ITV

Category: MAM

  • Hip Brands bags global licensing rights to Psyclops

    Hip Brands bags global licensing rights to Psyclops

    MUMBAI: Hip Brands, the third party licensing banner within The Jim Henson Company, has acquired global licensing rights (excluding the Philippines) to Psyclops.

    This is a multiplatform product and online experience for tweens, teens and youngadults, featuring one-eyed characters that embrace the world of music, art, dance, and technology.

    The agreement was announced by The Jim Henson Company senior VP of global consumer products Melissa Segal at. Psyclops was first introduced in 2009 in the form of a mobile application that allows consumers to create unique animations and music videos synced to their iPods.

    Since then Psyclops creators, product developer Joy Kovaleski and creative director Jeff Muncy quickly leveraged the popularity of the app, introducing unique iPod and iPhone covers featuring the Psyclops characters, and a fully interactive web-based music and dance community.

    Marketing and publicity support for the brand has included celebrity seeding at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards and a presence at the MacWorld show. Upcoming support includes a presence at Comic-Con in July.

    New video shorts are being produced for the web and an active social media network campaign is in development. Under its global licensing contract, HIP Brands will seek to develop an extensive range of PSYCLOPS branded consumer products in key categories such as toys, designer plush,apparel, home furnishings, stationery, gifts, social expression, personal care, publishing, food and electronics.

    Segal said, “In the two years since the creators first introduced Psyclops, teens and tweens have been engaging with these colorful, graphically appealing, one-eyed characters online, and as aunique and distinctive means for personalizing their iPods and iPhones. Psyclops is a fresh, iconic, interactive and immersive pop culture brand, and offers incredible opportunities to tap into the growing youth consumer base on a variety of levels.”

    Psyclops creative director Jeff Muncy said, “We‘re so happy to be working with Hip. Having worked with the Henson team on other projects, I know first-hand of their ability to deliver a fully developed global licensing programme for Psyclops and we‘re just eager to get started.”
     

  • Tendulkar plays photographer for Canon’s new ad

    Tendulkar plays photographer for Canon’s new ad

    MUMBAI: Percept/H, New Delhi‘s new television commercial for Canon IXUS HS features Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as an avid photographer capturing the beauty of India‘s nights across the forts of Jodhpur to the peaks of Ladakh, all under low light and that without flash.
     
    The 30-second TVC titled “India‘s Nights Made Beautiful” is currently on air in the DLF IPL matches.

    With this TVC, Canon attempts to position its Canon IXUS HS as an ideal camera to shoot at night without using flash, without your pictures getting blurred and with utmost ease.

    Canon India SVP Alok Bhardwaj said, “Low light photography has always been a challenging task for people. No wonder, the High Sensitivity technology in the IXUS HS cameras is a sure shot winner. The idea of “India‘s Nights made Beautiful” has a very strong emotional connect as memories stay with you forever and one never wants their priceless memories to come out hazy or blurred. Sachin‘s integration into the idea has been phenomenal, justifying his presence in a completely new avatar.”
     
    The film has been shot by Adarsh Gupta of Nirvana Films, across terrains of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Haridwar and Ladakh.

    Percept/H Delhi associate creative director Gaurav Bahl said, “The idea to capture India‘s beautiful nights came from a very strong insight that all of us have somewhere faced in real lives while capturing images in low light from our ordinary cameras. I am sure the TVC will strike a perfect chord with the audience.” 
     
    Tendulkar quipped, “Well, the idea is incredible as anyone who gets a chance to capture India‘s beautiful nights under low light with the new Canon IXUS, will be overwhelmed.”
     

  • McCann’s TAG Ideation bags F1 racing arena’s branding biz

    MUMBAI: McCann Worldgroup’s creative agency TAG Ideation has won the branding duties of India‘s first F1 racing arena, introduced by Jaypee Group.


    The account size is pegged at Rs 250-300 million.
     
    The agency has also revealed the logo and the branding package designed for Jaypee Sports International’s (JPSI) 5.14 km long Buddh International Race Circuit.


    MWG  TAG VP and GM Himanshu Saxena said that though racing is about passion, speed and excitement, the agency hasn’t ignored the local sensibilities in branding solutions. He said that the tri-coloured heart shaped pneumonic attempts to amplify the ‘B‘, which not just stands for the name of the circuit but also ‘Bharat‘.
     
    JPSI chairman Manoj Gaur added, “This is a unique and prestigious product, which strengthens India‘s ever growing global stature. And hence we were very clear that we needed a partner who will not just bring a world-class branding solution on the table but also build brand India with it. As soon as we saw the branding solution developed by our agency MWG TAG, we knew that we had the perfect answer.”
     
    It may be noted that this track will host the inaugural Indian Grand Prix later this year.

  • TBWA hires Manosh Mukherjee as COO & CFO for India

    TBWA hires Manosh Mukherjee as COO & CFO for India

    MUMBAI: TBWA India has appointed Manosh Mukherjee as its chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

    Mukherjee moves in after an 11-year stint at Bates141. He will take over the reins from Niraj Dadoo, who is moving out of the agency after a two-year stint.

    “TBWA is clearly poised to scale to greater heights and I am excited and happy to be a part of the agency’s ‘Disruption’ mantra,” said Mukherjee.

    Mukherjee will work with TBWA India’s CEO Shiv Sethuraman in growing Omnicom’s business at TBWA India.
     

  • Subramanian is OTS Advertising VP

    Subramanian is OTS Advertising VP

    MUMBAI: P Subramanian has joined OTS Advertising as VP strategy and planning. 
     
    Subramanian moves in from O&M Chennai, where he was head of client servicing.

    Subramanian will be based in Hyderabad and report to OTS Advertising MD Venkat Jagdish. At OTS, he will be handling clients such as Lanco Group, GVK Group and Sujana Group. 
     
    This was Subramanian’s second tenure with O&M. Earlier, he had joined the agency as director of client servicing Hyderabad in 2002, before moving to Interface Communications Chennai as the branch manager in May 2006. 
     
    In 2009, Subramanian moved back to O&M Chennai as head of client servicing.

    In a career of nearly two decades, Subramanian has also worked with agencies such as TBWA and Lintas and handled various brands including Margo from Henkel, Club Mahindra, Business Line, TAFE tractors, Apple, Reynolds and Arun Ice Creams.
     

  • Reliance Broadcast ups Bhardwaj to National sales head

    Reliance Broadcast ups Bhardwaj to National sales head

    MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL) has elevated Siddharth Bhardwaj as its National Sales Head.

    As part of his new portfolio, Bhardwaj will be responsible for sales and revenue generation for the company’s 45 station radio network 92.7 Big FM and the recently launched regional television channel, Big Magic.

    Given the synergies between both businesses, he will lead the teams to market both these complementary businesses. In his position, as National Sales Head Bhardwaj will report to 92.7 Big FM Business Head Soumen Ghosh Choudhury.

    Speaking about the appointment of Siddharth Bhardwaj as National Sales Head, Big FM and Big Magic, Soumen Ghosh Choudhury, Business Head, 92.7 Big FM said, “Siddharth understands the nuances of the radio business and has already added great value to 92.7 Big FM North stations. I am extremely confident that Siddharth will add tremendous value in the national role for BIG FM and BIG Magic. His keen understanding of media sales combined with his persistence as a sales professional and team work are strong attributes that drive his success.”

    Bhardwaj has been with the Company for the last three and half years and has ably spearheaded the North operations of 92.7 Big FM as its vice president. Under his leadership, Big FM North saw a significant year-on-year growth in its revenues.

    Commenting on his appointment Bhardwaj said, “RBNL is an extremely dynamic and growth focused organization with constantly evolving opportunities. I look forward to this new responsibility and hope my knowledge and experience in the entertainment industry, will allow me to work with the very capable sales team to be able to deliver greater growth for the organization. ”

    Bhardwaj has a rich experience in varied sectors spanning 16 years. He started his career with Exide Industries Ltd. and later on moved to Elf Lubricant India Limited. He then joined Punjab circle of Bharti Airtel Limited and looked after its SME Business.

  • Marico’s ad spend drops marginally in FY’11

    Marico’s ad spend drops marginally in FY’11

    MUMBAI: FMCG major Marico has cut down its advertising spend marginally in the fiscal 2010-11 compared to the year- ago period.

    The company, which manufactures hair-oil brand Parachute, spent Rs 3.46 billion towards advertising and sales promotion in the year ended 31 March 2011.

    In the previous fiscal, Marico had an ad spend of Rs 3.51 billion.

    Marico‘s turnover rose 17 per cent, including a one-time amount of Rs 500 million it received from Cargill India for sale of edible oil brand Sweekar.

    The company posted a consolidated revenue of Rs 31.28 billion, up from Rs 26.61 billion a year ago.

    Marico cut down its ad spend by 25 per cent in the fiscal fourth-quarter, which had an overall impact in the year. The company spent just Rs 671.93 million on advertising during the three-month period ended 31 March 2011, down from Rs 892.39 million in the same period of the earlier year.

    Marico posted a 24.09 per cent jump in its revenue for the fourth quarter. Net sales during the quarter under review was Rs 7.47 billion, up from Rs 6.02 billion a year ago.

     

  • Interest in royal wedding stays high

    Interest in royal wedding stays high

    MUMBAI: The royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge, may be one of the most awaited events of the year, but couldn‘t quite beat the charm of Diana getting married to Prince Charles in 1981. 
     
    The event was watched by nearly 27 million viewers in Britain, which is way short of 28 million viewers that tuned in to see the Prince Williams‘ parents getting married.

    In the UK, BBC was the overall winner with 20 million viewers, followed by ITV with 6 million, and Sky News at 661,000. 
     
    The numbers are substantial, and just marginally ahead of Only Fools Christmas special from 1996, which raked up 24.4 million.

    Meanwhile, an average of 22.8 million total viewers in the US tuned in to the nuptials from Westminster Abbey in London, according to Nielsen. The event was carried by eleven stateside networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, BBC America, CNN, E!, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and TLC.
     
    This number is way behind the viewership of February‘s Super Bowl, a record total of 111 million.

    The tame numbers were a surprise given the predictions from some newspapers in the UK of a rating blowout. Some reports had even claimed a worldwide viewing of 3 billion — a target that would now appear outlandish.
     

  • GroupM hires Karthik Nagarajan as national director – social media

    GroupM hires Karthik Nagarajan as national director – social media

    MUMBAI: The media planning and buying agency of the WPP group, GroupM, has appointed Karthik Nagarajan as its national director — social media.

    Nagarajan will be part of Interaction Leadership Team and will report GroupM MD South Asia Tushar Vyas. 
     
    In his career spanning over 10 years in the industry, Nagarajan has worked for over two-and-a-half years as the director of Nielsen‘s online division in India, which he helped set up.

    In his role, he led Nielsen‘s audience measurement, social media and advertiser solution initiatives in the digital space. Nagarajan also managed the launch of the Nielsen Mckinsey JV – NM Incite in India.
     
    Nagarajan joined Nielsen from Shipcom Wireless, a technology company based out of Houston, Texas, where he served as Director of Marketing.

    Nagarajan has also managed a global research and consulting practice for Frost & Sullivan in the United States, in the areas of biometrics, smart cards and RFID for over four years.
     
    Vyas says, “Karthik will be responsible for strengthening the social media practices across all agencies of GroupM. His presence will help us beef up our efforts of understanding the behaviour of digital consumers and meaningful use of such learning in social environment.”

    Digital arms of GroupM include Mindshare Interaction, Motivator, Maxus Interaction, MEC Interaction, Quasar BMS (Brand and Media Solutions) and Blazar.a
     

  • i-mint appoints three new marketing agencies

    i-mint appoints three new marketing agencies

    MUMBAI: Coalition loyalty programme, i-mint Loyalty Solutions and Research, has signed three new marketing and advertising agencies to assist the company in brand development, marketing strategies, promotional planning and execution of marketing campaigns. 
     
    The Mudra Group has been appointed to drive i-mint‘s ATL (above the line) advertisements, while Rediffusion-Wunderman has been appointed for i-mint‘s BTL (below the line) advertisement push and will provide total integrated marketing solutions in India and Asia Pacific regions.
     
    Dentsu has been appointed as i-mint‘s media agency.

    These agencies will together develop creative solutions for i-mint by leveraging the full spectrum of their marketing and advertising capabilities.
     
    i-mint MD and CEO Vijay Bobba says, “We are very excited to be working with Mudra, Wunderman and Dentsu. This association represents a positive step for the company towards increasing its brand awareness amongst its audience. Their leadership in specific domains will be a tremendous asset to us to engage our customers better.”