Category: MAM

MUMBAI: Denstu Marcom has appointed Naresh Gupta as planning head for the India region.
 
Prior to this, Gupta was national planning head at Publicis India.
 
In his new role, Gupta will be based out of Delhi and will report to Dentsu India president Rajesh Aggarwal. He will handle brands such as Indiabulls, Canon and Honda.
 
With approximately 20 years of experience in the media industry, Gupta has worked with agencies including Grey and Contract.

MUMBAI: IBD India, a subsidiary of Percept-Hakuhodo, has named Evarist Rego as chief operating officer.

Prior to this, Evarist was COO with Perspectrum Consultancy, Percept Limited‘s market research-driven integrated marketing communications (IMC) consultancy unit.
 
In his new capacity, Evarist will be responsible for consolidating the current business of IBD India across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai. He will be spearheading the function in streamlining the overall service offerings of IBD and generating new business opportunities across offices.
 
Said Rego, “This move is challenging and different, as along with everyday functional responsibilities towards the brand, delivery of a strong strategic product and client relationships will be a priority. IBD India is a growing company and offers a wide canvas, where many integrated services can be incorporated for holistic planning.”
 
With approximately 17 years of experience in ATL and BTL communication verticals such as advertising, events, brand activation, film marketing and rural marketing, Evarist has worked with brands like General Motors, Philips Lighting, Godrej Sara Lee, HPCL and Siyaram‘s.
 

MUMBAI: Post the restructuring of McCann Erickson‘s Mumbai office into two separate entities, the agency has appointed Loveleen Raina and Rahul Mathew to head the fresh units. 
 
The two segments, McCann Erickson One and McCann Erickson Two, will operate as separate P&L centres with different branch heads and creative heads. 
 
Loveleen Raina, currently Unitech Wireless business head at Leo Burnett Delhi, will join the agency as vice-president and GM for the Mumbai office and will head of the one of the divisions. 
 
Rahul Mathew, meanwhile, will join to head the second unit along with McCann Erickson creative director Akshay Kapnadak.

Mathew is currently serving his notice period at Rediffusion Y&R (Mumbai) as creative head.

MUMBAI: Rediffusion Y&R has roped in Kavita Kailas as planning head, Mumbai.

Says Rediffusion Y&R EVP Mumbai Nisha Singhania, “Kailas‘s appointment now completes the triad of servicing, creative and planning that we are creating for each of our clients. With her in depth understanding of woman consumers, she will be a huge asset to the Kaya team and her diverse portfolio will only enhance our insight into the Colgate-Palmolive account. We see her playing a crucial role in our new proprietary approach – brand conversations.”
 
Adds Kailas “I am happy to be part of the Rediffusion Y&R Group. With the diverse brands that Rediffusion Y&R has in its portfolio I look forward to some exciting and interesting times.”

Kavita started her career with Advertising Avenues in 1999. She has worked with brands like Mc Donald‘s, Axe, Clinic, Lifebuoy, P & G feminine and Hygiene care and HDFC Standard Life Insurance Private Ltd.
 
Kailas has also been instrumental in creating awareness on Aids in India and has single handedly managed the execution of the Balbir Pasha- Aids awareness campaign.
 
She brings with her over a decade of advertising and marketing expertise across diverse categories ranging from financial services to FMCG to social services.
 

MUMBAI: Saif Ali Khan has appointed management firm Carving Dreams to manage his brand and all his business interests.
 
Says Khan, “Carving Dreams has earned a reputation in the industry and given their expertise and strong credentials, I am confident that the association will prove to be a fruitful one. I look forward to working with them.” 
 
Avers Carving Dreams CEO Afsar Zaidi, “Carving Dreams as a group is fully committed to extending the scope of celebrity management in this country. We look forward to this partnership with Saif Ali Khan.”

MUMBAI: Out-of-home media company (OOH) Laqshya Media has partnered with the Maharashtra Government for the week-long cultural festival, ‘Mumbai Saptarang‘.

The festival, ending on 28 January, has been organized by the Cultural Affairs Dept, Government of Maharashtra as part of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Maharashtra. 
 
As part of the initiative, Laqshya Media has provided billboards in Mumbai for 10 days to execute the ‘Mumbai Saptarang‘ campaign. Ten billboards have been put up at strategic locations across Mumbai at Bandra, Santacruz, Juhu, Vile Parle, JVPD Kaifee Azmee Garden, Versova, Andheri New Link Road, Malad Inorbit and two at Kandivali. 
 
‘Mumbai Saptarang‘ is showcasing Maharashtra‘s arts, culture and traditions at seven different venues across Mumbai, which include the Gateway of India, NCPA, Pu. La. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy, Nare Park-Parel, Jambori Maidan-Worli, Government Colony Maidan- Bandra, Kannamwar Nagar-Vikroli and Mumbai University‘s Complex at Kalina.

Said Government of Maharashtra, cultural affairs dept spokesperson, “Mumbai Saptarang received an overwhelming response this year and we are happy to partner with Laqshya Media for such initiatives in the future.”
 
Added Projects Laqshya Media president Indrajit Sen, “We are pleased to lend our expertise to the state government for Mumbai Saptarang. This is a rare and unique initiative and we are honoured to get the opportunity to be a part and support the celebrations in a unique way.”
 

MUMBAI: Dentsu Marcom managing director Rajat Sethi has put in his papers.

Sethi joined the agency in September 2009 and cites a mismatch in leadership and management styles as the key reason for quitting the agency.
 
While Sethi is still to decide on his next move, he informs that a couple opportunities awaits him and he is to take decision in the next two weeks. 
 
Prior to joining Dentsu, Sethi was Reader‘s Digest International head – country operations. 
 
A graduate in Economics and a post graduate in management studies, Sethi has assisted companies such as Wunderman and McCann Relationship Marketing to build their India operations.

MUMBAI: One brand that is looking at a variety of sports in addition to cricket is Hero Honda. The company is the title sponsor of the Hockey World Cup that kicks off next month.
 
ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has roped in Hero Honda as an associate sponsor for the soccer World Cup. The event takes place from 11 June – 11 July 2010 in South Africa.
 
A media buyer says that a host of other brands like LG and HP are in discussions with the broadcaster.

As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com Vodafone has come on board as a co-sponsor while Nokia is an associate sponsor.
 
ESS is now looking for one more co-sponsor and four more associate sponsors. The co-sponsors will shell out between Rs 80- Rs 100 million, says the media buyer. The associate sponsors will shell out between Rs 40 – 60 million.

South Africa Tourism has already started running spots on ESS urging fans to travel there. The country is no doubt counting on the fact that it held a successful Indian Premier League (IPL) last year to hook Indian visitors.

MUMBAI: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kings XI Punjab has announced the appointment of its new marketing general manager Chandrabhan Tiwari. 
 
Tiwari brings over 11 years of experience in sales and marketing with vast expertise in operations and strategic planning. At KXIP, Chandrabhan will be responsible for planning and execution of all the marketing activities and be responsible for all promotions at a regional, national and international level.
 
He joins KXIP from Silvol India where he was VP marketing and sales.
 
Kings X1 Punjab CEO Anil Srivatsa says, “We are pleased to welcome Chandrabhan to KXIP. With his rich and varied experience in the marketing and sales industry, we are confident that he will add significant merit to KXIP. Coupled with a strong marketing and operational acumen, he is best suited to lead our marketing operation and help achieve our business objectives.”

MUMBAI: Turkish Airlines and Manchester United Football Club came to an agreement on a sponsorship deal.

The official ceremony of this sponsorship contract between Turkish Airlines, the Europe’s fourth-biggest carrier by passengers and Manchester United, one the football giants of the world, will be carried out during the coming days at the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester United.
 
According to the three and a half year sponsorship contract, all the ad materials and logos of Turkish Airlines will be displayed on the internal screens of the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester and all other locations of the team.

Turkish Airlines will also make commercial films with the players of Manchester United Club and carry out the promotion of this sponsorship deal in all the arenas of advertising and mass media outlets.

With title of “the official sponsor of Manchester United,” Turkish Airlines will transport the players of the club to the tournaments and training camps as the team’s official carrier.
 
Turkish Airlines chairman Hamdi Topcu said that the sponsorship deal was very important and this cooperation would provide a big support for Turkish Airlines which is presently advancing towards becoming a global brand. Saying that he was very happy about becoming the official carrier for one of the greatest football clubs in England, the chairman also added the deal would bring mutual benefits to both sides.
 
 
Manchester United CEO David Gill said, “We are delighted to have secured a long term partnership with Turkish Airlines. This deal is yet another indication of the global appeal of Manchester United and we are pleased to welcome them to the club”.