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Tag: Pratap Bose

  • Rediffusion-Y&R Group partners with The Social Street

    Rediffusion-Y&R Group partners with The Social Street

    MUMBAI: Rediffusion – Y&R Group and The Social Street have entered into a strategic alliance to provide value added marketing services to clients of Rediffusion – Y&R, Everest Brand Solutions and Rediffusion Wunderman effective from 1 March, 2016.

     

    The alliance will enable Rediffusion-Y&R Group’s clients to benefit from The Social Street’s network, capabilities, and expertise in bringing together more effective and optimised solutions to clients. This integrated offering will include digital, media, experiential, out of home, retail, entertainment, cause marketing and also extends to semi-urban and rural activations and outreach.

     

    Rediffusion-Y&R Group president Dhunji S Wadia said, “This is one of the deepest integrations to date, marking yet another milestone in the Group’s plan for a consolidated media investment management operation. Our services are designed to offer an integrated yet seamless solution across the communications continuum. The focus is to bring competitive advantage to our clients and our companies.”

     

    The Social Street founding partner and chairman Pratap Bose added, “This is going to be a very exciting journey for both Rediffusion and us. It will be a great growth story to tell the world. Our shared vision and collective capabilities should help us serve nothing but the best to all the clients as part of this alliance. We are all focused on one single client centric objective through this alliance and that is unlocking value for clients. With the wealth of expertise in both Rediffusion and TSS, I have no doubt in saying that we will make it the strongest and successful alliance ever.”

     

    The Social Street founding partner and CEO Mandeep Malhotra said, “I am personally very excited about this alliance and looking forward to creating many stories together in this journey with Rediffusion. My career in the agency world started with Rediffusion and it feels now that the circle is getting closer. There is nothing more exciting for me then working with energetic, talented, committed and a fun team. Organisations that partner or compliment each other in this manner are going to be more nimble footed in the future, in creating customer-oriented value.”

  • The Social Street curates 6th Annual United Nations Young Changemakers Conclave

    The Social Street curates 6th Annual United Nations Young Changemakers Conclave

    MUMBAI: The Social Street, a leading marketing communications agency curated the 6th Annual United Nations Young Changemakers Conclave (UNYCC) on 9 January at The Naval Lawns, Mumbai. This year, the theme of the conference was “Make in India: Sustainable Development,” urging the youth to take initiative and inspire them to make a real change in the society, by exploring the latest innovations and discussing current affairs.

    The Conclave was attended by over 750 young individuals between the ages of 18 to 35 who were selected from diverse backgrounds to attend this near-day-long event to discuss, deliberate and debate around the core theme of the event, while engaging with the current leaders. The event started off with an opening address by United Nations Information Centre for India & Bhutan director Kiran Mehra Kerpelman .

    The 6th Annual United Nations Young Changemakers Conclave witnessed participation of distinguished personalities and visionaries such as Union Railway Minister of India  Suresh Prabhu;, Member of Lok Sabha Supriya Sule; National Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress Sanjay Jha; INK Talks founder Lakshmi Pratury; Ogilvy & Mather chairman Piyush Pande and many such other dignitaries. 

    Commenting on this unique event, The Social Street founder and chairman said Pratap Bose, “Over the last two years, India has emerged as the third largest start-up ecosystem after the US and the UK. With so many budding entrepreneurs waiting in the wings, we at The Social Street are proud to have curated the 6th Annual United Nations Young Changemakers Conclave.”

    Bose further added, “The conference was primarily aimed at engaging young thinkers and well known stalwarts to share their perspective and show us the way in making a difference in our society in our own distinctive way.”

  • 2015: From employees to employers, a year of transition in media

    2015: From employees to employers, a year of transition in media

    MUMBAI: 2015 saw India retain its title of being the world’s third leader in start-ups. What is interesting to note is that entrepreneurship not only thrived in the technology sector but also showed a sharp increase in the field of media and entertainment.

    Follow the year’s calendar closely and you can see it checkered with launches of new bespoke media ventures and innovative digital solutions companies.

    This was the year when we saw creative heads, vice presidents and marketing heads of leading agencies and media houses leaving their plush corporate jobs and taking on the challenge to establish their own companies.

    Creative stalwarts like Abhijit Avasthi and Gaurav Seth, who were often considered torch bearers in their former organisations, made headlines as they decided to move on to launch independent agencies.

    The world of start-ups is dynamic and unpredictable unlike the stable portfolios that these executives enjoyed until they decided to cut the cord as the lure to explore new avenues and expand their horizons eventually won.

    As the year comes to an end, Indiantelevision.com lists 10 such media professionals who embarked on their entrepreneurial journeys in 2015.

         Abhijit Avasthi: The media had a field day when Ogilvy & Mather chief creative officer Abhjit Avasthi put in his papers out of the blue last year. The mystery was    unravelled six months later, when Avasthi announced his new creative solutions start-up Sideways, of which he is a co-founder. Aimed to be a multi-dimensional    creative solutions provider, Avasthi even gave an open invitation to professionals from different industries to join his new venture.

     

       Ajay Chacko and B Saikumar: Industry veterans and Network18 associates, who severed ties with company almost at the same time, came together    after a long time to team up with media and broadcasting veteran Ronnie Screwvala to form a new digital media company called Arré. The venture aims  at establishing a digital brand, which will offer multi-genre¬, multi-lingual content across video, audio, text and other traditional and new age art forms.

     

       Barkha Dutt: Media professional or not, there is hardly anyone unfamiliar with this veteran journalist, who anchors NDTV’s prime time shows. Therefore, her  announcement to quit the news network as an editor to start her own digital multi-media company has saddened several fans of Dutt – the reporter. As she firmed up  plans for her new venture, she moved to the role of consulting editor for the news channel, while remaining closely associated as the anchor for The Buck Stops Here  on weeknights and We The People on weekends.

     

        Cyrus Oshidar: Former MTV man, who is known for his involvement with iconic shows such as MTV Bakra, Roadies, et al, made a comeback this year with what he  does best – telling stories about young urban India. Through videos, photos and tongue-in cheek style of articles, branded content start-up 101 India is designed to  be the window to open-minded listless and creative millennials and what they find interesting.

     

         Gaurav Seth: Those who have known Gaurav Seth as the senior vice president of Sony Entertainment Television did a double take when he ended his  relationship of over six years with the broadcast network to co-found Purple Canvas. Fresh in the picture, this new content creating start-up already  has its first television series underway.

     

        Nitin Suri and Chraneeta Mann: When two highly creative individuals get together, the combination always leads to creation and  that’s exactly what happened when former Dentsu national creative director Suri and Rediffusion Y&R national creative director Mann  joined hands to form The Mob. Funded by the wholly owned subsidiary of Mogae Media, the venture aimed to marry television  commercials and content with mobile phones.

     

           Prakash Nathan: This former UTV Disney India operations head and UTV Motion Pictures vice president too recently rolled out India’s first ever digital media  market titled CineMArkets Digital Solutions along with partners Girish Kumar and Inkswipe Consulting LLP. Backed by his experience of two decades, Nathan is already  leading this CineMArket into new avenues.

     

         Prashant Bhatt: Colors fiction head Prashant Bhatt, best known for shows likeMadhubala and Udaan, surprised one and all in the first half of the year  by venturing into production. Bhatt launched the new production house – Studio B&M – along with his business partner and cinematographer Sanjay  Memane. The one year old production house is already slated to produce Mastaangi for Channel V.

     

         Pratap Bose: As the DDB Mudra Group chief operating officer, Bose helmed several path breaking projects and even donned the hat of the Ad Club president.  Therefore his decision to take on the role of an entrepreneur and start his own creative agency – The Social Street came as a surprise to the industry at large. His  former colleagues and associates Mandeep Malhotra, Arjun Reddy and Pradeep Uppalapati were quick at his heel, and joined his new venture as partners.

     

        S Yesudas: The most recent executive to join the start-up bandwagon is former managing director of Vizeum India and media expert S Yesudas.      Along with partners Ajit Nair of MX Advertising and Amit Tripathi from IdeateLabs, Yesudas plans to disrupt the current industry with their ‘unagancy,’  which is christened triggerbridge. From the way the agency is spelled to its operational objectives, triggerbridge comes across as having an innovative  and modern outlook towards the current advertising space.

     

    There’s no doubt that these ever so crucial moves from leading media houses and agencies have created an indelible void in their respective companies. Whether or not the sudden mushrooming of such start-ups pose any competition to the existing industry leaders, only time will tell. But one thing’s for sure, some of these executives have managed to inspire several of their loyal teammates and colleagues to follow in their footsteps, leaving many empty shoes to fill in their former workplaces.

    Even as the curtains draw on 2015, the coming year holds a lot of promise and will see many of them making an impression in the media and entertainment ecosystem.

  • IDBI Federal launches OOH campaign to promote Childsurance

    IDBI Federal launches OOH campaign to promote Childsurance

    MUMBAI: IDBI Federal Life Insurance has launched its humorous, yet hard-hitting, outdoor campaign to promote its child plans’ category – Childsurance. The outdoor campaign, which will span across 105 cities and towns, adds a bit of fun element to drive home a point.

     

    Explaining the objective of this campaign, IDBI Federal Life Insurance chief strategy and marketing officer Aneesh Khanna said, “The angry baby photos attract your attention and lead you to an important message – children will not look this cute when they are 18 if their dreams are not fulfilled for lack of financial planning. With the cost of education ballooning year after year, it is important that young parents systematically plan for the future needs of their little ones.”

     

    “The best part about this campaign is that while it gives young parents a gentle nudge, it does that by bringing a smile on their faces. Our insurance solutions for children effectively address most of the concerns related to securing their future. We think it’s a clutter breaking idea and takes a complete departure from regular advertising featuring babies,” Khanna added.

     

    Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai senior creative directors Amitabh Agnihotri and Sameer Sojwal have designed the campaign.

     

    Agnihotri said, “There couldn’t be a more arresting idea than using babies to grab the attention of young parents. The category of insurance is inundated with emotional appeals, advertising that literally pleas for better financial planning. We were clear that we had to stay away from the clutter and create something absolutely fresh. The most fun part of the campaign was shooting with the babies and getting their cute-angry expressions.”

     

    Sojwal added, “Financial planning for a child’s future is probably the most important message to convey to young parents; dealing with the wrath of a child’s failed future can be a daunting experience. This is the reality of life, but humorously put through the Childsurance campaign.”

     

    Social Street executed the campaign in 105 cities, with more than 900 billboards pan India in Phase I.

     

    Social Street founding partner and chairman, Pratap Bose said, “The Childsurance campaign from IDBI Federal is indeed an intriguing one, as the cute angry babies immediately draw your attention. Large scale formats in the OOH space, enables the imagery of the visual to be disproportionately large, so as to draw attention and drive home the point that your child’s insurance is certainly not something that you can take for granted.’’

  • Pratap Bose’s ‘conglomerate of agencies’ to launch in 25 days

    Pratap Bose’s ‘conglomerate of agencies’ to launch in 25 days

    MUMBAI: Over the last one month, a spurt of new agencies have been added to the Indian media, advertising and digital sectors. Adding to the new launches will be ad man Pratap Bose’s new ‘conglomerate of agencies’, which is just 25 days away from launch.

     

    Putting all speculations to rest, Bose, the former DDB Mudra Group chief operating officer, confirms the development to Indiantelevision.com saying, “We are 25 days away from the launch and there is a lot of work happening on the back end. We are yet to decide the agency’s name and logo. Everything is slated for announcement in time to come. We want to build the organisation into a one stop shop for the brands’ needs.”

     

    According to Bose, his new venture will be a “media communications conglomerate” and will have multiple equity stake holders.

     

    The new venture will drive core competencies across different divisions in the media, be it creative, communications, branded content, outdoor, media planning and buying, retail and digital amongst others.

     

    “Apart from this, the conglomerate will consist of five-six companies, each focusing on their expertise. Initially the agency will not cater to advertising and communications, but we do intend to expand those verticals later,” Bose informs.

     

    Bose also reveals that the agency is on the look-out for various investment options. While he refused to disclose any figures, reports doing the round say that the agency is looking for an initial investment of around $10 million.

     

    Bose, who has more than two decades of experience in advertising, has been working on the new venture for the last four-five months and is in the process of building a formidable team. Joining him is Mandeep Malhotra, who recently quit DDB MudraMax, where he was president and head of its OOH, experiential business and retail cluster.

     

    Last year Bose quit DDB Mudra Group as COO, where he worked for six years. Prior to that,he has worked with Ogilvy & Mather for 15 years in various positions. He is also the president of The Ad Club.

  • Goa Fest: JWT India leads metal tally, Linen Lintas wins solitary Grand Prix

    Goa Fest: JWT India leads metal tally, Linen Lintas wins solitary Grand Prix

    GOA: As the third and final day of Abby Awards Goa Fest came to an end, metals galore were distributed amongst creative souls across various categories.

     

    “With a beach 50 meters away and beers available 24 hours, having more than 70 per cent filled rooms in all the sessions signifies that Goa Fest 2015 was a success,” says AAAI president M.G. Parameswaran

     

    Goa Fest 2015 saw a versatile group of speakers, charming and ecstatic ambience, and allusive advertisements played one after another. The creative minds enjoyed their time collecting one metals after another for different categories. The third day saw 29 Golds, 51 Silvers and 94 Bronze bestowed amongst the creative lot.

     

    Though Goa Fest organizational committee does not publish any agency ratings, if the metal tally is analysed JWT India with 35 metals (nine golds, eight silvers and 18 bronze) bags the pole position. The solitary Grand Prix was won by Linen Lintas for Dabur Vatika Premium Naturals Shampoo’s Brave and Beautiful campaign. 

     

    The number of Grand Prix though got down from three in 2014 to one in 2015. The total number of metals went up to 344 (69 Golds, 102 Silver and 172 Bronze) compared to last year’s 336. The Advertising Club and chairman of the Awards Governing Council (AGC) Pratap Bose said, “You have to do something unique and extraordinary in order to win a Grand Prix and the jury found only one such entry and hence we have only one Grand Prix in 2015.” 

     

    The total number of golds went up to 69 compared to 50 and 44 in 2014 and 2013 respectively.     

     

    The number of agencies winning Abby metals has also gone up, which is an encouraging development for the creative fraternity. A total of 106 agencies won metals in 2015 compared to 85 and 73 in 2014 and 2013 respectively. The number of entries were also an encouragement for the organizing committee as it went up from 2012 to 2823. However it must be noted that in 2013, 4376 entries were registered for the same festival.

     

    The highest number of golds were distributed in the broadcast category as 14 metals were distributed in the category. With 40 metals OOH grabbed the pole position when it came to the total number of metals amongst all categories. 

     

    Click here to read the full winner list

    Click here to read the full winner list 

    Click here to read the full winner list

  • Mindshare leads Media Abby Awards metal tally; Bennett, Coleman & Co. leads publisher category

    Mindshare leads Media Abby Awards metal tally; Bennett, Coleman & Co. leads publisher category

    GOA: If women empowering the Republic Day parade saw a revolution in the Indian armed forces, women representation during the Abby Awards of the 10th Goa fest was a supreme encouragement. There were more women creative minds representing agencies when compared to men.

    In a flamboyant evening of joy and happiness in Goa, the Abby award winners for Publisher and Media category were announced. The awards were distributed by eminent personalities like Madison World chairman Sam Bhalsara, Group M South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas, Goa Fest Jury chairman Pratap Bose, Dentsu Aegis chairman India and CEO South Asia Ashish Bhasin, Times Network CEO MK Anand and Lodestar Universal India CEO Shashi Sinha.

    Speaking about the competition and entries in the 2015 edition of the Goa Fest, Bose said, “The number of entries has increased to 674 compared to 619 last year in the media category. Entries this year have been highest when compared to any edition of the festival. The decision was taken after four days of detailed analysis by dignitaries from respective countries. The Publisher award started last year, saw 62 entries, which is exactly the same as 2014. This sector needs to improve.”

    Apart from India, entries were accepted from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan and when asked if there was a possibility of expanding it beyond the Asian sub-continent, Bose said, “Not in near future! There is no plan of further expansion as the beauty is that these are Indian awards judged by Indian dignitaries, who understand the market for the agency that they work for.”

    He added, “There is no such difference in quality of work compared to last year and there is no trend or platform emerging as dominant. The work has been as versatile as it was. Winners from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh signify that international entries have been commendable, which is a huge encouragement.”

    Media metals tally is lead by Mindshare with a total of 11 metals, followed by Madison Media with 10. Out of the 74 distributed metals, there were 12 Golds, 23 Silvers and 39 Bronze awards.

    Click Here for the winners list:

     

  • Goafest Creative Abby judging begins in full earnest

    Goafest Creative Abby judging begins in full earnest

    MUMBAI: The Goafest Creative Abby judging began in full swing at Mumbai with juries being appointed in different verticals. The Jury chairs were released by the Goafest Creative Abby Award Governing Council.

     

    Taproot’s Santosh Padhi will be chairing the Abby Print and Print Craft Jury this year. Publicis’ Bobby Pawar returns after a gap of five years to head the Abby Film Jury. Contract India’s Ashish Chakravarty is Jury Chair of Radio and Radio Craft Abby, while ideasatwork’s Prashant Godbole is heading the Out of Home (OOH) and Ambient Abby Jury. Scarecrow’s Manish Bhatt is heading the Integrated Abby Jury.

     

    Chairing the Creative Abby Direct Jury this year is Pi Communication’s Rakhshin Patel.  KA Advertising and Design’s Prashant Kanyalkar is the Jury Chair in Design Vertical of Creative Abby. Hungama’s Carlton D’Silva is the Jury Chair for Digital Abby, while White Light Moving Picture’s Namita Roy Ghose is heading the Film Craft Abby Jury.

     

    DDB Mudra’s Aneil Deepak is the Jury chair in brand activation and promotion Abby Jury. Big Synergy’s Anita Kaul Basu is Jury chair in branded content Abby, whereas Madison PR’s Paresh Chaudhry headed the Public Relations Abby Jury. On the other hand, Network 18’s Avinash Kaul led the Broadcasters Abby Jury, while Sakal’s Shailesh Amonkar is Jury chair of Publishers Abby.

     

    Ad Club president Pratap Bose said, “Our heartfelt thanks to the Jury members who gave their time and passion debating the selection of winners.”

     

    Abby Awards Governing Council member in charge of Jury appointments and judging Ajay Chandwani added, “We are very fortunate to have the time and cooperation of very high powered juries in each of the verticals. Many of our jury chairs and judges have been judging at major international festivals over the years. An award derives its prestige from the standards set by juries and Abby has indeed retained its leading status in India.”

     

  • Goafest 2015 unveils speakers for knowledge seminars

    Goafest 2015 unveils speakers for knowledge seminars

    MUMBAI: In the tenth year of one of India’s premier advertising festival- Goafest, the celebration is poised to get bigger and better. 

     

    The festival, which will take place at the Grand Hyatt, Bambolim in Goa from 9-11 April, will continue being a three day festival, with three award nights, and with the categories remaining more or less the same, like last year.

     

    Hosted by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Advertising Club, the event is known to be a hub of learning. “We have, year on year, expanded the width of our speakers, and we will continue doing that,” said Goafest chairman and AAAI vice president Nakul Chopra, while revealing the first list of speakers for this year’s event. 

     

    The speakers for the knowledge seminar include: Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific chief creative officer Ted Lim, 180 Amsterdam president and creative officer Alan Moseley, Facebook APAC region head of agency Neil Stewart, ZenithOptimedia worldwide strategic marketing officer Guy Abrahams and author and mythologist Devdutt Pattanik.  

     

    “Further list of speakers will be announced in a week or so,” informed Percept director Ajay Chandwani.

     

    “Goafest 2015 will have a great mix of speakers. Our effort is to get the 2500 plus participants to listen to and interact with the best, the world has to offer. As in the previous years, we will have stimulating Q&A sessions moderated by senior marketing professionals,” said AAAI president MG Parameswaran.

     

    Goafest has been skewed towards the youth since its inception. “Fifty per cent of the people attending are under the age of 30 years and we continue to encourage them to come for the three day festival,” added Chopra. 

     

    Explaining the flow of events during Goafest, Chopra informed that while the Advertising Conclave will be held on day one, the knowledge seminars will take place on the second and third day. 

     

    “There will be a Leadership Summit on 11 April, which will bring together best minds in the field of advertising, communications and marketing industry to discuss, debate, interact, offer thoughts and experiences, share ideas and questions on the industry,” he informed, adding that the programmes will also have a series of presentations from leaders in their respective fields and panel debates. 

     

    Goafest 2015 will also see the introduction of Youth Labs for young delegates. “These Youth Labs will have a separate Creative Lab and Media Lab. The aim of these Youth Labs will be to provide a platform for youngsters to interact with the stalwarts of the industry and get them to sharpen and hone their skills,” said Chopra. 

     

    The tenth year celebration will be grander, and in keeping with this, the organizers have roped in professionals to host the award ceremonies. “You will see a huge difference in the awards ceremony as compared to the previous year,” opined Parameswaran. 

     

    As for the awards and awards category, not much has changed from the previous year. “The feedback that we got about the previous edition of Goafest was that it was spot on, and so we decided to not bring in too many changes in the awards this year,” informed Chandwani.  

     

    The organising committee has reinstated Radio Craft award this year, which was removed in the previous edition. According to Chandwani, digital is the most evolving category and thus it is this category which sees the maximum changes every year. “But this year, only a few categories have been merged, everything else remains unchanged,” informed Chandwani.

     

    The award shows for various verticals will be held on:

     

    9 April: Media and Publisher Abby Awards

     

    10 April: Design, Direct, Brand activation and promotion, Public Relations, Out of Home and Ambient Media, Print Craft, Branded Content and Entertainment and Broadcaster Abby Awards

     

    11 April: Digital & Mobile, Radio, Radio Craft, Print, Film, Film Craft and Integrated Advertising Abby Awards

     

    Talking about the purpose of the event, Parameswaran said that it was to bring pride and belongingness to the industry. “Through this, we wanted to inspire the young people to stay in the advertising industry and grow it,” he added. 

     

    While every year, the festival has a theme, the organising committee is calling this year as the ’10 years of Goafest.’

     

    The big question that is currently hovering around the fest is if the big names like Ogilvy & Mather and McCann Worldgroup among others will participate in this edition of Goafest. When quizzed on their participation, Chopra said, “We are talking to the agencies. Our job is to put up a good show and so we are in conversation with everyone. Now whether they participate or not, is up to them.” 

     

    It can be noted that in 2014, both Oglivy & Mather and McCann Worldgroup along with Creativeland Asia, BBDO, Leo Burnett and Grey did not participate in the Creative Abbies, following controversies. 

     

    Controversies aside, the organisers, controversies are expecting a great turnout in this season. “Last year 275 companies had sent entries and 240 companies had sent delegates,” informed Chandwani. 

  • Does Yuvraj Singh deserve Rs 16 crore?, asks adman Pratap Bose

    Does Yuvraj Singh deserve Rs 16 crore?, asks adman Pratap Bose

    Having played for Bengal in my teens and waking up at 3 am just to listen to the commentary of West Indies playing India, I can proudly call myself a purist of the game.

     

    But the site of cricketers being sold like horses in the ring for the benefit of insolvent owners, Bollywood actresses and wives of rich businessman is another reason why I so despise the IPL. What does Nita Ambani or Preity Zinta know about the cricket beyond a point?

     

    The sight of players being bought like horses for the enjoyment of a few and to enhance the value of their team is not what cricket is meant to be. A few spend crores, using the sport as a platform to make more money. What amazes me more is the fact that players who have crossed their prime are being sold for exuberant amount of money. Take Yuvraj Singh for instance, who was bought by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 16 crore. The player is done and dusted; he wasn’t even included in the ICC World Cup 2015 squad. So, why spend so much on him? There are many like him who are bought for their ‘star’ value instead of others who are the future of the game.

     

    If this cannot be labeled as commercialisation of the game then what can?

     

    And to top all this, we have scandals attached to the IPL, which is a disgrace to the game.

     

    Like I said, I’m a purist of the game who loves longer formats, which helps test the caliber of a player, but I don’t mind a T20 World Cup. It is the IPL, I don’t like and don’t even watch because it has made the game nothing less than a circus.

    (As told to indiantelevision.com’s Meghna Sharma)