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Tag: Manish Bhatt

  • Odisha’s rich art & architecture inspires Reliance Jewels new campaign

    Odisha’s rich art & architecture inspires Reliance Jewels new campaign

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jewels’ has launched a new ad campaign featuring its new festive collection ‘Utkala Where Beauty Rises’, inspired by Odisha's rich art and architectural history.

    The film captures patterns and designs that embody the state’s art, tradition and culture, and gives a tour into the culture of Odisha accompanied by glimpses of Odissi music and dance.

    Conceptualised by Scarecrow M&C Saatchi, the campaign film features traditional elements and cultural shades of Odisha and is an attempt by Reliance Jewels to exhibit Odisha and its distinctive customs. The video has been shot by Bosco Bhandarkar and produced by Jungle Films. The voice-over is done by celebrity voiceover artist and actress, Manasi Scott. The agency also wrote a Sanskrit shloka for this campaign.

    The creative also consists of print shots of the jewellery on models as well as concept shots by photographer Umesh Aher. The music for the campaign is composed by Aman Pant.

    Reliance Jewels chief executive officer Sunil Nayak said, "Jewellery communication as a category has become a very seen-it-before kind of imagery. With this campaign, we are looking to break that format and transform the communication into a completely new zone that is quite refreshing to watch and experience for our patrons.”

    Scarecrow M&C founder director Saatchi Manish Bhatt added, “It is rare for a brand to give the creative agency an opportunity to explore the rich art heritage of India, its culture, ancient art history, ancient languages like Sanskrit, art forms, and ancient architecture through animation, photography, graphic design, poetry, miniature prop making, and cinematography in one campaign.”

  • Scarecrow M&C Saatchi wins creative mandate of Reliance Jewels

    Scarecrow M&C Saatchi wins creative mandate of Reliance Jewels

    MUMBAI: After a multi-agency pitch, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi was awarded the creative mandate for Reliance Jewels, Reliance Industries’ flagship jewellery brand.

    The brand has a national presence with 110+ Standalone Stores and 120+ Shop In Shop Stores across India.

    Scarecrow M&C Saatchi founder director Manish Bhatt said, "With the Reliance Group strengthening and growing its retail presence significantly, playing the role of a creative partner for its jewellery vertical is a very nice opportunity for Scarecrow. 

    We are all geared up to create some path-breaking communication for the brand over the due course of time. We hope our work adds to the much-needed dazzle to the jewellery category.”

    A spokesperson from Reliance Jewels added, “We are excited to welcome Scarecrow M&C Saatchi as our creative partner and look forward to working closely with their enthusiastic and talented team to action our creative agenda going forward. The jewellery industry is set to bring in disruption just like other fashion and lifestyle categories and with that it becomes imperative for a brand like Reliance Jewels to bring in game-changing communication and creative strategy.”

  • Kyoorius Launches ‘The Shortlist’

    Kyoorius Launches ‘The Shortlist’

    MUMBAI: Make informed investment decisions that maximise your award efforts. Let your work be audited in The Shortlist by a world-class jury before entering international award shows.

    It’s no secret that the advertising, media and digital agency businesses are challenged with pressure on margins, forced by increased competition. In this environment, agency management is searching for areas in which costs can be cut without compromising on the quality of their output.

    It’s this simple understanding of what the agency is going through that has provoked Kyoorius to launch ‘The Shortlist’, an initiative that helps agencies manage costs in the area of awards entries.

    Rajesh Kejriwal, co-founder & CEO, Kyoorius, comments, “Our continuous dialogue with the marketing communications fraternity is the reason behind The Shortlist. Awards are expensive investments – the reasons for entering an award show are many. As the economic climate in which agencies operate gets tougher, wiser decisions have to be made to ensure better ROI. The Shortlist provides valuable feedback and validates what eventually can or should be entered into awards shows.”

    Every entry to The Shortlist will be evaluated by a world-class jury comprising international and Indian judges, as has been the case with every Kyoorius award, such as the Kyoorius Creative Awards, the Kyoorius Design Awards, the Times of India Power of Print Awards, the STAR Re-Imagine Awards, etc.

    “The Shortlist is the truth told by some of the best creative minds in the world,” says Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative officer, BBDO India. “It’s not just about awards but a honest and objective assessment of where our ideas stand in the larger global scheme. Think of it as the qualification round for the creative world cup. Winning is the byproduct.”

    “Kyoorius seems to have hit on a super pragmatic idea for today’s cash-strapped times for agencies,” comments Amer Jaleel, group chief creative officer and chairman, MullenLowe Lintas Group. “All of us rue the fact that there are too many awards these days but to take that insight and come up with a pre-awards idea, takes a special talent. To me this idea sounds as big as The Gunn Report which aggregated points for agencies post awards. This one is pre and it can be used as a predictive tool so agencies can focus on where to invest their increasingly hard-earned revenue.”

    “I believe The Shortlist is a great idea that I wish existed a decade ago,” says Sidharth Rao, co-founder and CEO, Dentsu Webchutney. “All agencies will agree that there is huge wastage of time, resources and money when it comes to selection of entries to awards that we all aspire to win. A high quality jury will help the industry optimise its budgets, resources and expectations.”

    “It is much needed insightful initiative by Kyoorius,” says Manish Bhatt, founder director, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi. “In the 1990s, legends like Neil French and David Droga used to help award aspirants personally in Ogilvy and Publicis (respectively) to shortlist and curate award-worthy ideas from our international wish-list. New age agencies and young aspirants of today's era need such world-standard mentorship to shortlist their dhobi-list of potential entries especially in this financially challenged phase of our industry. What better than a dynamic platform like The Shortlist to take a step in this direction and help the industry meaningfully.”

    “This is an idea that CCOs and CFOs will love,” says Bobby Pawar, chairman and chief creative officer of Havas Group India. “It’s so on the nose, so obviously brilliant that I wonder that no one (including me) thought of it before. In far too many cases the approach to entering awards was ‘spray and pray’.  The Shortlist can effectively put a bullet to the head of the long-shot and ‘no shot’ entries. There is the added advantage of being able to tell teams who won’t quit whining, ‘If your work can’t make The Shortlist, it has a snowball’s chance in hell of making it anywhere.”

    “The Shortlist will ensure nothing but quality and pure creativity,” says Santosh Padhi, co-founder and chief creative officer, Taproot Dentsu. “The Shortlist to me is like the Ranji Trophy format which ultimately helps the Indian team, it’s a good platform to focus country first, which we have always played on the backfoot. Another advantage is most of the time when we enter the work it’s finished and released so the bullet is already fired, in this case one can send semi-finished ideas too and if the feedback is well defined, well directed and if implemented accordingly this can make a great difference to the final product”.

    The Shortlist has been set up in partnership with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, and with the support of The One Club For Creativity, organisers of the prestigious One Show and the ADC Awards.

    "The Shortlist is a highly useful new resource that will greatly assist creative directors as they determine their awards show entries,” says Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club for Creativity.  “The decision to enter a piece of work to an award show must be well thought-through, and The One Club has worked closely with Kyoorius to develop this platform to help agencies make that determination.  The Shortlist utilises a robust evaluation process, designed specifically to provide an actionable audit.  At the end of the process, creative directors will have greater confidence in then submitting their 'shortlisted' work to The One Show global awards."

    Details on the call for entries, categories, submission guide and jury to be revealed soon at theshortlist.kyoorius.com

    The evaluation of entries to The Shortlist will be announced in February 2019.

    Since 2006, has been at the forefront of connecting the creative community in India through programmes that inform, inspire and stimulate. An initiative of Transasia Fine Papers, Kyoorius is a not-for-profit organisation that celebrates all aspects of creative communication and marketing. Through events, regular publications and other initiatives, Kyoorius is committed to galvanising creativity in India and inspiring future innovators.

  • What were the merger trends for marketing in 2018?

    What were the merger trends for marketing in 2018?

    MUMBAI: The year 2018 will be known for a lot of things. It has been one of the most imperative years for the advertising and media industry. This year broke shackles and ideologies of how people traditionally perceived the industry. I think it is safe to say that the marketing books hereon will have a dedicated page for everything that occurred in 2018.

    I am optimistic about 2018 being one of the best years for A&M industry (so far). Why, you ask? Because this has been one of the most momentous year for mergers and acquisitions. While news about mergers came in from all sectors of the media, the A&M world tasted its first big bite of consolidation this year.

    We’ve all read and heard about the four extensive types of mergers, but it was only in 2018 where we witnessed all of them! The traditional case of two big networks (agencies) coming together, big agencies merging their businesses with small agencies, two small agencies coming together to take on big network agencies, and the most recent trend: consultancy firms opening agencies or merging with one.

    Let’s start with the advertising giant WPP, where we saw a lot of action happen this year. One of the bigger mergers this year happened within the WPP group, where Wunderman and J. Walter Thompson were united to form Wunderman Thompson. The merger will help the group as Wunderman and J. Walter Thompson share many core clients, who will now have simpler access to the expertise of both agencies. Additionally, WPP’s GroupM, the leading global media investment group acquired an Indian digital agency, The Glitch. With this acquisition, The Glitch continues to work as an independently positioned brand, while taking advantage of GroupM’s larger infrastructure and ecosystem. 

    With a promise to simplify the business, WPP’s Chief Executive Officer merged one of its largest agencies, Y&R with VML, that left the ad industry gasping for breath. The disappearance of the 95-year-old Y&R brand, which had been part of the WPP empire since 2000, was a moment to pause and reflect on the pressures that the industry in general and ad agencies, in particular, are facing from changing client demands.

    Similarly, international advertising agency M&C Saatchi acquired Manish Bhatt-led Scarecrow Media, where the new entity is called M&C Saatchi Scarecrow. This is M&C Saatchi’s full-fledged attempt to get a stronger foothold in one of the most competitive ad markets in the world, India. Advertising agencies are finding ways to navigate through an increasingly volatile landscape. One of those ways is consolidating the hundreds of agency brands under their roofs and merging the entity with another agency. 

    After years of headlines about consultancy companies eating ad agencies’ lunches, the two groups are increasingly starting to look alike. The consultancies are rising fast by gaining a foothold in the marketing department and wooing chief marketing officers with their vast array of data analytics solutions and strategies to solve big business problems that traditional agencies can no longer solve. Increasingly, we are seeing a lot of consultancies merging their business and resources with agencies to deliver better solutions to clients. The trend of consultancies and agencies coming together is shaking up the marketing industry. In 2018, we saw the likes of Accenture Interactive, PwC Digital Services, IBM iX and Deloitte Digital emerge as winners for brands as they are looking for areas to cut costs and drive better performance.

    Right now, we’re at a point where the industry cares less about agency labels than ever before. This is an industry where so many people worry about whether something is an ad agency, a digital agency, a PR agency, or a consultancy. This may be the first time where the labels of agencies don’t really matter.

    If your merger translates to 1+1=2, the merger makes no sense because there is no added value to it. However, only if your merger translates to 1+1 >2 (greater than 2), the time, effort and money that you put into the merger will be beneficial for both parties involved.

    At the end of the day, I think consolidation is the way to go because it helps in playing on each other’s strength and delivering better results collectively. If agencies find the right partner to complement their existing skill set, it is only beneficial for both the parties. More importantly, the agencies and clients need to evolve with the changing time because their customers are evolving at a faster pace than them.

    (The author is chief executive officer and co-founder, White Rivers Media. The views expressed here are his own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them)

  • Scarecrow enters into 50:50 partnership with M&C Saatchi

    Scarecrow enters into 50:50 partnership with M&C Saatchi

    MUMBAI: Acquisitions and mergers seem to have become a norm in the advertising world. The latest agency to join the bandwagon is Indian advertising agency Scarecrow Communications (Scarecrow), which has now been acquired by international advertising network M&C Saatchi.

    Scarecrow will now become Scarecrow M&C Saatchi, in a 50:50 partnership with M&C Saatchi. When asked about the technology and tools that the company would get access to with this merger, Scarecrow founder Manish Bhatt said that they were still unclear about it but will start the conversation on the same soon.

    The renewed revenue and profit sharing will be on the basis of the new shareholder stake.

    Founded in 1995, M&C Saatchi has today become the world’s largest independent advertising network. Powered by its philosophy brutal simplicity of thought, it comprises 27 agencies in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Australasia and eight specialist companies, which include cutting-edge outfits such ass M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, M&C Saatchi Mobile and the fast-growing customer engagement agency, LIDA.

    Scarecrow will retain its own identity and will operate with full creative freedom, exactly the way it used to. However, as expected, there will be an integration with global financial processes and compliance practices.

    The eight-year-old Scarecrow was a part of the new wave of independent agencies in India that bloomed about 10 years ago but was able to achieve profitability and scale, in a relatively short period on the strength of its campaigns for Quikr, &pictures, Religare, Baby&Me (Nestle), FunFoods (Dr. Oetker), Kohinoor (McCormick), Haier, DBS, Edelweiss, Danone B’lue, Wagh Bakri, Rasna, Living Foodz, Vivel and Fiama Di Wills (ITC), Only Vimal, DNA, Rupa, Spykar and Hungama.

    Today, it has an extensive roster of brands on AOR (agency on record), including Viacom 18, Capital First, Emami, Future Generali, Zee Learn, Alcon Novartis, SebaMed (USV Pharma), Lactalis, Radio City, VTP, Mahindra, Business Standard, Arthimpact, Anchor, Panasonic and Reliance Capital.

    Scarecrow’s story over the last eight years and what has been achieved reminds M&C Saatchi founder Lord Maurice of the story of M&C Saatchi itself. He says that it’s a story of hard work, determination and dedication.

    Maurice adds, “An individual acting alone or almost single-handedly can make, what seems highly improbable, in fact happen. This is why, to welcome Scarecrow to the federation of like-minded, like-thinking entrepreneurs, that is the M&C Saatchi network, is a most important occasion for the company and for me. I’m sure Scarecrow M&C Saatchi will develop into the jewel in our crown and this is a historic start for a great new partnership.”

    M&C Saatchi worldwide CEO Moray MacLennan says the company’s strategy is to find top talent in key markets and give it the freedom, responsibility and backing to flourish. He adds that it was relatively easy to identify India as a key market but it was challenging to find the right talent.

    Bhatt agrees that international multinational agencies, including Dentsu Aegis Network, WPP, Y&R and Chiel, were looking for acquisitions but the company did not want to associate with multinational corporations. But after meeting Moray MacLennan, David Kershaw and Jeremy Sinclair in London, the team was clear that M&C Saatchi was the perfect partner for Scarecrow. “They have entrepreneurship in their blood. The culture of M&C Saatchi, that sprung from the personalities of the brothers themselves–irreverence, low tolerance for jargon, challenging the established order and the history of many larger-than-life campaigns–are qualities we identify with,” says Bhatt.

  • Radio City makes us experience Mumbai

    Radio City makes us experience Mumbai

    MUMBAI: Radio City has created a campaign that makes us experience a city even with eyes shut. The film Taxi Driver, is based on this emotion. To make this idea more experiential, the thought will be adapted in print, on-air, digital and on-ground. 

    In this film, the story is about a taxi driver of Mumbai. Conceptualised by Scarecrow Communications, the film starts with the taxi driver being put to test by two youngsters. He is blindfolded and taken to one of the most nostalgic lanes of Mumbai. Just using his other senses he guesses the place. The script is a journey that takes us to places that have been the most cultural parts of the city. Powerful performance by Rajan, documentary-style cinematography, blend of Arabic, western classical, and Indian music, and an honest script makes this film a treat for all senses. The Azaan at the end of the film creates a heart wrenching moment in the film. 

    To make the film more honest, team Scarecrow took a taxi and actually travelled through the lanes and consumed the cultural nuances. From jalebi to itr, everything about the film has come from their real experience. The screenplay and dialogues were written there itself.

    The guerrilla shoot and the documentary style of capturing were figured by the director Tathagata Singha and the DOP, Sylvester at the actual locations.

    Radio City CEO Abraham Thomas says, “The campaign is an attempt to highlight the power of radio as an experiential medium building a very strong imagery in the minds of the consumer. It also showcases that radio is a theatre of the mind that transcends beyond being just a mere audio medium. The campaign seamlessly resonates what our brand stands for and we are hopeful that it will further help drive synergies in every city we are present in.”

    Scarecrow Communications founder director Manish Bhatt adds, “It was really a goosebumpy experience for me and my team to write the story of a storyteller who can impeccably describe our city with his eyes closed and yet manages to evoke all our senses. Especially the story for a brand which entertains all our citizens without using visuals for almost two decades.”

    To bring alive the sound nuances of the film the composer duo Kedar and Bhargav too went to the actual location and recorded the actual sounds of the film. Whether it’s the bargaining sound of the foreigners or the sound of jalebi being fried, every sound present in the film is the real sound of the location.

  • Colors & Project Equal Rights Music join hands for peace anthem

    Colors & Project Equal Rights Music join hands for peace anthem

    MUMBAI: On the occasion of India’s 67th Republic Day, Colors in association with Project Equal Rights Music, will spread a message of goodwill and amity with the launch of Kabootar – A Peace Anthem.

     

    The song will be launched on Colors’ digital and social media platforms on 26 January, 2016.

     

    Colors CEO Raj Nayak says, “As a brand, Colors has always showcased the different hues of human emotions, feelings and sentiments. However, as we drive global development to accomplish personal goals and ambitions, peace is something that the world has lost touch with. As a nation, India has always led the fight for global harmony and brotherhood, making the country’s 67th Republic Day the perfect launchpad for ‘Kabootar – A Peace Anthem.’ We are happy to have partnered with Project Equal Rights Music for this initiative and hope that it unites the nation to achieve peace.”

     

    Conceptualised and written by Scarecrow Communications founder director Manish Bhatt and composed by Eddie T Avil, the song uses Kabootar as a metaphor for peace. The video, shot by Riju Samanta, also symbolises the cause and is a nostalgic reminder of the diversity and similarities we share as Indians. The song and the video builds upon the fact that we really don’t care about the minor differences we have, but the one thing we genuinely care about, is to ensure harmony and peace for our coming generations.

     

    Bhatt says, “As French President Francois Hollande is our Chief Guest on this auspicious occasion of Indian Republic Day, via ‘Kabootar’- the song, I would like to convey to everyone on this planet that Not just Paris or Pathankot but the entire world needs peace. And it’s high time we act on it.”

     

    Avil adds, “Music has no boundaries, it works beyond the paradigm of languages and is understood by everyone. So what better way to convey a message that has to cross all borders than music? I dream of a world where everybody is equal, a world without war, poverty and terrorism and it was an honour to have been part of an important world message through music.”

  • Colors & Project Equal Rights Music join hands for peace anthem

    Colors & Project Equal Rights Music join hands for peace anthem

    MUMBAI: On the occasion of India’s 67th Republic Day, Colors in association with Project Equal Rights Music, will spread a message of goodwill and amity with the launch of Kabootar – A Peace Anthem.

     

    The song will be launched on Colors’ digital and social media platforms on 26 January, 2016.

     

    Colors CEO Raj Nayak says, “As a brand, Colors has always showcased the different hues of human emotions, feelings and sentiments. However, as we drive global development to accomplish personal goals and ambitions, peace is something that the world has lost touch with. As a nation, India has always led the fight for global harmony and brotherhood, making the country’s 67th Republic Day the perfect launchpad for ‘Kabootar – A Peace Anthem.’ We are happy to have partnered with Project Equal Rights Music for this initiative and hope that it unites the nation to achieve peace.”

     

    Conceptualised and written by Scarecrow Communications founder director Manish Bhatt and composed by Eddie T Avil, the song uses Kabootar as a metaphor for peace. The video, shot by Riju Samanta, also symbolises the cause and is a nostalgic reminder of the diversity and similarities we share as Indians. The song and the video builds upon the fact that we really don’t care about the minor differences we have, but the one thing we genuinely care about, is to ensure harmony and peace for our coming generations.

     

    Bhatt says, “As French President Francois Hollande is our Chief Guest on this auspicious occasion of Indian Republic Day, via ‘Kabootar’- the song, I would like to convey to everyone on this planet that Not just Paris or Pathankot but the entire world needs peace. And it’s high time we act on it.”

     

    Avil adds, “Music has no boundaries, it works beyond the paradigm of languages and is understood by everyone. So what better way to convey a message that has to cross all borders than music? I dream of a world where everybody is equal, a world without war, poverty and terrorism and it was an honour to have been part of an important world message through music.”

  • Scarecrow Communications beefs up art department

    Scarecrow Communications beefs up art department

    MUMBAI: Scarecrow Communications has beefed up its art department by hiring senior creative director (art) Pravin Sutar for its Mumbai office.

     

    Post this development, the art department has been divided into three groups, led by three senior art resources – executive creative directors Kapil Tammal and Anjali Rawat and senior creative director Pravin Sutar. 

     

    Tammal continues to head Scarecrow Designs as design director.

     

    Scarecrow Communications founder director Manish Bhatt said, “His experience in a digitally advanced nation like Malaysia and his stint at Geometry Global, with an experience in digital, activations and shopper marketing, will add to Scarecrow’s expertise in creating communication for e-commerce brands.”

     

    On his move, Sutar said, “To begin with, I’m happy to be back home. I’m really excited and ready to apply all my experiences and learning of three years of the challenging, yet interesting Southeast Asia market, for the brands here in Mumbai.”