Mumbai: Madison Media Alpha, a unit of Madison World, has recently been appointed as the Media Agency of Record for Pilgrim. The agency will be handling the entire media mandate for the brand.
Established in 2019 by IITians Anurag Kedia and Gagandeep Makker, Pilgrim is one of the fastest-growing Beauty and Personal Care brands that offers 100+ SKUs across facecare, haircare & skincare products, makeup, and fragrances. The brand’s diverse selection of beauty products is made with ingredients sourced from various parts of the world, all of which are approved by PETA and the FDA.
Speaking about the agency’s appointment, Pilgrim co-founder Anurag Kedia commented, “We are excited to partner with Madison Media Alpha, a leader in the media industry. Their innovative approach and expertise in media strategy align perfectly with our vision to expand Pilgrim’s reach and strengthen our brand presence across India.”
Commenting on this win, Madison Digital & Madison Media Alpha CEO Vishal Chinchankar said, “This partnership represents a powerful union of Pilgrim’s vision and Madison’s expertise in delivering innovative and impactful media solutions. We look forward to making Pilgrim a house-hold name in the country.”
Mumbai: Madison Digital, the digital unit of Madison World, has announced the return of Nimesh Shah as General Manager for Madison Digital. He will co-lead the western region alongside Vineet Shah and will report directly to Madison Digital and Madison Media Alpha CEO Vishal Chinchankar.
Nimesh has over 14 years of experience in digital marketing out of which six years have been at Madison. He has a proven track record of success across brands and agencies and has also had an entrepreneurial stint. Apart from Madison, he has worked in companies like Kuoni India, Talwalkars Fitness Ltd; and prior to joining Madison he was at Essence Mediacom. Across his career he has worked on multiple reputed brands such as Tata Consumer Goods, Piramal Healthcare, Bluestar, Bayer Consumer Health Products, Hygienic Research Institute, Exide Batteries, among others. He holds a bachelor’s degree in BMS from Mumbai University and a post graduate diploma in Business Management from Rizvi Institute of Management.
Chinchankar expressed, “We are happy to welcome Nimesh back at Madison Digital. I am confident that his leadership will strengthen our capabilities in the western region, and I am extremely certain that his core abilities of strategic acumen and client focus will bring tremendous value for Madison and our clients.”
Shah comments on his re-joining, “I’m thrilled to reunite with Madison World and contribute to its digital initiatives in this ever-evolving landscape. I have had the privilege of witnessing the transformative power of digital and its impact on consumers. My focus will be on driving innovation, with a particular emphasis on data and technology-driven solutions to facilitate digital transformation and foster business. Together, we aim to redefine possibilities and create impactful, strategic experiences for our clients. I am super excited to be a part of this journey.”
Mumbai: Madison Media Alpha, a unit of Madison World, has recently won the Media AOR of Sun Neo Hindi GEC. The agency has been working for Sun Bangla and Sun Marathi channels under Sun Network.
As the latest launch under the leading broadcaster Sun TV Network, Sun Neo Hindi GEC is the first Hindi channel under the network, aiming to solidify its position as a powerhouse in the national television landscape.
Speaking on Madison’s appointment, Sun TV Network’s Official Spokesperson, commented, “We are delighted to launch Sun Neo, our flagship Hindi General Entertainment Channel across Hindi speaking markets. We have been currently partnering with Madison on other channels and look forward to leveraging their expertise to make Sun Neo, a household name across the Hindi heartlands of India”.
“Madison’s long-standing association with Sun TV Network is a testament to the strong bond we have developed over time. With Sun Neo Hindi GEC now appointing us as their Agency on Record, we are committed to delivering impactful media solutions that will elevate the brand’s awareness in Hindi markets”, said Madison Digital & Madison Media Alpha CEO Vishal Chinchankar about the newest association.
Mumbai: Atomberg Technologies, India’s fast-growing home appliance manufacturer, has partnered with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The deal was consulted by Madison Media Alpha and Professional Management Group (PMG), which are part of Madison World, India’s largest homegrown communications network.
The partnership between BCCI and Atomberg will begin in 2024 and will cover all major BCCI events until 2026, including domestic and international tournaments.
On this announcement, Atomberg Technologies founding member & chief business officer Arindam Paul said, “There is no comparison to the reach and credibility that any association with cricket brings to brands looking to scale up pan India. Atomberg with its revolutionary products have captured the imagination and love of consumers across the length and breadth of the country and built a 1000 cr ARR business in less than a decade. In the last couple of years, we have used the power of bilateral cricket by being broadcast sponsors for many marquee series. And looking at the excellent results in both brand and business metrics, this official partnership with BCCI was the next logical step for us. We hope the visibility offered by the sport and the association will go a long way in building brand awareness and brand love for Atomberg”.
“At Madison, we firmly believe that association with cricket gives an unparallel reach and I strongly believe that Atomberg’s association with cricket embarks on a journey to be one of the most prominent brands in the country. With Atomberg’s association with BCCI events on ground, it signifies a great deal of prestige”, commented Madison Digital and Madison Media Alpha CEO Vishal Chinchankar on this association.
Mumbai: Anil Wanvari in conversation with Vishal Chinchankar on Connected TV and its reach. Why advertisers and marketers are gung-ho about connected TV?
Connected TV is the latest buzzword, why and what is so exciting about connected TVs?
The whole ecosystem is changing with the invention of smart TVs and broadband connections are moving faster, the hardware itself is a piece of an asset as you get 4K content or HD content by itself and the beauty of it is, it is linked to broadband and you can watch it at your convenience, whether it is Netflix or Amazon in the walled garden as compared to YouTube or the other apps and other Apps.
In my sense this is the new kid on the block, I wouldn’t call it a kid any more, it’s a growing kid, the Complan boy and growing much faster. The adoption of this is also faster. To put things in perspective smart TV quarter-on-quarter is showing an 11% import growth and that is the kind of consumption that is happening at the end of the day. You are talking about a consumer who can afford a smart TV, afford some great content which is subscribed content and has a high broadband connection. Net, net there is a significantly large size audience which is A++ which is available for brands.
On the reach
Various numbers are floating around but to my knowledge, it is 22mn households and if we go by the BARC data with a multiplier of 3.2 or 3.6, we are talking about a significantly large size of household penetration right now. A comparable may not be linear TV but HD TV which claims to be at 45 mn households, but that has stagnated and this is growing. In no time you would see connected TV crossing over the HD numbers or outgrowing it.
On TVs with connected devices or built-in Apps
There are about 10 mn sticks in the market, and the usage of the stick is just 10%, it is a snack in snack out kind of phenomenon. This number is growing. The combination of these two things is helping this particular medium Connected TV to grow faster.
Last year in the Pitch–Madison report I presented a paper on why connected TV is bigger, there is one data point, last year the whole ADEX of 80,000 Crores was equal to the amount of money invested in connected TV Universe so that is how huge connected TV is in the US and there is no reason as why India will not move in that direction.
On hot spotting
Casting is picking up very fast. Jio is now launching these cables where you can cast your mobile on screen, whether it is a smart TV or that old TV with the red, yellow and white three-pin wires. It is helping the ecosystem to move faster.
On has the penetration down the NCCA strata
We have done a lot of campaigns on connected TV, and a lot of inventory from Tier 2 markets, not purely a metro-centric phenomenon right now but it is surely moving into these tier 2 markets. It is not getting into tier 3 & 4 markets right now but at the pace, it is growing it should reach these markets with the help of sticks or with the help of new TV at affordable prices.
On recommending Connected TV to your brands
They are because the beauty of this medium is that it addresses the top of the funnel i.e., the A++ audience I had defined earlier. Niche brands which want to target or reach out to those audiences, it is a perfect match. We have done a lot of campaigns and I think we have seen great performances in terms of measuring the VTRs or the soft measures like the pre- and post-studies we have done on that particular campaign and it showed significant growth. I am bullish about connected TV as a platform.
On getting the bang for the buck and how difficult it is to convince brand marketers’
Connected TV today is neither TV, it is largely tilting towards the side of digital. It is the more digital side of inventory now because it is all about my consoles and wherever there are digital. Maybe it is tilted more towards digital and not towards Linear TV. I don’t think it is the right comparison to compare connected TV with Linear TV, because CTV is still small and Linear TV is still a reach builder. I would probably compare it with HDTV rather than just SD or linear TV.
Are the brand managers, Marketers aware of this, in some cases, we need to educate them and tell them what the numbers look like, even when it comes to RMF for that matter for a particular audience, but more or less I think in today’s day and age most of the mature advertisers are quite aware and they have started building on the brands, though it is a long way and a pilot and then an up approach always works for most of the brand managers.
On the IPL and the spending on CTV and digital
It is going to be fun to watch this IPL because both the publisher and the broadcaster are going to be very aggressive. Both have their own merits and advantages. But let us talk about the digital, earlier if I had to a comparison, Hotstar had about 50 -60 mn subscribers and there was this 5 minutes of snack in snack out consumers. But this year Jio is streaming it free for all customers whether they are on Airtel or Vodafone. That is a big advantage for Viacom sports as a broadcaster. Having said that building on a lot of reach and efficiency for most of the brands, whoever wants to build on it respectively of the market. Viacom comes with less wastage because there is an accuracy of targeting that they are bringing to the table which is not possible on television. In certain categories, there may be a spill but works for certain categories. But here there is no spill, so you are reaching out to the right audience you want to target.
The other point is the way it is getting marketed, with those tables, language commentary, whether it is Bhojpuri or Punjabi is an added advantage and it is going to attract a lot of audience. The best part is they are going to have shows in 100 cities, colleges, and housing complexes. There is a lot of promotion and the surrounding effect going around it, is making it much larger.
I am just talking about digital as an IPL property. If I have to give you a sense of CTV I look at it this way, as per TRAI there are close to about 26.8 mn broadband subscribers in the country who are using broadband, not everybody has a Smart TV but my guesstimate is it should be around 22 – 25 mn because Jio fibre is about 7 -8 mn.
Airtel is also very aggressive and the packages they are coming out with are very lucrative for a customer compared to a cable connection. As a consumer, if I add up all my costs of cable plus Disney Hotstar plus the other channels it becomes very expensive. At this point, there is a shift happening and the telcos are getting aggressive in that space.
As I said CTV is a need as an HNI I would love to watch my cricket on CTV when I am at home and when I am travelling on my smartphone. There are a lot of merits that IPL on digital is going to add this year. I think we live in this nature of advertisers who believe in reaching the frequency so they build their brand on the back of reaching one plus, and other advertisers build on high-impact properties.
There are a lot of brands that are purely built on the back of cricket and they swear by it. Cricket gives an unparalleled reach and IPL much more. Now with 2 publishers coming in we don’t know if Star would want to add it to their FTA or how Viacom is going to promote it extensively. I don’t think there is going to be a compromise on reach or impact. The question is who gets better efficiencies and that is the game brand managers are going to look at.
On interactivity on Connected TV, is JIO offering any for CTV
I don’t think there is interactivity on CTV now apart from the fact that you get to see from a different lens. The interactive engagement is going to be on mobile which hopefully most of the brands would want.
On any other salient points
I think the good part is that competition is always healthier and everyone is going to work harder to make sure that they attract a lot more dollars. It is good for most advertisers and good for most consumers because the interest level in the games is going to go up. It’s a wait-and-watch now, but to the best of my knowledge, I would love to call it that this will be value for money and cricket is value for money.
Mumbai: Several recent reports suggest that TV ratings have been dipping while digital has been steadily establishing a bigger footprint than TV in the country. As this inversely proportional trend takes shape, JioCinema, the digital destination for the IPL this year onwards, has announced its game plan to cut access, affordability, and language barrier that will fuel this shift even more.
If one is to take the potential scale digital offers as an advertising medium into account alongside JioCinema’s plans this year, then the IPL might be the most watched and engaged event on CTV and digital platforms. This year the Jio Cinema will offer the cricket extravaganza for free in a bid to reach and engage every single one of the 600 million OTT viewers in India out of the internet enabled population of 700 million+.
More and more households are shifting from linear TV to CTV and data shows this phenomenon is not limited to just urban households but spread across geographies due to low data costs and the rising scale of Smart TVs. The flexibility that comes with consuming content via CTV is also helping this cause as CTV allows the viewer to cast screens by using TV apps or devices such as Chromecast and Fire TV Stick. CTV also offers 4k streaming possibilities, which is not possible on linear TV or HDTV.
On the other side of the screen, JioCinema is set to provide high quality premium long form content which has not happened anywhere in the world digitally. To make this a reality, it is reported that the brand has made major technological investments to deliver a high quality experience on digital.
Advertising on digital will, therefore, become every marketer’s primary preference. Serving ads via CTVs and other digital mediums allows the advertiser to break language barriers, age limitations, targeting constraints and even affluence constraints while including a measurable call to action. The advertiser also pays for what they get, unlike TV where inventory wastage is common. An increased number of matches in case of a property like the IPL means digital benefits because it is sold on impressions, not on an average rating. Digital is arguably the best medium for broadcasters to deliver a world class live sports experience.
Indian Television dug deeper and spoke to a few industry experts about the rise of digital spending by brands in comparison to linear TV and how this is expected to amplify the interest for the IPL this year. Head Media Martech and Growth Vida World Manav Sethi said, “As India is not a homogeneous market of 1.3B, the same way sports video viewers are spread across various platforms and cohorts of 1M/10M/100m each. We have tried layering by keeping CTV in the media plan and we have seen an uptick in conversion numbers. This year for IPL especially, it would be interesting, because JIO is redefining what connected tv is and what it means as it brings in medium/lower pyramid viewers into the tv connected to mobile world! Interesting times ahead.”
The Media Ant Chief Business Officer Abhishek Mukherjee says, “There are two things happening in the landscape, first marketers are now becoming digital first because of Google and Facebook ecosystem, this ecosystem has trained them very well on the measurement for performance.
Now when it comes to traditional brand awareness building, which we used to call at the top of the funnel, the marketeers are expecting the same from their media spends, which linear TV is not able to deliver. On linear TV you are paying for great mass reach but not for measurability. We are also seeing this when we work with platforms like YouTube where people get far more measurability and targeting and hence the preference to move from linear TV to connected TV or the preference to move towards OTT. These are the trends now and there is an interest by brands to associate with the IPL, we have been associated with IPL earlier and have been the most preferred agency by advertisers. In this IPL we are expecting a 25 Mn to 100 Mn reach for brands.”
Madison Digital & Madison Alpha CEO Vishal Chinchankar said, “Today there are about 2.8 mn broadband wired connections as per TRAI Dec 22, and this is seeing a meteoric rise month on month. Connected TV commands 22mn households providing a reach of 80 mn. India’s smart TV shipments were up by 38 per cent YoY in Q3 2022. Keeping these data points in mind and an opportunity to target HNI audience cut, it’s quite a lucrative proposition for brands to be present on IPL CTV, personally, I am very bullish about it.”
Mumbai: Madison World’s digital arm has announced the launch of its creative unit, Madison Loop, to offer social media management, digital creative & solutions, SEO, ASO, website development, technology solutions, influencer management, and content collaborations.
Madison Loop will be led by Madison Digital vice president Kosal Malladi, who will continue to report to Madison Digital and Madison Media Alpha CEO Vishal Chinchankar.
The unit has already developed a portfolio of work for clients including McDonald’s, Vicco, Joy Cosmetics, Raymonds, Pidilite, ePay Later, Godrej Properties, Bandhan Bank, Asian Paints, Zee5, Glide Invest, and Zee Bangla, among others.
Commenting on the development, Madison Media and OOH group CEO Vikram Sakhuja said, “For any creative idea to be successful, it needs to be adapted to the syntax of the platform. In digital, the creative idea needs to be expressed across platforms as varied as in-stream video, break bumpers, display, social media posts, microsites, social messaging, influencers, content, etc. Under Malladi’s leadership, we are very excited to launch Madison Loop, which will not only create a platform for the relevant expression of a creative, but also link it to outcomes using data and tech.”
“We need creativity now more than ever. This digital multiverse finally allows us to have a dedicated division to cater to all our clients’ creative needs under one roof. The new expansion of Madison Digital under Malladi’s leadership will be a great step forward for the company,” commented Vishal Chinchankar.
Madison Digital is a part of Madison World, which also has specialist units in advertising, business analytics, out-of-home, PR, mobile, retail, sports, and entertainment, employing over 1,000 communication professionals across India.
Speaking about his expanded role, Malladi said, “I have been a part of Madison since 2014. I have seen digital evolve from a ‘good to have’ to an ‘absolute must have.’ Today, digital cannot be limited to a single video or banner. Media and creativity need to work hand in hand to tap into the digital consumer. Madison Loop’s focus is on solving business problems by layering creative magic with ‘data and technology’ solutions.”
“Madison Connect and Madison Automate are tools that have been built by Loop to scale influencer management and creative automation, respectively. I am really excited to scale Madison Loop,” he added.
Madison Digital has grown 10x in terms of billing in the last three years, to become a 200+ employees’ strong outfit with capabilities in branding, performance & creative solutions.
Madison Digital has built its own proprietary cloud marketing and automation tools and is one of the few agencies with its own data & tech solutions. Madison Digital was declared the Best Digital & Social Media Agency of the Year 2020 at IDMA 2020. The digital arm of Madison World was also voted Agency of the Year at the Digies Digital Awards 2019 and Mobile Media Agency of the Year at the IDMA Digital Awards 2019, in addition to winning over 150 awards since January 2020.
Mumbai: Madison World’s digital unit, Madison Digital, has announced the return of Shobhit Gaur as vice president. Gaur will report to Madison Digital & Madison Media Alpha CEO Vishal Chinchankar.
Gaur has over 14 years of experience in various facets of the digital world including ROI, business development, data science, integrated, online, mobile and performance marketing, social media, brand planning, digital strategy and analytics. He joins the agency after a brief stint with PHD. In addition to PHD, he has also worked at MEC, Interactive Avenues, Starcom – Mediavest Group and Omnicom. He holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the Delhi University, a master’s degree in business administration from Sydenham Institute of Management, Mumbai and an IT diploma from National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT).
Madison Digital & Madison Media Alpha CEO Vishal Chinchankar said, “We’re glad to have Shobhit back on board. Having worked with various categories, he brings a wealth of experience to Madison. I am confident that we will be able to take our work to the next level with new business and continue to delight existing clients.”
Says Gaur on rejoining Madison, “I am excited to be returning to Madison Digital and look forward to contributing to the organisation in my new role and responsibilities. Madison Digital offers me exciting challenges and opportunities as I look forward to unlocking our clients’ growth with data, technology, and talent.”
MUMBAI: Madison Media has been appointed as the Media AOR for the online carpet store, Obeetee. The Agency will manage the entire media gambit for the client including TV, print, radio, OOH, digital, and cinema. The account will be handled by Madison Media Alpha based out of Mumbai.
Founded in 1920, Obeetee claims to be the largest handmade rug maker in India. The company is a leading producer and exporter of exquisite hand-knotted, hand-tufted, and flatwoven carpets.
Obeetee CEO Angelique Dhama said, “Carpets as a category is not so well established in India. At Obeetee, our aim is to become synonymous with the category itself. With our 100-year-old legacy and top-notch products, we are confident of being an integral part of Indian homes in the days to come. I am very pleased to have Madison Media backing our aspirations and walking the path to success with us.”
“Carpet/rugs category intent has gone up 120 per cent due to the pandemic as people are spending more time at home. This is the right time for Obeetee to make a consumer buying journey seamless across online and offline touchpoints. We are confident that our digital-first and outcome-driven omnichannel approach will help Obeetee surpass industry growth,” said Madison Digital & Madison Media Alpha CEO Vishal Chinchankar.
MUMBAI: Madison Media has promoted its chief digital officer Vishal Chinchankar to CEO at Madison Digital and Madison Media Ultra.
Chinchankar has been involved in shaping the digital arm of Madison Digital since his appointment at Madison Media in 2017. In addition, he has also been given the responsibility to drive a few integrated mandates under Madison Media Ultra, the unit that handles Marico, Atomberg, amongst other businesses. He will continue to be a part of the agency’s Exco and strengthen its value proposition under his leadership.
With over 22 years of experience in domestic and international markets, Chinchankar has worked across marketing services and business development involving both start-up and growth organisations.
Madison Media & OOH partner and group CEO Vikram Sakhuja said, “Vishal has been an exceptional leader. His clarity of vision and relentless passion has put Madison Digital right on top over these past three+ years. In addition to strong domain expertise, he has also been highly successful in building the business. As a natural evolution it is only fitting that in addition to leading the agency’s overall digital agenda, he also runs the whole media business of Madison Ultra. I wish Vishal all the best, in building a world class practice for Madison.”
Chinchankar said, “I am absolutely excited with this opportunity. Clearly, the work done at Madison Digital has been exceptional and completely on the back of an extremely talented team. We’re determined to work towards making Madison Digital bigger and better than it already is, while keeping clients and the Madison values at the core of our work.”
