of 5 for week 11-14, Bidaai is ahead at 5.9 TVR, Yeh Rishta at 5.8 TVR, Balika Vadhu at 5.4 TVR and Pavitra Rishta at 5.3 TVR.

“When India‘s favourite cricketers were battling it out on the field, more Indians were following Sadhana in Bidaai or one of their favourite characters on Hindi general entertainment channels. Clearly, it‘s not just cricketers who have millions of fans following them,” the ad communicated.

The third edition of the IPL, running for 45 days on primetime television in India, is likely to net an advertising revenue of Rs 7.5 billion.

Clearly, Hindi GECs don‘t want ad monies to migrate from them to Max, the official broadcaster of the IPL from the Multi Screen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television India) stable.