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Tag: Leo Burnett

  • Leo Burnett innovates Slurpee cups with ‘sound’

    Leo Burnett innovates Slurpee cups with ‘sound’

    MUMBAI: If you are a Slurpee fan, this bit of news will definitely excite you. The legacy-like Bring Your Own Cup Day is back again and this year Slurpee and Leo Burnett Melbourne have set out to create cups out of the seemingly impossible material — sound.

     

    The process began with recording three radio ads for this year’s BYO Cup Day, each with a voice-over and distinct soundscape in the background: a Viking opera, a football stadium full of cheering fans, and the mating calls of two ‘frisky’ whales.

     

    “Slurpee BYO Cup Day is now an event where fans are the creators and they prove their ingenuity every year,” says Leo Burnett ECD Jason Williams. “Sound Cup is just another way to stimulate their imaginations and inspire cup creativity.”

     

    Using a suite of digital 3D modelling tools, the sound waves from the radio ads were vectorised to create the shapes of the cups. The voice-over determined the circumference of the cups’ rims, while the peaks and troughs of the sound effects created each cup’s unique height and body shape, before all the sound-waves were meshed together.

     

    Fans could download the 3D file and print a Sound Cup themselves, or win one on Slurpee’s Facebook page to drink, for the first time ever, out of cups made of sound for BYO Cup Day.

  • Leo Burnett ropes in Amritraj Thakur as VP – planning

    Leo Burnett ropes in Amritraj Thakur as VP – planning

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett has appointed Amritraj Thakur as vice-president- planning at its Delhi office.

     

    In his new role, Thakur will work closely with Leo Burnett executive vice president – integrated strategy planning Antony Rajkumar in sharpening the agency’s strategic focus on key clients.

     

    Thakur started his career in advertising in 1999 and soon left the industry to become a specialist in the consulting space. He moves back to advertising with Leo Burnett after a long hiatus, and having worked with many multinational clients in diverse areas such as strategy planning, business analysis, consumer research, etc.

     

    He joins from Intellecap Consulting India where he worked as associate vice president.

     

    Leo Burnett India North president Samir Gangahar said, “Amritraj comes with rich experience in communications and more recently in consultancy. In him, we have found a strategist who has the ability to grasp business problems and think through compelling solutions that will add value to clients’ businesses. In his experience of over 15 years, he has acted as the change enabler for many clients across industries. I’m sure his strength in strategy and business analysis will prove to be an incredible asset to us.”

     

    Leo Burnett India executive strategy planning Antony Rajkumar added, “Amritraj has spent a large part of his career in the consulting space, solving complex business problems for both Indian and International clients. That experience coupled with his temperament, natural intelligence and passion to study and influence human behaviour, will add tremendous value to our clients’ businesses, and thus for the agency itself. It’s great to have someone like him on the team.”

     

    Thakur said, “Leo Burnett’s outlook on how the client’s business is evolving and the role communication companies can play in the change is spot on. I’m truly excited to be a part of the team that believes in defining the purpose brands and creating targeted and meaningful conversations with consumers. After having worked in the consulting space for more than 10 years, I was looking to get back to advertising. I would be foolish to have missed the Leo Burnett opportunity, as it has in its team some of the finest strategic thinkers in the country.”

     

    Over the years Thakur has worked with Unilever, Bosch, NCSoft, RDF Media, Danone, in designing new market entry strategies, implementing sustainable business models, managing marketing and communication requirements and new product launches.

  • Leo Burnett hires Sachin Das Burma as group ECD

    Leo Burnett hires Sachin Das Burma as group ECD

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett India has hired Sachin Das Burma as group executive creative director at its Delhi office.

     

    Speaking on his appointment, Leo Burnett India North president Samir Gangahar said, “We are delighted to welcome Burma. With an impressive track-record of creating path-breaking integrated communication across categories and the hunger to do a lot more, I’m excited to see him craft ideas that impact consumer behaviour and solve business problems across our portfolio of brands.”

     

    Leo Burnett India chief creative officer RajDeepak Das added, “In Sachin we have found a leader who has the ability to keep things simple and connect every piece to a human truth. His ideology and working style is ideal to drive innovation and integration in the communication process. I’m sure Sachin’s inclusion will significantly enhance our capability of solving our clients’ problems by creating new age work based on strong consumer insights.”

     

    Burma said, “Leo Burnett has a great history of fantastic work that has built so many big brands. My aim will be to uphold the creative standards and make sure that the legacy of the agency continues. And hopefully, I would be able to add value, new business and awards. I look forward to be part of an exciting team. There is a new way of thinking at Leo Burnett and I hope to learn and contribute.”

     

    He joins from Draft FCB Ulka where he was group creative director and has also worked with Contract Advertising, Bates India and JWT.

  • MSM strengthens Sony team with four top-level hires

    MSM strengthens Sony team with four top-level hires

    MUMBAI: In an attempt to strengthen its team and galvanise renewed energy into its flagship channel Sony Entertainment Television (SET), Multi Screen Media (MSM) has made four top level appointments.

     

    The company has appointed Danish Khan as EVP & business head for Sony Entertainment Television. He steps into the shoes of erstwhile business head Nachiket Pantvaidya. Khan was previously programming head at Star Plus.

     

    Additionally, as a part of Khan’s core team, the company has made three new appointments. Anup Vishwanathan has been named as SVP and head marketing, Anshuman Sinha has come on board as SVP and senior creative director, whereas Ritesh Modi has been appointed as VP and creative director. The trio alongside Khan will be working with a battery of seasoned professionals at MSM. 

     

    As the man at the helm for SET, Khan will be driving the overall business of the channel including its objectives of channel growth, viewership and developing innovative revenue opportunities. Khan has earlier spent ten years in MSM in various marketing roles.

     

    In his new role, Vishwanathan will be working closely with Khan to amplify and support efforts towards the growth of SET and to substantiate the brand equity for the channel, primarily with its viewership base. 

     

    During the course of his work across various advertising agencies such as Leo Burnett, Mudra Communications and McCann Erickson, Vishwanathan has earlier serviced the SET portfolio from the agency side, for six years. He moves from Times Network where he was marketing head of the English Movie cluster.

     

    On the other hand, Sinha comes to MSM with 17 years of work experience. His forte lies in synergising consumer sentiment with progressive content. Sinha will join forces with Modi in charting a new creative course for SET. Modi, who has 18 years of working life behind him, specialises in non-fiction reality show formats and has a deep understanding of regional markets.

     

    MSM chief executive officer NP Singh said, “Given rising industry competitiveness coupled with a steady surge of growing audience expectations, innovation has become the key to success and growth. It is imperative that consumer insights dictate a channel’s look and feel as well as programming.”

     

    “The new team is not only seasoned and versatile but also willing to go the extra mile to ensure that consumer choice becomes the key to new offerings from SET – the flagship channel of MSM. This new team is committed to writing the next chapter of our growth story and they have my full support,” he added.

  • Vivek Rao joins L&K Saatchi & Saatchi as chief creative officer – North

    Vivek Rao joins L&K Saatchi & Saatchi as chief creative officer – North

    MUMBAI: L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has appointed Vivek Rao as its chief creative officer – North. 

    Rao is armed with 15 years of experience working with global marketing communications companies and driving growth for global and local brands.

     

    L & K Saatchi & Saatchi CEO and managing partner Anil S Nair said, “Vivek is not just a fantastic creative talent but an inspiring leader, who carries his team along with him to glory. He is an absolute team player and therefore a fantastic fit with our culture. We are very excited to have him on board and are looking forward to his positive contribution towards our creative profile and ambition.”

     

    Rao added, “Having worked with stalwarts like Prasoon Joshi, Pops, Agnello Dias, Nitesh Tiwari, Ashish Khazanchi, Prasanna Sankhe & Satbir Singh over the years, I was keen to apply and use all that I’ve learnt in a place that’s growing at a furious pace. Praveen Kenneth, Anil Nair and the core team have done a magnificent job in creating L&K into an incredible force, add Saatchi & Saatchi’s global might to that and you can see why it’s a place that’s hitting top gear right now.”

     

    He further said, “The dynamics of communication has changed and yet, the basics still remain the same. Solid ideas, simplicity of storytelling will always be the way for brands to connect with consumers. The good part is that clients are extremely keen to reach out to consumers in ways that aren’t necessarily from expected quarters. Praveen and Anil have a clear picture about the way ahead and my role will be to ensure that from a creative perspective we hit the right notes for our clients. The canvas is much wider now and the ride is bound to be fast and enjoyable.”

     

    Over the years, Rao has worked with agency networks like McCann Erickson, Leo Burnett, Contract Advertising, Publicis Ambience and Havas Worldwide.

  • Leo Burnett launches a new humour based campaign for Limca

    Leo Burnett launches a new humour based campaign for Limca

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett has launched a brand new campaign for Limca in a bid to establish the drink as the ultimate thirst quencher and gain market share in India’s highly competitive soft drink market. The campaign will also help the brand strengthen its popular ‘Lime N Lemoni’ credential.

     

    The humour based campaign looks at a scenario where the boy’s family has come to see the girl. The film juxtaposes the mother’s voice raving about dishes cooked by her daughter with the shots of her son running around to buy the same from the market. His journey from one shop to another and back home gives rise to an extreme thirst that can only be quenched by Limca. The kind of thirst which the brand takes ownership of by calling it the ‘Limca Wali Pyaas’.

     

    Leo Burnett India chief creative officer RajDeepak Das said, “Limca has always been part of India’s quirks and traditions. With this campaign, we wanted to maintain that and take the communication to another level. The campaign – Bhaag Bittoo Bhaag – is special because it talks about the brand promise of ‘quenching thirst’ by using a strong local insight we all can relate to being Indians. In a situation of extreme physical stress and having to run from one place to the other in search for food, the protagonist finds his answer to thirst in Limca. The whole narrative is quirky, humourous and insanely Indian. It is a kind of film you would enjoy watching repeatedly; a great way to achieve a higher level of brand recall amongst the Indian consumers.”

     

    Leo Burnett India executive creative director Amit Nandwani added, “When faced with situations of extreme heat and tiredness, nothing quenches your thirst like Limca. The new Limca campaign essentially conveys this point while integrating quirks rooted in Indian culture. The plot is not only relatable but also drives home the point in a light-hearted manner.”

     

    Limca plans to take its new campaign to consumers through digital and traditional media platforms to intensify the brand experience.

  • Susan Credle to join FCB Worldwide as global chief creative officer

    Susan Credle to join FCB Worldwide as global chief creative officer

    MUMBAI: FCB Worldwide has appointed Susan Credle as global chief creative officer.

     

    FCB Worldwide CEO Carter Murray and Jonathan Harries, who have served as FCB’s global chief creative officer since 2006, jointly began a search for Harries’ successor a year ago.

     

    “The moment we met Susan, we both felt that she would be the perfect creative leader, given our ambition of being a true creative/business partner to our clients to help change consumers’ behavior. Susan is joining a group of talented creative people and her wealth of experience, perspective and leadership style will make us all that much better,” said Murray.

     

    Harries will become chairman of the network and continue to inspire and counsel. “There is no one who has worked harder and cares more. The chairman title and role, at its best, should be held by someone with stature who commands respect in a company. I can think of no one who deserves that title more,” said Murray.

     

    Credle was most recently chief creative officer at Leo Burnett USA based in Chicago. She joined in 2009 and is credited with spearheading a creative renaissance, creating a collaborative culture, shoring up existing clients and attracting new marketers to the fold. Allstate’s “Mayhem” campaign and P&G’s anti-bullying initiative “Mean Stinks” for Secret are among her acclaimed efforts.

     

    Credle started her career at BBDO New York after graduating. She served as a copywriter and a creative director before ultimately being appointed EVP, executive creative director. During her 24-year tenure at BBDO, she reinvented the iconic M&M’s characters, helped turn Cingular Wireless from a small challenger brand into a category leader, and created award-winning work for clients including Bank of America, FedEx, Gillette, Lowe’s, PepsiCo, Pizza Hut and Visa.

     

    Credle, who will be one of nine jurors charged with bestowing the inaugural Glass Lion at Cannes this year, applauded Murray for his unyielding dedication to finding an unfair share of the best-and-brightest talent.

     

    “I believe what we do in the advertising industry makes a difference. And, I have learned that for us to make a difference, three elements must be present. People, place and purpose. These are the three reasons I am now joining FCB as part of the global leadership team. I respect legacy brands and that includes agencies. In March of 2014, FCB reclaimed its name. It’s a name that has a rich history of creating compelling work that has moved the industry forward. Today, FCB has the ambition and the scale to do this again,” said Credle.

     

    Credle is passionate about how combining art and commerce can make an undeniable difference in the industry and the world. “The challenge of doing so globally is irresistible,” she said.

  • Leo Burnett India ups Samir Gangahar as North India president

    Leo Burnett India ups Samir Gangahar as North India president

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett has elevated Samir Gangahar as president of North India. In his new role, Gangahar will be responsible to lead the agency’s operations in North India. 

    Apart from content, digital and experiential, Gangahar’s new focus will be to grow other specialisations including shopper, retail and e-commerce.

    Leo Burnett Group India CEO Saurabh Verma said, “Under Samir, Leo Burnett, Delhi has transformed into a fully integrated operation. He has been instrumental in creating a culture of collaboration within the agency where a group of specialists work together to solve a client problem. Samir has helped strengthen Leo Burnett Delhi’s digital operation and I’m delighted to state that it has now become a technology/digital hub for many of our key clients. The activation business has grown tremendously in the last one year and going forward Samir’s role will be to build on that momentum. He will help us build new specialisations as part of his mandate. These include shopper, retail and rural.”

    Gangahar adds, “In my new role I look forward to working closely with Saurabh in growing Leo Burnett India on the back of a renewed thrust for integration. In line with our Human Kind philosophy, we will intensify our focus on finding and solving our clients’ problems and partnering them in the journey of brand building and business growth.”

    He joined Leo Burnett as executive director in August 2007 after a 17-year stint with JWT, where he was vice president and director, client servicing.

  • Amazon spends Rs 100+ crore to build local connect via ad campaign

    Amazon spends Rs 100+ crore to build local connect via ad campaign

    MUMBAI: In a competitive world where every brand is armed with a killer instinct, connecting and making an impact on the minds of the target audience can be an arduous job.

    In such a scenario, unperturbed by competition, e-tailer Amazon India was all out blazing guns this Indian Premier League (IPL) and invested as much as Rs 100 crore in its latest ad campaign ‘Aur Dikhao,’ which was conceptualized by Leo Burnett India. It may be recalled that before the start of the IPL, Amazon India upped itself as the presenting sponsor of the tourney. The e-tailer was second only to Vodafone in terms of number of slots per match.

    Research depicts that 35 per cent of the ad spend in 2015 will come from e-commerce ventures. What’s more, the IPL has always been one of the major targets for brands to garner huge reach every season and that’s exactly what Amazon India latched on to in order to gain visibility and traction amongst the audience.

    According to an analysis by Television Audience Measurement (TAM), five out of the top ten brands (on the basis of number of ads during live matches) are from the e-commerce segment. However, besides spending money and buying slots, creative execution is the other aspect that plays a vital role in pulling in customers.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the ideation for the campaign, Leo Burnett chief creative officer Rajdeepak Das says, “Amazon is already big; bigger than any of its competitors. So while others were trying to establish themselves, we had to take the other route. The task with Amazon was to build a local connect and go ‘desi,’ this is why we went with the ‘Aur Dikhao’ campaign.”

    The ‘Aur Dikhao’ campaign had numerous ad films directed by Chak De! India director Shimit Amin, which illustrated the widely versatile range of products in Amazon’s catalogue. After the wide range message was conveyed and the campaign managed to create a buzz, another sub-campaign #Whattasale was launched.

    “With ‘Aur Dikhao,’ we conveyed the message to consumers about our wide range of products. Now it was time to get them to act and hence we launched whattasale, with the message that Amazon had the range and that they needn’t wait any longer to go ahead and shop. As Indians are always price conscious, we announced the three-day sale where attractive discounts were given. That step was taken to gather some action,” informs Das.

    In a bid to gain some traction on its mobile app, Amazon also shot out a clear-cut message that app user would get added benefits and hence urged people to download its app. With every TVC, multiple messages were delivered to gather action from consumers.

    Not taking the route of celebrity endorsements unlike its competitor Snapdeal.com, who has on board actor Aamir Khan, Amazon’s ads were shot in Indian localities to ensure connect and familiarity amongst consumers. The props used in the TVCs were also very ordinary. While every ad had a television in it, none of them were modern day LEDs or smart TVs. A foot-tapping soundtrack composed by Bollywood music director Ram Sampat complemented the TVCs.

    IPL is a blockbuster event where every second is premium. When asked if it was difficult to create a campaign for an event where the ad rates were paramount, Das opines, “I think it’s easier. Yes, the pressure is there because the event has enormous reach and if you don’t execute the plan properly, it may leave a negative impact for the brand. However, if you successfully execute the plan, your creative piece can spread via word of mouth.”

    Additionally, the placement of an ad also plays a pivotal role in ensuring good reach and interaction. Commenting on the planning and buying, a media expert asserts, “Just making a creative ad or putting huge sum of money does not seal the deal. You have to ensure good placements too. I saw Amazon TVCs at crucial stages of the match. They also increased the frequencies during the ‘whatasale’ campaign, which boomed their sale up. So overall in my opinion, Amazon made worthy use of the money they put in courtesy to their all round efforts.”

    Complementing the campaign, creative veteran and Monozygotic co-founder Rajiv Laxman says, “The entire concept and execution of ‘Aur Dikhao’ was really nice and I like concepts with propounding insights. It’s something all of us know but never thought about. A brand like Amazon, which is always considered as global brand, traditionally struggles to create a local connect and ‘Aur Dikhao’ was a brilliant idea to build local connect because of its simplicity. The execution was also nice. There was no glamour or any celebrity… everyone watching the ad could connect and relate. We go to buy a saree and we say ‘Aur Dikhao.’ We use this term everywhere we go to shop and hence it was a great concept for a brand like Amazon, which lacked local connect.”

    Amazon India integrated marketing director Manish Kalra had earlier said, “Offering customers a wide choice and a destination where they can find, discover and buy anything that they desire to online has been one of our key strategic pillars. Our selection growth in India over the last 22 plus months of launching our India operation has been phenomenal and today we are able to offer customers a wide choice over 22 million products across hundreds of categories to choose from. We have taken this as an inspiration and used it to show the unending selection of products that Amazon India has to offer through the new campaign. We believe that the term ‘Aur Dikhao’ will resonate with shoppers in India who love to have more choice.”

    “Great clients have played a vital role behind every good work that I have done so far and I must say Amazon is a great client. There are many more TVCs coming up and soon we will also explore new territories. Overall, I am happy with the campaign and the responses that we got so far,” Das concludes.