ITV

Category: Media and Advertising

  • Maxus strengthen top brass; Priti Murthy upped as chief strategy officer

    Maxus strengthen top brass; Priti Murthy upped as chief strategy officer

    MUMBAI: Global communications consultancy firm Maxus has promoted Priti Murthy as chief strategy officer in order to strengthen its top brass.

     

    Maxus managing director Kartik Sharma said, “Over the years Priti Murthy has built a strong insights team across offices who are working tirelessly to raise the bar. Priti’s contribution to the business is exemplary and the 2014 award wins for data, research and analytic across forums is a testimony of great work being done by team Insights across clients under her leadership. One can definitely expect very interesting breakthrough initiatives from Priti and her team very soon. A proven leader she will be leading and constructing quite a few cutting edge engagement initiatives for us.”

     

    In her new role, Murthy will be working towards building the Maxus product focusing on Insights, effectiveness and behavior change projects through Moribus, its behavioral science unit for delivering client delight. Additionally she will also be working closely with the Maxus APAC regional planning team in developing new methods and techniques for strengthening our communications planning offering.

     

    Murthy added, “I am delighted to come on board as the chief strategy officer at Maxus.  I am sure my new role will further broaden the horizon for me.  I am excited to bring alive the trinity – data, digital and content. My focus will be to use the right consumer data, to come up with solutions that will deliver for our strong portfolio of clients and take the solutions to the next level with strategic and creative programmes that go beyond just traditional platforms and to blend content and creativity at the heart of our delivery. In the innovative span of time that I’ve worked here, I have got an encouraging glimpse of a very positive working atmosphere.  My focus will be I look forward towards another thrilling round at Maxus.”

  • Snapdeal appoints Idi Srinivas Murthy as SVP marketing

    Snapdeal appoints Idi Srinivas Murthy as SVP marketing

    MUMBAI: Snapdeal has appointed Idi Srinivas Murthy as senior vice president – marketing. 

     

    Murthy joins Snapdeal after marketing stints in companies like The Coca-Cola Company and GlaxoSmithKline.

     

    Sandeep Komaravelly, who spearheaded Snapdeal’s marketing function for five years, has moved to another strategic leadership role within the company.

     

    Murthy said, “I am extremely excited to be a part of the young, energetic and dynamic team at Snapdeal. The company is creating the largest digital commerce ecosystem in the country and I believe that this is where New Age Marketing will be invented. I look forward to being a part of building an iconic brand in India for India and making Snapdeal’s vision of creating life changing experiences for buyers and sellers a reality.”

     

    His last role was at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), where as regional director, marketing – Africa based out of Johannesburg. He spearheaded GSK’s portfolio expansion, innovation, and consumer and medical marketing across 44 countries. Murthy’s work has also been recognised with multiple industry awards. In 2009, he featured in Brand Equity’s Indian Marketers League which covered the country’s brightest marketers. 

     

    At The Coca-Cola Company, he worked across different roles in marketing and operations. There, in his last role as marketing director India + South West Asia BU, he was responsible for leading Sprite to the number one beverage brand in the country. 

     

    “We are very excited to have Srinivas join the Snapdeal family. He comes with rich experience in leadership roles across various markets and I am sure his vast knowledge will add tremendous value and further fuel the Snapdeal growth story,” said Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl.

  • O&M Hong Kong uses DNA testing to put a face to litterbugs

    O&M Hong Kong uses DNA testing to put a face to litterbugs

    MUMBAI: Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong (Ogilvy) has launched a city-wide campaign for the Hong Kong CleanUp Initiative organised by Ecozine and The Nature Conservancy. The campaign, entitled ‘The Face of Litter’, has launched in conjunction with Global Earth Day.

     

    With a staggering sixteen thousand tons of waste dumped in Hong Kong every day, the campaign aims to raise awareness of the extent of littering across the city, pinpoint those responsible and encourage people to change their behaviour.

     

    Turning to science for answers, Ogilvy has targeted key locations in Hong Kong to collect, analyse and create DNA-based composites of the perpetrators. By combining the expertise of US-based research centres and advanced Snapshot DNA phenotyping provided by ParabonNanoLabs, data has been used to create a visual representation of the person who has littered. Because age is impossible to determine through DNA alone, but still integral in creating an accurate portrait, DNA data has been combined with other factors, such as demographics based on the type of litter and where it was collected to determine the approximate age of the litterer.

     

    Ogilvy & Mather Group Hong Kong chief creative officer Reed Collins said, “This campaign is one of a kind. It’s interactive. It’s innovative. It’s our own science experiment that we’re using to create social change. Litter is such a major problem in Hong Kong and thanks to newly available DNA technology we can now put a face to this anonymous crime and get people to think twice about littering.”

     

    The Hong Kong Cleanup founder and CEO Lisa Christensen added, “We are thrilled to be part of this innovative campaign, which is sure to have a positive impact on people and the community. Last year, during the six-week Hong Kong Cleanup Challenge, 418 teams comprising 51,064 participants, collected a total of 3,894,000 kgs of litter from city streets, coastal area’s and country trails. Sadly, we suffer from a serious ‘pick up after me’ mentality, and this simply must change.”

     

    OgilvyOne Hong Kong executive creative director Rafael Guida said, “While this method may not identify specific individuals, it will be enough to make people think twice about littering. The campaign combines a public service message with science and technology, enabling us to communicate with Hongkongers in a very different way.”

     

    Poster portraits of perpetrators will be placed across the city as well as online. To create further awareness, Ogilvy will also be promoting a video that demonstrates the experiment and warns people not to litter at the risk of becoming the next face of the campaign. 

  • JWT India’s Tista Sen on Cannes Lions’ Glass Lion Jury

    JWT India’s Tista Sen on Cannes Lions’ Glass Lion Jury

    MUMBAI: J. Walter Thompson India national creative director & senior vice president Tista Sen is one of the nine members of the first Glass Lion: The Lion for Change jury that were announced by Cannes Lions.

     

    The award, launched with the support of Leanin.Org, recognises work that breaks through unconscious gender bias and shatters stereotypical portrayals of men and women. It will be judged by an accomplished, diverse group who will bring a broad cross-section of cultural perspectives, insights and experience to the table.

     

    IfWeRanTheWorld/MakeLoveNotPorn founder and CEO Cindy Gallop will be the president of the jury.

     

    The jury members are:

     

    USA: IfWeRanTheWorld/MakeLoveNotPorn founder and CEO Cindy Gallop

     

    Brazil: AlmapBBDO partner and co-president of the board Marcello Serpa

     

    France: BETC managing director Catherine Emprin

     

    UK: Mr President creative partner Laura Jordan Bambach

     

    India: J. Walter Thompson national creative director & senior vice president Tista Sen

     

    UK: Isobar chief executive officer and executive creative director Nick Bailey

     

    USA: Leo Burnett chief creative officer Susan Credle

     

    USA: Weber Shandwick president Gail Heimann

     

    USA: The Representation Project founder & CEO Jennifer Siebel Newsom

     

    USA: Head @HeForShe Campaign senior advisor to Under Secretary-General UN Women Elizabeth Nyamayaro

     

    Lions Festivals CEO Philip Thomas said that they would be instrumental in helping to shape the future of the award, and, in turn, the industry. “We believe that marketing actively shapes culture, and the Glass Lion is part of our commitment to having a positive impact on this. The introduction of a new Lion is an opportunity to define both the category and what we hope the communications landscape might look like,” he said.

     

    Stressing on the importance of the award in actively shaping industry change, Gallop said, “I want every single creative in every country around the world to desperately want to win the Glass Lion – because the work that wins this award represents The New Creativity: the gold standard for creative and sociocultural change in our industry.”

     

    Bailey agreed, adding that the global, multi-disciplinary perspective of the jury would also play a role in how the work is judged. “It’s no secret that one gender and one viewpoint is over-represented in our industry, which means inevitably a certain viewpoint is over-represented. The Glass Lion seeks to redress that by recognising work that holds a mirror up to the world as it really is, rather than just as a minority of people see it. That’s why it’s particularly exciting to see not just a truly international mix in the jury, but also a mix of viewpoints from both within and from outside our industry,” he said.

     

    The introduction of the Glass Lion: The Lion for Change follows on from the 2014 launch of the See It Be It initiative, created to address the industry’s gender imbalance by accelerating creative women’s careers in advertising. The three-day programme for 12 creative women is returning to Cannes Lions this year and nominations are now open. Successful candidates will receive airfares to Nice, a Classic Pass to the Festival and accommodation for the duration of the programme, which is being held from 21 – 24 June 2015.

  • Refinery29 raises $50 million from WPP and Scripps

    Refinery29 raises $50 million from WPP and Scripps

    MUMBAI: Digital lifestyle media company Refinery29 has raised $50 million in new funding from WPP and Scripps Networks Interactive, via WPP Ventures.

     

    This brings the company’s total funding to $80 million with previous investors including Stripes Group, Floodgate, Lead Edge Capital, First Round Capital, Lerer Ventures and Hearst Corporation.

     

    Refinery29 will use this latest round of funding to accelerate its mission to become the global media company for a new generation of women, powering inspirational, smart entertainment and discovery tools and resources across lifestyle categories. The company will expand internationally by launching new markets and building communities abroad, develop its distinguished video and entertainment offerings, and further connect its content and technology platform to the mobile and social web.

     

    “Media is at an inflection point. Over the next five years, multi-billion dollar media brands will grow out of the digital core, from which Refinery29 was born and is the leader. We are focused on vastly expanding our media and entertainment brand, creating smart, provocative editorial, video, and social content at the intersection of style, culture, and independence,” said Refinery29 co-founder and co-CEO Philippe von Borries.

     

    Refinery29 has nearly doubled in growth in each of the last three consecutive years and the business is profitable. In the last year, the company expanded its content from its core style focus to deliver coverage of politics, culture, food and technology that connects with women across all dimensions of their lives.

     

    Scripps Networks Interactive chief development officer Joseph NeCastro will join Refinery29’s Board of Directors, along with a representative from WPP Ventures.

     

    With his past experience in broadcast operations, media and finance, NeCastro will act as an important advisor for the Refinery29 team as the company looks to scale into a global media brand for millennial women.

     

    “Scripps Networks Interactive has built its global business on a deep understanding of the creation of compelling content that appeals to women across multiple geographies and devices. Refinery29 is committed to building an influential brand that connects with millennial women across the world, and we’re excited about the prospect of working in partnership with the team as they continue to expand their coverage and reach,” said NeCastro.

     

    “Refinery29 operates at the intersection of content, shopping and social media—all areas of focus for WPP Ventures. We’re delighted to make this investment alongside Scripps,” said WPP Ventures president Tom Bedecarre.

     

    Refinery29 co-founder and co-CEO Justin Stefano added, “Having Scripps Networks Interactive and WPP Ventures as partners will elevate Refinery29 in building the next global chapter of the business. Both bring decades of experience to the table, having built and funded globally-renowned media brands and developed exceptional lifestyle programming. Their deep insight into the ever-evolving media and advertising landscape will be invaluable in building out Refinery29’s editorial and entertainment teams.”

  • IPG Mediabrands appoints Sandeep Bastikar as head of performance marketing

    IPG Mediabrands appoints Sandeep Bastikar as head of performance marketing

    MUMBAI: IPG Mediabrands has appointed Sandeep Bastikar as the head of performance marketing for APAC.

     

    In this position, Bastikar will oversee IPG Mediabrands’ programmatic offering – Cadreon, while integrating search, paid social and data strategy to deliver business results for global clients across APAC, as well as accelerate performance marketing for World Markets Asia local clients.

     

    Bastikar has worked in the digital space for over 20 years. Previously, as the managing director of Singapore-based Brandneu Consulting, he ran the digital marketing and e-commerce consulting agency across the region, servicing global and regional brands. Prior to this, Bastikar set up Leo Burnett’s digital interactive arm in Singapore, responsible for business development and project delivery of its local and regional servicing clients such as P&G, Prudential Asia, Singapore Tourism Board in the region.

     

    Bastikar said, “I am inspired by Mediabrands’ vision to be the ‘Agency of the Future.’ The investments it is making in digital performance and the integration of its digital domains, namely Cadreon, Reprise and Ingenuity in its overall framework, is bound to drive up marketing ROI, while bringing true integrated solution for consumers. I have not seen any other agency understand and invest into the digital domain with such foresight. I am very excited to take on this role and help grow the business in the region.”

     

    IPG Mediabrands, World Markets Asia president Prashant Kumar added, “Sandeep’s entrepreneurial background, his keen understanding of the full spectrum of performance marketing – cross-funnel, whole brain, and consumer-centric, will help us accelerate the marketing futures for our clients. He will be a key ingredient to the ‘Agency of the Future’ we are trying to build in the region. We are very excited.”

     

    Bastikar reports into Kumar in this role and will be based in Singapore.

  • Parle goes outdoors with new litter free campaign

    Parle goes outdoors with new litter free campaign

    MUMBAI: Media and manufacturing industries are abuzz with talks of Parle Products new Out Of Home (OOH) campaign in Delhi-NCR that upholds its pan India ‘Litter Free’ CSR project, backed by television ad campaigns.

     

    Parle Products general manager marketing Pravin Kulkarni said, “The OOH campaign is aimed at capturing our youth’s attention, in their environment, with peers and passers-by; prompting conversations and driving them to take responsibility and stop littering. We are already seeing that littering has reduced in targeted locations.”

     

    This high decibel awareness campaign, which took Cyber City and Cyber Hub by storm, has been developed by Havas Media Group’s OOH and activation brand Havas Media Active, whereas the TV commercial (TVC) and poster has been created by Thought shop Advertising and Film Productions chief creative director Vipin Dhyani.

     

    When queried about their choice of venue, Havas Media Group India CEO Anita Nayyar explained, “We decided to take the OOH route and zeroed in on Delhi-NCR to catch en-mass this audience. To give a sense of scale, only Cyber City has 4 lakh working professionals and 50,000 visitors every day, which this campaign is addressing.”

     

    As part of the campaign, OOH TV screens in buildings are playing three variations of the Parle Litter Free TVC – the Corporate Boss, the Class Monitor and Lady in the Shopping Mall looking for Mr. Clean. Along with captivating messages like – “Apnegharkosaafrakhnasabkoatahai. Tohsadkonkokyonahin?” and “Yehkachrewala ka kaamhai. It’s everyone’s responsibility,” the campaign makes it impossible for passersby to ignore the message.

  • Asian entertainment companies merge to form Catlyst/TV

    Asian entertainment companies merge to form Catlyst/TV

    MUMBAI: Asian media and entertainment companies The Lumenere Group and BlinkAsia have inked a merger agreement to form a new entertainment and media development agency called Catlyst/TV.

     

    The Lumenere Group and BlinkAsia have a complementary portfolio that includes international and regional projects such as Asia’s Got Talent, Supermodel Me and Tiger Twist with DJ Virman (Far East Movement). This strategic merger is aimed at combining the core skills of both companies – in connecting content with brands, platforms and talent through entertainment in more dynamic ways than traditional media advertising can.

     

    BlinkAsia managing director and former CNN International SEA director Shamila Gopalan said, “The pace of change of the media industry has reached unprecedented levels and consumers can no longer be persuaded. Their attention must be earned by gifting them with entertainment, and Catlyst/TV is primed to help brands, agencies, creators, distributors and technology platform providers make deeper connections through branded storytelling.”

     

    Throwing light on the shifting media and entertainment business environment, she said, “The nature of doing business today is and continues to rapidly evolve, Catlyst/TV’s unique proposition to clients’ is that we bring ‘skin to the game’ with our accountability model, creating win-win partnerships.”

     

    The Lumenere Group executive business strategy director Kevin Ou added, “The entire broadcasting value chain is transitioning at lightning speed, alternative platforms are emerging; more than six in 10 digital consumers in Southeast Asia report watching TV content and movies via online sources such as video-on-demand, and YouTube is also increasingly acknowledged as a ‘TV channel’ or platform. This revolution is creating a rich mix of opportunities and challenges for content producers. By combining our resources, the new entity will be better positioned to meet the growing needs of our clients in an era of incredible transformation and disruption within the industry.”

  • Ogilvy Malaysia appoints Kent Wertime as chairman

    Ogilvy Malaysia appoints Kent Wertime as chairman

    MUMBAI: Ogilvy & Mather Asia-Pacific chief operating officer Kent Wertime has been given the additional role of chairman of Ogilvy Malaysia.

     

    In the immediate term, Wertime’s focus will be to tap into the strengths of the respective discipline skills within Ogilvy Malaysia to create integrated offerings tailored to clients’ business needs.

     

    Wertime said, “Malaysia is a key market not only in ASEAN but also the Asia-Pacific region. Given its importance, it is essential that Ogilvy Malaysia provides integrated offerings that will support clients’ growing business needs. To ensure we remain ahead of the rapid changes in the market, we are moving quickly to consolidate and strengthen our offerings with a focus on two areas, data and content.”

     

    “Today, we have to monitor and interpret data in real-time and make quick decisions in the moment that are aligned with clients’ long-term business needs. Equally important in this data-driven process is content. We want to create channel-agnostic content – rich content that can be translated across any channel without losing impact or relevance. In order to do so, we need to have the right expertise, insights, and technology in place,” added Wertime.

     

    Given his regional role, Wertime will continue to be based in Bangkok. However, he will be spending a significant amount of time in Malaysia to oversee the business while a new country head is being identified.

     

    Earlier this year, Ogilvy Malaysia group managing director Anand Badami since 2011, moved to Singapore to take on a global client leadership role for the agency.

    Wertime has been with Ogilvy Asia-Pacific since 1999, when he joined the network to head up its Interactive division. He has lived and worked in Asia for 25 years, having held senior agency roles in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok prior to joining Ogilvy.

     

    Ogilvy Malaysia comprises Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, OgilvyOne Worldwide, Ogilvy Public Relations, H&O (Hogarth & Ogilvy, previously known as RedWorks), and Bates CHI & Partners.