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Category: MAM

  • RK Swamy BBDO creates ‘RuPay’ for National Payments Corporation

    RK Swamy BBDO creates ‘RuPay’ for National Payments Corporation

    MUMBAI: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), charged with the mandate to create a new Indian payment system, has chosen R K Swamy BBDO to develop the new name and logo – RuPay.

    The mandate was awarded to the agency, a part of R K Swamy Hansa, a marketing communications and services group, following a multi-agency pitch. 
     
    RuPay  is derived from the words rupee and payment to suggest an Indian, inclusive and affordable alternative to global payment systems like Visa and MasterCard.

    R K Swamy BBDO senior partner S Narasimhan said, “We are privileged to be associated with an initiative of such national importance. RuPay will go a long way in changing the way India pays.”
     
    The logo uses the nation‘s colours in a dynamic form to connote an India on the move and the brand’s commitment to deliver an affordable and easily accessible payment service.
     
    Inspired by the Indian ‘Rupaya’, RuPay seeks to be the new currency to what India is today — an emerging global economic powerhouse. It‘s an attempt to help bring the multiple benefits of electronic payments to the masses.
     
     

  • Runwal Group unveils brand identity

     MUMBAI: Real estate company, Runwal Group, has unveiled a new logo and philosophy for the brand to strengthen its relationship with customers.


    The new look will flow across products, packaging, signage and all communication. As a part of Runwal’s promotion strategy, it plans to roll out a campaign across the media spectrum — both ATL (above-the-line) and BTL (below-the-line) activities.
     


     


    ATL activities will include print media with all major dailies, magazines, business, trade and general interest media. Providing additional support would be the outdoor campaign. The BTL activities will consist of road shows along with other interesting initiatives to promote the new brand identity.


    Marketing director Vikas Aroraa said the new logo and philosophy stems from customer-centricity.


    The group that has the one of the largest retail chains in Mumbai has attempted to keep the logo easily recognisable and demonstrate theRunwal’s three values: trust, transparency and simplicity.


    In the new logo, the “R” alphabet stands for the Runwal Group, while the ornate look is to symbolise the group’s focus on appeal in design and architecture, since the key businesses is real estate.
     
    The golden colour is to symbolise prosperity – for the group’s customers, partners and employees. The flow and big ‘R’ of the font showcases the more dynamic and forthcoming role of the brand. It aims to convey modernity and the brand’s innate sense of style. It creates an additional layer of brand recognition and recall and will be used across all brand applications.


    “The new positioning is ‘With You, Always…’ , with the three dots signifying a relationship that continues on and does not end in a full stop”, Aroraa said.
     
    Aroraa emphasised that the new look will reinforce the trust and equity in consumer’s minds and reaffirm the credibility of the brand.
     
     

  • ‘India’s diversity makes distribution a big challenge’ : Brandscapes CMD Pranesh Misra

    ‘India’s diversity makes distribution a big challenge’ : Brandscapes CMD Pranesh Misra

    In a rapidly changing business environment where brands need to be constantly rejuvenated, it is not only important to analyse but also interpret data from a marketing agenda perspective.

     

    The most significant change that has happened in India is the growth of the services over the consumer products sector. Mobile is also emerging as a strong personal medium, which marketers and advertisers have not fully exploited yet.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto, Brandscapes Worldwide chairman & managing director Pranesh Misra talks about how there is need for a marketing data centric company to build profitable growth strategies.

     

    Excerpts:

    When you started Brandscapes Worldwide in 2008, what was the aim?
    The vision was to be a marketing data centric company. Our difference would be to not only analyse but also interpret data from a marketing agenda perspective.

    What progress has been made so far?
    We have got success with global clients. We work with clients across different markets like Carlsberg, Citibank and Coca-Cola. They employ us in different geographies across the world. We work with their issues in over 40 markets and we do projects there. In India, we get clients who are not only interested in the analytics part of it but also want us to advise in the marketing and brand strategy.

    How are you addressing this need?
    We have announced five different practices that we will focus our attention on. These are market research, data mining, marketing science, involving advanced statistics modelling to project the future. The fourth practice is dashboards which is putting all the information together in an easy-to-digest manner. The fifth strategy is the strategy planning dimension.

    What are the challenges that you face?
    The primary challenge is that when you start with data analytics, there is not enough good quality data available. In international markets it is easily available as people have invested a lot of money behind it. We have worked with clients in the SME sector here who have not done any research. This is where we felt that doing customised research for these clients would be useful. We set up our own discipline in the area of research.

     

    The second challenge is finding the right caliber of people. This is a people driven business. It is about understand marketing and how data can be applied to it. I have been able to put together a solid team of 10 leadership team members. Each member has 20-30 years of experience in fields like research, marketing, media strategy, sales and distribution. It is this eclectic mix of talent that I have gotten together. These are the leaders who recruit the next generation of talent and create an organisation.

    What is the advantage you offer to clients vis-a-vis competitive services?
    We are trying to create a new area. I don’t think that marketing consulting is being offered the way that we offer it. Many companies offer brand consulting which is more into the brand strategy area. Then there are large companies like McKinsey and PriceWaterHouse Coopers who are management consultants and who also do marketing consulting. Our focus is on marketing and we have people with experience in this domain. We have holistic knowledge of all areas and so play in market research, data mining.

     

    We are trying to carve out a niche for ourselves between the bigger consulting houses and narrow focussed marketing consulting players. We give holistic solutions around marketing problems. We are not general consultants nor are we very specific. We are not just analytics focussed or market research focussed.
    “The biggest mistake that has riddled many big companies is that their
    thinking moves slower than the consumers”

    Could you give me some examples where clients have benefited?
    As a consultant I cannot give specific examples; I can give broad ideas. There was a global FMCG client looking at a particular category. They wanted to do 20/20 planning on this category. This involved looking at 60 countries, collecting data of different natures like demographics, category penetration, competitive strength and weakness data and category development index data. Then we created a model around which data could be simplified and synthesised. On this basis we created clusters of countries. Then we did deep dive analysis in these clusters to see a common link. This was a macro level solution.

     

    On a micro level there was an FMCG whose brand was not doing well. We got access to retail data. We had to find an insight to take the brand further. One big pack size was not doing well while the others were growing. This size accounted for 25 -30 per cent of sales and was declining. This was the first clue and we dug deeper. Competition was coming with a slightly smaller pack size at a much cheaper price while this company had pushed the price up. We did price sensitivity testing which led to the right price point being found.

     

    A Marketing Dashboard was developed for a shopping mall. This helps it keep track of Key Performance Indicators relating to its tenants – and take strategic and tactical action on an ongoing basis. Strategy Maps were used to guide a global NGO on how to change its branding approach for better success in some countries.

    How have you grown over the past couple of years?
    We started with 15 people. Now we have around 85 people. We have grown at an average of 45 per cent in terms of revenues. The client roster has grown from three cornerstone clients to around 12.

    Which sector is the most challenging to deal with?
    No sector is particularly more challenging than another. It comes down to your domain knowledge. Since we have domain knowledge on consumer goods and services, banking and financial, retail and in healthcare, we are focusing in these segments. We have knowledge there. If you tell us to look at an industrial sector, it would be a challenge,. We don’t understand the topography of that sector.

    What mistakes do companies make when they go about their marketing?
    The biggest mistake I would say that has riddled many big companies is that their thinking moves slower than the consumers. Consumers move ahead very fast in terms of their attitudes. Companies sometimes focus on the unchanging consumer and lose ground. You fail to move with the consumer in this scenario. Information availability is so much that consumers accept new information very quickly. This is a big challenge.

    What other obstacles do companies face?
    In a country like India, sales and distribution is a challenge, especially for new companies. How do you reach out to big markets? When multinationals come in, the challenge is about pricing. They believe that the same prices that are in the developed markets should work here. They get a shock when nobody picks up their product. This is a pitfall that you have to work around.

    Which categories will spend the most on advertising and marketing this year?
    It would be the service sector. Telecom will be one of the biggest drivers in terms of mobile telephony, followed by consumer durables and financial products.
     

    During the downturn did the spends of clients on research get affected?
    We didn’t feel the pinch as we are still a young organisation. But I know that a downturn does not mean that research spending will fall. In fact research happens more as people want to be more careful about spending more ad money and marketing money. Research takes place more in downturns.
    How is India different as a market from other countries?
    In India, distribution is a big challenge. There is a lot of diversity compared to a country like the UK which is fairly homogeneous. It is not about where do you enter in India but about how do you get going. India’s complexity is a challenge in terms of distribution, pricing, target segmentation. You have to be careful in terms of deciding which markets do you go to and which audience do you address.

    You have a JV with Design Bridge. How has this worked for you?
    It has worked out well. We have worked for several clients together. They bring the actual design part of it. We don’t have any creative resource here. So what we do is the first part that is strategy planning. Then you have to create a look and feel, logo design for a product. They do that creative part of it.

     

    In the healthcare category we have a JV with Healthy Marketing Team. They are focussed on helping clients quickly zoom into the brand positioning strategy in the healthcare segment. We partnered with them, have trained our people on their system and have brought that to
    our clients here.
    What marketing strategies work well for alcohol companies in India, given that direct advertising on television and print is not allowed?
    Associating with a sporting event like Golf works. Spirit brands want to have a lifestyle association; they want to project a certain lifestyle and be in a premium space. Alcohol companies also take space in retail outlets. Besides, a lot of attention is spent on packaging of the product, which works towards effective brand building.
    In the financial and insurance sector a lot of companies follow a guilty tag to get parents to buy products. Is that a wrong way to go about selling products like insurance?
    It depends on the situation. Too much of guilt can be counter productive. In some situations, guilt might work. But from my perspective, a positive outlook is better than guilt. Consumers after a while do not want to receive too many negative messages.
    Which marketing avenue is most effective in terms of ROI – print, television, radio, online?
    It differs from category to category and brand to brand. This is what our marketing modeling mix practice estimates. We are able to pinpoint for a market which element gives higher ROIs.
    Is new media becoming more important?
    Yes! It is credible as a medium as people share their opinions and experiences here. It is becoming a credible source of information. A lot of companies, especially international, go to new media first to get answers about consumers.

    But are companies tapping into this medium properly in India?
    It is still a new medium here. Some companies are doing it well while others are experimenting. Mobile is about SMS at the moment. I think that as rich media comes in through 3G, marketers will use it a lot more.

     

    As far as online is oncerned, Indian consumers are already using that medium in categories like hotels and airlines. They want to find out what others feel about a particular brand. This is an area where a dramatic change will happen in the next three to four years. Companies have to understand that the Internet will play a critical step in the decision making process. Companies will need to have a larger presence online.

     

    They can be a part of the online conversation, at least in terms of keeping track of what consumers are saying, and then take corrective action if there is negative feedback. They can also find out what consumers feel works for the brand and why they choose it over competition.
    When you look at the marketing and advertising scenario what are the two biggest changes that have happened over the past five years?
    The growth of the services over the consumer products sector is a big change that has happened in India. Also, the emergence of mobile as a personal medium is a change. This has not been totally exploited by marketers and advertisers, but I think that this is a life changer today. Younger consumers have evolved.
  • HUL’s ad spend up 15.7% to Rs 28.3 bn in FY’11

    HUL’s ad spend up 15.7% to Rs 28.3 bn in FY’11

    MUMBAI: For broadcasters who are clamouring for increase in advertising rates, there is a piece of good news.

    Hindustan Unilever, the largest ad spender in the country, has upped its spending on a consolidated basis for the fiscal ended 31 March 2011, more than offsetting Marico‘s marginal drop.

    India‘s largest household products and consumer goods maker has increased its spend on advertising and promotions by 15.68 per cent to Rs 28.33 billion during the fiscal, up from Rs 24.49 billion in the year-ago period.

    Ad spending on a standalone basis also rose 15.59 per cent to Rs 27.64 billion for the fiscal, from Rs 23.91 billion.

    However, HUL has cut down its standalone ad spend for the fourth quarter, albeit marginally. The company, which owns brands such as Dove soap, Clinic shampoo and Closeup toothpaste, spent Rs 6.23 billion towards advertising and sales promotion, down from Rs 6.26 billion a year ago.

    For the quarter, HUL increased brand investment in the personal products and food segment.

    “A&P spends, at Rs.6.23 billion, remained competitive at 12.7 per cent of sales, with increased brand investment in personal products and foods,” the company said in a statement.

    The company said net profit in the fourth quarter ended March fell to Rs 5.69 billion, from Rs 5.81 billion a year ago.

    The company‘s cost of goods sold went up by 290 basis points in the quarter.

    Marico had earlier announced a marginal drop in its ad spend for the fiscal. The company, which manufactures hair-oil brand Parachute, had spent Rs 3.46 billion towards advertising and sales promotion for the year ended 31 March 2011. In the previous fiscal, Marico had an ad spend of Rs 3.51 billion.

  • P9 helps Tata Photon associate with Fast and Furious 5

    MUMBAI: P9 Integrated, the 360 degree entertainment marketing company of Percept Ltd, has created co-branded association for Tata Photon with Fast and Furious 5, the latest film of The Fast and the Furious film franchise.


    In this alliance, P9 Integrated has worked on the concept of “getting more time through more speed”. With Tata Photon‘s tagline ‘Get Speed Get time‘, P9 Integrated made the commercials keeping speed in mind as it is also integral with the theme of Fast and Furious 5.
     
    Speaking on the association, P9 Integrated COO Pritie Jadhav said, “P9‘s endeavour has always been to create a perfect marriage for the brands and the movies they are associating with. The idea of making any co-branded association successful is to make sure it is not just beneficial to the brand but also to the movie during promotions.”


    P9 Integrated has created three commercials of 30 seconds, 15 seconds and 10 seconds each for the association. The whole visual was created using shots from the movies, animations and product shots. Along with these shots of character from the film, speeding moments and racing cars were also used.
     
    Said Paramount Pictures, Head of Marketing Jacinto Fernandes, “We are happy to partner with Tata Photon for Fast & Furious 5. The film itself is a big franchisee and it‘s a win-win situation for both. The film is already a big hit worldwide and we are expecting that the film will be the biggest blockbuster movie in India this summer.”
     
    P9 also worked on the association of Fast & Furious 4 with Bajaj Pulsar and Force India F1.

  • Disney India appoints Avinash Pant as executive director – marketing

    Disney India appoints Avinash Pant as executive director – marketing

    MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company (India) has appointed Avinash Pant as executive director, marketing.

    Pant will report in to Walt Disney Company (India) MD Mahesh Samat.

    In his new role, Pant will be responsible for building the Disney brand by driving the company’s marketing strategy, coordinating all Disney business marketing efforts and providing leadership in developing key global and local franchises in India.

    He will also oversee corporate communications as well as the creative design cell and live events functions. 
     
    Pant moves in from Coca-Cola where he spent 14 years working across various functions and gained tremendous experience in marketing and in building brands. He also has experience in strategic marketing, category and brand management, innovation, media planning and buying, consumer activation and sales.
     
    Samat said, “We are focused on building a family entertainment brand in India. Avinash will be charged with creating and maximizing opportunities for families to enjoy and connect with Disney’s creativity and content.”

    “India is one of the most exciting and rapidly changing markets in the world. This role represents an exciting opportunity to increase Disney’s brand presence here and connect with our consumers in a deeper, richer and more relevant way,” Pant added.

  • Leo Burnett ropes in Rajesh Mani as ECD — Mumbai

    Leo Burnett ropes in Rajesh Mani as ECD — Mumbai

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett has roped in Rajesh Mani as executive creative director at its Mumbai office.

    Mani moves in from Ogilvy and has 12 years of experience.

    At Leo Burnett, Mani will be working on various brands such as Bajaj Electricals, Tata Capital, Tashi, HPCL and Vedanta.

    Says Leo Burnett NCD KV Sridhar, “Being a Humankind Agency we are always eager to work with creatives who have human stories to tell in simple ways. Mani is completely that kind of person and it will be a pleasure to work alongside him on some of our key clients.”

    Besides his five-year stint at Ogilvy, Mani has also worked at Temple Advertising in Bangalore and Triton Communications in Mumbai.

    Mani added, “At Ogilvy I worked on one of the best brands in the country — Vodafone. Now it was time to seek new challenges and expand my horizons. Pops gave me an opportunity to do just that. I am happy and excited to come on board.”

    Mani’s most recent was being the BlackBerry Boys campaign, which he co-created with Rajiv Rao and wrote that hugely popular song ‘Blackberry boys’.

    Moreover, Mani was also part of the core team that launched zoozoos. His other internationally acclaimed work was for the global launch of Lenovo X300 laptops with a film that was showcased during the Beijing olympics titled ‘the flying sumos‘.
     

  • Jishnu Sen promoted as Grey Group India president & CEO

    Jishnu Sen promoted as Grey Group India president & CEO

    MUMBAI:Jishnu Sen has been promoted as the president and CEO of Grey Group India.

    In his new role, Sen will continue to report to Grey Group Asia Pacific chairman and CEO Nirvik Singh.
     
    Sen joined Grey India four years ago as the head of its Mumbai office. Under his stewardship, Grey Mumbai grew significantly to establish itself as the flagship office in India.

    In 2009, Sen was appointed COO of the entire Grey India operation. 
     
    According  to Singh, “Jishnu is an exceptional leader. With his forward thinking, sharp mind and deep passion for the industry, I am confident he will continue to strengthen Grey Group India’s position in the marketplace. With this team, Jishnu has already built a terrific new business track record which includes wins such as Reliance Communications, Ferrero, Honda and Fox International Channels, to name a few.”

    Over the last year, Sen has made a number of key appointments to raise the leadership, creative and strategic planning mettle of Grey India. With his support, Grey Digital India also won the Digital Agency of the Year at the first ever Indian Digital Media Awards. 
     
    Sen said, “I am excited by the possibilities that lie ahead for Grey Group India. The agency has earned a solid reputation particularly in recent times, and I stay committed to the company’s vision of delivering truly famous and effective work for our clients. I firmly believe that with Grey Group India’s formidable talent and integrated communications offering, we are well poised to continue to deliver superior results which our clients need to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive environment.”

    Prior to joining Grey Group India, Sen held various positions with JWT and Y&R across India, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States. His diverse portfolio includes brands such as Colgate, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, ITC, GlaxoSmithKline, ESPN, STAR Sports and the Indian Army.

    Grey Group offers a total communications approach in India through Grey (advertising), Grey Digital, Grey Public Relations and G2rams (activation).

    The agency has clients such as Reliance Communications, Honda, Volkswagen, Adani, Bharti AXA, Britannia, Deutsche Bank, Ferrero, Godrej Sara Lee and GlaxoSmithKline.
     

  • Mudra West wins BBC Top Gear account

    Mudra West wins BBC Top Gear account

    MUMBAI:Mudra West has won the creative duties of Worldwide Media‘s (WWM) BBC Top Gear magazine.

    This will be Mudra‘s fourth win of a brand from the stable Worldwide Media (WWM), a joint venture between The Times of India Group and BBC Magazines UK. In 2009, Mudra West had bagged the accounts of Lonely Planet, Filmfare and Femina.

    For the motoring media brand‘s account, there was no incumbent agency and neither any pitch involved. 
     
    Lonely Planet magazine and BBC Top Gear publisher Debolin Sen says, “We are pleased to have Mudra West on board as our very able creative partners. They are a young, bright, dynamic and a committed team. I look forward to their continuous contribution to the brand in 2011, in what will be the year of BBC Top Gear in India.”
     
    Mudra West president Arijit Ray adds, “We work very closely with the worldwide media team on Lonely Planet, Filmfare and Femina. It is our pleasure to have got the opportunity to contribute towards charting the journey of an iconic motoring media brand like BBC Top Gear in India. We look forward to working closely with the brand team to create a distinctive imagery for the magazine, amongst car lovers and auto enthusiasts.”
     
    Owned by BBC Worldwide, Top Gear started as a television show in the UK in 1977. In 1993, the brand was extended to the new BBC Top Gear Magazine launched in the UK and currently is published in various international markets.
     

  • RBNL announces senior appointments in sales team

    RBNL announces senior appointments in sales team

    MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network (RBNL) has announced key appointments in its sales team.

    The company has appointed Gargi Kaul as national sales head, television and Soumen Datta is elevated as regional sales head, west for television, reporting into Kaul.

    Additionally, Jayant Bhokare has been appointed as Big Connect, south regional head.

    In their new roles, Bhokare will work closely with Praveen Malhotra on the sales mandate. Kaul will work with the newly appointed business head for the television business, Nikhil Mirchandani, and Praveen Malhotra.

    RBNL EVP- Sales Praveen Malhotra said, “These appointments have been done keeping in mind the aggressive growth of Reliance Broadcast Network businesses. This is a fresh, well experienced and able team and we are confident that they, together with the teams will create unprecedented value for clients and shareholders alike.”

    “The closure of these critical senior sales positions aligns the team to leap to the next growth level,” RBNL said in a statement.

    Kaul has over 18 years of experience in television sales. She has worked with TV Today, Sony Entertainment, ESPN Star Sports, Ten Sports and Dubai Sports City.

    Prior to joining RBNL, she handled key IPL projects with Pioneer Digadsys Services as the head of sponsorship sales and chief of operations.

    Kaul said, “Am happy to join Reliance Broadcast. The right approach and attitude is the key to success at all times and I would look at re-enforcing the same as I am inducted in this fast growing multimedia organisation.”

    Meanwhile, Datta has worked with companies including Konica Minolta, De Beers, Ogilvy, and Times of India over the last 11 years. In his new profile, he will be looking after the sales in the west region for the television businesses. Before taking on this new mantle, he was working as a key member of the Big Live team.

    Datta said, “It’s a great to get an opportunity to expand my horizon within this dynamic organisation. I look forward to continue adding value to the business.”

    For Bhokare, it is second inning at RBNL. Earlier he played an integral part in the initial setting up of the Big Street business. In his current role, he will be heading the revenue function for all verticals of Reliance Broadcast Network for the entire southern region. His last assignment was with Explocity where he was the business head.

    With 18 years of experience, Bhokare worked with leading media houses ranging Times of India, Star TV, Radio City, Jupiter Entertainment Ventures and Decathlon in various capacities. Bhokare said, “I am happy to return to RBNL. This is an excellent opportunity and I look forward to a great stint.”