ITV

Tag: HUL

  • HUL increases ad spend by 19% in Q3

    MUMBAI: FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) increased its spending on advertising and promotions for the fourth consecutive quarter ended 31 December as competitive intensity continued to be high.

    HUL‘s spending on advertising in the quarter ended 31 December, the third quarter of financial year 2012-13, rose 19 per cent to Rs 8.22 billion from Rs 6.90 billion a year earlier.

    The increase in ad spend by HUL has served as a relief to television broadcasters in a year of slowdown. Incidentally, HUL is the largest ad spender in the country.

    Broadcasters have looked at FMCG companies to rescue them from a slowdown in their ad revenues this fiscal as certain high-spending categories like financial services have pulled back spends. While certain broadcasters have admitted that ad revenue growth in the first two quarters have been muted, the third quarter has been particularly good.

    For the nine months ended 31 December, HUL‘s advertising spend increased by 22 per cent to Rs 24.10 billion from Rs 19.74 billion a year earlier.

    HUL said, “The operating context remained challenging during the third quarter with input costs holding firm and high competitive intensity. Advertising and promotion was stepped up and maintained at competitive levels.”

    The company increased its spend on advertising for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2011-12 after a slowing economy dented ad spends for a few quarters. In the quarter ended 31 March 2012, its advertising spends were Rs 6.77 billion, up 8.67 per cent from a year earlier.

    For the whole of 2011-12, HUL‘s advertising spends was down 3.58 per cent to Rs 26.97 billion from Rs 27.97 billion a year earlier.

    During the third quarter of 2012-13, the domestic consumer business of HUL grew by 15 per cent with the underlying volume growth of 5 per cent. Both its home and personal care (HPC) and food & beverages (F&B) businesses registered double digit growth.

    HUL said despite intense competition, its net profit increased 16 per cent to Rs 8.71 billion in the quarter ended 31 December from Rs 7.25 billion a year earlier.

    HUL chairman Harish Manwani said, “In an environment that continued to be challenging, we have delivered another quarter of broad-based growth and margin expansion.”

  • HUL made to withdraw Pepsodent, Dove Hair ads

    MUMBAI: Advertising watchdog Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has made FMCG major Hindustan Unilever to pull out two advertisements — Pepsodent Expert Protection Toothpaste and Dove Hair Fall Rescue Treatment – for breaching ASCI code.

    The withdrawal of the advertisements was done after ASCI‘s Consumer complaints Council upheld complaints against them. The complainant had pointed out that the Pepsodent TVC claimed “for effective cleaning in between teeth, we should use dental floss”. The TVC further claimed that Pepsodent Expert Protection toothpaste “contains germi-paste, floss-like inter dental action and long lasting freshening mouthwash”.

    These claims with regard to dental floss imply that instead of using dental floss consumers should use Pepsodent Expert Protection toothpaste. Also, this goes contrary to dentists‘ advice that one should use dental floss for effective cleaning in between teeth. The advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code.

    In the ad of Dove Hair Fall Rescue Treatment, the TVC claimed that, unlike other shampoos, Dove‘s rescue treatment nourishes hair and makes the roots strong in just two weeks. The council considered the technical data provided by the advertiser and concluded that the claims were not substantiated and it again contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code.

    The council also upheld complaints against 15 out of the 22 advertisements which were objected to during September 2012.

    In August too, the council had upheld complaints against two of HUL‘s ads promoting Rin detergent powder and Pepsodent Germicheck Magnet.

    Most of the ads found to be contravening the ASCI code continue to be from education, healthcare and FMCG sectors.

    In September, the council rejected complaints against seven advertisements.

    The other complaint upheld was against Panasonic India‘s print ads claiming that the Panasonic inverter saved up to 40 per cent energy, Panasonic Econavi saved up to 10 per cent energy and Panasonic Refrigerators have International safety standards, that they are Vitamin-safe (preserve vitamins) and Ag clean (non-stop air purification, kills 99.9 per cent bacteria). The complainant said the advertiser needed to provide all necessary data to prove these claims. In the absence of scientific studies from the advertiser, the council concluded that the claims made in the advertisement and cited in the complaint were not substantiated. The advertisement contravened chapter I.1 of the code, the council ruled and upheld the complaint.

    The complaint against Ultratech India‘s 18 Again Vaginal & Rejuvenating Gel too was upheld. As per the complaint, the print advertisement claims that, “it removes dry cells from vagina and replaces them with new cells”, “improves blood circulation”, “makes the vagina less vulnerable to infections”. The council concluded that whilst the advertiser provided the license approval given by the state FDA, in the absence of clinical studies, the claims made in the ad and cited in the complaint were not substantiated.

    Kimberly-Clark Lever‘s Huggies Total Protection Diapers‘ TVC claimed that, “The New diaper from Huggies is clinically proven”. The pack claims, “Clinically proven to help prevent diaper rash”. According to the complainant, the TVC claim and the pack claim misleads the consumers into believing that a proper clinical test has been conducted on Huggies Total Protection diaper whereas in reality there is no clinical data on Huggies to support the claims. The claim, “Huggies clinically proven” is a very broad claim and covers all the variants of Huggies. The super in the TVC did not comply with the guidelines laid down by ASCI. Also the super is blurred and illegible from a consumer point of view. The advertisement contravened Chapter I.4 of the ASCI Code as the “clinically proven” claim was neither representative nor adequately relevant given that testing was carried out in a different country with different climatic conditions and for a different product variant of the brand. This complaint was thus upheld. The supers that appeared in the TVC were also not clearly legible thus contravening the regulations of ASCI‘s minimum lettering size of supers. This complaint was also upheld.

    Among educational institutions, there were complaints against AIHM Institute of Hotel Management, Speedwings Aviation Academy, G-NET Business School Computer Education and Poddar Group of Institutions and all these were upheld.

    Jaypee Infratech‘s TVC shows “a Tata Safari car driven by a ruffian looking actor who is drinking while driving and who later gets hauled up by the police.” As per the complainant, in the TVC, Tata Safari brand is shown in wrong light and the logo is visible throughout the advertisement. The council concluded that the “use of Tata Safari logo” violated Chapter IV.2 of the ASCI Code as the advertisement made unjustifiable use of the logo of the complainant. The advertisement was also in contravention of Ch.IV.1 (e) of the Code where it discredits another product directly or by implication. The complaint was upheld. The council noted the advertiser‘s assurance that the TVC was being modified appropriately by “removing the Tata Safari logo”.

    In the case of Rejuvenation Centre, there was a complaint its print advertisement where it claimed that it “gives relief from knee pain without any surgery, 100 per cent cure, no side effect, no need to get admitted in hospital, it gives remarkable results, which is not seen in any other treatment and also effective in curing stiffness in shoulders, cervical, back pain and wrist pain. The complainant mentioned that the advertiser needs to substantiate these claims with supporting clinical information and with details of reports of tests/trials conducted by an independent recognised testing institution. In the absence of clinical data from the advertiser, the claims made in the advertisement and cited in the complaint were not substantiated. The advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code. The complaint was upheld.

    Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals‘s Rota Virus Vaccine TVC said “the vaccine is the only way to reduce the incidence of infection and the fact that techniques like hand washing do not help”. This is a misrepresentation of facts. Rota virus is spread by ingestion of the virus from contaminated food and water. Hygiene helps reduce the spread of infection. The vaccine causes a fivefold increase in intussusceptions, a serious surgical condition that can result in death if not treated urgently. This is not explained in the advertisement. The council concluded that, the claim “the vaccine is the only way to reduce the incidence of infection”, was inadequately substantiated. And the statement, “Rota virus vaccine is the only way to treat Rota Virus” was misleading. The advertisement contravened Chapters I.1 and I.4 of the Code and the council upheld the complaint.

    Madhuraj Hospital‘s print advertisement claimed, “More than 10,000 couples have benefited with children and complete treatment and diagnosis is provided for infertility in males and females”. The council concluded that the claims were inadequately substantiated.

    The advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code. The complaint was upheld. The council noted the advertiser‘s assurance that the advertisement would not appear again in its present form.

    Regency Hospital‘s print ad claimed that it promotes treatment for growing hair naturally in one day. The complainant said this claim needs to be substantiated with statistical and other necessary data. The council concluded that the claims mentioned in the advertisement were inadequately substantiated and contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code. The complaint was upheld.

    During September, the council received complaints against another three print and four TV advertisements. The complaints received were against — Agron India‘s Intimaxx, Allergan Health Care India‘s Juvederm Injectable Gel Filler, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, “Sharda University”, “Heinz India‘s Complan”, “Britannia‘s Milk Bikis”, “Hero Honda Motors‘ Hero Maestro”. However, as these advertisements did not contravene ASCI‘s codes or guidelines, the complaints were rejected.

  • HUL’s 2 ads pulled up, ASCI upholds 21 more

    MUMBAI: HUL‘s two ads, Rin detergent powder and Pepsodent Germicheck Magnet, have run into trouble with India‘s advertising watchdog, ASCI.

    As per the complaint, the TVC of Rin claimed that “only Rin has yellow fighters that brighten dull yellow clothes”. The Advertising Standards Council of India (Asci) concluded that the claim is false and misleading as it is not the only detergent to do so the ad contravened Chapters I.1 and I.4 of the Code.

    This is not the first time HUL has been pulled up for advertising Rin. In 2010, the FMCG giant had run into legal problems due to its ad that compared Rin with Tide. P&G, the company that owns Tide, had taken HUL to court and the High Court had issued a stay order on the said ad.

    HUL‘s second ad that got punished was for its Pepsodent brand. The complainant said that Pepsodent Germicheck pack that he brought which was 200g for Rs 64 had an offer of Pepsodent G 40g free. The free 40g toothpaste is not Pepsodent G, which is better quality toothpaste, but the free 40g toothpaste is also Pepsodent Germicheck. This is a promotion gimmick. The promotion message on the pack was misleading and contravened Chapter I.4 of the code.

    The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) of the ASCI upheld complaints made against 23 advertisements out of 30 during August.

    The upheld ads were from various sectors like Education, Healthcare and FMCG with media houses. During the same period it did not uphold complaints against seven such advertisements.
    According to ASCI, the increase in complaints is largely due to National Advertising Monitoring Service (NAMS) which continues to monitor and pick up a large number of misleading advertisements across sectors.

    HT Media‘s Hindustan ki Lehar was upheld too. As per the complaint, the advertiser claimed that Hindustan ki Lehar “has a circulation of 12 Lakh copies”. The CCC concluded that the claim, “Hindustan has a circulation of 12 Lakh copies”, was not substantiated by an independent research organisation. The ads contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code.

    Divya Bhaskar Group‘s three ads were upheld. The ads were – Divya Marathi, Twice the readership in Bhatinda and Ahead in readership in Patiala. As per the complaint, the promotional material of the advertiser claimed that Divya Marathi has five editions which are the “No.1 dailies by circulation”. The figures given are completely different from the circulation figures given by the ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations) and are misleading. The publicity material contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code.

    Twice the readership in Bhatinda ad claimed that “their readership is twice that of competition in Bhatinda city” while ‘Ahead in readership in Patiala‘ ad claimed that “their readership is 20 per cent more than that of the competition in Patiala city”. The CCC concluded that the claims of the ads were not substantiated by an independent research organisation. They both contravened Chapter.I.1 of the Code.

    In Cavinkare‘s ‘Fairever Fairness Cream‘ ad, the advertiser claimed that Fairever Fairness has a natural fairness system with saffron, milk and wheat germ oil that prevents skin from darkening and gives clear smooth skin. The complainant said that the advertiser needs to give scientific proof in substantiation of these claims. In the absence of scientific proof, the CCC concluded that the claim, “the cream prevents the skin from darkening”, was not substantiated. The advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code. It was upheld.

    Ultratech India‘s ad- 18 Again – Vaginal Tightening and Rejuvenation Cream was upheld. As per the complaint, ‘‘18 Again‘‘ claims vaginal tightening and rejuvenation of the vagina and it says “Feels like a virgin”. The TVC also shows an old lady ordering the product. The entire TVC represents vulgarity, in light of the generally prevailing standards of decency and propriety, which would cause widespread offence particularly among women. The advertisement contravened Chapter II of the Code.

    In education sector the ads that were upheld were that of EMDI Institute Of Media & Communication, Mangalayatan University, NIFE Institute Of Engineering, Sigma Institute Of Management and Technology and M S Ramaiah Institute Of Technology.

    TVC Sky Shops‘ Dr. Slim Tea print ad claimed that Slim Tea being an herbal tea can help lose weight effectively. The CCC concluded that the claims made in the ad and cited in the complaint were not substantiated with clinical trials. Since the ad contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code, the complaint was upheld.

    TVC Sky Shop‘s another ad on Full Gliding LG Touch Screen was upheld. As per the complaint, the Complainant ordered an LG mobile phone from TVC Skyshop in May 2012 for a special offer price of Rs 5890 plus Rs 250 for delivery charges. The phone was delivered two weeks later but the phone supplied was not an LG phone but some other brand. The touch screen was not working properly and the QWERTY key pad numbers were not functional. The pouch supplied did not fit the phone. The CCC concluded that the mention of the LG logo contravened Chapter IV.2 of the Code – “Advertisements should not make unjustifiable use of the name or initials of any other firm, company or institution, nor take unfair advantage of the goodwill attached to the trademark, or symbol of another firm”.

    In healthcare sector the ads that were pulled out were of Lida Slimming Pills, Global Heart Foundation, Obecu Capsule (Nirmeeti Health Care), Telebrands India‘s Chimaxx Daily Walke and Sanchi Namkin & Sada Matta (Bhopal Sahakari Dugdh Sangh Maryadit).

    Brad Eye Glass Remover ad that claimed- “Remove eyeglass with 100 per cent Ayurvedic eye drops”, “Helps reduce eyeglass 0.5 per month”, “Helps remove cataract without operation”, “Helps diabetes patients, darkness”, “No side effect”. The ad misleads eye patients into not using eyeglasses and to rely on the eye drops. The ad also misleads diabetics into rely on this product. The print advertisement claims and the website claims need to be substantiated with data from independent research. The CCC concluded that the claims made in the advertisement and cited in the complaint were not substantiated. The ad contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code. The complaint was upheld.

    Sistema Shyam Teleservices‘ MTS Mblaze ad was upheld. As per the complaint, the advertiser claims to be India‘s Fastest Internet service provider. The CCC concluded that in the absence of comparative data, the claim “India‘s Fastest Internet service provider” was not substantiated. The advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code.

    In Farmtrac 40 Tractor‘s ad there is a wrong interpretation of the concerned product feature. The ad compares wheel base of the two tractors, and claims that Farmtrac 40‘s slightly longer wheel base provides better stability in haulage work. The CCC concluded that the comparison of the two tractors on only a few factors is likely to mislead consumers that the Advertiser‘s product is better than the complainant‘s. The ad was misleading by omission and contravened Chapter I.4 of the Code. The complaint was upheld.

    During the month of August, the CCC also received complaints against seven print ads. The complaints were received against the ads of “Whirlpool Cooking Appliances”, “Massey Ferguson Tractors”, “Hemor Rite”, “Metro Group of Hospitals”, “Graphic Era University”, Best Brown Rice, Mohak Hi-tech Speciality Hospital. However, as these advertisements did not contravene ASCI‘s codes or guidelines, the complaints were not upheld.

  • Competitive pressures increase HUL’s ad spend

    MUMBAI: FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd‘s (HUL) spend on advertising increased for the third consecutive quarter in the three months ended 30 September, on heightened competitive intensity which has taken the industry ad spend to a 15-quarter high.

    HUL spent Rs 7.69 billion on advertising and promotion in the second quarter, 18.13 per cent more than Rs 6.51 billion a year earlier. “A&P was stepped up and maintained at competitive levels,” the company said in its earnings release.

    It started increasing its advertising spends from the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2012. For the fourth quarter it spent Rs 6.77 billion, up 8.67 per cent from a year earlier. For the whole of 2011-12, HUL‘s advertising spend was lower from a year earlier.

    HUL said, “The operating context remained challenging during the quarter with a volatile cost environment and heightened competitive intensity. Overall industry media spend was up significantly to its highest levels in over 15 quarters.”

    As the company fought competition in the FMCG industry, it remained absent from the Star Network‘s bouquet of entertainment channels for about three months. Earlier this month, HUL returned to advertise on the Star Network.

    HUL‘s ad spends in the second quarter accounted for 14.26 per cent of its total expenses of Rs 53.92 billion, against 13.45 per cent of total expenses of Rs 6.89 billion a year earlier. Its spend on advertising and promotion accounted for 12.18 per cent of total revenues in the second quarter against 11.6 per cent a year earlier.

    The company‘s revenue for the second quarter ended 30 September was Rs 63.11 billion, 12.50 per cent more than Rs 56.1 billion a year earlier. Its net profit also saw a double digit spike of 17.13 per cent to Rs 8.07 billion from Rs 6.89 billion a year earlier.

    On a half-yearly basis, HUL‘s ad spends increased by 28.77 per cent (first quarter‘s YoY increase was 30 per cent) to Rs 15.89 billion from Rs 12.34 billion a year earlier. For the half year, the ad spends constituted 12.52 per cent of the total revenues and 14.63 per cent of the total expenses.

    The company‘s revenues for the first six months were at Rs 126.9 billion, up 13.31 per cent from Rs 111.99 billion a year earlier. Its net profit increased by 62.46 per cent to Rs 21.38 billion in the first half from Rs 13.16 billion a year earlier.

  • HUL, Star end 3 months of ad negotiations

    MUMBAI: Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India‘s largest advertiser on television, has returned to Star Network after three months of absence and hard negotiations from either sides.

    The exact nature of the deal could not be ascertained as both Star and HUL were not ready to disclose the details.

    Star India president ad sales Kevin Vaz confirmed the news to Indiantelevision.com but said the terms were confidential. “Yes, Hindustan Unilever is on,” he said.

    In a slowdown environment, FMCG companies have been increasing their ad spends as their sales have increased. Other high-spending sectors like telecom and financial services have softened their marketing expenses, thus allowing room for the FMCG companies to look for better rates on television channels who depend largely on advertising revenues.

    For the fiscal ended 31 March 2012, HUL had actually reduced its spend on advertising and promotions by 3.58 per cent compared to the year-ago period. The FMCG major had spent Rs 26.97 billion on promotions, down from Rs 27.97 billion.

    “Both HUL and Star needed each other. Star has powerful channels in Hindi GEC, Hindi movies, English entertainment, infotainment and regional-language genres. HUL is the largest advertiser and has increased its spends this fiscal,” a media analyst said.

    In the fiscal-first quarter, HUL has upped its ad and promotional spends by 29.5 per cent to Rs 8.2 billion.

    HUL is present on the other entertainment networks like Zee, Sony and Viacom18.

    “This neutralises the upside possibility that the other major networks could have had if HUL had stayed out of Star for a longer period,” a media analyst at a broking firm said.

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal does not believe that an upside opportunity existed for the company. “We have already done a deal with HUL and got an upside as our flagship channel Zee TV‘s ratings have seen an improvement. HUL is also increasing its overall ad spends this fiscal. There was no scope for a further upside as we have got other advertisers on board and our inventory is full for our major network channels. There is some inventory left on our smaller channels and HUL is not a spender on those,” he said.

    For the first quarter of this fiscal, Zeel reported 18 per cent rise in its ad revenue to Rs 4.47 billion.

    The second half of this fiscal is crucial for the television networks as the previous six-month period had seen a slowdown. This also coincides with the festive season during which spread brands tend to free their wallets to promote their products.

    The advertising expenditure on television is estimated to grow at 5.6 per cent to gross Rs 148.12 billion in calendar year 2012, according to a GroupM revised forecast.

    “The Telecom category cut down spends substantially in the first half of the year. Financial services have been adversely affected by poorer economic conditions here as elsewhere in the world. Even consumer durables spent less in the first half of 2012 than the prior year period. Occupancy of premium inventory has decreased with advertisers choosing to stay with safer tried-and-tested formats,” the WPP agency explained in its report.

    The Indian economy has seen a new energy after the government‘s series of reform policies including higher FDI in retail, broadcast-carriage services sector and aviation. The stock market has rallied recently and touched a 17-month high.

    Advertisers, however, are still cautious and will wait longer before becoming extravagant on their marketing spends.

  • HUL to be exclusive ad partner of Zee Bangla Cinema

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) has signed an exclusive advertisement deal with the country’s largest spender on advertising Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) for its newly-launched Bengali movie channel.

    This is the first time an entertainment channel has entered into an exclusive advertisement arrangement.

    As part of the deal, the FMCG major will exclusively get to advertise on Zee Bangla Cinema for one-and-a-half months. And for the next four-and-a-half months, Zee has committed 30 per cent of the ad inventory of the channel to HUL.

    For the first one-and-a-half months, the deal will act as a roadblock for other advertisers wanting to advertise on the channel. HUL will also get visibility on all the promotional activities of the channel.

    According to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal, the ad deal with HUL is beneficial to both the parties. “I am able to sell the channel from day 1 without the assessment of ratings and HUL will get to advertise exclusively on our channel,” he said.

    The channel was scouting for an advertising partner during the launch and had approached several clients. “HUL showed confidence in us and hence they are on board,” Sehgal said.

    Zeel already runs a Bengali GEC Zee Bengal, which also airs movies and already owns blockbuster Bengali movie titles.

    The Zee-HUL ad deal also comes in the backdrop of the FMCG company’s decision in June against advertising on any of the Star Network channels. HUL‘s ad and promotional spends in 2011-12 was Rs 26.97 billion.

    In India, Star also did ad deals for a shorter duration for its second GEC Life OK but it was with three advertisers. The other kind of deal worked out was by NDTV when its launched a co-branded lifestyle channel, NDTV Good Times, with Kingfisher.

    “This is an effective model of working where the new channels sign on clients as exclusive advertisers. Life OK had also done it with three brands including HUL for a month,” an executive with a rival broadcaster said, adding Bengal’s television advertising market is in the range of Rs 8 billion.

  • Mindshare wins media agency of the year at Spikes Asia ’12

    MUMBAI: Mindshare India walked away with the media agency of the year award at the Spikes Asia 2012 on Tuesday. The agency also won the grand prix in the media category for its campaign ‘Where What You Grow Is What You Eat‘ for Hindustan Unilever‘s (HUL) ketchup brand Kissan.

    The agency picked up a Gold Spike for ‘Tomato Ketchup Grows Tomato Farmers‘ (Kissan) along with two Silver Spikes; one each for HUL‘s Bru Gold coffee and Rin detergent. Mediacom also picked up two Spikes, a silver and a bronze, for the ‘You Shave. I Shave.‘ campaign for P&G‘s brand Gillette. Another GroupM agency, MEC, won a Bronze Spike for its ‘My Network Versus Your Network‘ campaign for Reliance Communications.

    BBDO India brought home a Creative Effectiveness Spike for their work on the Gillette Mach3 Turbo Sensitive Shavesutra project. Indian indie agency, which is now a part of the Dentsu Group Taproot, ranked second in the independent agency of the year category.

    Apart from the above, work from Indian agencies was awarded in Design (TBWA), Digital (BBH India), Film (Contract Advertising, Taproot India, DDB Mudra), Film Craft (Ramesh Deo Productions, BBH India, Taproot India, McCann Worldgroup India), Radio (Leo Burnett), Print and Poster (Leo Burnett, Taproot India), Outdoor (McCann Worldgroup, Ogilvy and Mather), Print (Grey Worldwide, DDB Mudra), PR (Bang Bang Films, Cheil Worldwide) and Promo and Activation (O&M) categories.

    India took the gold medal in the Young Spikes Media Competition whilst the team from Hong Kong took gold in the Young Spikes Integrated Competition. The winning entry was by Maxus.

    This year, the awards received 4860 entries of which 397 were awarded.

  • Elephant elevates Ravi Kabara as President

    MUMBAI: Strategic Design outfit Elephant has elevated Ravi Kabara as president effective August as the agency aims to strengthen its professional and operational practices. Prior to his elevation, Kabara was the vice-president, business and programme development.

    Kabara has been with Elephant since 2008 when he looked after business development. He has more than 17 years of experience across marketing, brand management, business development and design. Before joining Elephant, Kabara was at Bajaj Auto across handling functions across sales and marketing for 13 years before his stint at Elephant.

    Kabara said, “My aim is to achieve higher levels of growth from meaningful work. I will focus on expanding the reach of Elephant brand and augment the contribution of strategic design across clients‘ business needs. I will also ensure that quality of delivery, teams and operations remain excellent.”

    Elephant founder-director Ashwini Deshpande said, “Ravi brought a good balance of professionalism and business understanding at Elephant without affecting the intrinsic passion and free thinking that this profession requires. It seemed like the right time to entrust him with greater responsibility that would leave the founders with more time to mentor teams and explore newer ways of achieving innovation.”

    Elephant has a portfolio of brands and projects across sectors and clients including ABD, Abbott, Akzo Nobel, Axis Bank, Bausch + Lomb, Britannia, Comviva, Daimler India, Delhi Duty Free, Godrej, Godfrey Philips, Heinz, HUL, Mars, MTR, Nirlep, P&G, Piramal, Sakaal, TalentEdge, Venky‘s and Wipro.

  • HUL swims against ad slowdown slide, ups ad spends in Q1 by 30%

    MUMBAI: Swimming against the slowdown tide in the economy, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) giant Hindustan Unilever has upped its ad spends by 29.5 per cent for the fiscal-first quarter to Rs 8.20 billion, from Rs 6.33 billion a year ago.

    The ad spend to revenue ratio has seen growth to 12.43 per cent in the first quarter compared to 11.21 per cent in the earlier year.

    HUL’s net sales from operations increased by 13.72 per cent to Rs 62.50 billion in the three-month period ended 30 June 2012, from Rs 54.96 billion a year ago. HUL’s net profit jumped to Rs 13.31 billion for the quarter as compared to Rs 6.27 billion in the earlier year, marking a 112.28 per cent increase.

    Soaps and detergents grew 24 per cent as laundry sustained its robust growth trajectory with all brands growing in double digits across formats. Continued focus on driving upgradation saw the premium segment perform well with both Surf and Rin delivering double digit volume growth, the company said.

    All the segments and key brands in the Skin Cleansing category grew in double digits as Dove and Pears continued to drive category premiumisation and Lux accelerated its growth momentum. The Axe brand was extended with the launch of the New Axe Bar Soap.

    In case of personal products the category grew at 17 per cent and was led by double digit volume growth with the three main brands in skin care – Fair & Lovely (FAL), Ponds and Lakme growing in double digits. This category saw quite a few innovations with the relaunch of FAL during the quarter, the introduction of Vaseline Heel Cream and relaunch of the Lakme Perfect Radiance range with revolutionary technology in skin lightening.

    Hair care products and brands also delivered double digit growth across formats as Dove shampoo doubled its volumes this the quarter.

    The Oral Care category also increased growth to reach double digits and saw the launch of the Pepsodent Expert Protection range with advanced care benefits around whitening and sensitivity towards the end of the quarter.

    Beverages grew seven per cent brought about by a strong growth in the coffee segment while modern trade accelerated tea growth. Packaged food grew at 17 per cent. Kissan led by volumes as its ketchup brand recorded double digit growth for the 11th year in a row.

  • HUL’s promotional spends drop 3.58% to Rs 26.97 bn in FY’12

    MUMBAI: Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has reduced its spend on advertising and promotions by 3.58 per cent in the fiscal ended 31 March 2012 compared to the year-ago period.

    The company spent Rs 26.97 billion on promotions, down from Rs 27.97 billion.

    Despite the fall in marketing spends, the company has reported a 16.99 per cent increase in its net sales year on year which stood at Rs 229.88 billion for the fiscal as against Rs 196.48 billion in the prior year.

    HUL’s consolidated net profit was up 21.54 per cent to Rs 27.91 billion compared to Rs 22.96 billion in 2010-11.

    Meanwhile, for the quarter ended 31 March 2012 (standalone), the ad and promotional expenses of HUL spurted 8.67 per cent. The company spent Rs 6.77 billion in the final quarter, up from Rs 6.23 billion a year ago.

    The company’s net sales grew 20.6 per cent to Rs 56.60 billion, in comparison to Rs 46.94 billion. Correspondingly the net profit for the quarter under review also saw an increase of 20.63 per cent to Rs 6.87 billion.

    HUL chairman Harish Manwani said, “Our performance through the year has been consistent, with broad based growth ahead of the market, driven by a relentless focus on innovation and in-market execution. In a year of competitive intensity and high volatility, a sharp focus on cost management helped the business to continue to invest behind our brands and capabilities while delivering an improvement in margins.”

    During the quarter domestic consumer business grew at 20 per cent with strong underlying volume growth of 10 per cent. Soaps and detergents grew 28 per cent as momentum was sustained in both bars and powders with Rin benefiting from the bars being relaunched in the third quarter of 2011. The focus on driving upgradation stepped up growth rates in Surf. During the quarter, Rin made a foray into the fabric blues segment with the launch of Rin Perfect Shine. Household Care delivered robust double-digit growth led by Vim and Domex.

    The personal care category grew at 17 per cent and was strongly volume led in the process. Skin cleansing registered double-digit growth across all price segments. Lux accelerated its momentum, delivering the third successive quarter of double-digit growth post its relaunch. Lifebuoy Clini-care 10 was launched with the breakthrough ‘Activ Naturol Shield’ technology to further strengthen its germ protection superiority in the hygiene segment.

    In skin care Fair & Lovely (FAL), Ponds and Vaseline continued to grow in double digits. FAL growth was broad-based with the FAL Menz variant more than doubling during the quarter. Vaseline grew on the back of a robust performance in lotions and Ponds performed well at the premium end. Innovations in the quarter were led by the relaunch of Ponds Age Miracle, FAL anti-Marks, FAL Under Eye Serum and Vaseline Menz.

    In Hair Care, Dove, Sunsilk and Clear delivered double-digit growth. Dove sustained its growth momentum and volumes doubled in the quarter. Conditioners continued to lead market development with growth in high double digits.

    Oral Care registered modest growth in a competitive environment. Pepsodent GumCare performed well gaining from stepped up investments and distribution expansion.

    Packaged Foods grew 10 per cent, buoyed by Kissan and Kwality Walls Kissan. The Knorr franchise was expanded with the introduction of a new Chicken variant and multi-packs in Soupy Noodles. Kwality Walls continued its strong growth momentum, led by innovations and distribution expansion.