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Tag: advertising

  • How Samsung helped Flipkart find its missing ‘F’

    How Samsung helped Flipkart find its missing ‘F’

    Last week, Flipkart, a leading online etailer, started tweeting on its official twitter handle without using the alphabet ‘F’. Some of the words in its tweets were like ‘rom’, ‘itness’, ‘irst’, ‘inds’, and others.

    Ideally, these words are not part of the English language but if we prefix the alphabet ‘F’ they made proper sense such as ‘from’, ‘fitness’, ‘first’, ‘find’ and others.

    After the brand did its first tweet, several users pointed the error and asked ‘Where is the F’.

     

     

    The etailer immediately responded with another tweet with missing ‘F’ and added a hashtag #WheresTheF .

     

     

    Read more news on Flipkart

    It continued with a series of tweets for a few days with the missing word ‘F’ and engaged with the audiences asking them to find the alphabet ‘F’ for the brand while urging them to shop from the etailer across various categories of products present on the platform.

     

     

    On Sep 22, Samsung came to rescue Flipkart and suggested that it might know where the alphabet ‘F’ is. It tweeted a link in the ongoing twitter thread that took the audiences to the Flipkart store.

     

     

    Samsung had taken the front page of the Flipkart store to promote its Samsung Galaxy F41 that will be unveiled on 8 October. The page further shared a few details on the new phone and urged people to explore it when it is unveiled.

    Read more news on Samsung

    The idea behind the activation was very clear as Samsung wanted to bring the focused audiences of Flipkart to its page to create buzz and excited about its new phone. The activation became even more exciting as several brands also jumped in to participate in the ongoing trend. This included the likes of Vedantu, Axis Bank, PhonePe, Myntra, Swiggy.

     

     

    Interestingly, each of these brands utilized the occasion to talk about their offerings and interact with their audiences. For instance, Vedantu, an online learning platform donned the hat of a teacher; Swiggy, an online food ordering brand, related it with the food. The network brands such as PhonePe and Myntra also participated in the banter communicating their own positioning.

     

     

  • Meet the Mentors, our leaders of global Bharat on TV9 Bharatvarsh

    Meet the Mentors, our leaders of global Bharat on TV9 Bharatvarsh

    At a time when India has been hit hardest among emerging economies, our entrepreneurs have stood strong in the face of economic headwinds.

    With the economy facing its toughest challenge in a century, TV9 Network in association with technology major SAP India brings to its viewers the leaders of home-grown businesses who continue to be the harbingers of hope in these times of gloom and doom.

    Leaders of Global Bharat series is an initiative to turn the spotlight on business mentors of home-grown firms. Airing every Sunday at 11:30m am on India’s leading news channel TV9 Bharatvarsh, the series will showcase success and Dare-to-Dream journey of over 150 entrepreneurs who have the potential to galvanise and inspire the youth and budding entrepreneurs of this country.

    Explaining the rationale behind the series, TV9 Studio COO Raktim Das said: “There’s never been a more apt time to look at robust leadership lessons that have steered businesses through these extraordinary times. The Covid-19 induced New Normal has sharpened the focus on business leaders who continue to inspire us, mentor us. The series is also an attempt to showcase that an Atmanirbhar Bharat is in the realms of possibilities. I thank SAP India for making this possible.” 

    Commenting on SAP India’s association with the campaign,  SAP India Subcontinent CCO and Head of Marketing Krishnan Chatterjee said: “Recently, SAP India launched Global Bharat program to provide MSME access to global marketplace, digital skilling their workforce and transform business processes. We are happy to partner with TV9 Network to highlight these stories of grit and determination for emerging and existing entrepreneurs, share our narrative of Hope, Resilience, Innovation and most importantly inspiration to digitally transform their businesses.”

    Their leadership will not only revolutionise the Start Up India Movement but also provide a shot in the arm to those willing to take the Leap of Faith. It’s time to make Vocal for Local the new business mantra.

    This is a multi-media approach to acknowledge the stellar role entrepreneurs play in our collective consciousness and bring to light the challenges they face on the way. From engaging webinars to inspirational tales, the initiative will move seamlessly between linear TV and digital.

  • Aashram was viewed by users from 2500+ cities: MX Player’s Gautam Talwar

    Aashram was viewed by users from 2500+ cities: MX Player’s Gautam Talwar

    KOLKATA: How do you spend time when a virus has taken away all the usual options of outside home entertainment? The answer lies in screens. For most of the country, the television sets and the six-inch screens have served as source of entertainment since the onset of the pandemic. But at the beginning of the lockdown, there was a dearth of fresh television content as well. As a result, over-the-top (OTT) platforms in the country emerged as the alternative for a new wave of users along with the existing consumers.

    Times Internet’s “bold bet” MX Player is one of them. It has witnessed a huge surge in user base during this period. As MX Player chief content officer Gautam Talwar says “it has been quite crazy”. While the platform has kept content flow usual with launch of around ten shows during this period, the user engagement has gone beyond expectation in all metrics, as Talwar shares without divulging the exact numbers. Thanks to a host of new releases, the consumers shifting from the linear mode of content consumption to watching on-demand content have exploded even after unlock.

    According to Talwar, the platform has broken all the records after the launch of Aashram which was in production for more than two years. He claims the show has recorded 250 million + streams within 15-18 days of its launch. With this show, the platform has witnessed the number of screens growing exponentially as well as a dramatic upsurge in watch time. Some northern markets like Delhi NCR have responded very well to the show.

    As per the data shared by him, Aashram was viewed by users from 2500+ cities ranging from metropolitan to rural cities. While it was liked by users across all the cities, however the affinity in tier I (Jaipur, Pune, Ahmedabad etc) and tier II (Agra. Ludhiana, Meerut, Chandigarh, Ranchi etc) was higher than the metropolitan cities, precisely 1.2 times more higher. Although he did not share exact number, he added that there are more than enough viewers that are binge watching Aashram. 

    “It was conceptualised two years ago by the MX content team and we were sure that this is a fascinating world and must be explored. So, we got Habib Faisal on board to write the story and the bible first and then Kuldeep Ruhil to write the screenplay and dialogues for the show. Thereafter, we took it to Prakash Jha who along with his team also added a whole lot to the writing process along with the MX team and that's how the show got conceptualised. The genre was chosen because data suggests that crime dramas are something that our core audience loves and consumes in quantity and hence it was a no brainer.” Talwar comments.

    MX Player did not leave any stone unturned to promote the marquee content. While all the major OTT platforms halted outdoor campaigns during the lockdown, Aashram romanced with billboards. The platform went for a 360 degree campaign and the media mix included radio along with TV and digital.

    Aashram is helping in overall engagement as well. The cohort of users who are coming to the platform to watch this particular show are sampling other content from the similar genre leading to a higher retention rate. However, it is not unique to this particular show only.

    “Once a new user comes on the platform, they discover the content slate and then they cherry pick. All metrics of engagement have gone up because of this trend. They come for one show and sample other shows and the fact that they stay on is a testament to good content being on the platform,” Talwar opines.

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    Hence, it is apprehensible why the parent company is not shying away from investing more in the platform. In the annual report of Times Internet, vice chairman Satyan Gajwani said: “Two years ago, we made our largest acquisition, and it was a bold bet: that we could build a video streaming platform atop a local video player, developing and licensing compelling content to build a new user habit on an existing app. I’m extremely pleased with our results… In less than 18 months, MX Player now engages over 200 million monthly users, making MX Player the largest premium video destination in India.”

    While most of the major OTT players in India are now going for the subscription-based model, MX Player is the one which has not taken its content behind paywall yet. Thanks to the scale of users, the platform is attracting major brands.

    Talwar says the appetite for good content has gone up as users are getting more aquatinted with premium content. “The pressure is now to deliver more,” he states. “All the data mining that we do basis how the shows are doing, the pressure is going to get even more accurate. The more you know, the pressure is to make sure to deliver to your particular audience. My audience may be slightly different from other OTT platform because we are a mass-market channel. Our core audience lies in tier II-tier III towns. Therefore, we are trying to understand what they like because they are also experiencing digital for the first time,” he adds.

    Thanks to feedback on metrics like completion rate, watching pattern of users, the platform is fine-tuning its content strategy. It has also noticed that the sweet spot of an episode’s length ranges between 20-40 minutes.

    Recently, MX Player also forayed into short form video with the launch of the new platform. But it is also experimenting with long-form content as well. “There is a show that we are looking at in terms of interactivity. Right now, we are at writing stages of it. We have to see how to build that level of functionality once we kind of get to that,” Talwar states.

  • Harley Davidson exits India

    Harley Davidson exits India

    Harley-Davidson will shut down manufacturing and sales operations in India as part of its restructuring exercise under ‘The Rewire’ programme, the US-based motorcycle maker announced on Thursday.

    Earlier, in August, the bike maker had indicated to restructure business in some its loss making international markets to reroute focus on the US market. The move is going to increase the restructuring costs to 169 million dollars.

    Covid2019 is the key reason behind this decision as the brand was witnessing poor sales and weaker demand. Media reports say that Harley-Davidson India sold less than 2,500 units in the last financial year, making it one of its worst-performing international markets. SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) figures mention that Harley-Davidson sold only 103 units of motorcycles in India in July 2020 and 176 units last month in the country. Indian market contributed to only 5 per cent of the brands overall sales.

    The bike maker will be laying off employees from its assembly unit in Haryana.

    Read more news on Harley Davidson

    Harley-Davidson joins the growing list of automotive brands, such as General Motors, Fiat, UM Motorcycles and others which have exited India in the past.

  • When Ikea got creative about sleep

    When Ikea got creative about sleep

    Ikea, a global furniture and home furnishing brand, is promoting its sleep range products with clever print and outdoor campaign and positions itself as sleep expert.

    Designed and conceptualised by Mother London, the ads focuses on the central theme of sleep and turn an energy drink, anti-ageing cream and vitamin pills into cool ads for the IKEA sleep range.

    First ad showcases a bedsheet flowing out from an open energy drink can. The messed up sheet signifies liquid drink in the can which carries the message that ‘Sleep boosts our energy’. Second ad showcases, an eye cream jar with a quilt folded into it. The jar carries the message that ‘sleep is the most natural anti-ageing remedy.’ And the third ad showcases a medicine bottle from which pillows are flowing out and it carries the message that ‘Sleep naturally supplements focus and energy.’

    These ads are part of a larger campaign ‘Tomorrow Starts Tonight’ that challenges sleep neglect by celebrating the truth that the more you sleep, the more you get out of life.

    Read more news on Ikea

    The new print campaign includes a trio of ads and was shot by photographer Amy Currell using large-scale models designed by Andy Knight.

    A few weeks ago Ikea also launched a campaign where it reshared the tale of a tortoise and hare to talk about what we can achieve if we get a good night sleep.

    Ikea is an iconic brand that is known for its products and its advertisng worldwide.

  • FoxyMoron’s national head for client relationships Prachi Bali talks about her new role

    FoxyMoron’s national head for client relationships Prachi Bali talks about her new role

    NEW DELHI: While the industry battles arguably one of the most challenging issues of modern times, Prachi Bali has been promoted as the national head for client relationships at the full funnel creative and performance digital agency FoxyMoron. One of the youngest executives in the marketing world to hold the post, Bali is naturally excited to begin a new chapter in her professional career. 

    Bali, who had joined the agency in 2013 when it was still quite young, did not have any experience of working in the digital domain and neither any relevant qualifications but her curiosity to learn and grow bagged her a job as an account manager at the firm. 

    “When I joined FoxyMoron, it was a very interesting time as the industry was still growing. Digital was being termed as the next big thing and market and media  planners had started investing in the medium. Back then, it was more about making our agency bigger. With time, the focus shifted to how to make it better, and I was made an account director, then how to make it better than the competition, and it was all very exciting for me,” she shared talking about her initial days in the field. She worked across the beauty, edu-tech, alco-bev, FMCG & lifestyle categories over her tenure.

    Read more news on FoxyMoron

    Four years ago, Bali was handed over the responsibility of the Gurgaon operations and was named the business head for the northern region, which gave her a completely new side to explore. “I took a big leap of faith and moved to Gurgaon from Mumbai and Pratik (Gupta), Suveer (Bajaj), and I saw a lot of unharnessed potential in the market. Most of the agencies were headquartered in Mumbai and despite having a number of clients based in Delhi, the agency business did not quite pick up as expected and we wanted to harness that.”

    Over the past four years, she has reportedly grown the business by six times in the northern market and has built a strong partnership with the clients in the region.

    She did all of this while being one of the youngest executives out in the market. So did it ever get daunting?

    “Obviously it is a little challenging when you are the youngest person in the room, talking to people who are 15-20 years older than you are. But it was not just for me, even our founders, Pratik and Suveer are quite young, so our whole agency had this vibe of being a young business. Initially, it was a hindrance, yes. But then it is all about how you build up relationships and work.”

    Bali added that over the past four-to-five years, the experience has now changed from people seeing her or the agency as the ‘youngest kids in the room’ to the ‘most creative’ and ‘most knowledgeable’ people in the room. “It gives you a feeling that what you are doing is working and what you are doing is right. It is a beautiful feeling.”

    Going forward, Bali wants to expand FoxyMoron’s client-base and work on more interesting projects. 

    “The industry we are in, the whole experience is about meeting people, having discussions, and just communicating. I miss that a lot. I even miss the all-nighters that we used to pull in the office sometimes and I am excited to go back as soon as possible.”

    But is it getting difficult to meet some of the new clients as she takes up the new role amidst a pandemic?

    She replied, “Well, yes the industry is all about face-to-face meetings and that is not happening right now, which is a little challenging. But I am taking it in a more positive way that now every meeting of mine has not to be a 4:00 am flight and I can talk to them over a video call. The whole industry is functioning like that and the clients are also understanding and supportive. But obviously, I can’t wait to go back to the drill.” 

  • The Ad Club & AAAI decides to refund Abby 2020 entry fees

    The Ad Club & AAAI decides to refund Abby 2020 entry fees

    MUMBAI: The Advertising Club has been curating many idea exchange and awards platforms that celebrate extraordinary creative work. Abby Awards  presented by The Advertising Club is one such award that has been held for the past 50 years. Held every year at the prestigious Goafest, the awards have gone on to become the most coveted creative recognition in the Industry. However, it has taken an unprecedented happening – the Covid2019 and associated lockdown, to break this consistency for the first time in the history of ABBY awards. 

    The pandemic has most certainly thrown new challenges and has disrupted the schedules of many reputed and popular global events. It has brought about changes which were hitherto unheard of. Despite these very challenging circumstances, the spirit of ABBYs was high and we received more than 2500 entries, which was extremely heartening.

    Read more news on Abby Awards

    The organising committee of ABBY Awards discussed the probability of holding or not holding the awards at length on multiple occasions.  Given the current business environment and outlook, The Advertising Club and AAAI have unanimously decided that the money towards the submission of the entries be refunded and the awards be paused for the year.  This is in the interest of the A&M community, given the need for cost optimization.  A sum of Rs.1,40,00,000 (One crore forty lakhs) received through submission of entries, thus 99 per cent of the money received, have been refunded.

    Going forward, in the best interest of the entrants, we are contemplating submission of two years of work in the coming year so that they will not lose out on an opportunity to enter the good work done this year.

    The Advertising Club president Partho Dasgupta said “We stand with the A&M community during these difficult times. It has been an unprecedented year requiring unprecedented decisions. In such circumstances, it is most important to optimize costs and focus on delivering business efficiencies. Given the pressure on cost and our focus on driving the industry’s growth agenda, it was imperative to pivot towards facilitating reduction in expenditure. We are sure that the tide will soon turn and we will see a definite recovery that will allow us to come back better and stronger.”

    The Advertising Club will continue to work on behalf of the advertising and marketing industry and is optimistic that things will soon return to normalcy. The apex industry body will take fresh stock of the situation just before the commencement of the festive season.

  • The Better Home onboards Dia Mirza as brand ambassador

    The Better Home onboards Dia Mirza as brand ambassador

    NEW DELHI: India’s first brand of subscription eco-friendly home cleaners, The Better Home, has partnered with Bollywood actor, UN Environment Goodwill ambassador, UN Secretary General’s SDGs advocate, and Wildlife Trust of India ambassador Dia Mirza as brand ambassador for their range of eco-friendly home care products that are better for our loved ones, homes and our planet.

    Known for her strong stance on protecting our environment and wildlife and, of course, her million-dollar smile, Dia has announced her brand partnership with The Better Home’s range of subscription home care products (naturally derived floor cleaner, toilet cleaner, laundry liquid and dishwash). These cleaners are built on the belief built on the belief that you should not have to choose between what's effective, what's good for you, and what's good for the planet. Urban Indian households release 21.6 billion litres of water contaminated with harsh chemical cleaners down the drain every single day! These cleaners emit toxic fumes that are harmful to the health of all those who come into contact with them. The brand & Dia’s vision is to enable and empower the community to make that switch to eco-friendly products that are better for their homes and their health.

    “I am delighted to partner with a brand that resonates with my value system. As cleanliness and hygiene have come to occupy a significant part of our lives in the new post COVID world, it becomes crucial to make conscious choices, to ensure that we take care of the health of our families, communities as well as the planet. I absolutely love their cleaners, sustainable quirky packaging and the exclusive online community you get to be a part of once you subscribe – In fact, I used their products for months before they approached me for a partnership. What’s even better is that you just have to subscribe to it once and forget about it and it will show up at your doorstep every month on the same day!” said Mirza, who has been brought on board as the brand ambassador, “It’s amazing to see that they’ve truly gone out of their way to make our planet better – Their subscription kits come with reusable bottles followed by refill pouches with minimal packaging for which they run a take back program. They take back all waste they generate to recycle it responsibly for us- which effectively means no plastic from The Better Home ends up in our landfills or natural ecosystem – how thoughtful is that!”

    The Better India and The Better Home CEO Dhimant Parekh said, “Dia personifies our philosophy of wanting to leave our planet and its people better than we found it and we are glad to have someone so passionate about health and the environment to be our voice. As a brand, the core of what we do is large scale impact, and we wanted to help our customers get access to natural, sustainable products without compromising on convenience and efficacy. We are thrilled to have Dia with us on this journey – she is someone we truly admire for her contribution in bringing awareness to our cause.”

  • Kansai Nerolac continues to sponsor Sunrisers Hyderabad

    Kansai Nerolac continues to sponsor Sunrisers Hyderabad

    Mumbai: In a bid to strengthen its long-standing partnership with the T20 franchisees, Kansai Nerolac Paints (KNPL), one of the leading paint companies in India will continue its association with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for the cricket league’s thirteenth season. The most loved sports extravaganza in the country will witness Nerolac on the lead side of the team’s helmet and cap.

    In these unprecedented times, the return of cricket’s biggest celebration is here to infuse positive energy in the lives of millions. Further, sports manifests healthy living. This makes it the perfect medium for the brand to connect with consumers across demographics& thank them for their support in last 100 years to the brand, as Nerolac enters in its centenary year.

    Read more news on IPL

    Kansai Nerolac Paints executive director Anuj Jain. said, “We have come a long way since our first association with the T20 franchisees. This cricket league has been the ideal medium to impact lives at large considering its growing influence and ever-increasing fandom. Our association with Sunrisers Hyderabad gives us an opportunity to connect with cricket lovers as their wide appeal does not limit to a single state. We intend to leverage this strategic partnership to drive conversations around our new launches such as Nerolac Excel Virus Guard interior paint and all surface disinfectants”

    Nerolac has been leveraging the mighty sport of cricket effectively for years. The brand has been associated with cricket leagues, championships for decades and with T20 franchisees since 2016.

  • 200 million tuned in to watch the opening match of IPL: Jay Shah, BCCI

    200 million tuned in to watch the opening match of IPL: Jay Shah, BCCI

    Season 13 of the Indian Premier League has opened to a grand start with millions of audiences across the world watching it on their television and mobile screens. It is one of the biggest live sports events that is happening after a gap of nearly six months. The matches are played in UAE.

    Star India is the official broadcaster for the tournament and its live feed is available in multiple languages. On the other hand, the network is streaming the matches live on its OTT platform Disney+Hotstar.

    The tournament kickstarted on 19 September and the first match was played between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

    BCCI secretary in a tweet quoted the Broadcast Audience Research Council and mentioned that an unprecedented 200 million people tuned in to watch the match.

    Shah further went on to claims that it is the highest ever opening day viewership for any sporting league in any country- no league has ever opened as big as this.

     

     

    His claim was further acknowledged by Star Sports in its retweet where they mentioned the same number and claimed it as a record.  

    However, there is no official communication from BARC on this data until the filing of this story.

    In 2019, the reach for the tournament across TV and digital was 462 million.