Category: Marketing

MUMBAI: With census forms set to arrive in more than 130 million mailboxes next month, the US Census Bureau will continue building awareness about the importance and benefits of mailing back the 2010 Census form with a $5.1 million advertising package during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Said Census Bureau Director Robert M Groves, “The Census Bureau‘s goal with this advertising package is to increase awareness that the Census is coming, Taxpayers save $85 million for every one percentage point increase in the national mail back participation rate for the 2010 Census. Effective advertising is vital to making that happen.”
 
Over the 17 days of the Winter Olympics, the Census Bureau plans to air 132 spots on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and USA. The package includes advertisements paid for by the Census Bureau and value added at no cost to the Census Bureau in the form of improved ad placements. Public service announcements by three Olympic athletes will also run throughout the games – Ben Agosto (figure skater), Jennifer Rodriguez (speed skater) and Julie Chu (ice hockey).

More than 26 per cent of adults living in the United States are expected to watch the Winter Olympics during the next two weeks. As one of the biggest events this year, at least 230 million US residents are projected to view the census ads.
 
“The Winter Olympics are a time of great pride across the world,” Groves added. “Our Olympic advertising campaign is intended to raise awareness about the important role people can play in shaping the nation over the next ten years – simply by taking just ten minutes to complete the Census form‘s 10 questions when it arrives in their mailboxes in mid-March.”

The Olympic advertising package is the latest in the recently launched paid advertising campaign for the 2010 Census. In total, more than 400 ads in 28 languages have been created for the 2010 Census. Placements span TV, radio, print, out-of-home, digital, cinema, social media, events and sponsorships.
 
 
In addition to advertising, the Census Bureau has also implemented other initiatives including a national road tour traveling to communities to increase awareness that the census is coming, a partnership programme that now has more than 185,000 members nationwide, and a Census in Schools programme seeking to educate students about the nation‘s population and how it has changed since the first census in 1790.
 

MUMBAI: In the wake of a multi-agency pitch, Grey Advertising has won the creative duties of the Ferrero group. The agency will handle the four brands -Ferrero Rocher, Tic Tac, Kinder and Nutella in India. 
 
According to industry sources, the account size is pegged at Rs 30 million.
 
Grey Group India COO Jishnu Sen says, “Our commitment to building brands through our knowledge of the consumer along with our ability to produce exciting creative work won us this business. The brands are legendary and we are looking forward to doing them justice in India.”

MUMBAI: McCann Erickson has elevated Namrata Nandan to general manager.
 
In her new capacity, Nandan who prior to the promotion was McCann Mumbai group business director will now be based out of the agency‘s Bangalore office.
 
Says McCann Erickson executive chairman India Prasoon Joshi, “Nandan will be moving to Bangalore and will be working closely with creative director Anil Thomas.” 
 
Nandan has been associated with McCann Erickson since 2003. With approximately 14 years of experience, Nandan has also worked with agencies such as JWT India, Ogilvy and Rediffusion Y&R.

MUMBAI: Max, the official broadcaster of the DLF Indian Premier League, has launched a 90-second television campaign that plays on the tagline, ‘We missed you too‘.

Exhibiting the thought that DLF IPL 2010 is back in India, the campaign sways to the patriotic notes of ‘Saare Jahaan Se Accha, Hindustan Hamaara, Hum Bul Bulle Hein Iski, Yeh Gulsita Hamara‘.
 
Conceptualised by JWT, the campaign has been produced by Storytellers. 
 
Max EVP & business head Sneha Rajani says, “The DLF IPL is back where it belongs. This ad film is the country‘s welcome to the greatest entertainment extravaganza ever seen. The film captures the one emotion that binds our country – the undying passion for cricket everywhere.”
 
 
The campaign will be aired across Set‘s network channels, various GECs, sports channels, news channels, music channels, kids‘ channels and regional channels.
 

MUMBAI: Prasanna Group has awarded its creative duties to Origin Beanstalk Creative Consultants, following a multi-agency pitch.

The account size is pegged at Rs 50-70 million.
 
The group operates the Prasanna Bus Links, an inter-city travel service under the name Prasanna and MetroLink. 
 
Confirming on the win, Origin Beanstalk Creative Consultants co-founder Thakur Upendra Singh says, “The account will be handled out of Mumbai by Origin Beanstalk Creative Consultants‘ sister agency Meta. The mandate will be to create a new brand identity for the company.”
 

MUMBAI: With Valentine‘s Day around the corner, Mogae Digital promoted Garden of Love (www.gardenoflove.in) has roped in Aircel as its title sponsor.
 
Additionally, for the second year in succession, MSN India will partner the Garden of Love. The website will also gift virtual Cadbury Temptations‘ chocolate. 
 
“This may seem simple but an application such as this wherein anybody but anybody with even the simplest handset can create and enjoy the flower, is an experience very few digital properties offer today. Also the joy of sharing the flower with friends takes it much beyond a mere greeting card which is one-on-one,” says Mogae Digital creative head Gaurav Luthra.
 
At the Mogae Digital promoted Garden of Love, one can create a flower (virtual, by SMS or on the net) and continue to nourish it with water, sunshine and nutrients, lest it wilt for lack of love. Users have to send an SMS to 5676711 and it will create a flower with a confirmatory message to the beneficiary of the love message as well as to the originator.
 

MUMBAI: LG Electronics, which is a global sponsor of the International Cricket Council (ICC) events, has launched a campaign ‘Lead XI’ for the ICC World Twenty20 that takes place in the West Indies in April.

The consumer durable giant says that it is acknowledging the young talent and presenting ‘India’s future Star‘ on a global platform. The Lead XI contest ends on 28 February.
 
15 kids will be selected through a national level competition. The 30-second audio visual video needs to be uploaded on LG India website (www.lgindia.com) or submitted at one of the LG Best Brand Shoppe. A panel of independent judges selected by LG will judge the entries and select the winners. To witness the success of their kids, LG will also send one of the parents/guardians along with each winning child to West Indies.
 
LG Lead XI is an initiative embarked by the ICC and driven by LG Electronics. LG conducts a national level talent contest to select the children who would lead the Indian cricket team to the ground.
 
LG Electronics India MD MB Shin says, “LG India takes pride to make the Lead XI contest an integral part of ICC tournaments till the time LG is associated with ICC. Recognising the existing and growing passion for cricket in India, especially at the highest level of the game which is nation versus nation, we aim to make it an integral part of our marketing efforts as well. With the new brand identity on salver, LG Electronics aims to continue the strong relationship with cricket and bring innovation to the sport and its association with our consumers.”

MUMBAI: NDTV Imagine‘s endeavour to scout for the “right bride” for controversial politico-television personality Rahul Mahajan may have riveted the audiences to the channel, but it‘s surely not warmed up the slot just the way Rakhi‘s Swayamvar did in its debut week.

Unlike the high grades that Rakhi‘s oomph fetched for the channel on her maiden day appearance (4.1 TVR), Rahul‘s Dulhaniya Le Jaayega (RDLJ) has got a debut rating of 2.1 TVR.

Also, while Rahul batted the week ended 6 February for an average TVR of 1.5, Rakhi had a higher average of 2.7 TVR in her first week on NDTV Imagine. 
 
However, the property‘s second innings has helped NDTV Imagine shore up its GRP scoreboard to 104 points in the week, compared to 90 GRPs it clocked in the previous week.

Come what may, the Rahul Mahajan brand has indisputably not made it to the viewership charts like Rakhi and for media observers the reason is not just a difference in the magnetic element between the two, but also “a promise not kept!”

Says a media observer, “The show began with a promise that it would find the right groom for Rakhi with whom she would get married and live happily ever after. But it failed to keep that promise alive. As a result, viewers might not trust the show promise once again in its second season.” 
 
Such format shows could have their own limitations. “This is because people understood the format well in the debut season and thus, maybe now they expect something fresh in the new term. And that, if not delivered, will affect the viewership base,” says the programming head of a rival network.

The other properties that have added to the channel GRPs include Bandini (1.7 TVR), Palkon Ki Chaaon Mein (1.7 TVR), Devi (1.6 TVR) and Shani Shinganapur Kathayen (1.4 TVR).

Meanwhile, Star Plus has ousted Zee TV to the second spot, riding on the back of the 16th Star Screen Awards that pocketed a TVR of 6.6. The non-fiction property was telecast on 31 January at 8 pm. 
 
While Zee TV has slipped to 261 from 309 over the week-ago period, Sony Entertainment television is stable at 169 (170 last week). Zee TV, however, has the most-watched show in Pavitra Rishta that has once again topped with a peak TVR of 7.0. Last week, the show dislodged Colors‘ Laado to occupy the number one slot.

Colors continues to rule the rooster with 318 GRPs (321 in previous week). Star Plus grips the second pole with 303 points, a 56 point jump over the previous week.

A close look at the other GECs: Sab is two points down over previous week to stand at 84 while Star One is one point down at 39; Sahara One has marched four points up the ladder to clock 31 GRPs.
 

MUMBAI: The fourth season of the show Heroes kicks off on Star World on 16 February at 10 pm. It will air from Monday – Thursday.
 
To create awareness for the show, the broadcaster has tied up with Cafe Coffee Day. The tie up is for branding in outlets in the form of tent cards and danglers.

The tent cards and danglers shall carry the Heroes contest. Participants can sms their answers with the help of details on the tent cards. This activity is taking place across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune.
 
A similar contest shall be available on the channel’s micro site till 28 February. Winners from the Heroes contest will get merchandise from the channel. The broadcaster has also bought ad space on youth sites like Rediff, Sify, Zapak, in.com and Facebook.
 
The show chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover that they possess extraordinary abilities. As the dust settles from last season, the heroes attempt to settle back into their ordinary lives. Claire is finding that her biggest challenges are forgetting her old life and starting college. Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) goes back to his old life in Japan, but discovers that he has a terminal illness. Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) returns to work as an ordinary New York City EMT, but he uses his abilities to save lives. H.R.G., charged with living like an ordinary man and creating a new company, is rapidly discovering that he needs more from his life.

Tracy Strauss, having risen from the dead, is consumed with seeking vengeance, but soon realises that she has a real opportunity to reinvent herself. Nathan Petrelli, not realizing who he really is, returns to the Senate and begins to notice strange changes and new abilities in himself. These changes are not lost on Angela, who recognizes them for what they truly are – the emergence of Sylar. Matt Parkman returns to life as an ordinary family man and wishes to live so for the rest of his life. But, as all of the Heroes will quickly discover, it‘s not easy to go home again. They will face one pressing question: how do extraordinary people lead ordinary lives?

The biggest challenge for the Heroes this season is a strange and dangerous carnival consisting of a traveling band of outsiders with powerful abilities, led by a charismatic and powerful leader, Samuel (Robert Knepper).

Samuel leads his flock to intersect with the lives of all the heroes. He will find them, and he will entice them to join him. And together, they will ask the same basic questions: Who are we? What does having powers mean to the world? How should we live our lives – shameful or proud? Should we hide or live out in the open? And if the world of powers is revealed, how?
 

MUMBAI: The 2010 Super Bowl on CBS has broken all viewership records in the history of American television, amassing 106.5 million people.

According to Nielsen data, the Sunday Super Bowl game marking the victory of New Orleans Saints over Indianapolis Colts in Miami eclipsed the viewership record of the 1983 finale of wartime sitcom M-A-S-H, which was seen by 105.97 million viewers.
 
The previous most-watched Super Bowl game was last year‘s contest between Pittsburgh and Arizona, as it drew in an audience of 98.7 million. Nielsen says this is the fifth consecutive year that the Super Bowl has averaged more than 90 million viewers.
 
The television industry, however, has changed dramatically over the last three decades in the US. When the M-A-S-H finale aired on 28 February 1983, there were 83.3 million homes with televisions, which have now increased to over 115 million homes.
 
“The Super Bowl remains the premier television event of the year and is one of the few programmes in an era of fragmented TV viewership that can still attract a huge national audience,” says Nielsen executive Dave Thomas.