ITV

Category: Marketing

  • Rediffusion Y&R group EVP Wasim Basir quits







    MUMBAI: Wasim Basir, Rediffusion Y&R group executive vice president, has put in his papers at the organisation.














    Currently serving his notice period, Basir‘s term at the agency will end in September.




    With 15 years of experience in advbertising, Basir joined Rediffusion Y&R in July 2008 and his mandate was to head business initiaives in Mumbai. Recently, Basir was moved to take care of the agency‘s Delhi office.




    Prior to joining Rediffusion, Basir was based in China for eight years. His last assignment there was with Red Lounge – a Coca-Cola venture created especially for the Beijing Olympic Games, as managing director.

  • ESPN Star Sports rebrands across Asia

    MUMBAI: As the sports season heats up with a buffet of events, pan Asian broadcaster ESPN Star Sports rebrands and launches its new on-air presentation across its networks.


    The new branding and channel presentation looks to leverage on the two channels‘ brand equities to further strengthen their connection with current audiences and attract new demographics, as fans gear up to catch the exciting action from major sporting events such as the ICC Champions Trophy, Airtel Champions League Twenty20, Formula One Grand Prix and the Barclays Premier League this September.













    This extensive exercise includes rebranding Star Sports, developed with an aim to keep the brand fresh and relevant to young and diverse demographics; and launching the new presentation for both ESPN and Star Sports, conceptualised and developed to portray the dynamism of sports as communicated by these two strong and unique brands in their own signature style.


    The new presentation incorporates bold colour palates, vibrant motifs and features on-air talents from each network underscoring the brand personalities of each channel.


    In addition, all five editions of SportsCenter across Asia gets a fresh new look as the sports news programme begins its broadcast with a fresh and dynamic graphic presentation package. The new look reflects the premium appeal and international image of SportsCenter as it continues to bring the best sports news and editorial presentation from across the world to millions of viewers in Asia.


    ESS MD Manu Sawhney says, “With so many exciting sports properties currently being broadcast on our channels, the new branding for Star Sports and the refreshed on-air presentations for each channel brand aim to enthuse and exhilarate sports fans and continue our strong and enduring association with them. Sports is a visual spectacle and our on-air packages aims to enhance this experience by speaking in the same dynamic and energetic language of sports, while articulating the channels‘ brand promise to viewers across all age-groups and demographics.




    “SportsCenter has a long and strong tradition of delivering the best international sports to viewers across the region and it is just as important to present sports news in new and engaging manner to reinforce its unique position. We are confident that sports fans will enjoy this new enhanced presentation of their favourite sports programme.”


    ESPN and Star Sports new on-air presentation will be broadcast across its networks covering 24 countries. It includes on-air graphic elements such as, brand idents, presenter idents, logo stings, bumpers, end pages, lower thirds, menu boards, backgrounds, monthly highlights and billboards.


    Star Sports looks to build on its profile as the channel that celebrates sports, highlighting the lifestyle and interactive aspect of spectatorship with a strong visual language that conveys enthusiasm and engagement. The new Circle symbol captures this spirit of action and entertainment involving fans to become a part of this exciting community.




    The new on-air presentation of ESPN reinforces its status as the ‘Home of Sports‘ highlighted by the “Scoreboard” motif that communicates the informative and newsy characteristics of the sports channel.


    The sports news channel Sportscenter will be televised with a virtual set that is designed to enhance the viewing experience for sports fans and its new presentation features new graphics package aimed at delivering sports news, results, and scores in a dynamic manner.

  • WPP’s digital biz to grow by 7% in India: Sorrell

    MUMBAI: While traditional media still remains to rule the rooster in the Indian advertising industry, it is digital media that will drive growth within the country, believes WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell.


    The global advertising and marketing conglomerate is expecting its digital advertising business in the country to grow by 5-7 per cent this year.


    “While I am expecting an overall growth of 3-4 per cent in our India business, the digital advertising space is expected to see a growth of 5-7 per cent,” says Sorrell. In 2008, WPP posted a revenue of $400 million from India, while its worldwide revenue stood at $13 billion.











    Sorrell notes that the major client categories that will look at investing in the digital advertising zone this year are telecom, technology


    , media & entertainment, sports, travel and automobile. “Meanwhile, FMCG will still remain conservative on digital spend,” the chief executive said here today, while speaking to reporters.


    Globally, clients allocate approximately 12-13 per cent of their advertising budget towards digital.


    Sorrell expects the augmentation of the digital ad market in India to majorly come from mobile as Internet penetration is still low in India.


    “While lack of Internet penetration in the country can hinder digital advertising growth, the existence of 400 million users in India will surely bring in significant change in mobile advertising,” he explains.


    Sorrell believes that the movement of crafting the Internet growth delta has begun to shift eastward and, therefore, despite the dominance of traditional media (television and print) in India, the country is surely to get bullish on digital.




    “In 2008, the Internet growth delta came from China indicating that economic growth is shifting east and allocating more resources,” Sorrell says.


    Overall, while the first half of the year remained flat, WPP is expecting to witness growth from the second half and in 2010.


    “With the World Cup, Winter Olympics, World Expo and US mid-term election lined up for the year, 2010 is surely to push up the global advertising trajectory as it will stimulate spending,” he says.


    For Sorrell, apart from India, the other geographic zones that stand as opportunity areas to generate revenues are Vietnam, Bangladesh, Turkey and Japan. Latin America, Africa and Middle East are also opportunity areas for the advertising industry.

  • Sony to hike sponsorship rates by 19% in IPL 3.0

    MUMBAI: In a crowded cricket season, broadcasters are out in the market early to sell their properties to advertisers.


    Multi Screen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television India), which holds the telecast rights for the Indian Premier League, has started approaching clients for spending monies on the third edition of the popular T20 tournament which kicks off next year.


    MSM is looking at a 19 per cent hike in advertising rates, expecting the economic climate to improve by then, as it holds on to a prime time property spread over 45 days.


    The IPL, which had found temporary home in South Africa for the second edition, returns to India this time.


    “We are talking with clients. We are charging Rs 475,000 per 10 seconds for the sponsors. Last year, this had gone for Rs 400,000,” MSM president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta tells Indiantelevision.com.













    MSM is looking at locking in 10 sponsors and expects there will be hype around the event as it is being held in India. In addition to the live cricket action, MSM is targeting six to eight sponsors for its wrap-around show Extraaa Innings.


    “What is significant is that we doubled our revenue, although the event was not held in India. Of course, the on-ground sponsors of the IPL get the first rights of refusal,” says Gupta.


    Vivaki Exchange VP Sejal Shah believes the IPL will not directly compete with events like the Champions Trophy as it is happening next year. “As the IPL entails a substantial spend, clients would already have earmarked budgets for the same. So Sony’s strategy to go to the market now is a sound one,” she says.




    Shah expects MSM to sign up all the sponsors over the next two to three months. “While the IPL is an expensive event, if you can afford it then it delivers the goods. It is risk free. The sponsors would take up around 66 per cent of the inventory. The IPL works for sponsors if you use the FCT well as it allows you to break through the clutter which is what Vodafone did when it introduced the Zoozoos. They got far more inventory than other telecom players that took spots and thus their recall among viewers was far higher compared with the competition,” she adds.




    For IPL season 2 while Vodafone was the presenting sponsor, other telecom companies that advertised were BSNL, Idea, Tata Teleservices and Airtel.


    Gupta further says that the big story of the second season of the IPL was that FMCGs, who do not generally use much cricket, came on board in a big way. This included the likes of Levers and Parle. “The IPL delivered 80 per cent reach among males. So for a substantial period your visibility needs are taken care off. No other cricket property gives you day in and day out visibility for such a long period,” he adds.

  • Nat Geo, Lufthansa take ‘Genius’ property to online realm







    MUMBAI: National Geographic Channel and European airline Lufthansa have taken the on-air quiz show Lufthansa Nat Geo Genius to the the online world for those who love to travel.


    The winner stands to be rewarded with an all expenses paid trip to Washington DC, flying Lufthansa’s luxurious Business Class



    .















    Participants need to log on to www.lh.natgeogenius.com and register. They then embark on a journey across the globe in an attempt to cash in on their knowledge about various countries and their culture.


    The quiz takes place on a world map divided into four zones, according to the status categories of the Lufthansa Miles and More mileage programme – Base Zone, FTL (Frequent Traveller) Zone, Senator Zone and HON Zone. Participants get 59 seconds to answer each of the 40 questions. Every correct answer gets the participant 1000 flyer miles.


    After answering 10 questions in each zone, one moves to the next one, but two wrong answers lead to elimination from the quiz. Top scorers will feature on the Lufthansa Jet setter’s board and win prizes daily, weekly and monthly.




    Lufthansa director South AsiaAxel Hilgers says, “Lufthansa is delighted to be National Geographic Channel’s partner in this project. This interactive online format allows us to engage with our Indian customers in a creative way and target a wider audience.”




    NGC SAouth Asia MD Nikhil Mirchandani says, “At Nat Geo we take pride in seeing each brand as a unique entity and offer innovative solutions that best suit its needs. We successfully introduced the Indian version of our internationally acclaimed quiz show, Geo Genius last year with Lufthansa. This year we are proud to take the excitement forward through the online medium”.

  • LG to push Lead 11 platform during Champions Trophy

    MUMBAI: LG, which is an official International Cricket Council (ICC) partner, will focus on its Lead 11 platform for the Champions Trophy.













    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, LG India marketing head V Ramachandran says that this is a global concept.


    Kids from the participating countries are chosen. They will be flown to South Africa. Before the start of each match, they will lead their respective teams on to the ground.




    From India LG will send around 15 kids to South Africa. Over the past few weeks, the company has been doing on-ground activities by having a presence in malls and multiplexes. LG has also created awareness about this initiative through trade exhibitions that it routinely conducts across the country.




    Ramachandran adds that for the festive season, which kicked off with Onam, the company is looking at a 35 per cent growth in turnover despite the downturn. New products will be launched in the mobile phone and LCD categories and the aim will be to bring freshness to its portfolio.


    LG‘s marketing spend for the festive season will be 10 per cent higher compared with the same period last year. It will spend around Rs 1.2 billion in marketing activities, says Ramachandran.

  • Zee TV unleashes outdoor campaign to promote 9-10 pm band

    MUMBAI: For the first time in its history, Zee TV has kicked off a ‘dual’ campaign to promote its 9 – 10 pm prime time band. The innovative promotion has the soaps in question, Kasamh Se (9 pm) and Saat Phere (9:30 pm), sharing hoarding space across Mumbai.
    “Zee TV has been leading the 9 pm to 10 pm band since a long time. But, we are not using this campaign to project ourselves as numero uno. This promotion is to assert the popularity of Bani and Saloni – the leading ladies of the respective soaps”, states Zee TV marketing head Tarun Mehra.

    Zee TV recently conceptualised an episode of Kasamh Se in such a way that, it had both Bani and Saloni in the same show. This was when Saloni attended the wedding of Bani’s younger sister in a recent episode.

    According to the Tam data (Week 31 to Week 34 2006, CS4+, HSM) offered by the channel, it is a neck and neck race going on in the 9 – 10 pm band presently. Zee TV is leading the race with an average TVR of 4.7 against Star Plus’ 4.5 TVR.

  • Sony Ericsson focuses on India in new brand campaign

    MUMBAI: India figures as one of the key markets in Sony Ericsson‘s new global campaign.


    The campaign will support the launch of Sony‘s new entertainment products – Aino, Satio and Yari. India is identified as a key consumption market for these products.


    Keeping in line with its on-going business transformation with the realignment of its external visual identity and brand values, Sony Ericsson has also adopted the new brand message, ‘make.believe‘, in all consumer communication.


    The company aims to reinforce its entertainment credentials and collaboration with the Sony Group.













    Says Sony Ericsson brand strategy head Cathy Davies, “Fusing communication and entertainment has been at the core of Sony Ericsson‘s offering since the start of the joint venture. ‘make.believe‘ aligns Sony Ericsson with the Sony Group companies and reflects the coming together of communication and entertainment. By re-aligning our brand and adopting ‘make.believe‘, we further highlight our entertainment offering to consumers.”


    Visually, Sony Ericsson will expand the appeal of its ‘liquid identity‘ logo by adding seven new colour variations plus a new a ‘liquid energy‘ flowing from the logo to make it more playful and visually appealing for the digital arena. The company also aims to adopt a more open and questioning attitude by inviting greater consumer participation in the brand through a stronger focus on interactive digital and social media channels.




    A series of strategic marketing campaigns over the next few weeks will launch the realigned visual identity and showcase the start of ‘make.believe‘ at Sony Ericsson, including a ‘spark something‘ viral campaign for the new Satio, Aino and Yari phones.




    Says Sony Ericsson India president Anil Sethi, “Our realigned brand will play a vital part of our strategy in India to be seen as a communication entertainment brand. Consumers will soon experience this proposition in the Aino, Satio and Yari, which will soon be launched in India.”

  • J&J unveils ‘Neutrogena’ in Indian markets; Prachi Desai is brand ambassador

    MUMBAI: Johnson & Johnson (J&J) India has launched ‘Neutrogena‘, a global beauty care brand in the Indian markets. With this the company has introduced 22 products in the skin care category.













    Bollywood actress Prachi Desai has been roped in as the brand ambassador for Neutrogena.




    “We have been assessing the Indian skincare market for sometime now and found out that young women are increasingly getting conscious about skin protection. Thus we felt this is the right time to launch the product or in a way expand our portfolio,‘‘ told J&J vice-president marketing Tina Mistry to PTI.




    The company will assess the Indian markets and get in more products from its global portfolio as and when it sees opportunities.


    The skin care product range starts at Rs 85 and goes up to Rs 500.

  • BBDO to handle Aviva Life Insurance creative account

    MUMBAI: As part of its global brand alignment strategy, Aviva Life Insurance has appointed BBDO India as its new creative agency.

    Earlier this year, Aviva announced the transition of all businesses under one global brand.













    The company has also kicked off its new campaign targeting the child plans space – ‘education is insurance’ conceptualised by BBDO India.




    Aviva director marketing Vishal Gupta said, “Our tie-up with BBDO is in line with the worldwide approach of building the brand on the platform of ‘individual recognition‘. At Aviva India, we recognise that ‘education is insurance‘ and as a brand, therefore, we help parents remove financial constraints in providing the best education for their children.”




    Prior to this, the account was being handled by Publicis India.