ITV

Category: MAM

  • TBU appoints Ashutosh Karkhanis as creative director

    TBU appoints Ashutosh Karkhanis as creative director

    MUMBAI: Brand consultancy, The Brand Union (TBU), has appointed Ashutosh Karkhanis as creative director.

    Karkhanis moves in from Rediffusion-Y&R’s digital and design arm Rediffusion WHO!, from where he resigned last month as national creative director, design and digital.

    In 2006, WPP acquired a majority stake in Ray+Keshavan (R+K), India‘s first graphic design consultancy. Consequently, the Bangalore-based firm became a part of WPP’s design conglomerate and brand consulting firm, TBU.

    In his new role at TBU, Karkhanis will report to MD and executive creative director Sujata Keshavan.

    Karkhanis’ 18-year career began with Lintas Bangalore as trainee visualiser. After four years, he moved to Enterprise Mumbai and a year later joined Euro RCSG as senior art director. Two years later, Karkhanis joined JWT‘s Kenya outfit, Thompson Kenya.

    After spending less than a year in Nairobi, Karkhanis moved back to Mumbai and started working with Ambience as associate creative director, before moving to Grey a year later and working there for two-and-a-half-years.

    Karkhanis also worked at Quadrant Communications and Contract Advertising before joining Rediffusion as creative head in 2007.
     

  • McCann wins GM account

    McCann wins GM account

    MUMBAI: McCann Erickson has won the corporate and digital creative business for all of General Motors‘ brands in India.

    Talking to Indiantelevision.com, General Motors India vice-president P Balendran said, “McCann will handle the creative and digital duties of all our brands in India. They will have a dedicated team working on our brands and the work has already started.”

    Balendran, however, refused to comment on whether the account size amounted to Rs 1.5 billion.

    The pitch process that went on for 2-3 months also involved Leo Burnett and Contract Advertising.

    For the first time, General Motors India has decided to award the creative duties of all its brands to a single agency. Until now, the company had two agencies on its roster – Leo Burnett and Wieden+Kennedy.

    Henceforth, McCann will now work on the creative business of GM‘s existing brands as well as on the forthcoming launches.

    McCann had previously worked on Chevrolet nearly half a decade ago and is one of other global agencies that handle the brand.

    The relationship between McCann and GM has been a very flirtatious one.

    It all began in 2005, when McCann won the creative duties of GM’s car lines including Chevrolet Optra and new car launches — along with Rediffusion Y&R that took over Tavera and Chevrolet corporate business. Enterprise Nexus was the incumbent agency for Chevrolet Optra.

    After spending almost three-and-a-half years in the relationship, GM decided to move its properties — until now with McCann to Wieden + Kennedy (W+K) in September 2009.

     

  • Kushal Sanghvi is Concept Digital MD

    MUMBAI: Concept Digital, the digital arm of Concept Group, has appointed Kushal Sanghvi as its managing director.


    Sanghvi will be based in Mumbai and report to Concept Group MD Vivek Suchanti.
     
    Before Concept Digital, Sanghvi was working at the mobile technology and marketing firm StratosHear Technologies, as executive director, business development, media and alliances, for a year.
     
    In a career spanning more than 16 years Sanghvi has also worked at Media Contacts – the digital arm of Havas Media – in India, where he was responsible for the business development and overall growth of the digital agency in India. 
     
    One of the founding members of Rediff.com, Sanghvi has also worked with companies such as Indian Express, The Times of India Group, Fremantle Worldwide, Reliance ADAG and Adlabs Films.

  • MTV titles youth study as ‘Age of Sinnocence’

    MUMBAI: The average Indian youth believe that lies don’t hurt anyone and honesty is no longer about always doing the right thing, according to a recent study MTV has undertaken with TNS and Quantum Consumer Solutions.


    54 per cent youth admit to having cheated in the exams, while 35 per cent say it is ok to cheat and lie to do well in their jobs.


    Titled ‘MTV Age of Sinnocence‘, the report said 90 per cent men agreed money attracts the opposite sex and 66 per cent of men are in favour of getting physical in a relationship.
     
    With a mix of quantitative questionnaires, qualitative group discussion, ethnography analyses, video dairy presentations, peer group discussions and an semiotics study, conducted amongst 2400 youth between the age group of 18 to 24 years across 13 cities in India, the study asserts to resonate the attitude of today’s generation — virtues are out, vices are in.


    MTV India channel head Aditya Swamy said, “MTV has always invested in studying and understanding the youth. Over the years, our studies have thrown up some very interesting insights. Our headline study for 2011, Age of Sinnocence, is an opportunity for us to open our minds to the world of young people.”
     
    For youth, money is the most important factor in a job. While 90 per cent want to earn more than their parents, 60 per cent say they would look for shortcuts to success and 47 per cent feel it is ok to offer sexual favours to move up in life.


    Swamy said, “Today, young India is confident and courageous. They are experience junkies. Nothing is taboo, nothing is out of reach. With this kind of self belief, the sky is the limit for this generation.And to connect with them, you need to be provocative and break all rules. Welcome to a world where sin is in.”


    The traditional vices that were frowned upon are now the driving forces in youth life – no inhibitions, no barriers and no judgments passed, the study affirms.
     
    The research, all packaged in a book, was officially launched MTV India during the Youth Marketing Forum 2011.
     

  • Rural youth not behind: Sumeet Yadav

    MUMBAI: The Indian youth is very dynamic and will soon get bored of social networking sites. This will lead to the emergence of a new space, said Diesel senior VP Sumeet Yadav while speaking at a session themed “Follow me” at MTV’s Youth Marketing Forum 2011.


    Responding to a question from the audience on the rural youth’s presence in the current scene, Yadav said: “Rural youth is not behind. Many of our campaigns on social networking sites have attracted enormous number of youth from the so-called B-towns; sometimes more than the urban youth. The curiosity is increasing in every part of the country.”


    Answering a question, Yadav agreed that there are many local social community sites, and the company is planning to tap into this growing trend.
     
    It was also felt that to get the youth hooked on, just having a youth brand is not enough. “The telecommunication service brand is different from clothing or an FMCG product. It’s not something the consumer can associate with. So we have to do a lot of brand building exercises and offer more lucrative plans,” Virgin Mobiles head marketing communications Anant Pal Singh Gill said.
    Meanwhile, Google head of content partnerships Amit Agrawal boasted that the Internet giant has reached a point where it doesn‘t need to reach out to the youth. But he added that Google is still creating spaces where youth can come and interact. “We don’t have to reach out to the youth any more, we have to create spaces where youth come and interact. We have to engage them,” he said. 
     
    Media Transasia India CEO and publisher Piyush Sharma, meanwhile, discussed the strategies they adopted while launching ‘Maxim’, the general interest magazine for men.


    “When launching the magazine, our cover pages featured Bollywood actresses and other Indian celebrities; the response has been amazing towards Indian celebrities,” Sharma said, implying that they don’t need International celebrities to sell the magazine amongst Indian youth.


    The panel also agreed that Pepsi has been one of the most successful youth brands in the country. Since its inception, the brand’s campaign has been consistent with the communication it has with its target audience.
     
    It was also unequivocally agreed that it would be very difficult to launch Playboy in India.
     

  • Hero Honda appoints Law & Kenneth as creative agency

    MUMBAI: After the split from Japanese major Honda, Hero Honda has appointed Law & Kenneth as its creative agency to create a new brand identity.


    According to market sources, the account size is valued at Rs 1 billion.


    Recently, Hero Honda parted ways with its 27-year-old Japanese partner and had consequently announced the rebranding process.


    The creative mandate of the world‘s largest two-wheeler company by volume was awarded following a muti-agency pitch, which also involved Percept/H, JWT, DraftfcbUlka and Mudra. 
     
    Munjal family-owned brand is also planning to venture into three-wheelers and passenger car segment.
    Hero Honda‘s recent brand campaigns, the “Dhak Dhak Go” was done by Draft FCB Ulka, while the “Desh ki Dhadkan” campaign was executed by Percept.
     
    The company has different creative agencies for individual brands: Percept handles the Passion brand; JWT executes the creative work of Karizma and ZMR and Draft FCB Ulka has done a campaign for Hero Honda‘s scooter brand, Pleasure.
     
    Post the split, Hero Honda can now ship its motor-bikes South East Asia, Middle East Latin America and Africa.
     

  • LMG launches media solutions unit, gets Kaacon Sethi to head

    MUMBAI: Lintas Media Group (LMG), the media planning and buying agency, has launched a new specialised media solutions unit, Limelight.


    LMG  has roped in Kaacon Sethi to head this division as its president.


    LMG said Friday the new unit would focus on creating, distributing and measuring “owned and earned media solutions for clients.”


    Limelight will work with clients in broadcast, digital, print and OOH to create media solutions in the area of owned platforms with a definite accent on maximising earned media for brands.


    LMG chairman and CEO Lynn de Souza said, “At Lintas Media Group, we believe that our industry is going through a phenomenal change and while ‘paid media’ still retains its value, the focus will shift to ‘owned media’. Keeping this in mind, we have launched our specialised division, Limelight, to work with our clients to create a media strategy for them which prioritises all the media options to create maximum earned media for the brand.”
     
    On selection of Sethi to head the outfit, de Souza said, “Kaacon is a unique media professional with just the right blend of senior experience both as a planner-buyer and seller-creator of media, therefore best suited to helm Limelight.”
     
    Sethi comes with over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing. She moved from Mediasys Solutions, a company she co-owned with former CEO of aMAP and ZenithOptomedia Tapan Pal.


    Sethi told Indiantelevision.com that she had sold her stake in Mediasys Solutions and Pal would continue to take care of the business of the company.


    Prior to that, Sethi was CEO at K Sera Sera Productions. She has also worked at Sony Entertainment Television.
     
    Sethi said, “There is a lot of work happening in the industry in the branded and brand-led area – yet to organise and prioritise integrated marketing plans as paid, owned and earned media is very interesting. Limelight will focus on building fans, champions, followers and loyalists for brands through the content route. Limelight will conceptualise, produce, distribute, measure and evaluate branded or brand-led content across media which could include series, docus, shorts, reality shows, webisodes, AFPs, event and sport partnerships, cause marketing platforms and more. I believe that there will come a time, if not already in some measure, that campaigns will start with the brand’s best audiences. I am especially enthused at the prospect of charting new territory in building evaluation and measurement tools in this space.”

  • LG to spend Rs 2 bn for ads on TV in 2011

    MUMBAI: LG Electronics India (LGEIL) will spend Rs 2 billion on television out of its total marketing budget of Rs 8 billion.


    General entertainment channels (GECs) will take away nearly 60 per cent of the Korean consumer electronics major‘s total ad spend on TV, LGEIL chief marketing officer Lakshmikant Gupta tells Indiantelevision.com. 
     
    LGEIL has decided to up its marketing spend this year by 15-20 per cent.


    Although the company will be using TV as the main medium to promote their products, digital media will be utilised for pushing some of the brands.


    LGEIL will spend Rs 1 billion on cricket in the first half of the year.
     
    “We have spent Rs 700 million for the cricket World Cup while the Indian Premier League (IPL) has consumed Rs 300 million,” says Gupta.


    The company is expected to mainly promote their AC products, 3DTV and side by side refrigerators during the IPL. 
     
    LGEIL will spend Rs 3 billion on the Flat Play Display (FPD) segment with the major chunk of it going towards promoting the new 3D TV.


    “Our spending will be two fold – to increase the awareness of our products and real-life demonstrations. Consequently, we will be spending mainly on TV to create awareness of this segment,” Gupta clarifies.
     

  • Rediffusion Y&R ropes in Manish Ajgaonkar as creative head Mumbai

    MUMBAI: Rediffusion Y&R has roped in Manish Ajgaonkar as creative head in Mumbai. Ajgaonkar moves in from Contract Advertising.
     
    Ajgaonkar comes with over 14 years of experience. He has also worked at agencies such as JWT, Publicis Ambience, Saatchi & Saatchi and Percept H.


    Rediffusion Y&R VP Neville Medhora says, “Ajgaonkar has done some fantastic work in his previous avatars and brings on board cutting edge ideas and a strong work ethic. I believe that will translate into great work for our clients here.”
     
    He has worked across brands such as Pepsi, Close-Up, Westside, GM Motors, Essar, Pantaloons, Canon, Samsonite and HSBC.
     
    Ajgaonkar adds, “At Rediffusion Y&R, I will be handling an interesting array of brands and clients and am eagerly looking forward to it. I am confident of bringing my experience to the current portfolio that I will be handling here.”