ITV

Category: Marketing

  • Fast Trax is official food licensee for Commonwealth Games

    MUMBAI: Fast Trax has ben appointed as the official Food Licensee for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010.


    As a CWG partner, Fast Trax will be serving over 1.6 million meals to eager spectators, across 97 outlets in all the 12 stadiums.


    Fast Trax will also be selling CWG tickets at their restaurants located all over the city, along with iconic CWG merchandise.


    To facilitate the tickets and merchandise sale, Fast Trax is setting up tickets booth in high foot fall places like malls.
     
    Fast Trax Food director Samar Qureshi says, “We are extremely proud to be the exclusive Food Licensee for the user pay category of the CWG 2010. To be chosen to execute such a vital aspect of India’s greatest sporting event, just goes to show trusted the Fast Trax brand is. We are confident that we will be able to serve some of the best, most delicious meals possible at prices affordable to everyone”.


    The fast food chain will also be in charge of the catering for the entire Media Village at ITPO, offering a lounge bar and a 24-hour multi-cuisine food court comprising pan-Asian, continental, fast food and confectionaries.
     
    Fast Trax will offer a special CWG Menu comprising burger combos, vegetarian and non-vegetarian wraps, various tikka rolls, curry boxes and sandwiches. “The variety of food being offered, makes sure that there’s something for local spectators, foreign visitors and children, alike,” adds Qureshi.


    The signature ‘Play Meal’ has also been customised to include a fun Shera toy. Some of the merchandise being sold include Shera T-shirts, Shera toys, ‘magic cups’ with a secret surprise and a whole lot of mugs and sippers.
     
    The company had done the catering for the Hero Honda FIH Hockey World Cup 2010 in March. Fast Trax will have CWG ticketing counters at each of their stores, to provide exact information regarding dates and timings and will have printing machines to issue tickets on the spot.


    Qureshi adds, “We are putting 110 per cent into our preparations for the Games. Right from our attractive packaging, to our staff training of 1200 volunteers who have joined us. We will proudly provide speedy service and quality food, to lacs across all the venues, at very affordable prices.”

  • Mudra reinvents in new ad world

    MUMBAI: The times they are a-changing. Mudra, 30 years of age, is reinventing as clients look at brand solutions that help them evaluate their return on investments (RoI). To keep pace with this agency-relationship ideology, the Mudra Group will be wearing a new look and perspective as it strives to create “Inventive Brand Solutions”.


    Says Mudra Group MD and CEO Madhukar Kamath, “With the market becoming more dynamic and competitive, you need to continuously re-invent and innovate, which is why our core is ‘Inventive Brand Solutions.‘ Clients are spending more on brands and on creating effective value are seeking RoI. Thus, spend on mass media and non mass media is increasing.” 
     
    Mudra Group‘s strategy and design unit, Water, has created the fresh vision for the company. Based on the pillars of empathy, experimentation, expression and dynamic integration, Water crystallised the Mudra Group‘s new brand platform as Inventive Brand Solutions. 







    New Logo


    With its new positioning, the group will now have a new logo. In keeping with the spirit of inventiveness, the historical symbol of Mudra, ‘the hands‘, are freed from the rigid roundel. Replacing the solid red circle is the fresh graphic device of the ‘brush stroke‘. Denoting experimentation, energy and dynamism, the brush stroke signifies the commonest human behaviour when trying something new – be it a crayon, a pen or the artists‘ brush.
     
    The brush stroke is also an integral part of the branding of the four agency networks. Each agency is now qualified by a unique symbol – the quote mark, a symbol of conversation for Mudra India (the Branding and Communications agency); the degree symbol denoting influence for DDB Mudra (the Influence and Behaviour Change agency); the forward mark symbolising maximal impact for Mudra MAX (the Integrated Engagement and Experiential Agency); and the ‘on‘ button symbolizing a spark of ideas for Ignite Mudra (the Partnership for Entrepreneurs agency).


    The company also unveiled its new website, www.mudra.com, created by Tribal DDB India, the Mudra Group‘s digital and new media agency. The new website carries forward the spirit of inventive experiences with its design as a simple, effective and powerful conversational tool. Rather than a passive information source, the new Mudra Group website incorporates a dynamic search tool that encourages and enables users to access the exact information they are looking for.
     
    Kamath added, “Turning 30 was a wonderful milestone. Today with the unveiling of the new identity, we make a public promise of offering Inventive Brand Solutions to our partners. Water has done a tremendous job of organising our 4 agency networks and many SBUs through a common purpose and design language that evokes passion and drive. I would like to thank each of the clients in the Mudra Group for having partnered us in our journey thus far. My colleagues and I look forward to a new era of growth and closer ties with each of them in the decade to follow.”
     

  • MTR Foods launches new TV campaign

    BANGALORE: MTR Foods (MTR) has launched its new advertising campaign for vegetarian South India breakfast mixes like dosas, vadas and rava idlis. A 30 second TVC created by Ogilvy India will air during breakfast time and primetime across GECs.


    The television campaign is being supported by brand visibility at retail point of sales. MTR has allocated Rs 250 million for this six week long campaign, say industry sources.
     
    Elaborating on the insight behind the campaign, MTR vice president marketing Vikran Sabherwal says, “Our research points out that while today’s housewife juggles many responsibilities, she still wants to delight her family with great food options, and that’s the insight which we have worked on. Keeping in mind that breakfast is a critical meal, we are showcasing a strong presence established with MTR’s wide range of authentic and wholesome breakfast options.”
     
    Some time ago, ‘MTR- Your friend in the kitchen’, introduced a new change of face for the brand in India, with all of its packaging redesigned.
     
    The new TVC has been produced by Little Lamb Films and directed by Buddhayan. The creative team is headed by creative director Shamik Sengupta and includes Vipul Thakkar with Shamik Sengupta as the copywriter. Maxus handles the media buying duties for MTR.
     

  • Landor creates new brand ‘Vivanta by Taj’

    MUMBAI: Landor Associates has partnered with Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces to create a new brand for the upper upscale hotel segment -Vivanta by Taj,. Vivanta draws inspiration from ‘bon vivant‘, a connoisseur who appreciates the good things in life. Vivanta by Taj speaks of style and sophistication and reflects vitality, vivaciousness and vividness.
     
    Landor and Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces identified a gap in the market between the luxury Taj brand and the upscale Gateway Hotel brand. Today‘s work-hard play-hard go-anywhere try-everything traveller expects more than just the standard, often predictable, services offered by traditional luxury hotels.


    With increased globalization, these consumers are well informed, technology and design savvy, ambitious, always on the move and demanding of themselves and others. Understanding these changes in the hospitality-consumer, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces identified the need for a product to cater to these new-age upper upscale business and leisure segment customers. 
     
    The challenge for Taj was to provide an innovative customer experience while maintaining the Taj brand‘s signature strength of exceptional service delivered with its hallmark warmth.


    After a series of workshops with Taj, Landor recommended the “Stylishly Spirited” brand positioning which suggests a modern, agile and creatively driven platform for delivering the customer experience. After much research by Landor, a new Taj brand, ‘Vivanta by Taj‘ was created to represent the upper upscale positioning which embodies “cool” luxury. 
     
    While architecturally Vivanta by Taj is designed to project a natural, welcoming and lively ambience, it also presents a progressive outlook. The deep espresso brand colours of Vivanta by Taj express its premium positioning and the contrast of the use of rubine highlights its fresh and vibrant personality.


    Says Landor Associates country director – India Lulu Raghavan, “Vivanta is for the modern, sophisticated, creative and ambitious man or woman of today. We needed to create a brand with a global view. A brand whose customers appreciate all the good things in life and who work hard but equally enjoy downtime. A brand that would leave customers inspired, reinvigorated and refreshed. With Vivanta, Landor has brought all of this together seamlessly.”


    Adds Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces SVP – sales and marketing Ajoy Misra¸ “Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces have created Vivanta after a series of extensive customer understanding studies. The company‘s brand architecture exercise is aimed at creating a basket of brands, each created to appeal to a distinct psychographic segment. Meticulous planning has gone into conceptualising the brand with its unique experiences and touch-points. We are happy to have worked with consultants Landor on understanding the strategic imperatives as well as developing the design signature for the brands.”

  • MRUC to extend IOS with more markets; invites bid from research agencies

    MUMBAI: In a bid to add fillip to its initiative to measure the outdoor advertising space, Media Research Users Council (MRUC) is now in the process of extending the Indian Outdoor Survey (IOS) this year.
     
    MRUC is inviting fresh bids from research agencies, including incumbent Hansa Research to conduct a broader IOS, which will cover more markets. After covering two major cities last year that is Mumbai and Pune, IOS will expand its reach to cities such as Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Chennai, thus covering all metros.
     
    Said MRUC CEO Joseph Eapen, “Outdoor advertising has shown promise to break the clutter of advertising on traditional mediums. Through IOS, MRUC aims to build a common currency for the Indian outdoor media industry for planning, buying, selling and evaluating advertising investment in the medium. IOS not only provides a reach and frequency model for media planning/selling but also gives insights into the quality of an outdoor site through a visibility index. It will also serve as a comprehensive, credible and up-to-date inventory of OOH sites by market and by format.”

  • It’s target LIC, ICICI after Fair & Lovely ad

    It’s target LIC, ICICI after Fair & Lovely ad

    MUMBAI: Hindustan Lever Limited’s Fair & Lovely is not the only product to have attracted criticism from the All India Women’s Democratic Association.

     

    The Delhi based organisation’s media monitoring cell, has in fact, zeroed in on at least three other advertisements, including an LIC ad, an ICICI ad and a Tata Yellow Pages ad, which allegedly display gender discrimination and ought, in AIDWA’s view, to be taken off air. Only the HLL ad has however, attracted media attention and resulted in channels opting to pull it off air.

    In a letter to the information and broadcasting minister, the association points out that the Tata Yellow Pages ad too, is extremely insulting to women. “The concerned advertisement now being shown on various television channels depicts a scene in which a man decides that the baby his wife has delivered is not his, because of its dark complexion. In view of his wife’s presumed infidelity, he needs a divorce lawyer – the information according to the ad is available in Tata Yellow Pages.”

     

    AIDWA says the ad is objectionable as –

     

    1. According to statistics, domestic violence against women as also male infidelity are among the main reasons for disruption of family life. The ad could have portrayed this reality but instead creates a make-believe “cheating” woman, which not only is a mockery of the reality but also creates a distorted image of women.

    2. The ad shows a complexion of the baby as being dark which then becomes reason enough for a divorce. This is not only racist but also sends a wrong message that if your baby happens to be dark and you are not, it would then automatically mean that your wife has been unfaithful.

    3. Clearly the ad is directed at a purely male audience only and is premised on the notion that male viewers will respond positively to the demeaning women. Its very basis is therefore patriarchal and also strengthens such retrograte views.

    In another letter to the National Human Rights Commission, the AIDWA has drawn attention to the plethora of advertisements being shown on TV channels that are demeaning to women and promote son-preference, which violate the constitutional guarantees for equality as well as representing active discrimination against the girl child.

    AIDWA says its media monitoring group had earlier this year written to several companies about their advertisements, but the corporates have chosen to ignore its letters and complaints. Among them figure the Fair and Lovely advertisement, a Life Insurance Corporation ad and that of ICICI, a reputed finance company.

    The LIC ad, says AIDWA, is for insurance for future of children: “It specifically mentions expenditure at the time of a daughter’s marriage and for a son’ education. It is objectionable on the following grounds: it projects a daughter as a liability and a son as an investment; it discriminates between a male and female child by denying the girl the right to the same educational facilities as her brother; it strengthens the stereotype, harmful to women that the only future for a young woman is marriage; by assuming expenses at the time of a daughter’s marriage it promotes the concept of dowry.”

    AIDWA general secretary Brinda Karat says the organization had demanded that the ad be withdrawn, but that its plaint was ignored.

    In the ICICI ad, a husband is shown applying putting ‘sindur’ on his bride’s forehead, and the word ‘suraksha’ (protection) appears. AIDWA says the ad is is objectionable on the ground that it clearly links protection only to the husband thus promoting the erroneous notion that a woman is incapable of looking after herself and requires a husband to do so; it is also discriminatory to single women.

    The Press Council, says the AIDWA, has expressed its inability to act, as its jurisdiction does not extend to advertisements.

    Karat now says that failing self regulation by broadcasters, it is incumbent on the government to take swift action against such ads. AIDWA has also demanded that the I&B ministry could also take the initiative for corrective measures against the companies that sell their products through such advertisements and that NGOs be given representation on inter ministerial committees that look into such issues.

  • Dentsu launches fourth full service agency in India

    MUMBAI: Dentsu India has announced the launch in India of its fourth full service agency, Dentsu MediaTech.


    The fully integrated agency will offer clients a full spectrum of 1-to-1 engagement, cutting edge creative solutions, end-to-end media and a full-slew of digital, mobile and new media services. 
     
    “Dentsu MediaTech will help us resolve possible client conflict in categories where we are already having to turn back business, despite already having three Dentsu brands in the marketplace, “says Dentsu India group chairman Sandeep Goyal.
     
    The Dentsu India Group already has three full-service advertising agencies – Dentsu Communications, Dentsu Marcom and Dentsu Creative Impact – in the Indian market. Each agency has completely independent teams managing advertising and media for a host of anchor accounts.


    Dentsu MediaTech joins the ranks to ClozR Communications; the Group’s CRM and loyalty practice will merge into this fourth new entity. ClozR currently handles CRM for clients like Jet Airways and Jaypee, besides others. Dentsu India has bought out Serco BPO (earlier Infovision), its erstwhile partner in the loyalty vertical.
     
     
    A number of the new initiatives of the Dentsu Group in space management, retail design and creation of brand-experience centres will also function under the Dentsu MediaTech banner. To start with, Dentsu MediaTech will operate out of Mumbai and Delhi. Recruitments are in progress.


    “This is our youngest brand. Hence, we will position it uniquely. Dentsu MediaTech will focus more on the technology interface of traditional advertising. It will also strengthen our delivery of “communication-without-lines” patterned on the futuristic solutions that Dentsu Inc. is known to provide in our home market of Japan,” says Dentsu India president Rajesh Aggarwal.


    Dentsu India is a 74:26 JV between Dentsu Inc. of Japan and Sandeep Goyal’s Mogae Group. Besides the four full-service ad agencies, the Indian operations runs Clickstreamers (a digital media agency in partnership with Ignitee) and www.lastminuteinventory.com (remnant media trading platform where TOI, Zee and Star also own equity). Dentsu Inc. and Mogae have a 51:49 JV in the Middle-East, headquartered out of Dubai Media City, but administratively controlled from India.
     

  • Dentsu plans to acquire digital marketing agency AKQA

    MUMBAI: Japanese advertising agency Dentsu is planning to make a bid for acquiring San Francisco-headquartered global digital agency network AKQA for $600 million.


    According to media reports, the Japanese ad giant, which is on an expansion spree, wants to boost its presence in the US and UK markets.
     
    UK-based The Guardian reported that Dentsu is understood to have put in a “pre-emptive bid for AKQA which its owners are putting up for sale.”


    Founded by Ajaz Ahmed in 1995 in UK, AKQA is a creative agency specialising in interactive marketing. With over 800 employees worldwide, it has offices in London, New York, Washington D.C, Amsterdam, Berlin and Shanghai.
     
    AKQA boasts of a client base that includes Coca-Cola, Fiat, McDonald‘s, Nike, Virgin, ESPN, GAP and Visa. One of the company‘s most visible non-advertising projects was the design of the user interface for the Xbox 360video game console.


    The private equity firm General Atlantic acquired a majority stake in the company in 2007. As per Guardian report, “General Atlantic is in favour of the deal but chairman Ahmed and CEO Tom Bedecarre, who own about 10 per cent, are not so sure about the tie-up.”
     
    Meanwhile, in a reply to New Media Age, Ahmed said, “We get offers all the time. In the past five years, there hasn’t been a week gone by when we haven’t been approached by people looking to buy us.”


    “I think the reason that people have appreciated us is that we have doubled in size during a period when it’s been pretty tough for the ad industry as a whole (the past two years),” he added.

  • Publicis, Capital Advertising form Publicis Capital

    MUMBAI: In a move to consolidate their operations nationally and leverage complementary strengths, Publicis and Capital Advertising have announced the formation of Publicis Capital.


    This new entity will be a consolidation of Capital Advertising and Publicis India, bringing together the personnel and clients of both the agencies.


    Sunil Sachdeva and Prasad Subramaniam, founders of Capital Advertising, will take joint chairmanship of Publicis Capital.
     
    Hemant Misra, currently Publicis India CEO, will be the chief executive of the new entity.


    Publicis Capital will partner an array of clients that include Apollo Tyres, Beam Brands, Carrefour, Escorts, Fidelity Asset Management, Hewlett Packard, IFFCO Tokio, L‘Oreal, Maruti Suzuki, Nestle, Sanofi-Aventis, United Biscuits and Voltas.


    Headquartered in Delhi, Publicis Capital will have a team of over 150 people. It will also have an office in Mumbai.
     
    Making this announcement, Publicis Asia Pacific CEO Kevin Ramsey said, “This is a move to leverage all our talent and resources in order to add potent strength to our operations in India. Publicis Worldwide has the privilege to partner some of the leading companies of the world – for most of whom India has already become a key market. We are a network that has been built from the ground up – we are thus equally committed to our local clients especially in an increasingly important market like India – for which our own ambitions are very high. By consolidating Capital and Publicis India – we hope to optimally leverage the rich Indian heritage that Capital brings together with Publicis India‘s well established ability in partnering our global clients.”
     
    Added Publicis South Asia CEO Nakul Chopra, “We are one of the youngest networks in India. Delhi is already a critical market that grows in importance by the day. This consolidation will add immense strength to our operations and will equip us to not only offer much more to our clients but also to realise our own fierce ambitions for India and for Delhi. Hemant has done a sterling job with Publicis India over the past three years and is the perfect person to head this new endeavour.”

  • ABC: Vijay Darda becomes chairman, Sam Balsara is deputy chairman

    MUMBAI: Rajya Sabha member and Lokmat Group chairman and MD Vijay Darda has been elected as the chairman of the Audit Bureau Of Circulations (ABC) for 2010-2011 term. Darda, who has been a member of ABC’s Council of Management since 2003, was deputy chairman for 2009-2010.


    Meanwhile, Madison Media CMD Sam Balsara was unanimously elected as deputy chairman for the one-year term.
     
    A third-time member of the Rajya Sabha, Darda has served national and international media bodies in different capacities. He has served as president of Indian Newspaper Society, member of the Press Council of India, founder president of the South Asian Editors Forum.


    Other members of ABC’s Council of Management are: Ravi Dahriwal from Benett Coleman and Co Ltd (BCCL); T Venkattram Reddy from Deccan Chronicle and Shailesh Gupta from Jagran Prakashan.


    Other publisher representatives of the Council are M Venkatesh of Hindustan Media Ventures, Amit Mathew of Malayala Manorama, Arita Sarkar of ABP and I Venkat of Ushodaya Enterprises.
     
    Members of the advertising agencies‘ representatives are Shahshidhar Sinha of Universal McCann Erickson (India) who also is the Honorary Secretary of ABC. Among other members are Madhukar Kamath of Mudra Communications (also Hon Treasurer) and Vikram Sakhuja of Group M Media India.
     
     
    The advertisers’ representatives are Subroto Chattopadhyay of the Peninsula Foundation, Paulomi Dhawan (Raymond Ltd), S M Ahmad (ITC Ltd) and Ravi Pisharody of Tata Motors Ltd.


    Hormuzd Masani is the Secretary General at the Secretariat.