Mumbai: Ahead of the theatrical release of the new Illumination film, ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ (in theatres 1 July 2022), fast food chain McDonald’s India West and South – owned and operated by Westlife Development — has just introduced new Minion-themed banana desserts and milkshake that fans of the franchise are sure to love. You can now choose from a range of Minions-themed banana caramel desserts, including banana caramel flurry, banana caramel sundae, and the banana caramel milkshake at any McDonald’s restaurant in West and South India.
Speaking on the launch of the new ‘Minions’-themed desserts and milkshakes at McDonald’s, the company’s India West and South marketing and communications director Arvind RP said, “Movies and McDonald’s are best enjoyed with family and friends. Through the launch of these new Minions-themed products on our menu, we want to give our consumers, especially the tens of millions of Minions fans, one more reason to make McDonald’s their preferred choice for all things fun and memorable. We hope all our consumers make the most of this limited time offering across our restaurants in West and South India.”
The new ‘Minions’-themed products are available for dine-in at McDonald’s and through delivery, takeout, drive-thru, and on the go on the McDelivery app. Customers can also enjoy various offers on these products on the McDonald’s app.
Mumbai: Pocket FM, a personalized audio streaming service, has launched ad solutions on the app to accelerate its revenue growth. In order to discover the best audio innovations, the company has conducted numerous experimental campaigns with more than 100 brands. It has also offered engaging brand solutions to companies like One Plus, Croma, Amazon Prime, Fino Banking Payments, Hero Vired, and others.
While ensuring a clutter-free and smooth advertising experience with little ad interference for its listener community throughout the test period, Pocket FM achieved enormous engagement for these brands on its platform. Brands can engage with the listener community using a customised strategy thanks to Pocket FM’s solution’s precise targeting choices.
Pocket FM head – agency relationship Manish Nagar said, “We have been spearheading the category creation for audio streaming with innovations and our unique storytelling capabilities guiding us towards sustainable and profitable growth. The marketing and advertising community has shown immense interest in our ad solutions due to its strength to optimise brand engagement without disrupting listeners’ experience.”
The project undertaken by Fino Banking Payments with Pocket FM garnered immense industry appreciation for its innovative approach to audio.
FINO Banking Payments chief marketing officer Anand Bhatia said, “For a relatively new platform to churn out such innovations in the audio OTT category is a great thing. But to win an award for it within the first six months itself is an even greater achievement. We are glad to have associated with Pocket FM and tried, tested, and approved of its prowess. A first of its kind for our category, really!”
In the last quarter, Pocket FM introduced the micro-payment module for its listener to imbibe piecemeal content consumption habits and witnessed an exponential growth trajectory in content monetization, setting the trend for a micro-payment mechanism.
Having over 1,00,000 hours of audio content, Pocket FM is focused on building the largest audio-streaming repository across multiple formats, including audio series, audiobooks, podcasts, and others. With more than 15 million monthly active listeners on the app, and a daily average time spent of over 100 minutes, the app has emerged as a preferred media category for brands and marketers.
Pocket FM has raised $93.6 million till date and is backed by some marquee investors like Lightspeed, Times Internet, Tanglin Venture Partners, Goodwater Capital, and Naver.
Mumbai : Upstox extends its partnership with Tamil Nadu Premier League 2022 as associate partner
Sub: The aim of this year’s partnership is to further strengthen its position in the state.
Tags: Upstox, Tamil Nadu Premier League, Shrini Viswanath, K. Shivakumar, Associate partner, partnership, marketing, advertising
Mumbai: Investment platform Upstox (a.k.a. RKSV Securities) announces its continued association with Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2022 for the second year in a row as an Associate Sponsor.
This is the sixth edition of TNPL, which begins with the inaugural match between Chepauk Super Gillies and Nellai Royal Kings on 23 June at 7:15 pm. There are 32 matches (28 league matches and 4 play-off matches) that are going to take place in Tirunelveli, Natham (Dindigul), Coimbatore and Salem from 23 June to 31 July. This time around the league will have six double headers and all the evening matches will start at 7:15 pm.
Upstox added that it recently crossed the one crore customer milestone in India, and Tamil Nadu remains one of its most important markets. Partnering with TNPL it explains has previously helped it increase financial inclusion and awareness in the state of Tamil Nadu. The aim of this year’s partnership is to further strengthen its position in the state, while allowing it to expand its reach into other parts of southern India.
Upstox co-founder Shrini Viswanath said, “We are thrilled to associate with Tamil Nadu Premier League. We seek to strengthen our foothold in Tamil Nadu, foster long-term brand love and loyalty, while making a meaningful difference in the lives of cricket enthusiasts. We believe that our collaboration with TNPL will inspire and encourage the audience to participate in the culture of equity investing.”
Upstox was established in 2009 with the aim of making financial investing simple, equitable, and affordable for all Indian investors. It allows investors and traders to invest in equities, mutual funds, derivatives, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Majority of Upstox’s customers in Tamil Nadu hail from Chennai, Coimbatore, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur and Vellore.
TNPL chairman K. Shivakumar said, “We are delighted to partner with Upstox for the second time as our Associate Partner. This partnership will further boost the financial aspirations of TNPL enthusiasts, as well as encourage them to set a firm foot towards their financial planning to ensure a secure future. We look forward to achieving milestones together.”
Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) secretary RS Ramasaamy commented on the partnership, “Our association with Upstox has been fruitful, and the TNPL has helped provide momentum for the brand within Tamil Nadu. We are happy to be continuing our collaboration with the brand for TNPL 2022.”
The matches will be played at two new venues: SNR College Ground, Coimbatore, and Salem Cricket Foundation Ground, Salem, along with the regular venues NPR College, Natham and ICL – Sankar Nagar Ground, Tirunelveli. All the matches will be streamed on Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Tamil.
MUMBAI: India continued its winning spree at the ongoing Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, earning 19 more Lions that took its total tally to 39- including four Grand Prix- in one of the country’s best performances at the fest yet. The Lions were won across Creative Data, Direct, Media, PR, Social & Influencer categories.
Dentsu Creative scripted history, bagging its third Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions, for its star campaign ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ under the ‘Social and Influencer’ category. It also bagged a silver lion and a bronze lion for the same campaign.
Reacting to the agency’s momentous performance, Dentsu Creative CEO India Amit Wadhwa exulted, “And it’s a Hat-Trick. Three Grand Prix in four days!! I still have to come to terms with this.”
“Not a single day here can be equated to another. Each day has been unique. And thriving. Today, we add yet another Grand Prix, one Silver and one Bronze to our wins. And yet again, kudos to each and every one of our present and ex-teammates for the dedication, brilliance, and excellence that they have put in and into this journey to get us here. This belongs to them. All of them. We have one more day to go and we are getting a bit greedy now!” he added.
Dentsu Creative group chief creative officer India Ajay Gahlaut added, “Here we are almost towards the end of this Grand Festival, and we win a third Grand Prix today along with a Silver and Bronze. We are definitely writing history here. I am extremely proud of how we have fared so far. And there’s still a day to go. We’re not done yet!”
FCB India also scored 11 metals on the fourth day of the Cannes Lions. The award-winning campaigns included its popular campaign ‘Chatpat’ in partnership with Kinnect + FCB Chicago, ‘The Nominate Me Selfie’ campaign and the Unaids’ ‘Unbox Me’ campaigns.
The Indian contingent also added 14 more shortlists: 8 in Film Lions and 6 in Sustainable Development Goals Lions to round up its final shortlists tally at 121.
Here’s the breakdown of the day four’s wins under various categories:
Creative Data Winners
Ogilvy India won a Gold Lion for Cadbury Celebrations’ ‘Shah Rukh Khan My Ad’ campaign under Data-enhanced Creativity subcategory.
Direct Winners
Ogilvy bagged one more Gold and one Bronze Lion for Cadbury Celebrations’ ‘Shah Rukh Khan My Ad’ campaign in Data-driven Targeting and Use of Digital Platforms subcategories, respectively.
A Gold Lion came for FCB India + FCB Chicago for ‘The Nominate Me Selfie’ under Cultural Insight subcategory.
The agency, in partnership with Kinnect, won one more Bronze Lion for SOS Childern’s Villages India’s young brand mascot Chatpat in Breakthrough On A Budget subcategory.
Media Winners
‘Chatpat’ got Kinnect + FCB India + FCB Chicago, one Gold Lion (Not-for-Profit/Charity/Government) and one Silver Lion (Use of Stunts), as well.
FCB India + FCB Chicago picked another Silver Lion for ‘The Nominate Me Selfie’ in the Cultural Insight Section.
Additionally, Ogilvy and BBDO won one Silver and one Bronze metal, respectively.
Ogilvy won the Silver for ‘Cadbury Perk Disclaimers’ (Food & Drink) – a campaign that asked people who tend to take offence quickly, to ‘take it light’.
BBDO won it for its much popular ‘Ariel See Equal #ShareTheLoad (Integrated) campaign in Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility subcategory.
PR Winners
FCB India + FCB Chicago won two Bronze Lions in Social Engagement and Cultural Insight subcategories for ‘Unbox Me’ – a campaign for Unaids that advocates for the rights of transgender children via a heartwarming film.
Conceptualised by Denstu Creative, Vice Media’s ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ won one Bronze Lion in content creation & production.
The campaign via an interactive Instagram filter tells the story of some of the most disputed artefacts in the British Museum through the perspective of communities that they have been stolen from.
Social & Influencer Winners
Denstu Creative picked up its third Grand Prix for ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ under the Media/Entertainment subcategory. The campaign also picked a Silver Lion under the Social Purpose category.
Kinnect + FCB India + FCB Chicago’s work ‘Chatpat’ won one Gold, one Silver, and Bronze Lion in Not-for-Profit/Charity/Government, Innovative Use of Influencers, and Social Film Series subcategories.
FCB India + FCB Chicago picked a Bronze Lion for Unaids’ ‘Unbox Me’ campaign in the Cultural Insight section.
Shortlists
The final set of shortlists for the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2022 was announced on day 04 and India got 14 shortlists.
‘Chatpat’ by Kinnect + FCB India + FCB Chicago that got three shortlists : two in Fim Lions (Online & Viral Fim, Breakthrough on a Budget and one in SDG Lions (Poverty).
Another campaign to get three shortlists was ‘Machine Gun Mouth’, created by DDB Mudra for Battlegrounds Mobile India. The campaign was shortlisted in Media/Entertainment, Viral Fim, and Social Behaviour subcategories in Film Lions.
‘The Missing Chapter’ by Leo Burnett for P&G Whisper got two shortlists in SDG Lions under Good Health & Well-Being and Quality Education Subcategories.
Enormous Brands got one shortlist in Film Lions (Consumer Goods) for its very popular ‘Jaquar Bath & Lights – Office’ campaign.
‘Pure As Love’, a beautiful campaign by Animal for Bhima Jewellery got one shortlist in Film Lions under Consumer Goods.
BYJU’s ‘Master Ji’, which has already won a Silver Entertainment Lion, got one shortlist in Film Lions in Consumer Service/Business to Business section.
Global Esports’ campaign ‘The Protest Match – The Final That Could Have Happened’ got Isobar one shortlist in SDG Lions under Gender Equality.
Unipads’ ‘Adeli’ got VMLY&R a shortlist in SDG Lions, while VMLY&R Commerce got another shortlist for Unilever’s ‘Smart Fill’ in SDG Lions (Responsible Consumption & Production).
Mumbai: The globally acclaimed digital agency, Blink Digital, has united with Kalvi to flawlessly encapsulate what sets it apart and ties back seamlessly to the target audience and helps them curate a quirky tagline. The brand also partnered with Rithvik Dhanjani.
The newly introduced tagline for the seed-funded educational startup was carried out through videos, banners and further amplification on social media platforms like Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. They have also helped Kalvi to curate their tagline, after delving into deep research.
The partnership aims to weave the brand’s market positioning via ‘get engineered differently at Kalvi’ that can define the brand in its market segment. Blink Digital conceptualised and executed the campaign to assist them to create awareness amongst aspiring engineering students.
The tagline details Kalvi’s pioneering liberal engineering program that reimagines what a B.Tech degree can be, a first-of-its-kind, that guarantees students not just one-on-one mentorship with industry experts, but also placements with paid internships in top MNCs from the second year of the course itself. The venture is backed by industry experts & CTOs of top tech companies and delivers its promise through their proprietary platform called “quadrangle”.
A new start in brand positioning for Blink Digital, the agency created the positioning statements, taglines along with various banners and video assets highlighting the pioneering RTBs, using Rithvik Dhanjani for his credibility in the engineering category.
Talking about the association, Blink Digital co-founder and COO Rikki Agarwal said, “We are delighted to be associated with Kalvi Institute for this campaign and look forward to continuing working with them on exciting problem-solving scenarios to spread the word about their mission to transform engineering education. The Blink team wanted to create a simple yet effective medium that was eye-grabbing yet informative. The team made sure it was in line with client briefs and reached the right audiences.”
“We are happy to partner with Blink Digital and leverage its unique approach to meet our objective. They are assisting us across the full stack of marketing – starting from research & creatives to develop our position and tagline right through to media planning and execution to effectively reach & convert our target audiences. We are delighted with the service they have provided and the impact that it has had through this whole process.” added Kalvi head of growth Deepak Venugopal.
Mumbai: Langoor has been selected by Power League Gaming as its new digital, creative, and strategic agency partner. To help the most innovative gaming, content, and esports activation firm in the MENA region reach new gaming audiences, Langoor will be in charge of creating cutting-edge, immersive digital experiences.
The highest rates of new technology use, mobile penetration, and population identification as gamers are seen in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. While 67 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s population regularly plays video games, more than 65 per cent of residents of the UAE identify as gamers (four times per week or more).
Power League Gaming (PLG), which has operations across the AIM region and has led the MENA region’s gaming and esports industry for the past ten years, has a direct impact on how gamers, publishers, and brands interact with one another. By actively teaching new talent and giving them job prospects in the MENA region through a variety of means, such as EMU (Esports and Media University), which is a component of PLG’s portfolio of education firms, their goal has been to enhance the Arabic gaming and esports market.
Power League Gaming CEO Matthew Pickering said, “For the past decade, PLG and its teams have shaped the gaming and esports sector in the MENA region. We have consistently produced ground-breaking, disruptive mechanics that successfully connect global brands with gaming audiences. We are thrilled to welcome Langoor as our new digital transformation agency. Together, we look forward to building and designing engaging content platforms and developing the region’s next generation of gaming and content leaders.”
Langoor co-founder and CEO Venugopal Ganganna said: “The Middle East is the fastest-growing market for gaming in the world. Not only does the region have an amazing gaming community but it also generates the highest gaming revenue per user. With the advent of Web3 and Meta, and the regions’ ability to adapt to these new emerging tech, we see players like PLG playing a supercritical role to innovate and grow the category. We are proud to partner with PLG on this exciting digital transformation journey and look forward to helping them reach gaming audiences across the MENA region and beyond.”
Mumbai: GOZOOP Group has bagged the social media and online reputation management mandate for the premium men’s comfort wear and innerwear, XYXX.
With this association, XYXX aims to elevate its digital presence across markets.
Currently, XYXX is motivating people to be true to themselves and follow their own instincts through the #PlayYourWay campaign leveraged on digital media featuring Indian cricketer KL Rahul. GOZOOP Group with their expertise has amplified the communication to a larger audience through the brand’s social media platforms.
As part of the mandate, GOZOOP Group will be handling social media management duties as well as online reputation, customer support management for the brand. The team is responsible for building communities and recognition for the brand through social media with impactful creative assets.
Speaking of this partnership, XYXX Apparels chief marketing officer Sonal Rai said, “We believe that a brand’s communication strategy and digital initiatives need to share a common vision and voice across all platforms. Trusting GOZOOP Group’s expertise, approach and experience in the digital world, we are ecstatic to have them as our digital agency.”
Commenting on the win, GOZOOP Group India CEO Samrat Bedi, said “We are delighted to be partnering with a very collaborative and encouraging client on this fast growing comfort wear brand. XYXX’s brand ambitions are exciting and challenging — just the kind of mandate that we love taking up at GOZOOP.”
Mumbai: India scored 14 more shortlists- 8 in ‘film category’ and 6 under ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ category on day four of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2022, rounding off its total shortlists tally to a stunning 121.
In film lions, Battlegrounds Mobile India ‘Machine Gun Mouth’ crafted by DDB Mudra secured three shortlists. ‘Jaquar Bath & Lights – Office’ created by Enormous Brands and Bhima Jewellery’s ‘Pure as Love’ by Animal scored one shortlist each in the category.
SOS Children’s Villages India’s young brand ambassador ‘Chatpat’ created by Kinnect + FCB India + FCB Chicago also earned two shortlists. The campaign earned one shortlist in Sustainable Development Goals Lions as well.
The other shortlists under the Sustainable Development Goals Lions category include P&G Whisper’s ‘The Missing Chapter’ conceptualised by Leo Burnett Mumbai which earned two shortlists.
VMLY&R Commerce’s ‘Smart Fill’ campaign for Unilever gained one shortlist, while another shortlist was scored by the Adeli campaign for Unipads’ crafted by VMLY&R Mumbai.
Isobar’s ‘The Protest Match – The Finals That Could Have Happened’ for Global ESports’ also picked up a single shortlist.
Mumbai: Creative transformation company WPP and the Ukrainian government established a cooperation to entice investment and support Ukraine’s economic recovery.
Ukraine minister of culture and information policy Oleksandr Tkachenko discussed the forthcoming campaign in a session with WPP CEO Mark Read at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
WPP agencies from Ukraine, Poland and Czech Republic will work with the minister and his government colleagues on ‘Advantage Ukraine’ to demonstrate that Ukraine is open for business. The initiative will target business leaders within the region and across the world to encourage inward investment to support the economic recovery of the country.
The wider programme will showcase the variety of talent and expertise in Ukraine across sectors including agriculture, technology, education and the creative industries and its huge potential for commercial investment.
Tkachenko said, “I’m pleased to announce our partnership with WPP on our new ‘Advantage Ukraine’ initiative that will create the right conditions for inward investment and create attractive opportunities for visionary business leaders and investors. We want the world to know that Ukraine is still open for business and has the potential to be a key cultural and digital technology European hub.”
Read said, “We are very proud to be able to support Ukraine directly through this campaign. Creativity has the power not only to solve commercial problems but to address some of the biggest issues we face. WPP’s partnership with the Ukrainian government will aim to do both – underlining the enormous commercial potential of the country while supporting the economic recovery essential to rebuilding Ukrainian social and cultural life and ensuring a positive future for its citizens.”
Mumbai: The Odisha government has acquired ownership of a team in the soon-to-be-launched professional league, which can be viewed as a major boost for the Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK).
It will be the Odisha government’s second direct sports endeavour; in 2013, it also owned a team—the Kalinga Lancers—in the Hockey India League. Days before the announcement, Odisha earned silver medals in the boys’ and girls’ Kho Kho competitions in the Khelo India Youth Games 2022.
The Odisha Sports Development and Promotion Company (OSDPC)-owned team will be the fifth franchise in the league. OSDPC is collaborating with leading steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) and will be working closely in Ultimate Kho Kho.
Sports and Youth Services minister Tusharkanti Behera said, “Kho Kho is very popular in many parts of Odisha. In the recent Khelo India Youth Games, our boys and girls played well and won the silver medals. Since it’s a traditional game, we have huge scope to develop it further in the state. Therefore, we have decided to participate in the Kho Kho league. This is part of our Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik’s vision for sports in Odisha.”
Ultimate Kho Kho CEO Tenzing Niyogi said, “Sports Odisha has been one of the key factors in the sporting revolution of India. Their focussed approach in developing a sport has been impressive. They have created an environment that has encouraged many corporate investments to create access for grassroots development and future champions. And now their association with Ultimate Kho Kho, is a great sign for the development of the sport.”
Four franchises were previously declared by Ultimate Kho Kho. While Capri Global and KLO Sports are the owners of the Rajasthan and Chennai teams, respectively, corporate giants ADANI Group and GMR Group secured the Gujarat and Telangana franchises.
With an exclusive multi-year contract, Ultimate Kho Kho has chosen Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) as its broadcast partner. The action from the league will be aired in English and other regional languages on Sony’s sports channels as well as on the OTT service SonyLIV.
