ITV

Category: Media and Advertising

  • L&K Saatchi & Saatchi ropes in Delna Sethna Patel as CCO

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi ropes in Delna Sethna Patel as CCO

    MUMBAI: Delna Sethna Patel joins L&K Saatchi & Saatchi as chief creative officer where she will primarily focus on their P&G businesses namely Head and shoulders, Ariel, Olay and Pampers.

     

    Delna brings with her 17 years of experience having worked with agencies like Lowe, Ambience and JWT. Her last assignment was with Leo Burnett where she was the regional creative director on brand Whisper.

     

    She has worked across an array of brands like Johnson Baby, Croma, Fair & Lovely, Lux, Sunsilk, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Bajaj Auto, Pepsodent, Tata Tea Gold, Lakme, Taj Hotels, Palaces & Resorts and Vivel to name a few.

     

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi CEO and managing partner Anil S Nair said, “Delna is a kind of creative leader who brings the best out of everyone who works with her, irrespective of the department they work in. We are excited to have such an inspirational leader in our team.”

     

    Patel added, “I am very happy to be back and I’m looking forward to working with Anil and Praveen to grow business and push the creative envelope.”

  • Scarecrow wins creative duties of Kenneth Cole, Steve Madden and Quiksilver

    Scarecrow wins creative duties of Kenneth Cole, Steve Madden and Quiksilver

    MUMBAI:  Scarecrow Communications has been appointed as the creative agency to handle three of the fashion world’s most renowned brands – Kenneth Cole, Steve Madden and Quiksilver – as they foray to scorch up the Indian fashion scene. 

    The accounts were awarded to Scarecrow without any pitch process. All three brands have entered India through a joint venture with Reliance Brands, a source from Reliance brands confirmed.  

    Scarecrow Communications founder director Manish Bhatt is thrilled to add some glam quotient to the agency’s clientele. “What makes this triple acquisition really exciting is the fact that while all three brands are iconic, each has a unique tone of voice. They all have done some really brave, clutter-breaking work, globally. It’s indeed a privilege to work on brands with such great legacy.”

    Steve Madden and Kenneth Cole marketing head Kavita Khiara added “Increasingly fashion consumers expect from the brands that they adorn the same tonality that is the signature to its clothing and accessories ; bringing in a freshness and yet carrying forward the soul of the brand is a communication challenge that we see the team at Scarecrow well adept at handling.”

     

     Scarecrow Communication senior creative director Sarvesh Raikar said, “Fashion advertising has really evolved, globally. We have seen apparel catalogues sold as music albums! Not just ATL and digital, but even retail and promo-led communication offers huge scope for innovations today. Our young, tech-savvy and highly talented team makes us believe these brands are right up our alley!”

     

     The agency has won numerous awards and recognitions in a short span. The latest being named as the Agency of the Year at Mirchi Kaan Awards, that was held on 17 April, 2014, where many of the country’s big agencies were also contenders. 

  • An ‘Infectious’ association

    An ‘Infectious’ association

    MUMBAI: For colleagues at the then Saatchi & Saatchi who saw them fighting with each other, it came as a surprise when Ramanuj Shastry and Nisha Singhania quit within days of each other, to start an enterprise of their own.

    Singhania makes no bones about it. “We still have a lot of fights. Of course, it’s all related to work, but we aren’t the kinds who will just nod our heads to what the other person has to say,” she admits. How do they resolve these conflicts? “We try and convince the other. At the end of the day, it is all about logic and creativity,” she answers.

    What began as an association when the duo first met in Rediffusion Y&R blossomed into an up-and-coming agency christened ‘Infectious’. Ask them why such a title and Singhania says it has to do with their belief that their work should be infectious. “We wanted to solve clients’ business problems, rather than focus only on creating communication like large agencies. Our work is to engage people and for that to happen, the work had to be communicable. We wanted to start an epidemic of good with ideas that spread,” she adds.

    The freedom to do the kind of work the two of them wanted to was the mainstay of this self-funded agency. “We wanted to ‘do’ as well as ‘say’. For instance, when Camlin asked us to create a print ad for Children’s Day, we ‘did’ an activity instead. We created a ‘join the dots’ ad, which kids had to colour and parents were urged to upload on their Facebook page. It was a very successful engagement and within 24 hours, took the likes on the Kokuyo Camlin FB page from 150 to 15,000,” says Shastry.  The activity went on to be nominated by Facebook Studio for best use of the social networking website by any brand.

    According to Singhania and Shastry, what sets their agency apart is the quality of ideas, lesser turnaround time, and personal involvement in every business. The client list is a mixed bag of biggies like HCL, DNA and Camlin and start-ups like Pied Piper and Braces & Smiles. For some clients, the agency handles all their marketing requirements while for others, it looks after specific projects.

    For an organic set up, Infectious was lucky to have bagged two clients even before it launched. However, Singhania and Shastry are candid about the fact that clients are usually more comfortable giving business to larger agencies. Besides, it did take them a while before winning the confidence of heavyweights like HCL and DNA.

    Infectious is headquartered out of Mumbai with a presence in Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata and has a young, energetic, hand-picked team of 15 running it. “We have worked in various agencies, so when people heard that we were starting something of our own; we got a lot of calls, especially from the youngsters. And since we have worked with them, so we knew what we could expect from them. We are blessed to have hand-picked talent,” says Singhania.

    In addition to having a young team, the agency saw no harm in advertising itself. “Very few advertising agencies ever advertise about themselves. What is the harm in doing so? The logo adaption is our way of having fun. Digitally, one can do so much to engage with people, let alone clients,” says Shastry. Though he quickly adds that at its core, the business is still about ideas and digital is only a medium. Speaking of elections, he says that most political parties engaged and optimized their reach via the digital medium. Even Infectious created a special campaign along with DNA to urge people to go out and vote.

    What do the next five years look like for Infectious? “Five years is a very long time. We are a ‘work in progress’ agency, with plans for the next 100 days,” say Shastry and Singhania at once.

    What about network agencies snapping up independent agencies? The duo feels that in most cases, it is a win-win situation where network agencies bring in resources and scale while independent agencies bring in local expertise.

    And with Goafest coming up, the agency which is all for awards as long as they are for real work, the future holds only great promises.

    One wouldn’t be wrong in saying that like Monday mornings and coffee (chai, in some cases), Singhania and Shastry are a perfect combo.

  • Rajeev Suri to take over as Nokia CEO and president

    Rajeev Suri to take over as Nokia CEO and president

    NEW DELHI: Rajeev Suri, who is taking over as the new president and CEO of Nokia, says the company will focus on three strong businesses – Networks, HERE (location cloud) and Technologies to position itself as one of the world’s largest software companies.

     

    The new appointment follows the completion of the divestment of phone business to Microsoft in a $7.2 billion deal.

     

    Apart from Suri, the new team will include Timo Ihamuotila who joins as executive vice president and group CFO; Michael Halbherr as CEO of HERE; Henry Tirri as executive VP, and acting head of technologies and Samih Elhage as executive VP and chief financial and operating officer of Networks.

     

    The old team included Stephen Elop, Jo Harlow, Juha Putkiranta, Timo Toikkanen, and Chris Weber who have already stepped down. Louise Pentland, Juha Akras and Kai Oistamo will step down from Nokia next month.

     

    Suri had recently turned round Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN), the telecom network business, by axing around 17,000 resources, divesting non-viable businesses and bringing clarity to its mobile broadband focus. The NSN brand will disappear as part of the new restructuring and will be known as Nokia Network business. Suri will continue to head this business.

     

    Nokia without the ailing phone business will focus on networks, location and technologies. Suri will draft fresh strategies for leadership position as NSN is behind Ericsson and Huawei in telecom network business.

     

    Suri joined Nokia in 1995 and has held a range of leadership positions in the company. Since October 2009, he has served as CEO of NSN, the former joint venture between Nokia and Siemens that is now fully owned by Nokia.

     

    Suri was instrumental in creating strategic clarity, driving innovation and growth, ensuring disciplined execution.

     

    India-born Suri is the second to be elevated to a major post in an IT company in recent weeks, as vendor Microsoft had recently picked up Satya Nadella as its CEO.

     

    Nokia believes that billions of connected devices will converge into intelligent and programmable systems over the next decade that will have the potential to improve lives in a vast number of areas: time and availability, transportation and resource consumption, learning and work, health, and wellness.

     

    This new world of technology will require connectivity capable of handling massive numbers of devices and exponential increases in data traffic; location services that seamlessly bridge between the real and virtual worlds; and innovation, including in sensing, radio and low power technologies.

     

    “Where it makes sense to do so, we will pursue shared opportunities between the businesses, but not at the expense of focus and discipline in each,” Suri added.

     

    In 2013, Nokia invested 2.5 billion euros in research and development.

     

    Through its networks business (formerly NSN), Nokia will invest in the innovative products and services needed by telecom operators to manage the increase in wireless data traffic which is more than doubling every year.

     

    Nokia will invest in mobile broadband and related services and next-generation network technologies.

     

    Nokia will invest to develop its location cloud to make it the leading source of location intelligence and experiences across many different operating systems, platforms and screen. The focus will be on technology for smart, connected cars; cloud-based services for personal mobility and location intelligence, including for the growing segment of wearables and special purpose devices; and location-based analytics for better business decisions.

     

    Nokia plans to reduce interest bearing debt by around 2 billion euros by the end of the second quarter 2016.

  • Verimatrix appoints Steve Oetegenn as president

    Verimatrix appoints Steve Oetegenn as president

    NEW DELHI: Steve Oetegenn is all set to take over as the president of Verimatrix to assist the company to grow its pay-TV operator base.

     

    Oetegenn will support the growth of Verimatrix especially when several large digital video operators are transitioning to an IP-centric network infrastructure. He will also continue to lead the sales and marketing efforts.

     

    Before joining Verimatrix, he was COO of MediaSec Technologies, a provider of digital watermarking; COO of Argus Systems Group, a provider of internet server security software, and CEO of DCE Communication, a provider of business messaging systems.

  • SMG Convonix appoints Surajendu Sinha as VP & business head

    SMG Convonix appoints Surajendu Sinha as VP & business head

    MUMBAI: SMG Convonix has appointed Surajendu Sinha as vice president and business head (west & south).

     

    Sinha will be responsible for overseeing all key client relationships and will lead the media team in these regions.

     

    SMG Convonix CEO Vishal Sampat said, “SMG Convonix has always focused on providing real-time and meaningful digital solutions. We have always believed in staying ahead of the curve and Surajendu’s addition to the media team will allow us to do that by embracing changes in media and mobile faster. We’re focused on attracting reputed and experienced hands to lead our media teams and further bolster our offering. Surajendu fits the bill perfectly, and we’re glad to have him on board.”

     

    SMG Convonix COO Sarfaraz Khimani added, “Media consumption trends clearly indicate the increasing skew to digital and mobile. Surajendu’s addition to the leadership team at SMG Convonix is a reflection of the evolution of the medium and its consumption, and to ensure that our solutions to clients are always impactful and leading-edge.”

     

    Sinha has over a decade of experience in digital media planning and buying in companies like Neo@Ogilvy and Mindshare (Group M). In his last role at Mindshare, Sinha was senior director – digital media buying for Mindshare (west). He was responsible for growing digital revenues, rate benchmarking and driving annual strategic partnerships. He has handled clients like Kellogg’s, ICICI Bank, Idea Cellular, Ultratech, Birla White, Videocon d2h, HDFC Bank, Diageo, Tata Motors among others.

     

    Sinha said, “The decision to join SMG Convonix was easy based on the great work done by the team on digital including SEM, SEO, SMM, Display, ORM and analytics for its various clients. It will be great to be working with a passionate bunch of people with a focus on strengthening the paid media and mobility functions armed with  award winning, innovative media offerings and the addition of new revenue streams and benchmarking ensuring better value to be passed on to clients.”

  • Diageo hunts for media agency

    Diageo hunts for media agency

    MUMBAI: Diageo is looking for a media partner to handle all its brands in India. Industry sources have confirmed that the multi agency pitch is underway in Mumbai.

     

    The size of the account could not be understood at the time of filing the report. As part of the process, few leading media agencies have already got a brief from the company. The first round of presentations is expected to happen early next month.

     

    It can be noted that brands from the house of Diageo are betting high on digital. What will be interesting to see is how the company further invests on social media, where other brands in the category are already creating a splash.  

  • Rage + Metal team up to revamp AMFI’s web presence

    Rage + Metal team up to revamp AMFI’s web presence

    MUMBAI: AMFI’s web presence gets a makeover. Rage Communications, India’s leading web services company, in partnership with Metal Communications has recreated and enhanced the Internet presence of Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) www.amfiindia.com. The mandate to the combine was a result of a multi-layered review conducted by AMFI to revamp and re-tool its website to state-of-the art communications and Internet technologies. Rage Communications, in association with Metal Communications, was among the several contenders for this initiative.

     

    “This re-launch is will provide a single window experience for all stakeholders in the industry – investors – current and potential, distribution intermediaries, industry members and the lay public. The digital assets created, include features and functions that educate, provide data and enable decision making for all the stakeholders.” said Vikaas Sachdeva, CEO – Edelweiss Asset Management Ltd. and Chairperson, AMFI’s Committee on Customer Engagement.

     

    Rage & Metal have extensive expertise in the BFSI sector and their clients include household names from the banking, wealth management and insurance sectors.

     

    Rage, with experience honed over the last 17 years, ensures that online visitors get a seamless user experience while intermediaries and industry members get the benefit of a robust learning and sharing platform.

    “Today’s Internet solutions are not restricted just to the world of personal computers. A range of new technologies, platforms and devices, requires delivering solutions across multiple options seamlessly. Our evolution has been congruent with the evolution of the Internet and gives us the unique skills and experience that is required in meeting the challenges involved in re-tooling AMFI’s web presence to a best-in-class consumer and business facing portal for mutual funds in India.” said Karthik Kumar, Director – Rage Communications.

     

    “With Metal’s deep understanding of Mutual Funds as a category combined with Rage’s digital expertise, we created a wining proposition for AMFI” said Kurien Mathews, CMD  – Metal Communications.