ITV

Category: Media and Advertising

  • Zohar Furniturewala joins Scarecrow as ECD

    Zohar Furniturewala joins Scarecrow as ECD

    MUMBAI: To beef up its art department – Scarecrow – is bringing Zohar Furniturewala on board as ECD.

     

    Commenting on the development, Scarecrow founder director Manish Bhatt said:  “At the current stage of Scarecrow’s nonstop four year long journey, Scarecrow handles many  brands like ITC  (Vivel & Fiama Di Wills), Joy Cosmetics, Vimal, Lava and other brands across various categories like lifestyle, personal care, beauty, fashion etc. which demand new design ideas every day. So, apart from Kapil Tammal, Scarecrow was looking for one more design mentor, which we found in Zohar. He is not only a great design mind but also a great idea person and an occasional writer too. And his experience of running a design house will help him to become one of the rare creative people who understand the business we are in.”

     

    Furniturewala will be joining the agency’s Mumbai office on 1 April. As its aftermath, Scarecrow Mumbai Art department will be divided into two groups. Kapil Tammal and Zohar Furniturewala will mentor the Art department and each group will handle more than 15 brands.

     

    Zohar has fifteen years of experience in creating and executing idea-led brand campaigns & design projects, while running agencies and creative departments. Specific areas of expertise include: creative leadership, robust knowledge of advertising and communication, great inter-personal relationships, team playing, perfectionism, freethinking and learning.

     

    Thorough with creative business management aided by a keen insight and understanding of how businesses and clients work, Zohar founded the Thunk Design Company in 2007, where he handled fashion & lifestyle brands, home appliances and media brands (Reliance Corporate, Mustang Socks and Accessories, Optima Communications -Middle East, Chromozome Men’s Innerwear, Futurebazaar.com.)

     

    After studying BFA from Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Arts majoring in Typography, Zohar started his career in Ambience in 1998.

  • Election tracker: Cricket over News

    Election tracker: Cricket over News

    The upcoming election is not just being fought on the ground; political parties have laid siege to airwaves as well.

     

    So much so, followers of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup will vouch for the fact that ‘commercial breaks’ are beginning to resemble the battle cry of the main contenders as they unleash newer segments of their respective campaigns on unsuspecting viewers.

     

    Not without reason for in a country where cricket is religion, the ‘clever’ agencies behind these rival campaigns are only putting their money where their mouth is.

     

    And so we have the Congress continuing to showcase all the good work done in the past decade, with the common man always at the centre, even in the new TVCs. While BJP changes its hitherto serious tone and takes a dig at the Congress in a rather comical way. Whether the saffron party has diluted the message it wants to send out is something the audience may continue to debate but one way or the other, cricket comes across as a critical component of the election strategy.

     

    Speaking of reach, daily soaps on general entertainment channels are watched by a majority of women in the country. With women forming 49 per cent of the voting population, the main players in this election can least afford to ignore this format. Neither can they shrug off the growing importance of digital platforms; especially in an election year when there will be close to 12 crore first-time voters, most of them always online. Hence, political outfits, even the likes of CPI (M), are pulling out all stops to woo the youth in the virtual world to get them to cast their vote in the real world.  

     

    Surprisingly however, news channels are still untouched by the flurry of political advertisements. In case you’re wondering why, news channels don’t enjoy the kind of reach that other television channels, say GECs, do. Then again, eyeballs will flow to news channels closer to the election dates for news and analyses. Maybe, that’s when the ad blitzkrieg will hit these channels as well…

  • Fab.com’s Maria Molland joins American Swan board of directors

    Fab.com’s Maria Molland joins American Swan board of directors

    MUMBAI: The online global fashion and lifestyle brand American Swan has appointed Maria Molland to the company’s board of directors.

     

    Optimistic about her association with a vibrant brand like American Swan Maria Molland said, “It feels exciting to join a young, dynamic brand and there is a massive opportunity for American Swan vis-?-vis the increasing amount of capital going into emerging markets. I look forward to bringing my expertise to the brand and help them expand their impressive product range in global markets, as they enter their next stage of growth”

     

    As a new entrant in the e-commerce space, American Swan is one of the rare examples that has adopted fast and strived for efficiency in a competitive domain. Its initiative to adopt the hybrid model by venturing into online and offline channels simultaneously has helped it maximise reach and de-risk the business. The growth for the American Swan brand has been fairly fast-paced, encouraging and consistent. So expanding the brand’s footprint globally after establishing itself in India was an inevitable next step.

     

    American Swan director and CEO Anurag Rajpal added, “We are delighted to have Maria Molland join us. She brings broad, international experience and deep knowledge of the e-commerce industry. We are confident that the perspective she brings to American Swan and its Board is extremely valuable, given our strategic priorities of International presence and ecommerce growth.”

     

    Molland will bring her vast experience in ecommerce to advise American Swan on international expansion as it seeks to be the leading online fashion brand in emerging markets apart from bringing the best ecommerce practices. American Swan has grown quickly in the Indian e-commerce domain by offering a range of classic preppy fashion and authentic smart casuals to the urban fashion-conscious consumers who seek International brands and styling. It is rapidly expanding to other emerging markets in Asia.

     

    Molland is an executive who recently served as the chief European officer at Fab.com, one of the fastest growing ecommerce companies. The European business grew from negligible to more than 40 per cent of Fab’s global revenues during her tenure.

     

    Prior to Fab, Molland was the global managing director of Digital Ventures at Thomson Reuters where she managed teams in the US, Europe, India, China and the Middle East. Molland has also held global executive roles at Dow Jones and Yahoo.

     

    India has close to 10 million online shoppers and is growing at an estimated 3 per cent CAGR and is poised to witness significant growth in the next few years. It has been speculated that the industry will touch a benchmark of $34.2 billion by 2015. As the e-commerce business is growing by leaps and bounds, the growth in the sector is a reflection of evolving nature of the market and that of the consumer. American Swan as a new, dynamic brand is seeking avenues to increase its presence through top online aggregators like Myntra, Jabong, and Flipkart as well as through a strong retail footprint pan India. Four Cross Media (www.fourcrossmedia.com), a high-end global digital media conglomerate with a network of innovative businesses has invested Rs 40 crore in this venture.

     

     “We welcome Molland at American Swan. There are not many entrepreneurs who have had the chance to scale companies from small teams to hundreds of people globally, and Maria has done that. We are looking forward to leveraging her expertise with fast growing technology companies as we continue to grow our business,” says Four Cross Media Asia co-founder and managing director Puneet Johar.

  • Lachlan Murdoch appointed as News Corp non-executive co-chairman

    Lachlan Murdoch appointed as News Corp non-executive co-chairman

    MUMBAI: News Corp has got its new non-executive co-chairman in Lachlan Murdoch. The announcement was made by the News Corp board of directors on 26 March. 

     

    “This appointment is a sign of confidence in the growth potential of News Corp and a recognition of Lachlan’s entrepreneurial leadership and passion for news, digital media and sport,” said News Corp executive chairman Rupert Murdoch in a statement.

     

    “In this elevated role, Lachlan will help us lead News Corp forward as we expand our reach and invest in new technologies and markets around the world.  We have many challenges and opportunities ahead, and Lachlan’s strategic thinking and vast knowledge of our businesses will enable me as executive chairman and the company as a whole to deliver the best outcomes on behalf of our stockholders, employees and customers,” added Murdoch.

     

    Lachlan Murdoch is currently a director of News Corp and 21st Century Fox, executive chairman of NOVA Entertainment Group, executive chairman of Illyria Pty and director of Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art.  Until recently, he also served as non-executive chairman of Ten Network Holdings.  Under his leadership, NOVA Entertainment Group became Australia’s number one national FM network.

     

    Prior to founding Illyria in 2005, Lachlan was the deputy chief operating officer of News Corporation (now 21st Century Fox), a role in which he was directly responsible for two thirds of the company’s global revenue, with specific emphasis on its US television stations group and publishing assets.

     

    While at the former News Corporation, Lachlan had oversight of HarperCollins and the company’s lines of business in Australia, including REA.  He also served on the Board of Foxtel and as chairman of Fox Television Stations and publisher of the New York Post.  At Fox Television Stations, Lachlan oversaw the company’s 35 owned-and-operated television stations, where he raised the bar on local news coverage nationwide, increasing the total number of local news hours across the group to more than 850 per week.  At the New York Post, Lachlan overhauled the tabloid and grew its circulation by more than 40 per cent.  During his tenure, the Post became the nation’s fastest growing newspaper and the seventh largest in the United States

     

    “I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with Lachlan for a number of years, and I’m delighted he’ll be serving in this elevated capacity,” said News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson.

     

    “Lachlan’s experience, acumen and enthusiasm will serve us well as we guide News Corp and its businesses through this era of digital transformation and global expansion.  His early appreciation of the value of REA, the digital property site that is a jewel in our crown, is an indicator of his prescience and strategic savvy,” informed Thomson.

     

     “I am grateful to the Board of News Corp for this exciting opportunity, and I’m looking forward to working more closely than ever with my father as well as Robert Thomson and his team, who have launched the new News so successfully,” said Lachlan Murdoch. 

     

    “News Corp today has the energy and sensibility of a start-up and is at the cutting edge of change in the media, publishing and education industries, and much more,” he concluded. 

  • Preet Dhupar to quit BBC Global News

    Preet Dhupar to quit BBC Global News

    MUMBAI: With elections just around the corner and one of the world’s renowned news channels BBC Global News promising to provide in depth news regarding India during the elections, comes a news that BBC Global News chief operating officer for India Preet Dhupar has decided to quit the organisation.

     

    Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, Dhupar says, “Yes I have decided to leave but I’m around in BBC for some time.”

     

    BBC too has confirmed the news and revealed that the management is currently looking for a suitable replacement for Dhupar.

     

    Dhupar has been associated with BBC for 14 years. She joined the channel in 2000 as director of finance and operations and was elevated to COO in 2013.

  • D&AD to offer free membership to connect global creative community

    D&AD to offer free membership to connect global creative community

    MUMBAI: Honouring its commitment to support the global creative industries, D&AD has announced it will be introducing free Membership for the first time in its history.

    As part of a revamped Membership structure, at the heart of the free proposition is a new interactive D&AD archive, enabling anyone in the wider creative community, and beyond, to view the best work from the full 52 years of D&AD.

    Beginning with the sixteen Yellow Pencils bestowed at the inaugural D&AD Professional Awards in 1963,  every awarded ad, design, campaign, product, agency and creative will be made available to browse through and search for free, including all New Blood Award winners. At launch, users will be able to search back as far as 1990,  with the full archive available online for August 2014.

    But more than just a source of inspiration, the new D&AD Membership will look to foster a vibrant online community, founded upon the spirit of the ‘I Wish I’d Done That’ ethos introduced earlier this year.

    Through the new digital platform, members will be able to explore and interact with fellow creatives by highlighting work they particularly admire. Each user’s profile will be populated with related awarded work, credits and portfolios, allowing creatives of all ages and experience to connect by sharing their appreciation for each other’s craft.

    Tim Lindsay, Chief Executive at D&AD, explains the move: “A look at D&AD’s history tells a wonderful story. In 1962,  the organisation was the formed by a special group of designers and art directors, who came together to celebrate the best in commercial creativity, and that’s the spirit we continue today.

    “But we’ve evolved a lot since then too. Our remit spans all corners of the world and we strongly believe in the role we have to play in bringing that community together, nurturing and supporting the next generation of design and advertising talent.

    “That’s why we felt it so important to make this decision – to be more visible, guiding and inspiring, whilst creating greater opportunities for connection, collaboration and mentorship. The new digital archive is a wonderful illustration  of the rich history of the industry and a fantastic resource; one that we believe should be accessible to all, regardless of who you are, or where in your career you may be.”

    The new Membership structure consists of three tiers; Free, Full and Awarded:

    • Free Membership gives Members complete access to the D&AD digital platform, including the Awards archive and the opportunity to take part in the new online community.  It also allows individuals to engage through more traditional features, including entering Awards, downloading briefs and signing up to events.

    • Full Membership gives Members additional benefits such as a free copy of the D&AD Annual, a D&AD notebook, personalised Membership card, free tickets to any of the monthly President’s Lectures, exclusive invitations to VIP events, discounts on Training courses, the ability to vote in the annual election of Board Trustees and discounts on selected brands.

    • Awarded Membership has all the benefits of a full Membership plus the following: A free entry to a new Professional Awards category, a free session to a new Training course, a free Training course to “gift” to a New Blood Member, the option to stand for election in the Board of Trustees elections and a black personalised Membership card. All In-Book, nominated and Yellow Pencil winners will be entitled to a free year of Awarded Membership.

    Both the Full and Awarded tiers will be priced at ?12 per month. Winners of the Black Pencil, White Pencil and Presidents Award will be given Awarded Membership for life. In addition, D&AD will continue to offer special New Blood Memberships tailored for students, tutors and universities, as part of the New Blood programme.

    The new Membership structure will come into effect in conjunction with the launch of the new D&AD digital platform, which can be visited at http://www.dandad.org.

     

  • DDB MudraMax’s Operation Black Dot registers 40,000 first time youth voters

    DDB MudraMax’s Operation Black Dot registers 40,000 first time youth voters

    MUMBAI: Operation Black Dot is an initiative by DDB MudraMax and Thincquisitive Foundation to help make voting easy, engaging and fun for the urban youth. Operation Black Dot has successfully brought about a shift in the way youth looked at voting. The team OBD by breaking down politics and making it more engaging and inclusive has effectively registered 40,000 first time youth voters to exercise their fundamental right.

     

    The aim was to present conventional political discourse in a format which interests below 25 age group as well as explain important political events/facts. At one level the team worked in 60 campuses across the city, helping students make their voter IDs by use of cutting edge technology to quicken the process and at another also conducting such engagements to generate awareness leading up to the 2014 General Elections.

     

    Process: From October through January, all six constituencies of Mumbai had a group of 10 campus ambassadors per college. Their task was to get students to make their voters’ ID card. Two cause ambassadors per constituency supported their outreach campaign. To simplify the process, the OBD team worked in collaboration with the Election Commission.

     

    Hangouts: Given our current socio-economic and political scenario, 2014 general elections will play a key role in shaping the future of our country. Hence, every ‘thinking’ vote matters. Leading up to the date, OBD will help you understand current issues and interact with potential candidates in a manner which is relatable and interesting.

     

    Operation Black Dot (OBD) hosted its very first Hangout with Priya Dutt (MP,Mumbai North Central) and latest with Mayak Gandhi, Member, Aam Aadmi Party at Bandstand Amphitheatre,Bandra West wherein students and young professionals from their constituency got a chance to have to engage with them to question,debate and deliberate as to how they can collaboratively find solutions to matters concerning them and their area in an informal setting. Through a series of such Hangouts with Elected representatives and candidates from other parties across the city, the team shall enable youngsters to make an informed vote in the upcoming 2014 general elections.

     

    Said Pratap Bose, COO, DDB Mudra Group, “The whole concept of “Voting” has always been looked as an activity that is to be addressed and taken upon by the older generation. While it is the youth of our country who are going to play a significant role in building the Indian economy and tend to the future of our nation. It was hence important for us to not only change the face of voting, to make it appealing to the youth,  but also provide guidance, help them understand the nature of politics and also reiterate the fact that they can make a difference. This is what we set out to do with Operation Black Dot, and today it gives me immense joy to know that we’ve registered 40,000 first times voters, in our maiden year! I only wish to see this number grow and reach out to more citizens next year.”

     

    Said Samyak Chakrabarty, Founder of Operation Black Dot & Chief Youth Marketer, DDB Mudra Group, “Operation Black Dot has been able to successfully convey that political discourse does notalways have to be conventional and can be disseminated in a format which appeals to theyounger generation. From putting Member of Parliaments on a Bean Bag at youth hangouts to catchy videos on complex parliamentary affairs, we are making an attemptto bridge the gap between policy makers and young citizens. Going forward, our intent is to continue this movement and find more innovative methods to keep young India engaged with political affairs.”

     

    Said Mandeep Malhotra, President, DDB MudraMax,”Today, the demographics of India shows that 50% of the population is under the age of 25 years and more than 65% below 35-years of age. With this staggering figure in mind, Operation Black Dot aims to give the opportunity to young India to develop the nation from where it is today.  They are the future. Hence, these are the most exciting times for the first time voter. The youngsters have already realized their importance and are slowly starting to learn the ideologies of politics. For me on the other hand, it has been a great experience contributing on-ground, learning and observing. I felt like being the guy on the outside watching youngsters being wooed and educated about politics in India. They were all buzzing with exuberance and excitement to get there voters ID Cards and attend the sessions.”

     

  • Renton D’Sousa calls it a day at Triton

    Renton D’Sousa calls it a day at Triton

    MUMBAI: “Paani Ka Doctor” is synonymous with the leading water purifier brand. But for everyone at Triton and some outside it, the man who created such properties and many more has decided to call it a day.

     

    Commenting the development, Ali Merchant, Director Triton said “Renton has been with us for over a decade and contributed to some solid and memorable brand building creative work for our clients. At the same time he has been responsible in the professional development of Triton especially for the people that have worked with him. His ‘never say die’ spirit will always be remembered. I will miss him at work and will remain his friend for all time to come. I wish him the very best in his next endeavour. I am sure he will do us proud”.

     

    Echoing Ali’s sentiments, Munawar Syed, Director Triton said “ Renton, a multi talented individual has been a key contributor to Triton’s rise and stability over many years. Such talent feeds on new challenges, new experiences and Renton’s stepping out from the warmth of Triton is in keeping with his desire to explore new horizons. I wish him a smooth journey”.

     

    Whilst the man in the hot seat very humbly stated “It’s been almost 12 years of brand building with some of the most wonderful people in the advertising industry at Triton. And that starts with Ali Merchant and Munawar Syed. Looking back, it has been over 30 years of ingenuity. And at times reinventing the game to increase market share of brands. More importantly, changing consumer behavior. It’s now time to pause and take a short sabbatical. Catch up with life!”.

     

    Prior to joining Triton over 10 years ago, Renton was the creative head of a few units at Lintas Mumbai. He has also been associated with Contract and Mudra. Matter of time before we hear of his new endeavour.

  • I will return after ‘Bhootnath Returns’: Nitesh Tiwari

    I will return after ‘Bhootnath Returns’: Nitesh Tiwari

    MUMBAI: After his first directorial debut, Chillar Party, Leo Burnett’s chief creative officer (CCO) Nitesh Tiwari’s second film Bhootnath Returns, starring Amitabh Bachchan, will hit the screens in April, this year.

     

    And it is after this that the man will return to the creative agency.

     

    “I was supposed to join back in February and because of the film it got a little delayed,” says Tiwari rubbishing the various speculations about him not coming back to Leo Burnett.

     

    “I will be back in April once the film releases,” says Tiwari.

     

    Another rumour doing the rounds in the industry is that of Leo Burnett’s chief creative officer India subcontinent KV Sridhar (Pops) leaving the agency.  

     

    “I’m not going anywhere. It is all rubbish,” says Pops to indiantelevision.com. “If I stand for elections for Aam Aadmi Party, I will let people know,” he adds in humour.

     

    In 2012, both Pops and Tiwari were handed over the additional roles of looking at the subcontinent and pan-India, respectively, with an aim to better and grow the agency.

     

  • Priyanka Rishi joins Taproot India as GM

    Priyanka Rishi joins Taproot India as GM

    MUMBAI: Taproot India has appointed Priyanka Rishi as its general manager. She will be reporting to CEO Umesh Shrikhande.

     

    “To be a part of an agency that has set benchmarks for the industry is professionally stimulating and exciting. I look forward to building on Taproot’s strengths and work ethos to create an even stronger organisation,” said Rishi.

     

    With more than 16 years in the business, Rishi in her earlier journey has had long stints with Ogilvy and JWT and brings with her solid cross category experience.

     

    Shrikhande said: “With so many interesting opportunities for adding value to our clients’ businesses and brands, Priyanka is a welcome addition to our talented team.  She is passionate about both strategy and creativity and comes with a deep and insightful understanding of brands. Infusing our team with such strong talent will further the process of adding depth and sparkle to brand Taproot.”

     

    She will be based in Mumbai.