MUMBAI: ColourCraft Studio (CCS), which was handling the creative and advertising mandate for Bodycraft Spa & Salon for the past six years, has now been given the digital marketing duties as well.
A new web identity, mobile application and online advertising is part of the brief given to the agency.
CCS co-founder and business director Aditi Gandhi said, “The relationship with Bodycraft has been extremely rewarding as the company has allowed us a great deal of freedom on creative campaigns. We are now excited to extend our six years of expertise and experience in the spa and salon segment into the digital sphere.”
Bodycraft Spa & Salon CEO Sahil Gupta added, “We are glad to take our association with ColourCraft Studio into its seventh year. It is nice to have an agency that has spent so much time at the grassroots of your business and who has worked with you closely for such a long time. We are confident in handing over digital and social media duties to them because they understand our business.”
MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe has appointed Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide chief operating officer Chris Foster to the newly created role of senior vice president global clients.
“Our clients are facing serious challenges due to technology and innovation in this ever changing world. Chris Foster will help our clients to extract the best from our talents and our formidable assets through integrated solutions. Chris has been deeply involved in the strategy and operations of several Groupe clients. His track record for growth and collaboration has defined his tenure and makes him perfectly suited for this role at this time,” said Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy.
Foster will report to Publicis Groupe chief strategist Rishad Tobaccowala and will begin in his Paris-based role on 1 September, 2015.
Currently responsible for the performance and operations for seven of the top 10 countries in the Saatchi & Saatchi network, and for significant global client relationships and management. He has been a senior leader at Saatchi & Saatchi since 1999 in North America, Asia Pacific and Greater China, as CEO of Fallon USA 2008-11, and as a member of the Global Leadership Team since 2011. He is an economics and philosophy graduate from the University of Western Ontario.
MUMBAI: EveryMedia Technologies has bagged the ‘Leading Digital Marketing Company of the Year’ at Brand Achievers Awards 2015.
The award was given for the company’s performance in the field of digital marketing.
EveryMedia Technologies CEO Gautam B. Thakker said, “This is a very joyous moment for EveryMedia and we thank Brand Achievers for acknowledging our work. We are grateful to our clients; not only for the trust but also for the tremendous support and creative freedom they give us. This honour encourages us to do even better.”
MUMBAI: Twitter India has appointed Viral Jani as head of TV partnerships. He will be based at the company’s Mumbai office. As part of his new role, Jani will work closely with the complete TV ecosystem of broadcasters, production houses and audience measurement systems to make Twitter the second screen to TV in India.
His main responsibility will be to forge strategic partnerships with broadcasters to help channels amplify their message, drive more viewers, and generate more user engagement with their content on Twitter.
Jani aims to lead this social TV movement in India by bringing the best content from TV channels to Twitter for live, public conversations, while enabling Twitter as an incredible video and visual-driven storytelling platform to drive tune-in and audience engagement for TV channels.
Moving forward, Jani is keen to position Twitter as the largest virtual couch for viewing TV content in India, and facilitate broadcasters to use the full suite of Twitter’s products such as Twitter native video, Twitter Amplify, Vine, Periscope, SnappyTV and TV analytics.
Twitter Asia Pacific and Middle East media vice president Rishi Jaitly said, “Twitter is the ultimate companion to television and we have invested considerable time and effort in partnerships with TV broadcasters worldwide to ensure they are able to amplify the live, public conversations about their shows on our platform. In his new role, Viral will expand Twitter’s leadership and footprint in the social TV market in India, prioritising TV partners that drive audience engagement and growth.”
Jani added, “Television is one of the largest conversation generators on Twitter, and viewers are far more engaged when they are watching TV and tweeting at the same time. Twitter is also where viewers discover great TV content that is being watched now, from live events to scripted shows to reality TV. I’m thrilled to join the team at this exciting time for Twitter in India.”
MUMBAI: Smartphone and tablet maker Swipe will soon launch a 360 degree marketing campaign ‘Live Your Faith’ featuring its brand ambassador Priyanka Chopra.
The company has earmarked a budget of $3 million for the marketing blitzkrieg that has been launched in Mumbai through outdoor advertising and print advertisements in leading dailies.
The campaign encompasses multiple forms and will have a presence on all mediums – traditional as well as non-traditional.
The key message of the pan India campaign will be to show the journey of not just brand Swipe but also Chopra.
Swipe’s campaign creative is a tribute to the performer and winner in Chopra. From being an army doctor’s daughter, to becoming the pride of a nation, Chopra has dared to dream big and has showed courage in every endeavour.
The campaign will kick off with Chopra presenting ‘Live Your Faith’ as her personal philosophy.
Swipe Technologies founder & CEO Shripal Gandhi said, “Our intent is to become India’s first social brand as we believe in combining the potential of human race with technology, making it human-tech. ‘Live your faith’ is in a way a reflection of this mindset. We redesigned the website, introduced a new packaging language and created internal and external communication campaign. Faith is a common attribute, be it a new product development, entering new segments, forging partnerships or exploring new markets. It has a very strong consumer connect.”
Apart from featuring Chopra, the brand, through the campaign, would also capture stories of people from across the country who have lived their faith in its true spirit. These stories would be a part of Swipe’s digital campaign and find place on Swipe’s website and social media pages. Swipe’s focus is on the youth of India, especially the unsung heroes of everyday life, doing kind gestures just to benefit someone else.
Tricycle CEO Yuvraaj Oberoi added, “We at Tricycle are excited to partner Swipe and create a distinct identity for the brand, ‘Live your faith’ takes a human approach to tech communication and I am sure it will connect well with our customers.”
Chopra added, “Having faith in yourself and your abilities is your ticket to achieving the impossible. It is how I have lived my life and today I can attribute a huge part of my success to this thinking. I have seen a similar attitude with the team at Swipe, which is why I am excited to be a part of the ‘Live Your Faith’ campaign. To me Swipe is a dynamic, young brand that also lives this mantra, channeling that faith and belief into breaking new boundaries every day. It’s also something that I believe will resonate with young India; supporting them with technology that will assist them as they chase their dreams. It’s a very real and synergistic association overall.”
MUMBAI: Lodestar UM has bagged the media mandate for messaging based personal assistant app Helpchat.
In a multi-agency pitch, Lodestar was chosen because of its superlative record in strategy and approach. The current mandate for the agency spans across all affiliate media services including print, radio, digital and OOH.
Lodestar UM CEO Nandini Dias said, “We went ahead with a simple yet compelling strategy rooted in consumer insight for Helpchat. Lodestar UM has always believed that strategy lies at the heart of understanding the consumer and that solutions should connect with the audience, being media agnostic.”
Helpchat vice president marketing Kali Shukla added, “We evaluated several agencies on various parameters and finally decided to go ahead with Lodestar because of their sound strategy and approach, buying efficiency and ability to innovate. Also, Lodestar Bangalore has a head start and expertise in its understanding of e-commerce and the Internet service ecosystem by virtue of handling multiple brands operating in a similar space.”
MUMBAI: At a time when every e-retail venture is shouting from rooftops about multiple discounts, exclusive offers and cashbacks, NDTV Ethnic Retail’s venture Indianroots.com has come up with a TVC showcasing their style and range.
In a bid to target consumers in Tier II and III cities, the e-retail venture, which offers a range of Indian ethnic wear along with antique showpieces, has rolled out a nationwide campaign called ‘Inherently Indian,’ which will have presence on TV, outdoor and digital.
The ‘Inherently Indian’ TVC, which was launched on 15 August, 2015 has already started appearing across NDTV channels and will also have presence on digital platforms. The brand strategy was conceptualised and created by Brandmovers India.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, NDTV Ethnic Retail CEO Rahul Narvekar says, “We are currently mulling on whether we should put the TVC on other channels too. The ad brief had two major parts. Firstly, we wanted to depict our Indianess and the wide range of products. And secondly we wanted to break the clutter. That’s the reason why we have not mentioned anything about discounts and pricing anywhere in the ad.”
Narvekar is happy with the response that the Soumik Sen directed TVC has garnered so far. “We have been trending on Facebook. We got calls from veteran Bollywood stars and other dignitaries praising the TVC and hence I am very delighted with the response.”
Indianroots has recently raised additional funding for its expansion plans. “We want to be market leader when it comes to ethnic wear. In the last financial year, we garnered top line sale of Rs 61 crore and this year we want to grow further.”
Narvekar added, “The new TVC will help establish our positioning around the idea of “Inherently Indian” in a visual manner and will beautifully blend fashion and story-telling, while highlighting typical quirks of our country. IndianRoots is a firm believer in Make In India and our TVC conveys the uniqueness and immense potential in this message. With this commercial, we aim to capture the attention and increase the recall value of Indianroots within the Tier II and III customer base of our country.”
NDTV Ethnic Retail marketing head Paroma Sen said, “Indianroots has come a long way in the last two years, building up a strong foundation and business within and outside India. Coming in before the kickoff of India’s festive season this year, the TVC explores the moods and sentiments that every Indian will identify with. This TVC will help Indianroots build awareness in growing markets, and help us connect with our customers at a very human and emotional level.”
Brandmovers India co-founder & managing director Suvajyoti Ghosh added, “Agencies, in general, do not rope in Bollywood directors to direct a TV spot, but in this case, we wanted Soumik’s unique story-telling vision to come through and create great cinematic quality. To keep it real, we avoided casting the typical model figure, and instead chose to portray the real, modern woman, with a distinct candour.”
“The TVC is marked by a languorous verse narrative in Hindi written in-house and is centred around the concept of identity and beauty and how little Indian things are embraced everyday through the attires worn by women,” added Ghosh.
Sen said, “Indian fashion is evolving and Indianroots is one of the harbinger of this revolution in Indian wear. The portal has always reinforced the notion that Indian fashion can also be stylish and modern hence, we wanted to create a commercial that talked about modern women embracing ethnicity. The modern Indian woman is someone who embraces her traditional roots with elan, and wears it every day. Capturing this on film implied making tradition chic and urbane, and bringing out her inner beauty. This was challenging, but it was a fun, monsoon shoot.”
MUMBAI: Havas Media Group India has won the integrated media mandate of FoodCloud.in in a multi-agency pitch. The account size is estimated at about Rs 25 crore and will be handled from the Gurgaon office.
The media mandate will include print, TV, radio, outdoor and digital duties.
FoodCloud.in founder and CEO Vedant Kanoi said, “Passion and innovation is something we look for in our chefs, it is the driving force behind FoodCloud.in and it is what we found in Havas Media. This is a critical and exciting time for us with plans to not only consolidate in Delhi NCR but also aggressively expand and go pan India. The food sector has tremendous interest and online order for home-office delivery is a wave that is really going to hit the country. Havas Media has the experience and a keen understanding of integrating media to maximize communication with an agile strategic approach. We see them as partners on our growth path.”
Havas Media Group India & South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar added, “To be able to order home cooked food, which is hygienic, nutritious and tasty is certainly a need gap for working Indian’s, which FoodCloud.in addresses. The proposition works for corporate lunches as also for home parties or the last minute visiting friends and family. It is an interesting category where we see huge growth potential. With this win Havas Media Group further consolidates its position. Am delighted to add yet another innovative and entrepreneurial client to the Havas family.”
“Food is engaging – whether you dine alone or have company. Sharing and recommending are highly characteristic of this category. Our blend of analytical customer understanding and integrated media with digital focus capabilities give us the edge to help scale the FoodCloud.in experience. Havas Media has clearly become the preferred destination for the new age clients and we are very happy about that,” said Havas Media Group India managing director Mohit Joshi.
MUMBAI: Razorfish India has won two awards at the CMO Asia – Social Media and Digital Marketing Excellence Awards 2015 held in Singapore. The agency was awarded Social Media Campaign of the Year for Maruti Alto World Cup 2015 campaign and Best Digital Integrated campaign for the launch of Ciaz.
“We are delighted and feel immensely proud to partner our clients, Maruti Suzuki, in this journey of success. We always like to challenge ourselves to keep doing something innovative and engaging and these awards is just a reflection of it,” said Razorfish India COO Gaurav Pathak.
Razorfish India CEO Charulata Ravi Kumar added, “Doesn’t surprise me. A great client-agency partnership where both are passionately driving the digital agenda for one of India’s most significant brands, Maruti Suzuki, is a winning combination in itself. This important award corroborates the shared commitment to excellence.”
Maruti Suzuki India vice president marketing Sanjeev Handa said, “This award is a recognition of Razorfish’s and our team’s efforts in ensuring that Maruti Suzuki’s digital footprint is not just exciting and impactful but also highly relevant. Our all-round sustained efforts towards meaningful innovations has made us the most popular car in India and also amongst the youth of India.”
MUMBAI: Hike messenger is beefing up its leadership team and has roped in Vidur Vyas as VP of marketing and Sumit Mehra as studio head.
While Vyas will be spearheading Hike’s marketing initiatives, brand positioning and strategic alliances; Mehra will be responsible for driving game strategy, development and production. The duo will be reporting to Hike CEO and founder Kavin Mittal.
Mittal said, “I’m excited to add Vidur and Sumit to our leadership team. It’s great to see such strong leaders in the industry share our vision to bring India online. I look forward to working with them and leveraging their experience to build Hike into a world class product and a brand that is loved by millions in India.”
Vyas added, “Hike is a fun, innovative and culturally relevant brand. I am excited by the opportunity to connect India online in a fun way and Hike is uniquely positioned to capture that opportunity.”
Mehra said, “Great games make people smile and for game developers that’s the final goal. When I met Kavin and heard his vision of a digitally connected India; I saw an opportunity to deliver millions of smiles a day. He and his team are doing some amazing work with Hike messenger and I’m excited to partner with them to bring great gaming experiences on Hike. For me there can’t be a bigger challenge and a more exciting mission to do this here in India and for India.”
