Category: Marketing

MUMBAI: Everest Brand Solutions has won the creative duties of Mumbai-based low-cost airline GoAir.
 
Industry sources have pegged the account at Rs 250 to 300 million.

GoAir marketing head Rahul Deans confirmed the development to Indiantelevision.com. 
 
According to sources close to the development, five agencies took part in the pitch. The other four agencies were Ogilvy & Mather’s Meridian, ideas@work, Law & Kenneth and McCann Worldgroup‘s Altitude.

The agency will take a 360-degree approach towards promoting the brand and taking it further.
 
This account will be the first win for Dhunji S. Wadia who was recently appointed as the president of the agency.

GoAir is wholly owned by the Mumbai-based Wadia Group, the majority owners of Bombay Dyeing and Britannia Industries.
 

MUMBAI: Mumbai based personal care company Amar Remedies has awarded its creative mandate to M&C Saatchi. There was no formal pitch for the account. 
 
M&C Saatchi had recently executed a project for on launch of Amar‘s Clove Gel toothpaste.
 
Amar Remedies president – commercial Chetan Gupta said, “We were pleased with the communication package developed by M&C Saatchi for Amar Clove Gel toothpaste. The creative was clutter breaking and the consequent results in the marketplace have been very positive. We had no hesitation in making the relationship a more permanent one.”
 
M&C Saatchi executive director Suranjan Das added, “This is a really exciting and challenging category to work on. Amar has some fantastic products, that are 100 per cent vegetarian and filled with ayurvedic goodness. Till recently their focus has been more on export markets, hence the first task is to build their awareness at a domestic level. The company is extremely open minded and flexible. We look forward to this association.”

MUMBAI: The BBC and The Economist have joined hands to present two special events in India, designed to provide a platform for exchanging ideas and thoughts on branding and managing image perceptions.

The programme, Global Brandscape, is planned for emerging Indian multinationals. It will feature heads of high profile Indian conglomerates. The events will take place on 24 and 25 January, in Delhi and Mumbai respectively.
 
The Economist Group India MD Suprio Guha Thakurta saID, “As more and more Indian organisations look at global markets for finance, partnerships, raw material, and access is to customers, there is a growing need to manage global brand reputations more pro-actively. This unique initiative from the BBC and The Economist is a first attempt in building best practices in creating global brands by drawing upon the best research and international learning.”

Speakers at the events will present perspectives on how brands present themselves and the tools at their disposal.
 
Saffron Brand Consultants chairman Wally Olins will speak on “Place Branding” and explain how it is crucial to create the desired ‘country of origin‘ effect for the ‘new‘ world as it spreads its influence globally through its own brands.

Economist Intelligence Unit Asia Director, Industry & management research Laurel West will examine the current state of branding in emerging Asia and look at how companies are tackling the next critical stage of their evolution by harnessing the power of brands.
 
BBC Global News head of audience insight Jeremy Nye will look at how we can understand the ways in which global conversations are taking place – what people talk about, how they do so, and which discussions are the most influential.

BBC Global News Division head of Marcomms Vaishali Sharma said, “Leading Indian brands now hold significant international ambitions and Global Brandscape will offer revealing insights into the techniques such brands can use to carve a niche for themselves on the global stage. These two days should form an ideal platform to discuss innovative brand strategy with some of the finest minds in marketing.”
 

MUMBAI: Mudra has appointed former BBDO India VP planning Arindam Sarkar to head planning for its Delhi branch. 
 
A Mudra Delhi official confirmed the news to Indiantelevision.com on conditions of anonymity. 
 
Sarkar started his career with McCann Erickson as group account manager, where he worked for three years. He then joined EMI Music India as label manager – International. 
 
In 2006, Sarkar joined RSCG as director, planning. He shifted to Ogilvy India as senior planning director within a year of joining RSCG. He spent about three-and-a-half years at Ogilvy India from where he moved to BBDO in 2010.

MUMBAI: Ignite Mudra expects to double its revenue growth in the next fiscal with opportunities coming from smaller towns.

“We are looking at a 30 per cent growth in FY‘12. We are on course to end this fiscal with a 15 per cent growth,” said Ignite Mudra head Chandan Nath.

Having a roster of 21 clients, Ignite Mudra has aggressive plans to derive more revenues from existing clients while tapping new businesses.
 
“The year 2010 has been great. We got new clients and also witnessed organic growth. We must have garnered nearly Rs 20 to 30 million in revenues through our new clients and brands,” said Nath.

The new clients Ignite got this year are Mehsana District Coop Milk Producers Union‘s Dudhsagar Dairy – Sagardaan (Cattlefeed), Khed Economic Infrastrusture (Bharat Forge Group-Pune) Khed Earth, Sai Infosytem (SIS) and Symphony.
 
Said Nath, “We charge around Rs 4 to 6 million as our annual fees from our clients. Of course there can be variations in this, depending on the client requirements. Also, the fees would vary for any specific project that we would do.”

The new brands that the agency got from its existing clients are Pilaf Basmati Rice and Olivoila from Adani Wilmar, ActiLife from Zydus Wellness and Ramdev Hing from Ramdev Food Products.

“Organic growth is very important to us,” averred Nath.

The agency also handles Adani Agri Fresh, D B Corp, Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals, Elite Foods, Graffiti India, Halonix Limited, Nilons Enterprises, Nirma Ltd – (Healthcare Division), Safal Engineers & Iinfrastructure, Shantikrupa Estates and Vinsura Winery.

Ignite Mudra has clients from various categories including food and beverages, media, healthcare, home décor, electric two wheelers / automobile, reality and construction and information technology. 
 
“We provide entrepreneurs a consortium of experts in areas as diverse as project management, finance, human resources, corporate governance, law, taxation, IT, etc. to help them build successful, enduring brands. Mudra aims to use this expertise and provide that spark to many other home grown brands.We provide not just advertising but also business solutions,” said Nath.

Ignite Mudra has a staff strength of 75. The company has clients in Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi and Pune. “We plan to open new offices in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. We want to expand our business across the country,” said Nath.
 

MUMBAI: Nokia is India‘s most trusted brand, according to a study published by Trust Research Advisory.
As part of the study, the philanthropic Tata was ranked second, followed by the Japanese electronics giant Sony at the third spot.

On the basis of a detailed research to understand trust, which included several 100 hours of discussions with communication experts and behavioural scientists, TRA created a proprietary Trust Matrix comprising 61 different components. 
 
Based on this proprietary Trust Matrix, TRA launched a syndicated primary research on Brand Trust across nine cities in India covering 2310 respondents who were classified into the ‘influencer‘ category.

The study generated nearly 10,00,000 datapoints and 16,000 brands. Indian Statistical Institute helped create a statistically robust Brand Trust Index which has been used to hierarchically rank India‘s Most Trusted Brands. 
 
The study is compiled into a 116-page report titled “The Brand Trust Report, India Study, 2011”, which was launched yesterday.

Trust Research Advisory CEO of N. Chandramouli said, ‘Brand Trust can be defined as the ‘soul of the primary bond of engagement‘. Over time, the more evident connotations of trust like pedigree, size, performance have changed, and the subtler forces are beginning to exert their influence on Brand Trust.”

The study places Korean duo of LG and Samsung at the fourth and the fifth positions respectively, while Reliance brand stands sixth. Maruti drove in at the seventh position, followed by the state insurance agency, LIC. Airtel, dialed in at the ninth position, with Titan rounded up as the Top 10 of India‘s Most Trusted Brands at the tenth position.
 
“Early on, we realized that Brand Trust, along with other intangibles like happiness, cannot be achieved directly and instead must be derived from its myriad components, which are often elusive. Once such concepts of the study evolved, they were applied empirically in businesses, helping us create a structured format for the analysis of Brand Trust,” Chandramouli added.

According to TRA, Pepsi has once again come out fizzier at the 36 slot as compared to its rival, Coca Cola, which makes its presence felt down below at the 60 slot. Sachin Tendulkar occupied the 59th position while Mahatma Gandhi was at the 232nd slot.

Commenting on the launch of the report, Former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said: “I congratulate Trust Research Advisory on publishing a report on such importance. The depth of this report would help brands understand and improve Trust, the most essential bond in all relationships. The Brand Trust Report has brought up a very important aspect – that Corporate Social Responsibility is not an option for Brand Trust, but it is essential.”

Godrej Industries chairman Adi Godrej whose company ranked 22 said: “Trust as a value evolved to being more about empathy which helps the brand deliver powerful and innovative experiences to its consumers, and thus going beyond insights and products alone. Beyond legal rights, Godrej believes that the copyright of its brand is actually held by the millions of consumers, partners and employees in its ecosystem and is activated every time someone somewhere chooses Godrej.”

MUMBAI: The exit of the popular reality show Bigg Boss doesn‘t seem to worry Rajesh Kamat. His two replacement shows, Phulwa and Mukti Bandhan, have managed to hold audiences at the crucial 9-10 pm band.

Phulwa, loosely based on the life of ‘Bandit Queen‘ Phoolan Devi, opened with a TVR of 4.2, followed by Mukti Bandhan with a 3.86 TVR. Both the shows got an average of 3.4 TVR during the week, a decent opening that needs to be sustained.
 
Meanwhile, Chak Dhoom Dhoom, the dance reality show which was launched in the Friday-Saturday 9 pm band during the week did not see similar success. The show opened with a modest 2.24 TVR and the average for first week stood at 2.2 TVR, according to Tam data for the week ended 15 January.

Chak Dhoom Dhoom has a bigger role to play as it has direct competition with Zee TV’s iconic property – Dance India Dance.
 
During the week under review, Sony Entertainment Television also launched a new show, Maa Exchange, on the Wednesday-Thursday 9 pm band. The Indian version of Wife Swap, however, managed a opening TVR of 1.6 and average of 1.5 TVR. In the same time slot, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa on Monday-Tuesday clocked a TVR of 3.6.

However, the week was not good for the Hindi GEC genre. Collectively all GECs put together shed 90 GRPs, of which genre leader Star Plus was the worst hit.

Though it remained at the top, Star Plus lost 53 GRPs in the week. It clocked 326 GRPs in the week, down from 379 GRPs a week ago. This helped Colors narrow the gap with Star Plus as it garnered 276 GRPs (last week 296 GRPs).
 
Zee TV and Sony Entertainment both lost 10 GRPs each and stood at third and fourth place with 222 GRPs and 158 GRPs (last week 168). Sab was at 136 GRPs (from 138) while Imagine TV was the only channel which gained (6 GRPs) to clock 83 GRPs during the week.

Star One and Sahara One followed with 36 and 26 GRPs respectively.

MUMBAI: Priti Nair‘s recently launched Curry nation has won the creative mandates of Emami‘s Fast Relief, Hairlife and Lalima brands. The mandate for the three brands is on a fee basis.
 
Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, Nair said, “I have worked with Emami before and have great respect for them. The campaign will be rolled out soon and everything is in the process of development right now.”
 
JWT‘s second agency, Fortune Communications is the incumbent on the Lalima (blood and skin purifier), while the creative duties for Fast Relief (pain relief ointment) was previously handled by Kolkata-based creative shop, DPS Advertising and Marketing. Part of the creative mandate for Fast Relief will continue to remain with DPS.

Fortune Communications also handled the creative duties of Emami‘s new herbal product, Hairlife, during its test marketing phase.
 
With over 30 products under its belt, Emami Limited, the flagship company of Emami Group, is a Rs 11 billion business entity offering various personal and healthcare consumer products is engaged in manufacturing and marketing of health, beauty and personal care products that are based entirely on ayurvedic formulation.

MUMBAI: Law & Kenneth India has roped in Sanjib Dey as its COO. Based in Delhi, Dey will report to CEO and managing partner Anil Nair.
 
Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com Nair said, “We want to expand our businesses in Delhi and hence we have got someone as senior and experienced like Sanjib. While I am based in Mumbai, he will be based in Delhi.”
 
Earlier, Dey was president at Saatchi & Saatchi. In 2009, he was elevated as the President, prior to which he was executive vice-president, Saatchi & Saatchi Delhi. He joined the agency after a working at Lowe as vice-president in March 2007. He joined Lowe in 2006 after a short stint at Capital. Dey also worked with Grey Worldwide and Bates 141, then Enterprise Nexus.
 
In his career, Dey has worked on various brands such as MTS, Bharat Petroleum, Hyundai, Radico Khaitan‘s 8 PM and Magic Moments, Sony Handycam, Mother Dairy, Tata Tea, Panasonic, Revital, Aviva Life Insurance and Pepfiz.
 

MUMBAI: Scarecrow Communications has won the creative mandate for English daily DNA (Daily News Analysis).

The notice period of Rediffusion Y&R, the incumbent agency, expired on 15 January. It had won the account in June 2010 following a multi-agency pitch, in which Scarecrow had also participated.
 
Now, however, Scarecrow Communications turned triumphant.

Says Scarecrow Communications founder director Manish Bhatt, “It’s very exciting for a comparitively young agency like ours to get such an account. DNA is one of the fastest growing English dailies and can challenge the stalwarts of media world. They are planning to advertise in every possible manner to promote the brand. We are expecting a lot of ATL activities as well.”
 
DNA called Scarecrow to give a presentation around one and a half months back and consequently decided to shift its account from Rediff.

Averred DNA VP marketing Gautam Dalal, “Some of the team members of Scarecrow have already worked with us in the past. We found Scarecrow to be extremely dedicated in their work. They have also exhibited acute understanding of the brand compulsion. The agency has already started its work. Our advertising approach will get clearer within the next month. Everything is in the process of development as we speak.”

“During the multi-agency pitch DNA called in June, we were a very young agency to handle such a big account. But they had seen our work and dedication in that pitch, when we competed with big names of the advertising world and gave it our best shot. This is a very important win for us as DNA is a big name in the media world and a challenger,” says Bhatt.
 
Diligent Media Corporation, which owns DNA (Daily News & Analysis), is a joint venture between two industry majors – the Dainik Bhaskar Group and Essel Group..

Scarecrow had recently bagged the creative mandate of financial brand Future Capital Holdings.