Category: Marketing

MUMBAI: Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd (STFC) has appointed Madison Media as its AOR following a multi-agency pitch. 
 
The size of the account is pegged at Rs 500 million. 
 
Shriram Transport Finance Company is part of the Shriram Group. Other companies in the Shriram Group include Shriram Life Insurance Company Ltd, Shriram General Insurance Company Ltd, Shriram City Union Finance Ltd, Shriram Fortune Solutions Ltd and Shriram Insight Share Brokers Ltd.
 

MUMBAI: TV guidance channel What‘s On India has unveiled its first advertising campaign as part of its integrated strategy to reach out to its target viewers.

The focus of the campaign is to enhance and build awareness on the recently launched channel and educate viewers in major markets on the TV guidance proposition. 
 
The campaign uses a solution based approach and targets the rampant unplanned viewing sessions for most TV viewers. The value proposition at the heart of this campaign is on how the What‘s-On-India channel helps viewers choose the best programmes at any point of time during the day.
 
Beginning with Mumbai and Delhi, the campaign is being leveraged in outdoor media at prominent locations throughout the two cities. While the campaign has utilised bus shelters and hoardings as its medium in both Mumbai and Delhi, mobile vans and unipoles have additionally been used in Delhi. The second leg of the ad burst will move to digital, mobile and social networking media. 
 
Commenting on the campaign, What‘s On India channel head Shalini Behl, “In spite of the fact that television guidance is a new concept in India, we are happy with the reactions, feedback and level of usage from the early adopters. The brand‘s aggressive plans in the weeks to come are focused on jumping up the adoption rates. While the channel has embarked on various routes to engage viewers before, this advertising campaign is primarily to create awareness and education for the channel.”
 

MUMBAI: Kent RO Systems, the makers of water purifiers, has appointed Law & Kenneth to handle its creative account. Glaze Ads is the incumbent agency.
 
Says Law & Kenneth chief executive officer and managing partner Anil S Nair, “Kent RO is one of the few home grown companies which has taken on multinational brands like Hindustan Lever, Whirlpool and Philips.” 
 
The new campaign features a series of five television commercials. While the first set of ads talks about the unique three-stage purification process and other features of the product; the next set will use stories around the consumer‘s life to build awareness about impure water being a major source of most diseases.
 
Talking about the strategic shift in the commercials, Nair adds that the television campaign is being supported by print. “It will take a larger shape from May, with educational programmes at the buying level and digital promotions as the monsoon sets in,” he says.

MUMBAI: The board of Media Research Users Council has roped in Joseph Eapen as MRUC chief executive officer.

Currently serving his notice period as aMap CEO, Eapen, will takes charge of his new post by the end of this month. 
 
With this new appointment, MRUC aims to expand the scope of research to areas beyond print and outdoor as well as to substantially scale the quality and quantity of research across different media.

Said MRUC chairman Andrey Purushottam, “Eapen brings tonnes of relevant experience and will play a key role in transforming the MRUC into a vibrant organisation that spearheads the cause of timely, credible and cost effective research across all media. I am sure Eapen will make the MRUC far more responsive to the needs of its constituents.” 
 
Eapen has 18 years of experience in media research in India and abroad and has done extensive research in print, television, radio as well as other consumer research.
 
Eapen says, “I am not only excited about growing and strengthening the IRS but also other areas of media research.”
 

MUMBAI: Max, the official broadcaster of the Indian Premier League, has held back 10 per cent of its ad inventory for the semi-finals and final and will be charging a hefty premium on them.

The channel hopes to add a further Rs 500 million to its original target as the IPL grows in popularity this season, the third since its invention of a T20 league format.

Indiantelevision.com was the first to report that Multi Screen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television India), the company that owns and operates the Max channel, was targeting an ad revenue of Rs 7 billion this season.
 
Max is in negotiations to sell its remaining ad inventory at rates upward of Rs one million per 10-second spot.
 
Says MSM president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta, “We have kept around 10 per cent of inventory back. We are negotiating with clients who want to come on board at this stage.”
 
Gupta notes that nothing else is available for advertisers. “We have completely sold out the other inventory for the IPL including Extraaa Innings,” he adds.

MUMBAI: The mascot of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup 2011 is an elephant who is young, enthusiastic and determined.

Unveiled at a function in Colombo, the mascot thinks that cricket is the most fun game in the world. The elephant loves playing street cricket and would play throughout the day if he could.

Cricket-followers based in the the host nations – India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – will be able to participate in a contest to name the mascot.

Tournament director Prof. RS Shetty says that the idea of the mascot is to crystallise the feelings and action of the sport and the fans in a graphic form that reflects the visceral tone and emotion that cricket creates in its followers, especially in an event like the CWC.
 
It also emphasises the enthusiasm of youth both in general and for cricket itself, especially on the sub-continent with its massive and dedicated following. He‘s stylised to give an instantly recognisable graphic strength so that with exposure his bold lines and strong colouring will instantly create a friendly face for the CWC.
 
The mascot is not just an animated character; it must operate without the back-story one would find in a film or show; it needs to get a personality across without speech or word balloons, and the majority of the time it needs to work in a context such as the many printed applications where the only tools are body language/pose and personality.
 
The mascot loves street cricket, playing or just hanging out with his friends, radio (to listen to the game), street cricket, television (to watch the game or play it on a console), the net (to research the stats!), going for a dip when it‘s hot, and uh, street Cricket. And oh boy, when he gets to go to the game.

Some times he gets a bit over-enthusiastic and tries to remember not to blow his own trumpet! He‘s getting better at that, though, and like his heroes he knows it‘s all about the training and these things come with time. And it all adds up to the ultimate, the big time like the Cricket World Cup, where one day he‘ll show the whole world what he can do, and how much he loves his sport! After all Cricket World Cup is ‘The Cup that Counts!’
 

MUMBAI: Kushal Sanghvi has quit Media Contacts, the digital arm of Havas Media, to join StratosHear Technologies as executive director – business development, media and alliances.

In his new role, Sanghvi will be responsible for driving alliances with telecom and media companies to grow the company‘s business in India and other markets.
 
StratosHear works closely with mobile publishers, mobile application developers and telecom companies, to develop a robust eco system and thereby help in creating media opportunities for brands.

Says StratosHear CEO Vinay Kumar, “We are happy to have Kushal with us. His extensive digital media experience will immensely help us in growing advertising revenues in the fast-growing mobile media market.” 
 
With about 15 years of experience, Sanghvi has also worked with companies like The Times of India Group, Fremantle Worldwide and Reliance ADAG.
 

MUMBAI: Following the launch of Apple iPhone-3Gs in partnership on 26 March, Bharati Airtel is now gearing up to launch HTC Smart phone 3G by the year end.

Airtel has announced its exclusive partnership with Taiwan-based smart phone manufacturer HTC. The two companies will sell the Airtel powered HTC smart phone 3G for Rs 9,990. 
 
The new HTC smart phone 3G is based on the US-chipset maker Qualcomm‘s Brew operating system.

Airtel is planning to sell 300,000 phones this year. The main attraction of this phone is that it offers easy-to-use widgets, browsing and connectivity at an affordable price. 
 
Says Bharati Airtel’s Sanjay Kapoor: “With the HTC Smart, our customers will be the first in the world to experience a revolutionary smart phone that is not only affordable but is also 3G-ready.”

The touch screen phone will be available exclusively on Airtel networks in 30 cities. The phone also incorporates the latest features and sports a 2.8-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive high resolution screen and a 3.5 mm stereo audio jack.
 
“HTC Smart marks our strategic focus on India, the fastest growing telecom market in the world. The demand for smartphones is also increasing fast, and in next three years it would account for around 40 per cent of the total handset sales. Our latest handset is an easy-to-use and affordable smart phone through which we aim to create a new category of smart phones,” said HTC Corp CEO Peter Chou.

MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports (ESS) is targeting an advertising revenue of Rs 1.6 billion from the Twenty20 World Cup that kicks off on 30 April, just after the completion of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament.

ESS has already closed out four co-presenting sponsorship slots, according to sources. The roster includes Tata Teleservices, Hero Honda, Spice Telecom and Paras Pharmaceuticals.
 
Maruti and Intel have come on-board as associate sponsors and ESS is planning to line up four more associate sponsors. Reliance Communications, which is an official partner of the International Cricket Council (ICC), is in advanced discussions with ESS to come on board as a sponsor.

“We hope to close the deal shortly. Despite the fact that India exited early, we were satisfied with the delivery of the event last year. At the end of the day we look at TVRs and not necessarily whether India has advanced or not”, the ESS spokesperson said, while refusing to comment on any commercial details.

ESS, industry sources say, has been asking for Rs 120-140 million for a co-presenting sponsor and Rs 80-100 million for an associate sponsor.
 
Other companies negotiating with the broadcaster include LG, HP and Nokia. ESS, it has been learnt, has also roped in around 10 companies who have taken spots for the event.Philips, meanwhile, will sponsor the broadcaster’s wraparound shows for the event, branding it as Philips Cricketxtra.

ESS is also offering advertisers the freedom to choose packages for the Twenty20 World Cup, Champions Twenty20 League and the soccer World Cup. A media buyer notes that ESS has already signed four sponsorship deals for the Champions Twenty20 League. “Even though the ratings were low last year, there are clients who have faith in cricket. They feel that the event will do better this year. There is also an incremental benefit for advertisers who take multiple properties”.
 
As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com Hero Honda had come on board ESPN Star Sports as a sponsor for the soccer World Cup. Tata Teleservices will now join that list, taking a package deal.

MUMBAI: Reliant Energy has launched its new advertising campaign, “Lights”, illustrating the benefits that power brings to people‘s lives and highlighting advantages it delivers to customers.
 
The 30-second TV spot is aired both in English and Spanish language TV stations.
 
Says Reliant Energy VP brand and marketing Manny Rodriguez, “Each TV and radio spot from our new ad campaign highlights the Reliant Advantage (SM) – a unique combination of tools, information and services to fit the needs of our customers. With Reliant Energy, customers get the complete package. They don‘t have to look any further than Reliant for their electricity needs.”
 
The radio spot will begin airing from 5 April.