Category: MAM

MUMBAI: Chrysler Group LLC has launched a new corporate advertising campaign, designed to reach out to consumers as well as the company‘s suppliers and partners.
 
The new corporate campaign, “Coming Home,” has been created and produced by the Chrysler brand‘s advertising agency of record, Fallon. It is scheduled to air during the bowl games as well as the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brand web sites.
 
Said Chrysler Group LLC head of marketing Olivier Francois, “The ad tells a story of Chrysler products bringing home loved ones throughout the years and our commitment to continuing to bring them home. It was important to tell this story during the holiday season because it is a time when families come together.”
 
The ad features a driver bringing home a leather travel bag throughout the years in various Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles. The travel bag symbolizes the continuation of life with all Chrysler Group brands and is the string that ties the entire story together. While various Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles are featured throughout, the ad begins with a 1930‘s Chrysler Airflow and ends with a 2010 Chrysler 300 sedan.

MUMBAI: Star World, the English general entertainment channel (GEC) from Star India, is set to launch the third season of Ugly Betty, come 1 January.

Targeting the younger demographic, the one-hour show will be telecast from Monday to Friday at 10 pm.
 
Says Star World VP-programming Jyotsna Viriyala, “The show will replace the fifth season of Desperate Housewives. Once the season for Ugly Betty gets over, we will get Desperate Housewives back onto the slot with its sixth season.”

As part of the marketing initiative, the channel has tied up with Elle, the leading fashion magazine in India. As a part of the partnership, the channel is running a contest to find the Betty Of Elle wherein one winner will get the chance to intern at Elle and win a cash reward of Rs 50,000.
 
Earlier, an Ugly Betty cutout was placed in agencies wherein people could get themselves clicked with Ugly Betty and frame their pictures to be placed on their tables.

Those who opt to get themselves clicked automatically qualify to be a part of a lucky draw. Five lucky winners per agency get and vouchers worth Rs 1000. The activity was carried out in 11 media buying agencies across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

Internet activities were initiated through SMOs; the Star World page on Facebook, Orkut and Twitter was populated with Ugly Betty related updates. Blogs were also created and one blogger given a wildcard entry to intern with Elle. This is apart from the microsite created for ‘The Star World Betty of Elle contest‘.

MUMBAI: BBDO India, which was set up in 2007 under the leadership of chairman & national creative director Josy Paul (who was later joined by CEO Ajai Jhala), yesterday got the go-ahead from India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to formalize its setup.

Under the approval, R K Swamy BBDO has been permitted to induct foreign equity amounting to Rs 12.75 million from BBDO Worldwide into its wholly-owned subsidiary BBDO India. Following this, BBDO India will operate as a separate private limited company.

RK Swamy BBDO group CEO Shekar Swamy says that the process of changing BBDO India from a wholly-owned subsidiary into a new company is currently on and it will become functional as a private limited organization by the end of the first quarter of 2010.
 
Adds Shekar: “The clearances have been under process for the past year or so. We believe that BBDO would like to scale up BBDO India, but it’s unlikely to happen in 2010. We have offices in Delhi and Mumbai and would like to consolidate them first.”

BBDO Worldwide will become a majority stake owner in BBDO India while RK Swamy BBDO will invest a significant amount to become a minority partner.
 
Says Swamy, “We needed BBDO India to function as a separate entity so that we could have multiple agencies from our stable operational in the market, thereby, increasing our overall market share. Thus, we decided to bring in a change in the investment pattern at BBDO India.” 

Swamy further reveals that BBDO India is doing well with accounts such as 7Up, Hewlett Packard’s Printing and Imaging Business, Gillette, Quaker Oats, Nimbooz, Aviva Life Insurance, Wrigley’s Doublemint and a new brand from Godrej. Some of its recent works include campaigns such as Aviva ‘Education Is insurance’, Quaker Oats’ ‘Mission to Make India Heart Healthy’, Nimbooz ‘Ekdum Asli Indian’, 7 Up ‘Mood Ko Do Lemon Ka Lift’ and Wrigley’s Doublemint ‘Front Foot Pe Chabao’.

MUMBAI: It’s looking at a brighter 2010. Mumbai-hqed Bright Outdoor Media is pushing for a 15-20 per cent revenue growth in the coming year.

The company expects 50 per cent of this revenue to come from its BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking) business, the advertising rights of which it acquired recently for the period 2010 to 2013.
 
Says Bright Outdoor CMD Yogesh Lakhani, “We had bid very aggressively for the BEST tender and won it through a Rs 1.23 billion bid for a three-year period (2010-2013). This includes 4605 single–decker buses and 125 double-decker buses.”

Earlier, the BEST advertising rights business was held by Pioneer Publicity which had paid Rs 700 million for the period 2004-2010 for approximately 3200 BEST buses.

Lakhani says the higher bid has forced him to revise advertising rates by 10-15 per cent. Elaborates Lakhani, “We need to do this to get a return on our investment. Currently, we service approximately 600 clients in Mumbai, out of which 150 are corporates while others are local players.”
 
The BEST contract, informs Lakhani, will kick start from 1 April 2010. Lakhani expects TV channel and programme advertising to account for a majority of the spaces (vacancies), followed by pan masala brands, Bollywood releases and the banking sector, not necessarily in that order.

“GECs are expected to contribute about 5 per cent of the total revenue coming from BEST,” he says.
 
According to a source in the company, while branding on the back panel of a BEST bus is priced at Rs 8,000 for a month, the left panel is priced at Rs 4,500 for a month. The right panel is priced at Rs 5,500 for a month and a full double decker bus is priced at Rs 65,000 a month.

Bright Outdoor Media, which presently operates in Mumbai, Goa and Pune, plans to barge into the Delhi outdoors in the next six months. It owns and operates around 1500 hoardings in Mumbai city, of which 85 per cent are occupied currently, claims Lakhani. Luck sure tends to favour Lakhani.
 

MUMBAI: HLL Lifecare, formerly known as Hindustan Latex, has appointed Lintas Media Group (LMG) as its media AOR, following a multi-agency pitch.
 
The size of the account is pegged to be in the region of Rs 50-60 million.

As part of its new mandate, LMG will handle the entire product portfolio for HLL Lifecare, including Moods, oral contraceptive pill brand Saheli, Crezendo, and Preventol.
 
“There were approximately 12 agencies contending for the account,” said HLL Lifecare AGM – product management Keraleeyan. “We found LMG‘s commercial proposal attractive, and thus went for it.”
 
It is pertinent to note here that the creative duties of HLL Lifecare‘s condom brand Moods are with RK Swamy BBDO while Publicis Ambience handles the creatives for its oral contraceptive pill brand Saheli.

MUMBAI: Bangalore-based Out-of-Home (OOH) company Serve & Volley‘s chief operating officer J Vishwanath has put in his papers.

Currently serving his notice period, Vishwanath will be with the company till the end of March.
 
Confirming the development, Vishwanath says, “I have spent three years with this company and am now looking out for better opportunities. He also cited personal reasons contributing to this decision.”
 
On his future, Vishwanath says, “It‘s still early to decide. I am evaluating the various options available.”

Serve & Volley has yet to decide on who will step into Vishwanath‘s position.
 
The OOH company was founded in 1998 and has been associated with projects including Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and Kolkata Metro Rail.

MUMBAI: Betting big on its upcoming reality cum game show National Bingo Night that will have Abhishek Bachchan making his debut on television as a host, Colors is carrying out a flurry of marketing activities – all surrounding the “Aaram” (relax) factor.

For starters, the promotional campaign has centred around the Aaram factor. Colors is claiming that viewers just need to sit and relax to enjoy the show that is to unveil on 23 January.
 
The campaign shows glimpses of Bachchan reclining on an easy lazy boy chair or dozing in a cozy bed in promos announcing the launch of his ‘Aaram Classes‘.
Says Colors programming head Ashvini Yardi, “Abhishek Bachchan embodies the charm, the grace and the persona of the young India. His energy, spirit and infectious charm is something that will be refreshing for Indian television. This was the exact mix of qualities we were looking for in the person who would host this new show.”

The format of the show is originally owned by 20th Century Fox Television Distribution. In India, it is being produced by Fox Television Studios India.
 
Says Colors marketing head Rameet Arora adds, “A unique show calls for unique ideas. When we decided to do this show, we knew that the promotion had to be unique. It did not involve any application of brains or IQ or answering tough questions or engaging in any strenuous physical activity. Yet everyone is involved. This is when we hit upon the concept of Abhishek‘s Aaram Classes.”

The campaign, which launched the ‘Abhishek‘s Aaram Classes,‘ was created by creative agency Orchard with the promos being shot by Morse Code Productions.

The idea behind the campaign focused on the simplicity of the show and how one does not need to do anything to win, enjoy or meet Abhishek Bachchan – the only skill required is the ability to chill, lay back and enjoy.

Adds Arora, “Aaram is the idea that will be the center point of the Bingo campaign all the way through. In ways that I promise will surprise you. So keep watching for the campaign as it unrolls.”
 
The campaign has become a rage on the internet in less then 10 days. Arora claims that the microsite has got close to a million page views and hundreds of thousands of viewers. The channel has also got over 50,000 user generated comments and tips on aaram. Thousands of people have taken the test to get the certificate of being an Aarami, over 6000 registered themselves as fans on the official face book page of I Am Aarami. Also, there are already close to 2000 followers on twitter.

The channel has taken a 360 degree approach that involved the use of all traditional forms of media and below the line promotion as well. Apart from short teaser films across channels and on Colors, the channel has put a sofa with a man chilling during the peak hour at contact points like railway stations and bus stops.

Colors has already roped in Idea Cellular as title sponsor for the show.

MUMBAI: Apple Rush, the producer of Organic 100 per cent juice sparkling beverages, has retained the services of Jumpstart Marketing for its 2010 marketing and advertising campaign.

Jumpstart specializes in assisting companies in gaining access to mass market retail establishments through its network of sales representatives, media contacts and celebrity endorsements.
 
Says Jumpstart Marketing president Rich Cotler, “We are happy to begin our marketing campaign with the organic Apple Rush beverages. With our extensive portfolio we know this will be a constructive relationship that will have a positive impact on their exposure and brand awareness.” 
 
Jumpstart claims to utilize its experience with mass-market retail channels and close tie-in with Hollywood celebrities and celebrity athletes to create brand awareness by achieving successful placement of a company‘s product(s) on celebrities where they can be seen on TV, in movies, and in magazines. This offers a significantly lower cost of promotion than traditional advertisements in the above-the-line media platforms as well as creating a product “endorsement”, the company says in a release.
 
Says Apple Rush Co president Robert Corr, “Jumpstart Marketing offers us the opportunity to gain a substantial amount of exposure, and they have the experience to professionally market our beverage line.”

MUMBAI: Bollywood and lifestyle channel Zoom is the latest beneficiary of the “roadblock” strategy that seems to have caught the fancy of advertisers in a downturn year.

Fastrack, the youth lifestyle brand that specialises in the manufacturing of watches, eye wear and accessories, will block for the entire day on 30 December the advertising space on Zoom.

“Fastrack will ocuppy roughly 12,000 seconds on the channel, including both advertising space as well as promos,” Zoom Entertainment Network CEO Suresh Bala tells Indiantelevision.com.
 
As part of the tie-up, Fastrack‘s new campaign myEXbox, which is built around the brand‘s theme ‘Move On,‘ will be exclusively aired on the channel along with six other creatives.

To complete its loop, the Fastrack myEXbox campaign will step beyond television to invite people to record or upload their confessions on www.fastrack.in/myEXbox to get a chance to be the next such Fastrack ad on TV. 
 
Says Zoom business head Bala Iyengar, “Fastrack has a very strong connect with the modern youth today, and we are extremely sure that their new “Move On” collection and ad campaign will be appreciated and liked by the Zoom viewers. This is yet another innovation from Zoom to rise above the marketing clutter and do something innovative and unique.”

Adds Fastrack marketing head Simeran Bhasin, “As a youth brand, we need to constantly innovate and experiment; with not only our communication but the way we use different media vehicles. The Roadblock on Zoom is another such attempt.”

The channel‘s media account is handled by Maxus.
 
Earlier in September, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) blocked one complete day across all channels from the Star and Zee stables to consume the entire advertising airtime for that day.

Ads of 20 HUL brands ran across 10 channels of the Star network including Star Plus, Star One, Star Gold, Star Utsav, Star Movies, Star World, Channel [V], Star Jalsha, Star Pravah and Star Vijay on 17 September.

On 24 September, a similar exercise was repeated on the Zee network with HUL conducting a roadblock across 25 Zee channels.

HUL repeated the roadblock on the Star network channels on 29 October.

MUMBAI: Krimson Media Services has roped in Idea Telecom as the title sponsor for the upcoming cricket series in Bangladesh.

Idea will be shelling out Rs 50 million, a source says. Other clients include UTI Mutual Funds and Tata Motors.

The tour, which commences from 4 January, includes seven ODIs (involving India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) and two Tests between India and Bangladesh. 
 
The ODI series will take place between 4-13 January, followed by the Tests from 17 January onwards.

Says Krimson Media Services CEO Sunil Manocha, “The interest level in this series is very high and we have already closed out the title sponsor position for the one-day and the Test series. Idea Telecom is the title sponsor for both the series.”
 
Krimson Media is in negotiations to close out the associate sponsor position. “We will also be closing all rights very soon,” Manocha adds.