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Category: AD Agencies

  • iCubesWire launches Innovation Centre NXT

    iCubesWire launches Innovation Centre NXT

    New Delhi: iCubesWire, India’s leading technology performance driven digital agency, today announced the launch of their Innovation Centre called NXT. The launch integrates new age solutions for the digital industry thereby offering diversified ad solutions to the clients and partners. The centre will incorporate futuristic solutions from the domain of Artificial Intelligence & Augmented Reality. Amongst other solutions, rich media for customized creative demands & software development kit for customized audience will be its beneficial components. The Innovation Centre is first of its kind which will give the brands numerous innovative ad solutions to pick & choose from, while planning for campaigns.

    iCubesWire caters to 500+ clients and is optimistic about disrupting the industry with this avant-garde launch. Along with their flagship offerings on performance marketing & full-service digital agency solutions, iCubesWire’s Delta and Instatalk are also pacing up efficaciously in the market.

    Expressing delight over the launch, Sahil Chopra, Founder & CEO, iCubesWire, says, “This is a vital launch for the industry as an entity. There are ample agencies and networks granting overlapping services and the need to devise an innovation cropped up which incorporates them together towards a fresher approach. This requisite formed the base of developing NXT. We are excited and are asserting for it to be a game changer.”

    Aditya Singh, Chief Operating Officer, iCubesWire, adds, “With cutting-edge modifications coming to a stall in the industry, innovation should be a pre-eminent & recurring process. We are enthusiastic about the launch and are certain that the brands will be equally excited to dive into the farsighted offerings that NXT promises to deliver.”

  • Logitech hands digital mandate to Grapes Digital

    Logitech hands digital mandate to Grapes Digital

    MUMBAI: Digital and marketing agency, Grapes Digital, has bagged the entire portfolio of integrated marketing communication for Logitech, India.

    The strategic partnership will see Grapes Digital, playing a pivotal role in conceptualising multi-dimensional communication strategies, digital, creative, media buying along with brand management for Logitech.

    The mandate was awarded to them after a multi-agency pitch.

    Grapes Digital founder Himanshu Arya says, “We are truly honoured to have Logitech, India onboard. By pushing the barriers of innovation, our focus has always been on exceeding our client’s expectation. We are hopeful that with our core pillars, content, media and digital, we will be able to create a comprehensive digital package and drive growth for Logitech, India across new-age channels.”

    The agency offers varied digital service like digital strategy and planning, digital content, creative – user experience, design and content, website/app design and development, social media marketing, search engine optimisation, experiential technology marketing, digital media – planning and buying, performance media – planning and buying and influencer marketing.

  • White Rivers Media retains grooming brand Gatsby’s digital account

    White Rivers Media retains grooming brand Gatsby’s digital account

    MUMBAI: Mandom Group’s grooming brand in Asia – Gatsby has associated with White Rivers Media for the third time in row.
    As part of the mandate, White Rivers Media, the digital agency, will continue to manage their digital and social media presence across India.
    Gatsby India’s branding ideas have successfully managed to resonate with their target audience. Since the first year of the brand’s association with White Rivers Media, this digital agency has studied their target audience well and accommodated these insights into content. Engaging content on the page is exclusively targeted towards young urban men, which has resulted in an impressive engagement rate.
    To put their best foot forward in the future, this collaboration aspires to explore different permutation and combinations of engaging content, media spends, ad models to optimise their reach. The agency also plans to strike conversations in the community and sense the sentiment for various messages. These insights will help them to enhance brand management, evolve in their own space and stay ahead of their competition.
    White Rivers Digital Media chief executive officer and founder Shrenik Gandhi says, “We have been working closely with team Gatsby since past 2 years and I am looking forward to a great next year with the brand. While a good portion of our time this year shall be invested in building the brand in the ‘traditional digital’ manner, special efforts are being taken to capture the new age digital audience via innovative and category first digital activations. I take this opportunity to thank team Gatsby India on the continued trust they have on us.”
    Gardenia Cosmocare (exclusive agent for Gatsby n India) director Puneet Motiani adds, “A good sense of product market as well as a keen ear to the ground greatly assists in selecting the right target audience and engaging them in a fun and constructive manner allowing for meaningful brand interactions which in turn results in positive and improved consumer experiences.”
    For the past ten years, male grooming products have cut out a strong niche for themselves in the global market. In addition to the initial connection of beard to masculinity, being well-groomed is now an essential part of a young man’s routine. To buy these grooming products or gain more information about them, they turn to the web world. Hence, accurate branding of these grooming products in the digital space is extremely important.

  • Chlorophyll launches offerings to bridge brand creation and execution gap

    Chlorophyll launches offerings to bridge brand creation and execution gap

    MUMBAI: End-to-end brand consultancy Chlorophyll has launched new offerings on Independence Day, as it enters its 20th year.

     Chlorophyll co-founder and MD Kiran Khalap said, “As we complete 19 successful years powered by relentless learning, I am delighted to present chlorophyll 3.0, which, with several significant additions to its offerings, will help clients bridge and ‘Mind The Gap’ between brand creation and execution.”

    “These offerings include chlorophyll innovation lab, a sports practice, and two new digital-driven, consumer-centred offerings – Chlorophyll digital business synthesiser and Chlorophyll leadership branding. Together, these additions will empower Chlorophyll to deliver greater salience and value to clients in the digital age where social media has been causing subterranean shifts in the concept of brands and branding,” he added.

    Describing chlorophyll 3.0 as chlorophyll’s shift from brand creation to brand creation and execution, Khalap said it was necessitated because of a constant common feedback from clients: that once Chlorophyll had created and defined their brands, and the brand was handed over for execution to an ad agency, an event agency, an activation agency or a digital agency, there was a discernible gap in brand disciplines leading to loss of value.

    Over the past two years, the company has systematically invested in an innovation lab, in modelling a sports practice and in modelling digital services and social media services.

    The chlorophyll innovation lab is headed by veteran Chitresh Sinha, the sports practice is in partnership with Meraki, and for digital, Chlorophyll has Ashok Lalla as digital business advisor and principal consultant.

    Chlorophyll innovation lab is India’s first brand innovations collective set up by chlorophyll. It helps build brand relevance by helping organisations create a culture of innovation and start-up thinking, co-creating IP by collaborating with young innovators, early stage start-ups and the evolving maker-spaces across the globe and creating disproportionate earned media for brands via innovation-driven integrated brand engagement.

    Chlorophyll innovation lab CEO Chitresh Sinha said: “The key to innovation is that it needs to be created from the customer’s perspective and not from a technology or a domain perspective. That is why we have created a medium-agnostic model that merges evolving technologies, art and social impact to bring alive innovation for brands in integrated ways. The model is very different from the standard agency model. An ecosystem of 800+ innovators from across the globe set up fluid teams that create unique innovations.”

    The lab invented the world’s first Inspiration Medal for the Tata Mumbai Marathon in 2018.

     The sports practice allows brands to effectively invest in sport, helps sport teams, leagues, franchises and events define and align their brand thereby generating long term value and helps global sport properties navigate through India.

    Meraki Sport and Entertainment MD and co-founder Ajit Ravindran said: “Sport sponsorships in India have traditionally been one dimensional with logo visibility being the only parameter used in decision making. However, today sponsorships need to evolve into value partnerships that allow organisations to leverage sport to achieve multiple objectives. The chlorophyll sports practice will help brands, teams, leagues, events, athletes and federations leverage the power of sport and will work towards enhancing fan connect.”

    Chlorophyll also announced two new digital-driven, consumer-centered offerings that will help brands deliver better business impact. These are:

    1)   chlorophyll Digital Business Synthesiser – A time-bound, 5-step digital action model. It helps in creating ownable digital brand narratives to impact consumers and uplift business, through the use of proprietary models for research and branding, and its custom digital analytics tools.

     2)   chlorophyll leadership branding – this helps turn business leaders into leadership brands in the digital age through a proprietary leadership branding model.

    Digital business advisor Ashok Lalla said: “I am excited to collaborate with chlorophyll, a firm I have long admired, to create these two exciting digital-driven offerings. These will help brands and business leaders use digital in a manner that will maximise their impact on consumers.”

    Khalap said, “Over the past 19 years, chlorophyll has had the privilege of creating and transforming over 200 brands, including, for example Aptech, Ayush, BSE, CenturyPly, CG, CK Birla Group, FDC, Fortis, Ginger, Glenmark, India Today, Indigo Paints, Infosys, Mahindra, Mukand, Tata, The Lalit, Unilever and Zandu. It steps into its 20th year as chlorophyll 3.0, empowered to transform client brands by being their custodian and guide through brand creation and across all milestones of strategy and implementation for continued growth,” he added.

  • Signpost India and NDMC to enable free Wi-Fi Zones in CBD area of New Delhi

    Signpost India and NDMC to enable free Wi-Fi Zones in CBD area of New Delhi

    MUMBAI: Signpost India, India’s largest digital Out-of-Home (OOH) enterprise, has worked on a project with the senior team of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for the launch of NDMC’s Smart City Project at Charka Park, Connaught Place, New Delhi on Monday, 13th August 2018.

    The project named as CP LYF, will be touching various facilities on 50 premier points. CP LYF will enable the smartphones’ of users to connect through Ethernet with usage of up to 1 GB data and 400 smartphone charging points at zero cost. The Digital panels along the premier points have the ability to broadcast infotainment along with adverts which are run on 100% secured network. In-house software developed by Parxys Mobility “WISDOM” is been synced to the network along with surveillance cameras to monitor this project.

    Signpost India’s team has created this multifaceted robust technology to engage out of home media through digital and smartphone engagement. The visitors will also benefit free online entertainment streaming application in the form of “Chillx”.

    Present at the launch of the project were Shri Rajnath Singh, Hon’able Union Minister; Shri Manoj Sinha, Hon’able Minister of State for Communications and Railways; Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Hon’able Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs; Shri Anil Baijal, Hon’able Lt. Governor, Delhi; Shri Arvind Kejriwal, Hon’ Chief Minister, Delhi and Shri Meenakshi Lekhi, Hon’able Minister of Parliament. 

    Signpost India has been working for creating convenience for the travellers in the numerous projects with the civic authorities as first and last mile connectivity through public bicycle share, skywalks, commuter shelters and social initiatives on important work for tree plantations, women safety, pollution, Save the Tiger project, rain water harvesting etc.

  • Tight deadlines holding Indian agencies back: Roopak Saluja, The 120 Media Collective

    Tight deadlines holding Indian agencies back: Roopak Saluja, The 120 Media Collective

    MUMBAI: Who can forget the catchy viral sensational song – Why This Kolaveri Di – from a few years ago? It might seem like just a song that went viral but the reality is far from that. The song has an interesting story.

    It was back in 2011 when Jack in the Box Worldwide, the digital agency brand of The 120 Media Collective, helmed by Roopak Saluja got a call from Sony Music to help them control the damage that was done when their upcoming movie, 3’s song had been leaked from the recording studio. That’s when a new viral marketing strategy was born.

    Soon enough, Jack in the Box Worldwide , Sony Music’s digital Agency of Record, decided to create an ‘official video’ of the song. Within 24 hours, the video was shot and humorously sub-titled, 12 hours after that the action began on social and 48 hours later, it was trending on Twitter.  The song to date has over 156 million views on YouTube.

    Why are we telling you this story though? Well, because it was Roopak Saluja and his team, who utilised the power of digital when Facebook and Twitter were still experiencing their nascent days in India.

    A former DJ, media businessman, an angel investor, owner of a record label in Europe, and an actor in few movies, Saluja has seen it all. While he originally wanted to become a writer, Saluja worked for six years in Y&R (Young and Rubicam) in Budapest and Ogilvy & Mather in Paris.

    Featured in Campaign India’s A-List of the Most Influential People in India’s advertising, media & marketing industry between 2010-2014, Saluja is founder and chief executive officer of The 120 Media Collective – a communications and content group comprising subsidiaries, Jack in the Box Worldwide, Sniper, Bang Bang Films and Sooperfly.

    Today, the agency handles digital and content marketing mandates for Unilever, PepsiCo, Reckitt Benckiser, Amazon, Novartis, Aditya Birla Group, Loreal, Indigo, Budweiser, IKEA and the Taj Group among others. It has been 12 years since he started his entrepreneurial journey in the advertising and media industry in India and a lot has changed ever since. While he was one of the earliest entrants in digital marketing, today we have over 150+ digital agencies in India. The challenges are shortcomings are more than ever before.

    Indiantelevision.com spoke to Saluja to understand the agency model, Indian creativity, use of technology by 2020 and more.

    You have always maintained that Jack In The Box is ‘premium priced’. Isn’t is hard for you to get clients in that scenario or are clients actually willing to spend that kind of an amount?

    Yes, we are premium in our pricing and that is because we know we deserve it for what we bring to the table. We do discuss the pricing before we start working for the client. And it is actually not about the size as not everyone has the appetite for it (big budget). It’s not always the big advertisers that spend a lot, there are also some smaller startups who are trying to build the brand and they will over invest.

    Larger clients today are reconsidering their investments and want to consolidate their spends in fewer agencies rather than having 10 different agencies on board doing 10 different things. Do you see that as a challenge?

    I think 10-15 years ago, getting marquee clients was considered good for an agency’s reputation and it was something everyone could brag about. Today, it has become hard for agencies to make money with large clients due to the rise of procurement. We had a large client that paid us well back in the day for the work we did for them but now they have changed their pricing value and pay us peanuts for the same kind of work.

    How do you view the work that comes out of India as compared to the rest of the world? Although we are getting there, so far we clearly aren’t winning a lot of awards at international film festivals.

    I think we definitely are getting there. The work that came out of India at Cannes this year was better than last year. What happens at Cannes usually is that you tend to support your home country’s work but when an Indian work comes up, the Indian jury is never happy with it. I don’t know if it’s the jealousy or what, but you won’t find Indians supporting a fellow Indian’s work.

    What is holding us back in terms of creativity?

    The biggest difference and what’s holding us back is not money and budget. Obviously, clients expect moon and stars for peanuts but it’s more importantly about time. What we Indian agencies get four weeks for, they (international agencies) get 14 weeks. In India, agencies are put under a lot of pressure to finish the creative under a tight deadline. When the pressure is put on agencies, that pressure is in turn put on the production team to finish off the final product soon. This results in a substandard quality of creative.

    Moving forward, do you think artificial intelligence, virtual reality and other technologies will become indispensable in ads, say 5 years from now?

    Use of technology will change the way we advertise now but the basics will still remain the same. Jack in the Box or digital agencies, in general, will no longer be called a ‘digital’ agency by 2020. Someone once said to me, “Digital marketing is dead, long live digital marketing!” Going forward, digital marketing will just be a way of advertising.

    What do you think will be the game changers for A&M in 2019?

    It will be a mix of technology and data. My brother has a PhD in AI and he laughs about what we call AI in our industry. I intend to deliver better business results with the technology. Content for business impact is really important for us. Everyone is looking at the effectiveness of budget and its accountability.

    Finally, what next for 120 Media Collective and what next for Roopak Saluja?

    I want 120 to be the most effective company in the marketing space. I want it to be effective, not the best, not most creative. When I say effective, I mean in terms of business results. I say company and not agency because the ability to do and deliver the results will not come only from agencies.  Who knows we may not even be an agency anymore as agency implies that you are a part of the advertising world. I don’t think this holy grail belongs to the advertising industry anymore. Accenture and other technology companies are going into play as marketing and technology start to converge and technology companies will have as much of a claim over those marketing budgets as agencies.

  • Platinum Guild celebrates friendship between couples

    Platinum Guild celebrates friendship between couples

    MUMBAI: We are living in transient times, where this search for novelty and individuality has taken precedence over building or even preserving an emotional connection. Today, the smallest hiccup in a relationship has the ability to conjure up thoughts of giving up and letting go. We are so busy chasing our individual goals and responsibilities that we become unmindful of the strong foundation that we had once created with our partner.

    So, this Friendship Day, Platinum Days of Love, PGI’s flagship brand wants you to pause and remember, amidst your mind faltering thoughts about your relationship, that you were #FriendsFirst. For the first time ever, an endearing campaign that celebrates friendship between couples.

    Developed and conceptualised by Dentsu Webchutney, the digital campaign features three short and three long digital videos that bring out little instances of pure friendship that exists among couples. The stories beautifully exhibit rare relationships which have honesty, vulnerability, companionship, and mutual respect because it has friendship at its core. The love that results from such a partnership is truly one of a kind and deserves to be celebrated with an equally rare and precious metal – platinum.

    “Our research has shown that ‘friendship’ is extremely aspirational in a couples’ relationship both before and after marriage. Finding a best friend in your partner is rare, retaining friendship in your relationship even rarer. With this campaign, we aim to encourage couples to remember and aspire to be #FriendsFirst. Mark this friendship day as your Platinum Day of Love,” says Platinum Guild International India director consumer marketing Sujala Martis. 

    Commenting on the campaign, Dentsu Webchutney executive creative director Pravin Sutar adds, “Friendship should outlast other emotions in a couple’s relationship, but more often than not it takes a backseat. Through #FriendsFirst, we are starting a conversation that highlights the importance of friendship in a relationship through highly relatable and alluring scenarios. We are asking viewers to ponder and eventually revisit this rare bond that once was the initiator of their relationship.”

    This campaign will further give couples an exciting opportunity to share their #FriendsFirst story along with the picture to win celebration vouchers.

    In addition to the digital videos, from 2-11 August, the campaign will also run an in-store reward program where every customer will receive exciting gifts on purchase of platinum love bands.

  • Consumer Sentiment Up: Ipsos Thomson Reuters PCSI July 2018

    Consumer Sentiment Up: Ipsos Thomson Reuters PCSI July 2018

    MUMBAI: Consumer Sentiment in India in July has surged by 2.3points over last month as per the Ipsos Primary Consumer Sentiment (Consumer Confidence) Index (PCSI) conducted in partnership with Thomson Reuters. 

    The monthly PCSI result is driven by the aggregation of the four, weighted, sub-Indices: the PCSI Employment Confidence (Jobs), Sub-Index which is up 3.6 points; the PCSI Economic Expectations (Expectations) Sub-Index which is up 2.6 points; the PCSI Investment Climate (Investment) Sub-Index which is up 1.6 points; and the PCSI Current Personal Financial Conditions (“Current Conditions”) Sub-Index which is up 0.7 percentage points over last month.

    “Boost in consumer sentiment bodes well for the economy. Which means the consumer islikely to loosen his purse strings for spending and that there is liquidity in the market.Interestingly, consumer is confident on all fronts, whether it is to do with jobs, performance of the economy, investment climate/investment in big ticket items and personal savings. There is a form of stabilityin the economy, now that the post GST disruption has worn off and the Indian economy is placed in the sixth place, having overtaken France, as per the latest World Bank Report. Ergo, there is optimism seen in consumers,” says Parijat Chakraborty, Executive Director, Ipsos Public Affairs.”   

  • Aidem Ventures appoints Pradeep Hejmadi as CEO

    Aidem Ventures appoints Pradeep Hejmadi as CEO

    MUMBAI: Aidem Ventures, an independent media consulting and marketing company, has appointed  Pradeep Hejmadi as the chief executive officer (CEO), effective August 2018. In his new role, Hejmadi will be spearheading AIDEM’s newest verticals: Aidemtec and AIDEM Sporty. Simultaneously, he will help unlock new partnerships and opportunities in the company’s traditional broadcast sales business.

    Talking about his new role, Hejmadi said, “I’m excited to join Aidem Ventures and look forward to working with an extremely talented team. AIDEM is an energetic and dynamic organization that has witnessed tremendous growth over the past few years. My focus will be on spurring exponential growth for the organisation, and leveraging an eclectic team of professionals to convert challenges into profitable business outcomes.”

    Aidem Ventures MD Karan Kumar Gupta said, “There couldn’t be a better time for AIDEM to work with someone like Pradeep who has extensive experience and a proven track record in the entertainment space. With the launch of Aidemtec and Aidem Sporty, we have a massive opportunity to capitalize on Pradeep’s experience in pioneering initiatives in the broadcast field. I’m confident that his leadership assets will be valuable for us in the long term.”

    Hejmadi brings with him more than 20 years of multi-dimensional experience in the Indian media industry. He has spearheaded and successfully launched profitable initiatives. His previous stints include working with Zee TV, TAM Media Research, MTV Networks India, Turner Broadcasting and Discovery Networks.

    Aidem Ventures chairman Ashok Kumar Gupta said, “We are delighted to have Pradeep join us at this pivotal point in the company’s journey.We continue to attract impressive leaders like him who can take our technology and consulting solutions to the broader market and grow our already-robust roster of clients very quickly, thus creating an incredible future for AIDEM.”

  • DAN acquires stake in Scottish creative agency

    DAN acquires stake in Scottish creative agency

    MUMBAI: Multinational media and digital marketing communications company, Dentsu Aegis Network has acquired 100 per cent stake in a Scotland based creative agency, Whitespace.

    Established in 1997, with a focus on digital and brand design, Whitespace has developed into one of Scotland’s leading and most awarded creative agencies. Currently housed with a talented team of 70 and located in Edinburgh, the agency offers specialised services in brand strategy, digital production, content and integrated campaigns spanning mobile, augmented reality and virtual reality to a diverse portfolio of clients.

    Following the acquisition, Whitespace will remain a standalone agency and will add capability infill in creative services, digital and production to DAN North, in addition to making an important contribution to the Dentsu Group’s business throughout the UK.

    The impact of this transaction on Dentsu’s consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2018 is expected to be minimal.

    Dentsu Aegis Network, the Dentsu Group’s global business headquarters based in London, is expanding the group’s business worldwide through ten global network brands–Carat, Dentsu (Dentsu Brand Agencies), dentsu X, iProspect, Isobar, mcgarrybowen, Merkle, MKTG, Posterscope and Vizeum–as well as through several specialist/multi-market brands.