ITV

Tag: Grey

  • Grey acquires majority stake in German digital media agency

    MUMBAI: WPP’s global marketing communication agency, Grey, has acquired a majority stake in the German-based digital media agency, k102 GmbH.

    Founded in 2006 by Lars Moltrecht and Jan Guntner, Dusseldorf-based k102 has worked alongside Grey since January 2010.

    The key clients of k102 include Deichmann, Transparo, MBT, Gard and Toshiba.

    k102‘s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were approximately EUR 1.3 million with gross assets as at the same date of approximately EUR 1.2 million, an official statement read.

    This new investment is in line with WPP’s strategy of developing its services in fast-growing and important markets and sectors and strengthening its digital capabilities.

    WPP‘s digital revenues totalled $4.8 billion in 2011, representing approximately 30 per cent of the group’s total revenues of over $16 billion.

    WPP has set a target of 35-40 per cent of revenue to be derived from digital in the next five years. Collectively, WPP companies in Germany employ around 7,000 people (including associates) with revenues of approximately $1.3 billion. On this basis, Germany is WPP‘s fourth largest market after the US, UK and China.

  • Pankaj Arora is now Triton national planning director

    MUMBAI: Triton Communications has elevated Pankaj Arora to the position of national planning director.

    Arora moves on to head planning in the agency from his current role of executive director of Triton Mumbai.

    The agency aims to redefine planning as a line function that will strategise for brand business building.

    Triton Communications CEO and NCD Renton D‘Sousa said, “One of my key focus areas is to enhance resources in the knowledge domain to enable the best end product. In my view a planning head needs to have been a senior business head to provide business insights for effective brand solutions. All with the aim to provide the right inputs to the creative for an insight laden end product. Pankaj‘s vast experience on the business of advertising along with his flair for strategic initiatives is the right fit for my vision”.

    Arora added, “When I started out it was all about the USP. With changing times, it evolved to the SMP (single minded proposition). Today with product parity across categories and intangible differentiators dwindling by the day, it boils down to the insight based creative that can make or mend a brand. It is my firm belief that the core of every planning activity is the immersion of client, category and consumer. Planning models merely revolve around this fact. A good planner reads between the reams of data and researches. But a planner with a business experience can unearth the insight that will lead to an effective end product and benefit the client in the market place”.

    Arora has over two decades of experience in advertising. Prior to joining Triton he has also worked with Lintas, Contract Advertising, Grey and Publicis.

  • Percept/H wins Bharat Nirman creative biz

    MUMBAI: Percept/H won the creative duties of Bharat Nirman, the set of flagship programmes initiated by the central government for the development of rural India. The win is an outcome of a seven-agency pitch in July that included Dentsu, Grey and Concept.

    Bharat Nirman was launched around six years back. So far, the communication had always projected the schemes as an opportunity to improve and empower the lives of people. The focus this year is to project the change that people have experienced in their lives through these schemes.

    The agency has already started work on the account and has rolled out the first campaign for the client.

    The agency was asked to project the Bharat Nirman programs as the ‘right‘ or ‘haq‘ of people provided by the central government. In order to communicate this, the agency decided to show the change in people‘s life once they demanded their “haq” and which once they got, empowered them to impact their lives in a positive manner. The idea was to portray the moment of transition from the underdog to a person who knows his or her rights and the feeling of ‘pride‘ associated with the sense of achievement.

    The campaign is being executed through a complete 360 degrees approach with print, TVCs and radio. The logistical challenges of executing the TVCs were immense: 7 programme TVCs and one overarching jingle TVC, 4 language masters for each, making it a total of 32 master films and dubs in 7 languages of each film, making it 56 dubs. In all, a total of mind boggling 88 films.

    The campaign used a jingle “Bharat ke is Nirman pe haq hai mera”. It is directed by Paresh and Naresh Kamath and sung by Kailash Kher and Neha Bhasin. It aims to embody the emotions of people who have taken their rightful “haq” and which everyone should demand. It reflects the pride associated with the positive change that the people of India are empowered to bring about in their lives.

    The campaign includes initiatives in TV, print and radio. The idea was not just about reaching the rural masses in every nook and corner of this country by the width of its media usage and reach through multiple use of TV and radio channels and maximizing newspaper. There was equal focus on the way this campaign has been creatively conceived, designed and produced so as to connect with rural masses, relate to them, impact and involve them.

    The campaign covers the seven programs offered by Bharat Nirman through film, print and radio along with a 90 sec film. The film has been created in a way that covers every region and every language by separately creating an edition for different regions, in different languages, bringing out the authentic and real environment and setting and all the local nuances so as to connect better with local people of any region.

    These films have been extremely sensitively produced and filmed by Pradeep Sircar and his Apocolypso team with Joydeep Sircar directing all the films. The communication initiative by Bharat Nirman and Percept H is unique because no other brand in the social, government or corporate (national or multinational) sector has ever attempted a massive and authentic communication and production.

    Percept/H executive creative director Rajiv Agrawal said, “Till now, over the last few years, the Bharat Nirman campaign has really been from the POV of the Govt., and not from the POV of the people. This is what we corrected. It‘s a people‘s campaign this time around and exhorts them to claim their right. It‘s classic storytelling which attempts to engage the audience in the warm, aggressive campaign. Also, the look-feel is deliberately different, non-sarkaari. I believe that social campaigns should not be any different in look-feel from brand campaigns. The principle remains the same: you are trying to engage your audience by providing them a sound reason-to-believe”.

    Percept H COO (North) Amitava Mitra said, “Bharat Nirman has always been an extremely prestigious project for us since its launch, and this year too, it was a matter of great pride for us to win it. The complexities involved in the execution of the campaign were extremely challenging with multiple programs, languages etc. But at the end of it is a hugely gratifying and satisfying experience.”

  • Grey to handle Pigeon’s creative mandate

    MUMBAI: Bengaluru-based home appliances manufacturer Stovekraft has awarded the creatives duties for its brand Pigeon Home Appliances.

    Grey‘s Bengaluru office will be in charge of the account which includes the brand‘s complete product portfolio.

    Sources peg the account size at Rs 300 million.

    Mindshare holds the media mandate for the brand.

    The pitch for the account was initiated nearly a month back and included five agencies apart from Grey – Contract, Rediffusion Y&R, Lowe, Percept and Euro RSCG. The final round of the pitch included Lowe, Percept and Grey.

    Confirming the news of the win to indiantelevision.com Grey South VP and branch head Hari Krishnan said, “As a category, the home appliances segment has very few brands that are present at a national level and Pigeon is one of them. The brand communication will be aimed at consolidating Pigeon‘s presence and visibility across India.”

    The agency plans to carry a 360 degree media campaign for Pigeon over time, though the immediate focus will be on traditional mediums like TV, print and outdoor. “In this case, retail will also be a very important touch point with activations and store promotions,” adds Krishnan. 

  • Everest Brand Solutions adds Parle’s Wafers to its kitty

    MUMBAI: Everest Brand Solutions has bagged the creative duties of Parle‘s wafer brand.

    The account was earlier handled by Grey.

    Everest Brand Solutions president Dhunji Wadia confirmed the news to Indiantelevision.com.

    The agency won the Parle Wafers account after a multi agency pitch that involved other agencies on Parle‘s roster like Ogilvy and Grey.

    In January this year, Parle shifted its Rs 500 million media business from Maxus-TME to TME-MPG. Earlier, TME handled the confectionery part of the business while Maxus was responsible for the biscuits and snacks range.

  • Grey’s creative team sees changes

    MUMBAI: Grey India has brought in a series of changes in its creative leadership team.

    Vishnu Srivatsav will move to Mumbai and serve as executive creative director and creative head of Batey India, which is Grey’s second agency in India. The agency has also appointed Ram Jayaraman as group creative director and creative head, south.

    Jayaraman moves in from JWT, Mumbai where he was AVP and senior creative director (copy). He will lead the creative responsibilities for Grey South (Bangalore and Chennai) together with Sham Ramachandran who is executive creative director and creative head, south.

    Ram has over 11 years work experience in advertising. In his previous role, he was the creative head for the India business on Radiant (RIN), Smirnoff, Amit Enterprises and Ahuja Constructions. He led Radiant to 5/5 in the agency review, a never-before achievement in the Unilever portfolio. Ram has also worked on some very popular brands and campaigns for Times Of India, Set MAX, Godrej, Kingfisher, Pepsi Co, Nestle, GSK (Horlicks & Boost), ESPN Star Sports, Ford, Pizza Hut, KFC, Hero Honda, Ford, Reebok, Unitech.He’s a Cannes 2005 finalist and Ranked 667 in Campaign Brief Asia’s “Top 1011 Creatives in Asia. His work has been published in Lurzer’s Archive 2008. He’s won a bronze at Goafest ’09 for craft in copy for a long copy ad written for TOI (on 26/11 attacks). Apart from advertising, he is passionate about books, poetry writing, Sachin Tendulkar, Royal Enfield, long-distance running, beer and heavy metal. He is a post graduate in Advertising & Public Relations, IMC.

    Before his appointment, Ramachandran and Srivatsav together had spearheaded the creative duties for Southern region. Grey India has done work from its South market for clients like Britannia, Bharti AXA, UB Wines, ITC etc. Vishnu, after building the creative force in South, has now moved to Bombay as executive creative director and creative head, Batey (a Grey group company).His responsibility is to build a formidable creative structure for Batey in Mumbai.

  • Thakar joins Grey as chief strategy officer for Greater China

    Thakar joins Grey as chief strategy officer for Greater China

    MUMBAI: Grey Group has appointed Pratik Thakar as the EVP/ chief strategy and innovation officer for Greater China with immediate effect.

    This comes close on the heels of the appointment of TH Peng who joined Grey Group – Greater China as chairman and CEO on 12 March 2012.

    The moves signal Grey Group‘s ambition for this critical market and its emphasis on strategic thinking and innovation in creating effective work.

    Thakar had been with McCann Worldgroup for over nine years. He has worked with TH Peng since 2007 and has worked on accounts like Microsoft, L‘Oreal Group, Shanghai GM, MasterCard, Nestle, Bank of China, Coca-Cola and Haier. His 18 years of industry experience covers stints in India, South East Asia and Greater China for Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB Mudra and Lowe Lintas.

    On Thakar’s appointment Peng said, “I’ve seen Pratik connecting dots in new ways. He knows how to engage CMOs with business solutions and inspire a creative person with powerful ideas. He can seamlessly connect a brand story with an engagement idea or digital content. He is a multifaceted strategist.”

    Grey has a roster of clients that include Proctor & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Sony, Volkswagen Seat, Tencent, Diageo, Eli Lilly, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Cerebos and 3M.

  • WPP to outsource finance jobs to India

    WPP to outsource finance jobs to India

    MUMBAI: Cut and snip. That‘s what global advertising agency group WPP is resorting to in the midst of rising costs and a tough economy.

    It is proposing to outsource the jobs being done by those being chopped from its North American operations – mainly in the finance and billing area — to India, reports Ad Age. And the likely Indian beneficiary: Genpact.

    The report in Ad Age stated that all together around 100 professionals will be eased out of the agency network in the US in the coming months, and it covers Ogilvy & Mather, JWT, Grey, Y&R and Wunderman.

    Ogilvy is expected to drop 85 professionals in the next 18 months; Grey as many as 30 people beginning in mid-2012, while JWT could dunk 16 people or fewer.

  • Grey stresses on bold ‘cut’ for youth in new campaign for Killer Jeans

    Grey stresses on bold ‘cut’ for youth in new campaign for Killer Jeans

    MUMBAI: Grey Mumbai has created a new ‘three ads‘ campaign for Killer Jeans (Kewal Kiran Clothing).

    The campaign – ‘What’s your Cut?’ – reaches out to the youth by reflecting their own image of themselves and their attitude.

    Kewal Kiran Clothing VP marketing Sandeep Verma says, “The advertising for our brand has always been as international, slick and as youthful as our fashion style. In our new campaign, ‘What’s your Cut?’, we have gone a step ahead in keeping with the bold attitude of the youth and come up with communication which is even more engaging and involving for today’s generation.”

    The campaign reflects the evolved mindset of this generation, their changing opinions and states it with a devil-may-care attitude. It covers issues like live-in relationships, unusual career choices and environmental consciousness.

    Grey Mumbai ECD and copywriter on the campaign Rohit Malkani adds, “There are so many young people today who seem destined to sail through life without an opinion on anything. They are content to just go with the rest of the herd. Yet this is also a restless generation who live in a brave and tough world. It isn’t easy forming an original opinion. Killer is a brand that has always encouraged originality and stood for unique styling. The attempt of the campaign is to encourage and exhort young people to stand up and have their own opinion, no matter how warped.”

    The campaign has a grungy and stylised treatment with lines that unabashedly declare one’s unique opinion. The campaign is spread across print ads, hoardings, bus wraps and panels.

    Grey Advertising ECD and art director Karan Rawat says, “I have handled this brand for 10 years now and in the course of time, I’ve seen the changing nature of fashion. From being a quick-fix solution, to looking good, to making it your attitude statement, fashion today has come a long way. About five years ago when the fashion industry spoke of a new cut or a wash, it quickly became a trend. People took notice immediately because it was fresh back then. But today every specific trend isn’t specific anymore. Styles are obscure because everyone offers the same bouquet. Every denim brand is showcasing their entire range as opposed to a particular ‘pick of the season’. So, to make a larger than life statement for killer, we provoke our target to seek ‘their cut’. We urge them to go with ‘their interpretation’. We appeal to them with ‘their attitude’ and not ours. In short, the latest Killer campaign is a brand campaign that is about ‘their take’ on various topics.”

     

  • ‘Lost’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ to debut in China

    ‘Lost’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ to debut in China

    MUMBAI: Buena Vista International Television-Asia Pacific (BVITV-AP) which distributes Disney’s content has concluded its first package deal to license live action series and library features in high-definition (HD) format to the Chinese market.

    US broadcaster ABC’s show Lost and Grey’s Anatomy, which are licensed to more than 200 territories worldwide, will air on CCTVHD Channel, China’s first HD channel, by the end of this year.

    BVITV-AP senior VP, MD Steve Macallister says, “This is a groundbreaking deal and underscores our commitment to deliver the best television content to our clients in the highest quality format possible. We are delighted to bring these shows to CCTVHD viewers in China.”

    Lost won six Emmys last year and is about survivors of a plane crash who are stranded on an island. Grey’s Anatomy is a medical drama which focusses on five interns who discover that medicine and relationships can sometimes be defined in shades of grey.