Category: Marketing

MUMBAI: Grey Group India has appointed C Vijai Ambalavanan as its Chennai branch head. He will be reporting to VP and head South Vijay Jacob.
 
Prior to this, Ambalavanan was with Leo Burnett CSD.

“Ambalavanan brings with him close to 11 years of experience in advertising and marketing and will be responsible for building Grey‘s presence in Chennai,” says Jacob.
 
Ambalavanan has worked with TBWA, Bates 141 and Leo Burnett, handling acounts such as Nyle, Chik and Meera shampoo and CavinKare brands.

In the south, the agency handles clients like RmkV Wedding Silks, Britannia, ITC Foods and United Spirits.
 

MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC), which held its third annual sponsor forum in Dubai, discussed issues relating to the World Twenty20 2010 to be staged in the West Indies from 30 April to 16 May and the Cricket World Cup 2011 in Asia.
 
On the first day, Ten Sports COO Peter hutton dwelt on achieving return on investment in emerging markets, stressing the point that sponsors need to get involved with broadcast deals in key development areas in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the US – rather than the current situation where there are minimal audiences paying premium pay per view pricing.
 
This was followed by a panel discussion on achieving return on investment from sports properties by Hutton, Sports Media MD Prem Bhatia and Mindspring commercial director Doug Thackrey.

On the second day, there was a discussion on the marketing and promotional activities for the ICC World Twenty20 West Indies 2010 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Commercial support for teams from emerging cricket markets such as Ireland, Netherlands, Canada, Kenya and Afghanistan competing in major ICC events was also on the agenda.
 
ICC GM commercial Campbell Jamieson says, “International cricket is fortunate to have such dynamic and enthusiastic commercial partners and this forum is about cementing those strong relationships. The main outcome of this year’s forum was that with just one year to go until the first ball is bowled of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, all the partners must work together as they seek a reasonable return on their investment in our great sport.”

The annual gathering provided an opportunity for senior representatives of the ICC’s commercial partners to plan and discuss their involvement in ICC events. These included broadcast partner ESPN Star Sports; commercial partners Reliance Mobile, LG, Pepsi, Hero Honda, Emirates, Reebok and Yahoo!; official licensees Cricket Logistics, Licensing in Motion, Getty Images, Sportsbrand and IMG Sports Media.

The ICC plans to stage another such gathering of commercial partners after the completion of the World Twenty20 West Indies 2010, specifically in preparation for the Cricket World Cup 2011.
 

MUMBAI: Yahoo! funded global advertising network Tyroo will exclusively promote and sell designated ad space on Yatra.com.

Says Yatra.com head marketing & strategic relations Pratik Mazumder, “With this tie-up we expect many more prestigious advertisers to promote their brands on Yatra.com and reach out to one of the most filtered, targeted and premium audiences.”
 
Tyroo will be responsible for selling the designated ad space on Yatra.com to Indian and international companies. In return, the ad network will receive commission for the space sold.
 
“With our partnership with Yatra, we will offer innovative and engaging advertising opportunities to companies which help them build stronger online brand associations and engage the audience,” says Tyroo head product & business development Siddharth Puri.
 
Yatra.com opened its website for advertising last year. Nokia, Airtel, Citibank, HP, ICICI, Reliance Communications, Tata Indicom, Hyundai i20, Mahindra Xylo, Fiat Linea, Maruti Suzuki are some of the top advertisers to have advertised on the website during the year.

MUMBAI: The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has roped in Premier Brands as a three-year sponsor for Rs 75 million. The BAI said that the amount that it secured from the contract, brokered by Total Sports Asia (TSA), would all accrue to the badminton players.
 
Former players will administer the sponsorship amounts. BAI president VK Verma says, “The entire receivables from the sponsorship would go directly to the players and BAI will not use any of it for its administrative costs. Also, we are presenting a model of financial governance that will set the highest standard of transparency in sports administration.”
 
Premier Brands chairman Suresh Kumar emphasised that the engagement with BAI is not just a sponsorship deal. “It is our way of giving back to the society for development of sports in India and contributing to a sport with tremendous Indian heritage, history and a sense of national pride in which India has consistently proven its worth at a world stage. We looked at different sports federations in India and came to a conclusion that BAI is one of the most professionally managed sports bodies. We will soon be announcing several other international sports and lifestyle alliances on the global scale.”

The BAI says that this deal is not only a landmark in the history of Indian badminton but also heralds a new beginning for the sport in the country. The renaissance of Indian badminton is led by Saina Nehwal, who is scripting history with her exceptional talent and grit. Other players like Chetan Anand, Anup Sridhar, Arvind Bhat, V Diju and Jwala Gutta have also won laurels in some important tournaments across the world.
 
By becoming the official title sponsor of the National badminton team, Premier Brands gained the right to be featured prominently on the front of the team jerseys, to be named the presenting sponsor of the Yonex Sunrise Asian Badminton Championship to be held here from 12 – 18 April 2010 as a pre-cursor to the Commonwealth Games and the domestic circuit.
 

MUMBAI: The Asia TV Ad Coalition (ATAC) networks are promoting a new trade marketing campaign, Cable And Satelllite Broadcastiong Association of Asia said.

The ATAC networks cover the majority of adspend on subscription TV across Asia, including Discovery Networks Asia, CNN, Fox One Stop Media, SPE Networks – Asia, Bloomberg Television, CNBC Asia and NBC Universal.
 
The centerpiece of the new campaign is a pair of high-value TV commercials targeted at regional advertisers and media agencies to be played out by the ATAC networks over a one-month period.

The ATAC TVCs – Illumination, demonstrating the media efficiency of pay-TV, and Fishing, signaling its media reach – have been designed to convey the benefits of subscription TV as the heart of a sophisticated media plan.
 
SPE Networks Asia VP ad sales and marketing Jack Lim says, “The core message is the unrivalled reach of Asia’s pay-TV networks. As of January 2010, one billion people in 327 million subscription TV households were connected to Asian pay-TV systems with a growth rate of 12 per cent since the end of 2008. Today, this accounts for 45 per cent of all TV households.”

The ATAC campaign is supported by a print and on-line trade marketing campaign to maximize creative impact.
 
Universal McCann MD Chris Skinner says, “Targeting regional media planners and advertisers via commercials on the ATAC networks is a strategic use of existing inventory. It continues to demonstrate how broadcasters are evolving and investing in their businesses.”
 

MUMBAI: Keeping in line with its partnership agreement with the Indian Premier League (IPL), Colors has created a new cricket entertainment campaign to craft the IPL brand into a “spicier” variety.

Christened IPL Tadka Maar Ke, the campaign, beginning tomorrow, will initiate the launch of four new properties – IPL Rockstars (a music talent hunt show), IPL Fear Factor Edition, IPL Awards and IPL Parties.

Avers Colors marketing head Rameet Arora, “IPL Tadka Maar Ke is the perfect marriage between two very strong entertainment brands – IPL and Colors. We have created this unique campaign IPL Tadka Maar Ke to signify the Colors‘ contribution in making brand IPL even spicier.” 
 
The channel has also constituted a logo for the campaign, which reflects the “energy of IPL and cricket and the ‘tadka‘ or the unique touch that Colors brings.”

The Logo communicates everything – the vibrancy, the richness, the dynamics and its mass appeal through bright orange tongues and yellow flaming tongues lapping up all the excitement.
 
Amongst the properties, IPL Rockstars will be the first of its kind music talent hunt show where the contestants will be performing inside the stadium during the IPL matches. Meanwhile, the channel is in process of finalising the IPL players for the IPL Fear Factor Edition.
 
 
Among the other properties, IPL Awards will ad a glitzy and glamorous Bollywood tadka to the event while IPL Parties will be full of fun and fashion.

The channel has decided to promote the IPL Tadka Maar Ke brand heavily across its network channels and other media platforms.

MUMBAI: The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club Bombay (ACB) will host the 2010 Goafest from 8-10 April.

The festival, now in its fifth year, will play on the theme ‘Survival of the Freshest‘.
 
Says Goafest 2010 chairman and JWT CEO Colvyn Harris, “Goafest has grown into a multifaceted convention for the Indian advertising industry. This year‘s theme is set in the context of fast-evolving technological trends, where advertisers are being challenged to use clutter-breaking ideas and media. The eminent panel of judges will reward those who have risen successfully to the challenge and worked towards greater brand-building in the country.” 
 
Adds Industry Leadership Conclave chairman Sam Balsara, “After growing at nearly 20 per cent year on year for five years, the advertising market dipped in 2009 by as much as 10 per cent. It‘s time to grow now and make up for lost time with sharp strategies and plans to develop brands, markets, creativity, media markets and research.” 
 
A Business Conclave will precede Goafest on 8 April at 3 pm where CEOs will introspect, debate, define and arrive at plans to achieve scorching growth rates. The next two days will focus on the knowledge and learning seminars, the Media Abby Awards (9 April) and the Creative Abby Awards (10 April).
 
 

MUMBAI: The Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) has got XXX Energy Drink as the title sponsor for the fifth Commonwealth Boxing Championship 2010. 
 
The fifth Commonwealth Boxing Championships will be held at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi from 10-18 March 2010.

The championship will see 140 boxers and 130 bouts from 17 countries. All major Commonwealth boxing nations like England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Kenya, Samoa, Singapore, Canada (TBC) and India will be participating in this championship. Indian boxers such as Vijender Singh, Akhil Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, Nanao Singh and Suranjay Singh will be contending for India.
 
Percept was recently appointed as the marketing agent for Indian Boxing Federation for four years till 2014.

As marketing partner, Percept will be primarily responsible to promote Indian boxing talents. They will also promote the Indian Series of Boxing which would take off after the World Series of Boxing scheduled this year. Besides, it will also play an integral part in bringing bilateral, tri-nation and other international boxing events to India.
 
Percept joint MD Shailendra Singh said, “In India, sports still takes a back seat and does not get the needed recognition and applause. It’s good to see XXX Energy Drink take keen interest in supporting and partnering with Commonwealth Boxing Championship.

“As the marketing agent of IBF we will go all out to promote this sport in India and take it to another level by making it as popular as cricket or tennis,” Singh added.

The Common Wealth Boxing Championship is being supported by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Organising Committee of Commonwealth Games and Sports Authority of India (SAI).

MUMBAI: Rediffusion Y&R has roped in Rachana Dharia as head digital (West and South). She will be based out of Mumbai and will report to Rediffusion Y&R EVP Nisha Singhania.
 
Says Singhania, “We have divided the digital division into two separate teams, one in Mumbai and the other in Delhi. While Dharia will be heading the Mumbai division, Kiran Dhillon, who joined the agency six months ago, will head the Delhi division and look after the North and East markets. Both of them will be responsible for getting in and delivering complete digital solutions to advertisers in their respective regions.”
 
Dharia was with Tribal DDB India prior to this appointment. She has around 14 years of experience in digital media space and worked on brands that include Volkswagen, Idea Cellular and Times of India.
 

MUMBAI:Publicis India has appointed Anirban Mozumdar as senior vice president planning for North and East.
 
Based out of Gurgaon, Mozumdar will replace Neeraj Gupta. He will be reporting to Publicis India CEO Hemant Misra.
 
“Contagious conversations about brands have pulled me towards Publicis,” says Mozumdar.
 
Prior to this, Mozumdar was with DDB Mudra for close to 15 months. Mozumdar started his career at Rediffusion Y&R and then he moved to Leo Burnett where he was working for close to a decade.

He has worked on brands including Bajaj Auto and P &G including Tide, Rejoice and Whisper.