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Tag: WPP

  • MediaCom wins Maiyas’ Rs 250 mn media biz

    MUMBAI: MediaCom, a joint venture of India‘s Madison Media and global media communications giant WPP, has won the media mandate for Miayas Beverages and Foods. The account is worth Rs 250 million. The account win is the result of a multi-agency pitch.

    Maiyas Beverages and Foods director Dr P Sadananda Maiya said, “The passion and rigour shown by MediaCom was really impressive. We are very happy that our brand is in good hands with MediaCom.”

    MediaCom India MD Debraj Tripathy said, “It is a privilege to work with the most promising food company in the country… the pioneers of the ready-to-eat food industry in India. The team is excited and is looking forward to help grow the brand.”

    Maiyas began operations in 2010 and today its product portfolio encompasses instant mixes, spices and masalas, savoury snacks, ready to eat and frozen foods.

  • Publicis to also look at inorganic growth to double rev in India by 2015: Naouri

    MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe chief operating officer Jean-Yves Naouri has set himself a stiff target. The 53-year-old South African, tipped to take over as chief executive officer of the third largest communications group in the world after the retirement of Maurice Levy, is aiming at doubling the agency‘s growth in two of the fastest-growing ad economies of the world.

    Naouri, however, feels that he can grow faster in China than in India. “We plan to double our size in China by 2013. And we are well on our way to doing that. In India, we will be able to double our size by 2015,” he tells Indiantelevision.com.

    Faced with a slowdown in the matured ad economies of the world, Naouri needs to be aggressive in the other markets. “We are working towards two things. We are getting aggressive on digital. Our other focus is on the fast emerging markets. We have already trebled our size in Brazil,” he avers.

    Naouri feels that there is a lot of potential in India and the time is not far when the world will see what this country is capable of. “Publicis surely will be there when this happens.”

    Publicis has started shopping in India to strengthen its presence in a market that is led by WPP. The agency has made four acquisitions in India over the last one year, three of them being in the digital space. The first to be gobbled up was Indigo (April), followed three months later by Resultrix. The Paris-based media communications conglomerate has just announced two more acquisitions: digital marketing agency iStrat and marketing consultancy firm Marketgate.

    “We are looking at both inoganic and organic growth in India. We see opportunities in acquisitions,” says Naouri.

    But doesn’t he agree with WPP CEO Martin Sorrell’s recent comment about valuations in India being economically extravagant? “Maybe he is speaking for himself. We do not have exorbitant valuations. We are known for being very conservative. Despite not being the highest bidder on several occasions, we have been able to consummate deals just because they wanted to join us. So I do not concur with Sorrell’s assessment.”

    Naouri also refuses to concur with the WPP boss’ assessment that India lacks self confidence. “I am very positive about India. And I feel that when you look at the potential and look at the talent, one should be excited with all the opportunities that India is showing.”

    India’s sluggish GDP growth rate of 5.3 per cent does not dampen Naouri’s bullish view on India. “We do not hold a dismal sentiment. We are cautiously optimistic. When you look at the rest of the world, some countries would dream to have a five per cent growth. I am not saying that things are easy for everybody in India. But I would say it’s manageable,” he says.

    Apart from investing in India, Publicis is also focussed on the growth of digital within its operations. The vision is to become a ‘Human Digital Company’. “We have said that digital and the fast growing markets like India, China and Brazil are the co-pillars of our future. And today if those two pillars are contributing 50 per cent of our revenues, our ambition is to take this up to 75 per cent,” explains Naouri.

    Publicis’ strategy is to acquire local agencies and align them with its global agencies. This allows Publicis to service the clients of that geography efficiently.

    “What is interesting is that we are starting to see the potential to work not only with local Indian clients, but also with Indian companies that have a global ambition. We are extremely excited at this opportunity to work with such clients. We look forward to a time when Leo Burnett and Indigo or Publicis Worldwide and iStrat can partner with and deliver outstanding work for such Indian companies,” says Naouri.

    Publicis is also bullish on e-commerce. The company recently entered into a partnership with IBM’s Smarter Commerce Initiative through its consulting-centered interactive agency Rosetta. The partnership combines Publicis Groupe’s deep experience in consumer insights, technology and building a broad eCommerce ecosystem around transactions with IBM’s technology, expertise and business process innovation to serve the needs of today’s Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and Chief Information Officers (CIOs) who want to align their organisations and purchase decisions around integrated content and commerce.

  • WPP agencies Bates Asia and CHI form JV

    MUMBAI: Bates Asia and CHI & Partners, both WPP group’s integrated media agencies, have formed a 50:50 joint venture company Bates CHI & Partners. The joint venture will function as a ‘new model’ network with deep roots in Asia and world-class creative credentials.

    The new network will have 16 offices across the globe with one each in London and New York and 14 in Asian countries. It will create a strong offering for clients wanting to marry world-class creativity and strategic skills with deep local insights.

    Johnny Hornby will lead the joint venture globally while David Mayo will run operations in Asia in his role as Bates CHI & Partners CEO. The company’s name Bates CHI & Partners will be used in Asia while the London and New York offices will retain CHI & Partners. Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific planning director Mark Sinnock will join the agency as chief strategy officer for Asia.

    WPP owns 100 per cent of Bates Asia and 49.9 per cent of CHI & Partners.

    Bates CHI will give western clients direct access to strong market capabilities across Asia’s fastest growing economies while at the same time, Asian brands wishing to break into Europe and USA will benefit from local knowledge, world-class creativity and a dedicated agency network.

    CHI & Partners founding partner Johnny Hornby said, “The joint venture brings together Bates, the agency that invented the Unique Selling Proposition back in the 1940s, with CHI, the creators of ‘the big idea’, its modern equivalent. This new model network will use our big ideas process to put together bespoke multi-disciplined teams from a variety of disciplines and geographies. It will be a nimbler, faster, more modern alternative to the big networks.”

    Bates CEO David Mayo said, “It’s a compelling proposition. Clients all over the world – just like the consumers they serve – are increasingly leaning towards more bespoke solutions developed from a wider menu of talent and skills which by definition don‘t all live in the same place anymore. At the same time they demand geographical spread in order to reach multiple, connected audiences. The new Bates CHI & Partners forms a global network with access to some of the best tools and skills available anywhere.”

    Bates was acquired by WPP in 2003 and later merged with the agency 141 to form Bates 141. Last year though, it was rebranded to drop the 141 from its name. Bates Asia’s global clients include Unilever, Indonesia and Diageo, while CHI & Partners handles Lexus and Samsung globally.

  • NDTV firm on legal pursuit against TAM

    MUMBAI: The New York Supreme Court (NYSC) is expected to give out its verdict on whether the complaint filed by Indian broadcaster NDTV against TAM‘s owning companies – Nielsen, Kantar and WPP – holds jurisdiction in America by mid January.

    A source informed indiantelevision.com that NDTV plans to keep on with its efforts against the TV ratings agency TAM and its holding companies irrespective of the judgement. “If the New York Supreme Courts rules that the case has jurisdiction in America, they will continue with it there. If the Court says India is the right country for this litigation, the broadcaster will pursue the case in India anew,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

    The parties currently involved are filing their amended complaints and/or motions to dismiss NDTV‘s lawsuit according to the deadlines given by the NYSC in September this year.

    In a recent interview with liveMint, WPP CEO Martin Sorrell commented: “NDTV doesn’t have just their restaurant lawyers involved, they have others as well now. They have upgraded. There is no development. Not to my knowledge, no. NDTV seems to have gone quiet on it.”

    The source said that “there is no point in making noise over nothing till the issue of jurisdiction is settled.”

    On the matter of lawyers, the industry insider explained that there is always a team of lawyers involved in such cases. While a certain set of lawyers worked on the preliminary complaints, when it is time for discussion and arguing in front of the judge another set of lawyers are called in. In essence it is as simple as saying, “Different roles to different lawyers.”

    NDTV has expanded its legal team on the case by getting on board law firm Pepper Hamilton which has handled legal matters for the Indian news broadcaster in the past as well.

    In October, NDTV informed the NYSC that it has dropped action without prejudice against Cavendish Square Holding B.V., J. Walter Thompson, IMRB International, a division of Hindustan Thompson Associates Private Limited, and Kantar Market Research Services Pvt. Ltd. which were named in the original document.

    Earlier this week, Prasar Bharti had approached the Competition Commission of India against India‘s lone TV ratings agency TAM insinuating anti-competitive practices. The pubcaster had filed the complaint against TAM on 16 November alleging that the ratings agency has been using its dominant position in audience measurement by excluding markets where Doordarshan channels have strong presence. The complaint was filed under section 4 of the Competition Act 2002, which pertains to abuse of dominant position by a market player.

  • Nielsen files for dismissal of NDTV lawsuit

    MUMBAI: Global ratings and research company Nielsen has filed a petition in the New York Supreme Court seeking dismissal of New Delhi Television’s (NDTV) lawsuit over corruption in television ratings system in India.

    Nielsen’s contention is that India, not New York, is the appropriate venue for the lawsuit. According to Nielsen, NYSC is the wrong court of law for the legal fight as NDTV receives its TV ratings data from Tam Media Research, a company that works in India.

    Earlier in August, WPP had filed a similar motion with the NYSC to dismiss NDTV’s lawsuit. NDTV had on 26 July filed its lawsuit accusing 31 entities, including TAM, Nielsen, Kantar and their officials, of knowingly allowing continuation of manipulation of television viewership data in favour of broadcasters willing to pay bribes to its officials or representatives.

    WPP owns half of TAM in India through its subsidiaries – Kantar and Cavendish, and the other half of TAM is owned by The Nielsen Company.

    In its petition, Nielsen has said that the dispute concerns the quality of a TV ratings data subscription service. “NDTV—a company headquartered in India—receives in India from TAM, another Indian company, pursuant to an agreement executed between the companies in India,” Nielsen said.

    Nielsen further argued that NDTV had been subscribing to the TAM ratings service since 1998, which it used for promoting its TV shows to advertisers in India. It also pointed out that while the Indian broadcaster claimed it had evidence that the ratings data was flawed, it sued Nielsen and the uninvolved subsidiaries eight years after that.

    “None of the four entities sued is a joint venturer in TAM or has ever executed an agreement with NDTV regarding TAM’s subscription service—in this Court, asserting a grab bag of irrational and defective claims apparently under New York state law. According to NDTV, these Nielsen companies should be held liable under contract and tort law based on meetings NDTV had with a few Nielsen representatives in 2012—in India—concerning NDTV’s allegations about TAM’s TV ratings data,” the petition said.

    Nielsen also argued in the dismissal plea that NDTV failed to name
    TAM, with whom it has a contract for the ratings services, as a party to the suit. “In the Amended Complaint, NDTV viciously attacks TAM’s reputation and seeks damages because TAM’s TV ratings data ‘are not reliable’ and ‘tainted by widespread fraud and corruption.’ TAM has a right to defend against such attacks, and NDTV should not be allowed to suppress that right by bringing a lawsuit in another country, where TAM has no contacts.”

    Nielsen also stated that NDTV’s lawsuit “blatantly ignores” the company with whom it has a contract.

    “Instead, NDTV attempts to transform a potential contract claim against TAM into tort and oral contract claims against the Nielsen defendants. Nothing in the law supports such a magic trick. Simply put, NDTV fails to allege a legal duty independent of a contract and fails to allege all of the elements needed to support each cause of action,” argued Nielsen.

  • GroupM agrees to acquire majority stake in Netbooster Asia

    MUMBAI: WPP’s wholly owned operating company, GroupM, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in NB Agency Asia Holding Limited (“Netbooster Asia”), the Hong Kong holding company of digital marketing agencies in the Philippines and Indonesia, subject to regulatory approval.

    Netbooster Asia was founded in 2007 and is based in Manila and Jakarta and is a digital marketing agency offering media, production and creative services. It has an employee strength of 110 people and caters services to clients like Unilever, L’Oreal, Del Monte, Globe, BDO, Wyeth and Intel. Post the acquisition, Netbooster will be rebranded as Movent in the Philippines. In Indonesia, the agency will be consolidated into GroupM’s digital offering.

    Netbooster Asia‘s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were approximately $2.4 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately $2.4 million.

  • Mobile marketing should be more interactive: Media experts

    MUMBAI: In an expanding digital universe, media agencies have to make the organisational shift to tailor to the diverse consumer needs.

    Mindshare, WPP‘s leading media agency, has consciously made this shift as it lives online, offline and on mobile.

    Mindshare‘s Asia Pacific Digital Lead Nick Seckold believes the nature of new age audience demands a new approach to mobile marketing communication. “In the past, advertisers merely wanted a mobile presence but at Mindshare, our mantra is to adapt to consumers‘ needs, making the campaigns memorable and hard-hitting. Here the missing piece to the puzzle is not “why” advertisers should use mobile but “how” they should use.”

    This sentiment is echoed by senior executives of other media agencies. Says Vivaki Exchange CEO Mona Jain, “Mobile marketing can‘t be generalised. There should be different proposition, different ideas and different formats; one should tailor the campaign for different categories. It is very important that mobile marketing campaign should be targeted to relevant audience and should be engaging. Also, the purpose for which the brand wants to use the medium should be solved.”

    The demand for media agency professionals to change their mindsets is growing as mobile is slated to stay on the uptrend. According to Portio Research‘s latest report, there will be 6.5 billion mobile subscribers worldwide by end-2012, while annual handset shipments will reach 2.15 billion by 2016. So as mobile technology continues to evolve and significantly influence culture and the lifestyles of consumers, the impact mobile devices are having on daily life is almost unfathomable.

    Says Seckold, “In an age of ‘always on‘, people are always on the move and are socially connected through their mobiles 24/7. Hence, there is no doubt that mobile represents a growing opportunity for brands, but penetration alone is not the best reason to convince advertisers to use mobile. The engagement portion through seamless, fun and addictive user interface is key to the success of a mobile campaign.”

    Seckold, thus, urges marketers to put themselves in their target audience‘s shoes and truly understand where they live – online, offline and on mobile.

    Carat Media SVP West Himanka Das believes mobile marketing has to be integrated with the digital campaign. Nothing works in isolation. Also, the companies should develop WAP enabled websites and there should be some form of interactivity so that people can give their feedback.

    “In mobile marketing what is being seen is that professionals need to segment the database to get the right audience. That should be done so that the campaign reaches to the relevant audience,” says Das.

    There are examples across the globe reflecting the gains brands have made through mobile application campaigns. Seckold narrates the example of Ford‘s “Drive Smart” mobile application campaign in India to advertise the new Ford Fiesta this January. The application launch was in sync with the Auto expo, providing the car manufacturer a unique platform to catch auto enthusiasts at the expo. While every car manufacturer was distributing freebies in form of physical product catalogues, merchandise, calendars, Ford distributed this utility cum entertainment application to its users at the expo via handy QR code cards.

    “Through social integration (Facebook and check-in), conversations around Ford increased to 2.5 times more than its competitors. An app called “Drive Smart” was developed to engage prospects and customers, with a popular maps feature and traffic updates. The app has had 43,000 downloads and is still counting,” says Seckold.

  • MTDC empanels Concept Communication, JWT and 8 others

    MTDC empanels Concept Communication, JWT and 8 others

    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has empanelled 10 agencies on its creative roster. These include Concept Communication, JWT India, Network Advertising, MX Advertising, Mercantile Advertising, Adfactors, Graphics, Kautilya Multi Creations, Paramin Advertising and Ad Syndicate.

    Two of the incumbent agencies are Beehive and WPP‘s O&M.

    It is learnt that television will play a major role in the media mix. The Concept team has presented the media mix to MTDC along with scripts for the television campaign.

    Concept Communication national creative director Rachanah Roy said, “Travel and nature are topics which set alight the creative spark in even the most boring and mundane person. And the various teams at Concept on the account are in a state of electric enthusiasm to work on the account.”

  • Kantar launches new marketing tool

    Kantar launches new marketing tool

    MUMBAI: WPP’s Kantar Media TGI launched a new marketing tool called The Why Code. The new initiative provides insight into what drives consumer choices.

    The Why Code illuminates every stage of the consumer decision making journey from the most conscious triggers of decisions to fundamental subconscious values. It has taken Kantar Media’s syndicated consumer media and marketing survey specialists TGI two years to develop the tool,.

    The Why Code comprises a suite of tools based on four logical steps in the analysis of consumer motivations. It builds upon the wealth of consumer insight that exists within TGI, combining it with consumer psychology techniques. Its marketing applications are virtually unlimited, informing everything from exploratory research, brand positioning and product design, to targeting and communication.

    Kantar Media TGI UK & Western Europe head Richard Poustie said, “The media and marketing industries have never had so much behavioural data to hand. Vast quantities are produced every day, highlighting consumer actions. Whilst such data can quantify certain aspects of a campaign they cannot satisfactorily explain why a consumer acts in a certain way. The Why Code brings what marketers have sought for a long time, giving them the opportunity to genuinely influence the consumer decision process.”

  • Unilever splits biz between Mindshare, PHD and Initiative

    MUMBAI: Unilever, which had initiated a global review in early 2012 in line with company policy to evaluate media agency arrangements periodically, has split the business between Mindshare, PHD and Initiative globally.

    In India,As a part of the announcement, WPP‘s Mindshare will continue to buy and plan media for Unilever in markets including Europe (UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia), North America (US, Canada and Caribbean), Asia (India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Viet Nam, Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) and Africa (South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa).

    Omnicom‘s media agency PHD has been appointed in Europe (Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina), Asia (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and New Zealand) while IPG‘s media agency Initiative has been appointed in Latin America (all countries including Mexico, excluding Brazil) and Europe (Greece, Portugal, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus).

    Additionally, PHD will also handle the global communication planning account for personal care, refreshment, foods and homecare brands. Global planning for Household Care will be managed by Initiative, as part of an integrated IPG solution.

    Unilever SVP Global Media Luis Di Como said, “We are confident that we have the right agency partners to service our business. They will help us leverage our scale and engage with consumers around the world in effective and meaningful ways, in order to fulfill our ambition of doubling the size of our business while reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our social impact.”

    “We greatly value the long-term relationships that we have with our agency partners and look forward to continue working closely with them to deliver our marketing strategy, Crafting Brands for Life, and our ambition to continue leading in the digital marketing space,” Di Como added.