Rs 40 THE

SPECIAL REPORT An analysis of the June 1-15, 2008 The fortnightly from afaqs! mobile marketing business in India 16

PROFILE Mohit Anand Making the transition from software to Channel [V]. 22

SPRITE Being Upfront How a consistent message worked like magic. 24

DEFINING MOMENTS Gullu Sen Anything can change your life, feels this adman.

TV SHOWS The Power of Stars 12 WEBSITES Are details really everything? A report At Home 14 on whether execution in Indian PARLE MONACO advertising matches the idea. The Lighter Side 38 28 STAR COMIC BOOKS Animated in Print 38

  

The fortnightly from agencyfaqs! This fortnight... Volume III, Issue 21

he subject of this issue’s cover story has been provoked by the impending Cannes festival EDITOR T– but is not really about it. In the course of covering international awards, we have found Sreekant Khandekar that the quality of execution in Indian advertising keeps cropping up. The issue generally gets sidelined because the natural focus is the idea behind a campaign. PUBLISHER Prasanna Singh Craft and execution are not a pre-requisite for awards alone. It is the stuff of everyday advertising life, the very thing that can enhance the impact of an idea dramatically – EXECUTIVE EDITOR or wreck it, quite as easily. Happydent, Fevicol and Nike are three examples of the M Venkatesh delightful consequence when great idea meets great execution. CREATIVE CONSULTANTS We talk to creative directors, film makers and to clients to find out what the prob- PealiDezine lem is when it comes to execution. Is it about time? Money? Or simply about an LAYOUT Indian way of doing things? You may not like all that you read but it will make you Vinay Dominic look at an old issue afresh. LOGISTICS his issue also contains the first of many Special Reports that you will find in the Rajesh Kanwal magazine. The 24-page Special this time is on Mobile Marketing. With the T ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES mobile becoming ubiquitous, marketers have been slavering at the thought of reaching Hansika Koli millions of individual consumers through the small screen in their pocket. Noida: (0120) 4077834 However, just because everyone has a mobile does not mean that they want to hear 4077837 from marketers. In this, the personal nature of the mobile – its most attractive feature Gaurav Prabhu – is what gets in the way, raising rightful concerns about privacy. So, then, how can Mumbai: (022) 40429702-5 [email protected] marketers get mobile users to ask for their communication? The survey seeks to answer that by examining the array of options available. Marketing Office This issue will be also be available at ‘Mobile Conversations’, a day-long conference organ- B-3, First floor, Sector-4, ised by afaqs! where The Brand Reporter is a media partner. The event will be held on June Noida-201301. 13, 2008 at the ITC Sheraton, Saket, New Delhi. If you are interested, do log on to Tel: (0120) 4077800. www.afaqs.com and register. Mumbai 39, A to Z (Industrial) Premises Co-op Soc Ltd, Lower Parel, Mumbai - 400013. Tel: (022) 40429701-5. Sreekant Khandekar Subscription Enquiries Sakshi Kohli Tel: (0120) 4077837 Fan Following [email protected]   The TVC story about Havells ES- Registered Office 50 fans, in a way, tries to highlight the $0;$0
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The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008 5 LEE COOPER  
    ABN Amro> The bank has tied up with PayMate, mobile commerce company, to enable 4.6 lakh customers to enable s the English denim company, the expedition’s first destination mobile banking facilities to its customers. This alliance celebrates its centenary year would be Nice in France and the last provides all ABN AMRO India clients to experience ‘easy- A in August, it is sending 10 of London in UK, the home town of convenient-secure’ mode of making utility and online bill its consumers on a two-week world Lee Cooper. Backpackers will get an payments via mobile phones through a simple SMS. backpacking expedition - opportunity to shop at Lee Cooper Backpacking the Lee Cooper stores in The company is Videocon> The Expedition. London and Paris, visit electronics major is Shoppers, who make the landmark locations also planning its planning a major consumer a purchase of minimum like Champs Elysees and foray in the electronics retail foray across West Asia, Europe, Africa and of Rs 2,999 from any Lee the Eiffel Tower in Paris, mobile device Latin America under the brand name ‘‘VC’’ to raise global Cooper outlet would be run with bulls in market. revenue shares to 50 per cent by 2011. The foray is expected eligible for the Pamplona in Spain, to materialise in six months. Videocon already has acquired expedition through a attend the Bread and brands like Nordmende in the European markets. lucky draw. Butter Festival in The denim company Barcelona (Spain) and be DIAGEO> The Indian subsidiary of the liquor maker, is has tied up with The the first to enjoy the targeting sales of over Rs 4,155 crore in three years. The Backpackers Co which Panchal: enthusiastic Lee Cooper Centenary company expects most of its sales to come from premium specialises in taking year celebrations there, brands in the scotch, whiskey and malts segment. Two of its travellers on informal, laze around at the San strongest brands in India are Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff, low cost, informative Sebastian beaches which have nearly 90 per cent share in the premium scotch MARKETING and fun trips around the The (Spain), visit beautiful and vodka market. According to an official release, last year, world.  Cannes, chill out with a Diageo India's sales rose 40 per cent. The activity will expedition is beer at Hard Rock Café finally culminate into in Paris, London and The shoes can be Crocs> The manufacturer of Lee Cooper’s comfort footwear has opened its the formation of the Barcelona. returned to the first concept store in India at Lee Cooper Backpackers way of The backpackers will store within 48 Phoenix Mills, Mumbai. Eight new Club - a clan of Lee celebrating be able to share their designs for Spring Summer 2008 Cooper loyalists and experiences of the trip hours if the its centennial customer is not and new summer colours in the backpacking enthusiasts. through interactive blogs classic five Crocs styles were Ameet Panchal, CEO, year. and videos. Lee Cooper satisfied with the introduced. The company has also launched a promotional 48- Lee Cooper (India), says, is keen on creating key quality. hour test drive campaign till June 16, 2008, which allows “We believe that this is a “Passion Groups” customers to try out all Crocs styles at the store for 48 hours great way to express the around three basic without obligation. virtues of Lee Cooper to tenets: Music, Sports and everyone. It will take  Fashion. NOKIA> The leading mobile communications company in our proposition to a These “Passion India, has tied up with WWF-India, a wildlife conservation whole new level of Groups” will be organisation, to be involved in WWF-India’s Tiger conservation adventure and enthusiasm.” instrumental in creating the Lee programme. As part of the association, Nokia and WWF-India Spread across two weeks, Cooper Clan. will work towards providing education to the villagers for sustainable development, increasing awareness on tiger QUOTE OF THE FORTNIGHT conservation, and identifying alternative livelihood programmes for the villagers around ‘‘National Protected Areas’’ such as There is a huge block against Ranthambore National Park. any representational form that Uniform tariffs Airtel> The mobile service is childlike. Indian adults have will be available provider has become the first mobile service provider in India to operate in always felt guilty about in all the Airtel Lakshadweep. Initially, Airtel will provide both prepaid and indulging in foods like circles in the post-paid services in three islands of Kavaratti, Agatti and chocolates and ice-cream island. Bangaram. The Airtel Easy Charge will be available at over 50 retail outlets across Lakshadweep. because of its association with children. SANTOSH DESAI, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, FUTURE BRANDS IN MINT ON CHILDREN’S BharatMatrimony> The portal has tied up with BRANDS CHASING ADULTS. Metropolis Health Services India to offer pre-marital health check-ups. The service can be availed for Rs 2,500 and users EVENTS can upload the certificate as part of their profile on the

website. The pre-marital health check-up called ‘Soul to Soul’ SAP SUMMIT 2008 > To be held at Mumbai, from June will help in diagnosing hereditary disorders like ‘thalassemia 4 to June 6, the summit aims to discover how today's open and sickle cell anaemia’ and infectious diseases like HIV. technologies and business networks can help create a business beyond boundaries. Peter England Madura Garments > Aditya Birla Nuvo's wholesale garments business has The event invites entrepreneurs to will cater to the TiE-ISB Connect > planned a five-year retail strategy to submit a maximum of 5-page abstract of their business idea mass-premium expand its Madura Garments business to TiE-ISB Connect Committee to get the opportunity to meet segment, and will four-fold from Rs 1,320 crore currently and interact with leading Capitalists of the world on November 5-7, 2008 as they seek to Rs 6,000 crore in 2012. According to reports, it plans to to fund bright ideas and cool start ups. Participants for the 2008 Business Plan have large enhance its retail presence with a Rs 400-crore investment Presentations can register at http://www.tie-isbconnect.com. The last date for format stores. in the 90 Peter England People family stores. submission of Business Plans closes on June 15, 2008

6 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

RADIO  
    History Channel> The channel will be airing a new series of History Rocks from the June 5. Musical icons of world adio City 91.1 FM has come the fact that Radio City is all about repute such as Metallica, U2, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones and up with an exciting 360- melody. Radio City plays music.” Deep Purple will be featured in this new series on music and Rdegree campaign to reinforce The idea is to establish this contrast history. Special rock nights are being organised by the channel its position as the ultimate abode of further by translating it into an in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru where leading rock bands melodious music. experience that the listeners can such as Parikrama, Vayu and Galeej Gurus will perform. The integrated campaign, Baaki judge for themselves. Shor Machaayein, Radio City Music The visuals on the hoardings are Guidelines and MRUC> The Media Research Users Council (MRUC) has Sunaaaye, divided into parameters of tabled some issues and nuances of print research in India with comprises two parts. the Indian Newspaper Society (INS). MRUC has recommended high-impact The first part print research to the INS that they should set up a task force together that outdoors, shows crows should be would create guidelines and parameters of what print research MEDIA innovative and cawing, dogs redefined. in India should include. The task force will also include disruptive howling and advertisers and advertising agencies, and put together a more activation and crackers robust research structure in place. on-air support bursting – to create a symbolic of ZEE > The group is gearing up for the launch of its Tamil holistic and interactive brand the cacophony on other radio stations general entertainment channel ZEE Tamil. The launch of ZEE environment for listeners. – and text that reads, Baaki Shor Tamil will be followed by a 24-hour Tamil news channel. The Rana Barua, national head, Machaayein. The other half shows Group is also firming up its plans to foray into the Kerala marketing and programming, Radio Radio City logo and images of market with a Malayalam GEC, which is expected to on air City, explains the purpose of the musical instruments such as the during the fourth quarter of 2008. campaign: “The campaign re- saxophone and the keyboard and text emphasises Radio City’s image of that says, Radio City Music Sunaaaye. International Newspaper Marketing Association > being purely a platform Demarcated spaces in has been rechristened as the International Newsmedia for showcasing melody malls will see radio Marketing Association. This change reflects the evolution of its based music. The core jockeys engaging visitors member newspaper companies. communication at the The idea is to in small interactive Since the newspaper industry on a whole is geared towards a heart of the campaign translate activities and seeking multi-media future, this name came as a unanimous choice from clearly plays upon the experience their participation in the Board of Directors of INMA. fact that our filling up simple forms programming and play that the listing their musical NGC> The network has announced its plans of extending its lists are the result of listeners can preferences. As part of brand presence in India by introducing four new NAT GEO extensive research and the on-ground activities, channels into the country. perfectly in sync with the judge for street plays will be The channels - Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Adventure, Nat Geo musical sensibilities of all themselves. performed outside public Music and Nat Geo HD (Hi Definition) - will now be available in Mumbaikars.” places such as movie India along with the core Nat Geo Channel that has already Barua explains that the theatres and in busy been present in the country for 11 years. campaign works at two levels: “We marketplaces. Music and light are distinguishing ourselves from thehearted banter on day to day issues Spenta Multimedia> The company has players who offer listeners nothing will be the themes of the street plays. been appointed by the Gems & Jewellery more than what can be termed as The campaign, has been designed Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) to publish its jarring music. We take pride in by Bates 141. bi-monthly magazine, Solitaire International from June. The magazine will be priced at Rs QUOTE OF THE FORTNIGHT 150. With this, the number of publications in Spenta Multimedia’s portfolio has gone up to 21, which For a long time, you all had an includes 17 custom publications. unwritten rule to have 50-50 Chitralekha > Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & Managing revenue from circulation and Director of Reliance Industries, was declared the Chitralekha advertising. It’s you who decided Person of the Year for 2007 by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at a ceremony in Mumbai on May 21. An to price the paper at Rs 2 – the event instituted in 2005 by the Chitralekha Group of advertiser has not told you to Publications, Chitralekha Person of the Year is decided on FOTOCORP change the equation. As for ad the basis of the results of an opinion poll conducted amongst readers of Gujarati publications. In its third year now, the pricing, it has to be based on the value the poll reflects the choice of the Gujarati populace. Chitralekha advertiser gets and not on the basis of your had awarded the title to Modi in its inaugural year in 2005. printing costs. In 2006, voters unanimously chose the then President, SAM BALSARA, to the print industry at the Indian Newspaper Congress. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

Mathrubhumi> The printing and publishing house recently

EVENTS launched its Malayalam language travel magazine Yaathra. > Futuristix Media Communication Centre is going to host a two-day workshop on Priced at Rs 50, Yaathra is targeted at the middle and upper space selling at Taj Land’s End Mumbai, starting June 6. The workshop has been middle class audience and has been strategically launched at conceived to familiarise media sales executives with the essential parameters which this time of the year to cater to the needs of travellers and buyers, media planners and clients look for in media sales pitches. In addition the tourists planning their summer vacations. With over 116 pages, workshop will also educate sales executives with the skills they need to incorporate the magazine was innovatively released with three different keeping in mind today’s dynamic market scenario. LV Krishnan from TAM and Suresh covers, featuring cine stars Mammootty, Mohanlal and Balakrishna of Mail Today will be the faculty present at the workshop. cricketer Sreesanth.

8 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

TVS      
  JWT> JWT India has partnered with ADK, the third largest advertising agency in Japan to form a 50:50 JV company in s 2008 set in, TVS Motors Ravindranathan says, “The bike is India. The new entity will be called ADK Fortune. It will be launched the 125cc TVS seen as an object of desire, which headquartered in Delhi. JWT-ADK partnership, as the name AFlame in Chennai and, along girls can’t get their hands off. We suggests, ADK Fortune will be aligned with Fortune with that, a television commercial to haven’t depicted men in the calendar Communications, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of JWT announce the launch. This TVC was – it’s simply the bike and the in India, specialising in financial services. After Dentsu followed by a calendar shot by ace women. The women carry a crazy Communications and Hakuhodo Percept (50:50 JV between photographer Jatin Kampani and and vivacious attitude. There is a Hakuhodo Inc & Percept), ADK Fortune will be the third conceptualised by TVS’ creative story being told on every page.” advertising agency catering to the advertising needs of the agency, Saatchi & Saatchi. Now, The calendar was shot in Mumbai Japanese clients in India. Kampani’s work for the calendar has and Berlin; the bike and the women been adjudged the third best work at have been shot in Mumbai on chro- OOH> Innovations and new technolo- the photo competition, Prix de la ma key, and the backdrops have been gies are driving the out of home industry Photographie – PX3 Awards, Paris shot in Berlin. The locations in today. The new addition in the list of inno- 2008, in the Calendar category. Berlin have no roads; the darkness of vations are ‘adrickshaws’, launched by When the bike was launched in urban cityscapes injects life into the specialist agency Rajat Advertising in January, Saatchi & Saatchi released a theme and pictures of the calendar, Chattisgarh. Rajat Gupta, owner and promoter, Rajat commercial which depicted a explains Ravindranathan. Advertising, came up with the concept of woman displaying great desire for The women in the calendar are adrickshaws designed specifically for the product in question. The com- replicated from characters in comic small towns and rural areas. Adrickshaws munication put forward the creative books. Ravindranathan reasons, are similar to normal rickshaws, the difference being that instead of a seat, they thought – the hunter and the hunt- “Comic books allow one to imagine have an ad space. Each adrickshaw has a 6 feet x 6 feet backlit double sided display ed. The calendar, which was released and let go of reality, which is not pos- for ads. With an initial investment of Rs 5 lakh, ten adrickshaws have been launched ADVERTISING after that, has taken the same sible through any other medium in Raipur, Bhilai and Durg. The number will be increased to 30 to cover all of thought forward. such as movies or the like.” Chattisgarh, including the rural areas. Rajeev Ravindranathan, creative The pictures come from Modesty director, Saatchi & Saatchi Bangalore, Blaise comic strips, and have been

ACCOUNT MOVEMENT says, “The calendar depicts the posi- given a surreal look. The first page of BBDO Worldwide has bagged the creative duties for Hewlett Packard’s (HP) tioning of the bike as a style accessory the calendar reads, “Darkness Falls, > imaging and printing group (IPG) business. The business moves from Publicis India, – the bike is a first for TVS in terms of Shadows Come to Life. And the which has been handling the creative duties globally for both of HP’s businesses, IPG style and design.” Hunter becomes the Hunted. 2008 – and personal systems group (PSG), for more than a decade now. While the IPG busi- “There is a difference between Set Your Desire on Fire.” The six- ness moves to BBDO, Publicis India will continue to handle the creative duties for superior riding performance and page calendar features three corporate and PSG. high per- interna- formance tional >The Delhi branch of Everest Brand Solutions has a new client in its kitty: Clay – and we models. Telecom Solutions. Clay Telecom offers mobile solutions to outbound travelling execu- chose to Kampani tives through 34 leading mobile service providers such as T Mobile in the UK, O2 in go with is the Germany and Ireland, Vodafone in Australia and AT&T in the US. Through these tie- the for- first ups, Clay offers country specific SIM cards to its customers. mer, and Indian the bike photog- >Leo Burnett’s second agency, Orchard Advertising, has been roped in as the cre- was posi- rapher ative agency for Madura Garments’ fresh new brand, Peter England People. Though tioned as whose the brand incorporates the Peter England name in its brand name, it is positioned at one work has a totally different level. Orchard won the business following a multi-agency pitch which featured involving six or seven other agencies. lends the on the hottest cover of riding Lue- experi- rzer’s New TVC New AD campaign of the fortnight ence,” Archive MATRIX says Ravindranathan. – the work was Entrapped for Brand Baba Samdevji receives a call in Miami, where he is is preach- Talking about the creative for the Sunsilk. Entrapped also won him the ing to his disciples (a group of bikini clad women). He starts calendar, which is an extension of second prize in the Advertising cate- spreading his lessons in typical devotional tune about the the brand positioning, gory at PX3 2007. benefits of Matrix SIM cards to his ‘chelis’ (women disciples). Agency: Equus Red Cell QUOTE OF THE FORTNIGHT Creative Director: Swapan Seth Production House: Blue Films It took us 15 years to stop doing radio advertising on TV and almost 20 years to make ads more visually MIRINDA appealing than the audio. We have A mother wants Zohra Sehgal’s to take care of her children while she attends a kitty party. Sehgal shows off her exccentric taken three years or so to self. The TVC ends with Sehgal saying, ‘‘Pagalpanthi bhi zaroori SUSHIL KUMAR understand virals and what to do hai,’’ to the camera . with them. It’s not been long since we Agency: JWT Delhi understood what to do with digital and then Creative Director: Surjo Dutt Copywriter: Preeta Mathur / Charu Chhitwal K.V. SRIDHAR, NATIONAL CREATIVE came retail advertising - Production House: Keroscene

10 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008


 TELEVISION The Power of Stars Broadcasters are spending humungous amounts of money to rope in celebrities to host shows in the hope of grabbing eyeballs. By Sapna Nair

elevision channels are star struck. Hindi on a celebrity for its launch, but Kamat is confi- film actors are seen regularly in the small dent. He says that this show is not just a Tscreen, judging song and dance reality programming initiative, but also a marketing ini- shows, making special appearances in a daily soap tiative for them. “It will help us a great deal in and, lately, hosting reality shows on television. breaking through the clutter,” he states. Kumar is A big name or a known celebrity is a definite reportedly being paid Rs 1.5 crore per episode. way of ensuring sampling. Ravina Raj Kohli, chair- Nilanjana Purkayastha, recently appointed man and managing director, Sundial Creative business head, SaharaOne Television, says, “The Media, believes that a celebrity cannot guarantee trend of featuring film celebrities on television sustained viewership. “While having a celebrity shows has become so rampant that I doubt if there generates top of mind awareness for the show on a is any uniqueness here. It makes sense if the celeb channel, after a certain point, there’s nothing for is making an appearance for the first time or hasn’t the audience to stay clued in,” she says. made too many appearances. These days, there are The most important aspect when deciding on a a lot of celebs on TV promoting their films. So it’s celebrity host is the brand fit, just like brand not really an eye-catcher or attention-grabber. endorsements. The match between Amitabh There is an issue of over-familiarity with audi- Bachchan and Kaun Banega Crorepati was made in ences. In such cases, it is the premise or the format heaven. “The show’s success can be attributed to that interests people more than the celebrity.” the formidable fit of the celebrity with the format. Can a celebrity popularise a weak format? The It absolutely suited Amitabh Bachchan’s personal- answer is no. The format is as important as the ity,” states Kohli. She is of the opinion that Shah host. A celebrity cannot carry a show that is weak Rukh Khan as quiz master in Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass in format. In the past, attempts made by television Se Tez Hain? is also a great fit. His spontaneity, elo- channels to attain viewership with a known face as quence and affability make him a great host. host, haven’t met with success. There are many Viacom 18’s GEC, Colors, has Fear Factor – instances of such efforts having gone kaput. Khatro Ke Khiladi as its flagship show, featuring According to Nandini Dias, COO, Lodestar actor Akshay Kumar. This is the second season of Universal, “In the past we have seen that not all Fear Factor, an Endemol format. The first season, celebrities have been successful hosts. While which featured on Sony Entertainment Television, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan have failed to generate the desired viewership. worked, hosts like Govinda and Anupam Kher However, with Kumar, Colors hopes to make a haven’t. But it is evident, from the viewership pat- grand entry. “Akshay Kumar is not the host of the terns, that a celebrity appearance on a show, as show. He is an integral part of the format,” clarifies judges or guests, has always been appreciated. In Rajesh Kamat, chief executive officer, Viacom 18. fact, advertisers are willing to pay a premium dur- The channel has made a few changes in the format ing such occasions. I think, a celebrity as a guest on by getting 13 Bollywood starlets as participants, to a show works out better than having him/her as a up the appeal of the show. host, because there is novelty each time.” For a new channel, it is a risky gamble to bank In 2002, Sony Entertainment Television launched a marriage reality show, Kahin Na Kahin Who Did What Koi Hai, with actress Madhuri Dixit as the host. Programme Year Channel Host Remarks The show, which had Dixit play matchmaker to a Kaun Banega 2000 STAR Plus Amitabh Changed boy and girl amidst both their families, fared mis- Crorepati Bachchan Star’s fortune erably. Perhaps, the concept, as some say, was way Jeeto Chappar 2001 Sony Govinda Feeble ahead of its time. While the format wasn’t right, Phaad Ke Response the host was perfect. Sawaal Dus 2000 Sahara One Anupam Didn’t make Another important factor when roping in a Crore Ka Kher & an impact celebrity to host a show is the credibility of the Manisha Koirala host. ‘Is the host capable of questioning the con- Kahin Na Kahin 2002 Sony Madhuri Futuristic testant?’ is a question that can play in the minds of Koi Hai Dixit format the viewers. Perhaps, that’s why quiz shows such Kaun Banega Crorepati STAR Plus SRK Not as suc Television is the as Jeeto Chhapar Phaad Ke with actor Govinda did- 2007 cessful as the n’t go down well with the audience. first season new playground for Viewers can brace themselves to see Bollywood Biggest Loser 2007 Sahara One Suniel Moderately popular film actors. But stars in their living rooms almost every day Jeetega Shetty successful now. Sony’s Waar Parrivar, hosted by Urmila Paanchvi Pass 2008 STAR Plus SRK Fairly popular one will have to wait and Matondkar, is already on air. In the months to Waar Parrivar 2008 Sony Urmila Cold response come are Dus Ka Dum (Sony), hosted by Salman Matondkar see who emerges as Khan, Rock n Roll Soniye, hosted by Juhi Chawla on Dus Ka Dum 2008 Sony Salman Khan – the ‘King’ of the small STAR Plus, and, of course, Fear Factor with Akshay Fear Factor 2008 Colors Akshay Kumar – Kumar. Rock n Roll 2008 STAR Plus Juhi Chawla – screen. [email protected] Soniye

12 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008


 DIGITAL Going Local

Site Launch site Languages Yahoo! 2000 Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, At Home Malayalam, Telugu, Punjabi (2007) MSN (Microsoft) 2000 Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Why are international internet sites localising? Telugu, (2006) Tarana Khan explores. eBay 2005 English AOL 2007 Hindi, Tamil reuters 2007 English hen in Rome, ‘do as the Romans do’ goes the YouTube (Google) 2008 English W adage, and it would seem that most international internet com- Krishna Prasad, executive produc- so choose. For instance, as an NRI in panies in India think so, too. Going er, MSN India, suggests, “An India, you can continue to experi- local has been the strategy of foreign international site does not necessari- ence cultures and news from the players in the Indian online space ly have all the information that a UK, India or the US. This kind of ever since global giants such as consumer in a local country would mix is definitely a big lure for adver- Microsoft and Yahoo! launched want – for example, local news. In tisers as well, as it provides better and “Local content is Indian versions of their websites. India’s case, India specific news is more flexibility to them, too.” The trend continues with newer certainly more useful than US cen- A local web address such as essential in key mar- players such as AOL, reuters and tric news. You can extend this logic Reuters.co.in or aol.in also creates a Google planting their Indian flags. to all the other verticals that we man- sense of identity as the domain is kets where the While AOL India launched an Indian age and run.” unique to India. There are technical internet is boom- site in 2007, YouTube recently Most industry professionals agree benefits as well, of having the con- announced a website with an Indian that local content is essential in key tent developed within the country on ing”. domain name (youtube.co.in). In the markets where the internet is boom- local infrastructure, such as servers. platform which is the World Wide ing. No doubt, it’s hard to ignore a According to Krish Sheshadri, Web, there are no boundaries. So, market like India, which has 35 mil- senior director, programming and what is it that makes internet pub- lion active internet users. product marketing, AOL India, lishers create region and country SN Bhaduri, country manager, “Apart from creating an identity, a specific websites? After all, there are Consumer Media, Thomson local web address helps in creating a many Indians who go directly to Reuters India, says, “There cannot be local brand. It also helps the con- YouTube.com or Yahoo.com. a one-site fits all strategy as far as sumers in getting a better experience content is con- online because the pages load faster. cerned. If you go to Our content and advertising deals are each of the Reuters, specific to the country.” sites globally, For a user generated site such as whether the US, YouTube, it makes all the more sense the UK, Japan or to have a local version. Sakina China, you will see Arsiwala, international manager, that there is a subtle YouTube, explains, “When a user variation in the con- uploads a video to the YouTube India tent and how it is site, he has the ability to ensure that presented.” The the videos are tagged as originating news organisation from India. Upon searching for con- launched a website tent on the site, relevant Indian for Indian readers, content will be prioritised over con- reuters.co.in, in tent from other locations. In addition September 2007. to this, videos created by Indian users A large number will be featured on the homepage of of internet users YouTube in India.” also means more So, whether it is to attract local eyeballs for adver- audiences or advertisers, focusing on tisers and hence, an content relevant to the market is a Indian site may strategy that finds favour with inter- make sense from a national websites. The next level of local advertising localisation, of course, is speaking in perspective as well. local languages and most of these Gopal Krishna, websites have already started offering head of audience at regional language versions. MSN Yahoo! India, says, India is available in five versions, “By localising con- besides English. Yahoo! is offered in tent and feel, we are nine regional languages and new- able to provide a comer AOL launched with two distinct experience regional versions. However, as the tailored to the local online population in India is largely market. This indeed urban, investments in local language provides flexibility portals will take a couple of years to to get different gain traction. experiences, if you [email protected]

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Plan your online campaigns better and make the most of your advertising budget with the new Yahoo! Search Marketing. For more information, call +91 99001 99001 today or log on to searchmarketing.yahoo.in  '  MYPOPKORN.COM PROFILE I MOHIT ANAND I SENIOR VP & GM I CHANNEL V !% Almost a soldier... hat do you do when you miss an episode of your ohit Anand almost joined the Wfavourite TV show? You army. Growing up in a family probably wait for the rerun to appear Mwhich served three generations on the weekend, or if you are internet in the armed forces, that was the most savvy, you log on to YouTube and obvious choice for him. As a kid and even search for it among the thousands of after growing up, he fancied being in the videos uploaded by users. Now, you army, but was hesitant. “I wasn’t con- have a third option – simply log on to vinced that the army I was going to join MyPopkorn.com and choose the TV was similar to what I had seen as a kid and channel and show you want to watch. hence changed my mind, despite clearing And the best part is that it’s all legal. the entrance exams,” he says. The website is owned by Digital Anand spent his studying years in thir- Media Convergence Ltd (DMCL), a teen schools in twelve years, thanks to his part of the Essel Group, which also father’s postings. He graduated in science owns Zee Turner and DishTV. from Punjab University and went on to do MyPopkorn is a website which a post graduate diploma in systems man- showcases three minute videos or agement. webisodes of soap operas and other His first job was as a trainee sales exec- TV shows, news and movie clips. utive job, in 1993, with a company that The videos are available free for sold advertising in export directories and the viewer. Manoj Padmanabhan, travel publications. “There was a book vice-president, marketing, DMCL, called The UAE Exports Directory, pub- says that the business model for the lished in UAE, and we used to sell site is purely advertising. “We want advertisement space to Indian exporters our users to enjoy the experience, so here, so that buyers there could contact we don’t want to follow a subscription them,” he says. Within two years he was model,” he says. Currently, the site heading their Delhi branch and handling a has no advertising, which will only team of 50. appear six months down the His next tryst was with Tangerine FOTOCORP line, as the website contin- Informatics based in Bombay, a large distributor for a blitz with a six-member team. It was gratifying experi- ues to evolve. host of multinational brands - Compaq, HP, Apple, ence,” he recollects. The television commercial with Padmanabhan is clear Acer. Anand says that he was fascinated by computers. actor Akshay Kumar and cricketer Yuvraj Singh was that there will be no “In 1989, when computers were almost non-existent, I iconic. It won an Abby, won at Goa Fest and got nomi- intrusive advertising gave my school board exams with com- nated at several international on the site, such as puters as a full-fledged subject. And that awards. “We were successful in banners ads; stayed with me.” Anand was hired to run “I want to connecting with the youth, an instead, the ads their Delhi store and he worked with the audience which is very fickle, in will be more company for a year. take having the business fundamentals interactive and After Tangerine, he joined Iris and distribution in place and creat- content oriented. Computers, a distributor for Compaq and Channel [V] ing experience points for Padmanabhan learnt the nuances of distribution. He consumers to touch and feel the insists that worked with them for three and half years to the next brand,” he says of the launch strat- MyPopkorn does and as per Anand, “I had learnt advertising egy. Today, Xbox is a popular youth not compete with sales, retail and distribution, which was a journey of brand in the country. Strong local sites such as YouTube, which good rounding off of my experiences at connect without losing the edgi- work on user generated content that early stage,” he says. evolution .” ness and sexiness of the brand did (UGC) or videos uploaded by users. His most challenging professional the trick, according to him. It does not even compete for the career began at Microsoft in 2000 when he joined them “What gets me to work as an individual is a chal- viewership of TV channels as the in the Home and Retail division, created to develop lenge - which no longer existed at Microsoft. I created episodes are condensed into shorter products and services for home consumers, to enhance the brand, been there and it was business as usual,” he versions. He explains, “The their PC experience. The division comprised of only says, when asked about his decision to end his eight webisodes will supplement the TV two people including him, as a regional manager for year stint with the company. Speaking on his decision viewership by creating curiosity in the North and East, in the sales and marketing role. “We to join Channel [V], Anand says, “I thought I must mind of the consumer. Besides, it will weren’t doing very well in the first two years,” he give it a shot and put to practice whatever little I know attract an online audience, which does recalls. of the youth. I want to take this already established not regularly watch TV.” He adds that Things started to change after a year and Anand was youth brand on the next journey of evolution,” he says. MyPopkorn is actually an extended able to turn the business around with support from the Currently, he is learning new things about the medi- platform for TV channels to promote management. Anand won the Circle of Excellence um. “I am like ‘Alice in Wonderland’ right now. It’s a themselves. Award for outstanding contribution by Bill Gates and completely new field for me as an individual,” he con- The site has entered into arrange- Steve Ballmer. “The award was the pinnacle of my fesses. ments with Sony, STAR and ZEE for career. Only 200 people out of 70,000 people in When not working Anand confesses to being a com- selected channels, including ZEE TV, Microsoft win it,” he says proudly. plete couch potato and an extremely lazy person. On STAR Plus, STAR One and SET Anand created the entry strategy for the Xbox busi- other occasions he does what his children like to do. India. The channels have a revenue ness in India. “It was an 18 month journey of planning, He is a travel buff, but hates it if it is on business. sharing model with MyPopkorn, but researching and executing the 360 degree marketing [email protected] ! $ %(! ("((>>

16 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

   Is it Time-Up for ‘K’ Serials? 
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VP, Marketing, STAR India Executive Director, Starcom Worldwide Head - Marketing, ITC Foods Business Head, Sahara One FOTOCORP FOTOCORP FAMILY DRAMAS STARCOM DID A THE ‘K’ SERIALS WON'T IS THIS THE END OF CONTINUE TO DOMINATE RESEARCH A FEW COMMAND THE SAME SAAS BAHU SERIALS? PRIME TIME TODAY. THEY MONTHS BACK FOR STATUS THEY ONCE DID. I WOULD SAY, YES CONSISTENTLY FEATURE ITS CLIENT FIRANGI, THERE WAS A TIME BUT I WOULD ALSO AMONG THE TOP-RATED THE CHANNEL FROM WHEN THESE SERIALS LIKE TO SAY THAT SHOWS ON TV EVERY THE SAHARA GROUP. WERE GETTING A TRP OF SAAS BAHU IS A VERY WEEK. AN OFT-QUOTED WE SAMPLED 1,500 TV 16-18. NOW IT'S RESTRICTIVE factoid in media is the viewers across six towns. Nine coming down to 4. So term that has, unfortunately, out of 10 people asked for a been used to define the drama declining ratings of these change in the serials that are obviously the advertiser will genre. shows. And often ignored is today on the GECs. Two out of move to where he gets the The days of saas bahu shows, the fact that they are still three people believed that these ratings. which rely on kitchen politics and performing. serials were boring and three out The consumer is getting the trials of a married girl within of five people wanted faster, the environment of the home and So do the declining ratings racier programmes. As TRPs of fragmented. New genres are thus family relationships, are mean declining popularity of such serials crashed, much of the being created. So your money coming to their natural end. these shows? Not necessarily. viewership was taken away by too is getting fragmented. If There is very little drama left to TV has undergone a sea new formats like reality shows, you can finally segment a show in these serials that has dubbed content, and news.. not been shown before. We have change since the first of the Going forward, the ‘K’ type of consumer interest in a seen it all - from multiple pack, Kyunki… made its serials might stabilise at around particular genre - and have a marriages to face changes and debut. There are over 400 2 to 3 TVRs with a loyal set of brand which needs to go to even returning from the dead. channels vying for viewer audience who will still enjoy this that consumer through that It is really a challenge to create genre. Programme producers any further story twists within attention. Regional channels who can differentiate their genre - life will become this genre. have begun providing product, move away from the simpler. The value that I This does not mean that drama alternatives to national beaten path, make serials that assign to a ‘K’ serial will be on television is over. It is just channels. As viewers’ tastes are faster, more contemporary less. So if the rating last year that drama will eventually move and are time bound may be able out of the kitchen. evolve, so will the face of TV to attract more eyeballs than the was 10, and this year it is 5, In all probability, the woman will content. I have little doubt ones who follow the same age the value automatically comes still be the primary protagonist that prime time soaps too will old formula. Events like the IPL down by 50 per cent. But on TV, but her journey will involve evolve and change. But could contribute to the overall fall should I stop advertising with more than sindoors and in the share of GEC since they mangalsutras. there’s also little doubt that offer an exciting prime time them? No. Because there is a they currently rule the roost. offering. certain kind of viewer that is watching them.

18 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

  SPRITE Being Upfront Consistency pays. And how. Riding on the clear-and-straightforward communication platform, which Sprite steadfastly followed for nearly a decade, this Coca-Cola brand has jumped to No 3 in the ranks of carbonated drinks in the country. By M Venkatesh

bout 15 years ago, Sergio three sellers, flagship brand Coke Zyman, a consultant with the was No 3. The only other country “There is a new- ACoca-Cola Co - who later where Coca-Cola faced this peculiar- became one of the US-based bever- ity was Peru, where Coke played found attitude of age maker’s most successful chief second fiddle to locally developed marketing officers - discovered brand that it owned - Inca Cola. being comfortable something about the clear, lemon- lime soft drink, Sprite. THE CLEAR STRATEGY in one’s identity He found out that Sprite’s con- n the 80-million cases, Rs 1,600- sumers didn’t actually care about the Icrore clear lime segment (this among youth today.” taste of the product. They drank accounts for 28.5 per cent of the soft Sprite because of its unconventional- drinks market that includes colas, VENKATESH KINI ity - an unconventionality that was cloudy lemon and orange), Sprite ARKETING cheeky in the communication too. overtook 7Up last year and has held VP, M Out went the company’s - and on to the position for over a year COCA-COLA INDIA

Zyman’s - reasoning that Sprite be now. In a bid to fight back, Pepsi SUSHIL KUMAR positioned as the ‘lemony’ alternative changed its ad agency for 7Up. to its colas. In came an infusion of BBDO took over duties from JWT “Looking beyond the communi- pooned the Youngistaan TVC from attitude that has stayed with Sprite. last year. It has been asked to look cation, the product is a thirst Pepsi. In the Sprite commercial, a The flavour shifted from the product beyond Fido Dido. Recent ads have quenching, refreshing, clear lemon- Shah Rukh Khan clone turns away itself to its communication. Its new pushed 7Up’s brand mascot to the lime product,” says Venkatesh Kini, his sister’s boyfriend but throws ads moved away from ‘I like the background and harp on the clear Coca-Cola India’s vice president open the doors when the neighbour Sprite in you’ to ‘Image is nothing. drink being a ‘mood and mind fresh- marketing. He also admits that Sprite walks in and introduces himself. Was Thirst is everything. Obey your ener’. is not No 1 in all markets. “Even in it necessary to always take a dig at thirst’ and a host of commercials that Coca-Cola India is in a happy lemon-lime we have a two-brand Pepsi? poked fun at ads in almost every cat- state riding on Thums Up and strategy. For instance, in Delhi, According to Upputuru, most of egory - from detergents to sneakers. Sprite. Overall, its volume sales, both Limca is the bigger brand. Sprite is Sprite’s ads are thematic. The drink’s The result? Sprite sales zoomed in the sparkling and still beverages strong in southern and eastern India communication basically punctures and urban teens took to it like fish to categories, grew by 14 per cent last and large portions of the Hindi pretentiousness. Ask him about the water. Three years after the switch, year. What gives? “Much as I would heartland,” he adds. With launches in Youngistaan spoof, and he says: “In Sprite, which was one of Coca- like to say it is entirely because of the the metros and expansion into the India, when you visit homes you Cola’s laggard brands, became the advertising that Sprite succeeded,” smaller towns, Sprite always had an actually ring the bell and you are fourth-largest selling soft drink in laughs Titus Upputuru, senior cre- urban skew though now it is far more invited properly.” There is no need the US. ative director, Ogilvy India “the broadbased. So how much did Sprite for subterfuge like climbing walls or What was good for the US market product itself is good and the best contribute to growing the clear lime windows. “Moreover,” he adds, “the was good enough for India too. thing is that it has been consistent in segment in India? ads are all in good spirit. It brings in When Sprite came to India, it stuck its attitude. Sometimes, there are According to Kini, it is difficult to a spirit of lightheartedness. After all it to the formula unwaveringly. And it people who change at the brand level separate the preference for the seg- is soft drinks. It is about fizz, it is paid off. Launched in 1999, Sprite or the agency level. And they start ment from the preference for the about enjoyment. Having fun on the has become the third-largest selling reinventing brands. Sprite had a brand. Sprite popularised the clear side that everyone enjoys.” soft drink in India after Thums Up strong, consistent communication.” lime segment and worldwide, the Sprite’s approach was clear. It tar- and Pepsi. Coca-Cola found itself in Other factors like distribution and clear lime segment is the largest in geted the youth - mainly teens - by a strange situation in India - of its top packaging too played their roles. the carbonated drinks category. “In arguing that other beverages were India nobody had attacked or focused on trivial and distractive approached it in the right way with matters of image and that those who the right product,” says Kini. Sprite, weren’t fooled by this sort of ‘trick- “After all it is soft helped by consistent communication ery’ should drink Sprite as a matter drinks. It is about of the core idea with refreshing exe- of authenticity. No marketing gim- cution year after year did that. micks, no celebrities - barring Sania fizz - having fun on In India too, Sprite’s ads poked Mirza two years ago, and there too, fun at other categories. One of the Sprite used the player’s attitude - and the side that every- earliest ones was on celebrity hardly any over-hyped selling was endorsements. Remember Lisa Ray the hallmark of Sprite’s highly-effec- one enjoys.” bathing in Sprite so that her skin tive campaign. could keep glowing? ‘Paisa do logon to TITUS UPPUTURU kuch bhi bol daalte hain’ went the TELLING IT LIKE IT IS R REATIVE DIREC Sprite commercial. But the ‘attacks’ efreshingly honest and slightly S C - were, more often than not, directed Rirreverent. Seedhi baat, no bakwas TOR GILVY at Pepsi. , O A recent TVC for Sprite lam- SUSHIL KUMAR  >>

22 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

   INX    (      (&#($( “There’s a INX launches a thematic integrated communication cam- whole lot of paign for its English news channel. By Sangeeta Tanwar NX Media has rolled out a 360 The on-air promo comprises an spontaneity Idegree marketing campaign for its extension of the visuals used for the English news channel, NewsX. The print and hoarding ads. In one of the in what cre- campaign, the tagline for which is promos, viewers can spot a distinct ‘Clarity in a Complex World’, fol- yellow umbrella popping out of hun- ative people lows the soft launch of the news dreds of similar looking black channel in March 2008. umbrellas and the accompanying text do.” Anthony Pettifer, group director, states: ‘Independent Thinking’. All

SUSHIL KUMAR brand and communications, INX the promos, print ads and hoardings Network, says, “Our campaign carry the tagline, ‘Clarity in a 24-year career in advertising and Gullu Sen, executive vice chairman, should force people to stop, have a Complex World’. Dentsu India, is still going strong. The ad-man feels defining moments of look and rejoice in the realisation Kumar Subramaniam, president, Aanyone’s life may be good or bad but not necessarily momentous. They can that here’s an intelligent campaign Meridian Communications says, change your way. It can be a strain of music, or somebody saying something or for an intelligent news channel. The “The campaign is in line with the doing something. channel’s philosophy has been cap- image of the news channel – that of a Defining moments are actually chemical reactions between people in tured in the campaign. We are stating thinking and intelligent entity which, the environment. There is no rhyme and reason why two people can click. There is whole lot of spontaneity involved in what creative people do. Creative people are not tactful or diplomatic which also helps us at times to open up to people. My father (Pratap Sen) was a teacher, a painter, a dramatist and a writer. My brother (Siddhartha Sen) who’s 15-years older to me, is also into advertising. They never coerced me to join advertising. But I some- how knew I would join this profession as I could draw and design. So I joined Lalit Kala Akademi. But I preferred the image world of advertising rather than the written world and the choice for me was between applied arts and pure fine arts. Somehow down the line, I took up graphic art, which is known as commercial art these days. After college, I did some freelance work and then joined HTA (now JWT), where my brother also worked. There I met Dennis Joseph and Niloy Sen. In those days, there was a trend and a definite line between art that it takes intelligence to know the in terms of target audience, translates direction and copywriting. Art directors never did films. I was an illustra- world, nothing is straightforward – into intelligent people.” tor myself but was fascinated by film writing. the world is not just black and white, The campaign is visible on various So one day I walked up to Dennis and asked him why I couldn’t do a but a complex world, and NewsX media vehicles such as TV, online film. He gave me a go ahead and my first script was for Horlicks Biscuits. brings clarity to this complex banners and print ads. Promos are on That also encouraged me to read books on film. And I still feel that Art of world.” air on television channels such as Reading Films by James Monaco, more than anything else, changed my Pettifer says that the campaign was Discovery, Discovery Travel & life. In one way Dennis was a great teacher and was a great influencer. He done keeping in mind the profile of Living, The History Channel, was a great writer himself and could write in different styles. He was very the target audience. The campaign National Geographic, STAR Movies spontaneous, almost a mad-man. He told me that it doesn’t matter aims to reach people in the age group and HBO. There is heavy cross-pro- whether your campaign goes through or not, or is liked by the client or of 25 years and above. The news motion within the INX Network on not, but the first way to do it, is to do the way you want it. channel targets “people at the top of 9X and 9XM. Hoardings have been Another influencer in my life has been my father. He once told me the pyramid” – CEOs, entrepreneurs, put up in all the major cities like that the difference between a craftsman and an artist is that craftsman is business leaders and professionals Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, always skilled. A good artist is a combination of skill and mind. He has who are leading India today and a ris- Hyderabad and Kochi. to be knowledgeable and understand the philosophies and values of ing, well-educated, new generation. [email protected] society. One of my favourite ads – HDFC Life Insurance’s Sar uthaa ke jiyo has been influenced by a real incident with my father. I thought that insurance is not about good living but self-respect. One day my 84- << ! $ %(#! ("( Padmanabhan claims that the site has year-old father was sitting and wanted to get up from a chair. I received visitors from 137 countries, spontaneously held forth my hand to him. He pushed me aside and said spending an average of 20 minutes on that he was old but not crippled. I was hurt at that time, but later I !%


the site. He adds that one lakh videos realised the importance of his self-respect. And exactly that’s what I are viewed every day on the site. have shown in the ad, where a father is getting out of the train, and he Padmanabhan does not reveal the For users who have registered refuses to hold his son’s hand. specifics. He adds that the site will be with the site, MyPopkorn is working Another defining moment in my life has been my work with Aamir selective about the number and kind on a system to show only relevant Khan for the Innova ad. I’ve learnt a lot from him. He’s hard working and of channels it showcases, as it is still videos according to their preference. not shy and afraid of challenges. He takes risks. It is easy to say in retro- trying to understand what the con- The website is also working on a spect when one is successful, that he took a risk, but the person who’s sumer wants to see. There are only social networking platform which taking the risk only knows what he’s going through. His passion for work eight channels on the site at present. will allow users to share opinions on has definitely changed my perception how I look at creativity today. MyPopkorn was launched in the the videos and watch the videos As told to Dhaleta Surender Kumar first week of April and was being test online at the same time. marketed a few months earlier. [email protected]

24 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

ADVERTISING Not Quite Right There is big scope for Indian advertising to improve on craft and execution. Is there a serious problem or is this merely award-inspired agonising? By Devina Joshi


bus-load of young cricketers caught in a traffic jam As Priti Nair, national creative director, Grey Worldwide, during rush hour. Amidst the maddening confu- puts it, “India as a nation works like that… we have decided sion, some of them get on top of the bus for a that we will work on weekends, keep crazy hours and spend practice game. Others join in as the game quickly nights in office.” Clients give short deadlines. Most agency picksA up and the tension reaches fever pitch. Soon, the whole folk would swear that they have to stick to the 10-day thumb street is involved in the crazy adventure. rule: from briefing to ideation to execution, that’s the amount If the idea was to convey cricket-madness, the idea was of time agencies generally get. bang on. But what put the ad up there with the classics was “Even in fast-paced cities like New York, you won’t hear the sweat that went into its execution. The film, with a budg- of unreasonable deadlines or work after 6 PM,” Nair says. et of Rs 1 crore, was shot on a set created in Karjat, “They have a life beyond work.” Emphasising the point, she Maharashtra. An entire street, with building facades, was cre- points to the extent of detailing that ad agencies in the West ated together with such details as a statue with finger upraised go into before filming begins, even for, say, casting. “We think (to signify ‘out’). of casting three days before the shoot,” muses Nair. Sadly for Indian advertising, such ads are thin on the ground. Why doesn’t great idea meet great execution more FOTOCORP WHEN IN ROME frequently in Indian advertising? “There are t doesn’t help that India is a heterogeneous advertising Imarket. It is actually many countries rolled into one. One WHAT GETS IN THE WAY no practices has to take care of regions, languages, literates vs non-literates hen discussing award shows, the focus – naturally – is when it comes to and the mass vs class premium segmentation. Won the big idea behind the creation. And when we talk delivery - except, Moreover, what works in the north may not work in the of Indian entries in international awards, the subject shifts to the faster South or the East. whether jury members adequately understand local nuances. Explaining why the method of working varies within an In the presence of these hot subjects of debate, the quality of the better.”ad advertising network from one country to another, Piyush PRASOON JOSHI execution takes a back seat. Which is what this cover story is Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director, devoted to. For, execution is a critical aspect of any story, O&M India and vice chairman, O&M Asia, says, “The Lowes whether or not it relates to awards. and O&Ms started off as national agencies, and then devel- While Indian agencies do win metals, jury members have oped into networks with international backing. But in every been known to comment that the execution often lacks that market, they’re as local as they can be. We can import little something. Translated, this means a lack of detailing, resources, but it’s the same funda as multinationals: we can’t technology, layering, revisiting and that extra edge which dis- do without Indians in this country. When in Rome, do as the tinguishes the extraordinary from the very good. Romans do.” The Brand Reporter interviewed about a dozen well Joshi says that it is good to remember that “India is a rap- known professionals to get to the heart of the matter. And idly developing and increasingly competitive market. The while there were different points of view, they were in agree- overall marketing spends have gone up but there is no luxu- ment that the quality of execution could be better. Says ry of time. There are no practices when it comes to delivery Prasoon Joshi, McCann-Erickson’s executive chairman, – except, the faster the better. Agreed that advertising as an India, and regional executive creative director, Asia Pacific, industry works on a time-specific module but compared to “The focus on technical expertise and so much attention sur- many international counterparts, the time taken to shoot, fin- rounding it is coming - apart from other factors - from the ish and deliver a film in India is crunched. Often this factor

awards perspective. Awards compel us to examine our work FOTOCORP alone has a telling impact on the finished product.” even more critically and learn from the shortcomings. Craft Santosh Desai, chief operating officer of Future Brands, and execution have a huge role to play.” “We have decided and a former advertising man himself – he was president of A number of factors get in the way of great execution. that we will work McCann – concedes that the agency complaint about “time Major among them: on weekends, keep constraints and unreal deadlines is valid. It has become a 5The idea draws way more attention than does execution. crazy hours and norm to do things quickly, and quality does suffer. Very often, 5There isn’t enough time. internal client objectives and deadlines – rather than market- 5There isn’t enough money. spend nights in place requirements - are the reason for the rush.” The idea is critical to a piece of communication. But, office.”d argue some, the emphasis on the idea is so overwhelming that PRITI NAIR DOING IT RIGHT not enough attention goes into the execution. It is the nce a script for a television commercial has been ideation that is given disproportionate time so that everything Ofinalised, it is read by the director and he decides the else that follows is squeezed in the time remaining. “You’ve treatment to be given to it. The producer (in consultation barely cracked the idea, and people tell you it needs to be with the director) works out the costing and gets it approved developed and shot in four days,” grumbles a top creative by the client. director. Next, a production designer enters the picture. He is in charge of set designing and sees to the screenplay. Getting a AT THE LAST MINUTE casting director, the right costumes and makeup, hiring a ould this emphasis on idea have something to do with director of photography (DoP) with a crew of expert camera- Cthe Indian tendency to intellectualise whatever possible? men and equipment follows. If the ad needs it, a stunt Could it be part of the Indian willingness to credit whatever director, a choreographer (with or without dancers) or even a involves the mind (the idea) over that which involves the food stylist (if the category is food, it has to look delicious) are hands (the execution)? Think about it. brought in. Work practices in different professions or businesses with- After the shoot is over, post production sets in. The tran- in India tend to vary depending on how internationalised the sition of film to video is digitally done by a colourist, and this field is. For example, in information technology, where the process is called Tele-cine. The look of the film is decided at Indian operations are frequently integrated with those of FOTOCORP this juncture. Next is the offline work, namely editing. international clients, the style of working is in sync with that “Even global Following that, the online stuff (supers, logos and special of multinationals. At the other end of the spectrum, the agencies have effects) are taken care of. Then, there is the music director, Indian real estate business continues to be run in a generally to be as local as who deals with soundtrack, voice artistes and singers, if there disorganised way since it has no direct international compul- are any. sion to clean up its act. they can be.”ad Going by ad film maker Prahlad Kakar’s version, there is In this context, look at Indian advertising which has been PIYUSH PANDEY a tendency to cut corners at every step. Processing in India part of international networks for more than half a century. instead of processing abroad (there is a severe lack of well- Why then does a certain haphazardness still persist? trained professionals here); avoiding an imported director of

The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008 29
 photography even when the situation demands it. The small- WHEREIN est set would cost Rs 10-15 lakh to construct. And in spite of LIES THE DIF- the initial good intentions, the filmmaker gets to hear, “Hey, FERENCE let’s shoot it in someone’s house.” Even the shoot itself has to s for television be hurried so it is unlikely that the unit will – for example - Acommercials, wait for the right angle of the sun but instead use artificial says Desai, “For us lighting to pass off for the morning rays. clients, the convic- A good way of checking the state of the ad film business tion that any here is to check out its cousin, the feature film making busi- additional invest- ness. Says Joshi, “Traditionally, Indian ad films have led the ment in way when it came to technology but today all that is chang- production bears ing. Feature film budgets have increased exponentially and a fruit, is missing. lot of new experiments are happening there. The future Production budg- would lie in the cross-fertilization between these two (forms ets are something Almost everything about the Nike Traffic Jam ad was perfect - from the paintstaking detailing of the

of film-making).” SUSHIL KUMAR that are always Sometimes, the time and budget pressure can also be shrouded in mys- buildings, to the busy street and the statue. inadvertently created. Says Milind Dhaimade, ad filmmaker, “For clients, pro- tery. Clients are Equinox Films, “We often receive 40-second scripts in the duction budgets are not clear on what guise of 20-seconders.” Something obviously has to give. something that are they get in return. Often, they don’t TALKING OF PRINT always shrouded in get good value for f there is much scope for improvement in TV, the state of mystery.”ad money. The Icreative execution in print fetches gloomy responses. Until SANTOSH DESAI process of arriving 15 years ago, brands like Vadilal, Femina and Raymond used at cost should be primarily print to their advantage. But in the mid- and late- more transparent 1990s, television exploded in India and the entire focus to us.” shifted from great print work to great scripts. Another agency Internationally, an art director is supported by a typogra- executive turned pher, a designer, a layout artist, an illustrator and a marketer is Anisha photographer in agencies. “In India, there is nothing called a Motwani, senior The hard work for the Happydent ad started from the designer or a layout artist. An art director is expected to be a vice president, drawing board itself. From building a bridge where multi-tasker,” reveals Santosh Padhi, executive creative direc- marketing, at Max there wasn't one, to prowling for Mallakhamb artists. tor, Leo Burnett. New York Life Voted as the numero uno illustrator in Luerzer’s Archives (she was with recently, Milind Aglave (an illustrator with Publicis Euro RSCG Ambience, who also freelances for other advertising agencies) before joining has an interesting point to make here: “The quality of our General Motors). newspapers and the colours available therein are also road- She dismisses the blocks in making our print craft look and feel better.” He has agency contention

a point there. FOTOCORP that they don’t get Desai disagrees that print doesn’t get enough attention. “If in 40 years you enough time, con- “It’s not a question of money here, but mindset about the haven’t figured out tending that from medium itself,” he says. “Print isn’t a poor advertiser’s medi- briefing to execu- um by any standards (it’s more expensive than television if where the money is tion, agencies get we want to reach out to a national audience). It’s just a less going, then some- three to four articulate medium. Unless we’re clear on what print can do thing is wrong.”ad months. The challenge for the Fevicol bus TVC was to get 80 for clients, the print production mess cannot be sorted out.” SUNIL GUPTA Motwani sees people inside the bus and 40 others clinging on. The no reason why a bus was driven slowly over holes dug in the ground. client will not sup- SOME OF THE BETTER STUFF port path-breaking scripts and execution. After all, clients are (Top creatives vote the following advertising work as their favourite in terms of execution) “not stupid” to bombard media with mediocre ads, as they THE WORK AGENCY TRIVIA are aware of the fatigue factor setting in. “Why would we want to flog a dead horse?” demands a peeved Motwani. Thums Up car racing ad Leo Burnett A car race sequence shot in Malaysia with a Sunil Gupta, a former president of JWT, who is now (featuring Akshay Kumar) budget of Rs 2 crore. country head, Aprais, India and Sri Lanka (a relationship Happydent Palace McCann Erickson Shot in Panvel near Mumbai, it took 10 days to measurement and management system between clients and complete. Filmmaker Ram Madhvani managed to agencies) says, “What I would say to the client, the agency get singer Kailash Kher to sing for free. and the producer is simple: you have been producing ads for Nike ‘Cricket’ ad JWT An entire set was created to show a traffic jam over 40 years in this country; in 40 years if you haven’t learnt Fevicol Truck ad O&M Indian set up, Indian actors, Indian technicians - where your money is going or you haven’t figured out an but shot to perfection in Rajasthan. amicable way to do things, then something is very, very wrong indeed.” He disagrees that budgets are small and thinks instead that What They Say not enough is being done to understand the truth about pro- AGENCIES PRODUCERS/FILMMAKERS CLIENTS duction costs. “That’s because a certain inertia has set into the Low budgets Low budgets Long ideation processes by system; ‘go with the flow’ is what people think” analyses agencies Gupta. Besides, clients don’t push agencies hard enough for Unreal deadlines by clients Poor quality of scripts Good filmmakers few and far good ideas and agencies can’t protect these when they do (and an inability to convince between (and often, come up with them, he thinks. them about the same) unavailable) The one thing on which almost everybody seems to agree Not enough investment in Less time allotted for the film to take shape Ambiguity on returns on is that ad agencies are not given enough time. If clients and technology/talent investment (production their agencies could sort just that one out, that alone might budgets) make some difference to the quality of execution in Indian Ill-defined roles of art Clients distrust on production monies Not clear on how advertising. directors in the agency production budgets work. [email protected]

30 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

     A jarring note on music

he very music on radio that posers & Phonographic Performance est in discussing minimum fee plus additional features with the sole pur- drives its listenership is Ltd (PPL), which collects royalty for differential revenues sharing from pose of entertaining our listeners but Tbecoming its most con- several music companies such as the radio companies. music is the one ingredient we can- tentious issue today. A heated debate Saregama, Sony BMG and Universal Nigam has another grouse with not compromise on!” is on even as court cases are being Music, are equally dissatisfied with the radio channels, “They play only Anil Srivatsa, CEO, Radio Meow, fought on individual and industry the state of affairs. Rakesh Nigam, popular music; they are not making a channel positioned more on talk level with little consensus on the CEO, IPRS, says, “We are not happy music popular. They are only cream- than music, offers a different view, “I many factors involved. with the present scenario. Music is ing the music industry.” S guess they (other channels) feel it’s Apurva Purohit, CEO, Radio City the main raw material for a radio sta- Keerthivasan, business head, Fever too risky to change right now. They 91.1FM and president, AROI tion. Without music they can’t 104 FM, shares the other side of the all tell me they want to go my way, (Association of Radio Operators of survive. They should therefore give a picture,“I believe that radio abets the they even engage with my channel India) lets in on the growing tension, fair value to music royalty.” music industry and exposes listeners on air but they all worry about brand “The prohibitive costs being paid on Even as the radio industry con- to new music.” Purohit adds, “The erosion. They feel safe in doing what music royalties is the biggest stum- they are doing but the fact is that the bling block to the future growth of safety net is not too wide. If you this industry. Since there is lack of notice every other channel is intro- gradation of royalty fees based on the ducing more and more talk, on the size and thus revenue potential of a same lines as our channel.” city, it is especially going to harm sta- In the meanwhile, according to tions in the smaller tier two cities.” IPRS and PPL, while Adlabs, Sun However Prashant Panday, CEO, Radio and some of the smaller play- Radio Mirchi, has a different view. “I ers have shown willingness to take would not say the differences the city wise differential revenues, between the music industry and the it’s some of the big players who are Thomas, Pradhan and Keerthivasan: differing view points radio industry are growing. I believe yet to arrive at a consensus. individual members of the music tends that it is still finding its feet, the radio industry feels that considering Both Pradhan and Nigam feel that industry are keen to find a solution to music industry disagrees. Vipul that radio is one of the best promo- they are on a back-foot because big the royalty issue – it is only a few Pradhan, CEO, PPL says, “The tariff tional vehicles for the film and music media houses control the radio com- members in the collective societies of Rs 660 per hour was fixed up in business, there is ample scope for panies. who have taken a hawkish position. 2001, and that was also interim. This both industries to work on a synergis- Does all this spell the end of There are no grounds for any dispute is 2008. Even if you add the inflation tic basis.” Pradhan on the other hand melodious music on radio? really. There are global precedences cost, it would still come to around Rs feels there is a major disconnect in Nigam says, “There should be a in this subject. Why are we trying to 1500.” Nigam adds, “ In Phase I, you the revenue and cost heads for radio partnership between the two indus- reinvent the wheel? There is no dif- could say that the radio companies stations, “Internationally the radio tries, but an equal one, where the ference in the relationship of the were making huge losses but in Phase business is supposed to be a small radio industry brings its expertise music industry with the radio indus- II, when government made drastic company business. In India the radio and we bring our’s.” Pandey adds, try in India compared to the rest of changes in policy based on industry stations are operating out of some of “We have recently offered free com- the world,” he says. representations, the radio industry the most posh offices, with the mercial time (FCT) of one million Abraham Thomas, COO, Red got a big relief from the government. rentals, salaries and promotional costs dollars to the music industry to fight FM, elaborates the international We are saying now you should give coming out to be some of the big cost piracy. We are hoping two benchmarks, “Internationally royalty up the infancy discount we gave.” heads. Compare it with the percent- mature industries can talk their prob- is collected as a percentage share of While TRAI has asked the two age paid for music, the main input. lems out.” the annual revenue of a station. commercial industries to settle the There is a big disconnect there.” Purohit has the last word, “It is However in India, the royalty fees is matter amongst them, FICCI’s Given all these arguments, are the imperative that broadcasters and the negotiated from station to station. report 2008 observes that royalty for radio stations exploring new avenues music industry sit face to face to This is an unorganised system and private FM should be in line with for content? Keerthivasan says, arrive at a mutually beneficial solu- obviously inefficient. It becomes international norms, which is in the “Currently news and current affairs tion. Considering that radio is one unsustainable, especially from the range of three-five per cent of annu- are not allowed on radio. AROI is in of the best promotional vehicles for perspective of smaller cities, since al revenues of a station. The chamber talks with the government to allow the film and music business, there there is a lack of gradation of the roy- has also suggested a single collection news and current affairs on radio. is ample scope for both industries to alties based on the size and revenue agency for music rights fee or devel- This will lead to a wider width of on work on a synergistic basis.” potential of a city.” opment of a mechanism where one air content.” Purohit feels otherwise, All that the listeners would like to Indian Performing Rights Society rate is applicable to all agencies or “Radio is synonymous with music. add to the raging debate is, ‘let the (IPRS), which collects royalty on royalty collection bodies. The music We cannot substitute the music aspect music play on’. behalf of lyricists and music com- industry on its part has shown inter- with any other matter. We present - Meenakshi Gupta    94.3 MyFM Jaipur connected    Jaipurites with their near and dear ones. The channel started making announcements to motivate listeners Radio connects in crisis for Voluntary Blood Donations, enlisting some 120 donors for a adio has traditionally blood group scarce in Jaipur. Rplayed a pivotal role in Information was transmitted to disasters, whether man-made Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur or natural. Through help for necessary actions. The station was     lines, giving critical updates, also broadcasting its listeners’ brought its listeners a special initia- connecting people, it helps enquiries about the welfare of their tive to support the Kolkata Knight post calamity but more relatives and friends, from its 16 sta- Riders team in Mirchi style through- importantly, before a disaster tions. Sensing the city’s mood, the out the tournament; a fan club for hits, sometimes it plays a crit- channel switched over to the devo- the Kolkata franchise, Dada’s Devils. ical role in saving lives well in tional numbers to soothe frayed On the auspicious occasion of Poila time. During the Orissa tempers. The morning after the Baisakh (the Bengali New Year), IPL cyclone, after the Tsunami or when world, radio has sometimes been the blast the channel mourned the vic- celebrations kick started with the incessant rains hit Mumbai, radio has only means of connecting people tims of mindless terror act by inauguration of the unofficial fan played a key role in connecting peo- with the rest of world. observing two-minute silence on air. club by Tollywood actress Koel ple with each other and sharing their Recently when terror came to The station is exhorting people on air Mullick with first fifty registered insecurities in the moments of crisis. Jaipur, gripping it with serial bomb to light a candle to mourn the depart- members on a Radio Mirchi branded Even in the war zones around the blasts, radio played its role to the hilt. ed souls. tram.     initiated 'Shielding May Mayhem'      
 
   campaign, an initiative to lend a helping hand to facilitate Delhiites with water tankers. Beginning, May 6, 'Shielding May Mayhem' - a two- Women are changing... day activity launched by the channel had its RJs inviting listeners to Anil Srivatsa, Chief Operating Officer, Radio Today, a pioneer in dedicated talk based share their water woes and register radio station for women (Radio Meow), talks about the highs and lows of making their locations to render help. Okhla inroads into a new market. and Khanpur were randomly select- ed and were provided exclusive Having a talk centric station, that too focused only on women. What Water Tankers on behalf of the groundwork went into taking this double challenge? channel. We didn’t have extensive research or analysis on the market. It started off with a gut feeling for the format, but of course, it had to make business sense. We looked at the advertising scenario. We could see that the women as a market were becoming more assertive; they were changing in terms of lifestyles, in terms of how they expressed themselves. And we offered Meow 104.8 FM as a forum where they could express themselves in ways never imagined before.

Women are a big heterogeneous group with many profiles. Who exactly is the target audience for Radio Meow? Our audience is a women who wants to be like a 26 year old. When a women is 18, she wants to be older, wants to enjoy the freedom to do a lot of things that a 26 year hold is perceived as. When she is 26, she is actually living that life, getting married, Surat, celebrated having kids, pursuing a career. That’s the time a lot of things are happening in her life. An older woman looks back and is crav-   Mother’s Day by hosting an event, ing for that life when she was around 26 and is able to get it for many reasons. So we are looking at a 26 year old mindset as where its RJs, along with select lis- our bulls eye target. Our target is a woman who is independent of thought, who has a need or drive to discover herself, some- teners visited the Mahajan Orphan one who likes to have some time for herself and set off that spark in her eyes for life. house with loads of gifts and com- passion for the kids. The team Having built a new market where none existed. What’s your advise to the new channels wanting to target involved the orphans in various fun niche audiences? sharing activities and ensured that I would say keep your costs low and go ahead and do what you want to do. The lesson we learnt was that just because you they felt loved and cared for. The get it doesn’t mean everyone else also gets it. It took us a little time to make the marketing and creative community understand channel also organized various con- that they can give vent to their creativity on our channel. As far as the listeners are concerned, we worked hard on opening minds tests on air, which saw winners Sponsored feature and educating the listener. This journey is a long one but once done I am sure others after us will benefit. As pioneers of the getting invited to the BIG FM studio. west, we too are taking the arrows on our chest. BIG RJ’s also delivered gifts to win- ners’ mothers on their special day.

For more on radio, log on to Radio Rocks at http://www.agencyfaqs.com/radiorocks  

<<   Rhea. Neither of them believes him. “The ideas come from all over,”

says Upputuru, “but we made a con- HSE2404


 scious effort to find out what works for the brand.” Both client and has been Sprite’s no-nonsense line. agency meet the young audience, talk And it has been playing the line in to them and brainstorm in coffee different ways, tones and styles houses, among other places. changing the language accordingly. According to the agency, what helped Honesty, according to Sprite, is an tremendously was that it shares a old policy that works. Globally too, near-perfect partnership with the Sprite has focused on honesty in client. varying degrees. In Latin America, Surprisingly, considering its target for instance, the honesty is more audience, if there is one trick Sprite brutal. In other countries it is sub- hasn’t used fully it is digital commu- liminal. nication. There were a few In India, according to the agency, SMS-based campaigns. It also came most youth brands are getting into up, in 2006, with Sprite-itude - an ‘smartness’ territory - because they interactive zone on the net. think youth want to be smart. Consumers could play tennis and do “Today, the youth wants to be matter their own thing that included creat-

Both client and agency meet the young audience, talk to them and brainstorm where the latter hang out. of fact they say what they believe and ing a T-shirt slogan for Sania. don’t hide behind pretences. They However, so far, there has been have been like this traditionally too, nothing like Sprite Yard (launched in but earlier they were more rebel- China), a new mobile phone-based, lious. Now the trend is: ‘I don’t have social networking site with down- to prove a point and I’m not doing loadable content that was launched this to prove a point to my dad or in June, last year. Teens got to peers. I’m being myself.’ In Sprite’s redeem prizes and download case, the transparency comes from mobisodes and ringtones by typing the brand itself,” he explains. “There in codes printed on Sprite bottle is a new-found attitude of being caps. Though Sprite hasn’t milked comfortable in one’s identity among the digital potential yet, it is serious- To encourage the advertising industry throughout Asia Pacifi c to enter the youth of today,” says Kini. ly working on it this year. their best creative work into AWARD, we stuck these stickers on the Take the new Sprite TV commer- Cracking the digital arena - where cial. It has a boy dating two girls at irreverence and attitude bring even backs of unsuspecting people in the industry as they left their offi ces, the same time. After telling the first better results - could give Sprite the took a photo of the stunt, and then ran it as a ‘Call for Entry’ print ad girl that ‘doosri girlfriend wait kar rahi boost to stay ahead of the competi- in a popular advertising trade magazine. BEAT THIS. hogi,’ he tells the second girl that he tion. got delayed because of a date with [email protected]

34 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008


 PARLE The Lighter Side Amir Khan uses common sense to get out of sticky situations. By Surina Sayal

arle Monaco has appointed Aamir Khan as fling the imaginary sheet of glass towards the Khan, Desai says that their research showed that the brand ambassador for Parle Monaco. The crowd, which, in turn, recoils in horror. Aamir and people felt he is a versatile actor. “Also, he is very Pcampaign consists of two TV commercials. his friends have a good laugh. He waves to the selective and is not all over the place, which works The first, titled Scratch, has a grim coach who crowd as they go into the theatre. in our favour.” Khan is portrayed as a regular guy asks sportsmen Khan and his friends to take two The campaign has been conceptualised by with smart, interesting ideas. He plays a safe, intel- more rounds of a ground. Khan points out that the Everest Brand Solutions. The creative team lectual character. coach had recently bought a new car. To his team includes creative directors Vipin Dhyani and Monaco had always communicated its being members warning about the coach’s lack of Chetan Jagtap, and business director John Khalkho light crispy attribute in its ads, and its baseline was humour, Khan simply replies, “Toh aaj hasega”. ‘crisp light Monaco for lighter moments’. In 2003- Later, the coach is shocked to see a huge scratch on “Khan has been portrayed 04, the positioning of Monaco was changed from the car. Khan ostentatiously sympathises with the physical to metaphorical. The baseline changed to coach. As the coach is seething with rage, Khan regular guy with smart tension kyon leneka, Monaco khaneka. In the year pulls out the ‘I love you’ sticker, and the coach interesting ideas.” 2005, the brand spoke about making life interest- appreciates the joke. The film ends with the prod- ing by finding humour in the most mundane uct shot and Khan’s voiceover, saying “Parle from client servicing. The films have been directed activities. Thus the line Life namkeen banaiye was Monaco. Life namkeen banaiiye”. by Pushpendra Singh and produced by Flying coined. The second commercial, titled Rally, shows Saucer Films. Says Dhyani, “Monaco endorses the philosophy Khan and his friends rushing to catch a movie and About the core theme, Shalin Desai, senior that you can make life interesting and turn around encounter a long election rally. Khan’s friend is product manager, Parle Products says, “When one cynical moments.” anxious to get there on time. Khan reassures him. says zindagi mein namak nahi hai he means life is not He adds that the brief from Parle for this partic- Next, the four friends act as if they are carrying a interesting, so logically this idea of life mein namak ular campaign stated clearly that it had to be huge sheet of glass. The people make way for them has always fit and worked for the Parle Monaco harmless pranks. A third film will follow soon, tar- and they reach the other side. Aamir instructs his brand.” geting housewives. friend to turn over the glass sheet. They suddenly Commenting on the decision of taking on [email protected]

COMIC BOOKS volumes as the serial progresses. STAR has planned a compilation of the volumes in a hardbound Animated in Print book as well. According to D’sa, the comic book featuring The ased on feedback which year ago. The objective of the divi- Great Indian Laughter Challenge revealed that audiences want- sion was to extend the experience on will not only be a compilation of Bed to relive some of the TV to other touch points. The STAR jokes, but will also have graphic popular serials on STAR Plus, the Parivaar brand of designer ethnic rendering. channel has come up with comic wear, which was launched in a tie-up STAR also plans to publish books on five of its popular shows. with Big Bazaar, is an example of around 42 cookery books The shows are: Dharti Ka Veer Yodha that. The comic books are also part of under the Rasoi series. Books – Prithviraj Chauhan, Sarabhai v/s this initiative,” says D’sa. on fashion, too, are under con- Sarabhai, Naya Office Office, My The comic books are available in sideration. The company has Friend Ganesha and The Great Indian English and Hindi. Other regional also tied up with Ahmedabad- Vidwans, Laughter Challenge. languages, such as Telugu, based Forever Jewellers and executive vice The titles, brought out by Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Gujarati Sia Stores. For a bed-and- president, STAR’s merchandising division, and Bengali, will follow. While Dharti bath-textile range, the division has research marketing & communica- STAR Licensing and Merchandis- Ka Veer Yodha - Prithviraj Chauhan is tied up with Portico. All these col- tions, NDTV Imagine says, “The ing, in association with Prakash targeted at children in the 7+ age lections will be branded as STAR comic books are purely for market- Books India, a retailer distributor group, the other titles are targeted at Parivaar. ing purposes and not for sale.” and publishing house, have four young adults. “But then, there are D’sa informs that the comic Almost one lakh copies of volumes each and are priced at Rs people in the age group of 40+ also books will be retailed through major Dharam Veer have been distributed 35 per volume. who enjoy reading comics,” says bookstores such as Crossword, till now; more volumes are in the According to Nanette D’sa, sen- D’sa. Dharti Ka Veer Yodha – Prithviraj TimeOut (a Reliance speciality store pipeline as the serial progresses. ior vice-president, STAR Licensing Chauhan could that houses books, music, stationery, NDTV Imagine is also mulling over and Merchandising, the sci- have two more toys and gifts), Depot (Big Bazaar’s bringing out its popular serial, ence fiction series, Antariksh, bookstore chain) and Landmark. Ramayan in the comic-book format. and the fairytale show, Son The books will be marketed Earlier, in 2006, Fireworks Pari, will also be launched through point of sales, on-air activa- Productions too had come up with a soon in the comic-book for- tions and through the internet. series of comic books on its famous mat. Meanwhile, NDTV Imagine serial, CID (still on air on Sony “STAR Licensing and plans to come up with comic books Entertainment television). Merchandising was created a on its serial Dharam Veer. Manoj [email protected]

38 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

  

ho’s Th at W “I don’t like being called a model. I am more of an actor in all the commercials I have done.” called The Private Life of Albert Pinto. The famous Sprite ad that he featured in happened by chance. He had gone to audition for an HDFC Bank commercial, dressed in for- mals, looking as dapper and decent as possible, to fit the role. On auditioning he was told that he looked too young for the role and disap-   
pointed he headed out of there. There was a Sprite audition happening nearby and Pandit A regular face on television commercials, this new cricket host has success- decided to give it a shot. “I was looking like an fully tried out a number of professions. By Sapna Nair uncle in formal shirt and trouser, but I still wanted to give it a try. The guy was shutting e is the smartie in the Sprite ads. Much doesn’t look like one. “I am hardly a model, I am shop but on insistence, let me audition,” he like his image in the advertisements he an actor. In all the commercials I have done, I recalls. He grabbed the role that popularized His the cool-guy-next-door. Shiv Pandit don’t come across as a model at all,” he says. him in the industry, despite looking like the is a known face on Indian television having fea- This English Honours graduate from Delhi ‘odd’ guy. tured in TVCs for brands such as Tide, Airtel, University has his finger in many pies. He has SET Max was looking for someone who the Colgate, LG, Travelguru.com, among others and worked with Radio Mirchi for two years, as a youth would relate to for its IPL Extraa Innings. also in music videos and a few films. Currently, radio jockey and producer. He has dabbled in And Pandit fit the bill. “I am living a great dream apart from working in a Tamil film, he hosts the theatre too. He came to be noticed in a film right now,” he chuckles. He is glad to have got popular cricket show Extraa Innings on SET Max. called Let’s Enjoy produced by Quartet the opportunity to anchor a show this big. He Even after bagging a few big brands in his Productions and starred in a music video after will soon start working in a Tamil romantic com- modelling kitty, Pandit says that he didn’t envis- that. Things started looking bright for him since edy Leelai. This RJ-turned-actor-turned - anchor age a career in modelling. He, in fact, hates being then. And he got numerous offers to act in has lots up his sleeve. called a model, primarily because he believes he advertisements. He has also acted in a short film [email protected]

MOVEMENTS/APPOINTMENTS

 A compilation of some major people movements in the last fortnight MARKETING > Nirula’s has appointed Ajay Khanna as the Vice President, Operations. Ajay Khanna has worked with national and international names like ITDC, Radisson, Apollo Hospitals, Reliance Industries Ltd, Amorreto’s Retail, Baan Chaopraya Condominium and Somprasong Land Public Co. Ltd, Bangkok in the past. Along with a ADVERTISING Diploma in Hotel Management from Pusa, he also holds a certi- MEDIA fication of Internal Auditor for ISO 9001 and has secured another certificate called ‘Train the Trainer’ for Hotel >Farid Kureshi, who quit Times OOH as chief operating Operations from ITDC. Khanna with his 20 years of experience > Gitanjali Murari has joined Real Global officer in February, has now launched his own out of home in the hospitality and retail industry will certainly boost Nirula’s Broadcasting (RGB), the Turner – Alva Brothers’ joint venture called Via OOH. chances. venture, as head of content for its soon to-be-launched Hindi general entertainment channel. In this position, > Hanoz Mogrelia, creative director, Saatchi & Saatchi, > Mohit Gupta has joined online trav- Murari will be responsible for developing and producing has joined Vyas Gianetti Creative (VGC) as executive cre- el agency MakeMyTrip.com as chief content for the channel, through third party partners and ative director. He will work out of the marketing officer. Gupta’s earlier assign- associates. Prior to her appointment at RGB, Murari was agency’s Mumbai branch. Mogrelia had ment was as the vice-president, the head of programming for Sony PIX and was also been with Saatchi & Saatchi for eight marketing, flavours, at PepsiCo involved with the brand’s marketing and advertising sales years. He has 19 years of experience. He International. Gupta had been with functions. Murari has held several positions with reputed is the man behind campaigns such as the Pepsico International for 10 years since media brands, including SET India as the creative director launch of Playwin online lotteries, Tetley he graduated from IIM Calcutta overseeing hit shows like Yeh Meri Life Hai, Hum Do Hain flavoured teabags, Speed petrol and the Na; Zee Trendz, Zee MGM and Zee English as programming India launches of Olay and Pampers. MEDIA head and Fremantle as country head for India. In addition, Murari has worked as an independent creative consultant, > Mudra has appointed Arijit Ray > Rahul Johri has been promoted as the country manager a TV show producer and a documentary producer. executive vice-president and head of for Discovery Networks India. Johri is currently serving as Mudra Mumbai. Before this, Ray was senior vice-president, advertising sales, at > Naazneen Karmali has been appointed as India working in the same capacity at Saatchi Discovery Network. In his new role he will Editor of Forbes Asia and the Mumbai bureau manager & Saatchi Mumbai, and handling brands be responsible for integrating Discovery’s for Forbes magazine. Karmali is currently a contributing such as Reliance Infocomm and India and Asia operations. Johri will report Mahindra Renault Logan. At Mudra, he to Tom Keaveny, EV-P and MD, Discovery editor at Forbes. In her new role Karmali will cover India’s will report to Jude Fernandes, executive Networks Asia. His appointment will be growing industries and companies and the wealth of director, Mudra Group. effective from July 1. India’s richest individuals through the compilation of the annual Forbes India Rich List & Billionaire List.

40 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

          Love Life Stop AIDS eep sea divers getting cosy on the Dsea bed. The tag line reads - Stylish Fit ‘Always have condoms with you, you never know when and where you might ercedes Benz and New Line Cinemas need them.’ Mhave come together for a multi-platform brand integration for the former’s S-Class Sedan. The Sedan will feature in the forthcom- ing release of the movie - Sex and the City. The Mercedes-Benz-sponsored “New York Fashion Week,” will also form the backdrop of several scenes in the movie. This association will be leveraged to introduce the new GLK-350 compact SUV car (which The association of Mercedes will hit the US market in January The new SUV will Benz with Sex and the City comes Advertising Agency: Euro RSCG, 2009). Samantha Jones, one of the feature in the naturally in terms of positioning - Switzerland four central characters of the film, both are style icons and stand for Art Director: Charles Blunier will be shown driving the car. forthcoming movie, panache and trendsetting in their Photographer: Bisse Bengtsson A new Sex and the City themed own right. The association has TV spot exudes the characteristic Sex and the City been extended beyond in-film    attributes which define the brand placements and ads. Mercedes GLK-350. In the TV spot, a publicist says, Incidentally, Mercedes Benz was the presenting sponsor Havaianas: Big “When you’re that beautiful and powerful, people love to at the film’s New York premiere at Radio City Music say that you have attitude.” While the viewer gets the Hall on May 27. That same day, the brand also launched Bang, Red impression that the publicist is talking about Sarah Jessica a microsite, offering a virtual tour of the new GLK-Class Parker’s character in the movie, the commercial reveals car. The same New York locations which feature in the rightly coloured slippers, artisti- that the reference is actually to the car. film were selected for the microsite. Bcally photographed giving the impression of a dazzling firework. The tag line reads ‘Learn how to     
  colour with your feet.’ Designer Edge Game for a drink?

egacies speak volumes. And Coca- LCola hopes to do the same in terms of its eight-decade old partner- Advertising Agency: ship with the Olympics. It is running a AlmapBBDO, Sao Paulo, Brazil fresh campaign, ‘Connect with the Creative Director: Marcello world over a Coke’. The campaign Copywriter: Tales Bahu features Olympic athletes through a Art Director: Danilo Boer series of new ads, introducing limited edition cans and launching a new   oday when the web is throwing allows members to swap, buy and sell website called MyCoke.com. The cola Tup a profusion of career choices their original designs, second-hand Tiji TV: Belly and networking opportunities for a clothes and accessories. The popular- spectrum of disciplines, can fashion ity of the website has soared since its small girl touching her pregnant designing be far behind? A site called inception six months back. Amother's belly and imagining Fashionspace.com (created by 23- Understandably so, because it is pro- what the baby inside is doing. The year-old British viding fresh designer tag line reads ‘Tiji TV is as imagina- fashion graduate, graduates a much tive as children.’ Holly Bellm) promis- The site cheaper alternative es to give a fillip to than traditional adver- young designers. allows users tising to showcase major has tied up with US basketball Designers coming up their creations. When star LeBron James, ace swimmer with their signature to swap, it comes to estab- Natalie Coughlin, taekwondo gold creations can upload lished brands, the medallist, Steven Lopez, track athlete, their content on this buy and sell platform works as a Sanya Richards, famous triathlon, site and get noticed by resource pool for Andy Potts and gymnast Shawn established labels. It designs. potential employees. Johnson for the campaign. These ath- provides them the Bellm says a number letes hail from different parts of the dual benefit of networking and own- of designer brands like British lin- world and using them in ads is Coca- ing a boutique. In other words, it is gerie label, La Senza have contacted Cola’s way of saying that the drink Advertising Agency: DDB, an online substitute to retail space. her to launch their corporate profiles has a universal presence. France The website, which features photo- on the website. A 10 per cent com- The cola major further hopes to Copywriter: Matthieu Elkaim graphs of models posing in fashion mission of every sale goes to Bellm connect with its consumers worldwide Art Director: Pierrette shows, has many interesting facets. It and her team. through a smart design campaign.

42 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

     get customers, and up-coming labels     such as Honest Tea and Sweet Leaf Tea blanketing the country with field-marketing teams. A greener Sampling is a key focus at the 10- year-old Honest Tea label, as the brand hopes to hit two million tast- world ings, this year. In addition, Nestea is introducing new graphics and pack- alk about turning a disadvantage aging, as well as two new green-tea Tinto an advantage. E-waste man- products this month. The design agement is becoming a fashionable change and new launch will be sup- jargon in marketing parlance today. ported by a digital campaign and Consumer electronic manufacturers through consumer samplings at and retailers in the US are all geared   sporting events and concerts. to involve their customers in partici- Meanwhile Gold Peak another tea pating in E-waste management drives. label is focusing on endorsements Consumers are encouraged to dis- Everyone’s Cup and will have a presence at food and pose off their old analogue devices in wine festivals in the coming months. exchange for a new piece of eco- ome things in life see fluctuations cent was valued at $7.4 billion in the Similarly, Sweet Leaf Tea will use friendly digital device. To ensure Sand taciturn highs and lows while retail market in 2007, and is expected much of its recent $18 million infu- maximum participation, leading com- some things remain a placid con- to reach nearly $15 billion by 2012. sion from a private-equity firm to panies like Sony, Hewlett Packard, stant. This is perhaps what best Going by this, marketers are gearing drive tasting in its emerging markets Office Depot, Best Buy and 1-800- describes the consumer preference up and getting into some serious of Boston, New York, Atlanta and Flowers.com are launching attractive for carbonated drinks and tea in the branding initiatives, simply because Chicago. schemes involving campaigns, dis- US. the market has tremendous potential. The seriousness of the marketers count coupons and exchange offers. Despite the mamoth marketing In terms of market size, tea barely can be gauged from the fact that they Sony has tied-up with Houston, a spends which go behind carbonated compares to other categories like car- have publicly acknowledged that to waste management entity to promote drinks, sales are actually flagging, bonated drinks, coffee and water. actually convert people to consumers the idea of recycling. They are start- according to research firm, Packaged Marketers have planned aggres- it takes much more than mere adver- ing a campaign called ‘Take back Facts. As per a recent report, the mar- sive tea marketing exercises with tising messages. Especially because campaign’. Incidentally, it has market- ket for teas, of which ready-to-drink Coca-Cola doubling its media there is a deluge of tea brands in varieties account for nearly 75 per spending, PepsiCo homing in on tar- the US.

         Shareware Verse access everal social networking sites are contacts and converse with other Sdeveloped each day to be pushed users. The content is generally user to the masses. While all of them are generated, which includes music, following the same trend, the new blogs, pictures, games and applica- ed its Sony Bravia through this thing about these websites is that tions. Any updates done in the campaign. Simultaneously, the brand they are no more confined to a single profile would be visible on other is going to hire BBDO, New York, for a space on web. They are rather link- websites’ profiles linked with it. national ad campaign on recycling. ing themselves with each other to Social networking being a viable While Hewlett Packard kick-started make data sharing portable. alternative for the marketers, giving usicBox, a leading music produc- its ‘Green is Universal’ drive during Making announcements one after them an advantage to get the reviews Mtion company, has launched The the Earth Week and gave consider- Private Reserve, a catalogue that able discount on its equipments, facilitates access to some of 1-800-Flowers.com will unleash a Hollywood’s best independent nationwide computer recycling cam- composers. paign in June, which will offer 15 per The catalogue has around 1,200 fresh cent discount on exchange of items. musical cuts drawn in 11 dramatic Best Buy, on its part, is offering gift classifications, which can be cards on purchase of used items. accessed at musicboxmx.com. The Consumers are showing a positive musical cuts can be used for the response to the recycling campaign, purpose of films, TV programmes and which in addition to giving them excit- promos. The number of cuts are ing complimentary offers is educating the other about sharing the data with of the consumers about their prod- expected to increase on a quarterly them about the benefits of E-waste the third party website, leading web- ucts and get ideas to enhance their basis, as the music production compa- management. sites like My Space, Facebook and quality, knowing what they like and ny strikes future deals with additional Though E-waste management is in Google are all set to make a leap in what they don’t. This would not composers. the nascent stage, people at large are social networking. have been possible without the The company has also tied up with acknowledging its necessity in terms In this fusion, while My Space expansion of the social networking top composers in the music industry of ecological preservation. It is also and Facebook, as per the user’s con- across the web. Rodney Rumford of Hollywood. Only selected and use- emerging as a ‘cross selling’ market- sent would display the profile data to CEO, Gravitational Media and editor ful content produced by film, TV ing tool for marketers on one hand the third party website, Google’s facereviews.com feels that it has composers and artists after having and translating into economical friend connect allows the users to helped brands like Mountain Dew undergone a screen test would be purchase for the consumers on the add applications using widgets. The and Vivendy to have a strong pres- included in the catalogue. other. application allows users to import ence in social networking. Compiled by Proyashi Barua/Priyanka Chanana

44 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

 
 Emami ASUS - Lamborghini The company has launched ASUS, a leading technology provider and Lamborghini have come together to launch the ASUS - Boroplus Triple Action Moisturising Lamborghini ZX1 PDA phone. This phone incorporates the design elements of the Lamborghini brand. It Lotion. Enriched has a chassis-inspired aerodynamic flow, beehive textured air intake covers and highly-defined and distinc- with fruit complex tive edges. The back panel of the phone is covered with extremely light-weight yet and sea minerals strong carbon fibre that is twice as tough as aluminum and five times stronger this fragrant lotion than steel. In addition, a high grade stainless steel casement is used to claims to keep the protect the camera compartment and give the phone a distinctive skin fresh and European standard of manufacturing. A 2.8 inch touch screen, a healthy during 9-way navigational key and a unique racing user interface that summer. It is non- can be modified to the user’s mode of operation are some oily and non-sticky of the unique features of this luxury handset. It is equipped and hence can be with Bluetooth and is USB and GPS compatible. The luxury easily absorbed by PDA Phone runs on Windows Mobile, and is priced at Rs 50,000. all skin types. Available in 100 gm and 25 gm Omega containers, it is TTK Prestige, which claims to be India’s largest kitchen priced at Rs 35 appliance brand has launched Omega Deluxe in its non- and Rs 5 stick cookware range. A honeycomb base design that respectively. ensures low oil absorption, a metal spoon friendly non- stick coating for longer life, and an enhanced induction base (which can be used on induction Tommy Hilfiger ovens apart from gas stoves) are some of the The lifestyle brand has launched a enhanced features of this product. It has a glass spring/summer eyewear collec- lid giving it an aesthetic appeal. A cook and serve tion. kitchen appliance, the Omega Deluxe is priced Designed for men and women between Rs 595 and Rs 1,550. It is available across all with special understated signature Prestige Smart Kitchen outlets as well as multi-brand details such as unique logo treat- outlets in major cities of India. ments, rich materials, innovative metals, plastic frames and original lens colours this collection is also 100 per cent UV protected, mak- d’Ormier ing it both fashionable and Manipal Care and Cure has launched d’Ormier range of skin products from Robert Schwartz functional. Laboratories, France. Some of the products in this range include Radiant Day Fluid (a unique combina- Comprising of over 70 styles the tion of Chondrus Crispus seaweed and hydrogenised maize oil) priced at Rs 1,210, Absolute Anti Age Tommy Hilfiger Eyewear collection Serum (containing a high concentration of anti- ageing active ingredients) priced at Rs 1,180 and Deep Nutrition Serum (a combination of skin essential oils like Lavendar, Salvia, Rosemary) priced at Rs 1,240. In addition, the d’Ormier range includes a Night Repair Cream priced at Rs 1,250. The products are packaged in bottles ranging between 15 ml and 200 ml.

Titan is available at all Tommy Hilfiger The watch company has added a unique men’s watch to its recently Flagship stores across India. It is launched Titan Heritage collection. This time-wear is a tribute to one of also retailed at outlets like the world’s greatest symbols of ancient Buddhist art - the caves of Shoppers Stop, Central, Pyramid, Ajanta. It is inspired by the painted narratives of the Jataka Tales, Landmark, Pantaloons GKB, which cover the walls and pillars of the monolithic Ajanta and Lawrence & Mayo and at all lead- Ellora caves. The mural art seen on the watch dial is inspired from ing optical stores. The collection is a cave painting that epitomises Buddha’s serenity. Available in yel- priced between Rs 2,970 and low metal version, the watch is priced at Rs 5,500 and is available Rs 5,500. exclusively at select World of Titan showrooms across the country.

46 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

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50 The Brand Reporter, June 1-15, 2008

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