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Tag: Unilever

  • WPP’s XM Asia to buy majority stake in Sofresh

    WPP’s XM Asia to buy majority stake in Sofresh

    MUMBAI: WPP’s wholly owned operating company, XM Asia, a JWT company, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Sofresh, a digital creative agency in Vietnam.

     

    Sofresh, co-founded in 2007 by Ly Viet Vu and Justin Cohen, develops digital strategy, digital creative ideas and marketing campaigns across multiple digital channels, including social media, mobile and the web. The company also designs and builds e-commerce platforms, customer relationship management (CRM) systems and in-store digital installations.

     

    Sofresh works with a range of local and global clients, including Diageo, GSK, Kinh Do, Techcombank and Unilever. Sofresh had revenues of VND 35.7 billion for the year ending 31 December 2013, with gross assets of VND 30.1 billion, as at the same date. The company employs 85 people.

     

    The acquisition marks a further step towards WPP’s declared goal of developing its networks in fast-growth markets and sectors and continues WPP’s strategy of strengthening the Group’s capabilities in digital media. This was an announcement was made in a statement published on the company’s official website.

     

    Sofresh marks WPP’s third acquisition in Vietnam in seven months. In Vietnam, WPP companies (including associates) generate revenues of about $80 million and employ approximately 1,000 people.

    In Asia Pacific, the Group (including associates) generates revenues of $ 5 billion and employ over 48,000 people. Globally, WPP’s digital revenues were over $ 6.0 billion in 2013, representing almost 35 per cent of total Group revenues of $ 17.3 billion. WPP is targeting at least 40-45 per cent of revenues to come from each of fast-growth markets and new media over the next five years.

  • 68 per cent Indians trust brands: Havas Media Study

    68 per cent Indians trust brands: Havas Media Study

    MUMBAI: The results from Havas Media Group’s 2013 Meaningful Brands statistically demonstrate that Meaningful Brands outperform the stock market by 120 per cent. It demonstrates in hard financial terms, how the relationship between people and brands can benefit from measuring, communicating and delivering increased well-being.

     

    In its sixth year, the 2013 findings show Indians as the ‘most passionate and grateful’ customers across the globe, believing brands ‘can and should’ contribute positively to their overall quality of life. People in India tend to believe the overall intentions of brands yet are a bit sceptical of their communication creating huge opportunities for brands to make a real, tangible meaningful difference. India is increasingly expecting brands to enhance personal well-being as brands become aspirational symbols of their improved standard of living.

     

    The study measures 13 dimensions: impact of the brand’s ‘Marketplace’ benefits alongside its impact on 12 different areas of ‘Well-being’ (Personal and Collective), for a comprehensive view of its effect on quality of life. Unique in scale – 700 brands, over 134,000 consumers and 23 countries, it measures the benefits brands bring to people’s lives. The Meaningful Brand Index (MBi) forms the core of the Meaningful Brands framework allowing a view of brand results in terms of consumer perception over time.

     

    Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), Cadbury, Unilever are the top Indian brands having greatest attachment (highest per cent of people who would care if they disappeared). The other top brands on the list are Britannia, Sony, Samsung, Parle-G, Tata Motors, Airtel, Hyundai, LGE and Maruti.

     

    Globally the top 12 Meaningful Brands are Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Nestle, Sony, IKEA, Dove, Nike, Wal-Mart, DANONE, Philips and P&G. Top three sectors in India are F&B, Auto and IT & Consumer Electronics (ITC) where as globally it is Retail, F&B and ITC.

     

    Continuing the trend from 2011 only 20 per cent of brands make a significant difference to people’s well-being with a growing gap between developed and emerging markets (Europe 5 per cent, USA 9 per cent and Asia 39 per cent). In Europe and the US people would not care if 92 per cent of brands disappeared. In Asia, people are attached six times more.

     

    Since 2011, individual quality of life and personal well-being has become increasingly important in western economies. In emerging markets, people place more importance on a brand’s impact on their community and environment. At the same time, people in India expect brands to enhance their individual and personal lifestyles. The data shows the majority of top performing brands taking a holistic approach contributing to both.

     

    Commenting on the study, Havas Media Group, India & South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar said, “The India findings highlight deep customer involvement with brands, making ‘meaningful’ the sweet spot of brand strategy in India. Meaningful – today is real business, delivering what matters when, in the truest economic and social sense. It drives brands to establish relationship connections with their customers directed towards sustained personal, societal and financial success.”

     

    “More meaningful global brands are likely to come from emerging than western markets where brands need to reinvent themselves to reconnect with people, to avoid getting commoditised. This presents huge opportunities for existing and new brands to establish meaningful connections with their customers in India. Here consumers are still warming up to brands and core categories like F&B brands are seen as meaningful. The study is scalable and throws up rich inferences for a strategic outlook. LIC is an outlier being in the insurance category yet completely in sync with Indian touch points, thus its India’s 2013 top meaningful brand,”added Havas Media India managing director Mohit Joshi.

     

    Other key India findings include:

    • 68 per cent people in India generally trust brands (Asia 58 per cent, US 36 per cent, Global avg. 45 per cent) Consumers in India not only trust brands more but also expect more.

     

    • 71 per cent believe that brands can play a role in improving their quality of life and well-being (Asia 65 per cent, US 41 per cent, Global avg. 50 per cent)

     

    • 82 per cent think companies and brands should play a role in improving our quality of life and well-being (Asia 77 per cent, Global avg. 70 per cent)

     

    • 79 per cent agree that large companies should be actively involved in solving social and environmental problems (Asia 75 per cent, Global avg. 71 per cent)
  • Unilever’s Rahul Welde: Consumer communication in a digital world

    Unilever’s Rahul Welde: Consumer communication in a digital world

    SINGAPORE: “Advertising and campaigns are not dead,” said the red-frame bespectacled executive on stage. “Whosoever says that is foolish. The TV commercial is changing from three seconds to as much as three minutes or six minutes. Its form may change but advertising and campaigns are here to stay.”

     

    Most professionals in India are familiar with this gent. Rahul Welde is Unilever vice-president Media for Asia, Africa, Middle east, Turkey and Russia, and he is seen as a media tour de force in the world as he controls ad spends running into billions of dollars for a large part of the emerging markets for the consumer giant.

     

    Welde was speaking at the closing session of Social Matters in Singapore. He said he welcomes the explosion; the fragmentation in media. “I believe it has brought with it tremendous opportunity.  It allows to not go by classical reach and frequency approach that we have to do with mass media where we do a shot gun spray gun approach. It allows us to specifically target specific audiences. But we need to ride all the platforms – TV, print, outdoors, radio, online, social and what have you.”

     

     He pointed out that Unilever is constantly listening to whispers in the digital social universe. “We are constantly on the alert. We are listening. We are reacting to what consumers are saying. It helps us tweak products; attributes and helps build brand love amongst consumers,” he stated.

     

    He spoke about a campaign that Unilever ran in India on the day of the election results on 16 May on Facebook. “We knew everyone was going to be on Facebook to comment, give their views on the election results. The reach block we resorted to asked engaged Facebook users to embrace the change that is coming. We got 35 million impressions; 165,000 reacted and interacted. It was very effective,” he explained.

     

    Welde said that digital is also permitting Unilever to deliver on “target moments.”

     

    For instance, he said that if the weather prediction is that the temperature is going to rise four days from a specific date, then he can choose to flood the various social and digital sites with advertising or messaging pushing ice-creams.

     

    “Let’s take this further,” he said. “This month is Magnum ice cream’s 25th birthday in Singapore. I can reach out to all those who are celebrating their birthday this week or this entire month individually and help create a personal touching moment for each of them with their brand which is Magnum. In the old world of print and television, I could have never done this. “

     

    He also spoke about the Dove Real beauty sketches campaign which was conceived in Latin America but broke in Australia. The idea of the campaign was to convince 96 per cent of women who think they are not beautiful that their beliefs about themselves are untrue.

     

    As part of the campaign, a forensic artist asked women to describe themselves and he drew them without ever taking a look at their faces. The next day a stranger – who had met the women – then described the women sketched the day before to the artist who once again drew them. In almost all’ the cases, the women’s description of themselves and their beauty was not as charitable as the strangers and it showed in the two version sketches.

     

    “The video which was produced by our agency Ogilvy went viral wildly,” says Welde. “We wanted every woman to know and believe you are more beautiful than you think and I think it worked very well.”

     

    Welde and the Unilever team are obviously pressing the right levers.

  • Unilever calls for businesses to fight against climate change

    Unilever calls for businesses to fight against climate change

    MUMBAI: Keeping true to its commitment of a better tomorrow, Unilever has issued a call for all companies affected by the growing costs of climate change, and in particular the food industry, to step up their commitment to tackling the issue. 

     

    The risk to the food industry from climate change is severe, with some analysts predicting that the external environmental costs of climate change could exceed the earnings of the entire food industry by 2030 unless an action is taken.  The call coincides with a report released by Oxfam International arguing that the ‘Top 10’ food companies, including Unilever, should be among those leading the charge to address climate change both in their own operations, in their supply chains, and in the wider public policy arena.

     

     Sustainability strategy and global advocacy vice president Miguel Veiga-Pestana commented, “Unilever has been at the forefront of industry efforts to tackle climate change since the mid 1990s. We were the first to establish the Unilever Sustainable Agriculture Programme to address carbon emissions from agriculture and deforestation, and more recently we were the first to launch a comprehensive plan with time-bound targets reported on annually to drive progress towards sustainable sourcing. The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, was launched in November 2010. We are currently ahead of our self imposed target on sustainable sourcing and broader CO2 emissions from energy in our operations – down by 32 per cent since 2008.”

     

     Unilever has also sought to improve its footprint along the full breadth of the value chain, and to play a catalytic role within the industry and the wider private sector.

     

     For example:

     

    ·Committing to sourcing 100 per cent of agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, including tropical commodities, such as palm, soy and the paper and board used in its packaging.

     

    · Working with the United Nations Environment Programme and Greenpeace to eliminate highly damaging HFCs from commercial refrigeration

     

    · Actively contributing to the work of HRH The Prince of Wales’ Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change, which has made the case for progressive public policy to bring down emissions and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.

     

    · Sourcing 100 per cent renewable electricity for sites in Europe and North America

     

    ·Co-Chairing the Sustainability Committee of the Global Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), an industry group with combined turnover of $3 trillion, with specific programmes now in place on deforestation and refrigeration.

     

    ·Unilever also led the process which resulted in the creation of the Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA)  a public-private partnership between the 400 companies of the CGF, the governments of the USA, UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Indonesia and Liberia and a large number of international NGOs.  The principal goal of the TFA is to eliminate any trace of deforestation from the supply chains of consumer goods companies.

     

     None of this could come too soon.  With less than 20 months until world leaders meet in Paris to agree a global climate change agreement, Unilever has also stepped up its advocacy efforts, with Unilever CEO Paul Polman recently addressing the Abu Dhabi Ascent meeting – a preparatory meeting convened by the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to build momentum towards an ambitious intergovernmental deal.  At the event, Unilever CEO Paul Polman called for joint efforts to scale up action to tackle climate change, urging politicians to lead with “clarity, confidence and courage” in the international climate change negotiations. 

     

     “If every major company affected by climate change – not only in the food and beverage sector, but other impacted sectors such as tourism, insurance and transport – were to address the issue as one of business survival, and step change their efforts for delivery, we could together make a significant impact. We hope that Oxfam’s report will encourage other businesses to recognise the urgent need to future proof their operations, provide for the long term needs of their consumers, step off the sidelines and move into action.” concludes Miguel Veiga-Pestana.

  • Unilever expands Sustainable Living plan

    Unilever expands Sustainable Living plan

    MUMBAI: In its third year, Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan has made good progress, and with an intention to expand it further to bring about broader change on a global scale, the company plans to undertake more projects.

     

    Unilever CEO Paul Polman said, “In the three years since we launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan we have learned that sustainability drives business growth and a much deeper connection with our employees and consumers. In 2013, we’ve seen good progress, particularly on targets within our direct control. Our Plan is helping us to save money, reduce risk and drive innovation, and brands that have done the most to embrace sustainable living, like Dove, Lifebuoy, Pureit and Domestos, are enjoying some of our fastest growth.”

     

    Highlighting the progress made in India, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) MD & CEO Sanjay Mehta said, “Our Sustainable Living Plan is what makes our business model different from others because sustainability is integral to how we do business and how we build growth. The success of brands like Lifebuoy clearly demonstrates that there is no contradiction between sustainability and profitable growth. We are happy with the progress we have made on our Plan in India in 2013. We have further built on our plan with the launch of ‘Prabhat’, which is a part of our long term effort to engage with and contribute to the development of local communities around our manufacturing sites. Prabhat focuses on health and hygiene, livelihoods and water conservation initiatives which are fully aligned to the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan priorities.”

     

    The company will continue to focus its scale, influence, expertise, and resources on making a fundamental change to entire systems, not just incremental improvements. This will involve stepping up plans to tackle several major global sustainability challenges, including:

     

    · helping to combat climate change by working to eliminate deforestation, which accounts for up to 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions

    · improving food security by championing sustainable agriculture, and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers who produce 80% of the food in Asia and Sub Saharan Africa

    · improving health and well-being by helping more than a billion people gain access to safe drinking water, proper sanitation and good hygiene habits

    In the area of social compliance, Unilever also confirmed that the Sustainable Living Plan has been expanded with a more substantive Enhancing Livelihoods programme focusing on:

    · fairness in the workplace

    · opportunities for women

    · developing inclusive business

     

    These three areas of focus are fundamental to the way Unilever aspires to do business and will help support its continued growth.

     

    Announcing the expanded plan, Polman, said, “We’re making good progress in reshaping our business for sustainable, equitable growth. But we need to do more. We have always recognised the bigger role that businesses need to play, and now is the moment for Unilever to step up and expand efforts in key areas, driving transformational change where we know we can make the biggest impact. In this way we will leverage our scale and work collaboratively in partnership with others to reach a tipping point in areas that will make a significant difference.”

  • Razorfish appoints Anne Davis as senior VP head of multi-national clients

    Razorfish appoints Anne Davis as senior VP head of multi-national clients

    MUMBAI:  Publicis Group’s full-service digital agency, Razorfish, has appointed Anne Davis as the senior vice president head of multi-national clients.

    A member of the Razorfish team since 2009, Davis has over 20 years experience working in client and integrated communication agencies with the last 15 focused on digital. The role is based out of Hong Kong.

    Her new role is to build an operation and culture that is hospitable to multi-national client relationships. “Many client companies are establishing global operations in APAC. We are the only global agency network equipped to support this regional business focus. The creation of my new role supports the ongoing evolvement of Razorfish’s relationships with clients; partnering to navigate the unknown, drive change and enable business transformation.”

     

    She will be reporting directly into global CEO, Pete Stein, and  will work both with the global leadership team and with the organisation as a whole to facilitate multi-national client opportunities.

    Razorfish global CEO Pete Stein commented: “Anne has been working globally for more than 20 years. She’s managed regional and global accounts for brands as diverse as IBM, Cisco, P&G, Unilever, Diageo, Reckitt-Benckiser, Blackberry and Gucci. These experiences, combined with her continued presence in Asia Pacific, position her to deliver unparalleled opportunities for our multi-national clients.”

     

    Via organic growth and acquisition Razorfish operations have grown 25% in the last two years. Of the 3000 global Razorfish employees, 1000 employees are located in APAC regions.
     

  • ‘Mindshare Day’ Celebrated Around the Globe

    ‘Mindshare Day’ Celebrated Around the Globe

    MUMBAI: Mindshare globally recognized 15 January as Mindshare Day and celebrated it by announcing its refreshed global positioning: original thinking driven by speed, provocation and teamwork. In Asia Pacific, the network held a region-wide video conference call where 17 countries and 24 offices – from Karachi to Sydney – dialed in to share thoughts and ideas around the new vision.

     

    Five years ago, Mindshare moved away from the conventional media agency structure and redesigned itself around four integrated and interactive divisions – Client Leadership (account management), The Exchange (media buying), Invention (strategy and ideation) and Business Planning (data and analytics). In a similar way, Mindshare has now redefined its brand positioning to the rest of the world, and aims to bring to life its promise of being the fastest, most collaborative and most adaptive media agency.

     

    In 2013, Mindshare won the Agency Network of the Year award at the Campaign Agency of the Year awards, Festival of Media Asia and the APAC Smarties organized by the Mobile Marketing Association. Mindshare was also recognized by over 200 awards across the region at local and regional levels for clients including Unilever, Kimberly-Clark, Nestlé, Nike, Cisco, Hong Kong Disneyland and many more.

     

    Mindshare has the youngest and most diverse CEO profile in the region, with Australia’s Katie Rigg-Smith being the first woman to lead a media agency in Australia, and Amrita Randhawa taking the lead of Mindshare China at the age of 35.

     

    The agency also brought in large pieces of business in 2013 – including NAB, Origin Energy and Nike in Australia, booking.com in China and Dyson across the region. Cosmetics giant L’Oréal and pharmaceutical giant GSK were successfully retained in all markets, and the former was added to Mindshare Korea’s portfolio.

     

    It was also a successful year in terms of partnerships for Mindshare. The agency partnered with Geometry Global and Ogilvy Action to create ECC (Emerging Class Consumers) – a comprehensive framework and communications planning tool for rural areas in Asia. This has been implemented with Unilever and Friesland Campina in Vietnam, and will be expanded in 2014.

     

    Another exciting partnership was with McLaren F1 Racing at Cannes, where Nick Emery, Mindshare Global CEO and McLaren F1 racing driver Jenson Button shared the stage to talk about the importance of being adaptive – whether on the race track or in advertising. Mindshare drove yet another innovative partnership between Manchester United and Unilever, where Unilever became the club’s first official Personal Care and Laundry partner in South East Asia. In a mobile study conducted towards the second half of the year, Mindshare toured the region with Yahoo! to share findings of a smart device study that could change the way clients think about mobile altogether.

     

    Ashutosh Srivastava, Chairman Asia / CEO Emerging Markets Group at Mindshare, said – “At Mindshare, we believe it is not just about size and scale, it is about speed and provocation, and challenging the status quo. That’s how we continue to relentlessly adapt to changing trends in the industry; changing needs of clients and consumers; devise new and varied tools and technology and find new ways of thinking and collaborating together. It is testament to our exceptional teamwork that we have been recognized as the strongest network in Asia Pacific by industry leading organizations like Campaign, CSquared and MMA. “

     

    With a consistent desire to be its clients’ lead business partner, and a deep-rooted belief that everything begins and ends in media, Mindshare is evolving the way it talks about itself to adapt as the industry evolves around the world.

     

    Nick Emery, Global CEO, Mindshare, said: “We see everything as a medium.  We aim to be our clients’ lead business partner and work together with our clients from beginning to end.  Our adaptive approach creates new revenue streams, platforms, communities and partnerships as well as new products and new ways of working.  This allows us not only to mirror our clients’ ambitions but also to go one step further.”

     

    Find out more about Mindshare Day here: www.facebook.com/MindshareAsiaPacific 

  • Unilevers’ Project Sunlight promises a brighter future

    Unilevers’ Project Sunlight promises a brighter future

    MUMBAI: Earlier this year, Indian TV channels aired a TV commercial set in a village where a majoirty of children succumbed to diarrhea even before they could complete two years. It then panned to a man who walked on his hands in to a temple in gratitude of his son turning five. All this in a modern India where Audis and Lamborghinis speed across expressways. The TV commercial was a public messaging initiative by multinational giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and it sought to encourage healthy handwashing habits amongst children on the back of its brand Lifebuoy.

    Similarly, on 20 November, celebrated world over as Universal Children’s Day, the company – no stranger to emotionally connecting with people – launched a brand new initiative christened ‘Project Sunlight,’ with an equally moving advertisement/film.

    An extension of HUL’s ‘Sustainable Living Plan’ launched in 2010, ‘Project Sunlight’ aims to make sustainable living desirable and achievable by inspiring people to look at the possibilities of a world where everyone lives well and within the natural limits of the planet.

    The ad film is aptly titled ‘Why bring a child into this world?’ and starts with expectant parents across the globe sharing their concerns about bringing a child into a world fraught with natural and man-made disasters, then going on to allay their fears and explain how it is the best possible time to do so.

    Also launched in Brazil, Indonesia, UK and the US apart from India, ‘Project Sunlight’ is designed to appeal to people everywhere, particularly parents, encouraging them to join what Unilever (HUL’s parent) sees as a growing community of people who want to make the world a better place for their children and for future generations.

    As part of the launch, Unilever plans to help two million children through its ongoing partnerships: providing school meals through the World Food Programme; supporting Save the Children to provide clean, safe drinking water; and improved hygiene through UNICEF. In collaboration with UNICEF, it aims to reach out to 500,000 school children in 3,500 schools across India and set up hand washing facilities.

    Said HUL CEO & MD Sanjiv Mehta in a press statement: “The launch of ‘Project Sunlight’ is a significant milestone in the history of our company. We believe that large companies like ours have to be part of the solution to the problems the world is facing. Adopting sustainable lifestyles and people using their purchasing power to make consumption choices that are good for them and good for the world are important factors in the drive to reducing social inequality and averting the worst climate change predictions – to make sustainable living commonplace.”

    Guided by Unilever’s consumer insight, including new international research commissioned by the company, ‘Project Sunlight’ demonstrates that children are key to motivating adults to want to adopt more sustainable lifestyles and are a powerful influence on changing parental behaviour.

    On the campaign, said Unilever chief marketing & communications officer Keith Weed: “In the first stage of ‘Project Sunlight,’ we are inviting people to take three simple actions. We want to help people ‘See’ a brighter future; in order to do this, we are inviting people to watch a film online which aims to inspire and motivate people. We want to encourage them to ‘Act’ by doing small things which, added together, contribute to a better society and environment. Ultimately, we want people to ‘Join’ the movement and become part of a growing community of like-minded people and organisations who all want to play their part in building a brighter future.”

    Why did HUL choose the name Sunlight? “We chose the name Sunlight as a tribute to our founder William Lever, whose audacious vision 130 years ago to ‘make cleanliness commonplace’ with Sunlight soap inspired Unilever’s equally ambitious purpose today: to make sustainable living commonplace. Sunlight also reflects the sense of possibility and optimism which characterises Unilever’s approach,” informed Weed.

    ‘Project Sunlight’ will initially go live on an online hub – www.projectsunlight.com – which brings together the social mission stories of Unilever brands across the world, and invites consumers to get involved in doing small things which help their own families, others around the world and the planet. 

    The film, especially commissioned by Unilever and directed by Academy Award winning director Errol Morris, inspires people to see the future in a more positive and optimistic way. The Indian version of the film has a voiceover by actor Shah Rukh Khan.

    IndustrySpeak

    As a parent it touched me. I would be lying if I said I don’t worry about the future each time my boys were on the way. It feels good to know that someone else is also thinking about kids’ future. It is very refreshing. It is a completely different way of looking at the future. Thanks to many of the science fiction novels and Hollywood blockbusters, we sometimes feel the future will be grim and tough. We all collectively have overlooked the fact that life is actually getting better every given day. And to top it all, hearing SRK, the parent, talk just makes the film more relatable. Also SRK’s popularity with the masses will pull in more eyeballs to this campaign.

    Abhijit Avasthi, NCD, Ogilvy & Mathers

    Today, consumers buy brands for what they believe in and stand for rather than what they preach/tell about themselves. It’s important to have good karma. And to associate a celebrity with it will only propel the idea to a larger section of the population. Remember Lead India? It used the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Karan Johar among many others, which gave it prominence.

    Why bring a child into this world? is a common question on the minds of many. It is a lovely idea and shows that today, when companies are taking away from the environment; there are some who want to give back to the world.

    Nisha Singhania, co-founder and director, Infectious

    For a company of that stature to come and say that yes, the present looks dicey but we are working towards a brighter future, says a lot about their determination.  If one looks at the film, it shows a beautiful insight because today, couples do discuss and are apprehensive about bringing new life into the world. It might help some to rethink on the subject.

    As for a voiceover by SRK, I’m not too sure if it will help the film’s reach because it is not as distinctive as Amitabh Bachchan’s voice. Having said that, it is such a beautiful film that it doesn’t need someone to help push it.

    Arun Iyer, NCD, Lowe Lintas

    Usually it’s corporations that need an image makeover that go heavy on CSR initiatives. For instance Shell and Exxon, whose businesses are not exactly environment-friendly, champion the cause of environmental protection. So naturally, over the years, one has grown cynical about such things.

    However, the film, momentarily at least, makes one suspend the cynicism. The emotions it shows are raw, and the lack of slickness makes it work. As it doesn’t come across as manipulative, you are drawn in, and empathise with the people it features. Every parent is concerned about the world he is leaving for his children. Perhaps the ideal way to make people realise that it’s important to improve and sustain the planet is to remind them of this. By featuring expectant parents, the idea taps into this insight nicely.

    Viral Pandya, co-founder and chief creative officer, Out of the Box
  • Dentsu acquires digital agency Webchutney from Network18

    Dentsu acquires digital agency Webchutney from Network18

    MUMBAI: It‘s cashing out on its investment. Media conglomerate Network18 today announced that it was finally divesting its equity holding in digital marketing agency Webchutney to Japanese ad giant, Dentsu. The latter had been circling Webchutney, ogling it as an acquisition for nearly a year. Founded in 1999, Webchutney will reportedly be Dentsu‘s first local acquisition in the digital agency space.

    Network18 had acquired a majority stake in Webchutney through its venture capital arm Capital18 in November 2007 and it says it has managed to get a 300 per cent return on its investment through the current transaction.

    Webchutney, a leading interactive marketing and technology services agency, reported a net profit of Rs 6.35 crore in the financial year 2011-2012 on revenues of Rs 21.55 crore, according to media reports. It boasts a healthy clientele including Airtel, Microsoft, Unilever, Marico, Titan, MasterCard, Barclay‘s, Procter & Gamble among many others, and ranks among the top digital agencies in India.

    Its full suite of digital offerings includes online advertising, web designing and development, search engine marketing and social media consulting. Its award winning teams are spread across Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore and consists of over 200 professionals.

    Network18‘s 80 per cent Webchutney stake is bifurcated between Capital18 Mauritius which holds 49.42 per cent and Capital18 Fincap which has a 20.64 per cent.

    Commenting on the transaction, Network18 MD Raghav Bahl says: “The divestiture of Webchutney, is a reflection of our commitment to profitably monetise our investment portfolio for the benefit of our shareholders and to also facilitate the growth of these businesses to the next level. We would like to convey our best wishes to the Webchutney team as they embark on the next phase of their journey.”

    Webchutney co-founder and CEO Sidharth Rao says: “I am personally grateful to Sarbvir Singh who has been my mentor for the past five years and his team at Capital18 for ensuring that we shared a wonderful journey together. In Dentsu and Rohit Ohri, we have found a partner who is willing to invest in and cultivate our passion to provide path breaking digital creative services to our clients.”

     

    Dentsu India group executive chairman Rohit Ohri along with Webchutney co-founders Sidharth Rao (L) and Sudesh Samaria (R)

     

    Dentsu India group executive chairman Rohit Ohri opined that he is delighted to have India‘s No 1 digital agency as a part of the Dentsu India group. He explains: “We’re now going to be able to put world-class digital solutions in the centre of our offering to our clients.”

    Now that could be music to anyone‘s ears.

  • BBH to design creative communications and digital solutions for CRY

    MUMBAI: Child rights organisation CRY – Child Rights and You – has appointed BBH to develop their creative communications and digital media solutions.

    The agency has been brought on-board at a time when CRY is embarking on its own mission to engage with a younger audience, especially through the digital space. The mandate spans the spectrum of communication solutions – from overall communications strategy to digital initiatives and engagement strategy for CRY’s operations in India as well as overseas.

    CRY Director – Resource Mobilisation and Volunteer Action Yogita Verma said, “Creating brand awareness and mobilising people for the cause of child rights is a challenge, particularly when limited resources need maximum impact. The digital space is one such area where CRY can engage with its target audience, and BBH’s specialisation in digital media and creative tools in the digital space will help CRY reach out to a wider audience.”

    She added that CRY’s communication mandate is to raise awareness and thereby action for children in India for whom a happy, healthy childhood is not a natural consequence and the NGO felt that BBH is not only extremely skilled at what it does, but is also truly passionate about children and committed to ensuring the children a future filled with hope.

    BBH India Managing Partner Subhash Kamath said, “It is not often in advertising that one gets a chance to use one‘s skills and talent for a real cause; something that directly impacts society, especially children. We are proud to partner CRY on their journey and we have tremendous respect for what they do. All of us at BBH are looking forward to working on some groundbreaking strategies for them.”

    BBH Communications, part of the Publicis Groupe, was launched in India in 2009 and has grown to be a 65-people strong organisation with a portfolio of clients like Unilever, Marico, Diageo, Skoda, Red Bull, Google, World Gold Council, Times Group and Acer.

    Established in 1979 in Mumbai, CRY was among the first indigenous Indian NGOs working for the rights of children in India. Since then, the organisation has grown to a national institution, present in over 23 states and reaching out to almost a million children every year. For over three decades, CRY has been committed to making a lasting change in the lives of Indian children by ensuring their right to live, learn, grow and play – in short, every child’s right to a happy childhood.