ITV

Tag: Digital

  • DisneyUTV Digital to distribute EA mobile games in India

    DisneyUTV Digital to distribute EA mobile games in India

    MUMBAI: DisneyUTV Digital, the digital arm of DisneyUTV, has partnered EA Mobile, the worldwide publisher for mobile games, to distribute their mobile games in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The games will be distributed by UTV Indiagames exclusively across carrier networks and local OEMs.

    DisneyUTV signed the distribution deal after EA games‘ two-year contract with Nazara Technologies expired this July.
    DisneyUTV will now provide gamers in India access to legacy titles from the EA Mobile portfolio including Need for Speed, Fifa ‘11, Monopoly, Bejeweled, Zuma, Tetris, EA Cricket ‘11, Bookworm and more. Gamers will also be able to enjoy the latest game releases from EA Mobile on the same day as they release internationally.

    Games ranging from across genres like sports, racing, puzzles, word games, arcade and action will be available in a price range of Rs 50 to Rs 99.

    “With feature phones and smartphones growing their presence in the Indian mobile market, the impetus to provide quality content on these platforms only gets bigger. With this relationship, we will increase the reach of EA’s popular games for the end users in the country and upsurge quality content in mobile entertainment. With strategic deals like these, we aim to further expand the gaming market across all possible mobile platforms available,” said DisneyUTV Digital MD Vishal Gondal.

    EA Mobile Asia Pacific GM Franck Villet said, “This partnership with DisneyUTV represents an exciting opportunity for EA to bring our best content to an even broader audience in a growing mobile gaming market.”

  • Havas Q3 revenues grow 10.6% year-on-year

    MUMBAI: French media communications agency Havas has reported a 10 per cent rise in its revenues in the third quarter ended 30 September to €428 million from €387 million a year earlier.

    The group‘s organic growth was 2.0 per cent in the third quarter and 2.5 per cent for the first nine months of the year. Revenues from new businesses in the third quarter were €304 million, which includes new clients, clients retained after a competitive review, and new product or brand expansions for existing clients.

    The Asia Pacific and Africa region grew at 11.8 per cent with India and China being the forerunners in the growth. The region witnessed a number of significant new wins in this period like Tata Motors in India, Playstation and Study Adelaide in Australia, Sugon and YFY Investment in China. Danone opted for Havas digital agencies in Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur.

    Havas CEO David Jones said, “The macro-economic environment continues to be challenging. Notwithstanding, the Group‘s organic growth in North America, Latin America and Asia-Pacific increased in the third quarter, and we continued to generate healthy net new business. Not surprisingly, Europe slowed in Q3 though the Group continued to gain market share in the region, reflecting our competitive strength in this market. Digital continues to accelerate and is an increasingly important driver of the business.”

    In September Havas rebranded 316 of its creative agency Euro RSCG Worldwide offices to Havas Worldwide to underscore the group‘s unique integrated structure.

    Havas said growth slowed across the whole of Europe in the third quarter. France declined slightly in the third quarter due to a limited number of clients reducing spend. The UK, too, was down slightly as last year‘s loss of certain accounts continued to affect this quarter, although the losses have now been almost entirely offset by new wins.

    Performance in the rest of Europe was mixed, with growth driven by Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Germany and Russia in particular, plus a return to growth for Spain. The performance delivered by BETC London, a start-up launched just over a year ago, deserves special mention, as do recently acquired agencies such as Boondoggle and Creative Lynx.

    The growth rate for North America accelerated in the third quarter, a particularly pleasing performance given the high comparative base in Q3 2011.

    Double-digit growth in Havas‘ Asia-Pacific operations was driven mainly by China and India, with all business lines contributing to this strong performance.

    Havas said growth in Latin America accelerated considerably and continues to deliver solid performance, driven mainly by digital, media, advertising and healthcare communication. Brazil in particular delivered strong performance in the region.

  • Digitisation: Broadcasters not ready to rework ad deals

    MUMBAI: Broadcasters and the media agencies representing advertisers will soon lock horns over commercial deals as India‘s four metros move to digital cable TV from 1 November.

    An uneasy calm is already prevailing as the top multi-system operators (MSOs) have switched off English movie channels in Mumbai and Delhi on analogue cable from 10 October, the two prime ad markets. Next to follow is Hindi movie channels from 15th, news channels from 18th and Hindi GECs from 22nd of October.

    More real sense of the pain is to come for advertisers and media agencies nearly three weeks after and it can hurt or be a mild irritation depending on the number of consumers who stay without the digital set-top boxes (STBs) in their homes. The problem of television viewer dropouts in the metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai becomes more sensitive in a high-spending festive season quarter during an ad slowdown year.

    In this interim transition, broadcasters do not want their commercial deals with advertisers to be reworked. Their logic: the gain will be for the whole industry and everybody has to join in making this sacrifice in order to feast later.

    “Our festive ad deals are locked. We are not ready to rework the commercial terms. The IBF (Indian Broadcasting Foundation) is taking up the issue on behalf of the broadcasters,” says Zee Entertainment Enterprise chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal.

    The media agencies, on the other hand, are wanting to cut short term advertising deals reflecting rate revisions

    based on the extent of STB penetration. Says Havas Media India and South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar, “This has been a year of reduced ad spends and basically a slowdown year. Now there is uncertainty about the reach of the channels in the metros. The deals will have to be re-packaged.”

    A part of that duel will be decided on Monday when the IBF, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Society of Advertises (ISA) meet TV measurement ratings agency TAM.

    The broadcasters are insisting on a “viewership data dark period” to smoothen the process of transition to sort out temporary disruptions and avoid a panic situation. An indirect implication of this: advertising deals can’t be renegotiated as there will be no benchmark data on ratings of TV shows or channels.

    Media agencies are taking the opposite course to achieve what the broadcasters are out to prevent. They want ratings so that the reality surfaces and every stakeholder knows to what extent digitisation has succeeded. A tussle can, however, be avoided if the government directs TAM to stop reporting about TV viewership data for a short period, allowing the industry to settle down to digitisation.

    Multi Screen Media president network ad sales and telephony Rohit Gupta reflects the aggressive mood that runs through the broadcasting community. “No broadcaster is going to rework the deals. The IBF and the NBA (News Broadcasters Association) are working together on this. The DTH has added over 25 million net subscribers and we haven’t got anything extra for this from the advertisers. There is no reason for us to take a cut,” he avers.

    Media agencies have already started making their demands. Sehgal admits that some requests have come asking for rate revisions but no discussions have followed. “We haven’t done any negotiations on rate cuts. Even in our annual deals we haven’t factored digitisation at all.”

    So will that mean a part of Zee’s ad inventory will go empty? “Our inventory is sold out for the festive season. Even the big-ticket properties like Saregama have no inventory left. For the network, we have locked in most of our deals,” says Sehgal.

    Smaller networks may not be in that lucky state and may have factored in digitisation in their ad deals with media agencies. Says
    9X Media chief revenue officer Pawan Jailkhani, “The date of digitisation has been decided months back. Advertisers have factored all of this while doing festival and non festivals deals. They take utmost care to safeguard their interests and they know it is not going to affect much as the blackout will be miniscule.”

    Most of the sports channels may consider themselves lucky that they do not have any big sporting event coming up during that early digitisation period and, thus, their revenues will not be affected adversely. “It is an interesting period that the industry is entering into. Nobody knows what the short term impact will be. There could be an ad softening in the festive quarter if only there is a major drop in TV viewership. But if the cable empty homes convert to digital cable within a brief period, then there will be a miniscule impact,” says a media analyst.

    Also read:

    Advertisers want deals to reflect digitisation gaps

  • Nikon’s new TVC celebrates Diwali

    NEW DELHI: Nikon India, a subsidiary of Nikon Corporation, has rolled out a new ad campaign for its Coolpix range.

    With the new TVC, Nikon aims to build awareness about the latest range of Nikon Coolpix features. The TVC is conceptualised by the creative team at K&L Arms India.

    The campaign revolves around Diwali, where Priyanka Chopra is seen celebrating the festival of lights with a group of friends.

    The TVC opens with the pictures of diyas and fireworks while Chopra in her celebratory mood exclaims that she likes the ‘Boom! Brightness and Action‘ that Diwali brings with it.

    As she says this, she captures these festive moments for posterity with her favourite Nikon camera. The premium features of Nikon Coolpix series are also highlighted in the TVC.

    The campaign encompasses TV, Radio, Digital, and ambient media as part of the media plan.

    Nikon has earmarked Rs 1.50 billion for marketing and promotions this fiscal.

  • eBay India rolls out festival marketing campaign

    Mumbai: eBay, an eCommerce marketplace, has unveiled its festive marketing campaign.

    Targeted to 18 – 40 years “value-seeking” shoppers, the campaign is designed to encourage consumers to use eBay India for the variety of great deals available on product categories

    Developed by Law & Kenneth, the campaign is a combination of TV, digital and social mediums to drive awareness and encourage Indians to shop their heart out this festive season to get the best deals online.

    The campaign portrays savvy consumers in real life situations realising they no longer need to shop the old fashioned way and can shop smartly for great deals on eBay India with an assurance of eBay guarantee of 100 per cent satisfaction, else a refund or a replacement. The tag line, “Want it, Get It” continues.

    eBay India CMO Kashyap Vadapalli said, “Our new marketing campaign brings alive the fact that eBay India is the leading shopping destination for savvy online shoppers looking for great deals, offering an unmatched variety of products across categories. We foresee online shopping growing rapidly in India and as pioneers of eCommerce, our campaign aims at instilling consumer confidence, promising the consumer a completely secure & satisfaction-guaranteed experience of getting the product they selected and paid for”.

    The campaign is a series of four TVCs of real life situations. In one ad, a young couple is in a discussion where the husband has his eye on a new DSLR camera and is keen for his wife‘s ‘US Chacha‘ to visit so he gets his hand on the latest model. His savvy wife turns around and challenges him with haven‘t you heard of eBay, you don‘t need to wait for a ‘US Chacha‘ for deals on the latest cameras.

    In another ad, two friends are at a party and one of them envies the other‘s new phone & says he plans to wait for the next edition to launch, so he can get the old model at a great price. His friend again challenges him & says haven‘t you heard of eBay, you will get the best deals on latest phones throughout the year.

    The ads end with Get Deals on eBay India that you can‘t get anywhere else. This is followed by eBay Guarantee and ‘Want it. Get it‘.

  • Nitin Singh joins Indigo Consulting as Delhi biz head

    MUMBAI: Digital agency Indigo Consulting has appointed Nitin Singh as business head, Delhi NCR.

    Singh comes in from Media2win, where he was responsible for digital execution and new business development from North India.

    Singh’s responsibilities at Indigo will include managing the agency’s relationships and scaling up the digital business in the region.

    Indigo Consulting MD Vikas Tandon Indigo Consulting said, “While we have been present in the Delhi region for a while, we were missing strong leadership to drive our aggressive growth plans. Nitin’s valuable experience and relationship with customers will help us provide superlative digital marketing solutions to clients in the Delhi region.”

    Singh said, “I have always admired Indigo Consulting‘s work in the digital space, especially when it comes to their creative and technology capabilities. I hope to learn more about these and their integration with digital strategy while leveraging my experience to create new practices at Indigo Consulting.”

    A post graduate in business administration from the School of Management Studies, New Delhi Singh has nine years of experience in sales and marketing. He has worked with Quasar Media, QAI India and Compare Infobase where his responsibilities ranged from new business development to sales and online digital media planning.

  • Vikas Sharma joins Mogae Media as head solutioning

    MUMBAI: Vikas Sharma has joined Mogae Media as head of solutioning and integration.

    Mogae executive director Tanya Goyal said, “Mogae is looking at various opportunities in the digital and mobile ecosystems where Vikas’ experience will help us create solutions for clients and their brands.”

    Prior to his current assignment, Sharma was the VP sales and operations with Cocktail Mobile Technologys. Additionally, he headed Cocktail’s IT operations and Technical Integration with service providers, as also B2C application innovation groups. He has also worked with JIGrahak Mobility Solutions and Telseera India.

  • WPP strengthens Latin American foot print with 70% stake in Foster Informatica

    MUMBAI: Global marketing & communications giant WPP has acquired 70 per cent stake in Brazil-based digital agency Foster Informatica through its operating agency Ogilvy & Mather.

    The financial details were not disclosed.

    The Brazilian agency was founded in 1993 and is based in Sao Paulo employing 50 people. Foster‘s unaudited revenue for the year ended 31 December 2011 were 5 million Brazilian real, with gross assets of 4.1 million Brazilian real.

    WPP has been strengthening its foothold in the digital space by making a series of acquisitions around the world. While it recently acquired San Francisco-based digital agency AKQA in the US, in India it acquired Hungama Digital through JWT.

    Also Read:

    WPP on the prowl for digital deals in India, buys 51% of Hungama Digital via JWT

  • SMG bags Sennheiser India’s digital biz

    MUMBAI: Starcom MediaVest Group has bagged the digital mandate of Sennheiser India, a German audio company.

    The incumbent agency on the account was OMD which handled the business from their Delhi office.

    The size of the account is estimated to be at around Rs 30-50 million.

    The agency will be handling the entire digital media duties and performance marketing for Sennheiser in India. The company is also rolling out an e-commerce shop soon.

    SMG Digital national director Arnab Mitra said, “Sennheiser has plans to establish digital as one of the primary mediums for the future in context to customer acquisition and satisfaction. SMG digital is all poised to play a great hand for the same. With their new e-shop being rolled out, Sennheiser will soon become one of prominent players in the category.”

  • Euro RSCG 4D Matrix wins Parry Nutraceuticals’ digital biz

    Euro RSCG 4D Matrix wins Parry Nutraceuticals’ digital biz

    MUMBAI: Euro RSCG 4D Matrix, an integrated digital marketing agency, has been awarded the digital duties of Parry Nutraceuticals, a division of E.I.D. Parry (I) Ltd and a part of Murugappa group.

    The agency will be responsible for creating a strong digital presence for the nutritional food supplements like Parry’s Spirulina, Green T6 (Green tea antioxidant capsules), PRO 9 (protein energy supplements), PRO 9 D (protein energy supplements for diabetes), Rejuveneyes (to rejuvenate the tired eyes) through their SEO, PPC and social media services.

    Euro RSCG 4D Matrix head – sales (India) Dinesh Kulchandra said, “We are extremely excited and looking forward to working closely with Parry Nutraceuticals. There is an immense scope for a strong digital presence in the segment.”

    Euro RSCG 4D Matrix, with operations spread across India and the UK, delivers results across the digital streams: Digital Marketing- SEO, Social Media and Social Search and Mobile. Along with this, the team leverages industry expertise and utilises latest technology tools to help build brands online via Search, Social Media and Mobile media (including applications).

    Parry Nutraceuticals business head Sajiv K Menon said, “We have been keen to drive our marketing campaigns through the Digi-space also and we have decided that Euro RSCG 4D matrix would be the perfect match for us to drive our ambitious e-commerce plans. We are confident that this will turn out to be a fruitful association.”