Category: MAM

MUMBAI: Reliant Energy has launched its new advertising campaign, “Lights”, illustrating the benefits that power brings to people‘s lives and highlighting advantages it delivers to customers.
 
The 30-second TV spot is aired both in English and Spanish language TV stations.
 
Says Reliant Energy VP brand and marketing Manny Rodriguez, “Each TV and radio spot from our new ad campaign highlights the Reliant Advantage (SM) – a unique combination of tools, information and services to fit the needs of our customers. With Reliant Energy, customers get the complete package. They don‘t have to look any further than Reliant for their electricity needs.”
 
The radio spot will begin airing from 5 April.
 

MUMBAI: Chennai-based creative agency 1pointsize has won the creative duties of Pasta Bar Veneto, a chain of Italian restaurants from Fifth Avenue Hotels & Resorts.
 
The agency will be involved in the advertising and design work of the restaurant.
 
Pasta Bar plans to set up its first outfit in Chennai and then scale up to 60 restaurants over two years.

Says Fifth Avenue Hotels & Resorts MD Vinod Sharma, “There are way too many pizzerias in India and way too few Pasta Bars. Worldwide, the popularity of pastas is zooming, and we thought there couldn’t be a better time to roll out a national chain of pasta bars. At the core, The Pasta Bar Veneto is targeted at the young foodie. Our first Pasta Bar will be at Alsa Mall, Chennai, and then we plan to scale it up to over 60 restaurants in the next two years. We’ve chosen 1pointsize as our creative partner and brand guardian as they bring class and creativity to the table.”
 
Adds 1pointsize CEO Sharad Haksar, “We are very excited about The Pasta Bar Veneto as there is clearly a market for it. What impresses us most is the amount of detailing that has gone into the restaurant from day one.”

MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League (IPL) is improving its ratings on Max channel, the official broadcaster for the event.

The nine matches from 21-27 March averaged a TVR of 4.82, according to Tam data for the All-India market. This is higher than the first 14 matches from 12-20 March that had notched a TVR of 4.69.
 
Overall, the 23 matches got an average TVR of 4.74 which is slightly below what the corresponding period in the first season achieved (4.84 TVR). In the second season when the event was shifted to South Africa, the average TVR was 4.36.

This season 121 million viewers have tuned in to the event so far. In the first season, the first 23 matches got a cummulative reach of 88 million viewers, while the second season drew in 105 million viewers.
 
The highest rated match for this season got a TVR of 6.67, as Mumbai Indians engaged in a contest against Kolkata Knight Riders on 22 March. Also faring well was a match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings that fetced a rating of 6.38. Clearly the Mumbai Indians and Sachin Tendulkar are pulling in fans from across the country.

By contrast, a match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab got a TVR of 5.28. A match between Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals only got a rating of 4.25.
 
Timing is also playing a role. A match between Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore got a rating of 2.57 as the match started at 4 pm.

In terms of in-stadia advertisng, the top three advertisers were DLF, Citibank and Hero Honda. The top in-stadia brands were DLF, Citi, Fly Kingfisher, Vodafone and Karbonn Mobiles. The top in-stadia platforms were Banner, Perimeter Board and Arm Sticker (On Player), according to Tam data.
 

MUMBAI: FMCG major Reckitt Benckiser India has roped in Bollywood actress Sridevi as brand ambassador for its specialist stain remover variant, Vanish.
 
Also, with an objective to generate trial amongst Indian consumers, the price of the trial pack has been dropped from Rs 35 to Rs 29. The packaging of the brand has also changed from a tub to a re-sealable pouch which is easy to use and store. 
 
Says Reckitt Benckiser India chairman and managing director Mohan Sethi, “Vanish is a high priority brand for the Indian business. The market for specialist stain removers is nascent in India and we aim to create and grow the market. Sridevi enjoys a great stature with Indian housewives – they look upon her as an all-round achiever who has excelled in almost every area of life be it acting, dancing or being a home-maker. Most importantly, consumers relate to her with a sense of warmth; her word is credible to them and they can believe what she tells them. She is also one of the few celebrities whose popularity cuts across all geographies in India. Thus, she was a natural choice for the Vanish brand ambassador.”
 

MUMBAI: Purple Focus, an advertising and marketing communication solutions agency, has roped in Arvind Pal Singh as national creative director. 
 
Singh will be based out of the Delhi office and will also take care of the Mumbai and Indore teams. 
 
Purple Focus executive director Ashish Upadhyaya says, “Singh‘s experience will help take brand Purple Focus to the next level.”
 
Prior to this, Singh was associated with Capital Advertising Delhi. He has also worked with agencies including Rediffusion Y&R and Lintas. He has worked on brands including Maruti, LG, Electrolux, GPI and Nestle.
 

MUMBAI: In the wake of a multi-agency pitch, Percept D‘Mark (PDM) has bagged the on-ground advertising duties of MasterCard.

Under the terms of the contract, PDM has come on board as a retainer agency wherein it will be the only agency to handle activations for MasterCard for the next two years.
 
Says PDM India national head brand activations Sanjay Shukla, “We plan to work on the model of retainership with brands because this gives us an opportunity to understand a brand in a better way as we are associated with it for a longer duration and not just for a particular campaign. A dedicated team will work on MasterCard.”

The on-ground activities for MasterCard will be planned keeping in mind its core target audience comprising individual account holders, banks and merchants.
 
Initially, the agency will be working on campaigns that will drive the usage of debit cards at point of sales, handling activations related to the brand‘s sponsorship of the Mumbai Indians during the IPL season, coming up with initiatives centred on card holder education and other merchant incentive schemes and organising events for different platforms.

Additionally, the brand plans to increase visibility at airports with consumer promotions.
 
Adds Shukla, “BFSI brands have been increasing their media budgets and are realising the importance of below-the-line activities, which give them an opportunity to connect with the TG on a one on one level.”

Some of PDM‘s key clients include Airtel, Pepsi, Colgate-Palmolive, Citibank, P&G, Kelloggs, Microsoft, Times of India, HSBC, FedEx, Nokia, Loreal, TATA Indicom, Apollo Tyres and VLCC.
 

MUMBAI: In a bid to strengthen its integrated solution offerings to clients, Reliance Media World has appointed Navneeth Mohan to head its below-the-line (BTL) division. 
 
In his new role, Mohan will spearhead the specialised below-the-line services in the capacity of national head – BTL, covering events and activations across the country spanning 45 cities and ensuring clients are treated to clutter breaking and innovative offerings when reaching out to their target audiences.
 
He will report to Reliance Media World business head – allied business Rabe T Iyer.

Prior to this, Mohan was AVP – event services at Encompass.
 
Iyer said, “Below the line has an enormous business potential and we are happy to have Navneeth with his expertise and proficiency, spearhead this vertical and lead the team to deliver tailor made values, creating solutions to clients to suit their specific brand needs.”
 

MUMBAI: M&C Saatchi India has launched a brand design specialist company ‘id‘. Brand design director Hemant Sapre will head the company that will have a staff of eight members initially. Brand design director Delhi Amardeep Singh will be supporting Sapre in this endeavour.
 
The company will be headquartered in Mumbai with a branch in Delhi. ‘id‘will be responsible for services including brand design strategy, design architecture and expression to design implementation. M&C Saatchi India executive director Suranjan Das will be responsible for business development.
 
“The launch of ‘id‘ underpins our endeavour to be a media neutral communications company. Design is rapidly evolving in India as a very effective tool of communication and we felt the time was ripe to enter this segment. Sapre has excellent credentials. We have very high expectations from him and the team,” says M&C Saatchi Group India chairman Kamal Oberoi.
 
Sapre has been associated with M&C Saatchi for the last two years. He has also worked with DMA Branding, Collage- the brand design specialisation of RK Swamy BBDO and Contract Advertising.