Subscriber copy not for resale July 1-15,2017 PITALWALLA SAMEER Tenali RamaReturns SAB TV of DD’shit show. Here comesafreshrendition “WE HAVEAWARSHIP” How twopeoplebuiltupanewagemedianetworkand a 4 Celebrating Eid RELIANCE FRESH marking the occasion. A child’seyeviewof 6 commanding digital presence commanding digital eyes onthe north east. The fashionbrandtrains its Look EastPolicy MYNTRA 13 MOVEMENTS BY INVITATION CAMPAIGN TRAIL Ayan Banik Ads oftheFortnight Who’s Where? Can Nokiadoit? POINTS OFVIEW PLUS Volume 6,Issue2 16 PRASAD VENKAT

` 100 12 24 26 8 editorial

This fortnight... Volume 6, Issue 2 ate. Serendipity. Luck. Watch or read any interview of Sameer and Venkat, the EDITOR Sreekant Khandekar F founders of Culture Machine, in which they recall the chain of events that, about PUBLISHER July 1-15, 2017 Volume 6, Issue 2 `100 four years back, put them on the path that eventually led them to their now successful Prasanna Singh

SAMEER VENKAT PITALWALLA PRASAD digital venture, and you’ll hear at least two words that allude to a higher power. You’ll EXECUTIVE EDITOR also spot many metaphors; they fleetingly called their venture a digital raft-turned- Ashwini Gangal canoe-turned-warship during this interview! ASSOCIATE EDITOR 16 Sunit Roy

PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE They describe themselves as a ‘digital media company for the internet generation’. Andrias Kisku Investors, we hear, call them the ‘web equivalent of a television network like Star’. ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Culture Machine has two main revenue streams – media and tech; that, in a way, is Shubham Garg “WE HAVE A WARSHIP” reflected in their name. 81301 66777 (M) How two people built up a new age media network and a commanding digital presence Apoorv Kulshrestha Subscriber copy not for resale Subscriber copy not 4 6 13 PLUS 9873824700 (M) POINTS OF VIEW Can Nokia do it? 8 We at afaqs! began this calendar year with a mega-event called vdonxt asia, a Noida MOVEMENTS Who’s Where? 26 CAMPAIGN TRAIL masterclass on the business of online video. We concluded the two-day-long affair with Nikhil Jhunjhunwala Ads of the Fortnight 24 SAB TV RELIANCE FRESH MYNTRA Tenali Rama Returns Celebrating Eid Look East Policy BY INVITATION Here comes a fresh rendition A child’s eye view of The fashion brand trains its Ayan Banik 12 9833371393 (M) of DD’s hit show. marking the occasion. eyes on the north east. a promise to keep a finger on the pulse of the booming online video industry. This Mumbai interview with this affable and razor sharp duo – (I sourced these adjectives from the [email protected] reporter who met them for this cover story) – is a step in the same direction – our effort, MARKETING OFFICE as a publication, to take note of the goings on in the digital space. B&B Genesis, A 12/13, Ground Floor, Sector - 16 Noida - 201301 Among other things, we asked Sameer and Venkat about the online video MUMBAI 302, Makani Center, 3rd Floor, consumption trends that they think are here to stay. They named live video, machine- Off Linking Road, Bandra (W), assisted content and artificial intelligence-based trends. Culture Machine owns five Mumbai - 400050 digital channels – Being Indian, Blush, Put Chutney, Viva, and Awesome Sauce SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES India. The company has offices in Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, [email protected] Singapore and California. Owned by Banyan Netfaqs Pvt Ltd and Printed and published by Starting this month, the company’s Tamil digital media brand Put Chutney, Prasanna Singh, at 7-A/13, Ch. Ratan Singh Complex, known for its comedy content, will foray into the linear television space, via Star Vijay. Jawala Heri Market, Paschim Vihar, The big question Sameer and Venkat are asking themselves now is: Can we be bigger New Delhi-110 063. than the big media networks on TV? Printed at Artz and Printz 208 DSIDC Sheds, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi - 110020

Ashwini Gangal Cover Photograph [email protected] Yashpal Bhagat Singh CONTENTS 10 13 LAZYPAY Mocking the Great Indian OTP Stand-up comedians make a case for PayU, the payment gateway brand. 18

INTERVIEW Vikas Agarwal “Digital will be our primary 11 medium. The rest is tactical,” MICROMAX MARICO CANNES LIONS 2017 20 says the GM, India for One Fighting the Chinese Time to Groom The Great Indian Show Plus. His goal: to be the No. A look at the brand’s recent ads A hair cream for those who The Indian agencies who won 1 Android device. and communication strategy. don’t have the time. at Cannes.

afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 3 television SAB TV ‘Tenali Rama’ Returns SAB TV will air a fresh rendition of Tenali Rama, DD’s hit show from the 1990s, beginning next month. By Anirban Roy Choudhury

amma Tamma’ and ‘Raabta’ SAB and MAX cluster of channels. are busting the charts when N.P. Singh, CEO, Sony Pictures Tit comes to Bollywood Networks India, adds, “Tenali Rama music, Hotstar recently launched the is a loved character and has not been sequel of Star’s iconic comic series, seen on TV for a long time, so we ‘Sarabhai vs Sarabhai’... and remakes thought we should bring back the seem to be the new trend in the show. With his wit and humor, we entertainment space. believe he will bring smiles to a lot This trend now seems to be of faces. Keep an eye on the Choti heading towards the TV screen too. (ponytail).” Hints Singh, “It will do a Recently, Sony Pictures Networks lot of interesting things.” India (SPNI) “refurbished” its Vyas feels that apart from historical comedy focused Hindi General value, the show has another vital tool Entertainment Channel (GEC), in its kit and that is the actor playing Sony SAB and among the new titles, ‘Rama’, “Krishna Bharadwaj is one that managed to raise many playing the lead and he is something eyebrows is ‘Tenali Rama’. to watch out for,” he adds. Yes, SAB is all set to bring back Contiloe Pictures, over the years of them have already been adapted have ever worked on,” he adds. the story of the legendary poet in has made the mythological-historical before, Singh firmly believes that his “Historical and mythological Krishnadevraya’s court who uses space its own in Indian television. The version is unique and has not been dramas attract a lot of family audience his ingenious methods to solve the television software company has titles seen before. “The scale, characters, and that is why brands like to punt trickiest of problems. People still like Sher-e-Punjab: Maharaja Ranjit interpretations, sets... every aspect on them,” adds a brand custodian remember ‘Tenali Rama’ as one Singh, Sankatmochan Mahabali is unique. The tales are different, it who prefers not to be named. of the Doordarshan classics of Hanuman and Chakravartin Ashoka will be a totally different experience,” “SAB has done very well with clean 90s. The show was made by film Samrat among others in its portfolio. he adds. comedy so far, but the channel has Historical and mythological shows to overcome two challenges. One, it Contiloe Pictures’ CEO Singh pitched ‘Tenali are more expensive than daily soaps. is often considered as big as ‘Taarak The channel bears around `6-8 lakh Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’ and the Rama’ to SAB as a ‘natural extension’ as cost per episode of a fiction show second is that it is a Hindi channel whereas it escalates above `15 lakh for the Gujarati people.” director T.S. Nagabharana who was “Abhimanyu Singh is an expert in for a mythological show. The media planner thinks that very popular in the Kannada film the mythological/historical space and “This is the most expensive the kind of content they generally industry. ‘Cartoon Network’ aired it’s great what he has done with the historical that we have made,” air is what develops the Gujarati an animated series on the Indian show,” Vyas adds. Singh asserts. And what makes it perception. “It is good that this mythological character, the show was Contiloe Pictures’ CEO Singh so expensive? “We have put up a channel is bringing up shows like created by Toonz Animation. pitched ‘Tenali Rama’ to SAB as huge set, his empire was one of Tenali Rama who is a South Indian The upcoming SAB version will a ‘natural extension’, “Historical the richest of medieval times and figure. They should be able to be produced by Contiloe Pictures. comedy is something nobody has we tried to recreate every minute monetise the show well,” he adds. “It took us only half an hour to say done before and we thought it would aspect. We created bullock carts and Now it remains to be seen if the yes to Tenali Rama, the proposal was be a great space for us to be in and everything else that was there. Also, show manages to make a mark in the on the table and after I took over (as that is where the idea came from,” the costumes and cast; we wanted rating charts. SAB is yet to disclose head of Sony SAB) it was the first informs Singh. to make this a visual delight and that the date and time of the show, for show we green lit,” asserts Neeraj While the show is based on tales is what has made it one of the most now, it’s coming soon. n Vyas, senior EVP and head, Sony of the historical figure and many expensive historical projects that we [email protected]

4 afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7

advertising RELIANCE FRESH “We celebrate every event” afaqs!Reporter met Lalatendu Panda, marketing head, Reliance Value Format, in the context of the brand’s Eid-themed film. By Suraj Ramnath

eliance Fresh recently released its new Ramadan campaign, R#ChhotiSiAchhai. The digital ad has been conceptualised by Utopeia Communicationz, a Mumbai-based ad agency, produced by Ignition Films and directed by Rensil D’Silva. Meanwhile, Lowe Lintas released its Ramadan campaign #NekiEkIbadat for Surf Excel Pakistan. The ad focused on a kindhearted child helping an old man in his neighbourhood during “Today, digital Ramzan. This ad, #ChhotiSiAchhai by Reliance Fresh, made for the creates a beautiful Indian market, also focuses on a opportunity at child showing the true spirit of Ramadan by trying to make the a very low cost. world a better place with his good Without spending deeds. Reliance Fresh in the recent past, too much of has mainly focused on topical ads and mainly on the digital platform. money, you can We asked Lalatendu Panda, head of leverage various marketing, Reliance Value Format about the reason behind mainly occasions.” doing topical ads and not being on LALATENDU PANDA TV on a consistent basis. He says, “Today, digital creates a beautiful opportunity at a very low party Facebook groups or platforms cost. Without spending too much could have given triple the reach to of money, you can leverage various Fresh stores across 14 states in India. it becoming popular online.” He the video,” he adds. occasions. If you look at the latest Sean Colaco, managing partner adds, “It would be interesting to see Singh says, “Velocity defines the trends, mobile is the biggest medium and head of creative, Utopeia how this overall thought is further probability of any content going and not TV anymore, if you want to Communicationz, says, “We wanted explored across the digital medium, viral, which is = (views + articles reach people. As a brand, we have to tell the story of Roza and this as it is perfect for extensions.” + conversations + impressions + been celebrating each and every whole period of Ramadan. What the Honey Singh, co-founder, share) / time. In terms of execution, event in our store since ages. We small boy in the film does is exactly #ARM Worldwide, says, “The the same video could have received have a very strong customer activity that, because he can’t keep the Roza, recipe behind making good content much better results if the timing had plan. Be it Eid, Diwali, Pongal or instead in an ingenious way, he to go viral is an exact and opportune been better.” Sankranti, we celebrate via in-store interprets what it stands for. The mix of timing, audience targeting, Giving his views on whether it is communication.” message is a very universal one, not distribution channels, amplification, well directed and on the challenges He adds, “There are various big necessarily in religion per se.” seeding, and cross promotion on faced while shooting such films, Luv events like Diwali where there is a Kalla, an ad film maker and director large audience and that’s where we The core target audience for the brand is at Bubblewrap films, says, “In films end up doing a TVC and you also housewives and immediate family members. like these which have multiple see that it reaches a large number scenes, it’s always quite tough to of people. But a Women’s Day, AD REVIEW multiple platforms. The creative find distinct imagery in the same Mother’s Day or a Father’s Day, Prithviraj Banerjee, head of and production quality is good location for each of the scenes. But these are highly emotive issues. agency, DigitasLBi India, says, as it touches human emotions, a here, the director and production These don’t have the business or “The thought of ‘ChhotiSiAchhai’ little bit inspired by Surf Excel’s house have used the space very number guiding objective. As a is powerful and makes for great #NekiEkIbadat.” nicely by finding interesting nooks brand we feel we are in the right storytelling. This specific piece of According to Singh, the video and corners for each of the scenes.” space and have been using a mix of creative is a mix of great casting, could have garnered much more He adds, “The film has been both on such occassions.” well written lines, high production attention if it had gone live at the shot really well. The director The core target audience for the quality, good emotional tempo beginning of Ramzan. “Parents has done justice to the script, brand is housewives and immediate and seamless brand integration. (especially moms), relatives and casting, performances, music, family members which is primarily Additionally, the topical nature neighbours are the perfect choice cinematography. Everything the kid and the husband. Currently, of the video allows for immediate in terms of audience targeting. works!” n there are more than 500 Reliance relevance. I see no problem with Amplification and seeding via third [email protected]

6 afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7

pointsofview Is ‘residual equity’ enough for brand Nokia? What’s the most important tool in Nokia’s comeback kit? What role will marketing and advertising play? By Anirban Roy Choudhury

AMBI PARAMESWARAN SANTOSH PADHI (PADDY) DHUNJI WADIA HARISH BIJOOR PRASID BANERJEE author and brand co-founder and chief creative president brand expert and founder, assistant editor, consultant officer, Taproot Dentsu Rediffusion Y&R Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. Digit (tech-magazine)

NOKIA HAS A THOUGH THE MARKETERS THIS SECOND I THINK AS FAR GREAT AMOUNT BRAND HAS THE AROUND THE COMING OF NOKIA AS INDIA IS OF RESIDUAL LEGACY OF BEING WORLD STRIVE IS GOING TO BE CONCERNED, THE GOODWILL IN NOKIA, IT’S GOING DAY AND NIGHT A CHALLENGE KEY TO NOKIA’S INDIA. THEY NOW TO BE A CHAL- TO ENSURE BRAND FOR THE BRAND RETURN LIES IN NEED TO PITCH LENGE BECAUSE LOVE AND NOKIA BECAUSE THE RAISING their brand to the old of the Vivos and Oppos of commanded that in market is very cluttered. In consumer awareness loyalists and go after the world that have a lot of India. But right now, we a cluttered market people on the back of its brand upper-end customers mass appeal and are very are talking of ‘betrayed are going to evaluate the value. Nokia’s phones who may be with affordable. Quality along love’ - the brand deserted product very, very carefully. are nothing special so far, Apple or Samsung. It with quantity and price is its lovers and went into Nokia needs to overcome but if they can educate is a difficult task but the game that they need oblivion. So the first and the initial product evalu- customers on the need if they are patient and to play. Nokia will certainly most important task for ation process, which the for regular Android diligent they can build come up with something Nokia will be to win back consumer will unleash on updates, and how doing the brand once again. that is more substantial consumers’ trust. the brand as soon as it so can help product They should not be in a than just features. The reassurance that hits the market. If Nokia longevity, it might make hurry to go after multiple In this category, you need once they buy Nokia, can hold on to the product a difference. If not, segments and confuse the to be present every hour they will not be left high solidity, I think it will do Nokia is just another consumers. - brands in this category and dry anymore - that’s exceedingly well in the seller vying for attention need to be ultra aggres- critical. But that’s not all. future. The starting point is in a market that’s already sive. Brands like Oppo are The world has moved on the robustness of the prod- overcrowded. present everywhere, from and mobile phones are uct, which everyone in the ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu attaining newer levels of market will expect. Thi’ to cricket to movies to smartness and aesthetic No longer can they sell only everything... It’s a great cool. The company must on the basis of the brand time for Nokia to come focus on delivering on name; it will have to be a back. But they need to the ‘design’ and ‘cool’ combination of the brand overshadow Vivo, Oppo and scales. The entry-level name, physical trial and Gionee. products need to have experience. Fancy advertis- that ‘wow’ factor. ing will do them no good. Additional inputs by Suraj Ramnath

8 afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7

interview

VIKAS AGARWAL, GENERAL MANAGER - INDIA, ONEPLUS “Digital will be our primary medium. The rest is tactical” hinese handset brands’ have become a understanding the pulse of the market, these homogenous mass of brands vying for the distribution-focused companies lost their way. Cattention of the selfie-obsessed Indian, all at once. In a volatile smartphone market, one poised But the fact is, there are one too many for mega growth, creating product - and brand - at the moment. How do you see things differentiation has never been more crucial. On the panning out for this segment? communication front, is it all about out-shouting one’s Over time, I see it converging into just three rivals through a celebrity-shaped bugle? or four players, like we saw in the case of the In a quick interview with Anirban Roy Choudhury TV, washing machine and laptop (segments). on the sidelines of a recently held event in Mumbai, Feature phones will get upgraded to entry Vikas Agarwal, general manager - India, OnePlus, level smartphones, which will get upgraded to was asked this and more. OnePlus, which began premium phones... that’s how companies will its India journey through an exclusive tie-up with gain market share. e-commerce site Amazon, will be made available offline Our goal is to be the No.1 Android device later this year. in the premium category. It may not be No.1 in The brand has fetched a fair share of visibility terms of latest technology... but it’s really about (through integrations) across web-series and is endorsed being No.1 when it comes to user experience. by actor Amitabh Bachchan across platforms including We are seeing many conversions from other TV. To Agarwal, it’s important that two sets of people premium brands to OnePlus - not just Android like his product - users and interestingly, critics. users, but even iOS users. Now Android has become a lot more refined and not everybody What media channels will you mobilise for is comfortable with a closed iOS system. That’s this new variant? the main reason for the switch. We will be on TV with new ads but that “Our goal is to be The premium category is just three per cent won’t be on a very large scale. We would like to of the total smartphone market in India. So focus on digital channels... the No. 1 Android there’s a lot of room for growth. device in the premium And today, the lifecycle of a smartphone is Why? one-two years. At this stage, our goal is to make We see digital as a more honest medium - category - be the No. 1 a great product. Even if people are not buying it, you get feedback, you can check if the campaign they should consider it. is working or not, and if it is working, you can when it comes to user amplify it. That’s why we’re bullish on web- As of today, what’s the profile of a OnePlus series - we can gauge people’s sentiments. experience” user? So digital will continue to be our primary VIKAS AGARWAL Primarily, they’re consumers from tier I medium. The rest is tactical. cities, where the tech penetration is strong and people are equipped to shop online. Most of What do you mean by tactical? not the case. We are seeing scenarios where them are educated users. Around 60-70 percent If we do a print ad, it will focus on sales. If we people are gifting a OnePlus to their spouses... of them are graduates and postgraduates. In do a TV ad, it will be to increase our awareness terms of age, they’re primarily between 18 and beyond our core community. The Indian smartphone market is inundated 35 (years). Speaking of web-series, OnePlus was present with brands. Therein lies a sub-segment We don’t have the resources for deeper across quite a few - Humorously Yours, Official of Chinese brands. And all are doing the penetration at this stage, but in the long run, Chukyagiri and others. What was the play there? same thing - high decibel media splash, we will. For the first two years, we did not do any big celebrities, the same selfie proposition. marketing; we were only present in these web- Comment. Many Indians still think Chinese products series... integrating the brand into the story. The We need to understand that no industry can are ‘cheap’. How do you battle this long- idea was to show the features of the phone, such support so many players... at best, it can support standing mass bias? as dash charge which turned out to be a game around four to five players. When it comes to We haven’t come across the ‘cheap Chinese’ changer for us. We (positioned) OnePlus as a investment, the smartphone industry is one of perception. Yes, those who are not aware of what phone for educated affluent (people). the most expensive. So it’s just not possible to OnePlus is and what it offers might consider have so many players. us as a ‘Chinese brand’ and hence trust an In fact, OnePlus is perceived as a Previously, the market comprised ‘Indian Apple or a Samsung instead. That’s something ‘complicated’ phone for tech aficionados, products’ and ‘Chinese products’. Indian we are trying to overcome. We are making isn’t it... companies did not focus much on the product; some investments to build trust. Roping in Mr. Yes, that perception is there... the perception they paid all their attention to distribution. Bachchan was a part of that. n that OnePlus is for the ‘techie’ user, but that’s So once bigger companies came in and began [email protected]

10 afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 advertising MARICO Making Time for Grooming A look at Marico’s new ad for ‘Parachute Advansed Men Hair Cream’, a product targeted at men who’re too busy to preen. By Sankalp Dikshit

hen was the last time you saw a men’s vanity product Wad that was devoid of gloss and charming male models flaunting uber cool good looks? Marico has done just that with its latest ad film for the new Parachute Advansed Men’s Hair Cream, which is part of Marico’s larger range of Parachute men’s grooming products which includes hair gel brand, Set Wet. The hair cream comes in three variants - Classic After-Shower Hair Cream, “We felt it was Anti-Dandruff with Lemon & Neem and Anti-Hair Fall with Almond. important to With the new line of products, introduce a brand to Parachute marks a foray into a specialised segment that is dominated those busy men” Marico’s earlier glossy ad (bottom) and the new ones (top) shorn of gloss by key players like the British brand ANURADHA philosophy of ‘good men deserve to preening in the mirror. They seem to Brylcreem and the Indian brand, look good’ come alive through various be targeting a more rugged audience Himalaya. Parachute aims to target AGGARWAL situations. In the last sequence, we who feel hair creams as such are sissy men in the 29-plus age bracket. see that a fireman saves a life and and feminine. It’s a clear attempt at In order to better understand the then when his duty is done, he uses expanding the market.” campaign’s pitch, afaqs! decided to Advansed Men range is expanding the the product and heads out for the Speaking about the execution, speak to the lady at the helm of relevance of the brand, and plans to evening. This shows the role of the Desai says, “What I feel is that the Marico’s marketing affairs. Anuradha go across hair nourishment products.” brand and how to use it. The term ad could have done better if it had Aggarwal, chief marketing officer, ‘achhai andar se bahar tak’, applies to the stronger writing. It tries to go to a Marico tells us, “The brand is LOOKING GOOD men in the ad as well as the product.” higher place but the writing restricts a representation of men who take The minute-long ad film is based Harshad Rajadhyaksha, executive it. The visuals hold together the little or no care of themselves as they on the idea that good men deserve to creative director, Ogilvy & Mather storyline pretty well.” prioritise their duty or work over look good. The TVC was first released India, adds, “Consumers don’t need Upon close scrutiny, one can their looks. Indian men usually use a by the brand’s YouTube channel on to be spoon-fed every detail. They observe that the ad hardly has any combination of water and hair oils or June 2. Crafted and conceptualised by are intelligent individuals who absorb elaborate demo shots that generally creams for styling after a shower. We Ogilvy & Mather India, the ad film communication and take away the dominate the TVCs of almost all rival felt that it was important to introduce features men in uniform - a sharp correct message. We have no doubt brands. “It’s (demo shots) obviously a brand to those men who neglect contrast to the glossy ad films that that this piece of work will be received important but is secondary to a strong their looks, one that will take care one is accustomed to viewing for hair well and the logic and the magic will storyline. I think the non-glossy feel to of them while they take care of their grooming products. The film starts both be appreciated.” the ad is deliberate and works for the duties. Hence, functionality was with a male voice-over (VO) that desired objective. It has strong brand limited to the digital platform, and alludes to several hardships that men GLOSS VS CONTENT communication which is focused and was not showcased in the TVC.” in uniform have to go through on a Marico is no stranger to men’s targeted,” Desai adds. When a company has two brands daily basis. The VO is accompanied grooming products. Set Wet is a Agreeing with Desai, Paddy competing in similar categories, by powerful visuals - a soldier is glaring example of how one markets Rangappa, author of Spark - the Insight product differentiation can be tricky, fighting a war but yet cleans up well vanity products for men in a traditional to Growing Brands, observes, “I think particularly in terms of marketing to meet his loved one at a party, a way – Remember Aditya Roy Kapoor this is a bold attempt by Parachute campaigns. Aggarwal explains, “Set doctor who stays up late taking care of and Ranveer Singh teaching you how to position a male grooming product Wet is a brand for a younger age group his patients tidies himself to meet his to make the right impression with the against the concept of grooming. And (19 years to 24 years), looking to make family, and a firefighter who risks his ‘Sada Sexy Raho’ ad campaign? the ad is consistent to this messaging, an impact - for it, anonymity is death. life for people although they are not We asked our experts if they felt that highlighting the lifestyle of such men For Marico, the task was to create a related to him. the concept driven approach towards and showing why they have no time second male grooming brand apart Speaking on the campaign, Kainaz marketing this new product works or for grooming.” Rangappa feels that from Set Wet. While the Parachute Karmakar, executive creative director, not. Says Vibha Desai, director, Vibha the ad could have done wonders if it Advansed Aftershower variant has Ogilvy & Mather India has this to Desai Consulting, “It’s nice to see a had stronger emotional connect.n been in existence, the Parachute say: “Through the film we see the non-glossy film, without everyone [email protected]

afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 11 byinvitation

GUEST ARTICLE Split Beyond Repair?

They split the atom, we had Hiroshima; they split agencies, and... it led to a different kind of bloodbath... By Ayan Banik

any moons back when the and arguments) on something as Everyone is a head. Everyone gets CREATIVITY SUFFERS legendary George Lois intangible as a creative idea? to run one’s own unit. Everyone’s Creativity is a collaborative Mwas asked what he did for ego is massaged. And because these process. And when we split agencies a living, he simply replied that he AN EXAMPLE units have tangible outputs in terms into separate business units, we makes unheard entities like Tommy Say there’s this nice, upmarket of execution, they can effectively break that natural collaboration. It’s Hilfiger famous in a matter of hours. coffee shop right in the heart of monetise their work. a known fact that in every job, one That was the power advertising the city that sells a cup of coffee However, since their core team (which has natural expertise) wielded back then. for Rs.150. Now think of a similar expertise lies more in execution, leads and the rest follow. Cut to today. An unheard of a upmarket coffee shop, that sells they still have to either outsource However, it’s the nature of the job start up, whose very existence can exactly the same cup of coffee (same their thinking (strategic planning) that should dictate which team leads become a question if it doesn’t get coffee beans, same cream, same and creative ideas from a third party and which one follows, rather than its next round of funding, calls for a sugar) but at Rs. 200, simply because (creative agency) and split the share ‘who is earning how much from that pitch on Faceboook Live, and close it offers a wonderful view of the of their earnings, or with their project’. More often than not we end to 100 odd agencies fight against one sea. Here the coffee is tangible, the limited resources, produce average/ up bickering.... “it’s an ATL account, another like a pack of hyenas. final cost of the cup is also tangible, below average thinking and creative why should digital resources be How did we become so abysmally but the view of the sea is intangible. outputs on their own. used?”or “It’s an activation account, weak in just a few decades? When It’s an unwritten understanding – In both scenarios, the people who why should mainline planning did we lose our swagger, arrogance customers are willing to pay the extra are responsible for the thinking and strategise?” and negotiation powers? What went 50 bucks for the view. creative ideas (a crucial part of any Earlier, in a unified agency set- wrong with us? up, different departments not only Clients need leaders. Clients need legends. It’s a sat together, they also shared the THE GLARING MISTAKE same P&L. Each one contributed One of the glaring mistakes was pity we don’t have legends anymore. its own expertise to the same pie; if when we separated media planning one department fell short on revenue and media buying from creative, and But that argument works as long creative agency set up) tend to lose. targets, other departments would let media departments operate as as we don’t split the cost by saying We may have the best time sheets compensate for it. And that’s why separate profit centres. Creativity is “The coffee costs Rs. 150 and the in place, but it’s virtually impossible when agencies of yore went out for a a mix of tangibles and intangibles. view costs Rs. 50...” because the to quantify the creative process – at client pitch, they went together as one It’s the holy culmination of a great moment we do that, we get into times it takes a couple of days, at unit, one family. It was a ‘Do or Die’ idea leading to great execution. The an argument of the tangible vs the times it takes a couple of months. situation for every department. If the idea is intangible and the execution, intangible. The same people who And there’s no way to evaluate the business came in, everyone won. tangible. were happy paying the extra 50 bucks exact worth of that output. Unfortunately, today, we are pit Earlier, there was one unified (without the coffee shop spelling out against one another, trying to fight agency that would create both the details) would now argue “What’s HALF-HEARTED while staying in the same pool. The the intangibles and the tangibles, so special about the view that they COLLABORATIONS more we fight for every morsel, the and charge one ‘unified’ amount are charging an extra 50 bucks for it? Then, there was this mad rush more we lose negotiating powers of money from the client. The Bring that down to 10 or 20 bucks...” for agency consolidations. Creative with the client. understanding being, bigger the idea, And that’s exactly the problem agencies started tying up with And this fragmented arrangement bigger the execution... and therefore, that creative agencies have been independent media agencies, PR doesn’t seem to help the client bigger the money. facing ever since this split – trying to agencies, activation, digital and event much either. Unus Sed Leo. Only Now, by separating media from justify the cost of intangible creative management companies. All under one, but a lion. Clients don’t need the mainline agency, we broke that outputs. We had lost the battle, then one name. And one roof. But the multiple agencies making the same creative output into intangibles and and there. problem remained. Because more point but in different power point tangibles. While the media units, often than not these ‘so called unified presentations over and over again. operating with tangible outcomes GROWING DIVIDE entities’ have different – and often They need one agency that can do all (GRPs - or gross rating points - And we kept losing more battles conflicting – accounts. Merely the jobs for them. End to end. One bought, newspapers taken, out of and kept suffering, as agencies were sharing the same name and sitting agency – but a unified, committed home or OOH sites booked, etc.) further fragmented into specialised- under the same roof doesn’t result one. could still extract the right money subunits like PR, events, activation in miracles. When you have separate Clients need leaders. Clients need from the client, it became extremely and finally digital... all with separate profit and loss accounts, you are like legends. It’s a pity we don’t have difficult for the creative agencies to profit centres. There’s a running different tenants, sharing the same legends anymore. We only have fancy justify the money that they were joke around advertising agencies: address and landlord but eating out designations and fancier offices. n charging. Rightfully so, because agencies are more adept at doling of different kitchens. This kind of an (The author is head, brand strategy, how can you put the right price tag out fancy designations and roles arrangement hampers profits... and Cheil India) (without getting into heady debates than pay cheques and increments. creativity. [email protected]

12 afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 advertising MYNTRA ‘Look East’ policy The brand has released a new digital campaign targeting the north-east market. By Ashee Sharma

yntra, the online fashion destination, has released Ma new digital campaign targeting the north-east market. The three-minute video features Novi - a fashion enthusiast and homemaker from Aizwal (Mizoram). Given the geo-climatic and socio- political dynamics of the region, it has largely been under-represented in the media, advertising included. Haven’t all of us, at some point, been embarrassed about raving and ranting over non-issues while a flood disrupted life in the north-east? What’s interesting is that, the more significant news was delivered to “As the most us through the internet which has played the role of an equaliser for the fashion-forward seven sisters. market, the north- This development however, has been so subtle that sometimes even east was always brands were able to spot it only in on the radar. But hindsight, thanks to the measurable nature of the digital medium. looking at the data, Myntra’s campaign is based on data- we realised it needs a driven insights which indicate that Novi had been a consistent shopper focused effort now.” on the platform, especially during SUJITH SUDHAKARAN the EORS (End of Reason Sale) – Myntra’s flagship biannual sale. She also purchased her daughter’s first However, looking at the data, we region can be covered well between as a title,” he states. dress from Myntra. realised it needs a focused effort English TV and Digital.” Appreciating the documentary In a recent interview with afaqs!, now.” Sudhakaran, however, cautions style treatment of the film which gives - part of the Marketers’ Special Issue Sharing some insights on what against considering the north-east a an honest perspective into Novi’s (afaqs!Reporter magazine, June differentiates this market, he tells us homogeneous market because of the life, he adds that a more thematic 16-30, 2017), Gunjan Soni, Head, that because north-eastern societies cultural differences that define each approach to the edit, perhaps, Jabong and CMO, Myntra, said, “We have generally been matriarchal and state. For instance, while customers carrying on the juxtaposition of old now see close to 50 percent of our more progressive, the percentage of in Guwahati understand Hindi and world charm and new world fight sales coming from tier II and III cities women shoppers is higher in the also like to purchase Indian wear, from the opening line, or a shorter – this is a big shift. Previously, this region. Also, as compared to other Aizawl with its large Christian edit could have ensured a higher population is heavily influenced by video completion rate. Sudhakaran cautions against considering the international trends and personalities. Commenting on whether brands Christmas is the buying season there. have adequately leveraged the digital north-east a homogeneous market because medium to reach out to the north- BULL’S EYE? east, he shares, “The north-east is of cultural differences that define each state. According to Mikhail Verma, home to a geographically remote associate creative director, DigitasLBi, consumer set, whose growing needs revenue used to be predominantly markets, there is more demand for while it’s easy to mistake the ad and demands are on par with, if not contributed by the metros. We have international brands. for another consumer testimony, more than, the rest of India. It has seen disproportionate growth and Explaining the second observation, delving deeper makes one realise huge growth potential. While brands popularity of international brands Sudhakaran states, “The north-east that it is a success story of sorts, for have boosted their presence in the over the last 12 months. Myntra sees is usually considered a ‘media-dark’ the brand and the consumer. region, its representation has fallen very high traction coming from the region. There is TV, but without any “On the brand side, it’s the way short of the mark compared fashion-forward north-east market.” regional channels. So, people mostly success of entrenching itself into to the digital revolution. There is a For the next set of 10 million consume English entertainment a consumer’s lifestyle and for the treasure trove of untapped stories, consumers, Soni is betting on tier because they are more comfortable consumer it’s about finding that and Myntra is one of the few brands, II cities and smaller towns. Sujith with the language. Internet proved perfect one-stop-shop for her entire apart from Samsung and Amazon to Sudhakaran, senior director - brand to be the game-changer and today, a family’s fashion needs. The title name a few, who will reap the long marketing at Myntra adds, “As the lot of international content is being suggests that this is possibly a series, term benefits of being first movers most fashion-forward market, the consumed on the medium. Hence, so I’d like to see how they give more within this space.” n north-east was always on the radar. from a media buying perspective, the meaning to ‘Myntra Unforgettables’ [email protected]

afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 13 SOME OF THE JURY MEMBERS

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Culture Machine’s founders on how they built up a new age media network. By Shweta Mulki

ack in 2011, two guys who met at Vidcon in the US, got talking about the digital media ecosystem. It was a meeting that resulted in the Bbirth of Culture Machine, a media and tech digital network, two years later. Founders Sameer Pitalwalla and Venkat Prasad have clocked 15 years collectively in the video domain (Pitalwalla at Disney and Times, and Prasad at Google and YouTube, among others) before setting up Culture Machine. Culture Machine’s business model is centred around media and technology. In media, it operates 715 YouTube channels and owns five brands - Being Indian (youth entertainment); Blush (a lifestyle channel for the modern Indian woman); Put Chutney (entertainment and comedy, Tamil); VIVA (entertainment and comedy, Telugu) and Awesome Sauce (food). The average monthly views for the five channels are 167 million on facebook “WE HAVE and 27.9 million on YouTube so far. In tech and data intelligence, it has tools that analyse content (trawling through 2.5-3 billion videos daily) and gauge viewer preferences to provide video solutions. Recent developments include a A WARSHIP” new studio for premium long form content, a content deal with messaging service Is it really a good thing to be that original content or other models. in terms of content production Hike while Put Chutney will go on early in this space? Here, we saw innovation happening because our tech could travel. We linear TV via Star Vijay. While business Sameer: It’s bad to be too early but with distribution and personalisation began to experiment 8-9 months ago development, sales, content is under CEO good to be arriving a ‘little before through Facebook and OTT players. to see if there was appetite in other Pitalwalla, Prasad is the CTO/COO the guests do’. When we met for the But there was no innovation upstream markets. The initial success in South looking at products, engineering, tech, first time, I remember us thinking - in content production itself - which East Asia gave us an impetus to look products, finance and analytics. Edited ‘what would it take to put technology was inherently not scaleable in the at that as a separate revenue line item. excerpts from an interview with the duo: in every step of the way - not just traditional way. We wanted to use for distribution and creation - but technology to first personalise, and Did it all happen too big, too fast Going back to your 2013 launch right down to production? Tech was then produce at scale which led to in terms of funding too? were there any ‘aha moments’. absolutely necessary to the way we our tech platforms. Venkat: I’ve seen three booms and Sameer: The ‘aha moment’ was built designed the company. busts - two in the US one in India. over 10 years. Venkat’s been working Venkat: Earlier business models Did you see more markets open Every business plan was getting on YouTube since it was acquired by centred on talent or content up as your products took shape? funded - few survived, but those that Google, I’ve been working on it since aggregation, but we saw a much Sameer: While the core technology did became the Amazons and the big it entered India. We’ve seen the space quicker way to grow, similar to helped us scale our own brands, we networks today. When the market grow from the pre-iPhone times to the West, where certain companies also realised that the tools need not be realities change, you need to rein iPhone then to YouTube. scaled up quickly and pivoted to limited by our physical infrastructure back and focus on unit economies.

16 afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 When the market We want to build media realities change, you brands that are loved need to rein back across platforms. That’s and focus on unit our North Star. SAMEER PITALWALLA economies. VENKAT PRASAD CEO, Culture Machine CTO, Culture Machine

Where do you think you are now, ad market. Of this $200 million, What insights did you lean on concurrent visitors and 250,000 in that context? YouTube takes up $120 million - when launching your own media shares in those two hours in the Sameer: Somewhere in between that has come in just three months. properties? morning. This is just the beginning. both. We’ve been well-capitalised as Movement will happen now that Sameer: ‘Being Indian’ started 5 a company but the main change the guy sitting in Panipat has come months into our launch and many Has Live’s consumption met with came in eight months after the because of Jio. We are in the deep shoots were done in my one BHK in the hype? How much do you look second round of funding. What breath phase. Inventory has exploded Bandra. It scaled up due to analytics. at FB to understand audiences? was needed in the long term? and catch-up is happening this fiscal. ‘Blush’ happened because of IM Sameer: We look at FB closely in We decided to focus on our own insights on women’s empowerment. terms of conversations which apply properties. In fact, many who brand How does the absence of ‘Awesome Sauce’ was on FB because to it and also to understand what is themselves differently in the market third party measurement (and we knew discovery would be better going on in society in general. It’s are essentially aggregators. For us, currency) affect the space? and food as a category was getting a quite powerful. Live is doing well that has come down to 20 per cent Sameer: Moat is the only one that’s lot more viewership on FB than on though monetising is a challenge. revenue contribution from 60-70 per got access to the likes of Snapchat but YouTube. One goes multi-pronged But from a usability perspective it cent. It is decreasing every month they are caught up in the US with the and you play to your strengths, look has a lot of impact in news especially. while revenue base is increasing. sheer quantum of the business there. at the advertisers you can leverage Venkat: Currently, we have and factor in production setup, talent Netflix and Amazon are pumping How crucial is this kind of integrated our owned and operated and investment into the decision. money into slick content. Where (forward) thinking? properties in the US in the Nielsen does that place machine-led Sameer: In our industry, when system, so Indian buyers can look at Your parent brand is becoming content? global platforms make changes our Nielsen-ratified rating. more visible now…. Sameer: It’s all about the difference those results vis-a-vis growth are Sameer: Until now, we’d not between subscription video on seen immediately in terms of the You have multiple revenue branded our media properties with demand and advertising video on consumer. The advertiser takes more streams. That’s a lot of processes... the corporate brand. The thought demand, which is primarily watched time as there’s money involved. Venkat: There are two key areas - was always that the company is on the phone. There’s a clear wall Technology predicts demand and media and tech. Our media business bigger than the products, but of late there. Customer behaviour is everyone is a laggard inherently is about our digital presence, media we decided to make it more apparent different when it comes to reading the because of the way platforms work. distribution systems and our owned that they belonged to us. What often newspaper and watching television But we have the ability to not just and operated properties. happened was that as we were into news, for example. react, but adapt and then thrive, The technology side comprises talent management earlier, the faces which comes down to capability. our Intelligence Machine (analytics), were assumed to be managed by Put Chutney will create content Venkat: Two years ago, we were Video Machine (helps create videos us, but the overall channel was for Star Vijay. Who’s the intended already pushing for Facebook video at scale) and Business Machine (helps owned or built by us. We wanted audience here? (it was in beta) and vertical videos. to scale operations and workflow to communicate that these brands Sameer: Star wants to engage of the media business). Both IM belonged to Culture Machine. millennial audiences by taking Is the market dynamic enough? and VM help clients create the right brands that they are familiar with Sameer and Venkat: For the content. The vision is to bring all of What are the consumption trends and upstreaming it. consumer it is. The advertiser is this together. you feel are here to stay? catching up. Look at Youtube - 15 Sameer: ‘Live’ is big and we haven’t Netflix recently partnered per cent fill rate on the inventory - Why did you get out of talent done anything to explore the format with mobile and DTH here. because they couldn’t react to Jio. management? yet. Our idea of live is sport and Is that a game-changer? The world has been waiting for this Sameer: Building media brands is news. ‘Stories’ is also growing. Sameer: If consumers spend more rollout for five years and when it did, the cumulative effort of multiple Venkat: Machine recommended - time on digital over TV or print, it came like a Tsunami. We’re lucky people not one individual. This is the or assisted - content is becoming the it’s our playground. Eventually, all with the way our company is. We modern-day sort of MTV with its VJs standard now, and personalised AI is television will be an extension of already had a raft which we built into - some of them growing older, some key. Live and Snap Spectacles are big an app, with properties competing a canoe, and today we have a warship, the audience falls out of love with for in video. The other day I got a ping across spectrums which we are arming constantly! whatever reason. A Cyrus Broacha about some event for a topic I follow. Have you thought of putting up reinventing himself won’t have a I clicked and saw it live for half an your own platform? Video was touted to drive digital team around him but ‘Being Indian’ hour. I normally consume half an Sameer: No, there are enough advertising this year, what’s been reinventing itself does. Media gives hour of video per week, but that day platforms in the ecosystem. We want Jio’s impact? the individuals the ability to have I saw two live videos for an hour. to build media brands that are loved Sameer and Venkat: Roughly 10 a following and a voice, but when Sameer: On our channel Om across platforms. That is our North per cent of the total digital ad market we stop following them passionately, Bhajan Bhakti, we went live with Star. n (which is $2 billion) is the video individuals have to reinvent. MahaShivratri, and had 30,000 [email protected]

afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 17 advertising MICROMAX “Chinese brands are a challenge” A look at the brand’s recent ads - including the one released around Father’s Day - and communication strategy. By Sankalp Dikshit

he story of an ex-convict inspiring story that we thought had being narrated in an Indian to be taken to millions of people. It’s Tconsumer electronic a story that embodies our philosophy company’s ad film may not sound of ‘Nothing like Anything’,” he adds. like the quintessential assortment for Pal, who recently re-joined a Father’s Day ad. Micromax clearly Micromax, explains the new thinks otherwise. On the occasion challenges in the Micromax universe. of Father’s Day, the Gurgaon based He says, “Earlier, we had the company decided to tell the story of onslaught of the Nokias, Blackberrys an auto driver, T. Raja in a three- and Samsungs of the world.” That minute-plus video film. challenge is now redundant as The video, which is titled technology has helped homegrown ‘Meet Daddy: The Selfless Father brands like Micromax compete with to Thousands’ has no mention of global rivals on level ground. the brand’s products throughout its Pal adds, “Now we have Chinese long runtime. Only towards the end brands coming in so it’s a big challenge does one see the Micromax tagline - for me. It’s now down to (competing ‘Nothing like Anything’. The ad film with) Chinese brands. I keep saying has been crafted and conceptualised this and I’ll say this again - we’d love by The Logical Indian and was to have Chinese for lunch!” The released on June 16 by the brand’s current lot of prominent Chinese YouTube channel. handset brands in India includes Upon close scrutiny, one can Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, OnePlus and see that Micromax’s TVCs focus Gionee, among others. There is a clear divide in how Micromax is Rediffusion Y&R feels that something advertising on TV and digital. is amiss. He explains, “The ad should have a stronger brand connect. A solely on the product and its features The ad follows the journey of T. lot of ads having similar content are (Remember Akshay Kumar’s flashy Raja, an ex-convict, who founded the floating around - someone doing ad?) while the recent Mother’s Day New Ark Mission in the year 1997, something for society. The Bajaj digital ad film (What Mom Really to rescue and rehabilitate deserted Invincible series is about individuals Wants) utilised a strong emotional and dying people from the streets who help others. Even Vodafone’s connect to advertise the brand’s of Bangalore. The shelter home ad had at least some connect to the mobile phones in an indirect way. is located in Doddagubbi Village, brand. On one hand, everyone is Micromax even chose to associate Bangalore and around 200 residents telling you to go online but here’s itself with an ad campaign by live here. Raja is popularly called a category leader that tells you to go Corning Gorilla Glass that followed ‘Daddy’ by the inmates. “It’s now down to offline with your father. I find no the strenuous routine of Mumbai’s Speaking about discovering Raja, (competing with) brand connect. That’s my biggest Dabbawalas. With the new Father’s Abhishek Mazumdar, founder and worry with the new ad.” Day ad, which is silent on the brand’s CEO, The Logical Indian, shares, Chinese brands. Our second expert believes that products, a clear divide can be seen “We got to know about Raja’s work I keep saying this the ad strikes the right chord. Ram in the way Micromax is opting to while interacting with an IAS officer Subramanian, ad film-maker/peace advertise its products on television in Bangalore. We were amazed to and I’ll say this and equality activist, Handloom and digital platforms. know the effort he has put in and the again - we’d love Picture Co, tells afaqs!Reporter, In order to better understand magnitude of change he has brought. “This video helps brand Micromax the brand’s advertising strategy, Whatever is shown in the video, to have Chinese and deposits a positive emotion in the afaqs!Reporter spoke to Shubhodip especially the helping moments, is all minds of the consumer for the brand Pal, chief marketing and commercial candid,” adds Mazumdar. for lunch!” name. What works for the video is officer, Micromax. He says, “We SHUBHODIP PAL Auto-Raja’s story, the execution does often ignore things and moments CONTENT VS THE BRAND? not have any production value but that matter the most. However In the recent past, we witnessed since the story is the execution, it the storytelling and narrative are a wave of content-heavy ads that #SapneHueBade video or LazyPay’s works. It’s heart-warming to see that different in both. In the Mother’s allowed the story to shine while comedian gimmick?) But it remains we have heroes like Raja who are Day film it was the generalised story the product was mildly advertised uncommon for a durable goods brand making a difference in society and of a mother and son that many could in a blink-and-you-miss-it format. to let content eclipse the brand. brands like Micromax are promoting relate to. In the Father’s Day film, (Remember Marico’s no-nonsense We asked the experts. Pramod such individuals.” n it was a real story. It’s a moving and hair cream ad, Samsung’s Sharma, executive creative director, [email protected]

18 afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 interview

VINEET BAJPAI, CHAIRMAN, MAGNON GROUP “Frankly, I feel the simplicity of being an agency is lost” ineet Bajpai, 39, former Group CEO, Marketing has to be different from advertising – TBWA India, and present day chairman, both are specialist zones. The day you feel one of VMagnon Group, has written his debut fiction them can outperform the other... will take away novel ‘Harappa – Curse of the Blood River’, a blend of the soul from the client-agency partnership. history, mythology, religion and crime. It took him two years to write it. This is Bajpai’s third book; existing Before Govind Pandey took over as CEO (non-fiction) titles include Build From Scratch, The of TBWA India last January, you ran the Street to the Highway and The 30 Something CEO. agency for close to two years. What was that Bajpai set up Magnon, a digital agency, in 2000; experience like? it was acquired by TBWA after 12 years, giving birth Rewarding. As a young entrepreneur who to Magnon\TBWA. Magnon, we learn, has pulled in built a digital agency from scratch, created value clients on the back of Bajpai’s books: “...simply because around it and sold majority share to a global they read my business books and wanted to do business powerhouse like Omnicom, I was living any with the author...” Edited Excerpts from an interview advertising/digital entrepreneur’s dream. And with Ashwini Gangal: then the opportunity to be the Group CEO of a leading multinational network at the age of 35 You’ve written three business and was a terrific platform. management related books. What prompted the desire to veer towards fiction? What’s your take on the matter of pressure Creatively exploiting India’s rich history, of business on agency folk? mythology and heritage has been a missed The ever-increasing pressure and emphasis opportunity. Harappa is an effort in that “Digital has on the bottomline and relentless cost-control direction. When we read books written by by procurement teams at the client’s end are brilliant western authors like Dan Brown (The brought in harsh compelling agencies to squeeze more from Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons), we love limited resources. This manifests itself in the them. The way a contemporary thriller is written measurability. With strain on agency executives. around the Knights Templar or the Holy Grail measurability comes The problem is compounded by what can is absolutely mind-blowing. But it compels me sometimes be a regressive ‘agency culture’. Why to think about the content that can be created contempt, perhaps?” should ad executives be over-worked at all? If around the mystical past of India. other service-based businesses like software A book like (Brown’s) Inferno takes you VINEET BAJPAI companies or law firms or investment banks on a mysterious trip based on the western can evolve into well-structured, metrics-based classic Dante’s Inferno or The Divine Comedy. workplaces, why can’t advertising? But why hasn’t a book ever taken us on a buy vs vendor vs delivery vs procurement...we Here I feel some agencies - and leaders - take fantasy ride through, say, the great warrior-saint worked with clients as close strategic advisors pride in the chaos, which will eventually damage Parashuram’s battle with Sahastrabahu Arjun, and partners. Clients did not treat us as ‘vendors’. the quality or profitability of the creative output. the Kshatriya king with a thousand arms? Why We were their sounding-boards. hasn’t a book explored the dark and terrifying But now digital has brought in harsh Many young agency executives want to narratives of the Garuda Puraana? measurability. With measurability comes write books. What advice do you have... The work that is being done (around our contempt, perhaps? Suddenly the world of You don’t have to write books on the things heritage) can hardly be called fiction. Authors are ‘gut creativity’ and subtle consumer behaviour you know. As fiction writers, you can write writing about established and revered characters (analysis) has given way to cold analytics and on the things you can imagine... one man like Shiva or Rama or Sita or Karna, and are proof-of-deliverables. It threatens to take the combatting a hundred serpents, a woman falling simply reinterpreting - or even misinterpreting! creative ‘purist’ from the business of advertising. in love with a stone... it’s up to you. - well-known figures. But the characters in Secondly, remember over 1 lac books are Harappa are all sculpted afresh. And has the ‘the client’ changed too? released in India every year; 95 per cent of them The client has changed in both positive and don’t sell even a thousand copies. The marketing You were 22 when you quit GE India to set negative ways. The positive aspects are her sharp part is - unfortunately - more critical than the up Magnon, an agency you continue to run. eye on every dollar spent and the bang-for-the- writing part. I don’t want to name writers here, What, to your mind, has been the biggest buck approach. but they write garbage in the name of fiction or change in the agency business since then? The speed at which bright brand managers, mythology, and then spend `2 crore marketing Frankly, I feel the simplicity of being an marketing heads and CMOs are absorbing that trash. They are the best-sellers of today. agency is lost. When we started as a small but the nuances of tech-based advertising and its So if you are planning to write, plan to market effective digital agency many years ago, we empirical nature is dazzling. But any debate as well and marketing will take money, whether did not work in a complicated environment with your agency on the merits of advertising we like it or not. n of resources vs cost vs competition vs build or expertise is drastically counter-productive. [email protected]

afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 19 CANNES LIONS 2017 The Great Indian Show A complete list of winning agencies from India and what they won.

McCann India Wieden + Kennedy

n Immunity Charm Campaign for the Ministry of Public Health, n Da Da Ding Campaign for Nike Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Film Craft Category - 1 Bronze Pharma Category - 1 Grand Prix, 4 Gold and 4 Silver Film Category - 1 Gold Health & Wellness Category - 1 Bronze Direct Category - 1 Silver Product Category - 1 Silver Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi Media Category - 1 Bronze n #GiveHer5 Campaign for The Ammada Trust Glass Category - 1 Gold n World For All Campaign for Animal Care and Pet Adoption Outdoor Category - 1 Silver Leo Burnett India n Sweet Change Campaign for Paytm Wallet Media Category - 1 Bronze n Roads That Honk Campaign for HPCL’s HP Lubricants Innovation Category - 1 Silver n Dermaclinix - The Scientist Campaign for Dermaclinix Hair Design Category - 1 Bronze Transplant Clinic Radio Category - 1 Bronze n Bajaj V — The Nation’s Bike Campaign for Bajaj Auto Creative Effectiveness Category - 1 Gold Ogilvy & Mather India Medulla Communications n Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks Campaign for ITC’s Savlon Health & Wellness Category - 1 Bronze n Last Laugh Campaign for Indian Association of Outdoor Category - 1 Gold Palliative Care PR Category - 1 Gold and 1 Bronze Pharma Category - 2 Silver Promo & Activation Category - 1 Bronze Design Category - 1 Silver Product Design - 1 Bronze Famous Innovations

n Beauty Tips by Reshma Campaign for Make Love Not Scars n Proposal Box Campaign for Tata’s Caratlane NGO Design Category - 1 Bronze Creative Effectiveness Category - 1 Silver

n #NotMusicToMyEars Campaign for RNW Media Radio category - 1 Bronze At a glance Agency Grand Gold Silver Bronze Total Prix Taproot Dentsu McCann India 1 4 7 4 16 n Odds Campaign for Adidas Ogilvy & Mather India 0 2 2 5 9 Health & Wellness Category - 1 Bronze BBDO India 0 1 2 0 3 Direct Category - 1 Silver Leo Burnett India 0 1 1 1 3 Design Category - 1 Silver Wieden + Kennedy 0 1 0 1 2 Law & Kenneth 0 1 0 0 1 BBDO India Saatchi & Saatchi Taproot Dentsu 0 0 2 1 3 n #ReleaseThePressure Campaign for PepsiCo’s Mirinda Medulla 0 0 2 0 2 PR Category - 1 Silver Communications Famous Innovations 0 0 0 1 1 n Ariel Share The Load Campaign for P&G’s Ariel Creative Effectiveness Category - 1 Gold Country Total 1 10 16 13 40 Creative Effectiveness Category - 1 Silver

20 afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 The Cannes Gallery

Da Da Ding Campaign of Nike

Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks Campaign for ITC’s Savlon #GiveHer5 Campaign for The Ammada Trust

World For All (Animal Care And Adoptions) campaign

Roads That Honk Campaign of HPCL’s HP Lubricants

afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 21 The Cannes Gallery

Beauty Tips by Reshma Campaign of Make Love Not Scars NGO

Proposal Box Immunity Charm Campaign for the Ministry of Public Health, Islamic Republic Campaign of of Afghanistan Tata’s Caratlane

Bajaj V — The Nation’s Bike Campaign for Bajaj Auto

Sweet Change Campaign of Paytm Wallet #ReleaseThePressure Campaign for PepsiCo’s Mirinda

Ariel Share The Load Campaign of P&G’s Ariel

Adidas Odds Campaign Last Laugh Campaign of Indian Association of Palliative Care

22 afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 jobswitch

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afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 23 campaigntrail New campaigns across television, print, out-of-home and digital media. VIDEOS

LUX FBB Lux has released its latest ad film featuring Deepika Retail brand FBB has come up with a new ad which Padukone. The ad starts with a voice-over by Padukone and celebrates the #MissIndiaWaliFeeling. The ad brings home is accompanied by visuals of her getting ready for a movie the idea that every girl harbours the feeling or desire of MYNTRA premier which obviously involves an elaborate bathing session becoming Miss India. The ad features models from across the Myntra’s new ad film marks the launch of its ‘End using Lux soap, of course! In the ad, viewers are informed that country and was released by the brand’s YouTube channel Of Reason Sale’. The minute-long film shows people modernity does not necessarily mean forgetting your roots. in the month of June. The minute long ad is released in awkwardly requesting each other to be part of their The ad film has a run-time of forty-five seconds. association with Colors Femina Miss India 2017. ‘Myntra Shopping Group’ to avail discounts and offers. Creative Agency: Native Films Creative Agency: Social Kinnect Creative Agency: Myntra’s in-house agency

BRITANNIA GOOD DAY GODREJ AER GST Britannia Good Day’s recent ad film for its new product — Godrej Aer has casted ‘sanskari bapu ji’, Alok Nath, for Indian government has released a new ad to introduce the Britannia Good Day Wonderfulls features Deepika Padukone. its Father’s Day ad film. The ad is a monologue in which Goods and Service Tax (GST) which will be implemented The ad captures endearing moments between Padukone Nath tells us to go offline with our father and wish him across country starting July 1, 2017. The ad features and an elderly lady while they enjoy Britannia biscuits. The personally. He urges viewers to take their father on a long Amitabh Bachchan and goes with the slogan of one country, ad which is less than a minute in duration, goes with the drive and gift him Godrej Aer Car Fragrance. Nath is seen one tax and one market. Bachchan takes the example of the hashtag, #WonderfulWhenShared. The new biscuit range mocking the popular culture of posting selfies and writing three flag colours and the national anthem to explain how comes in three variants — Choco & Nuts, Berries & Nuts and sentimental captions on Father’s Day when in reality most they unite us as a nation. The ad aims to create a positive Butter Almond. fathers are not on the social media platforms. image of GST in the minds of viewers. Creative Agency: McCann India Creative Agency: Creativeland Asia Creative Agency: Square Communications

PRINT PETA SUNSILK TAG HEUER Peta has released FMCG brand Sunsilk Tag Heuer’s new its latest print ad has come up with print ad has actor featuring Sunny a new print ad on Ranbir Kapoor Leone. Keeping the occasion of Eid. advertising the PETA’s tradition alive The ad features brand’s high-end in terms of its bold brand ambassador watches. Kapoor content, Leone can Alia Bhatt who is can be seen be seen posing with flaunting her long clicking a picture red chilies, or rather and shiny tresses. while we see him only red chilies. The The ad goes with wearing a Tag ad mentions in bold the title of ‘Eid hogi Heuer watch. — ‘Spice up your life!’ aur khushal iss The ad goes and urges viewers sal with gorgeous with the hashtag to turn vegetarian. lambe baal’. The — #DontCrackUnderPressure. The Swiss manufacturing Previously, celebrities like John Abraham, Sonakshi ad mentions company has previously had actors like Shah Rukh Khan Sinha, Sidharth Malhotra, Tamannaah Bhatia and a promotional and Priyanka Chopra gracing their print ads for the Indian Shahid Kapoor, among others were seen in PETA’s ads. discount of ` 30 on market. the product.

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24 afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 advertising LAZYPAY Mocking the great Indian OTP These stand-up comedians make a case for PayU, a payment gateway brand. By Sankalp Dikshit

ayU India has launched a new more than the industry average on solving a problem? Today, signing up ad campaign which celebrates YouTube - which demonstrates the for a financial transaction is not very Plaziness. The campaign power of content-driven advertising.” complex, they don’t really ask for the titled, ‘#BeLazy’ features stand-up The ad campaign has been crafted kind of details that the comedians comedians such as Cyrus Sahukar, and conceptualised by The Glitch. We are making fun of. I think the ads are José Covaco, Jeeveshu Ahluwalia, got in touch with Varun Duggirala, well meaning, but the tonality and Biswapati Sarkar and Kaneez Surka co-founder & content chief, The the promise are so over the top that in short videos of around 30 seconds Glitch who says, “We are calling they may have a very short shelf life.” each. As of now, six ad films have these ads, ‘advertainment’ - they are Going by past examples of ads gone live on the brand’s YouTube entertaining and also communicate featuring comedians, it can be channel - the rest will be released in brand features. The trick was to observed that such campaigns coming months. make sure that at no point is the generally have high ad recall while The payment gateway brand has balance lost. Humour should not brand recall is low. Gupta explains, expanded its service offerings to dilute brand communication. This “I don’t see LazyPay having a 15 year include a deferred payment scheme was the toughest part for us.” perspective on the brand because that goes with the name of LazyPay. “It is pertinent Stand-up comedians are not new the technology evolves so fast that The aim is to drive faster purchase that we talk to to promoting financial services. the next version of LazyPay maybe experiences and convenience Remember this year’s ICICI’s ad completely different from what they by reducing friction on online the audience in a campaign featuring comedian Abhish have put out right now.” checkouts and achieving a zero-drop language that they Mathew? Speaking about casting, For long, Indians have viewed situation for online payments. In Duggirala says, “Online influencers digital platforms for financial simpler terms, the facility works like understand through right now are stand-up comedians transactions with scepticism. Does a credit card where one can avail people whom they and people who really like watching the new ad campaign make any the product/facility and pay later. their content. We wanted to leverage progress in familiarising the digital The credit limit can extend from understand.” `3,000 up to `10,000 depending ABHIJIT Such campaigns generally have high ad recall upon the purchasing behaviour of BHATTACHARYA the customer. while brand recall is low. Says Abhijit Bhattacharya, head marketing, consumer business, PayU the discussion and claims the top that and then build on top of it.” process with the ‘desi’ audience? K. India, “LazyPay is targeted towards spot as the most irritating part about For the record, LazyPay has Vaitheeswaran, serial entrepreneur, savvy users in the age group of 18-30 online shopping. clocked over 9,000 transactions with internet and e-commerce pioneer, years who transact frequently on the Bhattacharya elaborates, “It an average ticket size of `600-650 in tells afaqs!Reporter, “Using humour internet and are very active in the is pertinent that we talk to the the initial days of its pilot launch in to communicate the message is digital space. We want to provide audience in a language that they April 2017. unique and different but that is them with a premium experience for understand through people whom exactly why I would worry about payment akin to the privilege they they understand. Stand-up comics BUT DOES IT CUT? since it links financial services to experience at an airport check-in if come in and create content that leads Naresh Gupta, managing partner humour which can be risky.” they travel frequently.” to real life situations of inconvenient and chief strategy officer, Bang in the He goes on to add, “The celebrity The first ad featuring Sahukar payment check-outs. The brand Middle, tells afaqs!Reporter, “The will override the brand’s features was released on YouTube on June films are going to be content driven issue with finance as a category is that since you are trying to use an attribute 8, 2017 and has till now fetched and the comedians are given free if you trivialise it, you are trivialising of the celebrity which is not in sync over a million views. The comedians rein to create their own content people’s hard earned money.” with your brand. My first response narrate their online shopping ordeal which culminates in a comic real- Speaking about LazyPay’s concept to this ad is that the brand is not to an audience. In the ads, One life situation. Our first film has a of simplifying online transactions, standing out as much as it should.”n Time Password (OTP) dominates complete view rate of almost 2 times Gupta says, “Are these ads really [email protected]

afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7 25 people

A round up of some major people >> MOVEMENTS/APPOINTMENTS<< movements in the last fortnight MARKETING DIGITAL

Volkswagen has announced the appointment Paytm Mall FCB Ulka Volkswagen has appointed of Sam Balsara as an additional As per an announcement made FCB India has appointed Vikas Parihar as Steffen Knapp as director, pas- director of the company with by Paytm on June 11 on its offi- president, digital integration. Parihar will be senger cars, India. In his new effect from June 20. Balsara is cial blog, Amit Sinha has been driving digital transformation and business, role, Knapp will be responsi- chairman and managing director appointed as chief operating partnering individual CEOs, implementing ble for driving the passenger of Madison World, the media officer, Paytm Mall. In his previ- global digital practices and providing strategic car business in India. Knapp has buying and communication ous role at the company, he was leadership for digital integration. held leadership roles at brands agency. senior vice president of business. like SEAT and Ford across Sinha, in his new role, will be Culture Machine Europe. In his previous roles, he MetLife responsible for Paytm Mall’s Culture Machine, has elevated Tuhin Menon has been responsible for several Metlife has appointed Sanjeev overall operations, including as president. Previously, he was head – busi- strategic and managerial roles. Kapur as senior vice president expanding the team to ensure ness development and talent. Menon will be and chief marketing officer for customers across India are able setting up a studio model to create long form Kellogg Asia market. Kapur will report to buy the products offered. slates of original programming, working with The breakfast cereal maker has to Esther Lee, executive vice top notch creative talent, targeting the grow- announced the resignation of president and global chief mar- Coca-Cola ing need for digitally native content from Sangeeta Pendurkar as manag- keting officer, Metlife and Chris Vijay Parasuraman has been platforms and publishers alike. ing director, India and South Townsend, president of Asia, appointed as vice-president, Asia. She will continue to lead Metlife. He will also join the marketing at Coca-Cola. The Viral Fever the business for the next few Asia Leadership Team. Previously he was working as The digital content creator has announced months; her successor, who is In his new role, Kapur will lead general manager, Sparkling that its founder, Arunabh Kumar has decided yet to be announced. Pendurkar the acceleration of MetLife’s Brands, China Mainland, The to step down as CEO. He will be replaced had joined Kellogg six years ago. brand transformation across the Coca-Cola Company. by Dhawal Gusain who has been with TVF As a part of Kellogg’s Asia-Pacific region. Parasuraman will be replacing since 2015 as the COO. leadership team, she has made His focus will be on strength- Debabrata Mukherjee who will significant contributions to the ening the insurance major’s now work as vice president, LinTeractive development of the region. digital, data and design capabili- South West Asia, after working LinTeractive, the digital agency of ties to help deliver personalised for four years as the marketing MullenLowe Lintas Group, announced the Blue Star and engaging experiences to lead. Mukherjee will now work appointment of Deepak Agarwal as executive In a recent development, air the existing customers and new towards growing the soft drink creative director. Agarwal will be based in conditioning and commercial prospects, with a particular focus company’s South West Asia Mumbai. refrigeration brand, Blue Star, on mobile. business. MEDIA ADVERTISING Publicis Media India of Zee Studios. Sane’s producer Creativeland Asia February. He will be based in Publicis Media India, has appoint- credits have some of the Marathi Creativeland Asia has appointed Gurgaon. Ramesh replaces Nirmal ed Urvashi Khanna as associate industry’s successful films which Manas Lahiri to lead Delhi-NCR Pulickal, one of the founding director, content and brand solu- includes ‘Sairat’. The other promi- region. Lahiri will be responsi- partners and creative head of the tions to strengthen its content nent films include Natsamrat, Lai ble for driving the Creativeland agency. practice. She will report in to Bhaari, Time Pass, Katyar Kaljat Culture, new business and manag- With more than 25 years of experi- Gautham Pingali, content practice Ghusli and Duniyadari and criti- ing overall operations of the Delhi ence and multiple awards to his lead, Publicis Media India. cally acclaimed award winning branch. With a total experience of credit including Cannes Lions, Khanna has been producing and films such as Natarang, Fandry, over 15 years in the industry, Lahiri Clio, London International Awards, writing for television for many Killa and Elizabeth Ekadashi. has worked with brands such as The One Show and D&AD; years. She started her own produc- Samsung, Motorola, GM, Amazon, Ramesh has handled clients such tion house and promo launched Amagi Lenovo and Dabur. as American Express, Britannia, shows on leading GEC channels. Ad-tech agency Amagi Media Labs Coca-Cola, Dabur and Unilever. She also produced TVCs and digi- has announced the appointment of TBWA India tal ads for brands. As a creative Amol Dighe as business head of Vaybhav Singh joins TBWA\ Enormous Brands director, she has executed various the company. His mandate spans India as managing partner of its Enormous Brands, has appointed shows, documentaries and web across channel strategy and media Digital Arts Network. Singh’s role Ajeet Shukla as executive creative series and has explored branded buying along with adding new at Digital Arts Network would director, Mumbai and Khurram content both as digital brand solu- revenue streams targeted at both involve leading TBWA’s digital first Haque as senior creative director, tions and short form programming. national and regional advertisers. clients like MasterCard and Airbnb Gurgaon. Prior to joining Amagi, Dighe as well as creative custodianship of Shukla who has 12 years of adver- Viacom18 Motion Pictures was the head of investment at Nissan United. With over 15 years tising experience has worked with Viacom18 Motion Pictures has Omnicom Media Group India and of experience across various adver- Zee Group, Euro RSCG (Havas), appointed Nikhil Sane as busi- led strategic insight and analysis tising agencies, Singh has led work FCB ULKA and more. An alum- ness head to lead its enhanced over the OMD and PHD invest- on brands in the telecommunica- nus of NIFT Delhi, Haque has focus in Marathi cinema. Sane will ment portfolio. tion, consumer electronics, retail, over 10 years of experience. Eight report to Ajit Andhare, chief oper- Dighe has also worked in Jakarta fashion and automobiles categories. of those years were spent in adver- ating officer, Viacom18 Motion in a leadership role at Mindshare. tising with agencies like Ogilvy, Pictures. He had stints with Unilever in M&C Saatchi Rediffusion and JWT working on Sane had previously been man- a regional buying and operations N. Ramesh, has been appointed as clients such as Seagram, Nokia, aging the Marathi film division role for the Asia Pacific Region. president, creative, at M&C Saatchi Frito-Lay, Nestle and LG.

26 afaqs! Reporter, July 1-15, 2 0 1 7

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