ITV

Tag: GroupM

  • 7th Indian News Television Summit: Innovation for higher ad revenue

    7th Indian News Television Summit: Innovation for higher ad revenue

    MUMBAI: ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’ is an age old adage. Operating in a cash crunch environment, this seems to be just what Indian news broadcasters will have to do  if they want to continue to beam into homes. 

     

    The Indian TV news business has been grappling with several issues. Close to 400 channels account for a small per cent of ad spends. High carriage fees and cutthroat competition for the ad rupee have made the going really tough for those in the news business. 

     

    With this as the backdrop, comes leading Indian media service Indiantelevision.com’s Seventh News Television Summit entitled ‘Monetisation in Transformational Times” on 28 October at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.  It seeks to address how those in the news TV ecosystem can develop more robust or new business models, including new revenue streams such as digital online video, syndication, off the air ground activities, advertiser driven programming solutions, among many others. 

     

    The highlights of the half day premier news television industry confab  are a keynote by News Broadcasters Association president and India TV chairman and editor in chief Rajat Sharma followed by a discussion on ‘Meeting the challenge for today’s TV news networks, a one-on-one with ITV Network MD Kartikeya Sharma and then a keynote from leading media agency Group M south Asia CEO CVL Srinivas.  .

     

    The session ‘Content monetisation through conventional and digital platforms of news channel’ will see a reveling discussion on how business heads are meeting the challenge of low ad rates and near zero subscription revenue with rising cost through alternative options such as syndication of news, events, digital etc. Included in this session are NDTV group CEO Vikram Chandra, TV Today Network CEO Ashish Bagga, IBN18 Network CEO Avinash Kaul, Doordarshan ADG News Mayank Agarwal and Focus News Network group CEO Neeraj Sanan.

     

    ‘Innovation in news selling’ will explore novel ideas for media agencies and brands to increase their ROI from their investments on news networks and what innovative methods can be drawn for both to achieve a win-win business model. Opening the session is Srinivas’ keynote followed by a discussion with IPG Mediabrands India CEO Shashi Sinha, CNN-IBN and IBN7 national revenue head Vishal Bhatnagar, India TV senior VP and country head – ad sales Sudipto Chowdhuri and Zee Sangam national sales head Harsha Vardhan Dwivedi. The sessions will be moderated by Provocateur Advisory principal Paritosh Joshi.

     

    Editors of networks will discuss how far they will go to allow money to drive content in the session titled  ‘Monetisation for editorial independence’. ITV Network editor in chief Deepak Chaurasia, former India TV editorial director and veteran journalist QW Naqvi, Mi Marathi consultant Nikhil Wagle and moderator Aaj Tak and Headlines Today editor at large Rahul Kanwal will take the stage. In a separate discussion,  Amagi co-founder KA Srinivasan will discuss how it can offer solutions to advertisers and news networks to further ad revenue.

     

    Says Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari: “So far the news television industry has not been able to harness substantial subscription revenues, even as carriage fees look set to rise with digitisation being delayed. Hence, it needs to look for solutions to hike revenues from the advertising inventory – the threat of the reduction of this has been staved off at least for now – they have, apart from working closely with advertisers and agencies to offer solutions that opens up the revenue pipeline for them further. The challenge is to increase their yields while increasing the ROI for advertisers. I believe the seventh news television summit will help give both advertisers and news channels some pointers as to how they could achieve this jointly.”

     

    The presented by sponsor for the event is Jia News, silver partners are Akamai, India News, NewsX, Sakshi TV, TV9, growth partner is SureWaves, Amagi is lanyard partner, support partners are CNBC Awaaz and CNBC TV18, online media partners are radioandmusic.com and tellychakkar.com. The event is executed by ITV 2.0 Productions.

     

  • E-commerce, the Santa Claus this Diwali

    E-commerce, the Santa Claus this Diwali

    With the festival of lights knocking at the door and gifting at its peak, the-commerce portals are raining flash sales, lucky draws, special portfolios and exclusive product launches. The season which kicked off the with the Big Billion Day by Flipkart to the week- long Diwali Dhamaka Sale from Amazon, the online buzz is getting louder each day.

    The portals, flushed with money from recent fund-raising efforts, are lining up steep discounts, exclusive merchandise, cash-back schemes, and other promotional offers for this year’s festive season, giving them an opportunity to sell more, gain market share and increase their valuations.

    According to Team Pumpkin co-founder Swati Nathani, the period of October till January is considered great for retail sales, starting with festive buying for Pujo and Diwali, to winter shopping in November, party shopping in December and then End of Season Sale in January. “The season sees an approximate 200-300 per cent increase from the average e-commerce sales. Obviously, post Diwali sales will not match to the level of Diwali, but on an average they are 20-30 per cent higher than average period sales,” said Nathani.

     

    Amazon India

    For the festive season, the e-commerce giant is offering discounts with minimum 16 per cent and maximum of up to 56 per cent discounts on products like laptops, mobiles, household items and home appliances. The e-retailer is giving up to 70 per cent discounts on home appliances, clothing & accessories, gifts, gadgets and jewellery along with an additional cash back offer on purchases made by Citibank cards.

    Talking about the Diwali, the offers and discounts, Amazon India country manager & VP Amit Agarwal said that the customers can look forward to Amazon.in as their one-stop Diwali shopping destination and that Amazon is offering its Indian customers great savings on thousands of products every hour through its discounts and offers.

    On 21 September,  Amazon.in kicked-off the 30 day online Shopping Dhamaka ahead of the peak festival season offering customers thousands of exciting new deals & offers on the hottest products; new store launches; first access to unique selections & premium brands,  exciting contests, etc.

    As part of the Online Shopping Dhamaka, Amazon.in hosted two major events including ‘Mission to Mars’ weekend between 4-6 October dedicated to the success of India’s Mangalyaan mission and the Diwali Dhamaka Week between 10-16 October.

    “We are humbled by the tremendous response from customers to the Online Shopping Dhamaka and all events hosted as part of this.  The response from customers on the first day of the Diwali Dhamaka Week went beyond our wildest expectations as we surpassed our biggest day. Traffic on that day was 200 per cent more than that on our previous biggest day. We are seeing a massive interest from all over the country including tier 2 markets like Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Surat, Vizag, Coimbatore, Patna, Bhopal, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Lucknow,” said an Amazon spokesperson.

    “Our seller clubs that have Rs 1 million+ & Rs 1 crore+ weekly sales increased by 44 per cent & 26 per cent respectively during the Diwali Dhamaka Week and sellers received orders from 868 non-metro cities,” he added.

    Electronics and Kitchen product categories grew by nearly six times during the Diwali Dhamaka week. In addition, we have received an overwhelming response from customers to all the exclusive launches that have taken place on Amazon.in during this period.

    “We have sold over 130,000 Micromax Canvas Android One smartphones, over 100,000 Coke Zero cans within two weeks of its launch, the Blackberry Passport has gone out-of-stock and we have sold hundreds of audio products of House of Marley,” the spokesperson informed.

    They also launched special festive design packaging and introduced gift boxes and gift wrapping paper in colours that match with the artwork on the gift boxes for Diwali.

     

    Flipkart-Myntra

    After offering crazy massive discounts on the Big Billion Day, raising Rs 600 crore as well as sending an apology letter to all its customers, Flipkart seems to have toned it down a bit.

    However, the industry that is currently surviving on discounts, the home-grown e-tailer is giving offers on select products. The site is hosting an electronic mela, giving massive discounts on televisions, camera, Smartphones, home appliances and others. The portal is offering 45-50 percent on home appliances like mixer grinders and induction cook-tops.

    The e-retailer is also holding an App lucky draw, where the lucky ones can win 3 days/2 nights holiday packages along with an additional cash back offer on purchases made by an SBI card.

    The e-commerce portal recently acquired the fashion portal Myntra as well as raised funds worth $1 billion.

    “Our aim is to help our sellers provide the best possible shopping options to our customers such that both sellers and customers benefit,” said a Flipkart spokesperson, talking about the Diwali sales.

    While the Bengaluru based portal is being cautious, its acquisition Myntra is giving discounts like 30 per cent off on no minimum value, up to 60 per cent off on festive collection and launching new private brands, Indian as well as international etc. Myntra has launched an exciting Diwali campaign ‘Myntra Cracker of a Sale’ from 7 -25 October.

    Myntra chief operating officer Ganesh Subramanian said, “Diwali is a period of festivity and cheer, where all of us buy new clothes, and want to ‘Look Good.’ The ‘Myntra Cracker of a Sale’ boasts of exciting brand offers from over 500 marquee brands and will also include exclusive collections from leading brands and designers which will be available only on Myntra.com.”

    “At Myntra, we are not restricting celebration only to clothes, but have also extended a personalized style service, the Style Helpline, where Myntra’s expert stylists will be available to answer everything from simple style queries to advice on getting the perfect festive look,” he added.

    Talking about the sales target, Subramanian revealed, “We expect it to be a record breaking Diwali, with over 3X growth in sales as compared to last year.”

    The fashion e-tailer also designed a ‘Made for Myntra Collection,’ which includes over 5,000 exclusive styles and collections by some of the most respected designers and brands like FCUK, UCB, Elle, SuperDry, Biba, FabIndia and Antony Moratto.

    The company is offering every shopper with assured money back with every order – minimum Rs 100 up to Rs 1 lakh and five gold vouchers from Tanishq, to be won every day.

     

    Snapdeal

    All set to lure customers to its portal, Snapdeal is offering 50 per cent off and 1+1 offer on many of its products. The Delhi-based e-tailer is also offering 60-70 per cent discount on mobile phones and gadgets.

    “The intention is to try and cater to every single consumer. Because we are trying to cater to everyone, we have products for everyone. There has been a big ensemble of celebrities, who have come on board for the same,” said Snapdeal VP-offline marketing Maneesh Goel.

    “We are aiming to double our normal sales this festive period like last year,” revealed Goel who added that the company is already seeing a 30 per cent increase in its daily order and sales average. Snapdeal recently crossed $1 billion (over Rs 6,100 crore) in sales this fiscal.

    The portal is offering up to 50 per cent discounts on home appliance, up to 40 per cent on watches, around 50 per cent on gadgets along with 1+1 offers on ethnic wears, footwear, clutches etc.

     

    Google India

    Celebrating the occasion, the search-engine giant Google has launched ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ to cash in on the festival of lights.

    Google has also set up a ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ website, which provides two activities that Indians love to indulge in: shopping and entertainment.

    The powered by sponsor for the site is Amazon India while the presented by sponsor is Lakme. Other sponsors for the site include OLX, Fiat, Line messenger, Horlicks among others. It has also partnered with Shah Rukh Khan’s Happy New Year, which is set to release on the day after Diwali.  

    It allows users from across India to try out everyday products through samples at Re 1, play games that are in sync with the cultural moment, stream movies for free and watch great content from the upcoming film Happy New Year.

    At the ‘Grand Diwali Mela,’ consumers can also experience gaming via a platform called Centerstage Hungama.com. On this online ‘zone’, consumers can stream two Bollywood films of their choice. A game called Diwali Chakri has been launched exclusively for this occasion. In association with Rummy Circle, it allows users to play with other card game enthusiasts across the country. Gaming hour will be from 9-10 pm and prizes include online offers and merchandise.

    Last month, Google stated plans of launching a virtual shopping and entertainment platform by tying up with the media buying agency GroupM. While GroupM is responsible for bringing brands onto the platform, Google provides the technical support.

    The website, which will run live till 22 October, invites patrons to try samples for products across various categories at just one rupee each, and to play and win awesome prizes and a chance to hang out with celebrities.

     

    Other sites

    Riding high on the festive season, CouponDunia, has brought together the country’s most popular e-commerce stores to give its users 30 exclusive offers over the next 15 days as part of ‘Deal-Wali Diwali’. These offers include: Rs 250 gift card on Rs 999 shopping for Amazon, Buy-1-Get-1-Free in Dominos, Flat 33 per cent off above Rs 2999 in FabFurnish, Flat 45 per cent off on Hotel Bookings at Goibibo, Flat Rs 500 off on Flights at Yatra.

    Jabong is also offering huge discounts on lifestyle products. On purchase of two products of American Swan, one can get one product of the company free. Apart from this, one can book a home with just Rs 999 under ‘Living Room Bonanza’ and will also be entitled to 20 per cent discount on total cost.

    With the massive discounts offered and customers being treated as kings, this Diwali marks the growth of the e-commerce sector in India. So, shop till the discounts last and we at Indiantelevision.com wish you a happy Diwali and a fun festive season.

     

  • Milind Pathak joins Madhouse India as COO

    Milind Pathak joins Madhouse India as COO

    MUMBAI: Madhouse, a mobile marketing and communications company, has appointed Milind Pathak as COO. He will be reporting in to Madhouse CEO Joshua Maa and GroupM Interaction south Asia managing partner Tushar Vyas and will be based in Gurgaon.

     

    Pathak comes on board with vast domain knowledge and experience in mobile VAS, marketing & advertising, content, mobile CRM and m-Commerce.

     

    Prior to joining Madhouse, Pathak was a part of the One97 Communications’ leadership team. He has over two decades of experience in sales, business development, marketing, strategy and P&L management.  Pathak moved to digital domain in 2005 as Buongiorno co-CEO and country manager and was responsible for setting up the company’s successful operations in India. He is an active speaker at various events by IAMAI, MEF, MMA, FICCI, Music Matters, ASSOCHAM etc and has shared his experience and perspective on mobile domain, technologies and allied areas in many national & international conferences, seminars and round tables.

     

    Maa said, “India continues to be a priority market for us and we look forward to working closely with Milind as he steers Madhouse India into its next phase of growth.”

     

    Vyas added, “We are excited to have a senior leader from the industry in the Madhouse team. Milind comes with a rich and in depth experience from the telecom industry with depth of experience in Mobile marketing, content and commerce across consumer and enterprise segment. We are confident he will help our clients to seamlessly integrate mobile advertising into their marketing strategies.” Mobile media and advertising remains an integral part of GroupM’s New Me vision that puts digital at heart of the organisation. Madhouse India is a joint venture by WPP and Madhouse China and is managed by GroupM.”

     

    Pathak said, “Over the last two years, I have watched Madhouse emerge as a thought leader in a dramatically changing media environment. I am excited to join and lead Madhouse. I believe we have tremendous headroom for growth in the mobile marketing and advertising domain in India. In the next 3 years the India will be a 400 million mobile internet user market and these users will spend disproportionate time on handheld devices. Our vision is to continue to invest in people, product & technology, creative domain and strategic partnerships offering cutting edge solutions to brands for all the stages of their marketing cycle- awareness, sales and engagement.

     

  • 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.”

  • GroupM takes over 49% stake of Haworth

    GroupM takes over 49% stake of Haworth

    MUMBAI: Haworth, an independent and employee-owned marketing and media agency based in Minneapolis, has announced a strategic partnership with GroupM, the media investment management division of WPP.

     

    Haworth will continue to offer personal, high-touch, creative-driven media – now backed by the industry leader in tools and data, thus linking the art of consumer connections with the most advanced marketplace analytics.

     

    “We believe this is a completely new, one-of-a-kind partnership that will bring tremendous value to our clients and our team,” said Haworth CEO Gary Tobey. “Our differences and assets will complement each other while Haworth’s culture and what we’ve built remains intact.”

     

    Haworth and its clients will benefit from full access to GroupM’s resources in digital, analytics, trading and proprietary technology and tool development.  GroupM will also provide a global expansion platform for Haworth and its clients.  The media agency will take a 49 per cent stake in Haworth.

     

    “We’ve admired what Gary and his team has done for many years,” said GroupM global chairman Irwin Gotlieb.  “We believe we can add to the compelling Haworth proposition through GroupM’s tools, technology, insights and trading scale.  And in turn, GroupM’s agencies and clients can benefit from Haworth’s proven expertise in integrating brands into popular culture and content.” 

     

    Haworth clients are happy about the new partnership with GroupM. DreamWorks Jeffrey Katzenberg said, “We’ve enjoyed a remarkable partnership with Gary Tobey and his team at Haworth over the years.  Their creativity and commitment to innovation has earned them great respect within the entertainment community – and this newest innovation has great potential.” 

     

    Omar Johnson, CMO at Beats Electronics CMO Omar Johnson added, “Our marketing strategy at Beats requires us to break the rules and challenge convention, which is why Haworth’s culture meshes so well with ours.  Their new model for media takes it to the next level as we continue to grow our global footprint.”

     

    Founded in 1970, Haworth provides strategic marketing and media solutions to blue-chip clients and iconic brands, including Target, Ben & Jerry’s, Beats by Dre, Honeywell, DreamWorks, The Oscars and Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection.  Haworth has reported media billings of $700 million.

  • “Content is a key pillar to provide breakthrough solutions for clients”: Kartik Sharma

    “Content is a key pillar to provide breakthrough solutions for clients”: Kartik Sharma

    He took charge in January this year and since then there has been no looking back.

     

    The humble and calm, Kartik Sharma, the managing director south Asia of Maxus, has had a great year, so far. Maxus India began 2014 on a high note with several breakthrough campaigns like “Power of 49” for Tata Tea, winning business worth Rs 300 crore, new senior management appointments. The ‘agency of the year’ title at Emvies 2014 was the cherry on the cake.

     

    Sharma has been with the company for seven years and has contributed to shaping the Maxus brand, creating client delight and helping Maxus dominate industry awards along with Ajit Varghese who has been appointed CEO Asia Pacific.

     

    The agency was named as the fastest growing media agency by RECMA and retained the title of the most “dominant” agency profile for the fourth year in a row in 2013.

     

     Indiantelevison.com’s Meghna Sharma spoke to the man, who specialises in communication planning, behavioural economics, media research, analytics and technology, to know what Sharma attributes these achievements to; his blueprint for the agency in the coming months, and industry’s forecast.

     

    Excerpts…

     

    How does it feel to be the ‘Media Agency of the Year’? What made you differ from the competition?

     

    It’s a fantastic feeling to be ‘The’ media agency of the year, something which we have been dreaming for over seven years. Emvies being the most coveted and respected forums in India, winning here gives us tremendous satisfaction as the award is a reflection of effective work done for clients. The difference over competition is our focus across all clients (we won a metal for 10 clients) and across various categories suggest Maxus’s focus across various disciplines which we have been building over the years. Some of our competitors have won only on a few clients.

     

    Your client Tata Beverages won the ‘Client of the Year’ for ‘Power of 49’ campaign. Were you expecting it? According to you, what made the campaign a success?

     

    We were expecting good wins for the ‘Power of 49’ campaign. The client of the year was a bonus. The reason for the success of the campaign was that it was based on some fantastic insights and impeccable execution. Also, the entire timing of the campaign enhanced the effectiveness of the campaign.

     

    It’s not even been a year since you took charge as MD, how has the journey been so far?

     

    The journey so far has been fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for more. Apart from winning the Emvies ‘agency of the year,’ Maxus has been winning consistently over the last few months. Consistent wins across award forum which includes Asian Marketing effectiveness awards for data analytics innovation, win at the WPP Atticus on analytics, recent wins at the MMA, Smarties (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze), again Agency of the year at the Big Bang held by Ad club Bangalore, highest award at the WPPED cream awards clearly indicates the focus that Maxus has on doing effective work across clients.

     

    Apart from the wins, we have added several senior leaders to Maxus who have rich experience in building brands. This helps us do cutting edge work for our clients. Overall, it has been an extremely satisfying journey so far, with many more exciting projects for the rest of the year.

     

    The year 2014 has started on a good note for Maxus with over Rs 300 crore businesses. What would you attribute it to?

     

    Our record at pitches is at the back of integrated thinking that we bring to the table backed by great insight. Every pitch we work very hard irrespective of the size of the business. We spend a lot of time understanding the brand challenge which helps us craft integrated communication solutions and not media plans.

     

    Apart from this, a lot of emphasis is also on delivering ROI and measurement.

     

    You also bought in new people to strengthen the team. What will they be looking and what more can we expect from Maxus in the coming months?

     

    All our senior leadership’s single line mandate is to provide client delight. Till now they have done a fantastic job and even in the future the mandate won’t change. Our goal is always to be the trusted partner for all our clients.

     

    The agency recently launched Resolve. What was the idea behind launching it and what has been the response from the clients on it?

     

    In today’s complex and dynamic media environment the shift from media plan to communication plan was imminent. We saw this coming and started work nearly three years ago where Maxus India worked with the global leadership team to develop a proprietary framework called “Relationship Media” (RM). The heart of RM is the ever evolving and non-linear purchase pathway & media has a critical role to play in this pathway. Also the pathway changes dramatically by the category type.  All the standard industry tools cover very limited touch points and also do not factor the brand/category challenge. For example whether you are selling a financial product or auto, which are typically targeted towards say men, the standard industry tools will throw similar media choices. This is because they don’t address consumer pathways. They just look at plain demographics. Resolve was our answer to address this challenge where more than 60 touch points are captured, the pathway for each category is mapped and a multi touchpoint optimisation now made possible at the hands of our planners. It’s a revolutionary tool which uses primary research done by Point logic for 25 categories with a sample size of more than 2000 individuals.

     

    The beauty of the tool is that it recommends the media task for the brand (beyond just building salience) and shows the most influential touch points (beyond just reach) to achieve a particular task. We have received extremely positive feedback across clients as such a tool doesn’t exist and is able to add terrific value to their communication plans. 

     

    Digital, data and technology were identified as the key growth drivers for Maxus. What are the key areas for you?

     

    I mentioned earlier in the year that Maxus will focus on digital, data and technology and there is no change in that. Additionally, I would say content is a key pillar, which can provide breakthrough solutions for clients. The ‘Power of 49’ campaign is a good example of the same. Over the next few months you will hear many more case studies from Maxus.

     

    Today digital is no longer just another medium but has become an integral part of a marketer’s plan. What digital strategies do clients expect from Maxus?

     

    The digital landscape is an ever evolving area and most of our clients expect integrated full service solutions from us. In fact we currently do many things beyond digital planning & buying. We work in other areas such as owned media management, social, creative development, website development and even CRM.

     

    Name some of your best digital campaigns.

     

    The list is pretty large. In no particular order a few examples are our search work for Fiat which was appreciated and won many awards. Our campaigns for Tata Sky where we demonstrated the product features across various websites using the remote and not the status bar, Vodafone Selfie is a great example of meshing digital with activation and many many more.

     

    GroupM revised annual advertising expenditure (AdEx) estimates for 2014 to 12.5 per cent from 11.6 per cent. What are the reasons for it? Which sectors are spending and how is the year looking?

     

    The sentiment post elections have been positive with a new and stable government. One of the key sectors adding to growth is retail and more specifically e-commerce brands. They are aggressively investing in building brands in both traditional and digital media. Other industries like auto, telecom, financial services & FMCG are expected to increase spends.

     

    What are the challenges ahead for you and Maxus?

     

    Currently, one of the key ingredients of our past few years’ success has been the culture and that’s critical for us to maintain at all times. The key challenge is to maintain the culture of Maxus at all times. At the end of the day ours is a people business and if we can keep the culture intact which we define as PACE (Passion, Agile, Collaborative & Entrepreneurial) then we will be in a good place. 

  • GroupM launches India Digital Playbook 2014-15

    GroupM launches India Digital Playbook 2014-15

    MUMBAI: “We recall that, at WPP Stream India in February 2014, the renowned filmmaker Shekhar Kapur metaphorically referred to digital marketing as Shiv Tandava. We whole-heartedly agree with Kapur’s viewpoint,” is how the GroupM opened and launched its India Digital Playbook.

     

    The Playbook seeks to guide brand advertisers on the fast evolving digital media space in India.

     

    With India now standing at third position globally in internet users after China and US, the user growth is brisk- India today has 2.3 times the users that it had three years back. As of June 2014 India has 243 million internet users. For marketers, this comes as a significant challenge as well as opportunity to re-look media priorities and mix to take advantage of this shift.

     

    The always moving, always new, always-on digital and mobile screen experiences that are prevalent today constitute a new media phenomenon. This brings immense opportunities as well as new challenges on how brands now need to converse with their customers. Successful brands will be those that can adapt to the unrelenting pace of digital innovation.

     

    To help brands in this endeavour, GroupM has got some of the best digital minds in the country to come up with seven actionable opportunities in the coming year – like mobility, real time content and media, digital and experiential platforms.

     

    The playbook further details several milestones – including creating a matrix of outcomes and drafting a mobile first view- that brands should aspire to achieve this year to capitalise on these opportunities. The playbook recommends that brand advertisers adopt holistic insights and data driven approach with integrated marketing technology framework as the key enabler.

     

    GroupM Interaction managing partner Tushar Vyas said, “The digital revolution has now become an avalanche. This in turn opens greater avenues for brands to reach out and communicate effectively with their target audience. The Group M India Digital Playbook aims at providing a blueprint to help guide marketers through the twists and turns that await us.”

     

    The report goes on to say that currently the marketplace is very cluttered and fragmented in India and Programmatic Advertising has become a “catchall” term that the industry is using for behavioural targeting, real time bidding, exchange buying and all sort of things. Through the Playbook, the media agency wants to help marketers traverse this maze where it has outlined a few key recommendations on the Programmatic Advertising Strategy.

     

    Click here to read the Playbook

  • Champions League T20 2014 gets two key sponsors

    Champions League T20 2014 gets two key sponsors

    MUMBAI: The sports, entertainment and content arm of GroupM; GroupM ESP has enabled key deals for the upcoming Champions League T20 2014.The pivotal title sponsorship with Oppo India and central associate sponsor with Birla White was facilitated and closed by the ESP Mumbai and Delhi team.

     

    Commenting on this achievement GroupM ESP national director of sports and live practice Vinit Karnik said, “CLT20 marks the beginning of festive season in India where brands are looking to increase their share of voice need clutter breaking and engaging platform to occupy consumer mind space. GroupM ESP is delighted to announce Oppo mobiles as the title sponsor and Birla White as associate sponsor of CLT20 2014. We are confident that the league will help brands achieve their desired marketing communication objectives. What really makes this clutter breaking is the new entrant brands like Oppo who aim to get the reach and visibility through a game like cricket.”

     

    Oppo mobiles India CEO Tom Lu said, “We are truly fortunate to have won the title sponsorship rights for such a prestigious and popular cricket tournaments. We are sure, with Oppo Champions League T20, more and more Indian users will get to know about our brand, the technology and the experience our smart phones deliver.”

     

    UltraTech Cement general manager marketing services Kedar Rele commented, “CLT20 offers a unique platform to reach out these followers which will help promote the Birla White brand and hence the association. Whenever consumers’ think of painting or any interior beautification, our brand should be top of the mind. CL T20 will help us drive this!” 

  • HDFC Bank Named India’s Most Valuable Brand In Brand Ranking

    HDFC Bank Named India’s Most Valuable Brand In Brand Ranking

    MUMBAI: According to the first ever BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands ranking announced today, the combined Brand Value of all the brands in the rankingis almost $70bn.HDFC Bank is India’s most valuable brand, with a value of $9.4bn. Carried out by marketing and brand consultancy Millward Brown in conjunction with WPP, the valuationis the only one in India that takes into account consumers’ opinion of brands to calculate thecontribution that product brands make to business success.

    The BrandZ™ India study shows that India’s unrestricted ‘right to play’ for businesses has nurturedgreat diversity amongst brands in the ranking.The Top 50 come from 13 different categories. Seventeen are multi-national corporations (MNCs), 26 are private Indian brands and seven are state-owned brands. This indicates that India is an open, fertile market for building valuable brands, irrespective of age, origin, structure, category, ownership or even price range.

    HDFC Bank, the no.1 brand, has a network in more than 2,100 cities. It is popular with its 28 million customers for launching mobile apps designed to make banking easier, and running literacy, education and skills training programmes in rural areas. The No.2 brand, Airtel, is the fourth largest mobile operator in the world with nearly 300 million customers, while India’s largest commercial bank, State Bank of India, is at No.3 in the ranking.

    Services businesses (Banking, Telecoms and Insurance), which are the nerve centre of today’s Indian economy, are prominent in the ranking.Seven of the Top 10 brands, and 30% of the Top 50 brands, come from the service sector. Financial services stand out, with the12 banks and insurers in the ranking holding the largest proportion (37%) of total Brand Value.Analysis shows these brands have built value by successfully achieving scale – both ingeographical reach and the diversity of their offerings. Telecoms, Personal Care, and the Food and Dairysectors also feature strongly in the Top 50. The data shows that these brands – along with the other FMCG brands in the ranking – excel at connecting with Indian consumers.

    The average Brand Contribution (ameasure of the impact brand alone has on value) of the Top 5 brands is far higher than the overall average of the Top 50, illustrating the positive impact that building a strong brand has on the financial valuation of the brand. These brands create powerful connections by being meaningful to consumers,and differentiating themselves from others.

    The BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2014

    Key findings highlighted in the BrandZTMTop 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands include:

    •    Being meaningful and different builds value – India’s most valuable brands are highly relevant to consumers and differentiate themselves through service, new offerings and brand experiences. One such example is personal care brand Colgate (No.28) – even after 70 years in India the brand has successfully remained relevant and continues to differentiate itself from the competition.

    •    India has evolved into a brand powerhouse – its Top 50 most valuable brands have as much Brand Power (consumers’ predisposition to choose that brand over another) as the global Top 50, and are ahead of the other emerging economies.

    •    Private sector players and multinational corporations dominate – together these contribute around 85% of total brand value. They have succeeded by nurturing a strong relationship with Indian consumers.

    •    Megabrands lead the game – like other fast growing economies, India is dominated by a handful of big brands or companies that own stables of brands: the Top 5 account for 45% of the ranking’s total value. Their tremendous scale and ability to cater to a wide spectrum of the population has translated into financial gains.

    •    ‘Balanced brands’ is the mantra – brands that are able to build both strong connections with consumers and business scale that leads to the creation of financial value are contenders for entering or rising up the BrandZ ranking. Three out ofthe Top 5 Indian brands demonstrate this balance.

    •    Consumer technology is ‘the category waiting to happen’ – there are currently no home-grownconsumer technology brands in the Top 50, but this category is on the verge of emergence. The presence of Indians working in the sector globally is high, and consumer-facing technology brands founded by young entrepreneurshave already started to gain ground.

    •    ‘Indianizing’ products and services is important – the many successful international brands in the ranking have taken the time to understand Indian needs and tastes and adapt to them. Noodles, food seasoning, soup and sauce brand Maggi (No.18), personal care brand Colgate (No.28) and beverage brand Horlicks (No.20) are mastersat this – and are thought of as Indian brands by most consumers as a result.

    •    Old and new sit side by side – living with one foot in the ancient world and one in the modern makes consumers equally receptive to heritage brands (Bajaj Auto, No.5, established 1945) and new brands (Airtel, No. 2, established 1995). More than a quarter of the Top 50 brands were created after the economic liberalization in 1991 while Dabur, No.22, was established 130 years ago.

    Prasun Basu, Millward Brown’s Managing Director – South Asia, said, “The stronger the relationship a brand can build withconsumers in its category, and the more it canleverage that to build scale, the more sustainable and profitable it becomes. All of the Top 50brands are reputable, successful engines of growth for the future of India. Any global manufacturer that makes the effort to understand the diversity of the Indian consumer’s needs, tastes and aspirations, and which can build a proposition that is both meaningful and appropriately differentiated,will succeed in building a strong brand.”

    David Roth, CEO of The Store, WPP added,“With the second highest number of social networking users in the world, and the third highest number of users of mobile devices, developing an e-commerce strategy that focuses on social and mobile platforms is essential for brands in this region.”

    CVL Srinivas, CEO GroupM – South Asia, added,“We are already seeing the impact of the purchasing power of the internet and mobile users in India, with the exponential growth of e-commerce companies in the space of travel, e-tailing, ticketing and many main line brands increasing their brand building budgets to digital media in multiples.”

    In addition to the rankings, special awards were also presented to brands among the Top 50 under the following categories.

    Millward Brown BrandZ India Awards 2014