Category: Media and Advertising

Mohit Hira appointed as IBT Media President & Country Head of India

MUMBAI: IBT Media India has appointed Mohit Hira as President & Country Head of its India operations.

IBT Media’s Indian edition (www.ibtimes.co.in) is headquarted in Bengaluru and led by Chandra Mohan, Managing Director, has been operational since 2011.

“Hira’s mandate is to create a brand out of a well-built product with market-facing initiatives and content reinforcement” added Mohan. The site claims that it is engineered by IB Times’ global team, and has seen rapid growth in recent years. It is also well supported by advertisers. Apart from business news, technology, entertainment, sports and politics from India and the world constitute the news lineup in the India edition.

IB Times MD Dev Pragad said, “We were very impressed by Mohit’s deep understanding of digital publishing. His background from advertising to publishing puts him in the perfect position to take IBT Media in India to the next level. We look forward to working very closely with him”.

“IB Times presents a unique opportunity to take a popular digital destination to the next level. In my interactions with Dev and Mohan, their infectious start-up attitude convinced me of the opportunity to leverage my experience. The website is rich in content and is engineered for on-the-go readers who need credible updates on business news through the day. Now it’s time to turn it into a consumer-facing brand and socialise it,” said Mohit Hira.

In his last assignment, Mohit Hira was Chief Executive & Publisher of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka owned Open Media Network which publishes Open Magazine. Hira was also responsible for re launching Open’s website, strengthening its sales team and repositioning the brand.Before joining Open, he was CEO at Hungama Digital Services (HDS) and Digital Head at J. Walter Thompson India, as well as Regional Business Head on the Airtel account. Hira had joined JWT from NIIT, where he was President of its B2C global online learning business that he had started. He was also the Chief Marketing Officer for NIIT’s retail individual training businesses and helped in the founding years of the NIIT University.

As Director-Times Internet Ltd where he was the brand custodian for the group’s website, www.indiatimes.com, he was responsible for incubation, marketing and usability of its portals.Before this, he was the Brand Head of The Economic Times (Delhi) and Navbharat Times at Bennett Coleman. Originally, a copywriter at Contract Advertising’s Kolkata office, Mohit Hira grew to take charge first as Creative Director and then the head of its Kolkata and Delhi offices.

An English (Hons.) graduate of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, Mohit is also an alumnus of Executive Development Programmes at ISB Hyderabad, IIM Ahmedabad and INSEAD Singapore where he was nominated to the Google Academy.

He will continue to be based in Delhi NCR and will work closely with the India and EMEA Managing Directors of IB Times.

July 4, 2016
Enterprise Ireland appoints Eulogy for two years

MUMBAI: Enterprise Ireland (EI), the Irish government body charged with the development and expansion of Irish enterprises into global markets, has appointed communications consultancy Eulogy on a new two-year contract.

Following an open tender process, Eulogy has been tasked with raising the profile of Ireland as a destination for higher education amongst a growing Indian student population. Eulogy will deliver greater profile for the Education in Ireland brand, which is managed by Enterprise Ireland, and promote the opportunities available to Indian students seeking to further their education overseas.

There are currently 2,000 Indian students studying in Ireland’s higher education institutions, and Education in Ireland predicts this to grow significantly in the next two years.

Managing Director of Eulogy India, Cyrus Jogina said, ‘It is an exciting time to be working with Enterprise Ireland, as they seek to deepen their engagement with India’s student population. Our work with them over the last four years has allowed us get close to their core student audience and we are excited to build on that experience, deploying a digital communications programme which will help match India’s growing student body to Ireland’s world-class education sector.”

Rory Power, Director – India / South Asia, Enterprise Ireland said ‘The Indian market is a key focus of our Education in Ireland strategy, and we are delighted to be building on the great work delivered with Eulogy India over recent years.”

The team will deploy an integrated marketing communications strategy, aimed at engaging a greater student population through a digitally-led channel mix.

July 4, 2016
Enterprise Ireland appoints Eulogy for two years

MUMBAI: Enterprise Ireland (EI), the Irish government body charged with the development and expansion of Irish enterprises into global markets, has appointed communications consultancy Eulogy on a new two-year contract.

Following an open tender process, Eulogy has been tasked with raising the profile of Ireland as a destination for higher education amongst a growing Indian student population. Eulogy will deliver greater profile for the Education in Ireland brand, which is managed by Enterprise Ireland, and promote the opportunities available to Indian students seeking to further their education overseas.

There are currently 2,000 Indian students studying in Ireland’s higher education institutions, and Education in Ireland predicts this to grow significantly in the next two years.

Managing Director of Eulogy India, Cyrus Jogina said, ‘It is an exciting time to be working with Enterprise Ireland, as they seek to deepen their engagement with India’s student population. Our work with them over the last four years has allowed us get close to their core student audience and we are excited to build on that experience, deploying a digital communications programme which will help match India’s growing student body to Ireland’s world-class education sector.”

Rory Power, Director – India / South Asia, Enterprise Ireland said ‘The Indian market is a key focus of our Education in Ireland strategy, and we are delighted to be building on the great work delivered with Eulogy India over recent years.”

The team will deploy an integrated marketing communications strategy, aimed at engaging a greater student population through a digitally-led channel mix.

July 4, 2016
Mukta A2 Cinemas launched a new ad campaign

MUMBAI: Mukta A2 Cinemas has launched a new ad on its YouTube Channel giving an inroad to the progressive journey of Mukta A2 Cinemas coupled with customer feedback.

Movies are no more an element just to be enjoyed with friends, but they are now more of an occasion to be enjoyed and celebrated with friends, family and colleagues. The cinema chain has captured the same emotion in the ad campaign. Mukta A2 Cinemas always has taken deep interest towards catering to the needs of its fan base with its lively theatres and extraordinary F&B services. People not only plan on the movie they want to watch, but also where, when, with who and what they will eat at the cinema etc. Over the years, Mukta A2 Cinemas has emerged as one-stop destination across age groups and all ethnicities and a place to bond over the first love of Indians, movies claims a Mukta release.

Mukta A2 Cinemas says that it is growing by leaps and bounds with its presence in 12 cities, 33 screens and upcoming projects all over India. Internationally the chain will be launching cinemas in Bahrain within the year. With multiplexes in Mumbai, Sailu, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Gulbarga, Banswara, Sailu, Vizag, Sangli, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Kundli and Rajpipla it plans to open properties in Aurangabad, Dehradun, Navi Mumbai- Panvel, Ahmedabad, Gurgaon, Ambarnath and Pune. Not just this, it also plans to spread its legs and open the first international property in Bahrain by end of this year which is spread across 6 screens.

July 4, 2016
Mukta A2 Cinemas launched a new ad campaign

MUMBAI: Mukta A2 Cinemas has launched a new ad on its YouTube Channel giving an inroad to the progressive journey of Mukta A2 Cinemas coupled with customer feedback.

Movies are no more an element just to be enjoyed with friends, but they are now more of an occasion to be enjoyed and celebrated with friends, family and colleagues. The cinema chain has captured the same emotion in the ad campaign. Mukta A2 Cinemas always has taken deep interest towards catering to the needs of its fan base with its lively theatres and extraordinary F&B services. People not only plan on the movie they want to watch, but also where, when, with who and what they will eat at the cinema etc. Over the years, Mukta A2 Cinemas has emerged as one-stop destination across age groups and all ethnicities and a place to bond over the first love of Indians, movies claims a Mukta release.

Mukta A2 Cinemas says that it is growing by leaps and bounds with its presence in 12 cities, 33 screens and upcoming projects all over India. Internationally the chain will be launching cinemas in Bahrain within the year. With multiplexes in Mumbai, Sailu, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Gulbarga, Banswara, Sailu, Vizag, Sangli, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Kundli and Rajpipla it plans to open properties in Aurangabad, Dehradun, Navi Mumbai- Panvel, Ahmedabad, Gurgaon, Ambarnath and Pune. Not just this, it also plans to spread its legs and open the first international property in Bahrain by end of this year which is spread across 6 screens.

July 4, 2016
Razorfish India gets Mitika Malhotra to head business development for North

MUMBAI Razorfish part of the Publicis.Sapient platform, has appointed Mitika Malhotra as the Head of Business Development for North, based out of Razorfish India’s Gurgaon office.

“Razorfish’s philosophy of Innovation resonates with the quote I live by: ‘Most people get ahead during the time others waste’. I am excited to be part of the story that the team here is crafting to set up new milestones,” she said on her appointment.

Malhotra has experience in Strategy and Business development across International and Domestic markets, planning and implementing sales, marketing, and business initiatives to support corporate objectives.

Prior to joining Razorfish, she was Group Head-Digital Business at Pulp Strategy (an Integrated Marketing Communications Agency) where she acquired as well as grew accounts of Michelin, Rolls Royce, Yamaha Music India, SRS group and other SMEs. Her focus was sharply on strategizing brand and business transformation solutions as she comprehends that seamless convergence of consumer behavior across channels is now the future.

Razorfish India CEO Charulata Ravi Kumar too added, “We are constantly seeking highly curious people who have the energy and a razor sharp mind to persistently look for lateral solutions for the clients we partner. When I met Mitika, that’s just what I saw in her. She is able to cut through the many layers and get to the core of a business need. She will be a key member of our Business Transformation Advisory team that partners new clients to set them off on the digital path.”

The company’s Head of Business Transformation, India and COO Gaurav Pathak also commented saying, “At Razorfish, we have a very strong team of highly specialized talent across creative, media and technology. Mitika’s track record and reputation of partnering to build a strong business precedes her and we are looking forward to the energy she will bring on board.”

July 4, 2016
Razorfish India gets Mitika Malhotra to head business development for North

MUMBAI Razorfish part of the Publicis.Sapient platform, has appointed Mitika Malhotra as the Head of Business Development for North, based out of Razorfish India’s Gurgaon office.

“Razorfish’s philosophy of Innovation resonates with the quote I live by: ‘Most people get ahead during the time others waste’. I am excited to be part of the story that the team here is crafting to set up new milestones,” she said on her appointment.

Malhotra has experience in Strategy and Business development across International and Domestic markets, planning and implementing sales, marketing, and business initiatives to support corporate objectives.

Prior to joining Razorfish, she was Group Head-Digital Business at Pulp Strategy (an Integrated Marketing Communications Agency) where she acquired as well as grew accounts of Michelin, Rolls Royce, Yamaha Music India, SRS group and other SMEs. Her focus was sharply on strategizing brand and business transformation solutions as she comprehends that seamless convergence of consumer behavior across channels is now the future.

Razorfish India CEO Charulata Ravi Kumar too added, “We are constantly seeking highly curious people who have the energy and a razor sharp mind to persistently look for lateral solutions for the clients we partner. When I met Mitika, that’s just what I saw in her. She is able to cut through the many layers and get to the core of a business need. She will be a key member of our Business Transformation Advisory team that partners new clients to set them off on the digital path.”

The company’s Head of Business Transformation, India and COO Gaurav Pathak also commented saying, “At Razorfish, we have a very strong team of highly specialized talent across creative, media and technology. Mitika’s track record and reputation of partnering to build a strong business precedes her and we are looking forward to the energy she will bring on board.”

July 4, 2016
A free cup of tea with Brooke Bond Red Lebel

MUMBAI: Meeting for a cup of tea is usually an excuse to connect with people, catch up with the old ones’ and explore new connections. But, what if you land on a couch opposite a sex worker, would you stay and talk or just walk away? Ogilvy and Mather conducted a social experiment on a busy morning at Churchgate station, Mumbai to find out.

Hindustan Unilever has rolled out its campaign for Brooke Bond Red Label tea, Taste of togetherness. The video starts with setting up a booth on the busy station serving a free cup of tea to passengers. An insurance agent walks in the booth and sits to have tea, while another lady joins her and begins the conversation. While in the conversation, the insurance woman finds out that other lady is a sex worker. The awkwardness can be seen on the agents’ face, but she could not walk away in between tea and continues to share the table with the sex worker. It all warms up when the agent finds out about sex worker’s daughter and how concerned she is about her.

“The brand has developed campaigns concerning various issues like Hindu-Muslim neighbors and live-in relationships. It claims to have a purpose and through the campaigns it is attempting to build that image.” Says Ogilvy and Mather SVP Abhik Santara.

The recent two minutes 24 seconds campaign is directed and produced by maker of Ship of Theseus- Anand Gandhi and conceptualized by Ogilvy and Mather. The production team had set up a booth a night before the experiment. With the pouring rush on a weekday morning, the booth attracted many people to drop in for a free cup of tea. It had a hidden camera set up, where people’s reactions were captured. According to the production, there were mixed reaction when people confronted the sex worker. Some people just walked away and some stayed.

“The whole of idea of designing such a campaign for a tea product is that it’s a ice breaker. In the Indian context, when someone sits over a tea its personalized and people tend to share” said Ogilvy and Mather ECD Hrashad Rajadhakshya. Tea is called a social lubricant and the brand has tried to break these social barriers through putting across the table. Santara shared that many people just walked away on face, but some that stayed and spoke to the lady realized that no matter what her job was, the sex worker had as normal life like any of us.

“We have always involved in such campaign because Hindutan Lever has a whole has a purpose to it and through the campaigns like these we convey them to our consumers,” added Karmakar. The basic marketing strategy adopted in the campaigns is to reach out to people on a emotional note by breaking these usual taboos.

On choosing this particular clip, Santara said that it showed the connection between two women irrespective of their professions. How the insurance agent feels when she finds out about the sex worker’s daughter and how she is equally concerned about her daughter like any other normal parent. The campaign is titled Taste Of Togetherness – That Kind Of A Woman, this showed her first reaction.

According to the makers, they are laying out many more such campaigns and we might also see more clips from the same experiment. The campaign will only launch on the digital platform. There are separate television- specific advertisements made.

The advertisement surely leaves an impact on viewers and brings forth the thought to stay and talk or walk away? And how someone like a sex worker can be treated so differently from us? Such campaigns certainly make people to stop and think. Digital platforms have given space to brands to walk out of conventional problem solution promotions.

July 4, 2016
A free cup of tea with Brooke Bond Red Lebel

MUMBAI: Meeting for a cup of tea is usually an excuse to connect with people, catch up with the old ones’ and explore new connections. But, what if you land on a couch opposite a sex worker, would you stay and talk or just walk away? Ogilvy and Mather conducted a social experiment on a busy morning at Churchgate station, Mumbai to find out.

Hindustan Unilever has rolled out its campaign for Brooke Bond Red Label tea, Taste of togetherness. The video starts with setting up a booth on the busy station serving a free cup of tea to passengers. An insurance agent walks in the booth and sits to have tea, while another lady joins her and begins the conversation. While in the conversation, the insurance woman finds out that other lady is a sex worker. The awkwardness can be seen on the agents’ face, but she could not walk away in between tea and continues to share the table with the sex worker. It all warms up when the agent finds out about sex worker’s daughter and how concerned she is about her.

“The brand has developed campaigns concerning various issues like Hindu-Muslim neighbors and live-in relationships. It claims to have a purpose and through the campaigns it is attempting to build that image.” Says Ogilvy and Mather SVP Abhik Santara.

The recent two minutes 24 seconds campaign is directed and produced by maker of Ship of Theseus- Anand Gandhi and conceptualized by Ogilvy and Mather. The production team had set up a booth a night before the experiment. With the pouring rush on a weekday morning, the booth attracted many people to drop in for a free cup of tea. It had a hidden camera set up, where people’s reactions were captured. According to the production, there were mixed reaction when people confronted the sex worker. Some people just walked away and some stayed.

“The whole of idea of designing such a campaign for a tea product is that it’s a ice breaker. In the Indian context, when someone sits over a tea its personalized and people tend to share” said Ogilvy and Mather ECD Hrashad Rajadhakshya. Tea is called a social lubricant and the brand has tried to break these social barriers through putting across the table. Santara shared that many people just walked away on face, but some that stayed and spoke to the lady realized that no matter what her job was, the sex worker had as normal life like any of us.

“We have always involved in such campaign because Hindutan Lever has a whole has a purpose to it and through the campaigns like these we convey them to our consumers,” added Karmakar. The basic marketing strategy adopted in the campaigns is to reach out to people on a emotional note by breaking these usual taboos.

On choosing this particular clip, Santara said that it showed the connection between two women irrespective of their professions. How the insurance agent feels when she finds out about the sex worker’s daughter and how she is equally concerned about her daughter like any other normal parent. The campaign is titled Taste Of Togetherness – That Kind Of A Woman, this showed her first reaction.

According to the makers, they are laying out many more such campaigns and we might also see more clips from the same experiment. The campaign will only launch on the digital platform. There are separate television- specific advertisements made.

The advertisement surely leaves an impact on viewers and brings forth the thought to stay and talk or walk away? And how someone like a sex worker can be treated so differently from us? Such campaigns certainly make people to stop and think. Digital platforms have given space to brands to walk out of conventional problem solution promotions.

July 4, 2016
Publicis Media India makes key restructure and appointments

MUMBAI: Publicis Media today unveiled structure and leadership appointments for its organisation, as announced Publicis Media, India CEO Anupriya Acharya. As per the announcement,

Mallikarjun Das (Malli) has been appointed Group CEO of Starcom India. His team will include Sarfaraz Khimani, Co-CEO Performics.Convonix, Pallav Jain, Co-CEO Performics.Convonix, Basabdatta Chowdhuri who now takes on the role of national COO, Starcom India.

Furthermore, Tanmay Mohanty has been appointed as Zenith India Group CEO., with Performics.Resultrix MD Mayoori Kango in his team.

“One of the greatest strengths of our new organization in India is its team of leaders, all of which have proven track records within our system. They have been integral in accomplishing what we have in the last 2-3 years and now committed to setting strategy and charting the course for the new organization,” Acharya said.

She added, “The new structure that follows the framework of the global vision is fully equipped to fit the future and best serve our clients. It is a fresh opportunity to simplify our organisation, invent more modern approaches to gain effectiveness and efficiency, introduce structures for greater collaboration, and drive new levels of client value and delight”.

Publicis Media, India will consolidate its agency brands: Starcom Mediavest, Zenith Optimedia, Equinox, Performics, Convonix, Resultrix, Ninah, Newcast into four agency brands that are in line with the global structure, namely: Starcom , Zenith, Mediavest | Spark, Optimedia | Blue 449

In this new model, the agency network names of Starcom Mediavest Group and ZenithOptimedia Group are retired to better enable a flatter organisational structure. VivaKi capabilities will be fully integrated into Publicis Media’s Global Practice model. Performics will remain Publicis Media’s global performance marketing brand and scale within all agency brands.

Apart from the two CEO appointments for Starcom India and Zenith India, other key appointments the media agency giant announced are as follows

Dnyanada Chaudhari will lead Publicis Media Exchange

Santosh Ghosh will lead Data, Technology & Innovation

Aarti Bharadwaj will lead Analytics, Research & Insight

Gautham Pingali will lead Business Transformation and Content

Communications will be led by Anushree Chandran.

At a Publicis Media India level, Rajesh Viswanathan is appointed Chief Financial Officer, Saswati Sinha is appointed Chief Talent Officer.

Starcom Chairman Hanley King has moved on to a global role within Publicis Media, his role is taken over by Malli

Zenith Managing Director Hari Krishnan is also moving on to pursue other opportunities. Comments Anupriya, “We thank Hari for all his contributions and wish him the best. Another key appointment in Zenith, under Tanmay’s leadership will be announced in due course.”

July 1, 2016