MUMBAI: Hair colour brand Streax Professional has assigned its digital AoR (agency of record) mandate to Grapes Digital, following a multi-agency pitch. The account will be handled from Mumbai’s office.
As part of the mandate, the agency will be responsible for executing digital duties for the brand including content planning, creative support, media planning and buying and influencer marketing.
HRI COO Ameya Dangi said, “We are excited to associate with Grapes Digital. We are confident that the agency will deliver the best campaigns through their creative teams, and will help us to reach our digital target audience. Today, presence in the digital world is a very important way in which brands establish closer connect with their audience. Streax Professional has built a strong digital presence over the years and through our partnership with Grapes Digital, we intend to scale even greater heights.”
Grapes Digital founder & CEO Himanshu Arya said, “Streax Professional has a notable brand presence in the market that they have maintained and we look forward to working our charm on the brand. Like us, the brand also believes that digital is an important medium but our thinking isn’t restricted to that. The team will be focussing on creating ideas that connect with the consumers and more importantly get them from digital spaces to the store and associate with the brand. We are keen on delivering result-oriented strategies and are delighted to leverage this association.”
MUMBAI: Dentsu International has made key leadership changes in India as part of its global organisational redesign. Media Brands and Amplifi erstwhile president Kartik Iyer will now join the network’s market leadership team as its chief operating officer. He will continue to report into Anand Bhadkamkar and will be instrumental in driving the implementation of dentsu’s new business model within the country.
Iyer will help navigate Dentsu’s global transformation program with a focus on collaborating with leaders and client teams across businesses in the market to change how the network works and inculcate the culture of operational excellence. He will engage with regional teams, global teams, and all other network brands to ensure that the ongoing transformation program and the new business model is efficiently adopted and effectively addresses local business requirements.
The network has also appointed Dentsu X India CEO Divya Karani as the chief executive officer for media, south Asia. Here, media includes the agencies dentsu X, Carat, iProspect and Posterscope. She will continue to report into Anand Bhadkamkar. In this additional role, Karani will be responsible for driving the global media strategy and delivery in south Asia, ensuring its alignment and relevance to the market..
“Dentsu is committed to delivering the best to its clients and Kartik and Divya are veterans in what they do,” said Bhadkamkar. “Kartik is recognised industry-wide for his media expertise while Divya is one of our finest from the industry. Her strength lies in delivering first-class, client-centric results and I am confident that their expertise and experience will only help accelerate the effectiveness, purpose, and performance offered to our clients.”
Haresh Nayak will continue to serve as COO for dentsu Media in India in addition to his other current roles as president, Posterscope Asia Pacific and MD, Posterscope India, while Rubeena Singh is now in-charge of the freshly rebranded iProspect. For the record, the agency recently witnessed the merger of Vizeum and iProspect into one to bring together the former’s media strategy and planning, storytelling, and brand-building capabilities with the latter’s digital expertise, audience knowledge, and performance mindset. Anita Kotwani will continue to lead the Carat brand for India.
NEW DELHI: GroupM has released a new research that reveals that one in two (54.3 per cent) consumers believe it’s important to be equipped with the latest technology.
Conducted by GroupM’s Live Panel in December 2020, this original research looks at the importance of new technology in consumers’ lives. The agency surveyed 1000 US consumers on their attitudes toward technology across six general categories: attitudes toward technology, information sharing and privacy, virtual reality-based devices and services, smart appliances, mobile devices and digital services, such as visual search, streaming audio and streaming video.
The key highlights of the research are –
· Attitudes toward technology:
54.3 per cent respondents agree with this statement: “It’s important my household is equipped with the latest technology.” Males, younger people and higher-income households all “completely agree” with a much higher propensity than other groups.
· 5G connected devices:
More than half (51.5 per cent) respondents said they have a 5G device such as a mobile phone that can connect to a 5G network. Among the half of the population without a 5G connected device, 59.6 per cent of 35-54 year-olds said they expect to buy one in the next year, while 45.2 per cent of 18-34 year-olds said the same.
· Digital services:
Voice assistance/Visual search: 96.1 per cent respondents use an Amazon or Apple connected product to help with their shopping.
Streaming audio services: The responses were significantly higher for females than males regarding YouTube Music (49.1 per cent to 42.4 per cent), Pandora (53.4 per cent to 39.7 per cent) and local online radio station (19.6 per cent to 15.4 per cent).
Streaming video: In order to maintain a lower monthly bill for streaming services, 66 per cent respondents said they would accept having to watch commercials.
· Virtual or augmented reality:
The higher the income, the more likely a consumer would respond “yes” to having a “virtual travel experience” like visiting a museum or a foreign city— eight per cent of the highest quintile, while only 24.7 per cent of the lowest quintile. Overall, males across each age group showed a higher propensity to have accessed a “virtual” trip.
· Information sharing and privacy for health and fitness trackers:
81.7 per cent of respondents believe that either they or a family member should be the only ones with access to this data. On the other hand, only 6.9 per cent of respondents believe the company that made the device or software should have access.
· Smart appliances:
48 per cent agreed that they would like a home appliance to “automatically order replacements when I am running out of related products” (i.e.: a washing machine ordering new detergent or a refrigerator ordering food).
GroupM global president of business intelligence Brian Wieser said, “New technologies change the ways in which consumers engage with brands and introduce new ways to drive long-term growth. Exploring the contours of new technology adoption laid out in this research is critical for marketers to better understand how to allocate their resources in 2021 and beyond.”
MUMBAI: 2020 is passing in the blink of an eye, but we are curious to see what 2021 will bring to the digital world. While there have been several memes that went on to amusingly take pot shots on the eventful year 2020, those were dark humour that really went on to portray how the year panned into appalling uncertainty. Many of these memes have actually been used by advertisers to engage with consumers. Does this go on to signify that as dream merchants, we have always made the best use of adversity, confronted challenging situations and stood as shining examples to the society? If it were not for us, the whole of India would not have connected in virtual concerts, stood in solidarity with frontline workers through our remote habitats, portrayed how complex problems might be resolved in spite of social distancing and in particular made everyone within the country conscious of the safety measures that one needed to undertake during the pandemic.
We as a community are not any strangers to disruption and turmoil. We have overcome economic pressures, political tensions and even natural disasters. With the outbreak and therefore the global spread of the pandemic resulting into an entire shut-down, mega events, gatherings and such platforms that engage with brands and consumers, advertising agencies had to rejig their strategies and work doubly hard to make things happen in shoe-string budgets and remotely placed production equipment & operational teams. The world of advertising is heavily hooked in to interpersonal and human connects, but we are rethinking the way we are operating. Some of the trends that might not just dot 2021 but a replacement era, since there'll be no going back so as to fortify the longer term of the planet in the first place. These could be listed as below:
Building partnerships with data and tech platforms:
The pandemic and the ensuing lock-downs in various phases have not just impacted the manufacturing sector & supply chain of companies but also impacted the consumer demand. Consumers have become very stringent and most of the buying patterns are seen only in essential goods. Brands have and would within the future check out lowering their offline budgets and invest in online which has become essentially the market place across sectors. That apart the digital space is also a veritable consumer touch point for news & entertainment consumption. So a digital explosion is on the cards before later.
Hyper-engagement model:
Agencies would need to offer more to its clients and create Intellectual properties on the digital platforms that would enhance the relevant consumer touch points. These would be engagement tools that will have to focus on creating long-term relationships with the sharply targeted audience groups instead of making ads and hard-sell. A case-in-point is “Tattva” – a platform that is being created as a ‘centre of excellence’ for the BFSI segment audiences; IFAs and buyers simultaneously. A property like this is often a boon to the myriad financial brand that's trying to find a market place!
B2B2C models through e-commerce solutions:
One specific surge which we'll notice as a trend is that the B2B2C models of companies with specialize in e-commerce. Agencies would need to actively work with advisors and data driven firms to make be-spoke solutions for buyers. With an eye fixed on efficiency in cost-savings, value-driven approach and gains within the short-term and sustainable growth within the mid to long-term
Focus on the experience:
Interaction and engagement on the virtual platforms would be key to everything. From brand launches to sporting events, the entire ecosystem is moving online and consumers are going to engage with the brands from the comforts of their homes. Experiences therefore and a virtual transportation to another world would be important for advertisers. Fantasy games, virtual concerts or for that matter retailing of fashion & food would all need to give the relevant experience for the consumers to buy into that experience and thereby the product.
Although one might not make certain, whether of these innovations would find out how to negate the large accumulated losses the industries faced this year but it's surely the right time for advertisers and advertising agencies to create capabilities in areas that might be primary within the new era. The agency of the future would need to be futuristic!
(The author is CEO, Hotstuff Media Group. Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to his views.)
New Delhi: 2020 has been an extremely challenging year for the advertising industry — in the wake of the pandemic, marketing budgets were slashed, teams had to adapt to new ways of working from home in no time and deliver to clients, and business priorities and plans had to be redefined because no planner and strategists could foresee the Covid impact on businesses.
Despite all the odds, industry professionals have relentlessly worked hard and come up with great campaigns that have been able to move the masses and change brand perceptions.
Indiantelevision.com’s Devesh Gupta spoke to dentsu Impact president Amit Wadhwa on what he thinks about 2020, how advertising industry has adapted to new norms, client expectations during this time, how pandemic has impacted creativity and what is the way forward.
Excerpts:
On year 2020 for advertising agencies.
It has been a year that no one ever imagined and for not the best of reasons. It’s been a year where a lot of things were tried and tested not because people wanted to but because they had no options. Ironically, a lot of our presentations had ‘Vision 2020’ but it soon turned into ‘Mission 2020’. It’s been a tough year but good in a sense that it pushed people to think, try and do new things.
On seeking positivity.
Nothing we had planned happened the way we had planned. So the question was, if you have to sail through in the best possible way, how would you do that and in the bargain see what all you need as an individual to get better, learn new things and get the organisation moving. There was some fire-fighting and a bit of self-reflection.
dentsu Impact was already moving into the digital space and that helped us as we hastened the process far more quickly and almost 95 per cent workforce is digitally savvy. We now handle the digital mandate of all our businesses, and that actually helped us sail through this year.
On the new normal for agency businesses,
There is nothing normal, everyday is different.
From a business point of view, managing the numbers itself and the innovative ways we are deploying to do that. We are not sitting in but are aggressively going after the businesses. We are looking at growing the business in a different vertical. For instance, we were handling creative and media, then decided to also take care of digital creative and media and use this opportunity to strengthen and grow.
On the people front, work from home seems like bliss but it is tough. Working hours have crept into late nights and weekends. We are trying to do whatever we can at our end to ensure people are taken care of in whatever way we can — that’s another big challenge faced by organisations.
On pandemic changing the creative business.
There are two sides to it. We are running our business very creatively as we never thought we would operate with everyone sitting at home. And even with such challenges, we put a strong performance. We found creative ways of tackling things.
Initially, it was a bit of a daze, that what has hit us, and the idea was to survive and stay afloat. Slowly, people got into a rhythm, started figuring things out, and realised that it is creativity that will keep us going. One good idea from the team brings happiness for the group (even more than what we used to feel in the pre-Covid days). These times have propelled us to push more for it.
I agree that creative business is about sitting together and brainstorming ideas. Having said that I think that creative people have taken bigger onus for themselves to ensure they crack great ideas. We have seen some great concepts of late and I think that it’s because they are pushing themselves to do it. They are also figuring out ways of brainstorming – calls, crash on ideas, feedback, but I think they pushed a lot and a lot of respect for that.
On client expectations.
At the end of the day, they are also running a business. Having said that everyone has a human side to him or her and they also realise the situation. For instance, we did a no-work Wednesday at dentsu Impact and informed the clients before hand, and they supported it. We managed to give an off to people. Had they not supported us, it would have not been possible.
They have expectations from us. There is a dire need from our end to deliver on that. The good part is that there are people on both sides who understand each other. So, we are figuring out our own balance.
On the year 2020 for dentsu Impact.
It has been a good year. We have managed some new businesses and consolidated some great wins. We extended our relationship clients on different fronts. Initially, April and May was tough then slowly things picked up. During the lockdown too, we won a business, which was great. We have been aggressive and held on to our existing businesses.
So, approximately 15 per cent of the total revenue this year is coming from the new business wins.
On margins for creative agencies this year.
For the first two months (April – May), margins took a dip but we took cost-control measures and overall we have done a good job. Now, more or less, we are back to the pre-Covid levels.
On top priorities for dentsu Impact this year (once Covid hit).
Business continuity and people were our biggest priority. We have a way of working in advertising which was not going to be the same as people were moving home. We had to set up connectivity, machines in people’s houses, and most importantly had to deliver to clients because we are committed to them.
The second was people as they were going into different scenarios of work as to how you could keep everyone engaged.
On the future of agency culture.
If I say everything is normal and right, it would not be true. Some people who joined after lockdown, I have only seen them on video calls but haven’t met them in person. I love to meet, interact and discuss things with people and I honestly miss that. We are finding ways to do different things. For instance, we had some amazing pitches during this time and I could not imagine us pitching so fantastically where everything went like clockwork. For sure its not 100 per cent normal but the fun is in inventing new things right now.
New Delhi: India Workplace Equality Index (IWEI), a comprehensive benchmarking tool for LGBT+ inclusion at the workplace, has recognised DDB Mudra Group in its list of top employers 2020. The group was awarded a ‘silver’ and has become the first in the Indian advertising industry to feature in the list, joining the ranks of 65 other companies across sectors including Wipro, Uber, GSK, Nielsen etc.
This recognition acknowledges DDB Mudra Group’s commitment to promote awareness, acceptance and advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies. Initiatives such as inclusion of same-sex and live-in partners in the employee medical insurance policy, DDB Transit – the first-of-its-kind internship program for the transgender community and open pride – an employee resource group committed to I&D efforts are instances of the group’s concerted effort to make the workplace more diverse, progressive and united.
DDB Mudra Group EVP & head – HR Rita Verma said, “At DDB, we keep D&I at the core of what we do. People perform better when they have the freedom to be themselves. Hiding a key part of their identity at work because they feel unsure or unsafe, can take a toll on employee motivation and performance. We strongly believe that creativity thrives when there is diversity, and we will continue our efforts for a diverse and thriving work environment.”
The index measures nine areas: policies and benefits, employee lifecycle, employee network group, allies and role models, senior leadership, monitoring, procurement, community engagement and additional work.
NEW DELHI: PitchWorx, a creative design agency, has launched its integrated online platform – Nimmio, developed to deliver visually compelling presentations. The online platform provides quick access to pre-designed, and fully-editable presentation slides that entice and engage the audience.
For almost a decade, PitchWorx has been creating presentations, animated videos, branding, graphic design, and web design solutions for clients mainly – start-ups, SME’s, large corporations, and government organizations. Later, the company realized that the clients wanted a quick turnaround while retaining the design liberty. Through Nimmio, the company strives to provide visually cohesive and high-quality designs while ensuring that the sense of ownership is retained with the client.
PitchWorx CEO & founder Dharmendra Ahuja said, “Getting the brand message across the target audience requires breaking down of relevant data into an interactive presentation design. To create highly impactful marketing pitches, we have come up with the launch of Nimmio. The online platform provides pre-designed presentation slides that grab and sustains the audience’s attention. The slides can be downloaded anytime, anywhere. This results in driving efficiency and boosting the conversion rate.”
“As we grow, we have plans to expand Nimmio’s library into designing social media posts, posters, flyers, brochures, logos, invitations, business cards, and more. Along with this, we have plans to create a marketplace where designers can showcase and sell their design templates across the globe. We are aggressively working on making Nimmio a global marketplace for designers. This will play a crucial role in discovering and connecting them with relevant opportunities around the world”, he added.
Nimmio boasts a range of highly interactive features that empower people with design thinking capabilities to turn their ideas into reality within a few clicks. Its library is equipped with fully-editable graphic assets and resources to deliver the perfect pitch in no time. Additionally, it provides access to unlimited professionally designed and ready-to-download presentation slides at an affordable cost.
The platform works on three different pricing plans, flexible for one time or frequent users. For one-time users, it offers the ‘Pay as you go’ model where you pay the cart value with no commitments. The ‘Monthly Plan’ is ideal for intermittent users who want value for money, and the ‘Yearly Plan’ is perfect for frequent users with unlimited downloads.
NEW DELHI: Recma, the independent research firm that evaluates media agencies, has named dentsu X, the integrated media specialist from the house of dentsu international, and Mindshare India as the most ‘dominant agencies’ in the country. Some of the other agencies that made the list include Madison, Lodestar, Zenith, Initiative and Starcom.
dentsu X India has also been ranked the undisputed number one agency on vitality in Recma's latest ‘Dominant agencies: where are the champions?’ report.
With the maximum scores earned on both competitive pitch wins and momentum in the last three years, this is the third consecutive year for dentsu X to be acknowledged as the much-coveted number one agency on vitality.
For the record, the report was released on September 30, 2020. Out of 700 agencies evaluated globally in the report, only 27 agencies are dominant in the top 16 countries. Carried in 47 countries totally, it’s an audit of media agency performances and competences based on 19 criteria. This in-depth report captured the last three-year track record based on competitive pitches, agency momentum, resources, and the client profile of each agency.
dentsuX India CEO Divya Karani said, “Building an organisation brick-by-brick takes sustained effort and patience but does make for a solid foundation. Our stature and growth trajectory are a result of our data-driven design, our ‘experience beyond exposure’ thinking, and deep client partnership in effecting business outcomes. When our clients succeed, we succeed!”
NEW DELHI: Shavon Barua has moved on from her role of chief client officer at PHD. She confirmed the news to Indiantelevision.com. Although, she did not divulge her next move.
She spent over five years at PHD and was spearheading multiple businesses.
Prior to joining PHD, Barua was serving as president – west & south India at Havas Worldwide.
She is a media veteran and has spent over two decades of experience. Barua has worked at multiple agencies such as Havas Worldwide, JWT, Rediffusion, and Lintas.
New Delhi: Transitioning into a new role amidst a global pandemic is a doubly challenging responsibility. Still, for Cheil India’s recently appointed chief strategy officer Sourav Ray it is the most exciting part about his move.
In an exclusive conversation with Indiantelevision.com, Ray shared, “What we have been experiencing in the recent past is that the strategy and strategists are increasingly gaining more importance both from a client and agency perspective. Clients understand that the old ways are not going to help them navigate this new normal, and they are more open to and interested in working with a strategist.”
He adds that it creates a positive environment for the strategists as clients are more open to take risks and try out new things.
“Earlier, the role of strategist was mostly limited to upper-funnel communication with the clients, but now, they are equally involved in lower-funnel conversations too. So, now we are looking at not just creating awareness and interest but also help in driving the purchases too,” he elaborated.
For Ray, the first item on his agenda in this new role is to drive commerce for the agency and clients. “Given the situation, each industry is dealing with the same question, where to get the business from? Every discussion with clients, no matter if it is about building brand awareness or exploring ways to sell; whether it’s through e-commerce or omnichannel experience, or introducing new platforms, the core of each conversation is business.”
However, while dealing with this short-term crisis, Ray is not losing view of long-term goals for the agency.
“The best thing about Cheil is that we keep having conversations about our long-term plans so that nothing just happens and impacts us. We are always prepared for whatever is coming. Right now, I aim to balance the short-term vision with the long-term goals, drive acceleration for ourselves and the clients.”
He wrapped the conversation by saying, “Change is going to be the only constant for us at Cheil; sometimes, the speed of the change will be furious like it is right now, sometimes it is going to be slower.”
