Category: MAM

  • Post buyout, four senior executives leave Dentsu

    Post buyout, four senior executives leave Dentsu

    MUMBAI: After Dentsu bought out its joint venture partner in India in January this year, four senior executives have resigned—the latest being Dentsu India president Rajesh Aggarwal.

    All the four leaders have resigned in the month of April.

    In the beginning of April, Dentsu India chief growth officer-media Anwesh Bose resigned after spending nearly six years at the agency. He also held the positions of general manager-media and business director. He has joined Mudra Max as its branch head for North and East.

    Dentsu India operations vice-chairman Gullu Sen followed. He had joined the agency in 2003 as executive vice-president and national creative director and in 2006 was promoted as VC.

    Next in line was Dentsu Marcom national creative director Nitin Suri.

    And finally, Aggarwal, who was one of the founding members of Dentsu India, has now resigned from the agency after a spell of nearly eight years.

    Talking to Indiantelevision.com, Aggarwal said, “The time has come to move out and explore new opportunities. Its always exciting to create something new and nourish it.”

    His association with Dentsu began in 2004 as Dentsu Marcom executive director and head. He began his career in the mid-1980s as an account executive at Edge Communications, Everest’s creative boutique. After spending nearly five years at the agency, he left as group manager and in 1991 joined Rediff.

    In 2000, Aggarwal joined Panasonic (earlier National Panasonic) as head of marketing. He returned to Rediff a year later as general manager and stepped down as senior vice-president in 2004 to join Dentsu.

  • Fox International Network ropes in Grey as its creative partner for India

    Fox International Network ropes in Grey as its creative partner for India

    MUMBAI: Fox International Channels (FIC) has roped in Grey Worldwide as the creative partner for its business in India.

    TapRoot India, the network‘s creative partner in key Asian markets, will continue to provide strategic and creative expertise to the Fox Network channels at Asia level.

    In February 2011, Fox International Network had announced that it is looking for an additional creative partner in India, as a result of an active expansion spell, with seven new channels added to its Indian basket.

    Says Fox International Channels vice-president marketing Debarpita Banerjee, “We are pleased to announce the appointment of Grey Worldwide as our new creative partner and look forward to working with them. We are sure that they will be able to keep pace with our growth targets and usher in innovative and refreshing brand solutions.”

    Grey COO Jishnu Sen added, “We are really excited to be chosen as the agency for the National Geographic Network. Its an iconic brand that gives fabulous opportunity to do superb work. Having this brand as a part of our stable huge testament to Grey. We are looking forward to terrific times and a long successful partnership.”

  • HDFC Life unveils campaign featuring Rajasthan Royals Players

    HDFC Life unveils campaign featuring Rajasthan Royals Players

    MUMBAI: Private life insurance company, HDFC Life, has unveiled a new campaign featuring Rajasthan Royals players such as Shane Warne, Rahul Dravid, Ross Taylor, Shaun Tait, Ashok Menaria, Faiz Fazal and Abhishek Raut.

    The two television commercials have been conceptualised and scripted by Leo Burnett and directed by Sanjay Shetty from Opticus.

    The advertising would be on air across major television channels from this week.
     
    The theme of the campaign is ‘to promote and propagate self respect, or living life with head held high’. It also attempts to blend the common values of both HDFC Life and Rajasthan Royals‘ self-pride — the youngsters redefining self-respect through conviction v/s highly experienced international players.

    HDFC Life plans several activities in the coming months along with Rajasthan Royals. Some of them include financial planning sessions for the young players in the Rajasthan Royals team and other on-ground initiatives.
     
    The promotion also attempts to capture the essence of self belief, pride, and conviction by showcasing the team spirit among the highly experienced international players with the fresh but confident young lot.

    Said marketing and direct channels EVP and head Sanjay Tripathy, “HDFC Life recently refreshed our brand look with a more youthful approach. Our association with Rajasthan Royals fits perfectly with our Brand communication to draw inspiration from the highly experienced parentage and applying this to redefine Self Respect for today’s youth… Sar Utha Ke Jeena Ka Naya Andaaz. That’s what the new HDFC Life symbolizes. The Rajasthan Royals team this year is a heady mix of youth, experience, emerging talent, innovation and professionalism.”
     
    In this association with the Rajasthan Royals, HDFC Life will reward excellence in the field with the “Sar Utha Ke Jiyo”- Most Valuable Player of the Match award.

    The Rajasthan Royals coaching staff along with the team captain, Shane Warne, will select the most valuable player of the day from the Rajasthan Royals team, who will receive this honour along with a cash incentive of $ 1000.

    HDFC Life is the principal associate sponsor of Rajasthan Royals for the third consecutive year in the Indian Premier League 2011.
     

  • Eveready ropes in Akshay Kumar as its brand ambassador

    Eveready ropes in Akshay Kumar as its brand ambassador

    MUMBAI: Marketer of dry cell batteries, Eveready Industries, has signed up Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar as its brand ambassador.

    Eveready VP Deepak Khaitan said, “We are happy to have Mr. Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador for Eveready. He is a great youth icon who has a very power-packed persona. It is a very natural association between him and the brand and we are sure that this relationship will be mutually rewarding one.”

    In the mid-nineties, Eveready launched its first major advertisement campaign with the slogan “Give me Red”. The advertising byline of the popular Red series of batteries is symbolic of the urban lifestyle that the brand reflects.

    Kumar added, “As a child whenever I would get a toy, I would ask my dad – ‘Where is the Eveready?‘ since Eveready was equal to battery in my mind. It is a pleasure to be associated and promote a brand that is so needed and important in everybody‘s lives. I believe in it. I thank Eveready for always bringing me and my toys to life.”

  • Mankind awards creative duties of 4 brands to McCann Erickson

    Mankind awards creative duties of 4 brands to McCann Erickson

    MUMBAI: McCann Erickson has won the creative duties of four Mankind Pharma brands: Addiction, men’s deodorant; Manforce condoms; Gas-o-fast, digestive tablet and pregnancy detection kit Prega News.

    The agency will start working on the brands immediately. The two parties, it is learnt, were in discussions for a month now.

    A senior official at the pharmaceutical company confirmed the development and also said that the mandate was given without any official pitch process.

    Until now, an in-house team was taking care of the creatives.

  • Reliance Trends, Shane Warne launch ‘Spinners’ collection in India

    Reliance Trends, Shane Warne launch ‘Spinners’ collection in India

    BANGALORE: Former Australian spin bowler and IPL-4 Rajasthan Royals cricket team captain Shane Warne and Reliance Trends announced the launch of Warne’s apparel label ‘Spinners by Shane Warne’ in India. At present, the tie-up is exclusively with Reliance Trends for India.

    Over a million units of men’s and boys ‘Spashion’ (sport + fashion) ‘Spinners by Shane Warne’ apparel have been sold since its launch in 2009 in Australia, informed company sources.

    ‘Spinners by Shane Warne’ is a partnership between Warne and local Australian brand development company ‘lime door brands’. After India, the brand will be launched in the UK.

    Warne described the expansion of the brand into India as a logical step, given his eminent status in India. “Indians are so passionate about cricket and I am always welcomed and supported here. The move into the Indian market is something that we have planned for a long time and something that I have a lot of faith in. Shane along with his son Jackson is one of the few celebrities that help’s design the apparel rather than just run a business,” said ‘lime door brands’ CEO Michele Hamdorf.

    The initial ‘Spinners by Shane Warne’ offering is a limited edition collection of men’s t-shirts designed for the Indian Premier League season in a price range of Rs 399 to Rs 699. The complete range of men’s and boys’ activewear will be launched in the festive season with future categories including sports performance wear, boys’ and girls’ apparel ranges.

    Reliance Trends CEO Arun Sirdeshmukh said, ”A brand endorsed by a celebrity like Warne will do better business than the other brands. With cricket in the air, we are very confident that this brand will be well received in the Indian retail market.”

    Reliance Trends with 44 outlets in the country closed the last fiscal with revenues of Rs 3.5 billion. Sirdeshmukh informed www.indiantelevison.com that revenues have been doubling every year and he expects the trend to continue in the next fiscal as well. By end March 2012, Sirdeshmukh said plans are afoot to up the number of Reliance Trends outlets to over 100 in the country.

  • Hindware gets a new identity & positioning

    Hindware gets a new identity & positioning

    MUMBAI: Sanitary ware products manufacturer, HSIL, has unveiled a new identity for its ceramic brand, Hindware.

    With the new identity, the company intends to position Hindware as a young, vibrant and contemporary brand, which is representative of ‘Change, Positivity and Passion‘.

    Hindware‘s new brand identity is designed by UK’s design consultancy Fitch, a part of WPP.

    The change in the identity of Hindware showcases the transition of the original logo, which was symbolic of quality and reliability, to the new young logo that reflects confidence and dynamism while maintaining the core values for which the brand has stood for across the years.

    HSIL joint managing director Sandip Somany said, “Hindware is one of the most prestigious brands in India today and it gives me immense pleasure to introduce the new brand identity to all our customers and stakeholders. We at HSIL believe that change lies at the core of evolution. It is this philosophy that helps us keep up with evolving consumers and markets.”

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

    ATL activities will include print and electronic media with all major dailies, magazines and general interest, business and news channels.

    Providing additional support will be the outdoor and radio campaigns. While BTL activities will consist of road shows, product parades along with on-ground mall activities and interesting initiatives at dealer outlets will promote the new brand identity.

    The fresh identity is in a shade of red. The readable and simple lower case font has been chosen to portray the brand as ‘engaging and approachable’ and is immediately recognisable as Hindware.

    The logo aims to convey modernity and an innate sense of style. The brand graphic element derives from the negative and positive space found within the new brand identity. It creates an additional layer of brand recognition and recall and can be used across all brand applications.

    Somany said, “The new look reinforces the trust and equity in consumers minds and reaffirms the credibility of the brand. The new face of brand Hindware symbolises a set of values that are- ‘young, global, contemporary and dynamic’. The unique brand identity supports our desire to balance function and form to the highest degree. This fresh rendition is a manifestation of the global outlook of brand Hindware and reflects the group’s ambitions and commitment. Therefore, it is a fundamental change for us going forward.”
     

  • IPL4 online viewership up 62% in first week over IPL3

    IPL4 online viewership up 62% in first week over IPL3

    MUMBAI: The IPL 4 online viewership has witnessed a surge of 62 per cent in the first week, over last year.

    In IPL 3, during the same period, YouTube had recorded over 5.5 million channel views, whereas this year the combined page views of Indiatimes and YouTube for the same period has grown to 8.8 million.
     
    According to Indiatimes, 12 April recorded the highest page views for a single day: 1.7 million.

    On this day, two matches were played, Rajasthan Royals versus Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore versus Mumbai Indians.
     
    The concurrent users on an average have been 40,000-45,000 during the match.

    Times Internet CEO Rishi Khiani said, “We are excited about the response we’ve got so far and it will continue to build as we progress in the tournament. We are foreseeing a bright future for online screening of IPL matches in coming years.”
     

  • Nitin Suri quits Dentsu Marcom

    Nitin Suri quits Dentsu Marcom

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Marcom national creative director Nitin Suri has resigned from his position.
     
    Suri will be serving his notice period till middle of May.

    Suri’s resigning comes just a few months after his elevation from executive creative director to NCD.
     
    Suri has an experience of nearly 18 years. He began his career with Rediffusion-Y&R and worked there for 11 years before joining Dentsu Marcom as executive creative director.
     
    Later Suri moved to Bates 141 as ECD before returning to Dentsu Marcom two years later.

    During his stint at Dentsu, he has worked on various clients including Iffco-Tokyo General Insurance, Canon cameras, FedEx, Park Avenue and Honda Accord.
     

  • Scarecrow bags creative mandate of Nestle’s upcoming brand

    Scarecrow bags creative mandate of Nestle’s upcoming brand

    MUMBAI: Nestle India has appointed Scarecrow Communications as creative consultant for one of their soon-to-be launched brands.

    The company and the agency have denied revealing any further details about the brand.

    According to Scarecrow Communications founder director Manish Bhatt, the mandate was given based on the agency’s credentials—without any pitch involved

    Scarecrow Communications founder director Raghu Bhat added, “To work on a Nestle brand, after just one year of launch, is an incredible boost for Scarecrow. But what has been a real eye-opener is the receptivity, the courage of conviction and lengths to which the Nestle team goes, in the pursuit of a great creative idea. We thank Nestle India Brand team (Virat Mehta and team) for keeping the faith and hope to repay their confidence with communication that moves hearts as well as the market share needle.”

    Manish Bhatt also stated, “Nestle is one of the most trusted and legendary brand in the world. Everyone has born and brought up using Nestle products at the various stages of the life span. Nestle India considering Scarecrow as its Creative Consultant for one of its brands is really overwhelming. And we, at Scarecrow will put our best to fulfill the expectations from Nestle India in terms of creating effective