Category: MAM

MUMBAI: Expanding its portfolio in the Southern region, Ignitee Digital Solutions has bagged two new accounts namely Bangalore-based Purvankara Builders and Developers and the Thotta Tharani project from Chennai.

The other southern sphere portfolios that the agency handles include Club Mahindra and real estate company, Rebi. 
 
As part of its new mandate, Ignitee will formulate a social media marketing campaign for Purvankara Projects.

Says Purvankara AVP (communications) Kalyan Shankar Dutt, “India‘s real estate sector is northbound again. We needed someone who could formulate an effective campaign to consolidate our presence on the web and that is where we found Ignitee has all the elements of coming up with an appropriate strategy that will help us in achieving our desired objectives.”
 
Also, as part of its second win, Ignitee will be managing the website of Chennai-based art director Thotta Tharani. 
 
Comments Ignitee national business director, “We are certain that we will see these wins increasing further-more, continuing to imprint and strengthen various geographies across India and close the year with more clients added to our roster.”
 

MUMBAI: Voice Mobile has roped in Macaw, a group entity of India News Communications (INCL), to handle its advertising, creative and media mandate following a multi-agency pitch.
 
Says INCL Group director & CEO Prashant Kumar, “After getting adversely affected by the economic slowdown, the information technology industry is now on the recovery mode. There is a great scope to show our understanding of the market and creativity in this account. We are hopeful that we will be able to earn a brand status for Voice Mobile.”
 
Voice Mobile came into existence in January 2009. For the first three months, the company conducted extensive product sampling to know about the competitive mobile brands operating in the Indian market. This was later followed by six months of rigorous channel sales streamlining process.
 

MUMBAI: Crayon Communications has bagged the media duties of Shoexpress, part of the Landmark Group. The account will be handled out of the agency‘s Dubai office.
 
The retail store which includes footwear, accessories, handbags, socks and belts, targets the entire family and is looking at a new marketing strategy to attract wider audiences.
 
Shoexpress has retail outlets in Middle East countries like Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.

Crayon Communications Dubai handles clients including Babyshop, Fashionation.me, DEC and ES Bankers.

MUMBAI: Grey Group India has appointed C Vijai Ambalavanan as its Chennai branch head. He will be reporting to VP and head South Vijay Jacob.
 
Prior to this, Ambalavanan was with Leo Burnett CSD.

“Ambalavanan brings with him close to 11 years of experience in advertising and marketing and will be responsible for building Grey‘s presence in Chennai,” says Jacob.
 
Ambalavanan has worked with TBWA, Bates 141 and Leo Burnett, handling acounts such as Nyle, Chik and Meera shampoo and CavinKare brands.

In the south, the agency handles clients like RmkV Wedding Silks, Britannia, ITC Foods and United Spirits.
 

MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC), which held its third annual sponsor forum in Dubai, discussed issues relating to the World Twenty20 2010 to be staged in the West Indies from 30 April to 16 May and the Cricket World Cup 2011 in Asia.
 
On the first day, Ten Sports COO Peter hutton dwelt on achieving return on investment in emerging markets, stressing the point that sponsors need to get involved with broadcast deals in key development areas in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the US – rather than the current situation where there are minimal audiences paying premium pay per view pricing.
 
This was followed by a panel discussion on achieving return on investment from sports properties by Hutton, Sports Media MD Prem Bhatia and Mindspring commercial director Doug Thackrey.

On the second day, there was a discussion on the marketing and promotional activities for the ICC World Twenty20 West Indies 2010 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Commercial support for teams from emerging cricket markets such as Ireland, Netherlands, Canada, Kenya and Afghanistan competing in major ICC events was also on the agenda.
 
ICC GM commercial Campbell Jamieson says, “International cricket is fortunate to have such dynamic and enthusiastic commercial partners and this forum is about cementing those strong relationships. The main outcome of this year’s forum was that with just one year to go until the first ball is bowled of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, all the partners must work together as they seek a reasonable return on their investment in our great sport.”

The annual gathering provided an opportunity for senior representatives of the ICC’s commercial partners to plan and discuss their involvement in ICC events. These included broadcast partner ESPN Star Sports; commercial partners Reliance Mobile, LG, Pepsi, Hero Honda, Emirates, Reebok and Yahoo!; official licensees Cricket Logistics, Licensing in Motion, Getty Images, Sportsbrand and IMG Sports Media.

The ICC plans to stage another such gathering of commercial partners after the completion of the World Twenty20 West Indies 2010, specifically in preparation for the Cricket World Cup 2011.
 

MUMBAI: Yahoo! funded global advertising network Tyroo will exclusively promote and sell designated ad space on Yatra.com.

Says Yatra.com head marketing & strategic relations Pratik Mazumder, “With this tie-up we expect many more prestigious advertisers to promote their brands on Yatra.com and reach out to one of the most filtered, targeted and premium audiences.”
 
Tyroo will be responsible for selling the designated ad space on Yatra.com to Indian and international companies. In return, the ad network will receive commission for the space sold.
 
“With our partnership with Yatra, we will offer innovative and engaging advertising opportunities to companies which help them build stronger online brand associations and engage the audience,” says Tyroo head product & business development Siddharth Puri.
 
Yatra.com opened its website for advertising last year. Nokia, Airtel, Citibank, HP, ICICI, Reliance Communications, Tata Indicom, Hyundai i20, Mahindra Xylo, Fiat Linea, Maruti Suzuki are some of the top advertisers to have advertised on the website during the year.

MUMBAI: The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has roped in Premier Brands as a three-year sponsor for Rs 75 million. The BAI said that the amount that it secured from the contract, brokered by Total Sports Asia (TSA), would all accrue to the badminton players.
 
Former players will administer the sponsorship amounts. BAI president VK Verma says, “The entire receivables from the sponsorship would go directly to the players and BAI will not use any of it for its administrative costs. Also, we are presenting a model of financial governance that will set the highest standard of transparency in sports administration.”
 
Premier Brands chairman Suresh Kumar emphasised that the engagement with BAI is not just a sponsorship deal. “It is our way of giving back to the society for development of sports in India and contributing to a sport with tremendous Indian heritage, history and a sense of national pride in which India has consistently proven its worth at a world stage. We looked at different sports federations in India and came to a conclusion that BAI is one of the most professionally managed sports bodies. We will soon be announcing several other international sports and lifestyle alliances on the global scale.”

The BAI says that this deal is not only a landmark in the history of Indian badminton but also heralds a new beginning for the sport in the country. The renaissance of Indian badminton is led by Saina Nehwal, who is scripting history with her exceptional talent and grit. Other players like Chetan Anand, Anup Sridhar, Arvind Bhat, V Diju and Jwala Gutta have also won laurels in some important tournaments across the world.
 
By becoming the official title sponsor of the National badminton team, Premier Brands gained the right to be featured prominently on the front of the team jerseys, to be named the presenting sponsor of the Yonex Sunrise Asian Badminton Championship to be held here from 12 – 18 April 2010 as a pre-cursor to the Commonwealth Games and the domestic circuit.
 

MUMBAI: The Asia TV Ad Coalition (ATAC) networks are promoting a new trade marketing campaign, Cable And Satelllite Broadcastiong Association of Asia said.

The ATAC networks cover the majority of adspend on subscription TV across Asia, including Discovery Networks Asia, CNN, Fox One Stop Media, SPE Networks – Asia, Bloomberg Television, CNBC Asia and NBC Universal.
 
The centerpiece of the new campaign is a pair of high-value TV commercials targeted at regional advertisers and media agencies to be played out by the ATAC networks over a one-month period.

The ATAC TVCs – Illumination, demonstrating the media efficiency of pay-TV, and Fishing, signaling its media reach – have been designed to convey the benefits of subscription TV as the heart of a sophisticated media plan.
 
SPE Networks Asia VP ad sales and marketing Jack Lim says, “The core message is the unrivalled reach of Asia’s pay-TV networks. As of January 2010, one billion people in 327 million subscription TV households were connected to Asian pay-TV systems with a growth rate of 12 per cent since the end of 2008. Today, this accounts for 45 per cent of all TV households.”

The ATAC campaign is supported by a print and on-line trade marketing campaign to maximize creative impact.
 
Universal McCann MD Chris Skinner says, “Targeting regional media planners and advertisers via commercials on the ATAC networks is a strategic use of existing inventory. It continues to demonstrate how broadcasters are evolving and investing in their businesses.”
 

MUMBAI: Keeping in line with its partnership agreement with the Indian Premier League (IPL), Colors has created a new cricket entertainment campaign to craft the IPL brand into a “spicier” variety.

Christened IPL Tadka Maar Ke, the campaign, beginning tomorrow, will initiate the launch of four new properties – IPL Rockstars (a music talent hunt show), IPL Fear Factor Edition, IPL Awards and IPL Parties.

Avers Colors marketing head Rameet Arora, “IPL Tadka Maar Ke is the perfect marriage between two very strong entertainment brands – IPL and Colors. We have created this unique campaign IPL Tadka Maar Ke to signify the Colors‘ contribution in making brand IPL even spicier.” 
 
The channel has also constituted a logo for the campaign, which reflects the “energy of IPL and cricket and the ‘tadka‘ or the unique touch that Colors brings.”

The Logo communicates everything – the vibrancy, the richness, the dynamics and its mass appeal through bright orange tongues and yellow flaming tongues lapping up all the excitement.
 
Amongst the properties, IPL Rockstars will be the first of its kind music talent hunt show where the contestants will be performing inside the stadium during the IPL matches. Meanwhile, the channel is in process of finalising the IPL players for the IPL Fear Factor Edition.
 
 
Among the other properties, IPL Awards will ad a glitzy and glamorous Bollywood tadka to the event while IPL Parties will be full of fun and fashion.

The channel has decided to promote the IPL Tadka Maar Ke brand heavily across its network channels and other media platforms.

MUMBAI: The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club Bombay (ACB) will host the 2010 Goafest from 8-10 April.

The festival, now in its fifth year, will play on the theme ‘Survival of the Freshest‘.
 
Says Goafest 2010 chairman and JWT CEO Colvyn Harris, “Goafest has grown into a multifaceted convention for the Indian advertising industry. This year‘s theme is set in the context of fast-evolving technological trends, where advertisers are being challenged to use clutter-breaking ideas and media. The eminent panel of judges will reward those who have risen successfully to the challenge and worked towards greater brand-building in the country.” 
 
Adds Industry Leadership Conclave chairman Sam Balsara, “After growing at nearly 20 per cent year on year for five years, the advertising market dipped in 2009 by as much as 10 per cent. It‘s time to grow now and make up for lost time with sharp strategies and plans to develop brands, markets, creativity, media markets and research.” 
 
A Business Conclave will precede Goafest on 8 April at 3 pm where CEOs will introspect, debate, define and arrive at plans to achieve scorching growth rates. The next two days will focus on the knowledge and learning seminars, the Media Abby Awards (9 April) and the Creative Abby Awards (10 April).