Category: Regulators

Mumbai: DDB Mudra Group has onboarded Binodan Sarma as executive vice president – North. In his role, Sarma will lead the digital business for both DDB Mudra and 22feet Tribal Worldwide for the group’s Gurugram office.

With an experience of over 16 years in advertising and data marketing, Sarma has worked with Wunderman Thompson, Cheil India and Dentsu Impact.  He has led digital transformation and digital marketing for brands including Maruti Suzuki, Samsung, Airtel, Microsoft, Reliance, Carlsberg, Tata Tea and Tata Salt.

Sarma’s appointment will be instrumental in inspiring the teams and clients to visualise digital as an ecosystem to deliver full-funnel marketing solutions.

Speaking on Sarma’s appointment, DDB Mudra Group managing partner – North Ashutosh Sawhney said, “DDB Tribal – the amalgamation of DDB Mudra & 22Feet Tribal Worldwide in North is coming of age. The idea of blurring the lines between digital and mainstream is a reality today and I am proud to say that at DDB Tribal, we are at its leading edge with clients like Royal Enfield, One Plus, Mars Confectionery and many more. In Sarma, we found not only a digital transformer but also an advertising professional with an astute sense of business and most importantly, a thirst for creating big, creative ideas.”

Commenting on his new role, Sarma said, “Digital is no longer just another medium of marketing, but a complete ecosystem integrated into the process of brand building. In this age and time where AI determines the kind of clothes you can wear and masterpieces that can be produced in seconds, brands will need to leverage the maximum of each touchpoint in the most relevant manner without losing focus on its core proposition. I am glad that DDB Tribal has a vision of providing such solutions to address brand’s needs. I look forward to this new role and being part of the creative legacy of the Group and taking it to a new frontier in the coming times.”

An English literature graduate, Sarma is a voracious reader, poet, and short story writer.

Mumbai: Quotient Ventures, Mumbai-based brand and communications group, has roped in media and advertising veteran T Gangadhar (Gangs) as its group CEO. This appointment is effective 1 February.

With over 25 years of experience in advertising, marketing and media, Gangadhar joins Quotient Ventures from GroupM/WPP where he last served as Asia Pacific CEO of Essence. Prior to WPP, he has worked with Sony Pictures Networks, Lowe Lintas and DDB Mudra.

Apart from being a seasoned, growth-oriented professional, Gangs (as he is popularly known in the industry) is passionate about bringing meaningful change in the communications industry. He has been one of the most vocal voices for diversity, inclusion and equality (DEI) in the Asia Pacific region.

Talking about the appointment, Quotient Ventures founder and group chairman & CEO, Joseph George (Joe) said, “I have always admired leaders in companies getting in talent better than oneself; I think I have done so too with the appointment of Gangs. His experiences and competencies across organisational leadership (India & APAC), P&L management, advertising (strategic planning and account management), marketing, media, content, digital and data are just what the group requires hereon in its growth ambitions across Tilt Brand Solutions, Vector Brand Solutions and StudioQ.”

Talking about the appointment, Gangadhar said, “I have tremendous admiration and respect for what Joe, Shriram and Rajiv have built in such a short period of time. Rarely does one get the opportunity to lead an organization that has so much going for it, yet is hungry to do better. I am excited about the prospect of deploying the Full-Brained-Thinking philosophy, and further consolidating the group’s position as a premier destination for brands and business owners”.

Joe concluded, “In spite of the covid disruption hitting us just 18 months after our launch, we have had a terrific run these past 4.5 years. And so, we are in an exciting position where there is enough to be built upon, but also a lot to be built anew. And between Gangs, Shriram and Rajiv, we have just the right leadership team with the right interests, the right experience, the right attitude and the right competencies to lead us on this journey ahead.”

For the record, Quotient Ventures is a modern marketing services group offering strategic, creative, digital and production solutions across formats and platforms for new and legacy brands alike. The group comprises Tilt Brand Solutions – a contemporary brand and communications consultancy, Vector Brand Solutions – a brand-first digital agency that provides full-funnel solutioning, and StudioQ – a video and content production unit.

Mumbai: The Advertising Club hosted the latest edition of the coveted ‘Effie India Awards 2022’ presented by Meta, associate sponsor Colors along with Ultratech Cement Ltd. as category sponsor and Crav/ing Digital as the celebration partner. Mondelez India Pvt. Ltd. was judged the Effie India client of the year, while Ogilvy Group was named Effie India agency of the year. The coveted grand Effie was won by Leo Burnett India for Whisper India’s campaign “Whisper: Changing the education system to keep girls in school.”

Announced at a celebratory event at Taj Lands’ End, Mumbai, the awards acknowledged the impact of success through work done by agencies and clients that set new benchmarks in effectiveness in marketing and advertising communication. Surpassing all its previous records, this year, Effie India received 986 entries, the highest ever in 22 years, and saw participation from 53 agencies.

Speaking at the EFFIEs, The Advertising Club president Partha Sinha said, “It is extremely heartening to witness Effie become the most coveted trophy within the marketing and advertising fraternity. Like every year, this year too, Effie has witnessed significant patronage from industry veterans and category leaders. I’d like to congratulate all the winners for crafting impactful campaigns that are now sheer examples of innovation and effectiveness.”

Elaborating on the awards, EFFIE India chairperson Mitrajit Bhattacharya said, “It gives me great joy to host the EFFIE Awards once again as a physical event, celebrating the best work of the year with the people who create them. A big thank you to 493 judges who judged a record-breaking 986 entries over three rounds of online judging. I also thank each participating agency and client for their support. And a huge shout out to our sponsors, The Ad Club managing committee, the Effie committee, EFFIE New York, and The Ad Club secretariat to make this event a huge success.”

Adding on the enhancements in the award process this year, Effie India co-chairperson Pradeep Dwivedi added, “We have built a sustainable trajectory as a leading Effie organising body, having successfully implemented the new Acclaim platform for the jury process this year, in tandem with our worldwide peers and Effie global team. The adoption and change management of the same by our industry members has been truly amazing!”

Meta presents Special Award for creator marketing was awarded to Mondelez, Wavemaker, and Ogilvy.

Referred to as a solid acknowledgment of any agency’s power to build brands, Effie continues to epitomise the pinnacle of advertising effectiveness by recognizing and rewarding a campaign’s innovation, execution efficiency, and communication impact.

Mumbai: NDTV has announced that three senior officials have resigned.

The president Suparna Singh, chief strategy officer Arijit Chatterjee and chief technology and product officer Kawaljit Singh Bedi, put in their resignations on Friday.

The company stated in a BSE filing that it is in the process of assembling a new leadership team. This, it said, will set a fresh strategic direction and goals for the company.

Last month, founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy left the company’s board. The Roys have sold most of their stake in NDTV to the Adani Group.

Mumbai: US and global media conglomerate Disney’s board of directors has elected independent director Mark G. Parker as chairman of the board, effective following the annual meeting of shareholders. Parker, a seven-year member of the Disney board and Nike’s executive chairman will succeed Susan E. Arnold, who will not stand for re-election pursuant to the 15-year term limit under Disney’s board tenure policy. As a result, the size of the board will be reduced to 11 members.

“Mark Parker is an incredibly well-respected leader who over seven years as a Disney director has helped the company effectively navigate through a time of unprecedented change. During his four decades at Nike, Parker has led one of the world’s most recognised consumer brands through various market evolutions and a successful CEO transition, and he is uniquely positioned to chair the Disney board during this period of transformation,” Arnold said.

“Mark Parker’s vision, incredible depth of experience, and wise counsel have been invaluable to Disney, and I look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role, along with our other directors, as we chart the future course for this amazing company. On behalf of my fellow board members and the entire Disney management team, I also want to thank Arnold for her superb leadership as chairman and for her tireless work over the past 15 years as an exemplary steward of the Disney brand” Disney CEO Robert A. Iger said.

Parker said, “I am honoured to have the opportunity to serve as Disney’s chairman, and I look forward to working closely with Bob and his management team on a strategy of growth that balances investment with profitability, while preserving Disney’s core mission of creative excellence, to deliver shareholder value. At the same time, it is the top priority of mine and the Board’s to identify and prepare a successful CEO successor, and that process has already begun.”

Parker will also chair a newly created succession planning committee of the board, which will advise the board on CEO succession planning, including a review of internal and external candidates. Parker served as Nike chairman, CEO until 2020, when he became executive chairman.

Mumbai: Connected TVs (CTV) are increasingly becoming a viable alternative to linear TV. India’s CTV growth has increased on the count of a growth in smart TVs that are set to overshadow the percentage of shipments when compared with linear TVs. According to a counterpoint research, smart TV’s contribution to overall TV shipments reached its highest-ever share of 93 per cent during Q3, 2022. Smart TVs are now affordable, offer excellent picture quality, are supported by a thriving app ecosystem, and offer a range of quality streaming content for English- and non-English-speaking viewers.

As a result, viewing habits have shifted, and there is a greater appetite for streaming content. A mediasmart India CTV 2.0 report released earlier this year showed that 83 per cent of the survey respondents use their smart TVs to watch content using the internet. The steadily increasing connected TV audience presents a very strong proposition for advertising as it has penetrated non-metros and is the new way to watch TV for these audiences, who use CTVs for viewing OTT & news, gaming, music, and more.

The co-viewing growth holds significant potential for advertisers who can leverage newer technologies to drive audience engagement and brand impact.

2023 – The dawn of a new era for CTV growth in India

Today, the CTV phenomenon has heralded a new era as families have emerged from their mobiles and tablets and re-entered the living rooms to enjoy watching content together on the big screen. With plenty of options and genres to choose from, CTV has something for everyone. Now, with more brands including CTV in their media mix, audiences are cutting the cord in favour of CTV. Changes to the CTV ecosystem—both in India and around the world—are set to make it a big bang firecracker for this holiday season and the New Year.

This makes CTV ads also to be impactful, with 81 per cent of the exposed viewers claiming to have been influenced by the CTV ads, as found in the mediasmart research. With CTV’s potential to improve purchase intent, 2023 is set to be the dawn of a new era for growth across this ad segment in India.

Some of the key trends that will potentially drive the growth of connected TV advertising are:

Increase in global CTV spends: A Nielsen report in the US stated that streaming viewership exceeded cable usage for the first time and that the average volume of streamed content consumed has beaten the 2020 pandemic-induced lockdown period. As a result, advertisers have gradually been allocating more money towards CTV, to the extent that ad spends in the US, according to e-marketers, are expected to increase by 14.4 per cent and exceed $26 billion in 2023. The CTV market in Europe has also grown substantially over the years. Here, ad spends have been projected to increase by 36 per cent after experiencing 56 per cent growth in 2021.

India is a smaller market in comparison to the US and UK, which started evolving only 3–4 years ago. That said, we are closing the gap fast. According to a report by EY-Ficci, CTV users in India are expected to go from 14 million to over 40 million by the end of 2025. CTV’s role as an impactful advertising medium is also steadily growing in India, and with brands across CPG, auto, BFSI, e-commerce, luxury, and many others showing great interest in the growing CTV space, this is set to grow further.

Sustained CTV viewership growth in India: With the increased investment in OTT and availability of premium content, Indian audiences are drawn to CTV’s convenience and regular stream of fresh, high-quality content. The OTT subscriber base in India, which is close to 97 million (media partners Asia report), is also on the rise, with DTH service providers actively bundling on-demand channels to tap the growing CTV audience. A mediasmart survey found that over 40 per cent of viewers spend four hours watching CTV content, and 84 per cent of households have more than one person watching shows on a smart TV. This presents a tremendous opportunity for advertisers to leverage AI-driven programmatic advertising to connect with the burgeoning CTV audience.

Growth of ad-supported tiers: The growth of OTT content on CTV has also led to an interest among brands to leverage the medium for advertising opportunities and brand storytelling. There has been some consolidation in this space—such as with Zee5 and SonyLIV, besides support for a SVoD model.

Leading OTT players like Disney+ and Netflix have also considered such pricing tiers for monetisation, beginning with introducing them in the western part of the world. Even so, there are local players like MX Player, JioCinema and aha that already provide AVoD content to attract viewers with free or cheaper plans. It just shows that with Netflix also entering the fray that there is a huge opportunity for advertisers to reach audiences via connected TVs.

CTV as a medium for interactive ads: Since the market still remains fragmented across linear TV, CTV and mobile devices, it is necessary to adopt a cross-channel strategy to connect advertisers with their audiences. An omnichannel approach increases the reach, though Nielsen data shows that 75 per cent of consumers struggle to correctly identify a brand the day after being exposed to their TV ad. Interactive advertisements do well to address this problem. Such CTV ads allow advertisers to connect with viewers and encourage them to participate, resulting in better brand recall. Studies have shown that interactive CTV campaigns deliver stronger results across key performance and attention metrics than interactive campaigns on mobile and PC. The Coinbase ad during the Super Bowl 2022 kept it simple by airing only a QR code encouraging viewers to download the app.

Besides, the technology platform allows one to measure the impact and learn about the viewer’s preferences, and create new data points. In the new year, however, we will see more of these creative, interactive ad innovations that will improve CTV user engagement and experience.

CTV for app promotion & user tracking: CTV will also play a major role in becoming a sought-after advertising medium for owning the entire journey from discovery to purchase. It is not necessary to target smartphone users via the mobile route only because a mediasmart survey found that over 40 per cent of viewers spend four hours watching CTV content. Furthermore, according to an AppsFlyer survey, 40 per cent of consumers worldwide are influenced to download mobile apps after seeing advertisements for them. App developers will also begin to view CTV as a full-funnel medium, besides the conventional brands, to promote themselves to increase their install base. Here, a solution like CTV household sync will further enable brands to connect the disconnected worlds of TV and mobile, allowing them to track the entire user journey—from discovery on the large screen to action on mobile or even a footfall at the brand’s retail outlet.

Why continue to invest in CTV in 2023

Audiences are more connected than ever in both the online and offline worlds, making it hard for advertisers to determine what platforms to use to reach out to them. Many are looking to diversify by building omnichannel campaigns. CTV intertwines the offline and online worlds, building a great channel for efficient omnichannel advertising, and the year 2023 will see more budgets being allocated towards CTV ads.

It is interesting to note that the shift from traditional to CTV also means that advertising is no longer tied to prime time, a particular channel, or a particular show. This means that the same campaign could run at the same time on two devices that are watching different shows; and also, that different campaigns could run on devices watching the same show.

With more time being consumed on CTV, ad dollars will also eventually move in this direction as the Indian market will see growth for both SVoD and AVoD content on CTV. The industry is also looking at better technologies and innovations that will offer better measurement in this space, encouraging more brands to target the right audience, get relevant insights, and make data-driven decisions to include CTV in their media plans. In the coming year, success in this medium will be dictated by preemptive disruptive ideas to engage with a diverse, multilingual audience such as India.

The author of this article is Affle VP (India & SEA), mediasmart Nikhil Kumar.

Mumbai: A mobile-first platform designed to help creators, brands, and the sports, media and entertainment industries navigate the complex world of web3, Virtualness, has announced the appointment of Joyee Biswas as a founding team member, heading sports and media partnerships.

With more than 20 years of leadership experience in top technology, media and telecom industries, and having scaled businesses across the globe, Biswas has differentiated insights and relationships across IP-based industries.

He has held the roles of head of sports at Singtel; managing director Asia at Eleven Sports Network and South East Asia business head at ESPN. Joyee most recently served as Meta’s head of sports and media partnerships for Asia-Pacific. Along with building audience and revenue growth for partners across Instagram and Facebook, he drove virtual reality and metaverse adoption. Biswas holds a graduate degree in mechanical engineering from BIT Mesra and an MBA in marketing and finance from IIM Calcutta.

In a LinkedIn post, Virtualness founder Saurabh Doshi welcomed Biswas to the team and said, “It is a great pleasure to welcome Biswas to the Virtualness team as we venture deeper into sports and media. Biswas and I have known each other for several years being colleagues in the same industry from his days at ESPN, Eleven Sports HQ & more recently at Meta.”

Doshi goes on, “With decades of leadership experience across technology, media and telecom companies; and having scaled businesses across the globe, Kirthiga & I cannot be more excited for Biswas to fuel Virtualness’ expansion. He joins our founding team, alongside Rachel Masters, who leads creator and brand partnerships. Welcome to the pace & momentum that’s Virtualness!”

He also adds, “Peter Hutton, we are excited to make your insights a reality! “Over the years, I have seen a series of transformations in the sports & gaming industry. Now is the time for another big leap, as we open up the opportunities of the Web3 world.”

Mumbai: Reliance Digital, one of India’s largest electronic retailers with a pan-India presence in over 800 cities, released its new campaign on Wednesday. The campaign is conceptualised by L&K Saatchi & Saatchi

Through this campaign, the brand conveys the message that, as technology continues to evolve rapidly, Reliance Digital understands the need for a friend to help you navigate this change.

The brand has taken a huge leap forward by reimagining their stores not merely as points of retail, but as tech playgrounds, where people are encouraged to touch, feel, experience and enjoy new technology guided by a team of expert tech advisors.

Speaking on the launch of the campaign, Reliance Digital chief executive Brian Bade said, “It’s based on a simple insight, that everybody needs technology, everyone is fascinated with it, but not everyone is necessarily comfortable with it. That’s because technology is changing all the time and it’s easy for a lot of people to feel left behind. Within this rooted cultural reality we believe that Reliance Digital is the catalyst that will enable a large mass of people to connect with technology by creating a welcoming retail tech experience. This philosophy informs everything we do, how our stores are designed, how the sales staff interact, the way demos are carried out and the manner in which after-sales service is delivered. At Reliance Digital, we understand the varied needs people have, as well as their apprehensions and fears when it comes to technology. That’s why we want to be the friend that can connect people to the technology they want. The films capture this in an authentic, intimate, moving way.”

L&K Saatchi & Saatchi chief executive officer Paritosh Srivastava said, “This is an idea that is special because of the truth it captures and the powerful role it appropriates to Reliance Digital as a retailer. It’s not just a campaign or an idea, it is the guiding philosophy and role that Reliance Digital wants to play in people’s lives. The brand intends living this idea through the whole consumer lifespan of the relationship, at every consumer touchpoint and experience. The attempt is to create brand love and trust for Reliance Digital, and we strongly feel that in the transactional and offer led nature of the retail category, this brand agenda will help Reliance Digital leapfrog to leadership in both the share of heart and mind of the country. The campaign will have high resonance as we all know someone in our circle of family and friends who is getting left behind and is in need to overcome the fear and become friends with technology.”

L&K Saatchi & Saatchi joint national creative director Kartik Smetacek said, “The campaign appropriates an entirely new space for an electronics retailer. Something that’s truly relevant and meaningful – our customers’ actual relationship with technology. Acknowledging that rapidly changing tech leaves so many of us behind, we’ve positioned Reliance Digital as an ally that helps you to lose your apprehensions. Encouraging you to touch, feel and play with technology guided by our team of experts. It’s an emotional, heart-warming idea, captured in the line: ‘technology se rishta jodo.’”

Mumbai: Disney Star has appointed Ajit Varghese as head of network advertising sales.

He will be responsible for the overall advertising revenues of Disney Star’s television and digital businesses, as well as driving growth through transformative sales and channel strategies, alliance formation, and business development.

Varghese will also create the long-term vision and define the sales organisation’s strategic direction. He will report to Disney Star’s president and country manager K Madhavan.

Varghese comes to Disney Star from ShareChat and Moj, where he was chief commercial officer, in charge of monetisation, marketing efforts, and content partnerships. Prior to joining ShareChat, Varghese was the global president of Wavemaker, a WPP group media agency, overseeing business operations and driving growth across 50+ markets from London; before that, he spent three years as the CEO of Maxus (WPP) in Singapore. He has also worked with Madison World, Kantar IMRB, and Initiative Universal Media.

“Varghese is a highly respected and well-regarded professional within the advertising and marketing fraternity. I am confident that under his leadership, we will be able to unlock significant value and create more opportunities to further grow our market leadership,” said Madhavan.

Varghese has established himself as a highly accomplished leader as CEO of regional and global agencies during his more than 27-year career in the advertising and marketing industry. In previous roles, he has driven publisher growth and revenue, led large-scale business transformations for clients, and built diverse businesses in media, creative, digital, data, content, sports, and performance.

“The advertising market in India has already crossed Rs 1,00,000 crore and is expected to be among the fastest growing in the world this year. This, combined with Disney Star’s status as the country’s leading media & entertainment company, allows for tremendous opportunities by which we can create ground-breaking solutions to drive growth for our clients. I keenly look forward to being a part of a great company, best-in-class content and a superb team,” said Varghese.