Category: MAM

MUMBAI: Prasanna Group has awarded its creative duties to Origin Beanstalk Creative Consultants, following a multi-agency pitch.

The account size is pegged at Rs 50-70 million.
 
The group operates the Prasanna Bus Links, an inter-city travel service under the name Prasanna and MetroLink. 
 
Confirming on the win, Origin Beanstalk Creative Consultants co-founder Thakur Upendra Singh says, “The account will be handled out of Mumbai by Origin Beanstalk Creative Consultants‘ sister agency Meta. The mandate will be to create a new brand identity for the company.”
 

MUMBAI: With Valentine‘s Day around the corner, Mogae Digital promoted Garden of Love (www.gardenoflove.in) has roped in Aircel as its title sponsor.
 
Additionally, for the second year in succession, MSN India will partner the Garden of Love. The website will also gift virtual Cadbury Temptations‘ chocolate. 
 
“This may seem simple but an application such as this wherein anybody but anybody with even the simplest handset can create and enjoy the flower, is an experience very few digital properties offer today. Also the joy of sharing the flower with friends takes it much beyond a mere greeting card which is one-on-one,” says Mogae Digital creative head Gaurav Luthra.
 
At the Mogae Digital promoted Garden of Love, one can create a flower (virtual, by SMS or on the net) and continue to nourish it with water, sunshine and nutrients, lest it wilt for lack of love. Users have to send an SMS to 5676711 and it will create a flower with a confirmatory message to the beneficiary of the love message as well as to the originator.
 

MUMBAI: LG Electronics, which is a global sponsor of the International Cricket Council (ICC) events, has launched a campaign ‘Lead XI’ for the ICC World Twenty20 that takes place in the West Indies in April.

The consumer durable giant says that it is acknowledging the young talent and presenting ‘India’s future Star‘ on a global platform. The Lead XI contest ends on 28 February.
 
15 kids will be selected through a national level competition. The 30-second audio visual video needs to be uploaded on LG India website (www.lgindia.com) or submitted at one of the LG Best Brand Shoppe. A panel of independent judges selected by LG will judge the entries and select the winners. To witness the success of their kids, LG will also send one of the parents/guardians along with each winning child to West Indies.
 
LG Lead XI is an initiative embarked by the ICC and driven by LG Electronics. LG conducts a national level talent contest to select the children who would lead the Indian cricket team to the ground.
 
LG Electronics India MD MB Shin says, “LG India takes pride to make the Lead XI contest an integral part of ICC tournaments till the time LG is associated with ICC. Recognising the existing and growing passion for cricket in India, especially at the highest level of the game which is nation versus nation, we aim to make it an integral part of our marketing efforts as well. With the new brand identity on salver, LG Electronics aims to continue the strong relationship with cricket and bring innovation to the sport and its association with our consumers.”

MUMBAI: NDTV Imagine‘s endeavour to scout for the “right bride” for controversial politico-television personality Rahul Mahajan may have riveted the audiences to the channel, but it‘s surely not warmed up the slot just the way Rakhi‘s Swayamvar did in its debut week.

Unlike the high grades that Rakhi‘s oomph fetched for the channel on her maiden day appearance (4.1 TVR), Rahul‘s Dulhaniya Le Jaayega (RDLJ) has got a debut rating of 2.1 TVR.

Also, while Rahul batted the week ended 6 February for an average TVR of 1.5, Rakhi had a higher average of 2.7 TVR in her first week on NDTV Imagine. 
 
However, the property‘s second innings has helped NDTV Imagine shore up its GRP scoreboard to 104 points in the week, compared to 90 GRPs it clocked in the previous week.

Come what may, the Rahul Mahajan brand has indisputably not made it to the viewership charts like Rakhi and for media observers the reason is not just a difference in the magnetic element between the two, but also “a promise not kept!”

Says a media observer, “The show began with a promise that it would find the right groom for Rakhi with whom she would get married and live happily ever after. But it failed to keep that promise alive. As a result, viewers might not trust the show promise once again in its second season.” 
 
Such format shows could have their own limitations. “This is because people understood the format well in the debut season and thus, maybe now they expect something fresh in the new term. And that, if not delivered, will affect the viewership base,” says the programming head of a rival network.

The other properties that have added to the channel GRPs include Bandini (1.7 TVR), Palkon Ki Chaaon Mein (1.7 TVR), Devi (1.6 TVR) and Shani Shinganapur Kathayen (1.4 TVR).

Meanwhile, Star Plus has ousted Zee TV to the second spot, riding on the back of the 16th Star Screen Awards that pocketed a TVR of 6.6. The non-fiction property was telecast on 31 January at 8 pm. 
 
While Zee TV has slipped to 261 from 309 over the week-ago period, Sony Entertainment television is stable at 169 (170 last week). Zee TV, however, has the most-watched show in Pavitra Rishta that has once again topped with a peak TVR of 7.0. Last week, the show dislodged Colors‘ Laado to occupy the number one slot.

Colors continues to rule the rooster with 318 GRPs (321 in previous week). Star Plus grips the second pole with 303 points, a 56 point jump over the previous week.

A close look at the other GECs: Sab is two points down over previous week to stand at 84 while Star One is one point down at 39; Sahara One has marched four points up the ladder to clock 31 GRPs.
 

MUMBAI: The fourth season of the show Heroes kicks off on Star World on 16 February at 10 pm. It will air from Monday – Thursday.
 
To create awareness for the show, the broadcaster has tied up with Cafe Coffee Day. The tie up is for branding in outlets in the form of tent cards and danglers.

The tent cards and danglers shall carry the Heroes contest. Participants can sms their answers with the help of details on the tent cards. This activity is taking place across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune.
 
A similar contest shall be available on the channel’s micro site till 28 February. Winners from the Heroes contest will get merchandise from the channel. The broadcaster has also bought ad space on youth sites like Rediff, Sify, Zapak, in.com and Facebook.
 
The show chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover that they possess extraordinary abilities. As the dust settles from last season, the heroes attempt to settle back into their ordinary lives. Claire is finding that her biggest challenges are forgetting her old life and starting college. Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) goes back to his old life in Japan, but discovers that he has a terminal illness. Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) returns to work as an ordinary New York City EMT, but he uses his abilities to save lives. H.R.G., charged with living like an ordinary man and creating a new company, is rapidly discovering that he needs more from his life.

Tracy Strauss, having risen from the dead, is consumed with seeking vengeance, but soon realises that she has a real opportunity to reinvent herself. Nathan Petrelli, not realizing who he really is, returns to the Senate and begins to notice strange changes and new abilities in himself. These changes are not lost on Angela, who recognizes them for what they truly are – the emergence of Sylar. Matt Parkman returns to life as an ordinary family man and wishes to live so for the rest of his life. But, as all of the Heroes will quickly discover, it‘s not easy to go home again. They will face one pressing question: how do extraordinary people lead ordinary lives?

The biggest challenge for the Heroes this season is a strange and dangerous carnival consisting of a traveling band of outsiders with powerful abilities, led by a charismatic and powerful leader, Samuel (Robert Knepper).

Samuel leads his flock to intersect with the lives of all the heroes. He will find them, and he will entice them to join him. And together, they will ask the same basic questions: Who are we? What does having powers mean to the world? How should we live our lives – shameful or proud? Should we hide or live out in the open? And if the world of powers is revealed, how?
 

MUMBAI: The 2010 Super Bowl on CBS has broken all viewership records in the history of American television, amassing 106.5 million people.

According to Nielsen data, the Sunday Super Bowl game marking the victory of New Orleans Saints over Indianapolis Colts in Miami eclipsed the viewership record of the 1983 finale of wartime sitcom M-A-S-H, which was seen by 105.97 million viewers.
 
The previous most-watched Super Bowl game was last year‘s contest between Pittsburgh and Arizona, as it drew in an audience of 98.7 million. Nielsen says this is the fifth consecutive year that the Super Bowl has averaged more than 90 million viewers.
 
The television industry, however, has changed dramatically over the last three decades in the US. When the M-A-S-H finale aired on 28 February 1983, there were 83.3 million homes with televisions, which have now increased to over 115 million homes.
 
“The Super Bowl remains the premier television event of the year and is one of the few programmes in an era of fragmented TV viewership that can still attract a huge national audience,” says Nielsen executive Dave Thomas.
 

MUMBAI: Crayon Advertising has bagged the creative and media duties of the Indian counterpart of the Harvard Business School.
 
This is the first time the Indian counterpart of the B-School has taken on board an agency.
 
Crayons will be looking at creating buzz about the various education programmes offered by the Harvard Business School in India. The agency will be using print largely to create the buzz.
 
Harvard Business School started its India Research Center (IRC) in Mumbai in 2006.
 

MUMBAI: Lintas Media Group has won the media duties for Religare Enterprises. The pitch involved seven media agencies.

According to industry sources, the account size is pegged close to Rs 800 million.
 
Confirming the win, Lintas Media Group president Sudha Natrajan says, “This is a prestigious win and this was one of the most competitive pitches that have happened in the past several months.”

The account will be handled out of the Lintas Delhi office and will be headed by Lintas Media Group SVP and GM VS Mani.
 
According to a source, the closest competitor to Lintas Media Group was Madison India.

NAC advertising is the incumbent agency on the account. The agency will continue to be advising the client on the media side.

MUMBAI: Marketing & brand management heads Hari C and Ravi Luthria have put in their papers at Star Plus and Star One respectively.
 
While Hari joined Star India in November last, Luthria has been with the Star Network since 2006.

The duo were given the marketing & brand management roles when the network decided to integrate and structure its marketing functions in order to drive channel-specific marketing and communication needs while maintaining focus on network synergies.
 
While neither Hari nor Luthria were available for comment, sources confirm that both are currently serving their notice periods at the network.
 

MUMBAI: It is a win that came after a six-month evaluation process. Mindshare has retained its Unilever account for South Asia, including India, the US, Canada, Western Europe and South and Central Europe.

The FMCG giant will, thus, split its $5 billion global media business between Mindshare, Interpublic Group (IPG) and Omnicom Media Group (OMG).

It could not be independently verified how much was the size of the India account. Hindustan Unilever Ltd, however, spent Rs 17.65 billion on advertising and promotion for the first three quarters of this fiscal in India, up from Rs 12.41 billion a year ago.

Mindshare gets to handle the India account once again at a time when the margins of HUL are squeezed and its market supremacy in many products are threatened. The FMCG major has been fighting back and has increased its ad spend while it is eyeing the premium brands to widen its margins.

HUL is the top advertiser under FMCG sector on television during the calendar year 2009. It accounted for 19 per cent of FMCG sector‘s TV ad pie in terms of volumes, while Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd grabs the second spot with a share of 7 per cent.

Ponds White Beauty, Clinic All Clear Tech Soft and Dove Hair Fall Therapy System, all from the HUL stable, are the top three new brands of FMCG sector advertised on TV during 2009 in terms of secondage consumption, according to Tam data.
 
Before finalising on Mindshare, Unilever had initiated its global media agency review in July 2009 across 53 countries, in line with the company policy to evaluate media agency arrangements periodically.

Subsequently, in October, the FMCG major had shortlisted the battle to Aegis Mediabrands, Mindshare and OMG.

Says Unilever VP global media Laura Klauberg, “As we increasingly make use of digital and social media, we are confident that we have the best agency partners to help us engage in new ways with the 2 billion consumers whose lives we touch. In addition, greater alignment within our key country clusters will contribute to achieving exceptional results for our business in an increasingly complex and fragmented media environment.”
 
 
The outcome for Unilever‘s lead countries is as follows: