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Tag: Piyush Pandey

  • India loves advertising more than any other country: Piyush Pandey

    India loves advertising more than any other country: Piyush Pandey

    NEW DELHI: The past few years have generated a heated discussion on the role of creativity v/s the role of technology in advertising and marketing. With machines dominating almost every aspect of the functioning of an agency, there have been debates on understanding the role of human touch and sensibility in the future of communications and how technology can or cannot be a substitute for human emotions. 

    Addressing the same in a free-wheeling fireside chat with Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari, Ogilvy chief creative officer worldwide and executive chairman India, Piyush Pandey said that technology is there to help the advertisers in creating different creative stories. “Technology is not the story,” he quipped. He elaborated the role of human emotions and sensibilities will never go out of advertising and the agencies will have to learn how to strike a fine balance between the two. 

    Speaking about India’s stand when it comes to creative trends in advertising, he said, “‘Trends' is a strange word. I will never compare Indian advertising with any other country. More people in India love advertising than any other country in the world. The cynicism is not there. We might not win Oscars but people appreciate our good movies.”

    However, Pandey also noted that communication, as we know today, has to change for the better. “It has to be more sensitive as communication is not only about transactions, it is also about relationship building. It is not the time to sell, it is the time to build relationships.” 

    He added, “I feel today, a fruit vendor has more sense of communication and tone than most people in the advertising industry.”

    Does it mean that advertising shouldn’t be focussing on delivering ROIs?

    Pandey disagreed. “ Which client ever, and sensibly so, would not want sales? You can do a bad piece and run it 50 times a day and you can do something impactful and run it 10 times a day only, to deliver similar sales. That’s what the differentiator is.” 

    He continued, “You have to know the consumer to understand what is the aspect of your brand that the consumer will appreciate. If we can engage a consumer and touch hearts, that always works well (for a brand).”

    The thespian also lauded the good world that many agencies have done during the Covid2019 lockdown with limited resources and lots of constraints. Be it the work for Asian Paints, which he wrote and did the voiceover for, or the work to promote the Aarogya Setu app, Pandey thinks there was a lot of creativity that was unleashed during the lockdown across agencies. 

    “I think agencies everywhere have done a good job during the pandemic, given the constraints. It is a testing time for everybody; much more testing time for communicators than anybody else. Yes, our feet are tied but not our hands, not our pens or computers. My personal favourite piece of work is “Family”, which my brother (Prasoon Pandey) created with Bollywood celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth.”

    The one ad that did not make the cut for him was Memec Ogilvy’s #StayHome for Honda. “You will have to see what the ad was for instead of what the ad was. Instead of showing something remarkable, like shooting with a mini car, and making people wonder how they did it, they just put it out there in the video. When you show how fantastic a director you are, what a fantastic editor you are, then I am looking at you and not the car,” he explained. 

    Pandey, who is not just a globally-celebrated advertising industry champion, but also a cricketer (has played CK Naidu Cup and Ranji in his younger days,) a lyricist (he has contributed to the iconic Mile Sur Mera Tumhara), a scriptwriter (Bhopal Express), a voiceover artist (a number of ads including the latest Asian Paints’ Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai), and an actor (Madras Cafe and a few ads), also touched upon his life and experiences during the chat. 

    Chuckling about the mention of his work outside his home industry, Pandey said, “I am a hardcore advertiser. I am not a voiceover artist not an actor. In fact, I am a terrible actor. I did Madras Cafe for my friend Shoojit Sircar. R Balki also tried a few times to get me into movies, but after testing me for several times, he understood that I can’t do it.” 

    On being asked about his retirement plans, Pandey mentioned that he has never seriously thought about it as he is loving what he is doing currently. He did mention that he will continue writing. 

  • Fevicol sends the people of India a message for Unlock1

    Fevicol sends the people of India a message for Unlock1

    Mumbai:  As the lockdown eases gradually, Fevicol sends out a message of awareness to the people of India.  This message from Fevicol petitions people to be even more particular than before about wearing a mask and maintaining the social distance of 2 meters. 

    This message specifically states that while the battlefield  and war remain the same, the strategy must change.  Until now we fought this battle while locked in,  now we move out of our homes, and continue fighting.  We have to live, move ahead and not cave in. To fight this war, we need to stay alive. 
    Fevicol requests India to fight the Corona Virus with even more vim and vigour and in the right spirit.

    Vivek Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, Pidilite Industries Ltd: “In these trying times, this positive and uplifting message from Fevicol on ‘Unlock1’ is a great morale booster to all – consumers as well as our sales colleagues, end-users, dealers and distributor partners.”

    Please go to these links:

    Written and voiced by Piyush Pandey, Chief Creative Officer Worldwide and Executive Chairman India, Ogilvy, this is one more initiative from Ogilvy to help combat the pandemic.

  • I will stand as the captain of the ship and hold my people together: Ogilvy’s Piyush Pandey

    I will stand as the captain of the ship and hold my people together: Ogilvy’s Piyush Pandey

    MUMBAI: During the show The Media Dialogues, Ogilvy executive chairman Piyush Pandey spoke to Anuradha Sen Gupta on CNBC-TV18 about the impact of Covid2019 pandemic on the advertising world. He weighs in on how the advertising agency business has been impacted by Covid2019.

    Excerpts:

    Have there been any learnings for you in this lockdown? And here we are: having to do these small things all over social media and digital media? 

    The communication, the formats don’t matter, the size of the screen doesn’t matter, whether you are doing an outdoor thing, it doesn’t matter, you are seeking ideas that reach people, connect with people, engage people and make them feel positive about you. So it is a challenge that we are confined to a certain media but then that is the challenge. It is almost like saying I cannot refrain from cricket – you have known me for years – the wicket is a little wet, you don’t throw your wicket away. You improvise and see how you can score runs and how you do not throw your wicket away. So that is the thing, enjoy the moment. It is your opportunity to work in adversity. 

    I think improvisation is the beauty of life. Everyone is improvising and everyone is doing a good job. 

    Give me a sense of how these ads are being made at this point of time given that you cannot go out, given that you cannot do PPMs the way you would do normally in this business, given that how much effort goes into casting just the right face in the ad, getting the lines right, the light perfect, the setting perfect, this is completely revolutionizing ad-filmmaking.

    It is revolutionizing behaviour. Trust in each other is being tested. No longer is somebody sitting and saying show me frame-by-frame, show me who is the actor, could we have the actor like this and when the result comes out, I think it will be a long-term change for clients who would say that is not my area to decide on who the actor should be, that is not my area to go frame-by-frame and there are people who have always been like this with us, we have done films for Vodafone, Asian Paints, Voltas and everyone, they are not finicky people; they leave it to us but when people say that in these kind of situation – great stuff is being done, I think behaviour of young clients will change, who waste six hours of PPM time – I say waste because waste – they say show me frame-by-frame, frame in a 30 second film is 720 frames. So I think hopefully the youngsters will learn that we have to trust each other. I think this is a demonstration of trust not just at Ogilvy, many of my colleagues in the industry must be enjoying this trust that is being given and I hope everyone of us lives up to the trust that is being placed in us.

    What are the solutions and the support that brands are expecting from advertising agencies today?

    I think the support is proactive. Proactive has a different meaning; proactive is how can I contribute to your business? You may not have asked me for something, but I have thought of something. A few ads I have personally written in this period, they did not ask for it, but I know the brand inside out and I spoke to the client and said I think this will be good for you and they ran one of the Asian Paints ads, Vodafone ads. So, my people are thinking hard and they are making me work hard. I am also thinking as to what else I can do. In moments like this you know the biggest thing is to keep connected with your consumer, sometimes through things that you can do for them, sometimes by doing things that make them feel good. It is a fair balance, every time you are not trying to sell, every time I go to my friend’s house, I do not carry flowers, I won’t give him a hug, there is a time to give a hug and there is a time to give a gift and wonderful balance between the two which we have to maintain.

    What is your sense of how advertisers will behave once we are even closer to normal or have been in the last two months given that there are such big impacts on their revenues and on their business models in some cases even? What are you expecting to see in terms of their behaviour as marketers, advertising budgets, and the volume of work for an agency?

    There is a very simple answer to this. When we say they, who are they? They are just like you; how will you and I behave after things are better? We are all looking forward, moving forward. I think we will behave positively, we will always — this has been a remainder of what your mother used to teach you that if you get Rs 100, save Rs 10 for a rainy day. I think we will learn from this that we must save something for a rainy day. It will make us also learn that if we are able to keep our employees right through, how much of a relationship will repay you in the days ahead.

    You mentioned about keeping people, about keeping employees through this time on every front. Ogilvy like most other Indian agencies are part of large global communications companies, of holding companies and we are hearing in the other markets, in America for instance, in Europe we are hearing of job cuts. Do you see India being able to shield, Indian agencies being able to shield its people from these drastic job cuts that we are hearing in the developed markets for sure?

    Personally, I can answer this and I do not have any hesitation answering this. I look at my job as a national job – when I say national it is international in this case, but I also see my job as a federal job. I sit on a cabinet committee of a nation in a way, but I am also the chief minister of a state. So, it will be an interaction based on my dual responsibilities and cannot be a unilateral decision that I will accept and act on blindly. I do not care as to who is listening to me right now, but that is the way I am. I will stand as the captain of the ship and hold my people together as much as I can and as much as it is good for team India and for the larger team Ogilvy and team WPP. But, in my one role, it is India first. 

    Even WPP has a bouquet to deal with the problem. If you are in deep trouble, then these are the possible ways, if you are in a medium problem, these are the possible ways, if you are in no problem but there is a threat of a problem, then these are the ways. So, we have a bouquet, I will choose the bouquet which suits India the best. 

  • Ogilvy partners India govt in war against COVID-19

    Ogilvy partners India govt in war against COVID-19

    MUMBAI: Ogilvy India has created a distinctive and engaging anti-COVID-19 campaign for the government of India, under the title, ‘Mask Force’. It involves some of India’s most loved and celebrated cricketers talking to the nation, starting with captain Virat Kohli and concluding with Sachin Tendulkar. The lineup also includes women cricketing stars such as Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj.

    The cricketers, in their short message, make a point that while India has great cricketing teams, the time has come to form a formidable team of 1.3 billion Indians called ‘Mask Force’. A force that is very easy for every Indian to join and defeat the spreading Coronavirus. Simply by making our own masks at home and always ensuring that we do not step out of our home without wearing our masks. Each cricketer leads the way by pulling up their unique mask after inspiring the country to do the same.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1y5giXt2AA   

    BCCI was instrumental in getting together the cricketers required for the campaign. Given the popularity of cricket in India, where it is informally referred to as the ‘national religion’, it was no surprise that the video is being loved and shared with immense swiftness.

    Ogilvy CCO worldwide and executive chairman India  Piyush Pandey said: “For decades now, we at Ogilvy have stepped up to stand by our country’s needs through our CSR, be it for polio eradication, literacy, fighting crimes against women and many more causes. So as soon as the government of India approached us for our effectiveness in spreading messages to the masses, we wholeheartedly jumped in to do our bit. I believed that ‘Mask Force’ would be a likeable term that could be used to galvanise the whole country, hence decided to name this program ‘Mask Force’.”

    Ogilvy has also said that this is the first in the Mask Force series of exercises it is partnering the government on, in India’s war against Covid-19.

  • Business Ad Usual! Ogilvy’s homemade experiment during lockdown

    Business Ad Usual! Ogilvy’s homemade experiment during lockdown

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The ongoing 21-day lockdown in the wake of n-COVID19 in the country has posed unprecedented challenges for the ad world. With entire companies forced to work from home and shoots halted, it has become quite difficult to conceive new video campaigns, at a time when content consumption is at a record-high. However, even in this crisis, creative agencies have found a way to create ads that can lift people’s spirits.

    One such agency is Ogilvy. Under the expert leadership of chief creative officer worldwide and executive chairman India Piyush Pandey, Ogilvy has managed to set a new creative standard.

    In the past week, two brands, Asian Paints and Tata Sky, launched new video campaigns, using montages of recorded phone videos set beautifully on a lyrical voiceover, both creatively managed by Ogilvy. While the core concept and process remained almost similar for both the stories, each shared a different message and gave a different feel.

    Ogilvy India CCO Sukesh Nayak tells Indiantelevision.com, “I generally feel a brand, in a way, has a role to play during the time of crisis. It has happened with both the brands – Tata Sky as well as Asian Paints. One needs to ask themselves what they can do, what they can offer.

    At the end of the day, consumers are your guide. Ads are created for them. Today we all are at very challenging times in our lives. Everybody is struggling with their own fear, anxiety, and pressure. So, yes as an advertiser I have many ideas to execute.”

    Elaborating more on Tata Sky’s “Ghar Baithe Kuch Seekhein campaign”, he shares, “My constant thinking is what I can do to make your job easier. Hence, we came across the idea of freeing up the services. Tata Sky is doing its bit to entertain and engage subscribers while they stay at home. We looked at the positive side of this nationwide lockdown. You can learn so many new things in this 21-day lockdown period and this is how the brand came up with this unique idea. So, Tata Sky has given free access to content that will include value-added services for the entire family.”

    Tata Sky chief communication officer Anurag Kumar adds, “The starting point of the campaign was that we were not looking for a creative video, which is high on production value. In fact, we were looking for authentic communication and empathy towards the consumers.”

    For Asian Paints, the revival of its “Har Ghar Chup Chap Se Kuch Kehta Hai” campaign was meant to give the audience a reason to smile, appreciate what they have in these tough times, and lead richer lives at homes, reveals Asian Paints MD & CEO Amit Syngle.

    He says, “In current uncertain and trying times, we endeavoured to capture glimpses of moments people are spending at home and memories that are being created in the process. The campaign weaves in various stories, memories, and interactions that are relatable as people are doing the very same things at home now.”

    For Syngle, the campaign was conceptually different from what the brand has used earlier. “The purpose of this campaign is centred on the well-being of our consumers. Amidst the challenging times we are facing today, Asian Paints, through this light-hearted take, inspires people to stay at home and stay safe during the lockdown period.”

    For Kumar, an additional learning was the whole process that was taken into account to create the campaign. “From start to finish, the campaign was executed in 72-hours. The whole process of briefing and discussion, which earlier would have taken months, was done away with. All the discussions happened on calls and WhatsApp messages and not even a single person in the entire chain, including the director and actors, stepped out of the house.”

    He also notes that the campaign cost dropped down to about one-third to one-fifth of what it usually takes to produce video ads.

    Highlighting more about the collaborative process, Nayak notes, “The agency and the brand were truly finding the relationship and partnership during this time. There was no brief given but it was a collaborative effort. These kinds of things are happening every day. Brands need to get connected with the agency while the agency has given a clear brief to respective teams. One good thing that we did is we talked to each other a lot. We communicated on a regular basis. We made points to discuss things. We made a list of things that are troubling our consumers and what an agency and a brand can do for them. I keep myself in the consumer’s shoes. It helps in ideation.”

    Nayak thinks that more brands and agencies should come onboard to work on campaigns like these. “We are working with lots of partners across the country. I am personally happy to see my team and clients working like this to create magic. I think other brands should also do this because joy should be copied.”

    But given the speed and financial benefits, can such campaigns become a norm for the industry?

    Kumar doesn’t think so. According to him, after the lockdown is lifted, such campaigns can be executed on special occasions but it will not become a norm.

  • Industry bids farewell to ad maverick Goutam Rakshit

    Industry bids farewell to ad maverick Goutam Rakshit

    MUMBAI: Who can forget the devil slithering around in his green cape and his malicious smirk in TVCs and ads to hawk Onida – a TV brand – in the eighties and nineties? And of course, the memorable catchline: “Neighbour’s envy Owner’s pride.” It was a tack not many had taken before: use a negative creature and emotions to create a positive desire in consumers to go out and purchase a television set.

    The images will stay etched forever in the minds of the generation that grew up watching the Onida TVC and they cannot forget the two-horned loveable evil creature (played by David Whitbread) and the unique conceptualisation that went into making the commercial. The brand value the iconic ad created was something that those yesteryear commercials for TV could not emulate or replicate. Remembering that powerful TVC can be the right requiem one can pay to Advertising Avenues’ founder Goutam Rakshit who passed away on Tuesday morning. Rakshit fully backed his art director Gopi Kukde and the idea to use the devil to create a differentiated campaign for a little-known brand which then had just five per cent of the TV market. Within a decade or so Onida had surpassed many older brands and had captured a19-20 per cent share.

    Like many others of his era, Rakshit, graduated from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, went on to join Cadbury as a management trainee in 1971.

    He went on to set up Advertising Avenues in the year 1982, which he steered for almost four decades. The forte of his agency was its clear focus on small and medium enterprises, which did not have the luxury of availing the services of a big ad outfit. Thanks to his agency, many SMSes and brands flourished.

    Indiantelevision.com reached out to some senior members of the advertising and marketing fraternity to pay homage to the bespectacled ad professional who preferred to keep a low profile.

    Madison Communications founder-chairman-MD Sam Balsara says, “What can I say; I have lost my longest-lasting professional friend since my Cadbury days in 1975. That makes it 45 years ago. We must all thank Jaideep for giving us an opportunity to meet Gautam earlier this month at his son’s wedding where he was his cheerful best and chided me for having two parties at my house when on both occasions he was out of town with his extended family which he could not miss.  I had promised that the next party I host at my house; I will first consult his holiday calendar before fixing the date! I have followed Gautam professionally and medically. He joined Cadbury. I joined Cadbury. He left Cadbury to join the advertising agency Clarion. I left Cadbury to join Contract. He left Clarion to start his agency, Advertising Avenues. I left Mudra to start Madison. Wait there’s more. He had a bypass surgery. I followed in a few years with a bypass surgery. I will save more for the prayer meeting that we will hold once the lockdown is lifted. Vidita please take courage we are all there for you. May his soul rest in peace. Amen.”

    Says Samsika Marketing Consultants CMD Jagdeep Kapoor, “Goutam Rakshit was a great professional and a dear friend. His sharp advertising mind, coupled with his grace and patience, and sprinkled with a sense of humour, was indeed unique. His humility was praiseworthy. I remember, 25 years ago, when I started Samsika Marketing, he was kind enough to come for the inauguration and pass on his good wishes, even though Samsika was a start-up and he was on top of his profession at that time. Indeed, a loss to the advertising world."

    DAN's Ashish Bhasin remembers Goutam Rakshit as a true gentleman who always kept the mood of those around him light.

    Expressing his grief, Bhasin says, "He was one of the last members of the generation gone by, where there were gentlemen in advertising who upheld principles. His contribution to advertising will always be remembered and losing people like him is a very sad loss for our industry."

    Times of India Group president Partha Sinha, who was earlier associated with agencies like Publicis and McCann, added, “He was a very fine gentleman – a rare breed in the advertising industry. He was a thoroughly sophisticated person unfortunately, I never worked with him. A person like him raised the quality of the room when he entered. His presence will be missed."

    Ogilvy chief creative officer worldwide and executive chairman India and ZEE Entertainment Enterprises independent director Piyush Pandey remembers Goutam as an extremely successful professional and a dear friend. “I was shocked to get the bad news this morning. His smiling face and a warm hug will not leave me forever. He was my senior and a competitor but he never made me realise either of the two. RIP Gautam,” he says. 

  • Piyush Pandey joins the Board of ZEEL

    Piyush Pandey joins the Board of ZEEL

    MUMBAI: Veteran advertising professional Piyush Pandey has joined the Board of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) as an Independent Director. He has been appointed from 24 March based on the recommendation of Nomination & Remuneration Committee.

    ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd MD and CEO Punit Goenka tweeted: “I am elated to welcome Mr Piyush Pandey on the Company’s Board. We all have experienced his creative work, which has directly touched our hearts. His sharp acumen and creative approach will help us immensely in driving the Company to its desired goals.”

    Piyush Pandey, a veteran with close to four decades of experience in the advertising industry, is a Padma Shri awardee.

    The company hopes to leverage his rich experience in content creation and creativity.

    The decision to appoint Pandey was taken at a board meeting held on 20 March. The resignations of Surender Singh and Aparajita Jain were also accepted by the board.

    Piyush Pandey has an MA degree from St. Stephens College, Delhi and a PG in History from the University of Delhi.

  • Fevicol bags CNBC-TV18’s IBLA brand campaign of the year award

    Fevicol bags CNBC-TV18’s IBLA brand campaign of the year award

    MUMBAI: Fevicol has been conferred with Brand Campaign of the year at the CNBC-TV18’s 15 Indian Business Leader Awards (IBLA), for its new ad campaign celebrating Fevicol’s 60 years milestone.

    Conceptualized by Ogilvy, Pidilite’s creative agency, TVC reinforces the brand idea of ‘unbreakable bonds’, with the tagline ‘Barson se Barson Tak’. The film beautifully highlights Fevicol’s journey over the years in its typical human and humorous fashion. It further showcases the strength of Fevicol, while drawing parallels with the changing paradigms of Indian social and cultural scenario.

    The award was presented by Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman to Pidilite Industries chairman M.B. Parekh, Bharat Puri, Pidilite Industries managing director Piyush Pandey, Ogilvy worldwide and executive chairman India chief creative officer Prasoon Pandey, Ad Filmmaker, Corcoise Films.

    Pidilite Industries managing director Bharat Puri said: “We are delightful and honoured to receive such a prestigious award. Fevicol, over 60 years has been one of the most trusted brands in Indian households. The brand is loved by consumers for its reliable performance as well as contemporary advertising and the 60-year campaign salutes this long-standing relationship with consumers and contractors.”

    The campaign that won a million hearts also received phenomenal engagement on social media. The 90-second creative received 113 million completed views on various digital platforms apart from the innumerable shares on WhatsApp groups. The innovative usage of digital channels to propagate the campaign creative as content on OTT platforms such as Hotstar, Zee 5 struck a chord with the netizens.

    The award sought to recognize the most impactful mass media/ advertising campaign and the jury members shortlisted the nominees based on criteria such as campaigns/communication that has been acknowledged and featured at industry forums, panels, and awards.

  • NPCI launches UPI awareness campaign in association with payment ecosystem players

    NPCI launches UPI awareness campaign in association with payment ecosystem players

    MUMBAI: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in association with the payment ecosystem players have co-created an industry campaign “UPI Chalega” to promote UPI as easy, safe, and instant mode of payment. The campaign is aimed to guide users towards the right usage of UPI and help create a habitual change, use of UPI in their daily life. The campaign also focuses on safety aspects while transacting on UPI enabled apps.

    The campaign targets the Indian smartphone users to guide them on the ease of using UPI through various use cases where UPI can be used instead of cash or any other payment mode. The campaign targets users across all ages and aims to promote how to safely use UPI. UPI Chalega campaign educates customers about using UPI for their daily expenses such as at the vegetable shop, petrol pumps, restaurants, e-commerce, bill payment, etc.

    Campaign’s creative agency Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) has created a relatable character, Mrs Rao, who is the mouthpiece of the brand UPI. Whenever there is a cash crisis at hand, Mrs Rao appears as the voice of reason, and introduces UPI transactions as the simple solution to the problem. In the six TVCs, the story is satirically narrated by Mrs Rao who gently reprimands the viewers for their faith in the old ways of buying things and splitting bills. The ad films end on an instructive note, ‘Batwe ke jagah mobile nikalo; len den ki nai aadat dalo’.

    The 360-degree campaign uses various media channels like television, cinema, outdoor, digital and radio to drive the traffic to UPIChalega.com microsite. This microsite has TVCs, ‘how to’ videos about using UPI safely, information about live banks and third party Apps as well as social feeds among other information. From Registration process, what’s a UPI id, pin change, complaint redressal, sending money, PIN secrecy to the uniform UPI payment page that users should always remember, the campaign covers everything in the how to videos in UPIChalega.com microsite.

    NPCI COO Praveena Rai said, “We are excited to announce the launch of “UPI Chalega” campaign. We believe this campaign has extreme potential to educate users, exponentially accelerate the adoption rate of digital payments and support our vision of a less-cash payments economy. We are happy to associate with our member banks, payment service providers and third party Apps and design this fun-filled and educational UPI awareness campaign. We hope the highlight of our campaign, Mrs. Rao, would motivate customers to shift to easy and safe UPI payments and restrict the usage of cash.”

    SBI DMD strategy and chief digital officer Swaminathan J said, “SBI as a founding member of NPCI is happy to be a part of FLAC (Financial Literacy & Awareness Campaign) committee to create awareness and increase the adoption of UPI. Over the years, endeavor of SBI has been to promote safe and convenient digital payment methods including UPI among its customers. It is important for the payment eco-system to constantly educate and inform customers about UPI as the simple, instant and one of the most secure modes of payment methods in the country.”

    FLAC (Financial Literacy and Awareness Campaign) Committee chairman and Kotak Mahindra Group CMO Karthi Marshan said, “This is possibly the first time that banking, payments and fintech players are coming together with NPCI to promote safe usage of UPI via a massive multi-media campaign that aims to provoke interest as well as educate in an engaging manner. It’s been a privilege for me to work with my peers and NPCI in championing this truly important agenda, of leading India to a less cash, more digital economy. Digital money is the simplest alternative to carrying cash. And it’s safer. But most consumers aren’t aware of that. They still rely on cash for most of their transactions. We wanted to come up with a simple creative solution that encourages behaviour change. Our message – UPI chalega – is a short and effective trigger.”

  • 82.5 Communications makes a mark in year one

    82.5 Communications makes a mark in year one

    MUMBAI: It’s a toddler and it is already boasting of achievements attributable to the big boys in advertising. Mumbai-hqed creative boutique Eight Two Point Five ( 82.5) Communications is the agency we are referring to. It came into existence just a year ago (26 January), as a reincarnation of Ogilvy agency Soho Square, with a sharp focus on providing communications services to India-specific brands. And it has managed to net nine new clients out of a total of 11 pitches it made, since then. A very good run, and a very high rate – something not many newborns in advertising can boast.

    Its new client roster looks impressive: mandates from Nestle Milo, a few dairy projects with the multinational, IDBI Bank, Haldirams North, Hero Lectro, brands from the RSPL group (the maker of Ghari detergent), Campus Shoes, Pearson Education and Jeeru a Mumbai-based carbonated drink. Of course, 82.5 inherited some existing business from Soho Square as well: ACC, Tata Motors, Bisleri, Havells, Himalaya Herbals, ITC Goldflake.

    “We are a bit selective about what we do,” says 82.5 Communications co-chairman & CEO Kapil Arora, adding that there is a clear understanding of where and why to pitch and because of that, the company even refused some clients early on. “On the basis of the conversations that we bring to the table, clients get comfortable and say we want to work with you,” he explains.

    Arora reveals that the coming few months will be about consolidating what it has picked up in 2019 and the agency will get into growth mode only from March.

    Has the rebranding exercise from Soho Square to 82.5, and labelling itself as an India-centric agency paid dividends?

    “We have built a profile of interesting India-first businesses that resonate with our positioning, “ highlights Arora.  “Ninety per cent of our client mix is comprised of India-first clients. But there are global brands like Milo, which wanted a Tamil Nadu insight reflected. So, they too see value in our India-first expertise and approach.”

    Ogilvy India chairman and CCO Worldwide Piyush Pandey too believes it has. “This was a slot that was vacant,” he says. “82.5 has filled it well.”

    And proof of that is the rewards it has got. 82.5 Communications’ edgy work last year with its quirky Samajhdar Jante hai campaign for Bisleri featuring camels got it the Grand Effie in January 2020.

    The agency has not stayed still, rejigging the way it functions, when it felt it was needed. When it started it kept brand custodianship, strategy and content expertise in-house while outsourcing services like media, social, PR retail and activation to partners. It kept that circle open wide. Now it has tightened that ring of allies restricting Itself to WPP group outfits.

    “As a small outfit it made absolute sense to work with partners to offer allied services,” says Arora. “ In implementing that model, we had a few learnings and we reduced that circle. This helps us retain better quality control and ownership for our clients and a move like the WPP campus really aids us in that regard.”

    Arora was brought in as CEO from Ogilvy North in June 2019 when the then CEO VS Srikanth – who joined  82.5 from Bates CHI & Partners – decided to part ways to set up his own venture in the tourism sector.

    Since then, he along with chairman & CCO Sumanto Chattopadhyay, have been working on hiring talent to continue offer clients classy service and the creatively edgy work it is getting known for.  In September, Arora roped in Rishabha Nayyar national strategy lead reporting to him directly. Last month, the agency recruited creative veteran Preeta Mathur as head of its Delhi creative.

    The agency has four branches Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, with Delhi growing the fastest, hence the hiring of Mathur.  More recruitment is likely to happen in the coming few months.

    Chattopadhyay and Arora are also focusing on building language-thinking skills within the agency. Arora highlights that they have managed to get it right with Bengali, Tamil and Marathi – and of course Hindi and English. “This repertoire will continue to increase through a mix of in-house talent and a circle of friends from the local film and theatre circuit,”  he elaborates.

    Arora believes that 82.5 is a work in progress agency. “We will continue to evolve,” he says. “We have laid a strong foundation. As long as we pivot, change and stay relevant in terms of what clients require from us, in these trying economic times, we have a strong future. We are very bullish.”

    Which is what Pandey is banking on. Remember, it was he who was the prime architect of the initiative to build a second agency within the Ogilvy network in India.