Category: MAM

MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (earlier Sony Entertainment Television India) has roped in seven sponsors for the third season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Vodafone has come in as a co-presenting sponsor and the associate sponsors are Pepsi and LG. 
 
Indiantelevision.com had earlier reported that MSM had got Videocon as a co-presenting sponsor and Samsung and Hyundai as associate sponsors.

“We have done another deal in the associate sponsorship category but I can’t reveal further details at this stage. Sponsors are shelling out Rs 475,000 per 10-second spot,” MSM president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta tells Indiantelevision.com.
 
MSM is looking at getting in three more associate sponsors. “There are several categories open like DTH and insurance. We are in talks with several companies including the likes of Havells, Godrej and Hero Honda. We have also closed three sponsorship deals for Extraa Innings. We are looking for three more in this segment,” avers Gupta.

Gupta says that sponsors will take around 60-70 per cent of the inventory. “We will look later at spot buys which will start from Rs 500,000,” he adds.

NEW DELHI: Taking advantage of her slim figure, Sony has taken petite actress Kareena Kapoor as their brand ambassador to promote the sales of the latest version of the ultra-slim Sony Vaio X notebook series.

Speaking at a press meet where she presented the new Viao X notebook, Kareena said, “I only lend my name to a brand that is suitable to my personality. Vaio X is slim, stylish and sexy; something that I easily relate with. Even though most people know me as an actor, I have so many passions beyond the movies like fashion, music, technology and design. I am internet savvy and also travel a lot and the new Vaio X will be very useful to me.”
 
An investment of Rs 150 million is going into the promotion of the new products of Sony this year with a continued focus to strengthen brand image towards ATL and BTL activities that involves print and electronic media, online, outdoor and shop-front.

A television commercial, print advertising and fashion shows are the methods through which Kareena and Sony hope to promote the product.
 
Sony India announced its plans to capture 20 per cent of the consumer notebook market with the combination of excellent product design, channel expansion and exciting communication strategy.

Its outlets would be increased to 1000 sales counters by 2010, according to Sony India managing director Masaru Tamagawa.
 
He said, “Sony as a brand has evolved significantly and securing a global brand ambassador is a natural progression to take our brand to the next level in an increasingly competitive market place. Kareena’s blend of spirit and style, iconic status, success and charm match strongly with the Sony brand, which prides itself on innovative and cool design with substance. Also Kareena’s dynamism combined with our brand expertise and innovative thinking aims to provide something new and something different to our customers around the world.”

MUMBAI: Creativeland Asia has won the creative duties for JM Financial following an account review. The size of the business however remains undisclosed.

Earlier, Grey Worldwide was the incumbent agency. 
 
Creativeland chairperson and chief creative officer Sajan Raj Kurup said, “The two long sessions we had with JM on the brand and its way forward, gave us a fantastic overview in each others approach, working style, thought process and beliefs. The Chemistry worked well and we decided to join hands.”
 
Both sides declined to comment on the thought process and way-forward for the brand citing reasons of confidentiality.
 
JM Financial is an integrated financial services group, offering a range of services to a significant clientele that includes corporations, financial institutions, high net-worth individuals and retail investors.

MUMBAI: Uninor, the brand name taken on by Unitech Wireless and Norwegian telecom operator Telenor for the Indian market, has appointed Navia Asia as its out-of-home partner.
 
According to industry sources, the size of the account is estimated to be in the region of Rs 700-800 million.

The agency won the account following a multi-agency pitch that also included Primesite and OAP. 
 
While ZenithOptimedia is the media partner for Uninor, Leo Burnett handles the creative duties.
 
Uninor is a joint venture between India‘s real estate major Unitech Ltd and Norway-based mobile services provider Telenor Group.
 

MUMBAI: In an attempt to woo more youngsters through Pepsi‘s ‘What‘s your way‘ campaign, JWT has developed a new television commercial (TVC) for the soft drink major.
 
As part of Pepsi‘s online campaign, the TVC has been designed primarily for the online audience.
 
The TVC, aimed at creating an awareness about the competition, as well as enhancing the brand image, features Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor and John Abraham.
 
As per the campaign format, participants are being asked to give the solution for the tricky situation to get themselves featured on Pepsi My Can.

The film produced by Cell 18 has been directed by Zubin Driver.
 

MUMBAI: Rediffusion Y&R national creative director Karl Gomes has quit the organisation.

Gomes joined Rediffusion Y&R on 1 November last year. 
 
Confirming the development, Gomes says, “I have left the company. Having put in my papers in the begining of October 30 October was my last day at the office. I have no plans yet.”
 
Other media agencies that Gomes has worked with include Leo Burnett‘s Arc Worldwide as executive creative director – digital, Tribal DDB India.
 
Gomes has worked on brands such as ICICI InfoTech, ICICI Prudential, UTI, Interlabels, Systime Computers, Datamatics Group, Paco Rabanne, Hugo Boss, Carolina Herrera, MphasiS Group, Castrol, Wipro Infotech, Godrej Furniture & Interiors group, Synthetic and Rayon Promotion Council of India.
 

MUMBAI: BBDO India has named Renilson Joseph as associate vice president (AVP) for its Delhi office.

Prior to this, Joseph was director strategic planning at Grey, Bangalore. 
 
In his new capacity, Joseph will be responsible for the agency‘s two significant accounts – Aviva and Quaker Oats. 
 
Says Joseph, “My mandate at BBDO will be to take forward the agency‘s business prospects. I have worked with several media agencies in multiple roles and this will help me execute my work profitably at BBDO.” 
 
Armed with 12 years of experience in the advertising industry, Joseph has worked with agencies such as McCann Erickson, Ogilvy, Ad Inc Muscat, TBWA Chennai and Bates 141.

Some of the brands on which Joseph has worked include Volvo, Allen Solly, Loop Mobile (BPL Mobile), Spencer‘s, Timex, Titan, Hindustan Unilever, and MTV.

MUMBAI: Food brand Smith & Jones has launched a promotional campaign for its newly launched noodles variant, ‘Tadka Marke‘. 
 
The campaign comprises a television commercial (TVC) and the sponsoring of kids-targeted programmes like Shinshan and Kiteretsu on Hungama TV, Hannah Montana on Disney, Power Rangers on Jetix, The Spectacular Spiderman and Jhakaas Zorori on Cartoon Network and Hanuman and Ninja boy on Pogo. 
 
As part of the activity, Smith & Jones has also launched a school contact programme that encapsulates more than 3200 schools pan India. It has also placed advertisements on school stationary and notebooks. 
 
Said Capital Foods MD Ajaay Gupta, “Kids represent an important demographic to us as marketers because they have their own purchasing power; they influence their parents‘ buying decisions and they‘re the adult consumers of the future.”
 

MUMBAI: Mobile operator Tata Docomo has launched its latest television commercial that aims to capture the joys of being together and celebrate “the unity in diversity” that exists in India. 
 
Conceptualized by Draftfcb Ulka, the TVC looks at establishing Tata Docomo as a brand that is refreshingly different and liberating in its approach.
 
Utilizing the key consumer insight “I am different because I am, not because I want to be”, the communication aims direct consumers to shed their inhibitions and feel inspired to do what they want to do.
 
The ad is set in the compartment of the “Friendship Express”. The passengers on the train hail from various regions of the country and belong to different walks of life. While all the passengers on the train are busy in their own world, a young man decides to break the monotony and starts singing the Docomo theme. Soon enough, everybody joins in and begins to celebrate ‘friendship‘. The communication reinforces the message of celebrating togetherness through the line, “Why walk alone, when we can dance together?”

MUMBAI: India can be a fertile market for brands, providing scope for marketers to launch new products to tap a rapidly growing middle class.

According to a research by a leading advertising agency, Indian consumers lead the Asian market in being heavily influenced by current trends and are ready to indulge in and experiment with new brands.

India is also one of the top five countries in Asia at 64 per cent that is highly concerned about household finances amid a global credit crunch. Even after being experimental and optimistic about future brand consumptions, almost 45 per cent of Indians are actively saving money for the future, said a Grey Group study. 
 
Expectations of household finances improving have dropped from 71 per cent (2008) to 48 per cent (2009), while the number of Indians expecting their personal finances to get worse has doubled in the last year.

Overall, 80 per cent of Asians are now saving for the future wherein 50 per cent of Asians are responding with cost-effective measures and are actively shopping around for value-for-money deals to save money, said Grey in its latest “2009 Eye on Asia” study.
 
The economic downturn can have a deep impact on consumer behaviour. Said Grey Group Asia Pacific chairman and CEO Nirvik Singh, “More than ever before, marketers need to understand people‘s evolving attitudes and behaviours to get ready for new opportunities when the market rebounds. Grey Group‘s Eye on Asia study is built on the notion that listening to and building emotional bonds with consumers will enable business owners to differentiate their brands in this Asian century.”

Almost 52 per cent of the Indian consumers are highly influenced by current trends, beating 15 other Asian countries. These include Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Following India in the second spot is Sri Lanka with about 51 per cent of the consumers strongly under the influence of current trends. Meanwhile, China, Bangladesh, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan occupy the next seven positions. 
 
The latest wave of Eye on Asia shows that the general optimism of the Asia region for the future has been significantly dampened but not derailed completely. Inundated with financial weariness, people generally become negative, attitudinally. The declining optimism is resulting in higher tendency to work towards brightening up their future and people are inclined to save more.

On an average, while 76 per cent of Asians believe their future will be better than the past, only 30 per cent of Asians strongly believe in this. The level of optimism is most pronounced in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. However, this view is held by only 7 per cent of Japanese, less than half of the proportion of any other Asian country.

The survey also reveals that only 14 per cent of Asians are very satisfied with their lives. Research findings substantiate that Asians are uncertain about the future, with only 30 per cent of Asians being more content than they were 12 months ago, compared to 39 per cent who are less content. Content levels in Taiwan (60 per cent) and Korea (50 per cent) have decreased.

63 per cent of Asians are satisfied with their lives today, but this average hides a wide variation in Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Japan where the majority are dissatisfied, the study said.