ITV

Category: MAM

  • TNS restructures operations in APAC region

    TNS restructures operations in APAC region

    MUMBAI: Custom research company TNS has restructured its operations in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

    Under the new structure, Singapore will become the APAC regional headquarters. This will be followed by the re-organisation of TNS operations in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa into two separate regions: TNS Africa and Middle East (AME) and TNS Asia Pacific (APAC).

    Said CEO Africa, India and Oceania Chris Riquier, “This structure responds to feedback provided to us by clients and staff; it will allow us to be more dynamic and responsive to the many opportunities and challenges presented by this exciting growth region.”

    According to the company, the new structure was created to reflect the differing needs of APAC‘s diverse markets, increase the level of focus on clients, improve efficiency and take advantage of Singapore‘s status as the regional hub for global clients and the headquarters location for many Asian companies.

    Chris Riquier, currently CEO Africa, India and Oceania, will become CEO Asia Pacific effective from 1 January next year. He will be joined by Heather Payne as CMO and supported by Neerja Wable who, in addition to her responsibility as India and Sri Lanka CEO, will focus on APAC client development.

    Reflecting the importance of China and Indonesia as rapid growth markets, Serene Wong, (CEO China) and Raghavan Srinivasan will report directly to the APAC CEO.

    While Hamish Munro has been appointed as managing director of Singapore, Wade Garland (CEO Hong Kong) will assume line management for Taiwan led by Manny Inocencio. Ralf Matthaes will oversee Vietnam and Malaysia while Grant Bertoli will oversee Thailand and the Philippines. Yazid Jamian (MD Malaysia) and Gary de Ocampo (MD Philippines) will report to Ralf and Grant respectively.

    APAC will be led by a five member board comprising Chris Riquier (CEO), Paul Durant (CFO), Heather Payne (CMO), Michelle Griffin (CTO) and Neerja Wable (CEO India and Sri Lanka) supported by Chairman Jamie Hall.

  • Vizeum wins media duties of TI Cycles

    Vizeum wins media duties of TI Cycles

    MUMBAI: TI Cycles of India, a part of $3.2 billion Murugappa group, has assigned its media duties to Aegis Media‘s Vizeum India.

    Industry sources peg the value of the business at Rs 200 million.

    The business was earlier handled by Mindshare.

    Said TI Cycles & BSA Motors GM Marketing Rajesh Mani, “The professional approach exhibited by Vizeum, coupled with their ability to think beyond traditional solutions, comparative saving on our overall cost as well their involvement in our business at all levels convinced us of this partnership. We look forward to working with them.”

    Vizeum will handle the account out of its Chennai office under the leadership of E M Sreeneelakandhan, GM, South.

    Averred Vizeum managing director Indian sub-continent S Yesudas, “We are proud of the work we have done on BSA Motors and are thankful to the TI cycle Management and Marketing Team for their faith in us. We will ensure TI cycles will get added to the list of our client ambassadors.”

    TI Cycles are the makers of brands like Hercules and BSA.

  • Shriram Insight ropes in TME as its media agency

    Shriram Insight ropes in TME as its media agency

    MUMBAI: TME, the media company of Rediffusion Y&R, has been appointed the media agency for Shriram Insight, the stock broking arm of the Rs 42,000 crore Shriram Group.

    Shriram Insight‘s creative mandate will be handled by Metal, an ad agency set up by Narayan Kumar.

    Confirming the win, TME President Divya Radhakrishnan said: “We are very excited about working with Shriram Insight and it‘s a privilege to have been awarded this mandate.”

    Shriram Insight had started a new corporate campaign from 6 December that featured a series of television commercials of 45 seconds and 30 seconds each.

  • India will host AdAsia conference in 2011

    India will host AdAsia conference in 2011

    MUMBAI: After a gap of eight years, the Asian Advertising Conference will be held next year in New Delhi from 31 October to 3 November. The theme that was unveiled by Mudra Group CEO and chairman AdAsia 2011 Madhukar Kamath will be ‘The New Certainty.‘

    The Times of India Group executive president Bhaskar Das said India had pitched the idea of hosting the conference in 2007 and it was accepted unanimously.

    The organising committee of the conference includes Living Media chief executive officer Ashish Bagga; Das and Star India CEO Uday Shankar.

    The advisory board of the conference will be chaired by Mahindra & Mahindra vice-chairperson and managing director Anand Mahindra. The board will also comprise of The India Today Group chairperson and editor in chief Aroon Purie; ITC executive Kurush Grant director; Hindustan Unilever CEO MD and group vice-president South Asia Manu Anand; Ogilvy & Mather executive chairperson and creative director, South Asia Piyush Pandey; Network18 Media founder and editor Raghav Bahl; Bennett Coleman and Co., CEO Ravindra Dhariwal and Britannia Industries MD Vinita Bali.

    Around 1200 delegates including 45 international delegates are expected to attend the conference.

    India had last held the AdAsia conference at Jaipur in 2003.

  • Ten Cricket ropes in 12 sponsors for India-South Africa series

    Ten Cricket ropes in 12 sponsors for India-South Africa series

    MUMBAI: Ten Cricket has roped in 12 sponsors for the India-South Africa cricket series, moving in line with its ad revenue target of Rs 1.4 billion from the tournament that kicks off on 16 December.

    Ten Cricket claims to have already sold ad inventory worth Rs 1.3 billion. “Ten Cricket is already booked to capacity inventory and there is a continuing demand,” says Zeel chief revenue officer and head niche channels Joy Chakraborthy.

    The broadcaster has signed Tata Docomo, Hero Honda and Micromax as co-sponsors for the India-South Africa series.

    The tournament will include three Test Matches, one Twenty20 International and five ODIs.

    Chakraborthy said, “We have signed up 12 sponsors – The associate sponsors are IDBI Federal Life Insurance, Maruti Suzuki, Colgate, Berger, Religare Enterprises, Manappuram Gold Loan, Aditya Birla Group and I-Ball.”

    Ten Sports CEO Atul Pande said, “Ten Cricket will bring telecast in a viewer friendly format with expert analysis, graphics and world class commentary. At the same time Taj India’s distribution and marketing strength will bring lot of value to advertisers, sponsors and partners.”

     

  • NDTV raises Rs 48.6 mn from Save Our Tigers Telethon

    NDTV raises Rs 48.6 mn from Save Our Tigers Telethon

    MUMBAI: 35 Rapid Rescue Teams (RRTs) to be deployed across Tiger Reserves of the country in partnership with Wildlife Conservation Trust with the funds raised.

    MUMBAI: NDTV has managed to raise Rs 48.6 million for its “Save Our Tiger” campaign by telecasting a 12-hour nonstop program -The Telethon on its network channels.

    The Telethon, in association with Aircel, saw wildlife champions from across the country coming forward to extend a hand in saving the national animal the Indian Tiger.

    Campaign ambassador Amitabh Bachchan along with NDTV chairman Dr Prannoy Roy and Vikram Chandra highlighted the key issues of tiger conservation and keenly monitored events across the country from the central hub at Pench, Tiger Reserve from 11 am to 11 pm on 12 December.

    NDTV said that people and organisation from across the nation come forward to contribute Rs 24.3 million for the cause, while investment banker, Hemendre Kothari matches the contribution with a donation of Rs 24.3 million.

    Apart from Kothari, some of the donors are Bhaichung Bhutia, Abhishek Bachchan, Nitin Gadkari, Diya Mirza, Manish Malhotra, Soli Sorabjee, Priya Dutt, industry body CII, and coporates such as Westside.

    Campaign ambassador Bachchan donated Rs 2.8 million and also auctioned his Cartier watch and two pairs of designer glasses which raised another Rs 845,000 million.

    According to Wildlife Conservation Trust director Dr Anish Andheria, the funds raised in this telethon are sufficient to create and deploy 35 Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) and cover all the Tiger Reserves across the country.

    Roy said, “NDTV is overwhelmed by the nationwide response. We are most pleased that the Tigerthon achieved three aims: to raise awareness and initiate action on the ground, to get Chief Ministers to pledge support to save the tiger and, most exciting, the full-day Tiger Conclave by CII, all political parties and tiger experts which hopefully will lead to Project Tiger 2.”

    Aircel COO Gurdeep Singh added, “We would like to thank each and everyone who came forward and supported the cause. The level of participation and support for our national animal, the Tiger is over whelming. Aircel‘s support to the cause is long term and we will continue to build on our efforts to save our tigers.”

  • Kavita Gadkari is Grey VP planning for Mumbai

    Kavita Gadkari is Grey VP planning for Mumbai

    MUMBAI: The marketing communication company Grey has roped in Kavita Gadkari as vice president, planning for the Mumbai office.

    Gadkari joins Grey from Stellar Search in Dubai, where she was leading the startup. Prior to Stellar, she headed strategy and insights at Inca Tanvir Advertising in Sharjah, UAE.
     
    “I am pleased to join Grey at this exciting stage in their growth. I am particularly looking forward to working with Bindu on a wide range of clients across industries. I am also excited to be back in advertising. The buzz beckoned me back to this big and not-so-bad world of advertising,” Gadkari said.

    Grey Asia Pacific chief strategy officer Bindu Sethi added, “I am delighted to have Kavita join the planning team. With Kavita in Mumbai and Divyapratap Mehta in Delhi, I am looking forward to seeing great strategic insights leading to creating more famously effective advertising for our clients. Kavita‘s experience, accomplishments in business development as well as her people skills will add significant value to our clients businesses.”
     
    She also has over 15 years of experience in planning at FCB Ulka, Mumbai where she worked on various accounts including Tata Motors, Amul, ITC, Wipro Consumer Products and Tata Internet Services.

  • Scion is Windflower’s brand agency

    Scion is Windflower’s brand agency

    MUMBAI: Brand incubation and design company Scion has been appointed as brand agency for Windflower Spa and Resorts and Group. This announcement comes with the opening of the Windflower – Tusker Trails in Bandipur.

    A refreshed logo, staff uniforms, signage and resort graphics are being developed to bring consistent brand character and a cohesive look and feel for Windflower Resorts while reinforcing the brand promise of Generous Holidays.

    Said Windflower chairman P.V. Giri, “Our partnership with Scion as Strategic Brand consultants goes back to the launch of our hugely successful Windflower, Mysore and Coorg properties five years ago. With the imminent expansion and upcoming launch of three more resorts in the South India, we are looking to tap into Scion‘s brand knowledge, consumer insights and resort graphic design for our brands”.

    Scion and Windflower have positioned the brand for a growing new breed of young, urban holiday seekers who are looking for frequent short breaks in exotic locations. The new IT and management professionals are focused on the quality of the experience and derived benefits, even if just a short weekend break. Windflower is positioned to provide them a unique experience in exotic locales, with generous living and recreational spaces.

    Averred Scion creative director Kapil Kansal, “It‘s been a very satisfying association working with Windflower for the last few years. Windflower is open to new ideas, creative concepts and changes which is a delight for our creative team.”

  • India’s top Hindi entertainment show is at 7 pm

    India’s top Hindi entertainment show is at 7 pm

    MUMBAI: India‘s top Hindi entertainment show is coming at the 7 pm slot.

    In the last two months, Star Plus’ 7 pm show Saathiya has shown tremendous climb in its ratings with the figure rising to an average of 6 TVR for the week ended 4 December. Saathiya saw a peak TVR of 6.4 during the week, as per Tam data (C&S – 4+, HSM). A special episode on Sunday, pitted against television premiere of Dabangg on Colors, got it a whopping 5.1 TVR.
     
    Saathiya has not only emerged as the slot leader but also the top show among all the general entertainment channels (GECs).

    Says Star India EVP – marketing and communications Anupam Vasudev, “Saathiya is a prime example of how strong content can attract audience even at what others call ‘early primetime’. Earlier, this time band was predominantly regional viewership heavy. So we knew viewers are watching television at that time. Why not put great content there?”
     
    Not very long ago, the Hindi GECs were earmarking 8-11 pm as their primetime viewing hours and anything before that was being left by large for regional audiences.

    However, as competition in the genre increased manifold with advent of new channels and the fight for the top league became a week-on-week scenario, GECs started experimenting with content scheduling.

    Last year the industry saw a show, Chhoti Bahu, waking up the 7.30 pm band with a peak TVR of 5. But that was not the end of the story. It went ahead with the 7 pm slot with Saathiya.

    “Not many channels have put original content in the slot. So it has not been exploited,” says Vasudev.
     
     
    As of now, Colors airs Bhagyavidhaata at 7 pm which has managed an average TVR of 1.6 (week ended 4 December) while Zee TV’s Dil Se Diya Vachan is hovering with a 1 TVR.

    So can a GEC command premium advertising rates at 7 pm which advertisers do not consider as the “purple time band”?

    Says Vasudev, “If we sustain the reach and ratings, we can command a premium. Saathiya’s current week’s reach was above 12 per cent. Though the quality of audience is not as at 9 pm, sustained ratings can help us get good returns.”

    Star Plus claims that the show is also growing slot leadership margin in Delhi, Mumbai, Maharastra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, PHCHP (Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh) and other Hindi speaking markets (HSM). The show has also enjoyed 18.8 minute time spent during the week.

  • Soni urges DAVP to give more ads to electronic media

    Soni urges DAVP to give more ads to electronic media

    NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni urged the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) to give greater share of advertisements to the electronic media, small and medium newspapers, and the Urdu press.

    Soni said she often received complaints that the print media was getting a larger share as compared to the electronic media. Similarly, she said the Urdu press had particularly shown phenomenal growth and needed to be helped.
     
    Addressing a function where she released the official calendar for 2011 of the Government of India brought out by the DAVP, she noted that the calendar was on the theme of “India’s Endangered Species.” She said the purpose of bringing out the calendar was to sensitise people on the impact of environment and climate change on matters concerning the endangered species within the country. Each month would focus on a single endangered species.

    In order to sensitise the people of the country on the subject, she said the calendar was being sent to all Panchayats in the country, all Eco-Clubs in schools across the country funded by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and Schools under “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan” and “Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan” funded by the Human Resource Development Ministry. Approximately 200,000 schools would be covered. A total of 1.2 million calendars were being printed for distribution.
     
    The endangered species covered each month separately include: the Tiger, the Asiatic lion, the Vulture, the Indian Elephant, the Indian One Horned Rhino, the Swamp Deer or Barahsingha, the Black Necked Crane, the Western Tragopan or the Western Horned Tragopan, the Snow Leopard, the Oliver Ridley Turtle, the Golden Langoor and the Red Panda. There is also a paragraph about each of these creatures. The photographs have been contributed by the eminent wildlife filmmaker Mike Pandey, who is a three-time winner of the Green Oscar – the world’s highest award for environmental films.

    The Minister mentioned that the Wall Calendar brought out by the Ministry for the year 2010 was based on the theme “Empowerment of Women through Flagship and other programmes of the Government”. Each month dealt with one flagship programme of the government and depicted the role of women in it. The Wall Calendar for 2010 was distributed to all Panchayats in the country in bi-lingual and regional languages format.
     
    DAVP Director General Frank Noronha outlined the initiatives taken by DAVP in the past one year. He specifically mentioned the key initiatives in the AV Sector, IT & digital initiatives and the steps taken for streamlining the empanelment procedure of newspapers and magazines including implementing the recommendations of the Rate Structure Committee. He touched upon the initiatives being currently studied including mobile telephony and SMS.