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Category: Media and Advertising

  • Amitabh Bachchan joins campaign to give up LPG subsidy

    Amitabh Bachchan joins campaign to give up LPG subsidy

    NEW DELHI: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has joined the GiveItUp movement where he will encourage people to give up the subsidy on LPG to benefit those who cannot afford it.

    Acknowledging the gesture, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that such a noble gesture by Bachchan would surely inspire many others to join GiveItUp, a movement committed to bring smiles to millions of poor households by providing them access to clean fuel (LPG).

    As on date, he said more than three million people have surrendered their LPG subsidy in response to the appeal made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 March.

    Modi had also promised that the money saved from this effort will be utilised to provide LPG connection to poor households.

    Modi had also talked about the GiveItUp movement during his recent MannKiBaat. He had mentioned, “Lakhs of families have given up their gas subsidies. These are not rich people. This is a silent revolution.”

  • MSLGroup India names Manish Thirumulpad as head of Bengaluru ops

    MSLGroup India names Manish Thirumulpad as head of Bengaluru ops

    MUMBAI: MSLGroup India has appointed Manish Thirumulpad as vice president and head of its Bengaluru office.

     

    Thirumulpad will oversee business with immediate effect. His role includes the mandate to grow the business, internal capability enhancement and developing thought leadership.

     

    With overall experience of nearly 15 years, he has in-depth knowledge of PR, corporate advisory and media.

     

    MSLGroup India managing director Amit Mishra said, “Bengaluru being the technological, emerging business hub of the country and an important market, our focus is to strengthen group presence by offering best-in-class services. Under the leadership of Manish Thirumulpad, who in the role brings extensive experience in PR and corporate advisory, MSLGroup will be a stronger partner to our clients in Karnataka.”

     

    Thirumulpad added, “With MSLGroup striving to lead the change in the communications industry in India, I am excited about the mandate and hope to take the firm to the next level in Bengaluru and other Southern markets.”

  • Mogae Plus names Raju Sarin as head

    Mogae Plus names Raju Sarin as head

    MUMBAI: Mogae Media’s sales division Mogae Plus, which handles monetisation for FoodFood TV, Gaon Connection newspaper and Reliance Retail activations, has appointed Raju Sarin as head. 

     

    He will be based at the company’s Gurgaon HQ.

     

    Sarin said, “We are building a young and competent team at Mogae Plus to help a larger number of third party brands reach the market more effectively.”

     

    Mogae Media executive director Tanya Goyal added, “Raju is a seasoned professional. He brings both width and depth to Mogae Plus. We are constantly being approached by third party brands to lend the strength of our sales force to them. Raju is being charged to do just that.”

     

    Sarin is a media industry marketing and sales veteran with over two and a half decades of experience across product launches, revenue expansions and new business development. He has worked in companies Living Media, The India Today Group, Media Transasia, HT Media Magazine division and MTV.

     

    Additionally, Sonali Ayyer will be joining as head of West & South operations of Mogae Plus. Ayyer has more than 24 years of experience holding leadership positions in TV and print media. After a long stint at Zee TV, she represented TV Asia & Sun Network (US Beam) and Imagine Movies (UAE beam) to brands in the past.

  • Madison Media wins multiple accounts

    Madison Media wins multiple accounts

    MUMBAI: Over the last two months Madison Media has won multiple businesses, including Hamilton (comprising Milton and Treo brands); Piramal Realty as well as celebrity lifestyle company USPL (comprising Wrogn and Imara) in Mumbai.

     

    In Bangalore, the agency has won the accounts of ilovediamonds.com and Phaneesh Murthy’s healthcare portal zigy.com. The agency has also won Delhi based shoe company Aerobok with the brand Aqualite.

     

    Commenting on winning new accounts, Madison World chairman and managing director Sam Balsara said, “I am delighted that we have won so many new accounts and it is heartening to know that many of these have been won without a pitch, based on our agency credentials.”

     

    In 2015, Madison Media Group has been on an account winning spree, having won a host of new businesses including Snapdeal, Shaadi.com, Oyo Rooms, Viber, Lenskart.com, Zivame.com, Metro Cash & Carry, Gaana.com, Cricbuzz.com, Amul Hosiery, Bandhan Bank, amongst others.

     

    With gross billing of Rs 3,750 crores, Madison Media Group in India handling media planning and buying for blue chip clients including Godrej, Mondelez (formerly Cadbury), ITC, Marico, SnapDeal, McDonald’s, TVS, Raymond, Piramal Healthcare, Levis, SpiceJet, Domino’s, Bharti AXA and many others.

  • AAAI kickstarts partnership with Subhas Ghosal Foundation lecture series with Shekhar Gupta

    AAAI kickstarts partnership with Subhas Ghosal Foundation lecture series with Shekhar Gupta

    MUMBAI: The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has partnered with the Subhas Ghoshal Foundation to create the AAAI-Subhas Ghosal Memorial Lecture series.

     

    The first lecture in the series will be given by veteran journalist Shekhar Gupta of the Walk The Talk fame. Gupta will speak on ‘Changing Role of Media in Today’s India’ on 9 October at ITC Grand Central in Mumbai.

     

    On the tie up, AAAI president Dr Ambi M G Parameswaran said, “The partnership with Subhas Ghosal Foundation gives us a great platform to invite thought leaders from various domains to share their perspectives on the changing discourse on media, advertising and society. Through this effort we will also remember one of the visionaries of Indian advertising.”

     

    The AAAI-Subhas Ghosal Memorial Lecture series will see notable personalities from the field of media and advertising sharing their views on various topics of interest to the advertising, media and marketing fraternity.

  • GroupM to only work with partners using TAG anti-piracy services to stop ad fraud

    GroupM to only work with partners using TAG anti-piracy services to stop ad fraud

    MUMBAI: WPP’s GroupM will only work ad network partners who use the Trustworthy Accountability Group’s (TAG) anti-piracy guidelines. The agency has mandated that its media partners either become or use TAG-certified providers of anti-piracy services to participate in GroupM’s Trusted Marketplaces.

     

    GroupM’s media investments on behalf of clients are approximately $106 billion (RECMA 2014); the company’s action will make a significant impact on pirated content trafficking worldwide.

     

    “We’re in the business of giving the world’s most valuable brands marketing advantage with smart media strategies. This inherently means we’re vigilant for clients’ brand safety. Our work with TAG in the development and now full adoption of anti-piracy guidelines is a major leap forward. With IAB, 4As, and ANA, we’ve worked years to make the digital ecosystem more trustworthy. Fighting pirates of copyrighted content required every ounce of our tenacity and ingenuity, but with the advent of TAG’s Brand Integrity Program Against Piracy, we have powerful new tools and safeguards,” said GroupM Connect, North America chairman and TAG Anti-Piracy Working Group co-chair John Montgomery.

     

    Announced in February 2015, TAG’s anti-piracy program helps prevent ad placement on websites that facilitate distribution of pirated content and/or the illegal dissemination of counterfeit goods. Through the program, providers of anti-piracy tools and services will be validated as Digital Advertising Assurance Providers (DAAPs) by independent third-parties including Stroz Friedberg and Ernst & Young, working with TAG. To be validated, DAAP companies must show how they identify risky sites, prevent ad placement, disrupt site transactions, monitor and assess the safety of ad placements, and/or prevent payment to sites that are deemed likely to offer pirated content or counterfeit goods. The first validated DAAPs are expected to be named in Q3 2015, and GroupM will require that all of its partners receive such validation by Q1 2016.

     

    “It’s very gratifying to have the world’s largest media buyer commit to the TAG program for itself and its partners. Major marketers want to protect their brands from being placed on sites that are associated with criminal activity. TAG is building the trusted marketplace for buying and selling inventory in the digital supply chain,” said TAG CEO Mike Zaneis.

     

    A report from the Digital Citizens’ Alliance estimated that pirate content sites made more than $200 million in 2014 from advertising placed inadvertently on those sites, damaging copyright holders across music, movies, TV, books, games and more. Advertisers whose brands inadvertently appear on such sites suffer reputational harm. In addition, consumers that visit these sites are made to believe the content is legitimate due to the presence of brands they recognise and are often damaged by malware or other malicious code that infects their computers.

     

    The Brand Integrity Against Piracy Program has also been endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), CreativeFuture, and Copyright Alliance, among a number of other advertising industry groups and companies.

     

    “We applaud GroupM’s leadership and commitment to enhancing trust and transparency in the digital marketplace. As a premium content provider and a digital advertiser, NBCUniversal is committed to protecting its brand from appearing on illegitimate sites and stemming the flow of ad dollars to pirate site operators. We encourage the entire market to follow GroupM’s lead,” said NBCUniversal EVP of business operations and strategies and TAG board member Krishan Bhatia.

  • Havas Media appoints Gaurav Pandey as group director – technology

    Havas Media appoints Gaurav Pandey as group director – technology

    MUMBAI: Havas Media India has appointed Gaurav Pandey as group director – technology. He will be responsible for the company’s technology direction with focus on quality and efficiency across mobile, web and social media applications. 

     

    He will report to Havas Media India digital head Ranjoy Dey.

     

    Pandey will work closely with Mobext, India senior manager Soumitro Ganguly.

     

    Mobext is the mobile marketing arm from Havas Media Group. With India fast becoming a mobile first market, Mobext is adept at delivering marketing, technology and services, across mobile environments. Launched in 2007, Mobext was one of the first agencies to offer specialised end-to-end mobile marketing services within the global arena.

     

    Havas Media Group India CEO Anita Nayyar said, “Havas Media is gearing towards delivering the best in class marketing technology and mobile solutions to clients and brands. Gaurav with his tech-expertise will ensure great quality solutions in this domain along with Soumitro. Gaurav has the requisite experience and is an innovator. His mandate is to identify, exploit and integrate technology driven solutions and leverage our existing technology infrastructure and mobile strength across the Havas Media business units in India.”

     

    Dey added, “At Havas Media we consistently strive to execute digital media the way the consumer sees it, to deliver the most memorable experience. Gaurav has the knack of mentally approaching solutions from a brand perspective to connect with the consumer, where media and technology are an integral part of each other. His deep knowledge of both will go a long way in an environment when the businesses are becoming either Mobile Only, Mobile First, or Have to Be on Mobile.”

  • Indian thriller web-series collects Rs 9 lakh via crowd-funding

    Indian thriller web-series collects Rs 9 lakh via crowd-funding

    NEW DELHI: Indian crowd-funding thriller web series Hankaar, has successfully received Rs 9 lakh, which is more than a lakh of its initial target, with the help of 157 backers.

     

    Hankaar had set a target of Rs 8 lakh in 50 days. The series is slated for release in January next year.

     

    Set in Mumbai in the backdrop of drugs, real-estate dirty deals and prostitution, Hankaar is ‘realistic fiction’ content in the thriller and drama genre. It explores the stories of five ordinary people who go through extraordinary life changing experiences. 

     

    The cast includes Sanjay Bhatia, Rajesh Balwani, Ankur Vikal, Ram Menon, Sharda Nand Singh, Priyadarshi P and Yogini Chowk.

     

    The makers say they chose the Internet and not TV channels as these do not look beyond saas-bahu sagas. The content and theme of the series is realistic but not accepted as content to be viewed on mainstream television.

     

    Hankaar went live on Wishberry.in a month ago and surpassed their funding goal with the help of 157 backers who will now be named as co-producers and will also have the chance to give their inputs in the making of the series.

     

    Hankaar director and producer Ravi Iyer said, “We are overwhelmed by the support we got and hope to entertain the audience. We plan to make not one but three seasons of Hankaar.”

     

    With the average Indian spending more than eight hours on the internet and the majority of TV content being aimed at women over 35 years, Iyer felt the time was right to launch the first ever tech thriller web series.

     

    Writer Yogi Chopra said, “As producers we realise that Indian television is not ready for this kind of content. But we are keen to create not just one, but at least three seasons of this series. It is certain that the audience for this type of content is there, but because it is deemed non-commercial, it is difficult to find required funding.”