Category: Media and Advertising

  • Now brands piggyback elections

    Now brands piggyback elections

    MUMBAI: Move over political parties, election fever has gripped brands as well! As if political outfits telling people how they’ve changed their lives for the better wasn’t enough, we now have brands doing the honors. And while they may be performing a good deed in urging viewers to step out and cast their vote, not all brands that are piggybacking the polls seem to have got it right. Here’s taking a look at the election-based ads doing the rounds of television currently…

     

    Fevicol uses crazy chairs as a symbol

     

    Known for its clever, tongue-in-cheek advertisements, Fevicol’s latest too does not disappoint. A chai-wallah enters the shop of a carpenter who is making the next prime minister’s chair. He points out to three variations – one with BJP’s lotus, another with Congress’s hand, and a group of chairs joined unevenly symbolic of the Third Front. The advert is a pun intended on the politicos vying for power.

     

    Click here to watch the TVC

     

    Hero Hf Deluxe appeals to vote the one with merit

     

    Many a times, people vote for candidates/political parties who belong to the same region/community/caste/religion. The latest Hero advert advocates voting for people based on talent/merit instead of these mores.

     

    Click here to watch the TVC

     

    Google’s #PledgeToVote with Mr. Shyam Negi

     

    Part of Google India’s ambitious new campaign that encourages Indians to vote, the inspiring TVC tells the story of Shyam Saran Negi (97) from Himachal Pradesh, who has never missed a chance to exercise his right to vote since 1951 when India’s first general elections were held.

     

    Click here to watch the TVC

     

    Tata Tea Jaago Re strikes a strong message for women voters

     

    The second part of Tata Tea’s ‘Power of 49’ campaign targets women voters. The advert titled ‘kaala teeka’ is aimed at women from the upper strata, who don’t think much about exercising their right to vote.

     

    Click here to watch the TVC

     

    Sunfeast shouts a subtle slogan

     

    In keeping with the nature of the brand, Sunfeast’s latest advert is a fun take on political parties and elections. It features children as leaders and voters who go on to form the ‘Yippee’ party.

     

    Click here to watch the TVC

     

    RR Kabel poses a straight question

     

    Coming from a hardware brand, the advert comes straight to the point and tells voters to “choose wisely”. However, it does hit the right chord with a strong line of communication.

     

    Click here to watch the TVC

     

    Idea warns politicians ‘no ullu banoing’

     

    A typically smart-alecky advert coming from Idea, which is in sync with the brand’s punch-line, ‘no ullu banaoing’ even as it sends out a message to politicos not to fool the junta.

     

    Click here to watch the TVC

     

    Havells fans off bribery

     

    A clever advert that plays on the brand’s ‘Hawaa Badlegi’ proposition to send out the message that the ‘cash for vote’ trick will not work with today’s upright electorate

     

    Click here to watch the TVC

     

    Subhash sarees salutes women voters

     

    How does a clothes brand connect with elections? Subhash Sarees does it by saying that the ‘kaala teeka’ is the best form of adornment for any woman apart from the kaajal, bindi and so on.

     

    Click here to watch the TVC

     

  • Marketing, the Dove way!

    Marketing, the Dove way!

    MUMBAI: There has been some exemplary advertising from Dove from the house of Unilever for over a decade now. The brand has endeavored to define beauty in a meaningful manner through its communication strategies.

    The latest is a digital film which goes on to say that “Beauty is just a state of mind”. It features a two week-long social experiment by New York Times bestselling author, psychologist and body image expert, Dr Ann Kearney-Cooke, inviting women to wear a custom-made ‘beauty patch’ to help them feel more beautiful. The ladies give personal accounts of how the patch variously made them feel ‘more confident’, ‘refreshed’ and so on. At the end of the experiment, the patch is revealed to contain nothing, proving that beauty is more than just skin deep. Not surprisingly, the film which is running on YouTube garnered more than 15 million views within one week.

    Not just the digital film but most of Dove’s advertising carries significant marketing lessons for other beauty brands. Here’s looking at some of them…

    Stories win hearts

    Advertising with a strong storyline always works. Consumers connect with a product line if it is endorsed by people with a story. Dove has successfully taken care of this aspect locally and globally.

    Be constant

    For people to remember advertising, it is essential for brands to be consistent in the way they project their ideas through communication. Dove over the past few campaigns has gone digital and this has helped them get greater reach.

    Have a clear line of thought

    Projecting an idea sharply helps. One of the reasons why Dove pops up in people’s minds is that it almost always supports a strong line of thought.

    Take the video route

    In the age of social media, creating visual campaigns is a plus. More importantly, videos can be shared and help measure feedback instantly. Tracking the success of the campaign becomes that much easier, and Dove seems to have got that right!

    Use subtle marketing plug-ins

    While rolling out digital films, brands need to go subtle on plug-ins. Two things that work best on digital platforms are curiosity and a good amount of hype. Dove has got just the right amount of both.

    Click here to watch the video

  • Omron’s “your voice, their world” campaign goes online

    Omron’s “your voice, their world” campaign goes online

    MUMBAI: OMRON group in India has extended their flagship CSR project ‘Your Voice, Their World’ to the online sphere to create world’s first-of-its  kind online audio library of poems for the visually disabled in association with the National Association for the Blind (NAB), Delhi.

    Riding on the corporate philosophy of working for the benefit of society, this online campaign is an effort to further strengthen company’s support to visually impaired to help them fulfill their dreams of education and overall development via audio-based accessible content. While the first leg of the project (started in Dec, 13) focused on creation of Accessible Digital Library for blind students at NAB, Delhi premises, this online camp aign focuses on creation of an audio library of poems for them by engaging the public at large. The repertoire shall be donated to NAB, Delhi which shall in turn be sharing it with its own students and thousands of other visually impaired connected through its network.

    Conceptualized in association with McCANN Health, the campaign reaches out to the people in the form of following touch points: website – www.yourvoicetheirworld.com, Facebook application (on the OMRON India’s page), Android & iOS apps and exclusive videos being promoted on You Tube. All these vehicles provide an interface where people can record one of the poems available in the database or one from their own collection.

    Commenting on this initiative, Mr. Takuichi Shimizu, president, Omron Management Centre of India, said, “Believing in the untapped potential of human – voice based education tools for the visually impaired, the bohemian campaign has a fresh appeal to enthuse people to do their bit towards this relevant cause in an interesting and simple manner. We believe that it shall certainly be helpful in contributing towards the cognitive development, social development of the visually impaired and above all in helping them become a better human being.”

     

    The campaign received its first submission from OMRON’s brand ambassador Farhan Akhtar who lent his voice to a beautiful poem written by famous lyricist and Chairman, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, McCANN Worldgroup India and South Asia, Prasoon Joshi. According to him, “To run a campaign with poetry at its heart and to serve the visually impaired through it, is an unique opportunity and I was more than happy to pen a poem to get this kick started. OMRON is a valued partner for us and I am glad that we have partnered with them to steer such a novel initiative.”

     

    Owing to his association with the campaign since the beginning, Farhan has been endearingly promoting the cause. In order to keep increasing the reach of the campaign, it has also been promoted on OMRON’s social networking platforms – Facebook and Twitter pages, through other online portals and on-ground activations too. With more than 1700 poems submitted so far, OMRON is hopeful of keeping the momentum alive to create a meaningful collection of around 3000 poems by May, 2014. All the poems submitted are available for voting. The first phase of the campaign has been met with a overwhelming response with over 33,000 visitors to the website, a 20% increase in Facebook Fans, massive growth in Facebook reach to 3 million, more than 100 % rise in Twitter
    followers and more than 1,28,000 views of the campaign videos on You Tube.

     

    Being an intrinsic part of the strategy of the campaign since its inception as creative partners, McCANN Health feels that for a company that’s built on sensing technology, the best way to fulfill their CSR aspirations is to back an initiative that’s dedicated to the senses. “The visually impaired pay more attention to what their other senses can tell them and our idea was to serve this reality. It’s a beautiful idea and we are proud to be part of it ‘says Sohan Shah, SVP, McCANN Health.

    Sounding optimistic about the campaign and the association, Mr. Prashant Ranjan Verma, Joint Secretary-NAB , Delhi, said: “ Education based on accessible formats is one of the most effective tools to help the visually impaired people become more capable, financially independent, better human beings and a part of the mainstream. Taking this thought forward, we started production of audio and e-books with the support from OMRON. Believing that visually impaired people have the same needs of edutainment as any other normal human beings, this online initiative is the next level focusing on creating a database of meaningful poems which unfortunately, so far, has been a largely ignored domain.”

    The Ist phase concluded today with the Meet with Farhan event where the participants with maximum votes for their poems got to meet Farhan Akhtar at Mumbai.

     

  • KV Sridhar quits Leo Burnett India

    KV Sridhar quits Leo Burnett India

    MUMBAI:  KV Sridhar (Pops) has finally decided to move on. Leo Burnett India and subcontinent chief creative officer will be hanging his boots on 4 May, after spending 17 years in the agency.  

     

    Pops has over 30 years of working experience in advertising and has now decided to take the leap to reinvent himself and pursue other interests.

     

    “Pops has always been a young man at heart and once again his nomadic spirit has led him to look at things afresh and follow his heart to pursue new adventures. We want to thank him for his tremendous contribution over the years, building Leo Burnett India into the creative powerhouse it is today. The agency and I will continue to build on the creative trajectory he has set,” said Leo Burnett Group India CEO Saurabh Varma.

     

    He started as a Bollywood film billboard painter and became the CCO  India  sub continent  of  Leo Burnett.  Over  the  years,  he helped the agency gain recognition at international awards shows including Cannes  Lions,  New  York  Festival,  and  local  Indian  awards.  Under his creative leadership, Leo Burnett India went on to win agency of the year in the Leo Burnett global network, twice. He also led the agency to be ranked by Creativity magazine to be among the top 20 creative  agencies  in the world.   Sridhar   has   also represented   the agency   on  many  Indian  and International award juries.

     

    “It  has  been  a  purposeful  journey  for  me  at  Leo  Burnett, growing with and having a chance to play a key role in shaping the agency’s creative  prowess.  I have had the opportunity to work  with and get to be friends with some of the brightest creative minds in the world, worked on some of the most exciting campaigns with some of the most amazing clients.

     

    For now, I would like to take a break to reinvent, rediscover and rededicate myself. I wish Saurabh and Leo Burnett great success,” said Sridhar

  • Swarovski elevates Francis Belin to sr VP consumer goods business APAC

    Swarovski elevates Francis Belin to sr VP consumer goods business APAC

    MUMBAI: In a recent development, Swarovski has promoted Francis Belin to take a bigger role in the company. 

     

    Belin who has been in charge of Swarovski’s consumer goods business for Greater China since August 2011, has now been elevated to senior vice president consumer goods business APAC.

     

    Based in Hong Kong, Belin is responsible for the strategic direction and the development of the company in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.

     

    Starting from April 2014, he has extended his scope – beyond Greater China – to take over Swarovski’s consumer good business for Asia Pacific, including key markets like Japan, Korea, Australia and India. Belin is also a member of the Board of Advisors of Kid’s Earth Fund (Japan) and since April 2013, has been appointed to the advisory committee of the Swarovski Foundation.

     

    He joined Swarovski in January 2008 as Managing Director for Japan. Under Belin’s leadership, Japan has achieved to be the second fastest growing market in the world after Mainland China, thanks to major upgrades in brand positioning, brand awareness and distribution network.  Prior to joining Swarovski, Belin started his career in Management consulting at McKinsey&Co in Europe and Asia, and worked as Managing Director of Jaeger-LeCoultre (Richemont) in Japan. 

     

    Originally from France, Belin holds a degree in Management from the ESSEC Business School in France and a Diploma Kaufmann from the University of Mannheim in Germany, majoring in Business administration and Psychology. 

  • DDB MudraMax Media appoints Amita Karwal

    DDB MudraMax Media appoints Amita Karwal

    MUMBAI: DDB MudraMax Media has roped in Amita Karwal as executive vice president to head its North & East Operations.

     

    With over two decades of diverse experience across media marketing functions and allied areas, Karwal has worked with blue chip organisations including Reckitt Benckiser where she not only led the media marketing division but also represented South West Asia at Global media forums. On the agency side, she has worked with Lintas, Zenith Optimedia (ZO) and Ogilvy on brands such as HP, Gillette, Wrigley’s (Joyco), Modi Xerox to name a few.

     

    In an allied area, she’s also had a couple of  years of experience in media auditing with SpatialAccess and the global agency R3 where she set up the first-of-its-kind auditing practice in Delhi, and also launched the first agency image study in India.

     

    She is strong believer in creating brand value through innovation and this has resulted in several national and international awards for key brand launches

     

    Karwal said, “I am very happy to be part of an agency network that offers truly integrated marketing communication solutions.  As a part of DDB MudraMax Media I look forward to leveraging and integrating our assets holistically

     

    Adding to this, DDB MudraMax Media president Sathyamurthy Namakkal said, “In an era when the media profession requires well rounded talent, Amita fits the role perfectly. Both our clients and our teams will immensely benefit from her induction into the DDB team”.

  • Blogmint launches ‘The Loudest Cheer’ app for IPL

    Blogmint launches ‘The Loudest Cheer’ app for IPL

    MUMBAI: Tangerine Digital managed and promoted, Blogmint, has launched an app for cricket enthusiasts, world over. Called ‘The Loudest Cheer’, the app aims to connect all the aficionados of the much awaited seventh season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to their supporting teams. The official launch of the app will take place at a gala event on 16 April, 2014 at Reverb, Noida.

     

     With IPL 2014 being hosted outside India, disappointment amongst the fans is quite conspicuous. The app allows the fans to cheer every time their team scores, thus making them feel part of a live audience. The app also allows users to create their audio or video cheer that will be showcased on digital channels such as YouTube. Moreover, the participants leading the scoreboard with maximum cheers will earn points that will be translated to incredible prizes. The app can be downloaded from the android app store.  

     

    Commenting on the release of ‘The Loudest Cheer,’ Tangerine Digital chief operating officer Seeraj Katoch said, “We are excited to launch the mobile app that aims to connect fans with their favourite sport. The app will help audiences across India to cheer for their favourite team. As, IPL goes abroad, we realised the need for teams and fans to be connected and technology was the only option to bridge the gap.”   

  • VivaConnect appoints Bharatesh Salian as Chief Strategy Officer

    VivaConnect appoints Bharatesh Salian as Chief Strategy Officer

    MUMBAI:  The voice & missed call company, VivaConnect, has appointed Bharatesh Salian as the chief strategy officer. He will define and execute strategic initiatives for brands, media houses and agencies to deliver a unified-interactive experience across all screens and touchpoints.

     

    Salian comes with a strong technology background and in-depth understanding of brands and consumer behaviour. He brings on board, 14 years of experience in mobile, digital and social media marketing space. Prior to joining VivaConnect, he was with Mogae Media Group as strategic planning & business development director. His former stint as a general manager- digital and mobility services at Omnicom Media Group owned OMD and PHD, had him heading the mobile strategy and project implementation for large FMCG’s like Hindustan Unilever Limited, Johnson & Johnson.

     

    With his strong conviction about mobile offering the highest reach, he executed campaigns for notable brands using Telecom Platform on a 10-digit mobile number (Long Code). Other major projects include introduction of “Web Click to Call” concept in a Brand Campaign for Pepsi in 2009 and Missed Call Activity in a Brand Activation for Tide Plus.

     

    He has been a recipient of ‘Innovative Leader Award’ at Indira International Innovation Summit, January 2013.

     

    Speaking on the appointment, managing director Vikram Raichura said, “I am delighted to welcome Bharatesh to the team VivaConnect. With his treasure-box of experience across brands and agencies, I am confident that it will further enable us to deliver greater value to our clients apart from giving them a competitive advantage. I wish him all the luck for his career-journey with VivaConnect.”

     

  • Dentsu Aegis Network launches psLive

    Dentsu Aegis Network launches psLive

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Aegis Network has announced the launch of experiential marketing agency psLive in Asia Pacific.

     

    During 2014, psLive will be rolled out to all key Asia Pacific markets.  Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia chairman and CEO Ashish Bhasin will take on the additional role of chairman APAC, Posterscope and psLive – Asia Pacific.

     

    Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific CEO Nick Waters said, “psLive will play an important role in Asia Pacific, particularly in key markets like ANZ, South East Asia and India. We see this as a fast growth area for our business in the years to come.”

     

    Detailing the plans for psLive in APAC, Bhasin said: “We will begin with rebranding our existing, vibrant experiential business in markets like India, Malaysia and Indonesia in the near future, to psLive. In Asia Pacific the below the line part of marketing communications spend for key clients is growing at twice the rate of above the line spends. psLive gives us a unique opportunity to offer diverse, professional experiential marketing solutions to our clients in APAC. Country specific, customized services will be offered spanning across activation, events, rural marketing, PR, partnerships and other areas, depending upon the needs of each market.”

     

    psLive Worldwide chairperson Annie Rickard commented, “The experiential market is growing rapidly.  Social media and smartphones have transformed experiential, giving it scale and measurability. Our network operating model means that we will be able to bring media insight into brand experience, which will ensure we deliver relevant innovation to our clients.”

     

    psLive will announce country wise and marketwise roll out plans shortly, beginning with India, where the psLive launch will be announced soon.

  • SMG Convonix wins 24 clients in the last quarter of FY 13-14

    SMG Convonix wins 24 clients in the last quarter of FY 13-14

    MUMBAI: Starcom MediaVest Group’ integrated digital marketing arm SMG Convonix has won 24 new clients in the last quarter across sectors like education, FMCG, travel, banking and finance, e-commerce and technology.

     

    SMG Convonix CEO Vishal Sampat said, “Most of our recent wins were after multi-agency pitches and are testimony to the strength of our offering and thought and rigor that the teams put into campaigns. We continue to work with the same core principle of trying to solve business problems by leveraging synergies across digital solutions, analytics and technology. Going forward, our focus will be on growing the media offering and delivering cutting-edge impactful campaigns enabled by the right technology.”

     

    Tata Global Beverages has awarded the Global SEO mandate for their brands to SMG Convonix, which includes Tetley and Eight o’ clock. The new roster of clients also includes IMS Learning Resources, Tuffware and e-commerce biggies such as Pepperfry and Reseller Club. SMG Convonix has, in a focused manner, expanded its base and experience in Consumer Electronics by bagging The Mobile Store and The Electronic Store. In addition to the Indian wins, a significant number of clients from other markets like the US have also augmented the roster.