ITV

Category: Media and Advertising

  • al+ and Dentsu collaborate on project to clone celebrities

    al+ and Dentsu collaborate on project to clone celebrities

    MUMBAI: al+ Inc. is planning to collaborate with Dentsu Inc on the project to create digital clones of celebrities.

     

    al+ analyses life-log data of individuals and/or their groups, and develops personalised A.I. by reconstructing those individual personalities on the cloud. al+ is providing the related technologies for different types of products.

     

    al+ and Dentsu have agreed to cooperate on the development of digital clones of celebrities as a method of providing communication entertainment contents. al+ will firstly regenerate the personality of the idol Ai Shinozaki as A.I.

     

    This is the company’s first occasion to utilise al+ technologies in the entertainment field.

  • K Raheja Corp’s new brand campaign centres around ‘space’

    K Raheja Corp’s new brand campaign centres around ‘space’

    MUMBAI: Known for enhancing the quality of life through best offerings across real estate, retail and hospitality, K Raheja Corp launched its latest marketing campaign pegged on ‘space.’

     

    Crafted to showcase one of the most sought after, but largely fading feature in residential offerings ‘space,’ the campaign communication is simple and succinct with the tagline – ‘Space makes all the difference.’

     

    Developed for Raheja Vistas Premiere – Pune, the property is now open sales for phase II of its project.

     

    The phased ad campaign will roll out in the Pune market across print, radio and digital.

     

    The print ads juxtapose cramped lettering with well laid out text to elucidate the need for, and value of – space. The thought is the same in the radio campaign, which relies on an innovative script showcasing an aural experience of – being cramped, to bring alive the value of space to a listener.

     

    Conceptualised by Utopeia Communicationz, the campaign aims to drive home the invaluable message that ‘Space is the ultimate luxury’: 20 acres of space for spacious floor plans; grand parking spaces; a 7-acre green land with best in class amenities; space that allows one to enjoy the luxury of privacy; peacefully enjoy festivals and special occasions; space in a gated, serene community.

     

    In the run-up to the festive season, the first phase of the print and radio campaign debuted late last month in print along with radio across the stations of Radio City and Radio Mirchi.

     

    The online campaign is expected to break in the first week of September and will extend through the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.

     

    Speaking about the campaign, K Raheja Corp director Vinod Rohira said, “In times where space is a luxury, the availability of liberal amounts of it is definitely a huge advantage, and we have focused on this single feature to showcase the merits of Raheja Vistas Premiere. A meticulous creation, we are confident of the property delivering excellently to the needs of a discerning audience base. Timed for the festive season, with a carefully selected media mix across print, radio and digital we look forward to this campaign successfully meeting our business objectives.”

  • Social media campaign to clean littered places gets support from Dabang Delhi, Jubin Nautiyal

    Social media campaign to clean littered places gets support from Dabang Delhi, Jubin Nautiyal

    NEW DELHI: In a unique campaign, a not-for-profit non-governmental organization will print photographs of unclean and littered public spaces in cities to encourage people to join together to clean up those areas.

     

    Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) India will through Click2Clean to organise collective action by citizens, governments and the private sector.

     

    A community-driven initiative, the campaign is initially being rolled out in Delhi NCR (Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad) today and will later cover cities across the country.  

     

    Through the Click2Clean campaign, citizens of Delhi NCR will click and upload photographs of ‘unclean’ and littered public spaces, after which a screening committee will select 100 sites from all the images it receives and ensure they become litter-free within a given timeframe.

     

    A Facebook page has been created to help citizens upload images. People can also donate for the campaign through this link. 

     

    The campaign has already received support and has been endorsed by Pro Kabaddi League team Dabang Delhi and Bollywood singer Jubin Nautiyal.

     

    CAF India CEO Meenakshi Batra said, “While we are doing a lot of work in the area of sanitation in rural areas, there is an urgent need to clean up our cities as the number of people migrating from rural to urban areas continues to surge with every passing day. This exerts an ever-increasing pressure on civic agencies to ensure cleanliness and maintain sanitation standards. Keeping this in mind, we have launched the Click2Clean campaign in Delhi NCR to start with and appeal to corporates and individuals to participate in this movement to clean our cities.’’ 

     

    DoIT Sports Management (India) director Radha Kapoor and Dabang Delhi team owner added, “Dabang Delhi is committed to positive social change as part of the socially responsible objectives of DoIT Sports Management. As a step in that direction we are pleased to associate with Charities Aid Foundation’s Click2Clean campaign. Dabang Delhi strongly believes that hygiene and sanitation are major contributors to a healthy living and this campaign fulfils our objective of reaching out to society and specifically educating our youth to keep the environment clean. We endorse the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’ and strongly believe that just like sports, healthy habits, need to be practiced and made a way of life.”

     

    The campaign, which will be implemented in collaboration with CAF India-validated NGO partners, aims to raise public awareness, build critical ethical and civic sense in communities, enhance citizen participation and volunteerism through civic action, and promote partnerships and alliances among various stakeholders (communities, government, and the private sector).

  • Soho Square Mumbai names Ishrath Nawaz as creative director

    Soho Square Mumbai names Ishrath Nawaz as creative director

    MUMBAI: Soho Square Mumbai has appointed Ishrath Nawaz as creative director with effect from 3 September.

     

    Soho Square executive creative directors Anuraag Khandelwal and Satish Desa said, “Our young and dynamic team is a constantly evolving one. Our focus is to continuously adapt to new age ideas and ideals, with growth that is not just exponential but organic as well. Ishrath brings with him a unique mix of talents and a crisp understanding of different brand segments. We believe he has what it takes to strengthen our vision.”

     

    Nawaz added, “There’s nothing like it. I’ve always wanted to be a part of the Ogilvy group and it’s like a dream come true for me. Soho Square has been breaking tremendous ground over the last few years. Anuraag and Satish are two highly competitive and creative individuals who are firmly entrenched in market realities while striving to achieve creative excellence. I think this is the perfect mix. It’s going to be great working and growing with them.”

     

    Having an experience of 14 years in advertising, Nawaz has worked across agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi, Rediffusion DYR, Network Advertising and Draft FCB+Ulka.

  • H1-2015: Havas revenue up 19% as India, China, Oz lead APAC growth

    H1-2015: Havas revenue up 19% as India, China, Oz lead APAC growth

    MUMBAI: Even as Havas’ operations in Asia Pacific felt the effects of the downturn caused by China’s economic difficulties, the biggest contributors to H1 growth were India, China and Australia in the region.

     
    The Group revenue in the first half (H1) of 2015 were 19.2 per cent up at €1034 million on an unadjusted basis, from €867 million in H1 2014. 
     

    The agency’s Europe ops maintained sound growth of +5.1 per cent in Q2 2015, resulting in a highly satisfactory first half driven by strong performances from France, Spain, Germany and Italy in particular.

    The North America region continued its strong growth, driven mainly by healthcare communications and creative agencies, whereas Latin America region reported satisfactory growth of 3.2 per cent for H1 2015. However, the pace of growth is now slowing due to a downturn in the economies of key countries such as Brazil and Mexico.

    Havas CEO Yannick Bolloré said, “We are pleased to note satisfactory progress across all our regions.”

    The Group’s organic growth (excluding exchange rate variations and changes in the scope of consolidation) was +5.5 per cent in Q2 2015 and +6.3 per cent for H1 2015.

    Exchange rate variations had a positive exchange rate impact of €85.6 million over the half year.

    Havas’ income from operations for H1 2015 was €137 million, an increase of 21.7 per cent over €113 million for H1 2014. Income from operations margin for H1 2015 was 13.3 per cent compared to 13 per cent for the corresponding period in 2014, an increase of 30 basis points.

    Operating income rose by 22.4 per cent to €128 million, compared to €104 million for the corresponding period in 2014.

    The effective tax rate was 30.4 per cent, compared to 29 per cent in H1 2014.

    Net income, Group share of €77 million in H1 2015 was up 27.6 per cent on H1 2014, representing 7.4 per cent of H1 2015 revenue. Net earnings per share (basic and diluted) increased by 23 per cent to €0.18.

    Bolloré added, “Havas reported strong growth in its interim results, with revenue up by 19.2 per cent and income from operations margin up again, by 30 basis points to 13.3 per cent, driven by a powerful commercial dynamic and continued execution of our “Together” strategic plan. Our strategy to create the industry’s most agile and integrated Group continues to deliver strong results because it is focused on supporting our clients through their process of transformation.”

    “We also believe the macroeconomic movements of recent days may offer opportunities for Havas to win new clients attracted to an innovative agency model that offers a better response to their changing needs. This strong first-half performance gives us every confidence that our annual targets will be met. I would like to thank all our clients for placing their trust in us, and our 17,500 employees for their excellent work,” he said.

  • Lowe Singapore hires Vinay Vinayak as global business director on Lifebuoy

    Lowe Singapore hires Vinay Vinayak as global business director on Lifebuoy

    MUMBAI: Lowe Singapore, part of the Mullen Lowe Group, has appointed Vinay Vinayak as global business director for Unilever’s health and hygiene skin cleansing brand, Lifebuoy.

     

    Vinayak will assume the responsibilities of Lowe Singapore’s previous Lifebuoy lead, Virat Tandon, who was recently appointed CEO of the advertising network’s new agency Mullen Lintas, in India.

     

    Vinayak comes to Singapore after five years with Lowe’s Lifebuoy team in Mumbai. At Singapore headquarters, he will lead and develop the brand across markets in South East Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

     

    He has over ten years across both agency and client-side in the advertising industry, directing brands such as HSBC, Cadbury (now Mondelez), Samsonite and BBC World. With Lowe in Mumbai, he was part of the core Lifebuoy team that among various brand initiatives also conceptualised and implemented the multi-award winning social mission programme – Help A Child Reach 5.

     

    Lowe Asia Pacific regional president Rupen Desai said, “Lifebuoy is an amazing brand where the purpose and profit both work in perfect sync. We’re delighted that Vinay agreed to take up this challenge leading the team here in Singapore. He has a great track record with the brand, and working with the client and agency teams globally. Lifebuoy is one of our most lauded partner brands, so it was crucial that we had exactly the right fit for this senior position.”

     

    Vinayak added, “The Lifebuoy brand is on an interesting trajectory, and is deeply committed to improving the hygiene habits of families and especially children, everywhere. Coming to Singapore means that I can not only be a strong part of the brand’s journey, but help shape it as well. Singapore also means being at the vortex of some of the newest opportunities for content – as it is a key centre for Asia, and also because it offers the ability to lead integrated work for the brand, alongside specialists like Lowe Open and Lowe Profero.”

  • CouponDunia ropes in Krishna Iyer as VP – revenue

    CouponDunia ropes in Krishna Iyer as VP – revenue

    MUMBAI: CouponDunia has appointed Krishna Iyer as its vice president – revenue. He will be responsible for accelerating sales, expanding the reach and ensuring brand’s overall growth.

     

    Iyer comes to CouponDunia with 12 years experience in sales, account management, strategy and leadership of which 10 years have been in the digital space. Prior to joining CouponDunia, he was AVP – media sales at Quikr.com and was responsible for evangelising, building web and mobile revenue properties. His mandate was to create a magnetisation stream that was media and brand centric.

     

    CouponDunia CEO Sameer Parwani said, “Krishna will be instrumental in driving CouponDunia’s next phase of growth with his robust expertise in sales and strategy. His prior experience working in key roles at two rapidly expanding start-ups makes him well suited to the challenges ahead at CouponDunia. We are excited to have him on board.”

     

    Iyer added, “Online coupons and its usage is growing extremely fast in India and CouponDunia is leading this change. This role will give me a chance to interact with brands across verticals and offer them online and offline reach that CouponDunia enjoys and showcase this platform as an effective marketing channel. I look forward to working with CouponDunia and helping build a sustainable and targetable customer outreach brand.”

  • Havas Media India takes a trip to Jodhpur

    Havas Media India takes a trip to Jodhpur

    MUMBAI: So, who wouldn’t like to take off mid-week and head for a trip? That’s exactly what Havas Media Group India did 20-24 August, 2015. Mid 2013, Anita Nayyar announced the India Initiatives which included internal awards and training. Last year it was destination Udaipur, this year following the cancellation of Mount Abu due to the landslides, Team India headed for Jodhpur.

    The idea behind the offsite is for the team to rediscover themselves, their capabilities, to know each other better and simply, to have a great time. The agenda included – induction of new people, demonstration of global tools and processes, sharing of powerful case studies and insights, sessions on the rising media trends, digital and mobile training, team building activities, awards announcements and fun.

    Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media Group India, said, “There is no better time to bond with the team across levels. Fun and enjoyment sprinkled with learning, training and discussions filled our days. We all come back enriched with bonding, relationships, learning and a lot of positive emotions.”

    Mohit Joshi, M.D., Havas Media Group India, said, “Havas is a ‘Happy Agency’ and initiatives like this allow all of us to do Meaningful Connections with our team.” 

    Ranjoy Dey, Head of Digital, Havas Media India, said, “It was a great opportunity to conduct a Digital and Mobile 1-0-1, for the entire HMG India team. When we promote “Digital at Core” as our philosophy of business, we also ensure that our entire team across the board is updated and exposed on the latest trends and knowledge. This builds meaningful interactions and ideations among all stakeholders.”

    Speaking on behalf of the team, Rohan Chincholi, Associate Director Digital Media, said, “What more can you ask from a company – when you have a DJ night the day you arrive? We loved Jodhpur – it made us do some crazy things! The team building activities made sure we were both physically and mentally exhausted. Activities like a hopping relay race, a jumping team race, creating pyramids of excellence and inventing balloon superheroes, all to mathematical specifications, were conducted. One team won, no one lost.”

    The awards included the India Internal Awards for long term service, department champions and employee of the year award which carried cash prizes. The other hit award which everyone thoroughly enjoyed were the ingenious H.U.K.A. Awards (Havas Unanimous Kritic Awards) devised by a creative lot of employees. The H.U.K.A. Awards are a funny take on employee idiosyncrasies, with names to match, identifying the one – who fixes things, who can sell anything, who consumes the most tea bags, who rushes home earliest from office and much more.

    Towards the end of the trip everyone had tested the limits of their physical and mental endurance. It was marked by song, dance, camaraderie; and new friends were made, including – a 120plus years tortoise, a troop of gray langurs and some elusive peacocks.  #HIT2J (Havas India Trip to Jodhpur) was the official hashtag of the trip but most settled for live action.

    “I think we all wanted to stay back a day longer, to create some more memories and to consume some more masala chai, nonetheless we are glad to get back to our clients”, continued Chincholi.

    The team left with a promise to all gather back again, next year, with a new theme, at a new place, a bigger team and a new hashtag!

  • Mullen Lowe Lintas Group hires Sriharsh Grandhe to head LinEngage

    Mullen Lowe Lintas Group hires Sriharsh Grandhe to head LinEngage

    MUMBAI: LinEngage, the experiential marketing and activation arm of Mullen Lowe Lintas Group, has appointed Sriharsh Grandhe as executive vice president based in Mumbai. 

    Grandhe will report to Mullen Lowe Lintas Group CMO and president – group marketing services Vikas Mehta.

     

    Prior to joining LinEngage, Grandhe was with the WPP firm, Possible Worldwide Singapore as the engagement director. At Possible, Grandhe was managing the global rollout of Standard Chartered’s Responsive Website, a first in the Banking domain across 55 countries in APAC, EMEA & Americas.

     

    Mehta said, “Our ambition for LinEngage is to make consumer engagement an essential part of a brand’s narrative. A lot more innovation is possible in the area of creating meaningful consumer experiences. Under Harsh’s leadership, we are keen to make strides in strengthening this practice in an industry that’s largely driven by tactical activations.”

     

    LinEngage offers specialist brand engagement expertise to a host of clients in India. Apart from its focus on the urban pockets, it boasts of a bespoke rural offering – LinTerland. The motive is to help clients capitalise on the consumer-engagement opportunities in heartland India. Both the urban and rural offerings of LinEngage have been growing steadily over the past few months with host of new business wins. Notable clients include Johnson & Johnson, Franke Faber, Bayer, UltraTech, Castrol, ICICI Prudential and Byju’s  to name a few. His remit will be to evangelise the experiential marketing practice for the group and further expand the portfolio.

     

    Grandhe added, “The strong lineage of Mullen Lowe Lintas Group is no secret. India is at an exciting phase of development and the agency is experiencing both momentum and growth. LinEngage is in a sweet spot right now with only one direction to go – upwards.”