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Tag: MTS India.

  • Viraj Chouhan hops onto RP-Sanjiv Goenka group in corporate affairs role

    Viraj Chouhan hops onto RP-Sanjiv Goenka group in corporate affairs role

    MUMBAI: In a splashy move that coincides with the festival of colours, corporate affairs  veteran Viraj Chouhan has jumped ship from PepsiCo to join the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group as its group corporate affairs officer. The announcement, dripping with Holi metaphors, marks the end of Chouhan’s nearly six-year innings with the fizzy drinks giant.

    “Just as Holi symbolises renewal, this opportunity marks a vibrant new chapter,” gushed Chouhan in a LinkedIn post.

    The alumnus of Nagpur University brings hefty credentials to the table, having previously served as vice president corporate affairs for PepsiCo’s APAC region. His CV reads like a who’s who of corporate India, with stints as chief communications officer at Ola and executive director of corporate communications at MTS India.
    Chouhan cut his corporate affairs and communications teeth during a five-year spell at Coca-Cola before switching allegiance to arch-rival PepsiCo. 

    The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, which Chouhan now represents, boasts an asset base of US $7 billion (approximately Rs 58,000 crore) and revenue of US $4 billion (Rs 33,000 crore). The conglomerate has its fingers in numerous pies, from power and FMCG to retail and IT.

    Sports enthusiasts might recognise RPSG as the owner of IPL team Lucknow Super Giants and football club Mohun Bagan—giving Chouhan plenty of metaphorical playing fields for his corporate messaging.

  • Havas wins digital mandate of Ranbaxy’s consumer healthcare brands

    Havas wins digital mandate of Ranbaxy’s consumer healthcare brands

    MUMBAI: Havas Media Group India has started 2015 on a positive note. The agency has won the digital marketing mandate of Ranbaxy’s consumer healthcare brands post a multi-agency pitch, which included the incumbent as well as other digital agencies.

     

    Ranbaxy Consumer Healthcare vice president and head – global Subodh Marwah  said, “In Havas Media we saw a perfect partner- one who is equally innovative and passionate about building brands. Their ‘digital at core’ philosophy was impressive and that translated seamlessly in their strategic approach and category understanding.”

     

    Speaking on the win, Havas Media Group India and South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar added, “We are delighted at the win. It’s a great way to start the New Year. We believe in creating meaningful brands and Ranbaxy is an excellent example of such brands. Look forward to a great partnership.”

     

    “Digital is the future and Havas Media Group’s digital at core philosophy provides us the capability of driving this growth in the Indian market. We are proud of the win and look forward to working with Team Ranbaxy,” said Havas Media managing director Mohit Joshi.

     

    “Ranbaxy is a great brand to be associated with. Consumer healthcare is today one of the most meaningful categories. We look forward to a great ‘Digital’ year at Havas Media,” added Havas Media head of digital Ranjoy Dey.

     

    Havas Media Group had recently won the integrated media mandate of OCM India, Assetz Property Group, Borosil Glass Works, World Kabaddi League, Yepme.com, retained MTS India and also took on the digital mandate and won the digital duties of XOLO Mobile and Businessworld magazine.

     

  • MTS’s Discover reports 100 per cent traffic growth in 2014

    MTS’s Discover reports 100 per cent traffic growth in 2014

    KOLKATA: Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL), the telecom services provider under MTS brand, which launched ‘Discover’, has witnessed a traffic growth of almost 100 per cent.

     

    “It is witnessing a traffic growth of almost 100 per cent from 1 lakh to 2 lakh in 2014,” informed MTS India head, marketing communications Gaurav Kackar.

     

    Launched in 2012, ‘Discover’ provides a platform to upcoming singers to showcase their talent.

     

    SSTL also continues its association with the NH7 Weekender, a music festival. The weekender is a music festival conceptualised and started by Only Much Louder (OML), a management company for Indian music groups. The event started in Pune, but now has been expanded to Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

     

    “As the music programme gets near, we experience 5,000-7,000 hits by music lovers every day. MTS is a youth oriented brand and I feel music and youth are inseparable. This is the best way to connect our brand with the young India. Also, the Facebook page of MTS brand has more than 2 million fans,” said Kackar.

     

    Earlier, MTS had served as a launch pad in India for some great Indian and international artists from Dhruv Visvanath, Nischay Parekh and Prateek Kuhad to Cardiff folk duo Zervas & Pepper and Australian alternative pop sensation Kate Miller-Heidke.

     

    Besides the music festival, the company will also set up a special ‘MTS Lounge’ where fans would be entertained with some surprise performances.

     

    The Bacardi NH7 Weekender 2014 festival is scheduled to start from 1 November 2014 in Kolkata and will end on 30 November in Delhi.

     

  • NTT Docomo to exit from Tata Teleservices in face of losses

    NTT Docomo to exit from Tata Teleservices in face of losses

    NEW DELHI: Japan’s telecom network NTT Docomo has decided to sell its 26.5 per cent stake in the loss making Tata Teleservices.

     

    In its board meeting in Japan yesterday, NTT Docomo board took the decision to exit from TTSL following the poor performance of the Indian telecom operator.

     

    NTT Docomo had invested 266.7 billion yen ($2.61 billion) in Tata Teleservices – 252.3 billion yen in March 2009 and 14.4 billion yen in May 2011.

     

    Docomo is exiting from TTSL because it made a net loss of Rs 4,858 crore on revenues of Rs 10,859 crore in fiscal 2013. In FY 2012, TTSL posted net loss of Rs 4,228 crore on revenues of Rs 10,115 crore and Rs 3508 crore net loss on Rs 8,357 crore in FY 2011.

     

    In addition, TTSL’s net worth has fallen to Rs 1,863 crore in FY 2013 from Rs 2,996 crore in FY 2012 and Rs 5,941 crore in FY 2011. The company’s debt increased to Rs 23,491 crore in FY 2013 from Rs 19,299 crore in FY 2012 and Rs 17,651 crore in FY 2011.

     

    The Indian telecom sector appears set to see consolidation and TTSL will be one of the targets for telecoms such as Aircel, MTS India and Telenor etc.

     

    Under the agreement signed in March 2009 among Docomo, TTSL and Tata Docomo, Docomo holds the right to require that its TTSL shares be acquired for 50 per cent of the acquisition price, which amounts to 72.5 billion Indian rupees or a fair market price, whichever is higher, in the event that TTSL fails to achieve certain specified performance targets.

     

    If TTSL fails to achieve performance targets in fiscal 2014, Docomo can exercise the right in or before June 2014. Docomo on its website said it is uncertain how the option will be performed.

     

    It is also understood that the Tata group, which has around 59.45 per cent stake in TTSL, had been looking at an exit route from the telecom business.

     

    Reuters reported that the diversified Tata Group conglomerate would buy the stake. Singapore state investor Temasek and businessman C Sivasankaran also own small stakes in Tata Teleservices, a loss making telecom venture of Tatas.

     

    Tata Teleservices expanded into GSM-based mobile phone services after the deal with Docomo and amassed subscribers by offering a cheaper per-second billing plan, but it subsequently failed to build on its initial success and has lost market share in the past two years.

     

    It currently ranks seventh in terms of subscriber numbers among the 12 firms that operate in country’s fiercely competitive telecoms market.

     

    Analysts expect Docomo to report about 80 billion yen ($780 million) in related losses in the financial year ended on March 31.

     

    Interestingly, this coincides with UK telecom’s Vodafone increasing its stake in Vodafone India to 100 per cent. 

  • Havas Media Group India Tops Performance Charts in 2013

    Havas Media Group India Tops Performance Charts in 2013

    MUMBAI: In the midst of a slow-subdued industry and economy where GDP hit a decade low of 4.5%, Havas Media Group India on the other hand has had an exceptional year in 2013.

    Today it is right at the top of the performance charts of media agencies.

    Besides retaining existing clients, Havas Media Group has had strong new business success.

    The company stood at No. 2 Media Agency position in the recently declared Agency Report Card 2013 by Campaign India – garnering 8 out of 10 points. It was also shortlisted for the Agency of the Year 2013 Awards.

    RECMA 2013 Compitches has graded Havas at No.1 in YTD new business achievements in both the 2013 preliminary reports.

    The company took home two wins at the DMA ECHO Awards India 2013 and was on the shortlist at India Radio Forum’s ERA (Excellence in Radio Awards) 2013.

     “2013 proved to be a good year where our state of the art product, our dedication and hard work paid. We thank all our clients for trusting us with their businesses in an otherwise tough year and our media partners for their unflinching support at all times”, said Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media Group India & South Asia.

    “Given our Meaningful Brands research and other ‘thought leadership’ tools, we are confident that we will replicate the success of the past years. Our ‘Digital at the Core’ avatar is in sync with the current market realities and is finding a lot of interest and traction among the clients. At Havas Village, we are consolidating creative and media through our unique Meaningful Connection Planning offering”, she added.

     “Taking from our Meaningful Brands framework we impart holistic solutions to brand marketing which has been the value differentiator. We believe in client delight and will continue to deliver in 2014” explained Mohit Joshi, Managing Director, Havas Media India.

     

    Havas Media Group bagged significant new businesses – Emirates, Voltas, Amway, Aspiring Minds, Shaadi.com, Wonder Cement, Neo Milk Products, Halonix, Simmtronics, Mobis and Bloomberg TV India amongst others with a roster of clients including Hyundai Motor India, Parle Products Ltd., MTS India, Quikr.com, Taj Hotels, Capgemini India, etc.

    Arena India was also launched under Havas Media Group to take on the responsibilities of the global LG Electronics win.

    The specialist brands Mobext India for mobile solutions and Ecselis for performance marketing are a part of Havas Media Group India.

     

  • MTS launches mobile advertising service mAd

    MUMBAI: Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL), which nationally operates its telecom services under the MTS brand, pioneered the launch of its new service called ‘MTS mAd‘. The service provides brands a clutter breaking means to engage with customers on a one-to-one basis. It also allows MTS Smartphone customers using mAd will to make free local calls after watching a video ad.

    MTS mAd service is available on all Android devices on the MTS network including MTS MTag 3.1, MTS MTag 351, MTS MTag 352, MTS MTag 353, MTS MTag 401, MTS Pulse, Samsung Galaxy Y and Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos CDMA. The company plans to expand this service to Blackberry and BREW enabled entry level MTS handsets.

    MTS India chief marketing and sales officer Leonid Musatov said, “Innovation is one of the core values of MTS India. The launch of mAd service is a testament of our deep rooted commitment to the same value. MTS mAd is a unique service which enables our Smartphone customers to make free calls by just watching a video ad on their device. The service also provides an opportunity to leading brands to connect with their customers in a personalised manner. I am confident that the mAd service would find its appeal amongst both our customers and the advertising fraternity.”

    Brands like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Mentos, Center Fresh, Fiat, Kellogg‘s, Titan and Lenovo have associated for MTS mAd service to engage with customers.

    MTS mAd service requires no charges for activation, application download and for data transfer while watching video ads. The user will get a seamless experience with no buffering and video streaming hassle. Customers using this service will be able to make as many as four MTS mAd calls in a day.