ITV

Tag: T Gangadhar

  • MEC predicts 2.6% higher TV ratings of IPL 2013

    Mumbai: Average television rating for the Indian Premier League is expected to go up from 3.8 last year to 3.9, an increase of 2.6 per cent (15+ years, Male/Female, SEC ABC), as per the IPL TV Rating Estimation Study of MEC, a GroupM media buying and planning agency.

    In the sixth season of the event, Mumbai Indians (4.5 TVR), Kolkata Knight Riders (4.2 TVR) and Chennai Super Kings (4.1 TVR) games will have the highest ratings, the study said.

    Meanwhile, home team (84 per cent), favourite team (79 per cent) and Indian stars (64 per cent) will continue to be deciding factors to watch a match. And time of the match (49 per cent) is also gaining importance, the report said.

    According to the study, MI (23 per cent), Chennai (19 per cent) and KKR (14 per cent) are the most popular teams. Support for Hyderabad has gone up by 200 per cent (2 per cent to 6 per cent), Bangalore has dropped by 50 per cent (12 per cent to 8 per cent)

    Also, Sachin Tendulkar (80), MS Dhoni (79), Yuvraj Singh (76), Virat Kohli (74) and Virender Sehwag (73) are the most popular Indian players in the League; Chris Gayle (60), Ricky Ponting (55), Brett Lee (51) and Kevin Pietersen (50) are most popular foreign players.

    MEC India MD T Gangadhar said, “Our study suggests that IPL seems to have matured as a property. The study clearly establishes that ratings in the first phase (first 18 games) impact the fate of the entire league. With Pepsi activating their title sponsorship in a big way, the BCCI launching the IPL Fantasy League and India‘s strong performance against Australia, the first stage of the league could get further momentum.”

    “We expect the IPL Fantasy League to become a key part of the live broadcast experience and as a result, social chatter around IPL could grow significantly”, Gangadhar added.

    Meritus Analytics Managing Partner Sunder Muthuraman also believes that the IPL brand is reflecting the behaviour of a typical mature consumer product. “Our proprietary survey, that is integral to the forecast, shows that there is a segment of audience who will watch more than last year (say, the loyalists) and another segment who will watch lesser (say, the rejecters). Given that the former segment is larger than the latter, the ratings are likely to be marginally higher than in 2012. Given our past successes, we hope our pioneering rating forecast methodology will be adopted by all broadcasters and advertisers.”

    The research was conducted in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Pune, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad. As in previous years, the study has been carried out in association with Meritus, WPP‘s analytics company.

  • MEC bags media mandate of Bluestone.com

    MUMBAI: Online store for jewellery and accessories, Bluestone.com has awarded its media duties to MEC India.

    MEC will service the account from its Bangalore office. MEC India MD T Gangadhar said, “There is no better way to begin 2013 than this. We are excited about partnering BlueStone on their ambitious vision – a vision that could completely transform the jewellery retail landscape in India”.

    Founded by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, BlueStone.com is funded by blue-chip investors, Accel Partners.

    Kushwaha said, “We are excited about taking BlueStone across a much wider canvas and are delighted to partner with MEC in this regard. MEC’s sound understanding of the digital space and their track record on e-commerce brands made our choice of agency easy. We look forward to a mutually rewarding partnership”.

  • MEC helps Citibank use Twitter to kick off festivities

    MUMBAI: Media planning agency MEC has conceived a first of its kind online orchestrated offline activation for its client Citibank called “Tweet a cloud, Dil Se”. The initiative is aimed at gauging peoples‘ sentiments on how they would like to splurge this festive season. The campaign went live at the DLF promenade in New Delhi and High street Phoenix in Mumbai on 10 November from 12 noon.

    The campaign employs a new advertising technique called ‘skyvertising‘ which releases differently shaped clouds into the sky. The “Tweet a cloud, Dil Se” campaign will be powered by tweets from consumers to the #DilVsBill hashtag .

    This initiative is the culmination of the marketing campaign “DilVsBill” that Citi has been running this festival season. It is aimed at promoting Citibank‘s EMI offering on credit cards across 1700 merchant partners, which aides a consumer in making a decision when stuck in a ‘Dill Vs Bill‘ dilemma.

    Citibank CMO Sanjeev Kapur said, “Consumers like to make personal purchases as well as gift family and friends during festivals, but are conscious of budgets and costs. Citibank understands these needs and have provided an opportunity to amortize such expenses over a period of time, through EMI Privileges at No extra cost. This allows them to manage their finances better, while enjoying the festivities with family and friends.”

    MEC managing director T Gangadhar said, “At MEC we have always believed in setting the benchmark for the industry when it comes to innovating strategically. “Tweet a cloud, Dil se” is a stellar example of the same. It is an activity that interconnects online and offline spaces mirroring the path that consumer journeys have evolved to.”

  • MEC Interaction picks Ritesh Singh as national director

    MUMBAI: MEC India has appointed Ritesh Singh as head of digital. He will be designated as MEC Interaction national director.

    Singh moves in from Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) where he was business head – India for SMG Digital He will report to MEC MD India T Gangadhar and GroupM Interactions – South Asia managing partner Tushar Vyas.

    Vyas said, “Ritesh comes to MEC with unrivalled pedigree in managing the digital marketing services business and has the right blend of diversified media experience. We are delighted to have him lead MEC‘s digital agenda and help deliver integrated communications planning for our brands.”

    Singh said, “I am excited to join MEC and thrilled to have an opportunity to work for some of the best brands in the country. In these exciting times for digital media, I look forward to work with MEC‘s talented digital team to create new benchmarks.”

    Singh comes in with over 13 years of experience in activation and digital. Prior to SMG, he has also worked with Samsung, Aircel, Western Union, General Motors, SAB Miller and Himalaya.