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Tag: marketing

  • Network appoints Harish Shriyan & Amit Ray as executive directors

    Network appoints Harish Shriyan & Amit Ray as executive directors

    Network Advertising has appointed Harish Shriyan and Amit Ray as Executive Directors. Shriyan was earlier group CEO of Omnicom Media Group and has played a key role in establishing Omnicom Media Group in India. Prior to that, he held leadership positions in MediaCom. He has managed portfolios of global giants like Renault, Nissan, HP, Volkswagen, Beiersdorf, Vivo, Sony Pictures, Johnson & Johnson among others. The Indian clients he has managed include conglomerates like Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra, Arvind Mills, and Parle Agro. Shriyan is extremely adept at building teams and growing businesses and excels at adding a ‘startup’ mentality to his teams.

    Ray ushers in an expansive mindset honed on multinationals like Unilever and Nestle and Indian corporations like ITCand Reliance Jio. He has headed the media function in agencies like Mudra and been on the client side holding a leadership position at Reliance Infocomm. Ray has been the longest-serving chairman of the technical committee at the MRUC. 

    Shriyan said, “I am really looking forward to working in a truly Indian, completely independent agency; not limited in its capacity to do the right thing by global dictats. I aim to assist the Network in growing to its true potential. I am also excited with the opportunity to work closely with brand strategy and creative teams because I feel this integration can truly provide a competitive edge to the client’s business. I have been impressed with the rigour in Network’s approach and am eager to add my effort and contribution.”

     Ray said, “I was drawn by Network’s process of talking ‘business first’. Their holistic approach resonated with my beliefs. There was a feet-on-the-ground demeanor and a willingness to be utterly candid with the client. I have always believed in focusing on how the solution proposed works for the client at a business level, and at Network, I feel there has been a meeting of minds.”

    Network Advertising MD Vinod Nair said “We feel fortunate to induct someone like Harish with such invaluable experience in running a large, multifaceted media company. Harish understands deeply what it takes to build organizations. His perspectives and values, both on business and people, match ours. This is a welcome addition to Network. On the other hand, Amit is very passionate when it comes to finding the optimum solution for clients. He has an extremely analytical mind, fantastic at spotting trends and decoding the stories behind numbers. Amit always dwells on what makes sense for the business first. That perspective is going to prove a precious asset in our forward journey.”

    “These inclusions create a powerhouse of talent within Network. They allow us to design customized solutions for clients, regardless of the investment side. They help us to truly provide an integrated, well-rounded approach when it comes to helping client’s grow their business” said Nair.

  • Paytm First Games onboards Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador

    Paytm First Games onboards Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador

    NEW DELHI: Paytm First Games, a subsidiary of India's homegrown digital financial service platform Paytm, has roped in global sporting legend Sachin Tendulkar as the brand ambassador. The icon of a billion cricket-loving Indians, Tendulkar would be instrumental in creating awareness about the exciting genre of fantasy sports in the country. Other than fantasy cricket, he would help PFG promote and generate excitement around all sports including kabaddi, football, and basketball. Paytm First Games is among the leading fantasy sports gaming platforms in the country and the partnership with Sachin will increase its reach in smaller cities and towns.

    For millions of Indians, the legendary cricketers' journey has had a deep impact on their personal lives. He has been the sole inspiration for many to play, watch, and believe in cricket, more as a religion than just a game. By welcoming him as the brand ambassador PFG hopes to inspire gaming enthusiasts to experience the fantasy sports phenomenon. The company has also set aside Rs 300 crore for investing in growing the market for fantasy sports and other online gaming events during this financial year.  It said that over the next six months, 200 plus live events would be featured on the platform including international and domestic cricket tournaments, soccer leagues and more.

    Read more coverage on Paytm

    Sachin Tendulkar said, “Cricket is an engaging sport, and we all tend to have opinions about the game – right from player selection to playing strategies. Paytm First Games will give fans the opportunity to don their thinking hats and experience the thrill of making the correct choices and getting their teams to win. I am happy to partner with Paytm First Games to enable cricket fans to engage more with the ever-popular game of cricket”

    Paytm First Games COO Sudhanshu Gupta said, "Cricket is like a religion in the country which inspires over a billion people and fantasy sports takes the fan’s level of engagement to the next level where the user experiences the thrill of playing along with the athletes. As India’s homegrown gaming platform, our vision is to get the sports fans closer to the action with fantasy sports. Most of us have grown up watching the Master Blaster in action. With Sachin as a brand ambassador, we wish to inspire mobile gaming enthusiasts to experience fantasy sports which are about tactics, strategic planning and research."

    Read more coverage on fantasy league

    Paytm First Games offers over 50 games where the most popular is fantasy sports where players apply research and strategy to engage with live sporting events. The platform currently engages with over 80 million gaming enthusiasts with the majority of them from smaller cities and towns.

  • DDB Mudra Group to handle integrated marketing communications for McDonald’s India–north, east

    DDB Mudra Group to handle integrated marketing communications for McDonald’s India–north, east

    NEW DELHI: DDB Mudra Group has been assigned the integrated marketing communications mandate for McDonald’s India – north & east (Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. Ltd.). The enhanced scope will include digital marketing by 22feet Tribal Worldwide and digital media planning by OMD Mudramax, in addition to the existing brand strategy and creative mandate.

    DDB Mudra Group will manage the overall marketing and digital communications strategy for the brand across traditional and digital media. There will be additional emphasis on strengthening brand visibility in the digital space aligned with the business goals. The team will work across brand touchpoints to connect and engage with consumers.

    Read more stories on DDB Mudra

    CPRL head Robert Hunghanfoo said, “DDB Mudra brings a deep understanding of the brand philosophy and ethos. Their creative work and successful partnership with us makes them our preferred partner for the extended mandate in digital marketing.”

    McDonald’s India – north & east DGM-Marketing Kriti Awasthi added, “Digital media has revolutionised the way brands connect, communicate and interact with their customers’ world over. COVID-19 has further accelerated the need for robust digital marketing for successful consumer outreach. With strong experience in the digital marketing space and in-depth understanding of brand McDonald’s, we are confident that DDB Mudra Group will enable us to reinforce our brand love and strengthen our consumer outreach on the digital platforms as well. We look forward to delivering a great McDonald’s experience through innovative and strategic interventions.”

    DDB Mudra Group – north managing partner Ashutosh Sawhney said, “Brand McDonald’s needs no introduction anywhere in the world. We are thrilled to have secured the overall communications mandate for McDonald’s North & East India. This is a testimony of a progressive, consumer-first client who believes in DDB Mudra Group’s combined ability to create media-agnostic ideas and deploying them based on the deepest understanding of consumer journeys.”

  • ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel onboards Scarecrow M&C Saatchi for customer communication

    ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel onboards Scarecrow M&C Saatchi for customer communication

    NEW DELHI: ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India has roped in Scarecrow M&C Saatchi as the creative agency for its customer communication needs. The brand will be handled by the agency’s Mumbai office. 

    Scarecrow M&C Saatchi founder director Manish Bhatt said, “It is a matter of great satisfaction to have a brand like AM/NS India in the agency’s kitty. As a joint venture company, it offers the best of both the worlds and carries with it a rich and unparalleled legacy.  The brand’s wide range of B2B and B2C offerings, gives us the opportunity to develop a wholistic communication strategy for its customers. And to that extent it is a great challenge as well.”

    Read more stories on Scarecrow M&C Saatchi

    AM/NS India spokesperson said, “We are excited to have Scarecrow M&C Saatchi as our creative partner. It is an exciting partnership and we are looking forward to working with their team.” 

    AM/NS India is a joint venture between ArcelorMittal, one of the world’s leading steel and mining companies, with a presence in 60 countries and an industrial footprint in 18 countries and Nippon Steel Corporation, Japan’s largest steel producer. It is the leading integrated flat carbon steel producer in India, with an achievable capacity of around 8.5 million tonnes per annum and a full diversified range of flat steel products, including value-added steel, and have significant capacity to produce iron ore pellets.  

  • Essence elevates T. Gangadhar as APAC CEO

    Essence elevates T. Gangadhar as APAC CEO

    NEW DELHI – Essence, a global data and measurement-driven media agency which is part of GroupM, has appointed T. Gangadhar aka Gangs as the company’s CEO for APAC. Succeeding Essence’s global CEO Kyoko Matsushita, who previously served as APAC CEO, Gangs will be responsible for driving continued client-centric innovation in data, analytics, and technology, as well as business growth and company culture across the agency’s fastest-growing region. Based out of Mumbai in India, Gangs will work closely with Essence’s global and APAC leadership teams and will continue to report to Matsushita.

    Gangs most recently served as president, growth and strategy, APAC for Essence, in charge of the agency’s business strategy, development, and growth. He first joined Essence in 2018 as chairman, India with more than two decades of experience in marketing, advertising, and media. He previously held the role of managing director, south Asia at MEC & senior vice president, head of marketing at Sony Entertainment Television in India, and began his career in creative agency account management and strategic planning.

    “Gangs’ extensive experience in the industry, his knowledge of Essence’s culture and our clients, and his vision for our business in the region make him the ideal person to lead us into our next phase of growth and innovation in APAC. As the most senior member of our regional leadership team, Gangs has done an outstanding job in partnering with me to navigate our business through the challenges of 2020 and I am truly excited about what we will be able to achieve with him at the helm in APAC going forward,” said Matsushita. 

    “I am honored to have the opportunity to lead this truly special agency in APAC. Essence is pioneering the use of data, analytics, and technology at a time when more and more companies are looking to take advantage of data-driven media and creativity. I am excited about leveraging our best-in-class capabilities to discover new ways to add value for our clients, consumers, and employees – in these current times and in the post-Covid2019 future ahead of us,” said Gangs.

    Since Essence’s entry into APAC in 2013, the agency has expanded rapidly across the region, opening offices in Beijing, Bengaluru, Delhi, Jakarta, Melbourne, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo. Essence’s diverse portfolio of clients in APAC now includes Airtel, Britannia, Coty, Faces Canada, the Financial Times, Flipkart, Games24x7, Google, Hermès, HMD (Nokia), Honda motorcycles and scooters, Livspace, Roborock, NBCUniversal, Nitori, Scoot, Toytron, Vedantu, Wakefit, War Horse, and Zee5.

  • Havas Media wins media mandate for MyGate

    Havas Media wins media mandate for MyGate

    BANGALORE: Havas Media has won media duties for MyGate, India’s leading community management solution, whose comprehensive offering comprises security, ERP and a host of other features for gated communities. The mandate includes over-the-top (OTT) media services and all offline media duties. The account was won following a multi-agency pitch. The account size is estimated to be Rs 30+ crores and will be handled out of the agency’s Bangalore office led by Havas Media EVP south Saurabh Jain.

    MyGate head of marketing Ranjit Behera said, “By enhancing the safety and convenience of gated communities and constantly introducing newer, better, friendlier solutions to everyday problems, MyGate is bringing about a positive change in community living. Effective communication is a crucial component of this effort, and we’re glad to have the passion, experience and strategic thinking of Havas Media Group’s meaningful media to navigate its constantly evolving landscape.”

    Havas Media Group India MD Mohit Joshi said, “MyGate is a pioneer brand in the community management space which thrives on technology and innovation. MyGate app facilitates a seamless and contactless experience to its user which is a need of the hour. MyGate’s recent integrations with news and healthcare platforms is a testament to their passion towards community welfare. We are honoured to be partnering with MyGate and are glad to further bolster our e-commerce portfolio with this win.”

    Founded by ISB-IIM-IIT alumni, MyGate is headquartered in Bangalore, with offices in its major markets across the country. MyGate’s eponymous mobile app enables gated communities to vastly enhance their security and convenience through a number of innovative features, such as visitor management, e-intercom, accounts & payments, leave at gate, and daily help management. It allows residents to approve entries and exits, manage visitors/deliveries, communicate with their neighbours, log attendance and pay society maintenance bills and daily help workers, among much else. Launched in 2016, it is now used by over 2 million homes every day in over 10,000 gated communities across the country.

    Over the past year, MyGate has been named one of India’s Most Disruptive Start-ups (by YourStory) and among India’s Top 15 Tech Disruptors (by BusinessWorld).

  • ENO continues to drive relevance with food experiments

    ENO continues to drive relevance with food experiments

    New Delhi: GSK Consumer Healthcare’s leading antacid brand in India, ENO has launched the third phase of the successful #WhatARelief campaign to drive relevance for the brand. As the country prepares itself for a longer stint of social distancing, the in-home food experiments continue to be a relevant trend, as validated from the recipe search data from YouTube. Riding on this wave, ENO has partnered with Google to create a unique campaign where the communication is customized as per the recipe being searched by the user.

    The brand first picked up the top recipes being searched on YouTube (which had a high correlation with acidity) and then developed customized six-second creatives for each recipe. The ENO advertisement is customised basis the recipe searched and plays before the recipe video commences, making the whole experience a very personalized one for the viewer.

    GSK Consumer Healthcare area marketing lead OTC & expert marketing ISC Vijay Sharma said, “With prolonged confinement at home, food continues to be an expression of relief and people are seeking and trying new recipes that they can themselves make at home. We want people to enjoy their culinary experiments without having to worry about any interruption that may happen on account of acidity, as their trusted ally Eno is always there to take care of it. We had received an overwhelming response to the previous phase of this campaign and that’s why we are extending it – now making it far more personalised with this unique idea.”

    With this campaign, the brand will drive relevance via contextual conversations and present itself as a reliable ally against acidity. The campaign has already garnered a massive reach of over 14 million consumers on YouTube within a week of its launch.

  • Marketing sentiment is quite positive for festive season & IPL: Shashi Sinha

    Marketing sentiment is quite positive for festive season & IPL: Shashi Sinha

    NEW DELHI: While the road to economic recovery is long and troubled, there is a positive sentiment amongst the marketers to cash on the upcoming festive season, IPG Mediabrands CEO–India Shashi Sinha shared during an exclusive virtual fireside chat with Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari. Over an hour-and-a-half-long session, the duo discussed a number of industry trends, advertiser and consumer sentiment, and the way ahead for the industry. 

    Sinha noted, “India is a very sentiment-driven market. And while it is going to be a difficult recovery and the consumer demand might or might not be there, a lot of brands are wanting to invest at this point in time; maybe not at a large value scale, but definitely far higher than they would in the months of July-August. I'm not seeing the uptick in demand but the marketing sentiment is that let us cash in on this system.”

    He insisted that the advertisers want to capture the festive season and the initial signs are already visible in the dealings. “To give an example, auto sales are there. And then there is a client of ours called Indigo Paints, which is telling us that their sales are up. I am asking them how is it possible as according to me to call people home to paint, would be the last thing on someone’s mind now. But they tell me it is for outside paints. So, yes the market has already started moving.”

    But considering the Onam and Ganpati were both muted, how is the market sentiment moving, Wanvari asked. 

    Sinha elaborated that both the festivals were very localised events and he won’t take it as an indicator of the overall market sentiment. He added that IPL is looking very positive, much above the initial expectations the market had. 

    Sinha pointed out that the upcoming new programmings on TV channels, including big-budget properties, like KBC and Bigg Boss, will also attract a lot of advertiser attention. “I am not sure if they all will earn because they are coming at almost the same time, but the marketing sentiment is quite positive right now.

    But all of this might not translate into consumer sentiment pulling up. “I see advertisers pumping money in September-October. And if the sentiment turns out to be false and they fail to move the consumers, the impact will be seen in the first quarter of the next year, which for Indian companies will start this year. So, the companies will evaluate whatever money they are investing in IPL and Diwali and if it doesn’t yield results, they might pull back.” 

    Overall, the earnings of the media companies and agencies will not be similar to what they recorded last year, but will be a great improvement from the past few months, he shared. 

  • Where Mike Hopkins is taking Amazon Prime Video

    Where Mike Hopkins is taking Amazon Prime Video

    Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios SVP Mike Hopkins is a 30-year vet old in streaming veteran, having overseen the developed of products such as  BTN2GO and Fox Now as head of Fox distribution and later led Hulu on a rapid growth path as its CEO. He spent a short stint at Sony Pictures Television Networks as its chairman before being lured away by Jeff Bezos to lead Prime Video just before the pandemic hit the world.

    Hopkins is quite charged up about the opportunity that lies ahead with Prime Video. Speaking at APOS he said that Amazon has 150 million plus Prime members globally and Prime Video is a key driver of the service.

    Hopkins expressed that growth for Prime Video lies primarily in international territories. “Before I arrived the company had made some really smart investments in serving customers around the world,” he said. “And we intend to double down on that investment over the next couple of years. We will continue to invest in local and global content and that is very critical,”

    Most of the investments are going towards creating originals in 15 of the 200 markets Prime Video is available outside the US. “People in many countries have an affinity to US content,” Hopkins added. “But increasingly customers also want to see stories about them their culture and issues written and produced by people in their countries and played out by actors who look like and speak like them. Our teams have been building a home for talent and attracting the top creators all over the world.”

    The content acquisition teams, Hopkins revealed are also  making smart bets and doubling down on investments in acquiring SVOD content and TVOD catalogues. This apart, Hopkins, stated that Amazon’ sports team has also been inventing and reinventing spots, taking bets in properties and that is going to increase going forward.

    Hopkins went on to add that the second big opportunity for Amazon Prime Video lies in improving customer experience. “We have probably the most complicated business model of the SVoD players, so that makes the customer experience more important for us,” he expressed.

    He revealed that members can look forward to improvements in how they can navigate and use the service over the next year or two. “Customers can rent and buy movies and TV shows and they can also subscribe to  TV channels in many markets,” he highlighted. “Making it easier for them to understand what’s what and how they can get to the content is important and we will prioritise this along with content investments.”

    He explained that he sees Prime Video offering a variety of content to its users, right from the SVOD content to TVOD to channels. “We want to offer them a one-stop-shop for their entertainment needs and (adding) channels is going to be a major focus for us.”

    Hopkins stated the pandemic has not impacted its pipeline of content going forward. “We have about 40 shows in various stages of production,” he said. “We have a very deep library, we have licensed content. We have a lot of originals. We are going to launch the second season of The Voice and several other shows. But what we will see is a slowdown in terms of premieres in the first half of next year. The thinning of these shows will be more than made up by the TVOD content in movies and the channels members can subscribe to.”

    He pointed out that Amazon Prime Video had gone in early into India as an SVOD service  and the way forward is becoming be super aggressive in the market from an originals. “We will have more than a dozen originals in each of the markets we are investing in by next year or so” he revealed. “And India is one of our priority markets.”

  • Facebook global CMO Antonio Lucio to step down

    Facebook global CMO Antonio Lucio to step down

    New Delhi: Facebook global chief marketing officer Antonio Lucio announced via a social media post that he is stepping down from his role. Lucio has been CMO of Facebook since September 2018 and will remain in that position until September 18, 2020. Currently, he is helping the company transition through the end of the year.

    Lucio said, “This has been a challenging year for all and an especially reflective year for me, following my mother’s passing before the lockdown. Given the historical inflection point we are in regarding racial justice, I have decided to dedicate 100% of my time to diversity, inclusion and equity. Though these issues have been core to my personal purpose and my work for many years, I want to make them my sole focus. I will devote the next chapter of my professional life to helping companies and agencies in the marketing and advertising industries accelerate their transformation and to drive holistic and profound change. It is a time for reckoning for our nation and industry, and it is time for me to play a more active part in accelerating change.

    In leaving Facebook, I am nothing but grateful.

    I believe in Facebook’s mission, and COVID has demonstrated the platforms at their best. As the company evolves, striking the right balance between preserving freedom of speech and eliminating hateful speech on the platforms is a generation-defining question that must continue to be addressed. I know the company and its leadership agree on the centrality of this important task.”

    Prior to joining Facebook, Lucio served as the global chief marketing and communications officer at HP. And he also had a similar position at Visa. 

    Lucio was reporting to Facebook Chief Product Officer Chris Cox. Cox recently returned to Facebook after departing from the company in March 2019. One of the biggest roles that Lucio took on was handling the negative press Facebook received following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

    Lucio has over two decades of experience of working at multiple brands such as Pepsico, HP, Kraft Foods, P&G, Visa and others.