ITV

Category: MAM

  • Vipul Mathur joins Manhattan Communications as biz head- international sales

    Vipul Mathur joins Manhattan Communications as biz head- international sales

    MUMBAI: After consolidating its digital and marketing solutions business, Manhattan Communications has now focused attention on its international advertising sales operations from India.

    The integrated advertising agency has appointed Vipul Mathur as business head – international sales.

    Based in Delhi, Mathur shall be responsible for clients based out of India who are targeting the ethnic South Asian audiences in international markets.

    Says Manhattan Communications director Shantonu Aditya, “ Vipul is a veteran of the ad sales business. With his experience, we look forward to growing our international sales business even faster in the coming months.”

    Manhattan Communications, which specialises in targeting the South Asian diaspora in the international market, continues its aggressive growth across the US, Canada and India.

    Says Mathur, “With offices in New York , Toronto, London and India, I am sure that we can leverage the business opportunities across continents. The team here is aggressive and dynamic and I find that a big change.”

    Vipul has over 14 years of experience in media sales including nine years with Zee Entertainment and Zee International. He has also worked with Radio City and Webdunia.com and other media companies.

    Manhattan Communications has fully owned subsidiary companies in MediaMorphosis LLC, a full service agency based in New York, and Ethnocast Inc, an Adnetwork with proven digital technology. The shareholders of the company include Bennett Coleman and Co and PayPod Inc , USA.

  • China to overtake Germany as No. 3 ad economy; global ad spends recovering

    China to overtake Germany as No. 3 ad economy; global ad spends recovering

    MUMBAI: The rise of China as a powerhouse stretches to the advertising world as well. China will overtake Germany to become the third largest advertising economy in the world in 2011, behind the US and Japan.

    While the global advertising market will continue to recover steadily over the next three years, China will outpace this growth to touch $34.24 billion in 2013, a 51 per cent growth over the next three years, according to a forecast by ZenithOptimedia.

    China could soon beat Japan, a country hit by deflation and high public debt which will slow down ad growth to 5 per cent through 2013. The Chinese ad market, which is currently just over half the size of the Japanese market, will be three-quarters that of Japan in 2013, according to Zenith. 

    Meanwhile, Russia will enter the top ten list in 2012, outpacing Australia and Canada to take ninth place, and overtaking Italy to take the No. 8 spot in 2013.

     
    The global ad market is on a rebound. The global ad spends will continue to recover steadily and by 2012 will surpass the 2008 levels, according to two new research studies published today.

    Group M‘s forecast has predicted the $500 billion mark to be achieved “at some point in 2012”. According to the WPP-owned media buying agency network, the Internet will overtake newspapers as the second biggest global advertising medium behind TV. 

    ZenithOptimedia forecasts the overall ad market to grow between 4.6 per cent and 5.2 per cent annually for the next three years. Driven by the rapid growth of online video and social media, Internet advertising will lead the pack at 48 per cent growth. Outdoor advertising will grow by 18 per cent and TV and cinema 19 per cent each. Radio will lag behind with 10 per cent and newspapers and magazines will see a two per cent dip.

    ZenithOptimedia global CEO Steve King said Internet advertising “will grow three times as fast as the rest of the market as a whole” and the “importance of the internet is underrepresented” in the figures. 

    According to Publicis‘s media buying agency network, this growth over the next three years will be sponsored by the developing markets – Asia Pacific will grow by 23 per cent and Latin America by 26 per cent.

    “The key result of this update is the continued rise of developing markets and digital media, and their central role in driving global growth,” elaborated King.

    “Advertisers are investing a lot more in owned and earned media, where their activities do not count as ad expenditure in the traditional sense,” adds King.

  • Vizeum wins media duties of d.light

    Vizeum wins media duties of d.light

    MUMBAI: Vizeum India, the media arm of Aegis Group, has won the media duties of d.light, a social enterprise and a Silicon Valley venture.

    The business will be handled out of Vizeum, New Delhi, under the leadership of Harit Pant who is general manager for the north. 

    Averred Vizeum managing director Indian sub-continent S Yesudas, “We are extremely delighted with this win and take the opportunity to welcome d.light to the Vizeum family. This is an extremely interesting category and will be focused on making tangible contributions to the client‘s business.”

    d.light, funded by M&M, Acumen Fund, DFJ, Nexus India and others, is engaged in the design, manufacturing and distribution of Solar appliances to people who have either no or little access to grid electricity. 

    Said d.light managing director Mandeep Singh, “Vizeum would play the role of our strategic communication consultants ensuring that the right message reaches the underserved consumers including the opportunity for the consumers to experience the product.”
     

  • WSG to promote golf star Arjun Atwal

    WSG to promote golf star Arjun Atwal

    MUMBAI: World Sport Group (WSG) and Blue Giraffe Enterprises (BGE) have announced the creation of a relationship whereby the sports marketing company will exclusively promote and manage the affairs of Indian golf star Arjun Atwal in Asia.
     
    Atwal became the first player from India to win on the US PGA Tour this season when he triumphed in the Wyndham Championship and as his career goes from strength to strength, he is looking to solidify his support team.

    BGE CEO Bobby Kreusler said, “We feel that WSG is uniquely positioned within the Indian and Asian markets to exclusively assist us with promoting Arjun and effectively service these markets.”
     
    WSG VP golf Patrick Feizal Joyce said, “We are also really looking forward to working with Blue Giraffe Enterprises who are a new partner for us and one with which we hope to build a long and fruitful relationship.”
     
    Atwal finished equal fifth in the $1.25 million Hero Honda India Open yesterday at Delhi Golf Club and is looking forward to the new relationship.

    “I have played in many events promoted by World Sport Group over the years and have many friends there so I feel it is an exciting and sensible option to take. It is important for me to still play in Asia as much as I can as this is where it all started for me. World Sport Group have an enormous amount of experience here and I feel a lot can be achieved with such a strong partner,” said Atwal.

    The 37-year-old Indian’s last victory on the Asian Tour came in 2008 Malaysian Open, which was his seventh victory on the circuit. He topped the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2003 before furthering his career in the US.

  • UTV Bindass aims at strong growth in FY’11

    UTV Bindass aims at strong growth in FY’11

    MUMBAI: After consolidating its position among the youth entertainment channels, UTV Bindass, the UTV Global Broadcasting (UGBL) channel, is now gearing up to monetize its position.

    “All our efforts are paying in the expansion of the brand and we are seeing a significant jump in the revenues this year,” says UTV Bindass business head Nikhil Gandhi.

    Bindass fights in a market which is too cluttered with youth and music channels including MTV, Channel [V], Mastiii, and 9XM.

    So far, MTV gets the lion’s share of the revenue in the genre. So will Bindass come closer to MTV?

    Answers Gandhi, “We will end the fiscal very close to our nearest competitor.”

    Bindass was launched in September 2007, touted as the first 360 degree entertainment brand for Indian youth. Bindass adopted the brand values of youth – fun, frank, and fearless – and built it as a platform to cath its target audience using TV, movies, web, mobile, ground and campus activities.

    “We have grown to become the number one channel in the genre, because we understood the need of the youth. It is a result of extensive research and planning,” claims Gandhi.

    Gandhi is also pinning hopes on the upcoming shows, which the channel will launch in the coming six months, to take its share further.

    “The next four months are very important for us. You will see new format shows, one reality show in dating space, one more relationship based. We will also launch a action reality show and a youth-based fiction show in the fourth quarter of the fiscal,” Gandhi adds.

    Further, the channel is also looking at advertiser funded programming (AFP) as a major revenue stream. “We have set up a special team, which will take care of the AFPs. We are taking this very seriously,” Gandhi said.

    Interestingly, 15 per cent of MTV’s revenue comes from Viacom Brand Solutions (client lead stuff, events and advertiser funded programming). The channel has done some AFP shows like Pulsar MTV Stunt Mania, and MTV Force India The Fast and The Gorgeous.

  • Hirani floats ad making company

    Hirani floats ad making company

    MUMBAI: Keen on connecting with his roots in the ad world once again, Raj Kumar Hirani, along with his friend Sanjeev Kishinchandani, has launched a company called Canvass Films to mainly make ad commercials. 
     
    Hirani today is a household name thanks to his brilliant films such as 3 Idiots and the Munnabhai series. However not many people know that this talented filmmaker was actively involved with the ad world many years ago.

    Hirani had in fact even starred in commercials for brands such as Fevicol and Luna. 
     
    He has even directed a few commercials featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor in the recent past.
     
    Now it seems that Raju, who has always loved making ad films, will be directing around 6 – 7 commercials each year for his company.
     

  • Max to up store count to 56 by March 2011

    Max to up store count to 56 by March 2011

    BANGALORE: Dubai-based Landmark Group’s value fashion retail brand Max plans to increase the number of stores in the country from the current 38 to around 50-56 by the end of March 2011. This was revealed by Max executive director Vasanth Kumar during the launch of the 37th and 38th store in Bangalore.

    “Next Friday, we open an outlet in Cochin. Till the end of March, we’ll be opening a store almost every 10 days,” informed Kumar. The chain has witnessed year on year growth of around 35 per cent over the last three years.

    The Landmark uses radio strategically for its Max brand of stores- during store launches in any city. It uses ‘bursts of advertisements’ on any of the top three radio stations based on listenership numbers, to create awareness about its presence in a locality. It uses the print media and outdoor billboards within a five kilometer radius of the new store. Besides mass media communication bursts during launches, it also holds local events with a social cause and/or invites the common people to see celebrities in the new store.

    It spends around 3-4 per cent of its revenues towards marketing, brand building and mass media communications.

     

     

  • Dentsu floats sports marketing company in Asia

    Dentsu floats sports marketing company in Asia

    MUMBAI: Dentsu has announced the formation of Dentsu Sports Asia.

    Starting operations in Singapore, the aim of the new entity is to strengthen and expand the Dentsu Group’s sports business in Asia. 
     
    In addition to promoting international development of the content business domain as part of its global strategy, Dentsu has established sports business operations in key overseas locations.

    In September 2007, Dentsu established its European base, Dentsu Sports Europe, Ltd., in London. This was followed by the establishment in July 2009 of Dentsu Sports America, Inc. in New York as a strategic base for the expansion of Dentsu’s sports business in the Americas.
     
    The addition of Dentsu Sports Asia to these two established bases will enable Dentsu to develop its sports business on an even wider global scale.

    Acting as a link between Dentsu and other Dentsu Group companies, Dentsu Sports Asia will develop new sports business opportunities in Asia, a region that is showing remarkable growth.

    The new company will also collaborate with other Group companies throughout the world to market the rights to international sports events in Asia.

    In addition to marketing the rights to sports events such as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, the Fina World Championships, the Asian Games and the East Asian Football Championship, Dentsu Sports Asia will plan and bid for the increasing number of international sports events held in Asia, as well as developing new sports content.
     
     
    Dentsu spokesperson Shusaku Kannan said, “Dentsu Sports Asia will not only boost our sports business operations to the world’s emerging growth center but also represent a globally unprecedented bid to establish a new business model in this area ranging from the marketing of rights to sports events to the creation of sports business opportunities. In other words, we are going to offer a one-stop solution for the sports business community.”

  • Quasar appoints Sourav Dutta as account director

    Quasar appoints Sourav Dutta as account director

    MUMBAI: WPP digital company Quasar has appointed Sourav Dutta as its account director, (West).

    In his new role, Dutta will support new business initiatives for Quasar‘s western region and will be the account lead for Travelocity, Tata AIG and Sharekhan.

    Based out of Mumbai, Dutta will report to Moneka Khurana, business director – West and would be based out of Mumbai.

    Said Quasar Business Director (west) Moneka Khurana, “I welcome Sourav to the Quasar team. He brings along extensive experience at various levels across digital platforms and will play catalyst to Quasar‘s growth with his rich experience across the board.”

    Dutta is a brand marketing and communications professional with over nine years of cross-industry experience across sectors such as FMCG, Telecom, E-commerce, Services sectors & Online Marketing.

    In his previous assignment, Dutta led the online marketing division of Linteractive (Lowe Lintas).
     

  • R K Swamy to handle entire media planning of Raymond

    R K Swamy to handle entire media planning of Raymond

    MUMBAI: Textile and apparel major, Raymond has consolidated its entire media planning and buying with R K Swamy Media Group, a part of the R K Swamy Hansa Group.

    Earlier, Starcom and Dentsu Media were the other two agencies that were handling some of Raymond‘s businesses.

    R K Swamy will now handle the brands and businesses of Raymond, Park Avenue, Parx, Colour Plus, J K Helene Curtis and J K Ansell.

    Said Raymond Ltd., director media and corporate communications Sagar Joshi, “Having worked on the Raymond Textiles and Raymond Premium Apparel brands, the R K Swamy Media Group has a deep understanding of our business and brands. We are happy to expand our partnership with them and look forward to their increased involvement and contribution to all our businesses.”

    Averred R K Swamy Media Group president Chintamani Rao, “We are deeply gratified that Raymond Ltd has chosen to place their faith in us. We have had a long and rewarding relationship with Raymond and are delighted to be working on all their brands now. We look forward to doing great work on them.”

    R K Swamy BBDO has been the creative and media agency of brand Raymond for the past decade.