ITV

Category: MAM

  • BBC World wins ‘best billboard campaign’

    MUMBAI:BBC World‘s New York City advertising campaign has won the best billboard campaign at the 21st London International Advertising Awards.











    The campaign had the biggest world events and news topics as the central feature, asserts an official release.




    The outdoor campaign, created by BBDO New York, was developed to support the official launch of the 24-hour BBC World channel in the US. The campaign communicated ‘unbiased international news‘ focusing on global content the channel brings to US viewers, adds the release.


    News beyond your borders was about reminding Americans that there is news outside the United States and that BBC World gives its viewers a global perspective. It appeared from 5 June, via posters and interior cards on the New York area commuter rail network.


    Each advert depicted a puzzle, which at first glance appeared to be a vaguely familiar map, but on further examination, revealed a new image – a soldier with a gun; a health worker holding an infected bird; a hostage being detained; and a city under water.


    The execution also appeared as an insert in the Financial Times and Newsday in June.


    BBC World director of marketing Jane Gorard says, “Our brief to BBDO was to create a powerful outdoor campaign that generated buzz around New York and sparked debate around some key global news issues. The powerful images highlighted the global perspective and the impartiality of coverage, for which BBC World is known around the world. We are delighted to see the campaign get this level of international recognition.”

  • Sybase completes acquisition of mobile 365

    Sybase completes acquisition of mobile 365

    MUMBAI: Sybase, Inc. a provider of enterprise infrastructure and mobile software has announced its completion of the acquisition of Mobile 365, Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at $417 million. Net of acquired cash, the transaction is valued at $397 million.

    Mobile 365 will now operate as Sybase 365, a wholly-owned subsidiary. Sybase Inc. senior vice president corporate development and marketing Marty Beard will lead the new subsidiary as president, asserts an official release.

    The Sybase mFolio business will be integrated into Sybase 365 immediately, and certain assets of Sybase AvantGo will be integrated into Sybase 365 early in 2007, adds the release.

    Sybase chairman, CEO and president John Chen said, “Built on unique intellectual property and a comprehensive global network, Sybase 365 provides the messaging infrastructure-of-choice for interoperability and content delivery. With this acquisition, we expand our unwired enterprise offerings and our ability to deliver information anytime, anywhere, to any type of device.”

    Through its network of approximately 700 mobile operators, including Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Cingular, Telefonica and China Mobile, Sybase 365 will continue to focus on enabling the content providers and global brands, such as Citibank, Yahoo!, AOL, MSN and Twentieth Century Fox to mobilise their content and applications.

    Verizon Wireless vice president wireless internet and multimedia services Jim Straight said, “As we approach the fifth anniversary of Mobile 365 launching carrier services here in the U.S., i’m pleased they have found a corporate parent who brings additional resources and opportunities to the market and that Mobile 365 will continue to serve us as they have in the past.”

    “The acquisition solidly positions Sybase between mobile operators, content providers, and global brands-further extending our worldwide leadership in enterprise mobility,” said Beard.

  • Revlon introduces new ‘Colorstay’ top coat

    MUMBAI: Modi Revlon has introduced new Colorstay top coat, which restores the nail color for upto 9 days and retains its shine.
     
     
    The patented polymer complex of the Revlon Colorstay top coat ensures a unique sealing system for the nail color. It consists of special lustre-lock silicones that smoothens imperfections and locks in high shine, asserts an official release.









    Targetting women across all age groups, the ColorStay top coat by Revlon is priced at Rs 125 for 8 ml and is available across all leading cosmetic stores in India, adds the release.


    Modi Revlon Pvt. Ltd. an International dealer in cosmetics, skin care, personal care and fragrances, is a formidable alliance between Modi Mundipharma (Umesh Modi Group of Industries) and Revlon of USA.

  • Google contract extended by Radio frequency firm for ad campaign









    MUMBAI:Vendor neutral UHF Radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions firm, RFID Ltd., has renewed its advertising campaign, with the search engine developed by Google Inc.




    Google advertising campaign has been part of RFID Ltd‘s drive to inform consumers and media professionals about the benefits of UHF radio frequency identification technology and its applications, asserts an official release.


    RFID Ltd CEO Nicholas Chavez said, ‘‘Google has done an excellent job directing traffic to RFID, Ltd. over the past 12 months. It is integral that we continue the provision of information to existing and potential shareholders through this medium.‘‘


    In a report released in October 2006, industry analyst IDTechEX asserted that the rapidly-expanding RFID sector is currently worth $2.77 billion.


    Since the apparent withdrawal of Alien Technology Corporation‘s IPO on 4 August 2006, RFID, Ltd. appears to be the only publicly traded RFID pure-play company. Existing and potential shareholders of RFID, Ltd can now locate the newly released 2006 RFID, Ltd. Investor Kit via Google, adds the release.


    RFID LTD. (OTC:RFDL) formulates, tests and deploys vendor neutral UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions for small to medium sized businesses required to comply with retail and government RFID-centric mandates.

  • Shemaroo in partnership with Croma

    Shemaroo in partnership with Croma

    MUMBAI: Home video major Shemaroo has tied up with Infiniti Retail which is a subsidiary of Tata Sons to retail DVDs and VCDs at Croma. This is Infinity’s electronics mega-store in the Mumbai suburb of Juhu.

    Croma says that it is the country’s first national, large-format, specialist retail chain for consumer electronics and durables. The first Croma mega store was recently launched in Juhu, Mumbai.

    It is spread over 20,000 sq. ft. of space has on display more than 6000 products across eight categories – Home entertainment, Small appliances, white goods, computers and peripherals, communication, music, imaging and gaming software. The store currently offers more than 180 national and international brands.

    In the first 18 months, Infiniti Retail plans to launch 30 such large-format stores across the country.

    Shemaroo VP Hiren Gada said, “It gives us great pleasure to be associated with Infiniti Retail. We firmly believe that organised retail stores like Croma will help grow the legitimate home video market in India.”

    Infiniti Retail CEO Ajit Joshi says, “We are very pleased to partner with Shemaroo Video Pvt. Ltd. for this initiative. It is our endeavor to provide customers with an excellent range of quality products and world-class service. Our association with Shemaroo, a pioneer in the business of home entertainment in India, will enable us to offer our customers with a wide variety of movie titles ranging from the classics to the latest blockbusters.”

  • More ‘adult targeted’ brands move to Cartoon Network

    MUMBAI: Cartoon Network is growing up.

    If official statistics are to be believed, nearly 40 per cent of the audience belongs to the 18 + category.

    Currently, the only full fledged animation kids’ channel in the country, Cartoon Network made a huge dent in the pre schoolers’ category this year with the launch of daily three hour band Tiny TV. Ironically, the launch of the band was based on in house research that indicated that mothers along with the two to six year olds, form the bulk of the channel’s audience base. Almost a year later, Turner International executive director, strategic marketing Nikhil Mirchandani, says Tiny TV has helped channel viewership zoom upwards by 50 per cent.

    Needless to say, mothers form a large part of that audience. Cashing in on this development, the channel has roped in several more advertisers thus far restricting to advertising on mainstream channels. Cartoon Network now has Life Insurance Corporation, Asian Paints, Nokia, Surf and Hyundai on board. While Asian Paints is a sponsor of the channel’s ongoing Toon Diwali Dhamaka contest, Citibank has tied up with the channel for another new promotion.

    A bulk 17 hours of daily programming is now in Hindi, helping bond with viewers, even as localisation remains a priority for the channel, in India . Most of these brands are first timers to Cartoon Network but as the audience base begins to grow, says Mirchandani, the toon shows are not appealing just to the ‘very young, the young kids but also to the kid in all of us.’

  • Infomedia & Reed Business Information partner to launch Hotfrog.in

    MUMBAI: Infomedia India Ltd., special interest and directory publishing company has joined forces with the Australian business to business publisher Reed Business Information, and its online division, Catch, to launch Hotfrog.in in India.

    Hotfrog.in is a free business listings site where the content is driven by its users and is maintained and updated by its users. Users are able to update their listings with press releases announcing news for their business, as well as listing products and services and linking back to external websites, informs an official release.

    “Being India’s largest Yellow Pages and having healthy partnership with Reed Business Information, it was a logical step to launch an Indian-based site as it’s such a rapidly growing and vibrant online market,” Infomedia managing director Prakash Iyer said.
    “HotFrog is one of the most exciting new web developments which gives users control. We are happy and confident that with the strong database of Infomedia Yellow Pages, Hotfrog will reach out to the right target audience in Indiam,” said Catch managing director Andrew Dent.

    Hotfrog.in is the 10th Hotfrog site to be launched around the world and its is estimated that Hotfrog.in already has 450000 listings. Launched in Australia in May 2005, HotFrog.com.aucurrently has around 900000 businesses listed.

     

  • BBC launches its first marketing campaign across Afghanistan

    MUMBAI: BBC World Service has launched its first marketing campaign in Afghanistan, promoting its Pashto and Dari language broadcasts on FM across the country

    The ongoing two-month campaign promotes the ever-increasing BBC FM network in the country’s six major cities: Ghazni, Herat, Jalalabad, Kabul, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif.

    Working with a leading Kabul-based full service agency, Aina-Darya Communications, World Service has developed a highly visible bi-lingual Pashto and Dari campaign promoting BBC FM availability on billboards, TV, radio and print ads.

    BBC World Service controller, marketing, communications and audiences Alan Booth says, “This is our first ever advertising campaign in Afghanistan. As the country’s market continues to develop, we are keen to consolidate our position in its modern media scene. A recent survey in the rural and urban areas of five provinces of Afghanistan suggested that the BBC is one of the most popular international broadcasters there, with our programmes in Pashto, Dari and other languages reaching almost 70 per cent of the population.”

    World Service has 17 FM frequencies in key towns across Afghanistan, including Kabul 89.0FM and 101.6FM (in Dari and Pashto), Mazar-e-Sharif 89.0FM (Dari), Jalalabad 89.0FM (Pashto), Herat 89.2FM (Dari), Kandahar 90.0FM (Pashto) and Ghazni 88.3FM (Pashto).

    BBC programming is also re-broadcast via partnerships with two local media providers, Internews and Equal Access. World Service has been broadcasting to Afghanistan for many decades, providing programming in Pashto and Dari, now supplemented by a daily Uzbek programme.

    In addition to news and current affairs programmes keeping listeners informed of the latest developments in Afghanistan, the region and the rest of the world, the BBC also offers thought-provoking discussions and audience interactivity on regional and Afghan domestic topics.

    The BBC programmes regularly feature newsmakers from its Kabul studios, involving them in call-in programmes. The BBC also offers its audiences in Afghanistan entertainment and feature shows.

  • GoAir, SBI Card and Visa launch co-branded credit card

    MUMBAI: GoAir in conjuction with SBI Card announced the launch of the co-branded credit card, the GoAir SBI credit card in association with Visa International.
     
     
    Targeted at value conscious GoAir fliers, the GoAir SBI card offers a rewards programme that entitles cardholders to get four reward points on every Rs.100 they spend on buying GoAir tickets with their GoAir SBI card. Cardholders can redeem these reward points, against subsequent GoAir ticket purchase.


    Commenting on the launch, GoAir managing director Jeh Wadia said, “This is a partnership with industry leaders; SBI card brings unique strength into the program with its reach, GE brings in its worldwide experience in terms of loyalty/ co-brand management, and of course Visa for leadership, innovation and technology expertise in the payments industry.”


    SBI cards CEO Roopam Asthana said “This tie-up is in line with our focus on Co-brand partnerships – covering diverse industries which offer our customers the best. The GoAir SBI card is a fully loaded, features rich card that offers value conscious airline travellers, a unique value proposition.”


    Talking about the tie-up, he further added, “credit card spends in the airline category have shown a phenomenal rise of 80 per cent over the last year. On the other hand, SBI cards portfolio has recorded a healthy 77 per cent increase on spends in the airline category. We are confident that GoAir, SBI cards and Visa will be a winning combination.”
     
     
    The GoAir SBI card is comes with features like complementary air accident insurance cover, purchase protection and flexi pay among others. Some of the prominent features offered on GoAir SBI Card include:


    – Reward Points – On every Rs. 100 spent on buying GoAir tickets, the cardholder earns four reward points. These rewards points can be redeemed against buying GoAir tickets.
    – 10 per cent off on the first ticket booked on the GoAir site www.goair.in using SBI GoAir card, within 30 days of receiving the card.
    – 5 per cent off on ticket/tickets booked on the GoAir site www.goair.in using SBI GoAir card on second and subsequent purchases.
    – Complimentary Insurance covers on GoAir – Rs 24 million worth air accident cover.
    – Save with per cent transaction fee on fuel purchase at select IOC and IBP petrol pumps.
    – Balance transfer facility at 0 per cent interest for 75 days.
    – Flexi Pay – Convert your retail purchases into an easy instalment payment plan at low rate of interest.
    – Free Purchase Protection against fire and theft up to Rs. 15,000 for 90 days.
    – Easy bill payment facility – pay utility bills on the card.
    – 24 hour SBI card customer helpline in India and SBI Card travel visa emergency services in 75 countries.