Tag: Campaign

  • Indian campaigners at centre of Al Jazeera global brand campaign

    Indian campaigners at centre of Al Jazeera global brand campaign

    MUMBAI: Al Jazeera English has made virtue of putting real people on its billboards and television commercials rather than its own star presenters and correspondents.

     

    The channel’s new brand campaign is its largest marketing push to-date, and the slogan “Hear the Human Story” was unveiled at its global launch in South Africa today. The brand film featured at the special event was about the Gulabi Gang, also known as “vigilantes in pink”, who tackle issues such as violence against women and corruption in northern India.

     

    Al Anstey, managing director of Al Jazeera English, said that the channel covered all the big themes and issues facing the world today, but did so from the perspective of real people: “We believe everyone has a story worth hearing. There are seven billion people to listen to on the planet right now. Al Jazeera exists to cover the people often ignored. People whose voices must be heard – but who are so often neglected by mainstream media.”

    “Our editorial mission is to cover the world without a perspective. What that means is not seeing the globe through a geographical or cultural prism,by not weighting our coverage towards West, the rich nations, or anywhere else. We cover the developing world as much as the developed. So person in Bangui is given as much humanity as a person in Boston or Birmingham.”

     

    Commenting on the choice of Johannesburg as the location for the launch, rather than the traditional financial centres favoured by other channels, AlJazeera executive director for marketing and distribution Abdulla Alnajjar said: “In a world where the truth is everywhere under attack, Al Jazeera puts the human being at the centre of its news agenda, giving a voice to the voiceless.  This campaign is about human stories and we’re proud that theglobal launch for the campaign is here from South Africa, a region rich with history and human stories.”

     

     “There is a common perception that the media are mainly interested in covering those in power, or the rich and famous. Our campaign gives a voice to the many people around the world who feel that they have been leftbehind.

     

    “Our coverage is not about only about portraying difficult situations – its about the triumph of the human spirit and the ability for people in the most difficult of situations to make change. It’s on that foundation that we built this campaign honouring their lives and struggles. This campaign showcases incredible human stories and the humanity that unites us all.”

     

    Some of the others featured in the campaign include: Kiki Katese who started a group of female drummers in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide; and Illac Diaz who brought lighting to slums in the Philippines using plastic bottles.

     

    Al Jazeera English also point out that they aired a film about MalalaYousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winning teenager who campaigns for the right of girls to go to school, two years before she hit the headlines when she was shot by the Taliban. “We have extraordinary people like Malalaon our screens every single day. Their stories are inspiring and must also receive attention,” said Anstey.

  • JSW Cements plans Rs 30 crore campaign

    JSW Cements plans Rs 30 crore campaign

    BENGALURU: JSW Cement has a manufacturing capacity of six million tonnes per annum (tpa) or just two per cent of the 300 million tpa capacity that India has, however all of it is Portland Slag Cement or PSC. The company says that over 90 per cent of the cement consumed globally is PSC, but in India the ratio is in single digit percentage. The products offered by JSW Cements include PSC and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag or GBBS, a component required for PSC mix.

    JSW Cements director Pankaj Kulkarni said, “With the new governments in place at the centre and the state (Karnataka), we expect the infrastructure sector to get a big boost and the cement sector is expected to grow nine per cent year on year. Metros like Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kochi will lead the way in the southern market.”

    The company has now planned a 360 degree campaign, conceputalised by O&M, for south India that will run until the end of the current fiscal with a budget of around Rs 30 crore. “The campaign will have two main objectives – one, to create awareness about the benefits of PSC over other cements available in India, to educate about the way to use PSC and secondly, brand building,” said JSW Cements brand head Rahul Akkare.

    The media communication plans include TVC spots on all major TV channels including regional, news, business, entertainment, infotainment, music, movies, sports, local cable; for radio the company has planned spots at peak commuting hours; for print magazines on concrete and construction related business lines, trade lines, monthly main lines; Newspapers -leading dailies  in English such as Deccan Chronicle, The Hindu, Indian Express, Times of India; in Telugu – Eenadu, Sakshi, Andhrajyothi, Andhra Prabha, Namasthe Telangana, Hindi Milab, Siasat, Vaarta; financial print publications such as – Economic Times, Business Today.

    For out of home (OOH), JSW Cements has plans for presence on bill boards, bus shelters, medians, transit branding – bus/truck/auto;  on social media networks  like FB, Twitter, Google Plus, Linked-in, through  blogs – Architect celebrity bloggers, Real – estate, Civil Engineers, are being targeted. Web-ads – educating consumers about PSC, campaigning with info fusion. For dealers and sub dealers, the company will provide signage and posters. In view of the approaching festival season, JSW Cements has planned to provide buntings and danglers at and near points of sales.

    The campaign will have a tagline of ‘Banao pyaae se’ and is set to begin by the end of this month. About Rs 15 crore will be spent on ATL, focusing mainly on television, followed by trade print, social media and digital. About Rs 15 crore will be spent on BTL- we want to approach and train the influencers like the dealers, sub-dealers, masons, engineers, builders, contractors etc. “We are approaching engineering colleges to include the benefits of PSC as a part of the course for architects etc,” informed Akkare.

    JSW reaches 1500 dealers and 3500 retailers in eight markets in South India.

    O&M handles the creative duties for JSW Cements as well as group company JSW Steel. “We have 2 or 3 pitches for media buying and should decide on a media buying agency soon,” revealed Akkare further.

     

  • Facebook declares Internet.org innovation challenge

    Facebook declares Internet.org innovation challenge

    NEW DELHI: Facebook has declared the Internet.org innovation challenge in India today. The objective of the campaign is to make internet more accessible and relevant to four sections of the population that are currently underserved in India: women, students, farmers and migrant workers.
     
    These communities face maximum structural barriers when it comes to using the internet. McKinsey & Company’s recent study affirmed that the lack of relevant local and multilingual online content and services is one of the primary barriers to internet adoption. Even if they get connected online, the material they find turns out to be insignificant. Internet.org’s initiative will give people access to apps, websites and services that are relevant to their lives and readable in their own languages.
     
    Facebook will be presenting four $ 250,000 innovation challenge award prizes: one to the leading app, website or service or idea that best meets the needs of each of the designated population categories. Two $25,000 impact award prizes will also be granted in each category.
     
    Winners will be announced at Mobile World Congress in March 2015 and interested individuals, organisations and groups can submit applications through 31 January 2015.
     
    Companies, governments and individuals need to work together to remove connectivity barriers. This will ensure everyone has access to the internet globally.

     

  • GroupM with Goggle to launch online Diwali Mela

    GroupM with Goggle to launch online Diwali Mela

    MUMBAI: WPP’s GroupM has announced its plans to launch an online platform called ‘Grand Diwali Mela’, which will be India’s largest festive season online destination.

     

    The initiative is supported by Google and will allow consumers to take the neighbourhood mela experience to their favourite screens – across mobile, tablets or desktops.  The ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ will go live on 1 October and last till the Diwali.

     

    Speaking about the unique initiative, GroupM south Asia CEO CVL Srinivas said, “As more Indians go online, digital media is already an integral part of our everyday lives. We have conceptualised a virtual Diwali mela for users in the country to experience the festive season in a specially designed online platform, where brands will showcase their latest products, run promotions and sampling along with all the fun and entertainment elements that are part of the festive season. Leading brands are excited about the potential of this initiative, and this could possibly become the largest digital activation platform for this festive season.”

     

    The ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ will bring together two of the biggest activities Indians like to indulge during any festive season, shopping and entertainment, as users experience in offline Diwali mela. Shopping is an integral part of our Diwali celebrations when the whole family spends on an array of product categories. Diwali is also a time of celebration with family and friends where music and movies and games are part of every get together. All these offline experiences will be available to online users at the ‘Grand Diwali Mela’.

     

    Google India country head Rajan Anandan added, “We are delighted to be working with Group M on this innovative platform, that will be first of its kind initiative to kick off the festive season in India. Our teams are very excited about this and we are sponsoring the effort that will be accessible across all kinds of devices – including mobile phones.”

  • Suzuki Motorcycle to spend around Rs 40 crore on Gixxer campaign

    Suzuki Motorcycle to spend around Rs 40 crore on Gixxer campaign

    BENGALURU: Suzuki Motorcycles India Private Limited (SMIPL) announced the launch of its flagship 155cc bike Gixxer in Bengaluru.

     

    SMIPL executive VP Atul Gupta said, “Loaded with exciting equipment, power, handling and trusted Suzuki quality, the Gixxer will make a statement without saying a word. It is an overall mix of elegant styling, classy on-road presence and promising performance, and will attract young bikers to rev up and ride. We expect Gixxer to create a strong foothold for itself in the market.”

     

    He added, “Suzuki is keen on providing youth-centric products for the Indian customers at a very competitive price. Our track record of new launches iterates Suzuki’s legacy built on the ethos of credibility along with advanced, unmatched engineering. In tune with its endeavours to reach out to maximum potential buyers the motorcycle major is also coming up with a marketing campaign featuring the actor-endorser Salman Khan.”

     

    The first phase of its TVC campaign has already begun, and will run until post the festival season. A TVC featuring the company’s brand ambassador Khan has been created by Hakuhodo Percept for Gixxer.

     

    Industry sources reveal that the company will spend around 30-40 per cent of it’s approximately Rs 100 crore advertisement budget for FY-22015 on Gixxer.

     

    “The company is targeting the 18-25 age group male, and apart from Colors TV channel in the HSM and the leading GECs in each of the regional markets, the Gixxer campaign will be aired on sports, lifestyle, music and niche channels,” said SMIPL national head of marketing Anu Anamika. Besides television, SMIPL is betting big on digital as well as print.

     

    “We’d said that we would launch four products this year, Gixxer is the fourth one. Post Diwali we plan to launch a brand campaign. Our previous campaign had our brand ambassador Parineeti Chopra for our scooter Let’s,” added Anamika.

  • Ranbir Kapoor is the new brand ambassador of TAG Heuer

    Ranbir Kapoor is the new brand ambassador of TAG Heuer

    MUMBAI: TAG Heuer has signed actor Ranbir Kapoor as a TAG Heuer brand ambassador for a long-term partnership. With this association, TAG Heuer reinforces its leadership position by becoming the only brand in the industry endorsed by two of the biggest names in Bollywood – Shah Rukh Khan & Ranbir Kapoor.

     

    TAG Heuer recently unveiled its global campaign, ‘Don’t crack under pressure’, in India.

     

     “Far more than a claim, it is a powerful mindset,” said TAG Heuer CEO Stephane Linder. “Those who know TAG Heuer may recognise the motto, a tribute to an early 90’s campaign which for many remains the most archetypal expression of TAG Heuer’s unbreakable determination. The campaign captures the mental strength of our Dream Team, athletes and partners, who reflect the values of the TAG Heuer shield. Be it Cristiano Ronaldo the perfectionist, Maria Sharapova the irresistible, Shah Rukh Khan the King of Bollywood or our latest ambassador Ranbir Kapoor the Bollywood heartthrob & youth icon of today. In India, we are proud to have two of the best names in Bollywood sporting TAG Heuer and we see a great future with them in the coming years.”

     

    “TAG Heuer has always been one of my dreams,” said Kapoor. “It started when I was really young, it was the first watch I wanted to own in my life. I remember my parents gifted it to me on my 13th birthday. So now, to be associated with the brand is really humbling for me. I really have to pinch myself to believe that I am part of the TAG Heuer family. I think TAG Heuer stands for the four principle P’s that is prestige, precision, passion and performance. I think that is something we all and especially I can identify with; the way I look at my career, my life. I believe these are very important aspects for how one should approach their life, their work and their relationships.”

     

     “While most people want to succeed in their time, a few succeed in changing their time. These exceptional individuals are called Time Changers,” said TAG Heuer marketing director Puneet Sewra. “Being a 4th generation actor from the legendary Kapoor family, there are a lot of expectations one has to match. Not only did Ranbir live up to those expectations, he also successfully managed to carve his own niche in a short span and did not crack under pressure; and that is what makes him a Time Changer. We are very proud to have Ranbir join the TAG Heuer family and we look forward to a long-term partnership with him.”

  • Innovation gives one a commercial advantage: Sagar Boke

    Innovation gives one a commercial advantage: Sagar Boke

    MUMBAI: Early this year, Bunge India had re-launched its refined edible oil range under its iconic Dalda brand.

     

    And since then the 75-year old has been busy focusing on consumer engagement in the crowded market. According to a report by India Rating, the Indian edible oil industry might see an investment of Rs 450 crore in 2014-15 as compared to Rs 100.7 crore in the previous financial year and Rs 516 crore in 2012-13.

     

    The brand, which was announced as the number one brand in edible oil category in 2013 as per the AC Nielsen report, currently, enjoys a well-placed presence in geographies of north and east of the country and plans to reach out to more consumers in western and southern geographies.

     

    With an eye on smaller markets, the brand is leveraging festivals and occasions to connect with its target audience and ensure maximum visibility and brand recall. Dalda is largely focusing on its mass consumers in tier II and tier III markets to create interactive platforms for consumer participation through various experiential activities.

     

    During this year’s Jagannath Rath Yatra, which attracts a crowd of more than 10 lakh pilgrims every year, Dalda created a unique art exhibit at the Puri Beach for the devotees. For the on ground activity, it collaborated with sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik to create a life size sand art illustration of the deity Lord Jagannath. Additionally, a 12 feet diameter Dalda branded helium balloon was installed at Grand Road to welcome all visitors at the Rath Yatra.

     

    “Consumer engagement is our key focus in order to retain our existing consumers and attract new consumers. Some of the initiatives conducted this year include our Rath Yatra activation in Puri, Baisakhi activation in Punjab and Holi activation in Uttar Pradesh where our team encouraged consumers to share recipes of food cooked in Dalda Edible Oils for our Dial D campaign. We also decided to do something unique for Mother’s Day in Uttar Pradesh, wherein consumers were encouraged to call on Dial D and record a personalised message for their mothers,” highlights Bunge India marketing head Sagar Boke.

     

    He adds, “We want our consumers to actively participate and engage with us through these experiential initiatives and to understand that brand Dalda stands for a promise of purity and taste.”

     

    When asked in the high-competitive market, how the brand plans to stay ahead, the response is innovation. The brand feels that innovation will help one stay ahead of its competition as markets, technologies or trends shift. For the brand it is also a key component of a successful business plan. “Consumers often see innovation as something that adds value to a company or to its products. Used properly, innovation can give you a commercial advantage – especially in saturated or rapidly shifting markets. Your customers may even be willing to pay more for your well-designed, novel and innovative product or service, rather than choosing a cheaper, but less exciting rival,” points out Boke.

     

    The branded edible oils category is a large and fast growing market and today a consumer is more aware of different types of oils. After its re-launch, the brand feels it is doing well as it made sure that nutritional benefits of oils are visible on the pack.

     

    “India is a diverse market with packaged edible oil increasing its penetration over the last decade. The in-home consumption is on a rise and there exists diversity in consumption of oil types. We aim to have a long-term play in this market,” says Boke.

     

    To make its communication stronger, the brand has Cartwheel as its creative agency, OMD as media agency and PR is handled by Madison.

  • Airtel ad: What’s wrong in cooking?

    Airtel ad: What’s wrong in cooking?

    At a party I attended recently, a woman narrated how at her job interview she was asked if she was planning to get married soon. The question angered us all, as we asked, “Why aren’t the men ever asked the same question?”

    The discussion led to Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi’s recent statement on work-life debate where she declared that women can’t have it all. Of course, her statements created a lot of furor; the feminists were the ring leaders as the ones, who after their 9-5 jobs go back home to cook for their families, wondered what the big deal was all about.

    But a question that hovers on my mind is why can’t we have it all? Why is it that we have to always choose?

    While I am still trying to figure an answer to that, there is a new debate that has been ignited and this time by a TVC. And I am sure, by now, everyone would have seen the latest Airtel data services advertisement. 

    The TVC shows a woman boss ordering her subordinates to finish an assigned job no matter what. It turns out that the woman boss is the wife who goes back home to cook for her husband who happens to be the junior she had ordered. The ad is about the telecom giant’s data services, but the buzz created by it on the social media has nothing to do with the services.

    ‘They couldn’t afford a cook?’ is the question everyone needs an answer to. As many applaud the first half of the ad for showing the woman as the boss, there is another set of people who can’t digest the fact that she went home and cooked.

    While people are criticising it, I ask what is wrong in that? What if it was one of those days when she wanted to cook for her husband? Is that a wrong thing? Most of us have seen our mothers do that for years and sometimes we do it too. Does that make us less of a feminist? She a boss and she loves to cook.

    Click here to watch the Ad

    Would we have the same reaction if the genders were reversed? Most of us would have gone ‘awwww’ on the man cooking for his wife.

    The question here isn’t about who cooks or not. What is needed is a changed mindset. The husband/employee is fine with a wife who is also his boss. This is a good move in a patriarchal society. So instead of debating on the latter half, we need to focus on the first.

    The ad is forward looking, it should, according to me, be applauded and not criticised. It is a reflection of the fact that a woman can have all that she wants. It’s a choice she makes, and no one can dictate her.

  • PHD Chamber to join hands with I&B Ministry to launch campaign about piracy

    PHD Chamber to join hands with I&B Ministry to launch campaign about piracy

    NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar today welcomed the initiative taken by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry to launch a joint campaign to create awareness about video and software piracy.

     

    The Minister was responding to an offer by the Chamber whose Media and Entertainment Committee members met today.

     

    While they thanked the Minister for removing service tax from television advertising, they said the music and film industry was facing a major problem because of illegal piracy.

     

    The delegation offered its services for an awareness campaign in this regard among general public through conferences, awareness campaigns and painting competitions among school children.

     

    The delegation was led by Chamber president Sharad Jaipuria with vice presidents Alok Sri Ram  and Media and Entertainment Committee chairman Mukesh Gupta, ED Saurabh Sanyal and senior secretary Yogesh Srivastava.

  • To bring the TG closer, we had to get our act together: Vaibhav Kumar

    To bring the TG closer, we had to get our act together: Vaibhav Kumar

    MUMBAI: Who loves scorching sun? If you thought the reply was none then you are highly mistaken. There are brands that wait for the summers more than the school kids. New campaigns, products are launched during the period to leverage the season.

     

    Similarly, Mother Dairy in a hope to connect with the youth launched its Happy Food, Happy People campaign, this year. The objective behind the campaign was to give a new face to the brand. The brand which has strong relationship with parents and children, now wants to tap the young adults.

     

    Conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather, the campaign depicts how the taste by Mother Dairy lifts one’s mood due to guilt free indulgence and makes him/her happy.

     

    Mother Dairy CMO Vaibhav Kumar shares the secrets behind its success and the new relationship that the brand is out to create…

     

    With so much competition, how would you position yourself in the market? What has been your USP? What would you say is your advantage over others?

     

    Mother Dairy’s core value remains firm at providing the customers with best quality products and fair returns to farmers. The company has been serving consumers for nearly 40 years and has created a niche for itself with its world class quality, pure, safe and innovative products. We believe our best proposition is with our quality of products and the promise we offer which reflects in our new positioning of ‘Happy Food Happy People’.

     

    The products we offer come with a lot of insight developed through innovations, consumer preferences, health benefits and value for money. The result of this is evident through the quality of our product line available. Products such as Mishti Doi, Fruit yoghurt and Classics range of Ice Cream have set benchmarks for industry and loyalty from consumers.

     

    What are the marketing activities that you undertake to build your brand?

     

    We engage in various marketing activities throughout the year. Both ATL and BTL activities are planned as part of our 360 degree campaign. We engage with customers on ground, media via TVC, radio, print etc.

     

    With the new campaign we will focus on ATL activities like TVC, radio promotion, social media engagements etc. supported by BTL activities like in-store promos, flyers, catchment promos, hoardings etc.

     

    What are the key insights behind your marketing activities?

     

    The key insight behind our marketing initiatives with this new campaign is to bring the young adults closer to brand and further build on our mass appeal. The company over the years has been admired as the household name with the entire family. But somewhere we felt the youth connect was also imperative to give it a mass appeal. This was also relevant from our range perspective, as the entire offering from our dairy product division is so youthful which is healthy and most importantly offers the guilt free indulgence, a must for today’s generation.

     

    Can you elaborate on the latest campaign and the concept behind it?

     

    For our new positioning we have drawn a lot of learning from various audiences specially Young Adults and their consumption patterns. And this is how we came out with this campaign to connect the young audience.

     

    The Happy Food in our campaign defines Mother Dairy’s commitment to offer pure, hygienic and adulteration free great quality products which has been the strength, differentiator and heritage of the brand over years. And the Happy People defines the guilt free indulgence by consumers with our innovative & healthy products that offer great taste and hence this belief of Happy Food Happy People.

     

    What is the thought process behind launching this campaign now?

     

    As a brand we have been offering our consumers with quality product with great taste and value for money over the years. While the brand has created a space and strong relationship amongst the Indian Families, which will continue in times to come, there was a need to create brand relationship with young adults – the new emerging consumer of Young India.

     

    Therefore, a new campaign with messaging of Happy Food Happy People came out to connect with the young adults bringing them closer to the brand. Today’s young adults are aware consumers and decisive on what to consume and what not. Since a brand like Mother Dairy offers pure, safe and healthy products, there was a conscious need to bring them closer and this campaign will help in getting our acts together.

     

    How important is digital platform for your brand? How can one optimize on the medium?

     

    Since our target and positioning is towards the young adults, digital medium will be a key area to focus and is certainly an important part of our strategy. We are targeting special campaigns specifically for social media and high visibility zones on the internet. In addition, we are engaging with customers through various online promotion programs and initiatives.

     

    Who do you see as your biggest competitors?

     

    Mother Dairy as a brand with close to 40 years of trust, purity and safety has built a strong connect with the masses and the same is evident from the response we get from consumers every time we launch a new product. The Company with its strong heritage enjoys loyalty amongst the consumers and has been growing steadily creating new benchmarks with our range for others to follow.

     

    What are your biggest challenges today? One learns more from failures than successes. Can you share any such phase or incident in your brand marketing that helped you learn and reach a higher pedestal? Please share, if any.

     

    The biggest need of the hour is to keep pace with changing consumer needs both emotional and functional. We lost track somewhere in our consumer journey and hence became less relevant to young adults (our target group) and this obviously resulted in our market performance. Having learnt from it, we have now stepped up the accelerator on innovation leading to relevant products for our target audience and a new brand positioning moving away from the not so relevant ‘Maa jaisa koi nahin’ to a more relevant ‘Happy Food. Happy People’. The first signs of a turnaround for us seem to be coming in with this change in product portfolio and proposition based on learning from our earlier mistakes.

     

    What is the future of the dairy industry in India? How can the industry grow in the coming year?

     

    The dairy industry is growing steadily and has good future ahead. We see huge potential in the industry as it has a lot to offer on health front, which will grow with rising consumer awareness. We see innovations as key drivers for growth going ahead, the company which can offer innovative products keeping customer preferences intact coupled with value for money will see a runaway success.