MUMBAI: Daily deals website Snapdeal.com has appointed OMD as its media AoR.
OMD managing director Jasmin Sohrabji confirmed the development to Indiantelevision.com.
The account is estimated to be around Rs 250 million.
The creative account of Snapdeal lies with DraftFCB Ulka.
Snapdeal.com is using multiple television panels at electronic stores for mass visibility. The e-commerce company has recently launched an on-ground campaign that was conceptualised by Aurora Communications.
It was in 2007, when global marketing communications holding company, Omnicom, entered India with its media planning and buying network OMD.
Jasmin Sohrabji, a double post-graduate in Economics and Business Management who had spent 16 years with MediaCom, was taken on board as managing director and the agency went on to make a fortunate start with clients like Ambuja, Parle Agro and J&J in its kitty.
2009 was almost a defining year for OMD as it took up quite a few biggies under its banner, expanded footprints to Delhi and Chennai and set up new offerings in analytics and digital.
And now it’s kicked off 2010 on a high note too. It has bagged businesses like Sony Network, Ferrero and Reliance.
In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Anindita Sarkar, OMD India managing director Jasmin Sohrabji speaks about her company’s growth plans at large.
Excerpts:
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In comparison to the other agencies, OMD is still a new player in the Indian market. Has it been a tough journey so far?
OMD launched in India in early 2007, and the experience has been exciting, challenging and gratifying ever since! We kicked off with a very sound base (Ambuja, Parle Agro and J&J) and have built consistently and successfully since. 2009 was OMD India’s defining year where we established ourselves as a strong, top player at a national level. |
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Being a new entrant, was facing up with the slowdown heat in the Indian market more challenging to gain clients?
We were very fortunate to have our best year in 2009. We had a record number of wins (HP, Henkel, VISA, Danone, Nissan, etc); we set up two new offices (Delhi, Chennai); we launched our Analytics and Digital offer and we closed the year with global awards and recognition. |
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Can you revisit the time when you started off in the Indian market and the transitions that you witnessed through time?
Gosh, I have spent two decades in this industry and witnessed too many changes and transitions! One of the most striking of all has been in the area of availability of research and access to data; technology…both in the medium itself as well as in accessing and interacting with media and consumers; the other noteworthy change has been the shift in the role and definition of what media agencies provided as a service…we moved from a very simple ‘planners and ops executives’ managing client budgets to a much evolved, technologically sophisticated and consumer-centric thinking and creative solutions. What has remained consistent through the decades is ‘never having enough talent’! |
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How has the first half of the year fared for the OMD in terms of revenues and clientele?
Very well. We kicked off 2010 with the Sony Network win, and followed up with Unilever’s digital biz. More recently we won Ferrero and Reliance, among others. We hope to maintain the growth momentum we have been experiencing through the remainder of 2010. |
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Has it been better than last year?
Given the operation is just over three years old, the growth over last year has been extremely high. |
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How is dealing with the Indian clients different from the others globally?
Clients differ depending on their needs and experiences with agencies; they differ in the level of interaction and involvement with their agency partners, and on many such and other parameters. However, I really do not have a strong point of view of difference between Indian and global clients. Among our global clients, we have some who operate largely within the local environment and strategic needs; and there are those who are very much aligned to global strategies and/or processes. In fact, we recently won an award (The Internationalist, UK) for best local execution of an international campaign…so it really does not matter how different the client style is, what’s important is whether the teams at OMD India have a keen appreciation for individual working styles and are able to deliver standout strategies and solutions to the briefs we are given. |
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How are your other divisions of OMD faring?
Our most successful offer outside traditional is digital. In addition to existing full service clients, we added digital only clients (Unilever, ICICI, HCL, etc). Additionally, we set up Analytics, which has now started gaining momentum. We have two new offerings starting up later this year. |
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CPRP is often the final clincher for a pitch and the sole aim for all to target and deliver. Do you see any new change in this methodology?
Not sure why we are focusing on a change in methodology…we should be looking at value adding to the metric with more engaging qualifiers. If the job of the metric is to compare cost to cost, CPRP does its job. If we are looking to add new dimensions of effectiveness to the cost of contact, then let us evaluate other metric options, not just methodology. |
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While above 50 per cent of investments for brand building is made towards above-the-line activities, advertisers are also making investments in below-the-line activities. How do you perceive this medium?
Below the line activities have always been a relevant part of the recommended mix. The issues around these activities were largely to do with measurement and scalability. What began as ad-hoc and experimental, has now become a critical piece in the communication mix. One is, and will continue to see a lot more action in this space. The biggest advantage of BTL activation is it allows for flexibility and does not have to be templated. The scale, the message, the execution can be customised to the budget, the market and the core TG! |
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Which advertising platform is expected to show the maximum growth?
While digital and radio have the potential to scale up on their currently smaller bases, TV itself will offer newer platforms of addressability and technology through DTH, etc. Radio has never really seen its potential in this market, while digital has already made small dents in traditional media budgets! TV continues to hold out in its traditional avatar…and keeps re-inventing its offer – through content, scale and technology/addressability. |
MUMBAI:The phenomenon of social networking is growing rapidly in the US and MTV is the latest media firm looking to take advantage of this phenomenon.
It is testing new social-networking platforms that will integrate television programming with virtual world technology, resulting in interactive experiences that let viewers personally experience — and ‘live’ for themselves — the content they see on-air.
The new platforms are in early stage development and will evolve in partnership with advertisers and audience feedback. MTV says that it could help define next-generation media and advertising models.
The company is working hand-in-hand with Pepsi, Mediavest Worldwide and OMD on the development of a beta version of the first platform Virtual Laguna Beach. This is built around the successful MTV series Laguna Beach.
MTV president music, films, Logo Van Toffler noted that the platforms will deliver immersive environments that are not only reflective of, but parallel to, the world viewers see on
television. These universes take viewers beyond passive consumption to active engagement with programming and with marketers’ messages. A beta version of Virtual Laguna Beach is at www.vlb.mtv.com.
Other virtual worlds are planned later this year for the broader music community and for viewers of Logo. This makes it one of the first such applications for the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community.
Toffler says, “Our audience wants more interaction with our content and with each other. Virtual Laguna Beach lets our audience become the stars themselves, stepping onto a virtual stage and living the life they see — or would like to see — on television.
“Virtual Laguna Beach also is just one example of the next-generation media models that we’re creating for our viewers to connect with one another in ways they never could before; for content creators to develop experiences that live side by side with on-air content; and for marketers to become an integral and meaningful part of the programming.”
MTV executive VP Jeff Yapp programme enterprises notes that the media models give rise to a new concept of social networking by combining two elements audiences love —
popular television programming and emerging virtual world technology.
He says, “Virtual Laguna Beach and the other models we are developing hold the potential for ushering in a new era of audience engagement.
MTV says that the platforms offer the ideal environment for marketers to seamlessly weave their messages into the overall experience.Viewers in- world also can choose to interact with sponsors’ content and also purchase virtual as well as physical goods. MTV is working with its advertisers to help them become an integral part of each experience so they can reach their consumers — our audience — in meaningful ways.
Marketer Support: A number of marketers and media buyers have pledged their support for Virtual Laguna Beach. Pepsi says that through Virtual Laguna Beach the brandwill be able to interact with consumers in ways that it never thought possible.
Mediavest says that platforms like Virtual Laguna Beach allows it to achieve much more than a simple campaign extension. They offer the opportunity to dimensionalize the brand and infuse brand attributes into the user experience in a smart, fun, engaging way.
OMD notes that this opportunity is an extension of the truly convergent partnership between it and MTV. It allows clients the opportunity to connect with the audience of one of MTV’s premier properties in a much deeper and personal way.
Virtual Laguna Beach transports viewers directly to Orange County, California, where they live in the same environment as their favorite cast members, and interact with other fans through real-time chat. Viewers can hang out at the beach or shop at the local surf store and interact with one another in ways that mirror the on-air program. Just as the cast gears up
for the Winter Formal, so too can viewers within Virtual Laguna Beach prepare for the big night, find a date online and select the tux or prom dress for their on-screen identity.
The third season of the reality drama premiered last month and chronicles the coming-of-age stories of various high school stories in the upscale seaside town. On MTV.com fans can join the VIP section of the Laguna Beach Surf Club. Die-hard fans also can go to MTV’s Overdrive broadband channel to get exclusive content, first looks, community features, games and much more.
MTV is also working with Makena Technologies on the development of Virtual Laguna Beach and the forthcoming Logo environment. MTV Networks is also working with Doppelganger, formerly Evil Twin Studios, on the virtual
music environment.
MTV Networks selected Makena Technologies, creators of the 3D social virtual world There.com. Makena is helping develop Virtual Laguna Beach and the forthcoming Logo-based experience. The selection leverages Makena’s many years of experience in developing one of the Internet’s largest 3D social virtual worlds, its understanding of the youth demographic, its
development of an in-world economy, and its sophisticated integration of user-created content.