Category: MAM

Neo Sports ropes in sponsors for All England Open Badminton Championship

MUMBAI: Neo Sports has roped in a clutch of sponsors for the All England Badminton Championship.

The sponsors are Perfetti, Adidas, Vodafone and Tata DoCoMo e-connect, according to market sources. Neo will telecast the event from the quarterfinal stage from 10-13 March.

While not revealing any names, Neo Sports Broadcast EVP ad revenue Raju Udupa said that with the craze happening around Saina Nehwal over the past six months, viewership of the sport is growing. Advertisers are now more open to investing in other sports besides cricket.

“Earlier there was no viewership for badminton. Now that Indians are performing well, viewers are encouraged to tune in. There is a niche audience for this sport which will grow. To push this event, we have advertised online to push badminton. We also use syndicated columns in the press, SMS, mailers. We have seen that women also follow this sport. A lot of badminton viewing comes from the metros,” Udupa added.

Sponsors, Udupa said, have exclusivity as there are no spot buys. Unlike cricket, the format of the sport is such that there is no room for it.

Neo plans to kick-off on-ground initiatives aimed at schools and badminton clubs in the near future. The channel airs 12 events of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) a year.

March 10, 2011
WC: Ratings of non-India matches stay a concern

MUMBAI: The cricket World Cup is showing the first signs of softening in ratings compared to its previous edition in 2007, though in terms of reach it is far ahead.

The first 20 matches have yielded an average TVR of 1.92, much less than the average TVR of 2.48 that was recorded in the same period of the 2007 World Cup.

However, India has played a match less compared to the earlier edition. For the two matches involving Bangladesh and England, the matches clocked a TVR of 7.47 and 10.97 respectively.

In the 2007 World Cup, India had played three matches out of 20 and clocked a TVR of 8.85 against Bangladesh, 10.10 against Bermuda and 12.06 against Sri Lanka.

The epic India-England match, which ended in a tie, is the top-rated contest so far as an astronomical 82 million viewers tuned in. The match got a peak TVR of 20.96 and an average TVR of 10.97, according to data from Tam Sports (All India, C&S 4+).

Star Cricket earned a TVR of 5.3 for that match while Star Sports, which has a Hindi feed, got a TVR of 2.75. Doordarshan managed a TVR of 1.95 and ESPN a rating of 1.07.

Experts believe that a combination of one-sided matches and rain in a crucial encounter between Australia and Sri Lanka resulted in the average ratings for the World Cup falling below 2 TVR for the first time. While the contest between Australia and Sri Lanka got a 0.10 TVR, 23 million viewers tuned in for it, showing that there was interest to watch the duel.

Interestingly, the average ratings for the non-India matches have stood flat at 1.10 TVR, like in the previous World Cup.

A media buyer expressed disappointment at the fact that the non-India match ratings have stayed flat. “While the reach has gone up, we were hoping that since the event was in India there would be added interest that would boost ratings,” said a buyer on condition of anonymity.

The England versus Ireland encounter, which the Irish won in a famous run chase, has fared well. It got a TVR of 1.78 and a reach of 32 million.

Pakistan continues to attract interest among viewers, even if they are playing against a weak team. Their match against Canada got a TVR of 1.69, while 38 million viewers tuned in.

In 2007, a Pakistan match against Zimbabwe got a TVR of 1.01 and a reach of 21 million.

This time only 14 million viewers tuned in to see a one-sided Netherlands versus South Africa match which got a TVR of 0.40. In 2007, a match between South Africa and Scotland got a TVR of 0.55. Eighteen million viewers had tuned in for that match.

March 9, 2011
Royal Enfield releases new ad campaign

MUMBAI: Royal Enfield is releasing a new ad this week–created and produced by Wieden+Kennedy, Delhi.

The film will be released across cinemas, digital channels and other select media channels. The film will be supported by print advertising.

Said Royal Enfield head sales and marketing Shaji Koshy, “Over the years, Royal Enfield‘s communication has managed to keep the world coming back for more. We hope this latest advertisement from Royal Enfield will strike a chord with Royal Enfield consumers and create strong emotional engagements with them. We will be using traditional media like television, cinema and print but digital will form a key part of the communication as well.”

Wieden+Kennedy Delhi V Sunil, executive creative director added, “For us, Royal Enfield always stood for ‘Keeping it Real‘, and that spirit extends to everything that Enfield does, including advertising. So we avoided the usual clichés i.e. slapstick humour, kitsch, melodrama or ‘aspirational‘ gloss. It‘s important for an iconic brand such as ours to stay true to character, and to be proud of what it represents and where it comes from.”

March 9, 2011
Mehul Shah is Discovery director ad sales West

MUMBAI: Discovery has announced the appointment of Mehuli Shah as director – advertising sales, West.

Shah will be responsible for generating advertising revenue along with planning and implementing business development activities in new market segments for all DNAP’s networks in India.

Based in Mumbai, Shah will report to Karamjit Dua, Vice President – Advertising Sales.

Prior to this appointment, Shah was working with the Network18 Group, heading up sales for the CNN IBN and IBN 7 in the Western region. This will be a return home for Shah who was previously with Discovery for six years.

Shah is an Economics graduate from St. Xavier’s College.

Discovery India senior VP, GM Rahul Johri said, “We are pleased to welcome Mehuli back to Discovery. She brings a solid performance track record to the job coupled with a high degree of commitment to the client, both of which align perfectly with Discovery’s values. Her broad range of proven sales experience in similar markets will be beneficial to building our ad sales business”.

Discovery has six brands in its portfolio– Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, and Discovery HD World – reaching over 160 million cumulative subscribers.

March 9, 2011
Kwan acquires stake in PR agency Eye D

MUMBAI: Kwan, India‘s entertainment and marketing company, has acquired controlling interest in PR agency Eye D Communications for an undisclosed amount.

Eye D and Kwan already share a number of clients in common on the PR and commercial front and this acquisition has been a natural progression of a working relationship.

Kwan MD Anirban Das Blah says, “We were looking at investing in a PR agency to provide complete communications solutions to our clients. My only worry was the glaring difficulty that communication companies face when it comes to building and communicating their clients as brands.”

Blah believes Eye D Communications is an agency that operates from a ‘strategic communication’ perspective and not just from a media relations point of view.

“We plan to help Eye D accelerate their growth by virtue of our relationships and broaden their offering within the entertainment, fashion, luxury and lifestyle space. Eye D will continue to operate under the same brand name in the industry so as to maintain its individuality even beyond the realm of Kwan”, Blah says.

Adds Eye D Communications head Divya Tejuja, “Having worked very closely with Kwan on the numerous clients that we share, we have been able to rapidly scale up operations in sectors such as films, fashion, lifestyle and luxury brands. The association will give us access to a much larger talent pool and put us on the fast track to effective brand building and image management in the entertainment, luxury and lifestyle space.”

March 9, 2011
Hindi GEC: Colors back to No. 2

MUMBAI: Like often in the past, Zee TV has been unable to retain its lead over Colors for a second straight week. After one week of spike, the Hindi general entertainment channel is back to No. 3.

The leader of the pack, Star Plus, continues to maintain its position amid a drop in overall ratings. The channel shed 17 GRPs (gross rating points) to close the week ended 5 March with 280 GRPs (from 297 GRPs in the previous week).

Colors added six GRPs to its tally and ended the week with 231 GRPs (last week 225 GRPs), displacing Zee TV. According to Tam data for the week ended 5 March (HSM, 4+, C&S households), Zee TV lost 16 GRPs to end with 217 GRPs (from 233 GRPs).

Meanwhile, Sab stayed ahead of sibling channel Sony Entertainment Television (Set). Sab collected 143 GRPs for the week, 10 short of its previous week‘s tally of 153, while Set added 4 GRPs to end with 140 GRPs.

Imagine TV was at sixth place with 71 GRPs (from 75 GRPs), followed by Star One (35 GRPs) and Sahara One (30 GRPs).

March 9, 2011
Discovery, Nissan Motor in sponsorship deal in Australia

MUMBAI: Discovery has announced a 12-month sponsorship deal with Nissan Motor in Australia.

The partnership, an exclusive in the auto category in Australia, will feature Bear Grylls, host of Discovery Channel’s series Man Vs Wild, in a variety of campaign activities to promote the Nissan X-Trail.

Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific senior VP, GM – Australia and New Zealand Mandy Pattinson said, “This unprecedented partnership is a natural fit as Bear Grylls, who is extremely popular with our Australian audience, is the very embodiment of the Nissan X-Trail’s brand attributes. Through his series MAN VS WILD, Bear captures the spirit of exploration, endurance, adventure, and the strength of the human spirit.”

Nissan executive GM Tim Stuckey said, “Nissan is very excited to be working with Bear Grylls while he’s in Australia. Nissan X-Trail will always be about the great outdoors and ‘living life.’ The Nissan X-Trail is a capable and practical SUV that can take what the life outdoors throws at it so the association with Bear Grylls is a perfect synergy.”

Grylls is currently in Australia to launch the Australian episodes of the show, where he ventured into some of the world’s most treacherous terrain in the Northern Territory and the Torres Strait.

March 9, 2011
JWT wins creative duties of CVC

MUMBAI: JWT has won the creative duties of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for three years.
The size of the account is pegged at Rs 1 billion a year.

With plans to launch a series of anti-corruption campaigns, the CVC had called for a pitch for its creative duties last year. RK Swamy BBDO and Ogilvy India were the other agencies shortlisted.

The Commission will adopt the Incredible India route and opt for out-of-home media for its campaigns. It will also use television and print to a certain extent.

Based on the recommendations of the Committee on prevention of corruption, the CVC, an apex Indian government body, was formed in February 1964. An autonomous body, the Commision is free of control from any executive authority and is responsible for monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of the country..

March 9, 2011
BBC finalises creative services roster

MUMBAI: Following a competitive tender, five agencies have been appointed to the BBC‘s restructured creative services roster.

“WInterbrand has been appointed for brand strategy work, while the brand identity roster has gone to Interbrand and Devilfish. Karmarama has been hired and RKCR/Y&R reappointed for creative services.

Thirteen companies participated in the tender process, which began with a pre-qualification exercise in July 2010 and shortlisting in November 2010.

The roster will be in place for two years, with the option to extend for a further two. It will start in March 2011. Suppliers will work across the BBC‘s public service portfolio including the full range of TV channels, local and national radio networks, and new media services.

March 9, 2011
Mumbai Indians gets Hero Honda as new team sponsor

MUMBAI: Hero Honda Motors, the largest two-wheeler manufacturer, has come on board as the new team sponsor for the Mumbai Indians (MI), the Mumbai franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The company said in a statement that the agreement between Hero Honda and Mumbai Indians is the largest sponsorship agreement in the history of IPL for any franchisee.

Beginning with the fourth edition of the IPL, Mumbai Indians team jersey will sport Hero Honda logo on the front. Additionally, Hero Honda brand will bring its saliency to the field as well as on-ground activation.

“Mumbai Indians had an exciting journey in the past seasons of IPL and have established a distinguished brand of cricket, with the largest IPL fan base across the world. We are happy to partner with Hero Honda, one of the most iconic brands in the automobile space. With our new partner, and inspiring additions to the MI family, we look forward to recreate the magic with Desh Ki Dhadkan hum duniya hila denge,” Mumbai Indians spokesperson said in a statement.

Hero Honda spokesperson said, “As in every other sphere of our sports-related initiatives, we keep looking for new and exciting opportunities to bring joy and cheer to the fans. In keeping with this spirit, we have joined hands with the Mumbai Indians – the most exciting IPL team with its impressive line-up of cricketing stars. It’s been home to a world class team which stands for determination, commitment, team spirit and a professional approach. We have been associated with IPL right from the beginning and we are very excited about our partnership with Mumbai Indians.”

March 8, 2011