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Tag: Rajiv Dingra

  • AIESEC’s #OpenUpYourVeins campaign for awareness on blood donation

    AIESEC’s #OpenUpYourVeins campaign for awareness on blood donation

    MUMBAI: With safe blood donors becoming an emerging challenge in our nation, and the country being plagued with an increasing number of epidemics and accidents, AIESEC, an organisation that believes leadership is the fundamental solution to the growth of the nation, in association with WATConsult, the digital and social media agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has launched #OpenUpYourVeins.

    The campaign has been launched with an animated film on World Blood Donors Day, showcasing the story of Eisa, an 8-year-old swimming champion, who died at a very young age in an accident where she fell short of one bag of blood. The film shows us an imaginary life of Eisa, full of dreams and aspirations that she could have lived while bringing alive the contrast of what led to an untimely end of this life.

    The campaign aims to raise awareness around the need for regular blood donations that brings sufficient and timely access to safe and quality-assured blood and blood products. It leads people to the donate blood feature that Facebook activates, especially for the World Blood Donor Day. The platform gives potential donors an opportunity to enlist themselves so that they can be notified when nearby blood banks require them, to respond to blood banks on their availability of a requirement and also urge and inspire their friends to do so.

    Link – https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=381115672761380

    Speaking on the objective of the campaign, AIESEC India president Karteek Hoshangabade said, “AIESEC’s sole purpose is to activate youth leadership, to achieve peace and fulfilment of humankind’s potential. So fighting for life itself is, of course, of extreme importance to us. We were glad to partner with WATConsult for this beautiful campaign. We hope that everyone sees how important it is to donate blood, and that no more Eisas have their dreams fading due to lack of blood.”

    Elaborating on the campaign, WATConsult founder and CEO Rajiv Dingra said, “Enlisting a sufficient number of committed, safe blood donors is an emerging challenge in India and under our latest vertical, The Alter Project, we are glad to bring forward #OpenUpYourVeins. About 65 per cent of India’s population is young and if this section donates blood regularly, chances of the country facing blood shortage will be remote. This 65 per cent of the audience is the same who consumes content digitally and with this campaign we are sure to reach out to maximum people online and get them to pledge as blood donors.”

    The campaign will be promoted across digital and social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram etc.

  • SBI Life Insurance launches breast cancer awareness campaign “Thanks a Dot”

    SBI Life Insurance launches breast cancer awareness campaign “Thanks a Dot”

    MUMBAI: SBI Life Insurance, one of India’s largest private life insurers, has launched ‘Thanks A Dot’, an innovative breast cancer awareness initiative that is supported by the Women’s Cancer Initiative -Tata Memorial Hospital. The programme intends to empower the women of India by educating them about early lump detection through simple self-examination techniques. An easy-to-use self-training module to detect the early signs of lump formation can be ordered free of cost through SBI Life’s corporate website.

    To take this initiative forward and ensure maximum reach, the communication and promotions online will be handled and executed by SBI Life’s digital and social media partner, WATConsult, the digital and social media agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network.

    Tata Memorial Hospital vice president of women’s cancer initiative and a Breast Cancer survivor Devieka Bhojwani said, “The Women’s Cancer Initiative, has been constantly working towards making a difference, by spreading awareness about the importance of early detection in Breast Cancer. India is seeing a steady rise in the cases of Breast Cancer, with as many as 1,00,000 new cases being detected every year. Early detection is vital and can improve cure rates in about 80% of the cases. Many Indian women and their families rarely understand the importance of this issue and fail to undergo regular check-ups. SBI Life’s Thanks-A-Dot tool allows you to learn and understand what a lump would feel like. It is your way to start familiarising yourself.”

    ‘Thanks A Dot’ self-detection tool has been designed using real breast cancer mammograms to re-create breast cancer lumps using a special algorithm and 3D printing. The breast cancer lump shapes are put on a learning card in the form of a language inspired by Braille. Users solve puzzles and quizzes using the special language (present on the learning card), thus capturing a positive feeling of carrying out early detection examination and promoting regular self-checks. 'Thanks A Dot' helps improve tactile (touch) capacity in women to detect early signs of lump formation.

    SBI Life Insurance chief of brand and corporate communications Ravindra Sharma said, “Cancer in India has more than doubled over the last 26 years. The impact can be devastating on families both emotionally and financially. Though breast cancer is most common among Indian women both in terms of occurrence as well as mortality, it continues to remain a taboo in India. Moreover, women who are aware of the concept of self-examination are unsure of what a lump feels like. ‘Thanks-A-Dot’ is a path-breaking initiative. While improving tactile capacity in women it also simultaneously fosters positive conversations around self-breast examination, thereby breaking social barriers that have plagued our society for long.”

    “As a responsible life insurer, we believe that we have an important role to play in educating and empowering women by increasing awareness about breast cancer and its financial implications. We hope that ‘Thanks A Dot’ can make a meaningful difference by helping women in being prepared for the uncertainties of life,” Sharma added.

    SBI Life has leveraged multiple digital platforms to launch the ‘Thanks a Dot’ awareness initiative; the campaign has rolled out with the launch of a video that highlights the significance of the power of touch and showcases the benefits of self-breast examination through this tool. The video urges every woman to take a step further and inculcate a habit of self-breast examination regularly and confidently.

    WATConsult founder and chief executive officer Rajiv Dingra said, “Early detection is the key to breast cancer survival and even though many women are aware of this, most are unsure of the feel of a lump formation. Thus, taking an inspiration from the Braille language and Power of Touch and to inculcate a habit of self-examination at an earlier stage, we created an innovative product – "Thanks A Dot", an easy-to-use self-training puzzle card to bring the power detection to your fingertips and enabling women to take necessary actions sooner rather than later.”

    The first phase of the initiative kick-started on International Women’s Day, featuring the ‘Real Life Real Story’ video of Sujaya Walia, a breast cancer survivor and activist. In the video, Walia is seen talking about her journey fighting cancer, how family and financial preparedness holds key and urges more women to come forward and discuss such issues openly.

  • WATConsult ranked in Global MMA SMARTIES Business Impact Index 2018

    WATConsult ranked in Global MMA SMARTIES Business Impact Index 2018

    MUMBAI: WATConsult the digital and social media agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has been ranked among the top 10 digital agencies, globally for 2018, in the MMA SMARTIES Business Impact Index. WATConsult is the only Indian digital agency to be a part of this prestigious global ranking.

    WATConsult Founder and CEO Rajiv Dingra said, “2018 has been an exceptionally great year for us, in terms of global recognition. This ranking by the MMA is a testimony to our quality of work which is now at global benchmark levels. The entire team is thrilled on this achievement and motivated to build more path-breaking campaigns.”

    The MMA is world’s leading global non-profit trade association comprised of more than 800-member companies, from nearly fifty countries around the world. The MMA SMARTIES Business Impact Index is the first and only global mobile marketing index that identifies, ranks, and awards top agencies, advertisers and brands globally.

  • WATConsult, ActionAid India launch #JoinTheDots campaign against child sexual abuse

    WATConsult, ActionAid India launch #JoinTheDots campaign against child sexual abuse

    MUMBAI: WATConsult, a digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network has announced the launch of ‘The Alter Project’, a dedicated vertical for public service campaigns fronted by brands and institutions with a thoughtful campaign created in partnership with ActionAid India, an agency working with vulnerable communities since 1972 to further social and ecological justice.

    The #JoinTheDots campaign has been created to highlight child sexual abuse and aims to prevent the incidence of abuse as well as encourage adults to address such violence with a call to action to See, Listen, and Act. Boomlet Media, a content marketing agency, also came on board as supporting partner for this campaign.

    WATConsult founder and CEO Rajiv Dingra shared, “Social good has always been at the core of our growth philosophy with our teams fearlessly picking up issues that needed a voice to transform the social order in the country. The last year at WATConsult, we saw bold campaigns that dealt with subjects such as girl child education, rights of transgender people, youth suicides, child trafficking, organ donation, and such others mobilising stakeholders through unique ways. It’s time for brands to step forward and champion mass movements for the public good. Just like its logo, The Alter Project, through its collaborations with brands and its campaigns, will lead to a new wave of dignity, equality, and inclusion. We invite brands to associate with The Alter Project by WATConsult and write the new narrative together.”

    Elaborating on the campaign, ActionAid India executive director Sandeep Chachra said, “ActionAid India remains committed to working for the protection of children, especially girls, from discriminatory practices of sex-selective abortions, trafficking, and sexual assault. Over the years we have worked with allied organizations, the administration and policymakers to bring change on the ground for the protection, nutrition, and education of children. Children’s vulnerability will remain till children in all contexts are recognized as equal citizens. In the family, this calls for children being listened to and their interests being considered as equal, if not of paramount interest. Through the “Join the Dots” campaign, we want to help adults see, listen and act in the best interests of children.”

     

     

  • WATConsult focusses on purpose-driven marketing

    WATConsult focusses on purpose-driven marketing

    MUMBAI: When Rajiv Dingra started with WATConsult, which is today one of the prime agencies in India, digital media was nothing but a bud in the nascent stage that could very well have been nipped if not given the right ingredients to bloom. To give context, in his own words, social media giant Facebook was still available only for university students having a ‘.edu’ id, YouTube was even younger, and Instagram was not even born.

    It was the year 2007 and a certain marketing manager of a well-known bank, which Dingra refrains from naming, had looked the man straight into the eyes to say, ‘I don’t think digital media is going to be a big thing in the future'. Flash forward 12 years ahead, digital media is not only a ‘big thing’ but a substantial part of each brand’s marketing mix. And WATConsult has been one of the prime players to not only contribute to but also smartly leverage its massive success. The agency, which is a part of the well-known Dentsu Aegis Network, won several international accolades last year including a Grand Prix at the Prague International Festival, and a shortlist at Cannes Lions. The agency celebrates its 12-year anniversary on 10 January and Dingra looks all set to conquer the coming years in a grander way.

    Sitting in his comfortable cabin that has a wooden chess board placed right across his table and some cool action figures lining up the space behind that, Dingra comes across as a man who knows what he's up against. His eyes have a certain charm and glint, which speak volumes for his amiable personality. He is happy when he speaks about his and WATConsult’s success and has passion brimming in his words as he reflects on the way ahead.

    “These 12 years have been a long-winding journey. In fact, in hindsight we did not think that it will take this long for digital media to come where it is today (smiles). But we are glad that it has reached where it has in these 12 years,” says Dingra recounting WATConsult’s steps in the industry. “I think in our initial years in the industry, from 2007 to 2011, we were focused on being a social media specialist agency. In the next three years we transformed into a full-service digital agency. From 2015 onwards, we have invested into a lot of technology, data, and ORM. This prowess has only been increased from then."

    He adds, “I think, the last year has been our biggest high, as we finally broken the glass ceiling. Our work has been noticed worldwide. As a digital agency very few, in fact, none in India can boast about the sort of achievements that we got in 2018. I believe nobody has been awarded, in the same year, a London International Award, a Prague International Award, and a nomination at Cannes. It’s a very illustrious list.”

    WATConsult surely had a stupendous 2018, but unlike many would believe, it wasn’t a fluke or something that just happened overnight. Dingra and his team had been working towards it since the past three years at least. He shares, “We have been investing in creative trainings for our team and upgrading them to suit the needs of all media, be it mobile, e-commerce, technology, or video. We have also been increasing our staff strength and are now a strong family of 377 members. It not only makes us the largest digital media agency within DAN network but also one of the larger agencies in the country.”

    The agency also bagged some big clients like Riso and Domino’s. “We worked across several different aspects of digital right from e-commerce to mobile, to technology-enabled work and a lot of video content. We must have made at least 150 digital films, which were more than a minute long. We saw a growth of 30 to 35 per cent. That’s what kept us in good step as an agency, he says.

    And obviously the laurels followed. On being asked if the agency is working towards winning awards only or is also seeking creative satisfaction, he says that awards can’t come without a person actually being satisfied with one’s work. “In fact, it is important to emphasise that how difficult it is to win at international platforms. It is extremely difficult to even reach to that level and compete. It requires great focus and great effort, which goes beyond your regular campaigns, to create something that wins there. It means you not only have to be satisfied with what you have done but you have to feel that you have done something pathbreaking,” Dingra quips.

    He adds, “You do not participate in such competitions for the sake of vanity. It has unimaginable positive impact beyond just getting fame or new businesses. The biggest impact is on internal team members who suddenly start to push the bar and work harder towards innovating new content.”

    Highlighting what remains the prime focus for him and his team while working on such campaigns, Dingra shares, “At the international award shows ‘impact’ always performs better. Be it impact on society or people; things that improve the behaviour of people and change lives for better perform better. They might look purpose-driven on the outside, but inside they just highlight what the brand’s purpose is.”

    He revealed that at WATConsult their aim is to involve the brands in the creative purpose. "We are creating campaigns that are around experience and technology. For us it is not performance-driven but purpose-driven marketing," he says excitedly.

    WATConsult has had a fabulous upward growth trajectory till now and digital media is growing in parallel. That means the competition is increasing and so is the trust of brands on such agencies. Dingra himself shares that in the coming two years, digital will amount to one-fourth of the total ad-spends made by any brand. So, how is he planning to maintain the stead?

    “I think 2019 is going to be a key year for us. We want to push further on the path that we are already on, which is the path of creative excellence. We don’t want 2018 to be a one-off year here we performed good at the global awards. We definitely want to up that benchmark in 2019. We believe that we are going to do a lot of interesting work in form of good video content and reach age social platforms—leveraging gaming platform like PubG, or video platform Tik Tok. We will experiment with new platforms, new technologies, and in general a new way of communicating on digital media,” Dingra mentions.

    Dingra is certainly proud of WATConsult’s illustrious journey and is looking forward to an amazing year and beyond.

  • SBI Life Insurance, WATConsult launch India’s first-ever programmatic digital OOH campaign

    SBI Life Insurance, WATConsult launch India’s first-ever programmatic digital OOH campaign

    MUMBAI: SBI Life Insurance, for its ‘Main Se Hum Campaign’, has launched the first-ever programmatic digital out-of-home (OOH) campaign in India. Planned by WATConsult, the digital and social media agency from Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) along with DAN’s Programmatic Arm – Amnet, this innovation aims to help the brand in reaching out to newer audiences & build a programmatic connect thereafter.

    Exploring New Year as a topic, the campaign is being executed across major establishments in Maharashtra and Delhi-NCR. Google’s marketing platform in partnership with Lemma Technologies, has helped the brand serve this digital inventory across OOH touch points and also plans to re-target audiences on mobile through the beacons installed at each location.

    WATConsult founder and CEO Rajiv Dingra said, “With this activity, SBI Life adds another innovation with us with the key objective of testing Digital OOH, extend further reach for their "Main Se Hum" campaign exploring New Year as a topic to leverage and programmatically retarget with relevant brand messages. Well, this is the first-of-its-kind initiative in India and will surely open more dynamic avenues for the brand in the coming future.”

    SBI Life Insurance chief of brand and corporate communications Ravindra Sharma said, “For a long time marketers have been trying to bridge the gap between offline and online audience, to holistically target consumers. Using the existing advertising ecosystem, the programmatic digital out of home campaign (DOOH) successfully bridges the offline to online audience gap, by simple yet intelligent application of technology.” He further added, “At SBI Life we take great pride in being the early adopters of upcoming technologies and are extremely thrilled to start 2019 on an innovative note. We believe this will mark a transformation in the evolution of digital marketing.”

    AMNET in association with Lemma Technologies ran this DOOH campaign as a RTB (Real-Time Bidding) campaign on Lemma’s platform which had Google DV360 participating as demand partner. “It’s an innovation in the outdoor industry to connect outdoor media to a centralised platform based on advertisement standard & protocols. Such standardisation gives DOOH inventory more visibility to direct and programmatic demand,” says Lemma Technologies founder and CEO Gulab Patil.

    AMNET vice president Salil Shanker said, “This is a revolution in outdoor industry to connect DOOH screens to a digital advertisement ecosystem. At AMNET, we believe in driving innovations to our partners and with success of launching programmatic radio in India, now we are thriving to launch DOOH inventory through programmatic.  The new platform offers advertisers with innovative solutions to connect with the right audience with right messages at the right time along the consumer journey. While the lines are slowly blurring between digital and offline, in the short term this step will surely help SBI Life in getting that extended reach through offline impressions and a possibility to re-connect audiences in digital world to help close the loop. The standardisation gives more simplicity to manage all media channels through a single lens.”

  • WATConsult wins Columbia Pacific Communities digital mandate

    WATConsult wins Columbia Pacific Communities digital mandate

    MUMBAI:  WATConsult, the digital and social media agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has won the 360-degree digital media mandate of Columbia Pacific Communities – a part of Seattle-based Columbia Pacific group, one of the foremost developers of senior living communities in the United States and South East Asia.

    The mandate includes digital media marketing, social listening and ORM, digital content creation, and SEO services. In addition to this, the agency will also be designing and developing the brand’s website. The account will be handled by the agency’s Bengaluru team.

    WATConsult founder and CEO Rajiv Dingra said, “It is our pleasure to partner with Columbia Pacific communities, one of the pioneers to popularise the senior living concept in India. With their recent acquisitions in the Asian market, the brand is set to significantly expand its senior housing portfolio over the next few years in the major parts of the continent. Well, this is a great opportunity for us to align our expertise with the brand to leverage their digital journey in the best possible way.”

    Columbia Pacific Communities CEO Mohit Nirula said, “Columbia Pacific Communities is made up of people drawn to the mission of serving and fulfilling the needs and desires of our senior population. We represent four decades of international expertise in designing and building communities and serving and fulfilling the changing and evolving requirements of our residents – a promise to be partners for life to those who repose their trust in us and give us the privilege to serve them.”  

    Adding further, he said, “While selecting a digital agency to partner us on our journey, we had three criteria – clutter breaking work, ability to address two generations – the children and the parents as well as a proven track record of success. WATConsult, with global accolades such as the Grand Prix in their kitty and cutting-edge campaigns done for a cross-section of brands, was the perfect fit and we are delighted to appoint them as our ‘Agency on Record’ for digital marketing.”

  • WATConsult becomes the ‘Highest Awarded Indian Agency’ at Epica Awards with 2 Golds and 1 Silver Metal

    WATConsult becomes the ‘Highest Awarded Indian Agency’ at Epica Awards with 2 Golds and 1 Silver Metal

    Mumbai: WATConsult, the digital and social media agency from Dentsu Aegis Network led the Indian tally at Epica Awards by winning 3 out of the 9 awards won by Indian agencies in total. WATConsult’s #PowerlessQueen bagged 2 Golds and 1 Silver metal, making it the best performing and highest awarded Indian agency at the award show. Founded 31 years ago, Epica is the only worldwide creative award show judged by journalists from the marketing, design and advertising press. The award show received 4020 entries from 69 countries this year.

    Not only this, but #PowerlessQueen also won under the category ‘Call to action’ along with 3 honours in 3 other categories at Shortys Awards for Social Good. Agency's another campaign, #WhyDontYou, also stood-out and bagged one metal at the Shortys Awards for Social Good. The former campaign, was also a winner for creative effectiveness and was a highly praised campaign for the category ‘campaign of the year’ at Mumbrella Asia awards 2018.

    So, in summary, it was a golden weekend for WATConsult as it bagged 6 awards along with 4 esteemed honors at three international award shows; Epica Awards, Shorty Awards For Social Good and Mumbrella Asia awards.

    Rajiv Dingra, Founder and CEO, WATConsult said, “It gives me great pleasure to share that WATConsult has won 6 metals and 4 honours in 3 international award shows across three continents in a span of just 24 hours! Most importantly, such recognition not only makes us proud at International platforms but also portray and raise the power of Indian digital work done globally. Standing out twice as the only Indian agency to have maximum wins, in Epica Awards and Shortys Awards for Social Good, shows how the passion of creating something out-of-the-box is growing at WATConsult. We are delighted and hope to keep raising the bar."

    Launched on the occasion of ‘Women’s Day’, ‘#PowerlessQueen, created for Project Nanhi Kali – an NGO that aims to provide education to under-privileged girls, has been creating a stir in the market since its launch. The campaign highlighted the plight of Indian women via a game of chess wherein one player had to play with a Powerless Queen, i.e. a queen who couldn’t move while the other player has a powerful queen. Queen being the most powerful piece on the chessboard, #PowerlessQueen was a metaphor for how real-life queens i.e. women in India are treated and rendered powerless.

    Rolled out as a #PowerlessQueen challenge across India, the campaign registered donations worth 40,000 hours of education for underprivileged girls with more than a million views on video. Many international Chess Grandmasters organically got involved and endorsed the campaign like; World Rapid Chess Champion 'Viswanathan Anand'; Hungarian Woman Grandmaster ''Anna Rudolf'; Hungarian Woman Grandmaster and Ambassador of Chess and Education & UN Planet 50-50 Champion 'Judit Polgar'; Two-time United States Women's Champion 'Jennifer Shahade'; Four-time Dutch Chess Champion 'Anish Giri' and Five-time Danish Chess Champion and current coach to World number one Magnus Carlsen, 'Peter Heine Nielsen'. School students from across schools participated in a Powerless Queen Challenge organized by The Chess School of India and The Coach Crew.A chess club in France hosted a #PowerlessQueen challenge. #PowerlessQueen will soon be rolled out as gender-equality teaching tool across schools in India.

    #WhyDontYou, a campaign/initiative that was launched on the occasion of 'World Donor Day' highlighted the importance of blood donation and how transgender community who wants to donate is unable to while people like us who have the privilege to donate, tend to ignore. For the same we partnered with Rudrani Chhetri and her transgender modeling agency to create a campaign video which urged people to get up and donate. The campaign recorded more than 5000 tweets, 31.2 Million organic impressions, 1.4 MN video views and 400 units of blood in a single day.

    Dominating the world across 3 continents, the agency clearly made the entire Indian ad fraternity proud. Conducted in 3 different continents including Netherlands (Epica Awards), New York (Shorty Awards For Social Good) and Singapore (Mumbrella Asia), these award shows aim at rewarding outstanding creativity in their respective fields every year.