ITV

Category: MAM

  • Group M upgrades UK ad growth forecast for 2010

    MUMBAI: Sir Martin Sorrell‘s Group M has predicted that the UK advertising market spends will be up 7.7 per cent for the full year 2010, aided by a ?100m surge in national newspaper revenues.


    In the company’s “This Year Next Year” annual UK report, the group elaborated a “broad-based and better than expected” ad recovery.
     
    This report comes as an upward revision by the company, since it predicted “zero growth” last December. Also, in June it expected display advertising to be flat.


    WPP‘s combined media buying operation Group M predicted in its latest report that display advertising, which accounts for about 85 per cent of total national newspaper ad expenditure, will go up by 9 per cent and the national newspaper advertising to grow by 6.6 per cent to ?1.4bn in 2010.
    The report said that an “excellent” recovery has been made by the national newspapers in 2010 and puts the national newspaper advertising growth for 2011 at 2 per cent.
     
    According to the report the UK TV market revenue will be up by nearly 14 per cent and 4 per cent in 2010 and 2011 respectively.


    “TV‘s broad-based recovery has drawn in all categories except motors, which marked time on TV between January and September while diverting new money to just about every other medium,” said Group M. “We revise our TV number up again to 14%, right at the top of even recent expectations.”
     
    In Group M’s view, the expected hikes in outdoor, internet and national newspaper will be about 13.9 per cent, 9.8 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively.


    Motivated by the opportunities presented by the latest smartphones and location-based services, the mobile sector is expected to be up 46.3 per cent and 45.5 per cent in 2010 and 2011 respectively.


    Although Group M has sounded a note of prudence for 2011 arguing that in spite of the advertiser confidence “there is no reason for us to think 2011 [TV] budgets will be much up or down from here”.


    Group M also noted that “Our best hope for ad growth is the willingness and ability of UK plc to invest ahead of recovery.”
     

  • Ten Cricket aims at Rs 1.4 bn ad revenue from India-South Africa series

    MUMBAI: Ten Cricket is targeting ad revenues in the neighbourhood of Rs 1.4 billion from the upcoming India versus South Africa series that will see 21 days of cricket.


    Ten Cricket has signed up five sponsors but is not willing to disclose the names yet. “We are targeting Rs 1.2-1.4 billion. The response from the market has been good. We have signed up five sponsors. We will reveal the names once we have signed up all the sponsors,” Zee Entertainment Enterprises chief revenue officer and niche channels head Joy chakraborthy tells Indiantelevision.com.
     
    Ten Cricket is looking at lining up 10 sponsors. “Each sponsor will shell out around Rs 110 million. This is a period when clients firm up their marketing budgets. So the timing of the series is good,” chakraborthy avers.


    Sponsors will take up 70 per cent of the inventory. The Tests, chakraborthy says, are being sold for Rs 75,000 -110,000, the ODIs for Rs 250,000 and the Twenty20 match for Rs 400,000 a spot.
     
    When asked about whether the cricket World Cup that follows this event is a threat in terms of being able to get the desired rates, chakraborthy notes that the multi-country format carries an element of risk even with the event taking place in India.


    But isn‘t the distribution of the newly launched channel still an issue that could upset the advertising targets? “We have got distribution in place. The No.1 versus No.2 Test teams are playing each other. There is buzz and you can gauge this from the fact that some senior players are travelling to South Africa in advance,” chakraborthy says.
     
    The India-South Africa series kicks off on 15 December and will feature three Test Matches, five ODIs and one Twenty20 International.


    Speaking on the Asian Games that is being telecast on Ten Sports, chakraborthy concedes that it did not receive an enthusiastic response from advertisers. “While we got some clients like Nokia, the fact is that multi-sports events do not fare well,” he says.
     

  • 32.8 mn viewers tune in to Asian Games

    MUMBAI: The Asian Games has attracted 32 million viewers so far from 12-20 November, according to Tam data.


    While 19.6 million watched it on Ten Sports, 10.5 million watched it on DD Sports (all India 4+) and 2.7 million watched it on Ten Action+.
     
    The event got an average TVR of 0.05 on Ten Sports while in DD Sports it got a TVR of 0.01.
     
    The top advertisers were Hindustan Lever, Idea Cellular, Castrol, Nokia and Research In Motion. The top brands were Idea Cellular, Axe Dimension, Axe Dark Temptation, Axe Musicstar and Castrol Gtx.
     
    Zee Entertainment Enterprises chief revenue officer and niche channels head Joy chakraborthy, however, concedes that the Asian Games did not receive an enthusiastic response from advertisers. “While we got some clients like Nokia, the fact is that multi sports events do not fare well. We only took spot buys at Rs 5000 for 10 seconds. We only take sponsorships when a client commits a certain outlay. At the same time we made sure that the ads were not intrusive,” he said.
     

  • Starcom MediaVest associate director Usha quits








    MUMBAI: Starcom MediaVest associate director – activation & consumer excitement Usha RK has quit the company after an almost six-year stint.


    For the last three years, Usha has been in Bangalore working on accounts such as Himalaya Herbals, SabMiller and Essilor in the area of innovations and media maximisation.
     
    Confirming the development to Indiantelevision.com, Usha said, “I have decided to move on and it had been a great learning at Starcom. Working with a wizard like Ravi Kiran and range of clients has been a great experience. Now I want to try a different kind of field, maybe in the creative and innovation space. But, of course, one has to always keep her mind open for any good opportunity.”
     
    Incidentally, Starcom MediaVest Group CEO-South Asia and emerging market leader – specialist solutions Ravi Kiran is also on his way out of the company. It has already been announced that Kiran will leave the company in December.


    Prior to Starcom, Usha has worked with Madison and Zee TV.
     
    Currently, Usha is working on her second book. “I have earlier written a book called Simply Jaya, based on my mother’s experiences and now I am working on my second book, which will be short stories.”

  • Dabangg may surpass TV ratings of 3 Idiots: Ormax

    MUMBAI: Media research and consulting firm Ormax Media has predicted that the television premiere of Salman Khan starrer Dabangg may surpass the ratings of TV premiere 3 Idiots.


    3 Idiots, which was aired on Sony Entertainment in July this year, had broken all previous records with a 10.9 TVR. Whereas Dabangg will premiere this Sunday on Colors at 8 pm. 
     
    As per Ormax Media’s pre-launch awareness tracking tool Showbuzz, Dabangg has 44 per cent unaided awareness and 74 per cent total awareness, while 3 Idiots had 31 per cent and 87 per cent unaided and total awareness in the week of its premiere.
     
    Ormax Media CEO Shailesh Kapoor said, “Showbuzz numbers indicate that the Dabangg’s world TV premiere has the buzz around it to give 3 Idiots a run for its ratings. While Colors is a stronger platform today, Sony has been traditionally very strong on their film premieres.”


    Also, Dabangg is premiering within three months of release, vis-a-vis six months for 3 Idiots. 
     
    “This should definitely give Dabangg an edge. Having said that, movie viewing is eventually about time spent, implying that the stronger content will deliver. Our understanding suggests that while their genres and markets will be different, both the films are equally strong on content from a television viewing perspective,” Kapoor added. “If I have to stick my neck out, I’d imagine Dabangg should rate around 9-10 TVR on its premiere given the Showbuzz numbers and the film itself.”


    Kapoor added that anything lower than 9-10 TVR will surprise him, but a higher number is not entirely ruled out.
     

  • MTV India adopts a new ‘Raw’ look

    MTV India adopts a new ‘Raw’ look

    MUMBAI: MTV, the youth brand channel, will go “raw” as it repositions for its Indian viewers from 27 November.

    The new philosophy – ‘Stay Raw’ – will be supported by a new logo and packaging that will start promoting across Viacom18 network channels, print, outdoor and Internet.

    Changing its earlier gameplan, MTV is also upping its music quotient as the M in MTV gets a boost to play a key role in India‘s rapidly changing marketplace..

    Says MTV India channel head Aditya Swamy, “What we have started is not an ad campaign or new tagline. It’s a philosophy. It’s an idea that is based on what young people today believe, expressed in an edgy yet tongue in cheek manner which is trademark MTV. A powerful idea has a limitless canvas and way this has come together is proof of just that.” 

    In a strategic content shift,  MTV is creating four music blocks – MTV BBM (Big Bang Mornings); MTV Music Xprs; MTV Mash Ups; and MTV International.

    MTV BBM will play latest Bollywood music in the morning, while the afternoon music block (MTV Music Xprs) will have film music from across the years.

    In the evenings, the global MTV phenomenon will hit India. MTV Mash Ups, the unique concept of East meets West, will see VJ Nikhil mashing up the Indian and International tracks from the same genre.

    And the channel has decided to get back the global music charts with MTV International, the midnight block.http://www.indiantelevision.com/sites/drupal7.indiantelevision.co.in/files/styles/large/public/Aditya_Swamy.JPG?itok=91sMQCx5
     
    “The success of pure music channels 9XM and the newly launched Mastiii is, perhaps, forcing the older music channels to relook on their music content. MTV and Channel [V] had taken steps to reduce their music content as they repositioned themselves as youth brand channels. MTV could now be trying to play a fine balance between their reality and music content,” says a media tracker.

    Swamy, however, feels that there is a need for youth channel brands to reinvent themselves from time to time to stay ahead of the curve. “Our core TG evolves very fast, and so we have to reinvent ourselves. We are just resonating,” he says.

    On the reality content front, MTV is feeling the heat from UTV Bindass that has succeeded with bold homegrown reality shows like Emotional Attyachaar and Dadagiri.

    Swamy denies that the move has anything to do with competition in the youth genre. “Today MTV is much bigger than a TV channel. Only 50 per cent of our revenues come from airtime sales,” he says.

    For years, music channels in India have struggled to develop subscription and licensing and merchandising as strong revenue streams.

    MTV has taken progressive steps to reduce its overarching dependence on advertising revenue. In an interview in mid-2009, the then MTV India head Ashish Patil had told Indiantelevision.com that ad sales accounted for 65 per cent of the overall revenues, of which 5 per cent comes from international clients. “Around 15 per cent comes from affiliates, which is also increasing. 15 per cent comes from Viacom Brand Solutions (client lead stuff, events and advertiser funded programming) like The Fast and The Gorgeorus, Stunt Mania etc. The remaining 5 per cent comes from L&M and movie previews (Ghajini).”
     
    For promoting its new ‘raw‘ look, the channel is going ad free over the weekend for the first time, doing a “roadblock for itself.”

    The new look of MTV is designed by UK-based Petrol, while the creatives are done by Bates 141.

    The channel is going to promote the change heavily with graphics. It has created a series of 3D channel IDs and over 100 creatives that will communicate its ‘Stay Raw’ philosophy through mass media and digital.

    MTV said Friday it is launching the second season of ‘Kurkure Desi Beats Rock On with MTV’ on 27 November at 7 pm and ‘Vodafone MTV Splitsvilla Season 4’ on 3 December at 7 pm.

    “The channel has got rock band Indian Ocean and music director and composer Pritam to judge the singing reality show this season,” says Swamy.

    MTV recently launched its first ever magazine globally, MTV Noise Factory. It also launched a website mtvplay.in, which captures and shares what’s going on in the minds of young people with marketers and advertisers.

    “MTV plans to enter a new growth phase. All its new moves are a step in this direction. The challenge is for it to succeed on the content front as well as on the new brand position it has taken,” says a senior executive from a rival network.

  • Neo may rake in ad revenue of Rs 1.2 bn from New Zealand series

    MUMBAI: Neo Cricket could rake in an advertising revenue of Rs 1.2 billion from the India-New Zealand cricket series, according to a preliminary estimate by Indiantelevision.com.


    The India-New Zealand contest, which includes three Tests and five ODIs, will fetch looker than the India-Australia cricket series that concluded last month.


    Indiantelevision.com had earlier reported that Neo was targeting Rs 1.75 billion of ad revenue from the Australia tour to India. The series was truncated, with two out of the three ODIs being washed out.
     
    For the five ODIs between India and New Zealand, Neo has lined up 10 sponsors. India beat New Zealand 1-0 in the Test series and the ODI contest kicks off on 28 November.


    The co-cponsors are Airtel, Tata Photon, Suzuki Motorcycle and Havells.
     
    The associate sponsors are Lava Mobiles, Intel, Royal Stag, HDFC Life, Indigo Manza and Manipal University.
     
    Neo Sports Broadcast executive VP ad revenue Raju Udupa says, “Neo Cricket has attracted an impressive lineup of sponsors for the India New Zealand one day series. This response for the India New Zealand ODI series follows closely on the heels of the India – Australia One Day International Series.”

  • IBD appoints Kaushik Ghosh as senior VP

    MUMBAI: IBD India, a Percept Hakuhodo company, has roped in Kaushik Ghosh as its senior vice-president.


    Said IBD India managing director and CEO Rahul Gupta, “Kaushik Ghosh is already active and working with our clients. He will also be the head of our Mumbai branch.”
     
    Prior to this, Ghosh was Vice President with Bates 141 Delhi where he handled brands such as Max Bupa, Hitachi and Radico. He also worked with agencies including Leo Burnett and Euro RSCG before moving over to Bates 141 in Delhi.
     
    IBD India handles brands across categories such as fashion, lifestyle, fast moving consumer goods, media and hospitality amongst others.
     

  • HDFC Standard Life gets a brand makeover

    HDFC Standard Life gets a brand makeover

    MUMBAI: Ten years into existence, private life insurance company HDFC Standard Life has gone for a brand makeover to make it more ‘relevant‘ and ‘connected‘ with today‘s youth.

    The company has rebranded itself as ‘HDFC Life‘ and its brand philosophy ‘Sar Utha ke Jiyo‘ has taken a generation leap.

    In the new three dimensional logo, red stands for vibrancy, youthfulness and exuberance, blue for dependability and financial expertise, and dark red for (vermillion) long life.

    Says HDFC Standard Life EVP marketing & direct channels Sanjay Tripathy, “India is a young nation. Majority of our population is now below the age of 25 and to continue to be successful, it is imperative to be relevant to the changing lifestyles, values and ambitions of the young Indian consumer. Our new corporate identity is in tune with the changing consumer behaviour. It reflects vibrancy and dynamism, uses colours that resonate the ‘new age‘ values for life insurance, weeds out irrelevant clutter, and adds more clarity and sharpness to the logo. The new identity shares higher synergies with our parent – HDFC Ltd. Inspired by the form and colours of the HDFC brand, our new logo and brand name – HDFC Life – is a symbol of assurance, protection and pride of a life well lived.”

    HDFC Life has also launched a new brand campaign, conceptualised by Leo Burnet, to convey its new identity.

    Says Leo Burnet National Creative Director K V Sridhar, “Ambition must be rooted in reality. The single largest equity the brand has is, ‘sar utha ke jiyo‘ and the challenge to the team was to refresh that emotion and make it contemporary and young.”

    The company‘s new brand campaign is directed by E Niwas. The creative team includes KV Sridhar (Pops), Nitesh Tiwari and Rupesh Kashyap.

    Elaborates Leo Burnett ECD Nitesh Tiwari, “Emotions are universal and timeless but every passing generation interprets them differently. Similarly, self respect is as important to me as it was to my father or even his father but our ways of demonstrating them are different. And it is this change that we have attempted to capture in the film.”

    Apart from television, the new campaign will be supported by other mediums such as print, radio, OOH, Internet, mobile, and on-ground initiatives.