Category: MAM

MUMBAI: Viacom18 Media has appointed Viraj Singh as national head – brand solutions.

The division that was set up to develop clients through the route of crafting customised solutions for them on MTV and Vh1.

Singh’s mandate is to focus on generating revenue opportunities through business development and setting up VBS (Viacom18 Brand Solutions) Live – the large format live event division for Viacom18 Media. He will report in to MTV India Sr VP-sales & marketing Aditya Swamy.
 
Swamy said, “In a short period, VBS has built some very valuable partnerships. Singh comes with a strong understanding of the media business and has done several integrated deals with large clients. He will be responsible for leading VBS into its next phase of growth. Our latest initiative, VBS Live has just been kicked off with India’s first bike and rock festival and I look forward to seeing Singh partner with key clients to create many such properties that add value to both sides.”

Added Singh, “VBS has evolved into a customer-centric solutions unit that focuses on creating long term relationships with clients through value creation. We have successfully collaborated with clients to create award winning solutions. I look forward to the exciting work with VBS.”
 
Prior to Viacom18, Singh worked with ESPN Star Sports and Reliance Media World (Big FM). At Big FM he worked across different roles that involved heading ad sales for the Northern region across 22 markets, setting up their Big Live division and finally as the national director of their integrated sales division, a team that super serves top clients across Radio, BTL and OOH.
 
VBS conceptualises, sells and executes solutions across ATL, BTL and digital platforms. The scope of work ranges from short format solutions, co-created customised shows and consumer engagement digital platforms to ground promotions, and soon large format live events. Some of the recent works under the VBS portfolio include Pulsar MTV Stunt Mania, MTV-Force India The Fast and The Gorgeous!, Samsung Mobile MTV Gang Next and Center fresh Zuban pe Lagam campaign.
 

MUMBAI: Until now The Economist has exploited outdoor and print media platforms extensively to reach out to its target audiences in India.

But now, for its fourth campaign, The Economist has opted for television and social media to capture the large audience set that still remains untapped in the region.
 
The company has designed two commercials as part of its television campaign. The first is based on the trend of Chinese workers migrating to work in Chinese-owned factories in India.

The second is based on the fact that African children are being increasingly being used to fight in civil wars, at a great cost to themselves and their societies. The commercials go on air on 17 May. 
 
Conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather, the TVCs have been directed by Shashanka Chaturvedi while Good Morning Films is the production house.

Other than television, these commercials will also be promoted in popular movie theatres and digitally on social media sites like YouTube, Facebook, Metacafe and Ibibo.

MUMBAI: CNN International and Korean Air have signed an exclusive advertising partnership around CNN‘s new programme, CNNGo, launching to global audiences on 13 May.

In a twelve month deal, the South Korean airline will advertise around the monthly travel magazine show that will be aired every Thursday at 2 pm. 
 
Under the sponsorship agreement, a TV and online campaign will be designed to raise awareness of the global carrier‘s brand credentials for “Excellence in Flight”.

The campaign will play out in to CNN‘s audiences in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and North America.
 
Says CNN Asia Pacific VP – news advertising sales William Hsu, “This campaign once again demonstrates CNN‘s capacity to deliver for the travel and tourism sector. We are happy to work with Korean Air around CNNGo as it is an exciting, engaging and dynamic fit for both brands, through which Korean Air will connect with our upscale and sophisticated consumers around the world.” 
 
Adds Korean Air head – marketing communications Emily Cho, “As Korean Air is an airline that caters to business travelers all around the world, we believe that CNNGo will be an excellent source of information for our customers. Korean Air is constantly looking for ways to make the travel experience more unique and special, both in the air and on the ground.”

MUMBAI: Following a multi-agency pitch, Jaypee Greens, part of the Jaypee Group of companies, has appointed Pencil Inc to handle the creative duties of its Golf and Spa Resort.

The other agencies that pitched for the account include McCann Erickson, Oxygen Communication, Dentsu, and Green Goose. 
 
Said Pencil Inc director Rajat Sharma, “Our exciting perspective on Jaypee as a brand in the hospitality industry, complemented the client‘s aggressive marketing plans.”
 
“This project is currently one of our top priorities and the logo and brand identity building will begin in the next two months. There is a lot of effort that goes into creating a brand identity for a resort. This is because one has to also individually do something for the six restaurants and the sixth sense spa. The logo has already been shortlisted and we expect the full fledged opening to be in October,” he added.
 
Pencil will handle the account for one year during which the agency will take care of the entire logo identity and brand positioning of the client, followed by a 360 degree advertising process that will include print, TV, outdoor and digital.

MUMBAI: Uk pubcaster the BBC‘s commercial arm BBC Worldwide has announced the appointment of Bob Traub as VP of Retail Development for the Americas.

Reporting to Tom Keefer, who is senior VP global licensing, Traub will be based in BBC Worldwide‘s New York office.
 
This role will see Traub working across BBC Worldwide‘s portfolio of brands including BBC Earth, Doctor Who, Top Gear and In the Night Garden.
 
Keefer says, “I‘m delighted to announce that Bob is joining our team. A core part of our licensing strategy is to facilitate and grow our retail presence across the world and this senior level appointment is testament to our commitment. Bob brings a wealth of experience and will be key in ensuring our thriving portfolio extends successfully to retail.”
 
Traub joins BBC Worldwide with 16 years of US and international licensing and marketing experience in the entertainment sector including leading the global retail synergy plans for companies including Chorion, Nickelodeon and Marvel Entertainment Group.

MUMBAI: Aegis Media‘s Vizeum has been roped in to handle the media planning and buying for Credila Financial Services, part of HDFC Ventures.

The size of the account is pegged at approximately Rs 100 million.
 
Said Vizeum Media Services MD India sub-continent S Yesudas, “The assignment is very interesting and challenging. We will be looking at making specific and tangible contributions in the areas of brand health, client‘s business and customer relationship initiatives.” 
 
While Vizeum will be undertaking the entire media initiative for the client, Credila will also receive contributions from Aegis‘ specialized solution groups – Isobar (digital) and Posterscope (OOH).
 
Prashant A Bhonsle, Country Head, Credila, said “With Vizeum we are hoping to do a lot of below and above-the-line brand activities, hold seminars in colleges and educational institutes, as well as foray into digital, electronic, print and television advertising. The reason we chose Vizeum is because they came across as a very energetic and knowledgeable firm, with good client servicing. They put in a genuine effort to understand their clients business and then combine it with their own domain knowledge to come out with media plans that we are very happy with.”
 

MUMBAI: When it comes to getting brand exposure for clients in India, print has always played the king.

However, 2010 seems to be foretelling a different story altogether as industry players believe that the television segment growth for the year will outpace print.

Says Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd chief revenue officer and head niche channels Joy Chakraborthy, “Television will outgrow print this year. The recession helped advertisers to look closely at cost efficiences of all the mediums. While print has de-grown over the last few years, television has seen robust growth.”

Countering the upgraded predictions that ZenithOptimedia released in its latest forecast for India, Star India president, ad sales Kevin Vaz suggests that the ad spend on television is expected to grow at a minimum of 15-20 per cent this year. 
 
Upgrading its forecast for India, ZenithOptimedia said that television would accelerate to 11-12 per cent growth this year, compared to a 6 per cent growth in the earlier year. Meanwhile, Print would see a 7-8 per cent annual growth through to 2012, pacing up from a 5 per cent growth in 2009.

Vaz further states, “Also, TV will move at a faster pace and move ahead of press this year. This is because, in the last few years, television had been outpacing growth and even despite recession, showed growth last year. On the contrary, print actually re-grew in 2009.”

Vaz elaborates that the growth will be witnessed across categories. While FMCG will show a sharp upward ad spend, the advent of new telecom players and handset manufacturers will boost the growth further. Financial investment advertising will also show a comeback.

Meanwhile, talking in the same breath, Madison Media Group CEO Punitha Arumugam opines a similar judgment. “Print revenue has dropped over the year and its 2009 revenue is almost equivalent to 2007,” she says. “So, television has surely become a threat to print.”

According to Arumugam, print saw a major hit in revenues in 2009. “About 50 -60 per cent of the total ad revenue in print comes from the English publications and the categories that head for this genre did not spend much last year. Meanwhile, regional papers did quite well during the year.”
 
Mediaedge:cia India MD T Gangadhar affirms that television is sure to grow faster than print this year, but believes that in terms of absolute numbers television will still take a couple of years to catch up.

“The total advertising industry currently stands at roughly Rs 220 billion wherein TV and print form about 80-81 per cent of the total bulk. Out of this, print stands at about Rs 100 billion. So, television has still sometime to catch up,” Gangadhar explains. 
 
According to him, the seasonal lineup of tent pole events this year and next will be the imperative reason for television to witness a trajectory growth.

“2010-11 has an active event calendar which is bound to be one of the primary reasons for television advertising growth. Also, with the live broadcast element attached to television, the platform will surely see a leap.”

Gangadhar believes that print will continue to face persistent challenges from new media.

“2009 has been a rough year for print and this year it still continues to be so,” he says.

MUMBAI: ZenithOptimedia-owned Equinox has bagged the Mitsubishi portfolio for the India region. The size of the account is pegged at Rs 300 million.
 
The portfolio currently includes Outlander, Lancer, Pajero, Cedia and Montero. 
 
As part of its new mandate, Equinox will be in charge of all media buying and planning activities for the brand.

Contract Advertising is the creative agency. 
 
Says ZeinthOptimedia CEO Satyajit Sen, “While we will be handling the overall media planning for Mitsubishi, our focus this year is heavily on Mumbai. Increasing our presence and name in this city, hiring people with relevant and good work experience is part of our strategy currently.”
 

MUMBAI: In a strategic move to expand its footprint in India, the Singapore Tourism Board will appoint marketing representatives in Chennai and Bangalore.

The marketing representatives will assist the Singapore Tourism Board in promoting Singapore as a destination for leisure, business travel and education. 
 
As the tourism board‘s representatives, they will be responsible for business development, market intelligence, marketing plans, marketing communications, promotions and partnerships.
 
Singapore Tourism Board regional director – South Asia, Middle East and Africa Randall Tan said, “As the top outbound destination for India, Singapore today enjoys an enviable profile in the country. The decision to appoint the Marketing Representatives will enable STB to achieve greater market penetration and reinforce Singapore‘s standing in southern India. From 2004 to 2008, the average annual growth rate for visitor arrivals from India to Singapore is 13.4 per cent. In 2008, India is Singapore‘s top five markets in terms of visitor arrivals and tourism receipts. As STB forecasts India to remain as a key market of Singapore, we expect to see a growing number of Indian visitors selecting Singapore as their choice destination.”