Tag: Goafest

Milestone Brandcom Takes GoaFest by Storm as it Picks up 9 Awards!

It is myth that in GoaFest it is only the glamorous agencies which participate. Over the last two years, it can be noted that many new specialised agencies have taken home Abbys for impressive pieces of advertising. Milestone is among this set of newbie winners.

Milestone kept up with its winning streak and has swept up 9 major awards against a staggering 17 nominations at the prestigiousGoaFest ’14 Abby’s& took home3 Gold, 2 Silver and 4 Bronze awards for its landmark campaigns for ABP News, McDonalds and Viacom 18. Continuing to defy the status quo in industry with their inventive and challenging media campaigns, Milestone placed 3rd overall at the GoaFest which saw over 3000 entries from industry stalwarts.

Within 4 years of existence, Milestone Brandcom has creatively altered the conventional face of the OOH Industry whilst challenging the largest of advertising networks with their creativity and delivery. For the second year in a row, Milestone Brandcom created a benchmark in the industry by showcasing some of its finest snippets of authentic work, built purely to benefit the brands.

The AapkoRakheAage campaign for ABP News won a Silver in Best use of Special Events & Stunts/Live Advertising, two Bronze awards for Best use of Ambient Media – including in theatre {Cinema} and Special Build – Bronze, Media & Publications categories. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag campaign for Viacom 18 picked up a Gold for Experimental Advertising and Bronze for Use of promotional stunts. Milestone Brandcom’s much appreciated McDonalds Double Burger campaign won two Golds for Best Use of Outdoor and Best Use of Ambient Media – including in theatre {Cinema} and Silver for Best use of Special Events & Stunts/Live Advertising

Nabendu Bhatacharyya, Founder & MD Milestone Brandcom said on the awards, “This is our second year at the GoaFest and we are happy that our efforts have been recognised in 9 major categories and we had a total shortlist of 17 entries. It is a huge moment for us and we hope to keep up the winning streak. We would like to thank our colleagues, clients, media partners, stake holders & well-wishers for all their support! In less than 4 years, we have gone from strength to strength and there is no stopping us now. When we started out, we aspired to raise industry standards with creative output and maximise industry possibilities irrespective of bottom line restraints. I am proud to say that we at Milestone Brandcom have lived upto that and our achievements are testament to it. We are thirsty for more and hope to raise industry standards further!”

At a time when the Outdoor Advertising industry is growing at rate of 7% and its size being pegged at 1900 cr, Milestone Brandcom’s success is a noteworthy one where a single entity has managed to prove that strategic and innovative outdoor advertising can deliver much more than conventional streams.

Click here for full report

June 5, 2014
A ‘Milestone’ Journey…

GOA: It is myth that in GoaFest it is only the glamorous agencies which participate. Over the last two years, it can be noted that many new specialised agencies have taken home Abbys for impressive pieces of advertising. Among this set of newbie winners is Milestone Brandcom.

Indiantelevision.com asked Milestone Brandcom MD Nabendu Bhattacharyya how it feels to sweep away Abbys amongst many other mainline agencies.

Take a look at what he had to say…

“Looking back at our four year journey in the dynamic industry that we call advertising, I am filled with pride at Milestone Brandcom’s journey and success. Yesterday at the GoaFest, we won five out of the seven awards that we were shortlisted for and placed third on the table, competing with industry stalwarts. It is a very big moment for us at Milestone Brandcom and we hope to accomplish much more.

I grew up in Kolkata, surrounded by art, football and culture but my first love was always advertising. Two of my brothers were creative directors in advertising agencies so naturally I set the bar high for myself. In 1993, I kick started my career as a summer trainee at Ulka when advertising was just coming into its own. It was obvious that the possibilities in Indian advertising were endless and largely unexplored. I went on to leave my family and girlfriend who later became my wife behind in Kolkata to work at Selvel’s Delhi office where I had my first brush with the OOH industry. After five years at the company, I decided to move on to Emirates Neon in Dubai, hoping to learn more. As I never really fell in love with Dubai, I returned to join Mudra’s JV with Vertigo and a year later I joined Ogilvy in 1999 where the idea of Milestone Brandcom was conceived.

Starting as a senior consultant, my journey at Ogilvy has made me who I am today and has had a considerable effect on Milestone Brandcom’s journey as well. After 10 eventful years at Ogilvy and over 16 years in the industry, I decided to start Milestone Brandcom with four colleagues after the bottom line started to restrain our creativity. Today, we at Milestone Brandcom put creativity and delivery above everything else and the success of our campaigns stand testament to that.

We started with just 25 passionate employees in six offices, our head quarters being a tiny space in Andheri. We had a few clients and many skeptics. We wanted to change industry standards, we wanted to weed out the hurdles that came along with corporate culture and we wanted to deliver. Due to our persistence and knowledge, we quickly went on to win some of the biggest OOH accounts such as Colors, McDonalds, Binani Cement, Axis Bank, Dish TV, Tanishq and Tata Docomo within six months. Through strategic planning, innovative technology and creative solutions, Milestone Brandcom has completely transformed the outdoor landscape to bring about a forward looking, healthy and positive outlook towards the industry.

As I write this, Milestone Brandcom is a game-changer in the industry that employs over 200 employees with offices/representatives in 42 cities in the country and over 100 active brands. The story of the underdog doesn’t end there. We are also the largest OOH agency in India.

I hope we add many more ‘milestones’ in our journey ahead…”

(These are purely personal views of Milestone Brandcom MD Nabendu Bhattacharyya and indiantelevision.com does not subscribe to these views)

May 31, 2014
A good idea can come from anywhere: Melanie Varley

GOA: At a time when digital is certainly the next big thing, delegates at the ongoing GoaFest were treated to some great work in the online space. In her session aptly titled “Celebrating Great Media Work,” MEC global CSO Melanie Varley spoke of emerging trends in digital and how brands can tame that shape-shifting beast called digital…

Excerpts of the interview…

What made you visit GoaFest?

I was invited by my GroupM India team. They asked me if I could come down here and share some of my global experiences. My presentation was thus based on ‘Celebrating Great Media Work’. It spoke of some of the best campaigns across countries that got recognised at the Cannes Lions 2013.

As a jury member at the Cannes Lions last year, what are your observations on the performance of emerging markets? And, how did Indian brands crack the digital code at the Cannes Lions?

Different markets have different maturity levels. The more the market grows, the more it will get exposed to business opportunities. I think India has extremely good talent. It is about the right time. As I mentioned, countries like Brazil and China have set a great example in the world of marketing. All that they have tapped on is some blending of inspiration and ideas in the right proportion.

What are some of the digital marketing lessons that Indian brands can take from their western counterparts?

While a brand sits down to ideate its mainline campaign, it should defiantly have a digital plan incorporated at the very beginning. Brands should analyse how digital media is impacting their business. There is a plethora of options that brands have today on digital. Once a brand is clear with the purpose of it being on digital, there is a lot that it can explore. Digital offers a lot of data learning. If brands tap on it rightly, a lot of work can be done effectively.

What are the things that brands should keep in mind to leave creative impressions on social?

Brands need to understand that for digital, engagement is the key success factor. It is also important to decode if a digital campaign is adding any value to the brand. The might of small screens is much more than TV if used wisely. Customising messages for multi-screens thereby becomes essential. Ways of engaging consumers should not only be impressive but also impressive. According me, at the end of the day, a good idea can come from anywhere.

How can social media help local brands scale up?

If smaller brands want to get their due presence on social, all they have to do is create something that will make people talk about.

May 31, 2014
No government interference in acquisition of Network 18 by RIL: Prakash Javadekar

GOA: “There is no government interference in the acquisition of Network 18 by Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries Limited,” announced I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar, brushing aside any rumour about BJP led government having a role to play in the recent acquisition of Network 18 by RIL. The newly appointed I&B Minister was addressing the gathering on the final day of GoaFest. Javadekar also accepted that cross media ownership was debatable and will be addressed soon.

“The I&B Ministry will always protect and respect the freedom of press,” emphasised Javadaker. The Minister further went on to say that I&B Ministry is looking at making both Doordarshan and All India Radio competitive. “It is my dream to make Doordarshan a success story,” he said.

“I would address the grievances of all cable operators if they take DD in the prime brand,” added the Minister on a lighter note. “The Ministry will take into consideration all the viewpoints of various stakeholders of the media and then take necessary actions in the near future,” he announced.

The biggest challenge for the Minister will be the smooth rollout of the remaining two phases of digitisation. While in phase III of digitisation 11 crore set top boxes are expected to be installed, Javadekar is of the view that the set top boxes manufactured in China do not guarantee good value for money. “The Ministry is looking at creating opportunities to manufacture set top boxes locally. We will soon meet with both the Finance and Commerce Ministries to take this forward,” he said.

Javadekar also touched upon the issue of FM radio in India. “I have already met all the FM radio heads and the way forward will be declared shortly. The age old batteries of transmitters of AIR stations will soon get some ‘air’ as the Ministry is looking at replacing them with new ones,” he announced.

The Minister, who believes in the age old thought that good advertising cannot make a bad product good and strongly feels that it holds true in today’s world too, also used the platform to address the advertising fraternity. “The difference that the nation will see now is not only difference in leadership but in its vision too,” he said.

Javadekar too has the experience of creating campaigns. The Minister who had crafted campaigns for his party away back in 1989 in Maharashtra said, “I truly understand the system that goes behind each campaign.”

Javadekar is impressed with what ASCI has been initiating and said the Ministry will give its complete support to the association. He also mentioned that issues related to ratings, if any, should be treated privately by advertisers and broadcasters unless there is conflict and they seek government intervention.

The Modi government has truly used the power of social media to scale up its communications. Javadekar said that under his leadership he will review the party’s social media activities very keenly.

It will be interesting to see what Javadekar brings on table in the coming days for the media fraternity as a whole!

May 31, 2014
GoaFest’14 Day 2: 190 awards given away across 9 categories

GOA: The Day 2 of the ninth edition of GoaFest got bigger and grander, as 190 awards were given away across 9 categories. Alok Nanda & Company and JWT were the only agencies that took home a Grand Pix for design and direct categories respectively.

Take a look at the details of who made it to the top positions in each of the 9 categories…

The Print Craft category received 189 entries of which 27 made it to winners’ list. There were nine jury members for assessing this category. For this category Taproot picked eight Abbys, JWT took away four Abbys and Umbrella design added three Abbys to its kitty.

There were 290 entries for the Outdoor and Ambient, out of which 29 entries stood as clear winners. 10 jury members were on board for this category. JWT got seven Abbys, Taproot added three and FCB Ulka received three Abbys for this category.

For the Design category, agencies sent 188 entries and 25 Abbys were given out. Eight industry veterans judged this category. Alok Nanda & Company and Umbrella Designs won five Abbys each. Taproot got three abbys.

In the Direct category there were 55 entries and 13 winners. While Taproot received three Abbys, JWT, DDB Mudra Group and M&C Saatchi picked two Abbys each. The category was judged by nine jury members.

Branded content received 54 entries. There were 21 winners in this category and had 10 jury members judging it. Madison World received three Abbys, while MTV India, Colors, Viacom 18 Media and PHD India got two Abbys each.

The Promo and Activation category got 102 entries and there were 18 winners. Judged by jury members, JWT and Candid Marketing received three Abbys each. Milestone Brandcom got two Abbys.

PR and Broadcaster which were the newbies in GoaFest got overwhelming response. The Advertising Club and chairman of the Awards Governing Council president Pratap Bose mentioned that the 10 jury member team for the PR category were excited and saw some good pieces of work. In the PR category 24 awards were given away out of the 42 entries received. Adfactors advertising bagged five Abbys.

In Broadcaster category 99 entries were received and 33 winners were declared. Star won 11 awards in this category.

Click here for the detailed result sheet

May 30, 2014
Discovery to launch three new channels

GOA: Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific has announced the launch of three new channels in India at the ongoing GoaFest. Widely recognised for enhancing the television viewing experience in India over the last two decades, Discovery will launch a refreshing new concept Hindi entertainment channel named ID – Investigation Discovery.

One of the pioneers in high definition genre in India, the company will also expand its HD offering with the launch of two differentiated gold standard channels – TLC HD World and Animal Planet HD World.

The company’s expanded portfolio of 11 differentiated channels reflects India’s potential and resonates the core promise of digitisation in India.

ID will be India’s first Hindi entertainment channel dedicated to offering compelling true stories of mystery, crime and suspense. The channel promises to ‘always reveal’ intriguing twists and turns that culminate into thrilling conclusions. Providing fascinating stories of human nature, the channel’s alluring series, in-depth specials and thought-provoking one-offs will challenge viewers’ perceptions and expand the Hindi entertainment genre.

Rahul Johri executive vice president and general manager – South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific and head of revenue, pan-regional ad sales and Southeast Asia said, “The launch of three new channels ID, TLC HD World and Animal Planet HD World demonstrates Discovery’s commitment to entertain Indian viewers and offer high-quality and differentiated programming. ID is one of the great success stories in US cable and we are thrilled to present the impactful and entertaining investigative programming to viewers in India.”

“Steering the premium audience in the country, TLC HD World promises to celebrate every moment of life by offering the finest experiences from across the world. With its dedicated 24-hour programming, the channel will indulge the audience through its captivating content on destinations, personalities and trends underscoring its ‘live more’ promise,” stated the release.

Offering the gold standard in high definition, Animal Planet HD World will bring alive the warm and intimate bond that exists between humans and animal kingdom. “Surprisingly Human, it will broadcast premiere content, scheduled as per Indian viewers’ preference with gripping on air packaging,” the release added.

Discussing the growth potential of high definition in India, Johri said, “The launch of the two new high definition channels TLC HD World and Animal Planet HD World has further extended Discovery’s leadership in the HD genre. Both the new networks, along with existing Discovery HD World, will enrich television viewing experience and satisfy the emerging demands of audience, advertisers and affiliates.”

Discovery’s existing portfolio in India includes eight channels: Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Tamil, TLC, Discovery Kids, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo and Discovery HD World.

May 30, 2014
On social be realistic, says Facebook’s Riley Peter

GOA: Facebook has changed the nature of personal and business communication. While people are looking at connecting with other set of people on Facebook, brands too need to take a good note on how to create great connections with consumers.

Facebook –APAC head of creative shop Riley Peter on Day 1 of GoaFest went ahead to talk about what creativity meant to the social media network giant. Today, as people have access to multi screens, creativity needs to shape up accordingly, believes Peter.

It is time for brands to partner with social networking sites for creating impressive work. Social has the power to identify niche as well as the mass audiences. Brands can thereby analyse what idea works for it best. According to Peter, “Brands don’t have the right to be in your newsfeed.” He is of the opinion that it is time for brands to move away from just creating disruptive communication. At the end of the day a consumer when on social platform, needs to take away much more than product details and offers.

Brand communications should never look like an intruding one. Today, consumers have infinite choices and also have a total control over it. The challenge for brands thereby increases. “Only smart creative ideas can bring that difference in a consumer’s outlook towards brands,” said Peter. He also thinks that brands should change their perception of getting more likes just for the sake of it.

Peter is of the opinion that India has a great potential to create remarkable creative work on social. Main reason being that today Facebook has over one billion users in India. The number in itself speaks. What Indian brands need to do is bring the art of storytelling on social as well. Peter is highly impressed with what Indian brands are doing on main stream advertising. According to him, in India celebrity endorsements have created some successful brand campaigns. “It is time to be more realistic and rope them effectively on social too,” said Peter.

The creative canvas on social has the power to give real experiences to consumers in the near future. Peter is highly optimistic about India and thinks in the coming years there will be great storytelling happening on social by brands!

May 29, 2014
Lodestar UM wins 11 Media Abbys; HT Media takes home 6 publisher awards

GOA: The ninth edition of GoaFest has come as a good surprise for Lodestar UM. The agency won 11 Media Abbys and has thus come out as the clear winner in the crowd. Mindshare with seven Media Abbys came second, while Milestone Brandcom and PHD India won five Media Abbys each to secure the third position.

Of the total 50 Media Abbys which were given out on Day 1 of GoaFest, PHD India emerged as the only agency to have received a Grand Pix. The agency bagged the award for its ‘Be Beautiful’ campaign. This year GoaFest received 619 entries from agencies for Media Abbys out of which 150 were shortlisted. 50 of them made it to the winners list.

The final judging process was done only in the presence of media agencies heads. Only one representative from a network group was taken on board, who couldn’t vote for any of its agencies’ entries. There were two preliminary rounds before the finalists were chosen. The shortlisted entries were put on the official website of GoaFest for easy access and transparency.

The other set of awards that were given out on Day 1 were from the publisher category which is a new entrant in Abbys this year. The category received around 63 entries. In this category, while BBCL got five awards, Hindustan Media Ventures received six.

The Advertising Club and chairman of the Awards Governing Council president Pratap Bose mentioned that the effort to add publisher category is to reward the work coming from a platform that connects the media and advertising agencies.

Click here for to the Media Abby result Sheet

May 29, 2014
Be the change to make one: Shravan & Sanjay Kumaran

GOA: Take a look back in time when you were 14, do you recall of anything significant that you had done?

Unlike the other teens, who spend half of their time playing or daydreaming, Shravan and Sanjay Kumaran who are in their early teens have gone ahead to do something which is extraordinary. At the ninth edition of GoaFest, no one had really expected two kids all suited, to go up on the stage confidently to share their business story. With a grin and passion in their eyes Shravan and Sanjay, breaking their nervousness said, “We feel as if we have come for an awesome party.”

The duo kick started the session smartly making the audience cheer for them. They sweetly narrated their story to a packed audience. Two years ago, the Kumaran brothers launched a mobile application on apple store. They set a challenge to first upload an application on apple store. The reason was impressive: They wanted to create an application that is worth downloading. As the Apple store has a rigid process of evaluating, Kumaran brothers thought to take a risk, all for good learning.

Like a dream come true incident, their first application called ‘Catch Me Cop’ was approved by the Apple store within a week’s time. The application also got remarkable response. The duo mentioned that all this happened without any marketing or word of mouth activity.

There was no looking behind for them from then. They have tested over 150 applications till date and have published a few innovative apps for various mobile platforms. From taking their mother’s advice to creating storylines from their real life episodes, the Kumaran brothers have set a standard in today’s ever emerging small screen businesses.

The two teens believe that mobile has the power to change the world and the future looks “awesome.” What is even better to hear about them is the fact that they are thinking like visionaries. The two of them have decided to give away 15 per cent of their profits to charity. They believe, “Be the change to make one.”

Looking at the Kumaran brothers; we are sure that our future is in good hands!

May 29, 2014
Gen-Now upbeat about GoaFest

MUMBAI: The countdown to GoaFest 2014 has begun, setting the advertising and media industry aflutter.

On the one hand, there is talk of some creative agencies sending only their key teams to attend the fest while on the other, some biggies have decided to give the event a miss altogether, citing budget constraints, as one of the reasons. In the words of a copy supervisor of a leading creative agency, “I don’t like the fact that the venue has been shifted. It was like a welcome break for all once a year.”

However, as with all other things, this is but one side of the story. There are ripples of excitement among a host of digital, media and outdoor agencies which are really looking forward to participating in the extravaganza. Indiatelevision.com speaks to some of the young, up and coming delegates to understand their expectations from the fest…

Great Expectations

The Abby’s which were always considered prestigious by the creative and media fraternity has captured the imagination of digital and outdoor agencies as well. As ibs copy supervisor Karthik Krishnan puts it, GoaFest is a great platform many young professionals (in creative and servicing) to get exposure to the best in business when it comes to the jury and peers. “Ad people are slowly warming up to their international counterparts’ attention to digital. This year, in addition to mainline, I’m expecting a lot more attention being given to digital advertising,” adds Krishnan.

Milestone Brandcom account manager Nidhi Kavle feels it’s going to be an exciting experience attending the fest and meeting the cr?me de la cr?me of advertising. “Having chosen advertising as a career, I am looking forward to see the different faces of the industry and get some great insights into what the future of my career in this industry will be like. All the moguls of the ad world are going to be at the fest and to get an opportunity to see them, interact with them, and hear them speak is one that I wouldn’t pass for anything,” says Kavle.

What about CQ?

Sources believe that with the number of entries having gone down and with some agencies dropping out, the competitive quotient (CQ) has dipped. However, the ones attending the fest seem positive.

“On the one hand, the opportunity for the industry’s up-and-coming talents to measure up against the Indian behemoths is sort of lost. But on the other hand, the stage is all theirs. It’s their event to showcase their very best, in front of the best,” says Krishnan.

Says Kavle, “I believe that the work we see on a daily basis, across the various mediums of communication should be the work that is selected for honours. This is the same work that traverses from one medium to another. Most of the organizers now have already become more process driven. So we are looking forward to another great edition of the fest with lots of new experiences to take home.”

Guess we’ll just have to wait for a week to see who takes away what at the fest…

May 24, 2014