Lynn De Souza Plug and Play Debraj Tripathy It Is the Most Commonly

February 1-15, 2011 Volume 2, Issue 3 `100 32 22

DEFINING MOMENTS Lynn de Souza LMG’s chairperson and CEO reﬂects. 22

TATA PHOTON PLUS Plug and Play An outdoor campaign that arrests attention. 48

TAM EVERYONE’S PROFILE Debraj Tripathy The COO of Mediacom is FAVOURITE a people-oriented planner. E-COMMERCE Survival of the Fittest 11 PUNCHING BAG HINDUSTAN TIMES No-TV Day 24 It is the most commonly accepted television ratings STAR PLUS measurement system. But what is it about TAM that Ladies First 34 makes it a target for attack, time and again? MARUTI ESTILO Brought to Life 36

EDITORIAL

This fortnight... Volume 2, Issue 3

EDITOR s TAM Media Research India’s most discussed sub-`100 crore company? It would seem so going Sreekant Khandekar Iby the attention it gets every Wednesday when the weekly TV ratings land; the attacks it comes PUBLISHER under from people within the advertising and media business; and the scrutiny it has undergone from Prasanna Singh the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as well as in Parliament. And mind you, TAM is far CONSULTING EDITOR closer to `50 crore than to `100 crore! M Venkatesh CONTRIBUTING EDITOR If advertisers, agencies and media publishers – who pay for the system – support Prajjal Saha TAM, why should the government care? Several publishers openly criticise the Indian SENIOR LAYOUT ARTIST Readership Survey (IRS) too but the government doesn’t intervene in print, does it? Vinay Dominic February 1-15, 2011 Volume 2, Issue 3 `100 22 LOGISTICS 32 There are presumably three reasons. One, protecting Doordarshan: as more and Rajesh Kanwal more homes move to Cable & Satellite, the state run broadcaster’s audience continues ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES DEFINING MOMENTS Lynn de Souza LMG’s chairperson and to shrink. Control over the ratings system could help portray Doordarshan in a better Hansika Koli, (0120) 4077834 4077837 Noida CEO reﬂects. 22 light to advertisers. Two, sensational programming in both news and entertainment Varun Mohan, (022) 40429702-5 Mumbai Neeraj Ranjan, 09886846842 Bangalore has upset the government more than once. It seems to view TAM ratings as the reason [email protected]

TATA PHOTON PLUS Plug and Play why the kind of programming that it finds objectionable is created. Three, several of An outdoor campaign that arrests attention. the smaller channels across India are funded by – or linked to – politicians. When they Marketing Office 48 B-3, First Floor, Sector-4, Noida-201301. fare badly, it is easy to join the chorus and blame TAM. TAM Tel: (0120) 4077800. EVERYONE’S Mumbai PROFILE Debraj Tripathy Abhorrent though the idea of government dictating how viewing should be The COO of Mediacom is 501-502, Makani Center, 5th Floor, FAVOURITE a people-oriented planner. E-COMMERCE measured, many people in the business, especially the smaller channels, are unhappy Survival of the Fittest 11 Off Linking Road, Bandra (W), PUNCHING BAG HINDUSTAN TIMES No-TV Day 24 Mumbai - 400050 It is the most commonly accepted television ratings STAR PLUS with the existing system. They have the same complaint as magazines and smaller measurement system. But what is it about TAM that Ladies First 34 makes it a target for attack, time and again? MARUTI ESTILO Tel: +91-22-40429 709 - 712 Brought to Life 36 newspapers have against the IRS: that it is geared towards capturing the figures for only the largest dailies – here, substitute that with the largest channels. Bengaluru S-1, New Bridge Corporate Centre, 777 D, 100 ft Road, Indira Nagar, If the TV business wants to keep the government off its back and retain its independence, BARC Bengaluru - 560038, India will have to take responsibility for the way the ratings system works rather than leave TAM to fend Subscription Enquiries for itself. It is hard to believe that the industry can’t find the money to fund more peoplemeters, if that Garima Agnihotri, (0120) 4077837 is what it will take to get a more accurate picture of TV viewing. [email protected] Printed, published, and owned by If this isn’t the time to put aside personal agendas and address the issue, I don’t know what is. Prasanna Singh, Publisher, at 7-A/13, Ch. Ratan Singh Complex, Jawala Heri Market, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi-110 063.

Printed at Cirrus Graphics Private Limited B-62/14, Naraina Industrial Area, Phase II, New Delhi – 110028. Sreekant Khandekar Cover Illustration [email protected] Vinay Dominic CONTENTS 12 50 PLUS CLEARTRIP Reality Factor 12 AMAR UJALA AMCL How’s That? AUDI The afaqs! cricket Another Dimension 14 carnival starts in HIPPO real earnest. The Maternal Touch 16 JAGRAN SOLUTIONS-AXN MATTEL TOYS 20 18 Sixty Seconds to Win 38 Word Power The toy company unleashes a AEGON RELIGARE campaign for Scrabble. How much is Enough? 40 POINTS OF VIEW 28 GLOBAL BRANDSCAPE Second Agencies TATA NANO BIG CINEMAS Brandspeak 42 Are second agencies a Happiness Factor Eloquent Experience INDIAN RAILWAYS redundant concept? Our The small car launches four Mudra’s silent National experts comment. big TVCs. Anthem is a sensitive ﬁlm. Coupé d’etat? 48

afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011 5 LG INDIA Sponsored by

or the upcoming ICC World through this activity and receive at Cup, which will be held in the least one lakh entries for the contest. FIndian subcontinent after 15 From these, 2,500 individuals will be years, commercial partner LG India selected by a panel of judges. has launched an on-ground activity. These cadets will then be given Maruti Suzuki> The small-car market leader Maruti Called the LG Mobile Army, the a training on, what Gupta terms Suzuki India plans to roll out its sedan Kizashi. Poised in the campaign highlights the company’s as, “infectious” moves, which luxury segment, the car will be fully imported from Suzuki’s association with the game and pro- can be replicated in the stadiums. facility in Japan. It will be positioned between the likes of mote its mobile range. The LG Mobile Army will there- Honda Accord and Toyota Camry at the upper end and Honda The LG Mobile Army plans to by create a fun atmosphere in Civic, Volkswagen Jetta and Toyota Corolla at the lower end. recruit 2,500 cadets from across 38 the stadiums and also encourage cities in India. The company will other viewers to participate in the select these cadets based on the way dance moves. The company Samsung> Digital technology leader Samsung Electronics they express their enthusiasm for the The objective of the activity is to expects growth has announced the launch of its new range of split air- game. promote LG’s mobile phone range, of 35-40 per cent conditioners in the Invincia and Purista series. The company Talking about the initiative, LK by building a better emotional con- in sales of split has also launched 18 new models across split and window AC Gupta, chief marketing ofﬁcer, LG nect with the target audience. The air-conditioners categories. It expects growth of 35-40 per cent in the sales Electronics India, says, company plans to of split air-conditioners and “These cadets will be increase its share in the this year. expects this segment to con- given access to the Indian mobile market tribute around 80 per cent AC MARKETING World Cup match- from the current 7.6 volume sales this year. es in a group of 50 per cent to 10 per cent. where they will create In order to achieve a cheerful atmosphere The company this, the Indian arm of Starbucks> The world’s largest coffee chain, Starbucks inside the stadium the Korean electron- has partnered with Tata Coffee, part of the Tata Group, for plans to spend sourcing and roasting coffee beans. The alliance would also during the matches.” ics giant will invest ` pave the way for the US-based coffee-chain to open retail To call for the 60 crore on close to `60 crore on outlets in Tata retail locations and hotels in India. The Tata entries the company the BTL with an this campaign. Of ` Coffee unit of Tata group also owns the largest seller of has rolled out tel- aim to increase this about 25 crore whole bean coffee in the US, Eight O’Clock Coffee. evision commercials, will be spent on ATL featuring the brand its share in the (comprising televi- ambassador Genelia Indian mobile sion and the internet), The company Sony> Consumer electronics company Sony India aims to D’souza and actor market from and rest on below- has also planned clock a turnover of `5,700 crore this financial year, which John Abraham. The the-line activities and would be a 54 per cent increase over the last fiscal. The com- ads have been concep- the current 7.6 merchandising, such an aggressive marketing cam- pany aims to achieve this growth on the back of enhanced tualised by Rediffusion per cent to as T-shirts, caps and distribution and service network, launch of new and innova- Y&R. other cricket memo- paign for the tive products and aggressive brand promotions. The company The company is 10 per cent. rabilia. During the upcoming ICC has also planned an aggressive also using branded duration of the World Cricket World. marketing campaign for the open trucks which will run across Cup (February-April), the company upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup. popular youth hangouts, where will also introduce seven new mod- they can appear for auditions. The els of mobile phones, all in the below-the-line activities are being price range of `4,000 to `7,000. This Food Food> The 24x7 Hindi television food channel, Food conducted by Mudra Max. range will consist of Android- and Food, has appointed the dancing diva of Bollywood, Madhuri With this campaign, the com- Windows-based smartphones and Dixit, as its lifestyle ambassador. The channel is a joint ven- pany plans to target youngsters in 3G-enabled handsets. ture between Malaysia’s leading cross-media group, Astro the age group of 15-30 years. Gupta “In every stadium, a person or a All Asia Networks and Turmeric Vision, a television company adds, “We are looking for the youth group of people enacts something, owned by celebrity Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and his wife Alyona to express their enthusiasm for the which the camera also loves. So, we Kapoor. game in their own way. This can be are preparing a similar army of 50 innovative, unique or whacky.” people. Who knows, we might be The company expects to reach able to create the next thing in the A campaign XAGE> Setting its sights on expanding the mobile handset about five lakh people way people cheer,” Gupta concludes. featuring Celina market in the country, XAGE Mobile has signed on Celina Jaitly has been Jaitly as its brand ambassador. A high-blitz advertising campaign featuring Jaitly has been conceptualised and ideated by QUOTE OF THE FORTNIGHT conceptualised Katha Mediatix India. The campaign and ideated by will position XAGE Mobile as the ‘‘This is not a tagline change, Katha Mediatix. first choice for today’s discerning this is a transformation. consumers. Everybody understands what ‘Rise’ is. You have to involve Trust Research Advisory> A research firm, Trust people and make them the Research Advisory, has revealed The Brand Trust Report, India Study, 2011. According to it, Indians chose the Finnish agent of change.’’ handset-maker Nokia as the most trusted brand followed by FOTOCORP ANAND MAHINDRA, VICE-CHAIRMAN & MANAGING DIRECTOR, MAHINDRA GROUP, ON THE GROUP’S NEW Tata and Japanese electronics giant, Sony at the third spot. POSITIONING, IN THE ECONOMIC TIMES. Other brands that featured in the Top 10 are: LG, Samsung, Reliance, Maruti, LIC, Airtel and Titan.

6 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011 through theno.1newschannelinMaharashtra. We welcomeallpartnerstounleash thepoweroftheirbrands build opinions,exposetruth&covertopnewsweek afterweek. asset tosuccess.Stateofthefact,11millionviewers watchus we haverepeatedlyprovedthatournewsstrength isagreat With 13%MarketShareamongallnewschannels inthestate, No. 1,aheadofallNewschannelsincludingHindiandEnglish. For thelastthreeyearsinarow, STAR Majhaisconsistently

Source: TAM, CS 15+, YR 2010 , Maharashtra 13% 11% 10% 9% 7% 4% 4% 2% %1% 1% RBNL Sponsored by

eliance Broadcast Network The buyout is expected to be in (RBNL) is gearing up to the region of `15-20 crores. And, Rtake complete possession of while launching a Bollywood music Imagine Showbiz (ISL), through a channel by RBNL would require an buy-out from Cinestar Advertising investment in almost the same region STAR TV Network> STAR India, the wholly owned (CAPL). what this deal provides the company subsidiary of News Corporation, will add four chan- The proposed acquisition by as an added advantage is speed to nels from its stable in two additional US markets, RBNL will include a 100 per cent market. Washington DC and Philadelphia, PA. These include the purchase of ISL’s shareholding, along Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance group’s flagship Hindi general entertainment channel, with the other assets such as intel- Broadcast Network notes that this Star Plus, its second rung Hindi GEC Star One, Hindi lectual property rights, Bollywood proposed acquisition is in line with news channel Star News and Bollywood movie channel MEDIA content, technical expertise, includ- the overall strategy to create own- Star Gold. ing studios and equipment and the ership of multimedia consumer distribution network. touch-points. It will further strength- The channel will be rebranded en the company’s television portfolio, They have been IDC and CyberMedia> CyberMedia India has under the Reliance ‘Big’ banner and from the English space into the Hindi in a partner- informed the Bombay Stock Exchange about its inten- is expected to see a relaunch with an entertainment space. Big CBS tion to end its long-standing business relationship with enhanced programming change in Networks, the joint venture between ship since 1987. International Data Corporation (IDC). The two compa- the lineup by March Reliance Broadcast CyberMedia was nies have been in a partnership since 1987, whereby 2011. While Imagine Network and CBS the representative CyberMedia was the representa- TV is a GEC, Imagine Studios International, for IDC’s research tive for IDC’s research business Showbiz is Bollywood launched Big CBS business in India. in India. The 24-year relationship channel. Prime, the first of the will end on February 28. In a bid to give Reliance three English channels complete control of Broadcast in late November. Showbiz, originally Katial states, “Since Economy India> The publishers of Economy India, an launched as a joint Network will re- we already have an economic monthly magazine in both English and Hindi, are venture between launch Imagine established product in planning to launch two more titles - Society India and Rajniti NDTV Group and Showbiz in the a the music entertain- India. While Rajniti India, a fortnightly newspaper, will be CAPL in August 2008, ment space, the ISL a political offering; Society India will be a monthly lifestyle to RBNL, the final new avatar in buyout provides excel- magazine. Both will be published in English and Hindi and hit buy-out went through March, 2011. lent synergies giving a the stands this month. Society India has a cover price of `30, a series of transactions. television dimension for both English and Hindi versions while Rajniti India bears ` Previous to to the radio business. a cover price of 5. Both will have a print run of 10,000 each for English and Hindi versions. NDTV’s decision to sell its stake in This deal will also help in content NDTV Imagine, it owned 51 per acquisition, content utilisation, audi- cent stakes in Showbiz while CAPL ence target, cross promotion and held the remaining 49 per cent. But advertiser acquisition.” Additionally, Mookie has DQE and Mookie> The Hyderabad-based DQ Enter- after Turner decided to takeover, RBNL will now also distribute acquired the toy tainment (DQE), the animation, gaming, live action the ownership changed hands with Showbiz along with the network of entertainment production and distribution company, has licensing rights granted an exclusive toy licensing agreement to the UK-based Turner holding a 51 per cent stake. the three BIG CBS channels, giving for The Jungle Turner later on sold its 51 per cent it an additional strength on ground. Mookie Toys (Mookie), for the former’s 3D-animated series, The Jungle Book. According to the agreement, Mookie will stake to CAPL. The deal thus offers distribution syn- Book through have the toy licensing rights for The Jungle Book in the UK, This acquisition, the company ergies with Reliance Digicom, while DQE’s licensing Ireland and the Channel Islands through DQE’s licensing claims, will fit well into the overall leveraging Bollywood content from agent, CPLG. agent, CPLG. The agreement will allow Mookie to sell The business strategy of RBNL, leverag- Group companies like BIG Pictures, Jungle Book toy merchandise, which include wheeled bicy- ing synergies with its radio arm BIG BIG Music and Home Video. cles, tri-scooters, tricycles and play balls among others. FM, its intellectual property arm BIG RBNL’s intellectual property Live and its integrated sales offering business BIG Live, will also see syn- through BIG Connect. The acquisi- ergies with this channel while the Aidem Ventures has joined hands with tion will be done through RBNL’s company will be able to monetise eBus-Aidem> Singapore-based eBus Media Network to form a joint ven- wholly owned subsidiary, Reliance this channel through RBNL’s inte- ture (JV) that aims to offer a complete solution for digital Television. grated sales arm BIG Connect. distribution and management of television commercials (TVCs) to advertisers, agencies, media owners, content QUOTE OF THE FORTNIGHT producers and broadcasters. The new vertical will be known as eBus-Aidem. ‘‘Though reality shows fetch more avenues for revenue, it The group plans Prabhat Khabar> The Hindi daily, Prabhat Khabar, is is not easy to rely on reality a print run of set to launch its third edition from Bihar. The new edition will be introduced from Bhagalpur shortly. The group is tar- shows alone as everything is 50,000 copies, geting an initial print run of at least 50,000 copies, of which not about top line; bottom line of which the the subscription order for 30,000 copies has already been is important, too.’’ subscription for placed. It will serve Bhagalpur 30,000 copies has and areas including Khagaria, SUDHA NATRAJAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, LINTAS MEDIA GROUP, ON THE IMPORTANCE OF REALITY SHOWS WHILE Purnia, Saharsa, Banka, Katihar, MAKING MEDIA PLANS, IN AFAQS! been placed. Munger and Madhepura.

8 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

LAY’S Sponsored by

ay’s, the potato chips brand The first phase includes three of PepsiCo India, has teaser campaigns which have been Lshifted focus to consumer on air for a while now. engagement programmes through The second phase comprises the scale engagement, rather than brand launch campaign, which includes a SAB TV> The family comedy channel from the MSM programmes. television commercial (TVC) and stable, SAB TV, is ready to change creative hands. For the The company has launched an an on-ground activation programme, past two and a half years creative agency Pickle Lintas innovative activation campaign to in which consumers can visit Lay’s was handling the channel’s creative duties. SAB and Pickle Lintas parted mutually and the agency will not attempt engage consumers through the mobile vans and booths, taste the to retain its previous position. Prior to Pickle, SAB was forthcoming ICC Cricket World flavours and later vote for their handled by Leo Burnett India. OMD India is the media Cup, which is slated to begin by the favourite flavour through an SMS agency for all channels within the MSM stable. middle of this month. to 9880298802, call 18002098802 In order to create an atmosphere or write to beafan@laysflavourcup. of competition and engage its com. CG Foods> The Nepal-based CG Foods is scouting for audience, the company has launched The second phase of the campaign a creative and a media agency in India. The company six flavours for the will be rolled out plans to promote its instant noodle brand, Wai Wai. The mega sports event. through outdoor, print company presently has a 70 per cent market share in the These flavours are: and digital media, a North-eastern states, Sikkim and West Bengal, while its Australia’s Herb ‘n’ page on Facebook share across India is about 14-15 per cent in the `1,200 Lime, South Africa’s and also a televison crore noodle market. The incumbent is its Nepal based Peri Peri Sauce, Sri commercial. in-house agency, V-Chitra. Lanka’s Sweet Onion The third and

ADVERTISING Sauce, England’s the last phase of the Grilled Cheese, West campaign will have 49 3M> The American conglomerate and owner of popular Indies’ Hot & Sweet winners who will have brands such as Scotch Brite, Post-It, Scotchgard and Chilli and New India’s The company the honour of walking Nexcare, 3M is on the lookout for a creative partner in Magic Masala. has launched the with the captains of India. The company plans to enter into a new product With this, Lay’s has the teams playing at category in the country. Currently, Grey India handles the also launched its ‘Be a campaign ‘Be each match during creative mandate for Scotch Brite and Post-It. fan’ campaign. a Fan’ to engage the tournament. Adds “We have gradu- its consumers Jaitly, “The winners >> ACCOUNT MOVEMENT ally realised that will also get the chance rather than a simple through the to watch the match > Scarecrow has won the creative mandate for consumer brand campaign, forthcoming ICC live and share their loans company Future Capital. The company is in the process scale engagement experiences on the of redefining the brand and expanding its product range. It is programmes such Cricket World Facebook page.” aggressively looking at the lending market with plans to launch as Select your Cup slated The trend started consumer loans. The agency will work on designing the revamped Flavour’, supported to begin this in 2008, with Lay’s look of the brand before breaking the mass campaign. The by other mediums, ‘Fight for your campaign is slated to be a mix of both ATL and BTL activities. help in attracting month. Flavour’ campaign more attention. For where consumers example, ‘Give Us Your Dillicious were asked to vote for a flavour of > RedWorks, Ogilvy’s global BTL creative and adaptation Flavour’ campaign, was highly their choice. The flavour which won division, has won the creative duties for the Chennai-based successful, receiving 1.3 million the maximum votes continued to mall, Ampa Skywalk. There is no incumbent per se; Lowe entries. Consumers are no longer be in the market. In 2009, Lay’s Lintas was involved with the mall’s launch campaign about a interested in watching a simple launched the ‘Give Us Your year ago. The development is the result of a multi-agency pitch brand story. They would rather be Dillicious Flavour’ campaign. Spread which also involved Law and Kenneth and Interface Communications. The upcoming a part of it in some way,” explains over three phases, the campaign, campaign will focus heavily on activation related communication as opposed to Ruchira Jaitly, EVP, Frito-Lay India. in its first phase, asked consumers mass media advertising. ‘Be a Fan’ campaign has been across the country to send in their launched in three phases and will entries between November 2009 and continue for 13 weeks. January 2010. > Infrastructure company DSC has awarded its creative duties to Lowe Lintas and its media duties to Karishma Initiative. It is present in roads, expressways, railways, urban infrastructure, power and real QUOTE OF THE FORTNIGHT estate. The company has executed several infrastructure projects including the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, the Barapullah Elevated ‘‘We can’t prevent any Road connecting the Games Village with Nehru Stadium for the competitor from ambushing. Commonwealth Games 2010 and the Kundli-Manesar Palwal Expressway. But if you focus on the consumer, what your brand is > G’Five Mobiles awarded its creative mandate to doing to serve the consumer Onads Communications and its media mandate to Span Communications. The account size is pegged at `100 and have a big idea, you will crore. While Onads would be responsible for the creative win most of the time.’’ conceptualisation and execution across mass media including BTL activities, Span would be responsible for the entire function of media planning and buying. The MARC PRITCHARD, GLOBAL MARKETING AND BRAND BUILDING OFFICER, P&G, ON CAMPAIGNS BEING HIJACKED campaign has already been rolled out in the electronic media and is soon expected to BY COMPETING BRANDS, IN THE ECONOMIC TIMES. take off in the print, OOH and digital media as well.

10 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011 E-COMMERCE Survival of the Fittest About two dozen group buying sites are operating in India. Is there enough business or is it mostly hype. By Kapil Ohri

ast month, the US-based daily deals web- commission in India. Assuming that 15 per cent site Groupon.com, which caters to about average commission is earned on each coupon L50 million users worldwide, acquired the sale, the net amount of money earned by 20 web- Kolkata-based e-commerce portal named Sosasta. sites (together) would be `1.5 crore monthly. com. It will now revamp and re-launch the site This is definitely not a good net revenue figure soon. and must not be sufficient to cover the costs (of eBay.in, the prominent player in the e-com- human resources, marketing and site mainte- merce space, also ventured into the daily deals nance) of 20 companies. business and launched its group buying operations in Delhi and Mumbai regions. NO DIFFERENTIATION Thus, two more companies join the daily deals any of the deals websites offer similar sector in India, which is already overcrowded. Mdeals from the same retailers in the same localities. THE GROUP OF GROUP BUYING Guneet Singh, ex-co-founder, Dealsandyou ore than 20 daily deals or group buy- observes that, “The same merchant often gets fea- Ming websites or daily deals aggregators are tured on competitive sites within a fortnight, if not already active in the country, including Snapdeal, on the same day. I have noticed that Cafe Coffee Dealsandyou, Mydala, Taggle, Buzzintown, THE GROUP-BUYING CONCEPT Day was the deal on Taggle and Snapdeal.com on Koovs, Dailydeal, Dealivore, Khojguru, Thekha, group-buying or daily deals website presents the same day, and a deal on Blackberry phone, Scoopstr, Masthideals, Snatchdeals, Lootmore, A a huge ‘discount deal of the day’, everyday, on which was available on Dealsandyou, was made 30Sunday and Bindasbargain. lifestyle-related services, such as restaurants and hotel available on Snapdeal within a week.” Many more group buying sites are expected accommodations. The site works on the concept of to emerge soon. afaqs! Reporter has learnt hyper-local and collective bargaining. It usually presents SCALABILITY deals to its members in their nearby areas. Thus, differ- from reliable sources in the industry that some ent deals are offered to members based on the locations ven after so much of buzz, most of the daily prominent internet companies are finalising from where they log on to the site. Edeals websites have failed to build significant their plans to venture into the daily deals busi- traction or gain traffic leadership over its competi- ness in India. The discount deals are usually opened for certain duration, except for Snapdeal.com which stands above tions. To avail a discount, members first have to express The fact that daily deals websites can be set up interest in the deal of the day. However, whether they the rest. easily will further fuel the increase in the number get the discount deal or not is a function of the number According to audience measurement website of such websites. “One can build the deals site of members who show their interest in the deal. The deal Vizisense, there was no huge difference in the within a few days with just `1 lakh,” says Spandan can be availed by members only when a specified num- number of unique users who visited Mydala (1.07 Jasmin Tolia, who co-founded the daily deals ber of members (critical mass) apply for it. lakh) and Bindasbargain (1.9 lakh) in December, website Mobstreet with his own money last year. 2010. Websites such as Snatchdeals and Dailydeals Readymade software packages (to create daily have not even got a lakh users in December. deal sites) are available online. Many web devel- in a single day are about 10,000, including mul- Even Dealsandyou, touted as a significant play- opment firms such as Agriya, Contussupport and tiple deals in multiple locations. Considering the er, was not much ahead of Buzzintown last month. G-antssoft have started selling the facility to build average price of each coupon (at `350), the gross While 11 lakh unique users visited Dealsandyou. websites such as Groupon in India. sales value or turnover achieved by the daily deals com, Buzzintown received 7.3 lakh unique users. The rapid rise in the number of daily deal sites industry is `35 lakh per day, bringing the monthly Snapdeal managed to get 40 lakh unique users in has created a lot of hype in the Internet space. gross coupon sales or turnover to about `10.5 December. However, this does not mean that everything is crore for 20 websites. Also, there are chances that the mentioned fine. As per the business model of daily deals web- websites are getting duplicate traffic since the type WHERE IS THE REVENUE? sites, they earn revenue from sales commissions of service offered by most of the daily deals sites is t is estimated that the combined number of on coupon sales. Most industry players charge Icoupons sold by about 20 daily deals websites 8-20 per cent of the total coupon value as sales >> SCRABBLE Playing it Smart With the recent television commercial for the extremely popular word-game, Scrabble, Mattel Toys finally looks at ATL communication. By Biprorshee Das

ove over Play- Chattopadhyay says that it’s Station, old school about having fun with words, Mstill rules! One will with the subtext being that have good reason to believe so, learning is fun with Scrabble. too, after Mattel Toys India “Long before television finally decided to take the coined the word ‘infotain- mainstream advertising route ment’, there was a board game recently, launching the first that provided infotainment - TVC for its popular board Scrabble. This delightful game game, Scrabble. improves children’s word While internationally, power without ever giving board games have received them a whiff of its educa- above the line exposure, it was tional value - making not just about time the practice was the children but their parents witnessed in India. happy, too,” he says. Conceptualised by Ogilvy “We had to make the film India, the TVC shows twin such that the kids find it fun brothers arriving late for their and the parents, who are the karate class. As the instruc- eventual buyers, see enough tor reprimands them, one reason to justify the expense,” says that he overslept and is says Nayak. instantly punished. The other The popularity of the game brother, portrayed as the can well be gauged as the cre- smarter one (and a Scrabble ative team cannot help but (From left) Mehta, Chattopadhyay, Nayak and Akhaury: playing mind games player), says he suffers from delve into their personal asso- ‘clinomania’. The instructor, who does not know TVC clearly communicates that smart kids play ciations with Scrabble. that the word means the desire to sleep more, Scrabble,” says Ajay Mehta, client services direc- “Scrabble as a game has stood the test of time. quickly asks him to rest. The message conveyed is tor, Ogilvy. Even in the era of ‘gaming’, it has relevance and that playing Scrabble makes one smarter. The film has been produced by Old School appeal. It is a classic in that sense and merits an ad “The learning was that Scrabble is not a self Films, led by Piyush Ragani. The creative team campaign of its own. I played Scrabble from a very starter game and does not feature very high among includes Sumanto Chattopadhyay, executive crea- early age. Maybe that is why I am in a job where I the kids’ favourites, unlike other board games. tive director, South Asia; Sukesh Kumar Nayak work with words today,” says Chattopadhyay. Therefore, the challenge was to position Scrabble and Heeral Akhaury, senior creative directors and as a fun game that also enhances vocabulary. The Ragini Singh, copywriter. >>

CLEARTRIP Reality Report Cleartrip focuses on the traveller’s purpose, rather than the packages. By Biprorshee Das

getaway is always welcome. purpose of travel. Over 100 films Whether it is a vacation or a were shot, which were shortlisted to Abusiness tour, a trip, which 80, and finally 40. breaks your routine, is a refreshing A comprehensive 75-second film, Over 100 films CREATIVE PURPOSE change. Behind every trip is a pur- a montage of the interviews broke pputuru says that the task pose. Online travel agency Cleartrip, initially, and currently a 45-second were shot across Ubefore the agency was to create in its campaign, explores just this: montage and around 20 films of 10 saliency of the brand in a catego- how every trip has a purpose. seconds each are on air. the country for this ry ruled by communication built In a segment in which commu- The creative team at Publicis around discounts. He says that the nication, more often than not, is just Capital behind the campaign campaign. idea was to take the higher ground promoting value holiday packages, includes Emmanuel Upputuru, Films, has directed the films. with the ‘every trip has a purpose’ discounts and contests, Cleartrip national creative director; creative Niraj Seth, chief marketing offic- insight and own it. chose to connect with the traveller directors Tanuja Goel and Vivek er, Cleatrip says, “We believe that “The idea occurred to me when and strengthen its mass positioning. Nair; Ayan Das, associate creative this campaign will speak directly to I was flying to Mumbai for the The TVC created by Publicis director and Seby John, copywriter. the hearts and minds of all travel- pitch presentation and looked at Capital features real travellers from Bauddhayan Mukherji, director lers. This concept is real, with real different places talking about their and founding member, Little Lamb people and real life experiences.” !>>

12 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

AUDI A8 L Adding Another Dimension Creativeland Asia bets high on the digital medium with the TVC for the luxury sedan. By Biprorshee Das

ommunication needs to go beyond dialogue and become an experience, says CSajan Raj Kurup, founder and creative chairperson, Creativeland Asia. Staying true to this, the agency has created an engaging campaign in 3D for Audi’s new luxury sedan, the Audi A8 L. Not hiding its intention to be seen as an aspirational brand, the German luxury car maker is betting on a blend of aesthetics and technology, captured in the tagline for the campaign - ‘The Advanced State of Mind’ - coined by Creativeland Asia (CLA). The Audi A8 L film shows the protagonist tak- “We applied ated what it claims is India’s first 3D microsite for ing a deep, relaxing breath. Looking at something Audi A8 L, where users can further explore the car off-screen, he is soon swept off his feet and flung Maslow’s and interact with its details. mid-air, as a luxurious A8 L assembles around hierarchy of needs On the cards is a full 3D iPad application, as him. to reinterpret well as mobile versions of the site. The protagonist continues to be mesmerised Creativeland Asia has also designed a direct by every detail of the car that is shown in 3D. The the luxury car mailer inviting prospective customers to experi- assembled car gains mass and drops softly on the segment.” ence the car in full 3D on the web. The direct floor, as the man finally breathes out. The film SAJAN RAJ KURUP mailer consists of custom-made, high-quality ends with the tagline supered. Audi anaglyphic 3D glasses and a 3D car brochure. Kurup says, “The new Audi A8 L is, quite sim- The film and the web experience for the brand ply put, the pinnacle of automotive luxury. So, “To communicate will be further explored in showrooms on touch it stood to reason to turn to psychology to help screens and 3D screens. position the car. We applied Maslow’s hierarchy of the idea, what The film has been shot in London. The project needs to reinterpret the luxury car segment.” was needed, has been conceived and created by the agency and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a theory in psy- produced by Crocodile Films, in collaboration chology, is often portrayed in the shape of a above all else, with The Mill, London. pyramid, with the largest and lowest levels of was a ‘wow’ Kurup tells afaqs! Reporter that the deci- needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actuali- factor.” sion to take the 3D route for the campaign was sation at the top. born from the need to create a magical experi- SRISHTI SAWHNEY In addition to the film, the agency has also cre- $>>

<< "# “One of the insights was that We have tried to go beyond the usual Bhowmik says that these are excel- people tend to perceive the game as because the Scrabble playing audi- lent opportunities to engage with the something intellectual - something ence might not just be watching the consumer. The company also has Playing it Smart exclusive and not for the masses. The GECs or cartoons. We understand ongoing school contact programmes. “The more words you know, the fundamental connect we wanted to that. Hence, the fairly robust mix,” The media mandate for Mattel is smarter you get and this was a great focus on was that while the game is says Bhowmik. handled by Carat Media. way to demonstrate it. Being a moth- rooted in education, it is still about Besides the TVC, Mattel contin- er of two kids, it has always been a having fun with words and is not an ues to bet big on activation, believing THAT’S THE GOOD WORD! challenge to get them to learn new exclusive activity,” he adds. in not just raising awareness but also e asked a few experts on their words,” adds Akhaury. Adding to the creative team’s increasing engagement. Wthoughts about the strategy With Mattel’s mainline advertis- views, Bhowmik further states that In May 2010, Mattel Toys tied up and communication. While critical ing that has been primarily led by the communication, while being a with Barista Lavazza to launch the views were received, all agree that the its toys such as Barbie dolls and Hot idea is welcome and refreshing. Wheels, among others, Nayak says An impressed Cajetan Vaz, brand that a lot of credit also goes to the cli- Besides the TVC, Mattel continues to bet consultant, says, “It is a communica- ent, which was brave enough to take big on activation, as apart from raising tion well tuned from an execution the idea forward. point of view and a strategy very Rahul Bhowmik, head, market- awareness it also increases engagement. welcome.” ing, Mattel Toys India, says that Rajesh Sharma, planning head, back in 2003, when the international humble attempt at paying the game a ﬁrst edition of Barista Lavazza Café Mumbai, TBWA India thinks that Scrabble was launched in India, the tribute, goes beyond merely appeal- Scrabble 2010. campaigns such as these were long company had little clue of what to ing to parents and children. The tournament took place across due in the country. “The marketers expect from the market. With television being the lead and the country, open to all patrons of the should have thought of this a long “There are the seven-year-olds the only medium for the campaign, store in the age group of 19-35 years. time before. But it is never too late learning to play the game and then, Mattel is leaving no stone unturned. Mattel had also tied up with book to start. However the TVC does not you have the Scrabble Association of “We are on close to 20 chan- stores such as Odyssey, Crossword, tell me much about the game,” he India, which has the older population nels - kids’, GECs, news channels, Landmark and Reliance TimeOut remarks. enjoying it, too,” says Bhowmik. lifestyle and even niche channels. for the event. [email protected]

14 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

HIPPO The Maternal Touch Hippo’s new Round-Round munchies variant continues with the thought of fighting hunger and spreading love - this time, however, with motherly care. By Biprorshee Das

he endearing Hippo is back. After fighting hunger, which it said was the root of all Tevil, it now continues its fight, showering motherly love. Launching the new variant of Parle Agro’s baked wheat snack, Hippo Round-Round munchies, the new television commercial carries forward Hippo’s trademark perspective. The snack variant is available in six regional flavours: Gujarat Mango Chutney, Punjab da Pickle, Goan Butter Garlic, Shillong Noodle Masala, Firangi Cheese ‘n’ Spice and Tanjore Sambhar. The film, conceptualised by Creativeland Asia, shows Hippo moving ahead in its philosophy, charming people with motherly care. “With this that his voice would do complete justice to the Hippo approaches soldiers and cheers them theme since it has this particular genuineness.” up, attends to a boy in the hospital, nursing, bath- communication, Kurup says that Hippo comes with a natural ing and putting him back to bed like his mother Hippo encourages quirk. He adds that there is a little bit of a social would, makes a foreign tourist who seems lost, feel snacking to be message in the Hippo commercials. at home - with a pack of Round-Round munchies. Says Kurup, “It is important. A brand must The film also features a sequence of mothers taken as a way stand for something. We wanted the brand to have from different regions, preparing munchies and to keep in touch a soul. Communication today must go beyond a handing them over to Hippo, who then sets off on dialogue and become an experience. We try to be the hunger-fighting expedition. with one’s roots.” consistent and create a connect with the consum- The background score of the film, titled, Maa, NADIA CHAUHAN ers in the market. The idea in the film had to be meri Maa, has been sung by Mohit Chauhan. The clutter-breaking and the insight, relevant.” song was originally featured in a Hindi film titled made food in India, and the universal truth about The brief was to create a new sub-brand. While Dasvidaniya and was sung by Kailash Kher. mother’s care and concern. It is blissful to watch working on it, the agency also came up with the The commercial has been released in more than and is really close to my heart.” ‘Round-Round’ name for the variant. “We could six languages. The film has been directed by Ram On the music used, Kurup says, “We recom- have called it Ping-Pong, but we kept it very basic, Madhvani and produced by Equinox Films. The posed the song with Mohit (Chauhan). We knew keeping in mind the shape of the snack and what creative team at Creativeland Asia includes Sajan Hippo would probably call it,” Kurup says. Raj Kurup, founder and creative chairperson, Commenting on the film, Nadia Chauhan, Vikram Gaikwad, Anu Joseph, Huzefa Kapadia Warm yet charming. joint managing director, Parle Agro says in a press and Maria Iqbal. statement, “With this communication, Hippo also Talking about the commercial, Kurup says, Funny, and not slapstick. encourages snacking to be taken as a way to keep “We decided to position the popular regional The agency used all the old in touch with one’s roots. Hippo, with its ‘food for flavours as maa ke haathon se bane flavours, rather thought’, not only tempts the Indian palate with than just doing one of those regional stereotypical tricks in the bag and yet its unique regional flavours but also strengthens numbers. This piece of communication is born out of the unconditional love we have for home- presented it afresh. %>>

<< "# Both the agency and the client value and you seek peace in small, this idea, what was needed above all agree that it is not volumes that are intrinsic details. else, was a ‘Wow’ factor.” Adding... being chased. “This is when the senses regain She further adds, “A truly inspi- The priority is to build aspiration their lost powers after years of mate- rational experience to justify the ence, mixing technology and the among consumers and grow Audi rialistic pursuit. For the Audi A8 campaign title; and true to Audi’s “advanced state of mind”. brand aura. L buyer, it is the state where he is progressive outlook, we decided to Interestingly, the campaign will Michael Perschke, director, the centre, where his senses open create the world’s first fully 3D inte- not be led by television but will bet Audi India says, “We are happy and he finds pleasure in the little grated campaign.” big on digital. by this positioning strategy from details,” adds Perschke. Keeping in mind recent commu- “We are not investing much Creativeland. Self-actualisation is an Adding to this, Srishti Sawhney, nication, one finds advertising in the on television. We are going with advanced state of mind, where you head, marketing communications, category getting increasingly chal- any medium that builds the expe- feel that mundane things hold little Audi India says, “To communicate lenging and innovative, with both rience. This is what you call agencies and clients constantly push- ‘truly integrated’. The evolved Both the agency and the client agree that ing the envelope. consumer today anyway spends “It is innovation not for the heck little time watching television the priority is to build aspiration among of it, but it’s all about being relevant- and is found more in the digital ly innovative,” Kurup says. space,” explains Kurup. consumers and the Audi brand aura. [email protected]

16 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

MUDRA GROUP An Eloquent Experience The ‘silent’ video was released across all BIG Cinemas on Republic Day. By Ashwini Gangal

n the occasion of India’s He goes on to explain that if 61st Republic Day, the we, as a nation, do not respect OMudra Group created a and cherish our cultural, ethnic new video, which is a silent rendi- and religious diversity, it can play tion of India’s National Anthem, the role of a separatist force and interpreted through sign language. divide us. Pawar reiterates that it Released on January 26, the video is through such a subject that the is being aired across screens in film intends to convey the spirit of all the BIG Cinemas - a division national unity. of Reliance MediaWorks, before a Posters will be put up outside film commences. the theatres as well. The posters The presentation is a unique have been designed and scripted one, as it has been entirely shot in sign language. by Pawar. The message will be conveyed through Children with hearing and speech disabilities have digital space, as well as social media platforms acted in it, sending out the message that despite including Facebook, where the video can be seen, impairment, one has the right to sing the National giving viewers the opportunity to discuss and Anthem in his or her own special way. share their ideas on the subject. The film will also ‘Patriotism knows no language’, is the central be played on select television channels. theme of the film. Directed by Amit Sharma These initiatives are part of phase I. It promises and produced by Chrome Pictures, the film has to be a long-term initiative. The entire campaign, special kids present the National Anthem in sign will be spread over a period of time. language and through gestures. Credit for music Not featuring professional actors in the film goes to Micu Patel. The post-production has been was a conscious decision, says Sharma. “What executed by Reliance Mediaworks. FOTOCORP appealed to me the most was the challenge this The film was shot in Mumbai’s Don Bosco (Left) Pawar and Sharma: crafting new ideas idea posed in front of me as a film maker. It School and features nearly 500 children, from needed to be handled very sensitively. I went and eight special schools. The schools held rehears- creative officer, Mudra Group, says that the film met these special kids, who have been featured in als for nine days before leading to the final shoot. is an attempt to help the citizens of India feel a bit the video and was really touched by the spirit they Sangeeta Gala, a mute training and lip reading spe- differently about patriotism and unity this year. showed,” says he. cialist teacher, taught the children how to express He says, it is a humble request to be united, with- Commenting on the initiative, Anil Arjun, the National Anthem in sign language. out laying down any conditions. “The National chief executive officer, Reliance MediaWorks, Currently, the video is being aired in all BIG Anthem is played in theatres before every movie. says, “The silent National Anthem is an evoca- Cinemas in Maharashtra. Over the next week Our idea was to use the anthem to make people do tive and moving expression on patriotism and we it will be released across all 260 screens nation- more than just stand and sing. We want to get our hope that the BIG Cinemas’ patrons across India wide, following which it will be released on BIG TG, comprising all Indians to reflect upon their and the globe would be able to identify with this Cinemas overseas for the benefit of NRIs. patriotic sentiments and their love for the nation,” unique composition.” Explaining the concept, Bobby Pawar, chief says Pawar. [email protected]

<< "# $ and yet presented them in a refresh- stronger. Approving the insight, he personality. Makes me wonder what ing manner, opine creative experts, says, “That everyone loves mom- they’ll do next,” he adds. who put their stamp of approval on made food is true - for instance, Brijesh Jacob, managing partner, The Maternal... the film. the situations shown like that of the White Canvas, is quite impressed Shivanand Mohanty, nation- army jawans, when one would miss as well. “After a long time, some its position as the solution for both al creative director, Dentsu or crave for mom’s food the most. real good work,” he exclaims. “It is hunger and its consequences.” Communications is of the view that Overall, the effect is pleasant and interesting and a very different take The television campaign will be there are a lot of things that work for gives good vibes.” on the whole idea of Maa ke haath, supported by extensive use of the the film. Says he, “Cute. Noticeable. “Well, it is trying hard to be dif- an idea that has been tried before by digital medium and on-ground activ- other brands. It is a position most ities that have been typical of the packaged food items would want to brand. The television campaign is being take. I have had the product. It tasted The social media space will be supported by extensive use of the digital yum! And, this take has left a nice widely used, while a part of the taste in the mouth (pun intended). It on-ground activities will encourage medium and on-ground activities that is warm. It is also fun. Not the usual sampling of the product across malls, definition of fun that we are used to. done by mothers instead of young- have been typical of the brand. Not slapstick. Not a spoof. This one sters. The media duties of the brand is memorable. The song adds to the are being handled by Optimum Makes you smile. Many things are ferent, isn’t it? No celebrities, no charm,” he adds. Media Direction. right about the execution - the cast- mouth watering preparation shots, Jacob, however, misses the earlier ing, the acting, the music and the not too much time explaining why idea of hunger being the root of all THE RIGHT FLAVOURS lyrics. The situations are quirky in an this is like ‘mom-made’ (the last evil. “I would have loved to see that arm yet charming. Funny and appealing way.” point not so much in its favour, idea being further developed. That Wnot slapstick. Creativeland Asia However, he adds that the story of though). However, they have got a was a phenomenal take,” he says. has used all the old tricks in the bag ‘mom-made’ could have been much great brand name and an eccentric [email protected]

18 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

TATA NANO The Happiness Factor Following the launch film that announced the big arrival of the small Nano, three more TVCs, which position the Nano as the ideal replacement for two-wheelers, hit the screens recently. By Ashwini Gangal

fter breaking its much talked about launch created by Rediffusion Y&R. The creative team reach out and seek feedback from customers are film, Tata Nano recently rolled out three comprises Minakshi Achan, chief creative offic- being held. This is being done especially for those Anew TV commercials. The tagline in this er; Tina Sachdev and Chraneeta Maan, creative potential customers who’re diffident about visiting campaign reads: Tata Nano - Khushiyon ki chabi. directors. car showrooms. The launch film, shot in a heritage town called The production house is Equinox and the films In addition to the existing 585 regular sales out- Paragpur in Himachal Pradesh, depicts the senti- have been directed by Ram Madhvani. lets (including showrooms and dealership outlets), ments of anticipation and joy surrounding the Shekhar More is the art director. Credit for 289 special ‘Nano Access Points’ have been set up arrival of the Nano into a family. music goes to music director Rajat Dholakia, while in tier 2 and tier 3 towns. The ad ends on a classic Indian note as the little the voiceover is by Aamir Bashir. “These access points don’t intimidate our cus- girl is shown putting some of her kajal onto the car “The brief given to the agency was to speak the tomers and help override the mental block against to ward off the evil eye. language of the consumers, while highlighting the typical showrooms. Also the executives at these While the launch film centred on bringing product’s features including space, manoeuvrabil- outlets speak the local language,” explains the Tata home khushiyan, the three recent films are targeted ity, performance, mileage, safety and durability,” Motors spokesperson.

at scooter owners and convey the advantages of There are 585 regular sales DOES IT BRING HAPPINESS? driving around in a car. he ads seem to have been received fairly well All four ﬁlms evidently target people belonging outlets and 289 special Tby industry professionals for varied reasons. to tier II and tier III towns - people who’re either Shweta Khosla, planning director, Grey, says, looking to replace their two-wheelers with a car, Nano Access Points in “Before the advertising campaign was launched, or have no private transportation and thus aspire tier II and tier III towns. we wondered how the people’s car will pull itself to buy their ﬁrst car. The campaign is primarily out of the trap. Would it ever be aspirational to targeted at families for whom owning a car is a informs a spokesperson at Tata Motors. middle class India?” dream - while it partly looks to stir those who want Besides TV, the campaign is using print, digital Answering her own question, she says, “The to buy a second car. and radio. communication turned all the questions and Tata Motors utilised both qualitative and quan- BTL (below-the-line) efforts form a major part titative research for this campaign, which has been of the campaign as well. Several initiatives that $>>

<< "# MARKETER SPEAK he campaign which is an attempt Tto reach out as a mass brand Reality Report is being extended across multiple the people around me in the ﬂight. media like television, online chan- Everybody probably had a differ- nels and outdoor. ent reason for his or her travel. A Seth says that on joining the boarding pass just states how the company a few months back, he trip is from point A to B, but behind understood how the category has not every trip is a purpose. A travel explored strategic campaigning.

agency always asks the ‘how’s and SUSHIL KUMAR “People want more from a travel ‘when’s. No one really asks why,” (From left) Upputuru, Mukherji and Seth: highlighting the purpose agency. Hence, we made something says Upputuru. simple,” says Seth. Upputuru says that the risks that gave birth to the concept of what With the help of an event manage- The campaign is banking heavily behind creating the campaign were he calls a ‘live ﬁlm’. “We knew that ment company, kiosks were set up in on the digital medium with an exclu- aplenty with no planned script, no the idea would make the travel agen- different locations in the country like sive microsite, where travellers can costumes or actors, and where the cy a bit more sensitive to the needs Kolkata, Kerala and Mumbai among share nuggets from their trips. “It is team had no control over how the of a traveller. The meeting helped us others. always easier to engage on the online interviewees would react. crack the form the idea should take,” With the assistant director medium. While we have done mass he says. ‘recruiting’, Mukherji interviewed campaigns before, this time the scale DIRECTOR’S CUT Mukherji adds that attention had the tourists acros the country along is much wider with a large customer ukherji says that it was a meet- to be paid to how not to make the with the director of photography base,” Seth says. Ming with Upputuru and Goel ﬁlming look like an actual shoot. Surjodeep Ghosh. [email protected]

20 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

PHOTON PLUS &'()*) TATA Plug and Play Tata Teleservices comes up with a hard-to-miss innovation. By Surina Sayal owering the business has been ing that houses so many SMEs.” given a new meaning with Tata Bhattacharyya adds that he had PPhoton Plus’ new outdoor been thinking about such an innova- campaign. tion for the past three-four years. It Tata Photon Plus, from Tata was challenging due to the multiple Teleservices, that provides a plug- permissions that the agency had to in, on the move wireless high speed get from the building, the society and broadband internet, is being pro- the corporation, before the execu- moted in an all-new style campaign tion. The backlit innovation is built Down the conceptualised and designed by the around an iron frame and weighs brand’s outdoor agency, Milestone about 100 kg. Brandcom. Hanoz Patel, founder and man- Memory Lane While cut-out kiosks in the shape aging partner, Milestone Brandcom, of the plug-in internet USB were adds, “OOH (out-of-home) as a FOTOCORP

very little moment in her three-decade long career has been significant enough to make her the person she is today, insists Lynn de Souza, Echairperson and chief executive officer, Lintas Media Group. The agency I like to believe that every moment in my life is a defining one. It is not the big, but the little things that make you. They cumulatively cre- has literally ate who you are, just like a beautiful string of pearls. During my MBA course at the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management ‘plugged’ the Studies, professors Tarun Gupta and Vinita Bali advised me to get into advertising. Guest speaker, Roda Mehta, also fascinated me. After pass- device into a ing out in 1983, I joined Roda, at Ogilvy. There was very little media commercial planning then. In fact, we started it. Roda taught us the science of media and numbers. building, in My next destination was Trikaya (now Grey India), then a small agency, yet different from the pack. It encouraged you to be outstanding Mumbai. at whatever you did. At Trikaya, I was sent abroad for training where I learnt the concept of media buying. On returning to India I initiated it here. It was a first in India. Sam Balsara also started the same but at the level of a business professional. I was just a practitioner. created earlier, this time, the agency medium provides enormous pos- We went to Johnson & Johnson and told them that we were going has literally ‘plugged’ the device into sibilities and our goal is to create to consolidate all its buying and will do a good job. Lintas was the other a commercial building, Crystal Plaza never before innovations which agency on the account, but we bagged the business. We were like a small in Andheri, Mumbai - which houses add to a brand’s core objective - kid on the block, saying, “We will show you”. That was great fun and more than 200 SMEs (small and growth, freshness and ability to also a turning point for the industry. medium enterprises). The innova- engage the audience and thereby In 1995, I joined Lintas. The job was same, to set up Initiative Media, tion makes it look as if the building deliver impact. Through this inno- which was launched on August 16, 1995. A few years later, I took a and the companies situated in it, vation, the medium delivered all sabbatical from media to study veterinary nursing in Australia. After are powered by the larger than life the objectives.” returning, I worked in integrated marketing at Lintas. After a while, Tata Photon Plus gadget. The agency Tata Photon Plus is available in 2003, when I returned to media planning, we had lost our top three created a backlit Tata Photon Plus in areas such as Delhi, Kolkata, accounts of LG, Britannia and ICICI Prudential. That was really defin- device that stands 17 ft x 7 ft and Mumbai, Chennai, Jodhpur, Patna, ing because we went ahead to try and get additional businesses. We got attached this to the facade of the Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, the entire Bajaj and Maruti businesses. We used the losses to review our building, on the fifth floor of the sev- Dehradun, Shimla and the circles of product and re-crafted the agency. en-storied structure. The building is Jammu and Kashmir and the North- Last year, IPG asked me to set up a women’s network for IPG situated close to a traffic signal giving eastern states including Assam. agencies in India. We did, branding it ‘Equal and Opposite’. We try to it a higher visibility. Additionally, Shailesh Powale, deputy general get men understand women better, and to bring out the best in each due to its dimensions and the height manager, marketing, Tata Indicom, other, in the agencies and hopefully, in the industry as well. Ours is a that it has been set up at, it has high says, “Photon Plus is our flagship male-dominated industry. As vice-president of the AAAI, and being a visibility and after dark, the backlit product and we were looking for the woman, I hope to make a difference as women infuse a different set of device lights up brightly with a blue brand attributes to come alive with values and behaviour. We - the women - play as a team. light blinking at its end - just like it the use of the medium. What could Some of my colleagues who inspired me are Josy Paul at Ogilvy does when the device is connected to be a better medium than OOH? and Christopher D’Rozario at Trikaya. Piyush Pandey has been an laptops and desktops. Milestone Brandcom came out inspiration because he is so humane. He epitomises creativity and Nabendu Bhattacharyya, founder with a relevant new thought and we excellence but never forgets to be in touch with reality. The person and managing director, Milestone encouraged our agency to explore the who made the biggest impact in my life would be Ravi Gupta (found- Brandcom, says, “With 3G coming medium to its fullest potential.” er, Trikaya). He died too young. It helps when in your late 20s, you in and higher internet speed is being As a part of the promotion, the are trying to define yourself, and a man like him comes along and just offered, Tata Indicom wanted to pro- Tata Indicom SME team is also lets you be. You are in a structured environment but he lets you do mote its product that now offers carrying out a promotion inside what you want, make your own mistakes and learn. Very few people speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps. The idea the building as well as around the are like that. behind this was simply to show that Andheri West area. As told to Biprorshee Das Tata Photon Plus powers this build- [email protected]

22 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

HINDUSTAN TIMES Switching off the Idiot Box Hindustan Times, Mumbai initiates a drive to encourage Mumbaikars to shun their television sets and take on other interesting activities on that day. News Bureau

umbaikars are being day, ranging from free helicop- encouraged not to be just ter rides over the city to painting Mcouch potatoes, but to do competitions for school children, something meaningful. Hindustan exclusive discount deals with about Times launched a campaign to 100 restaurants in the city, laser and promote the cause. They declared fireworks shows, entertainment January 29 as the ‘No TV Day’ activities, heritage rides in south and kick-started a campaign that Mumbai, and many other interest- aimed to build awareness about the ing activities. D-Day. It also planned to reach out to The tagline of the campaign was 200 schools across the city and ask ‘Switch on Mumbai, Switch off children and their parents for the TV’. Mumbaikars are always rushing ‘No TV day’. The group aimed to either work or home. It is a city to reach out to about 4 lakh peo- where you spend more time with ple through this activity. It is also local train commuters than with organising painting competitions family, where socialising happens on social media in 50 schools. websites, children spend more time cramming at “The group Ajay Dang, marketing head (West and South), coaching classes, and tourist attractions are rarely now plans to Hindustan Times, said, “We want to celebrate enjoyed. It is a city where compromises made on January 29 as a day to explore and enjoy the sights time spent with near and dear ones are the rule make Mumbai’s and pleasures that Mumbai offers. A day when we rather than the exception. first ever ‘No are encouraging Mumbaikars to create their own The campaign aimed to instigate the city dwell- special day.” Now, the daily also intend to make ers to switch off their television sets and do Television Day’ a Mumbai’s first ever ‘No Television Day’ a yearly something worthwhile and memorable. In order yearly affair.” affair. HT is in talks with several government to encourage more people to take up the cause, AJAY DANG agencies and has also tied up with other brands. HT Mumbai lined up a host of activities for that [email protected]

<< "# for many daily deals websites. It will is not as easy a market as they had SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST become difficult for them to sustain expected it to be in its earlier days. o how many of the daily deals Survival... in the low revenue situation in the Also, things are not very well for Ssites would be able to stay alive? long run, unless they manage to get many group buying sites.” Says Anurag Gupta, managing direc- almost the same. funding or have deep pockets.” He further adds, “They are facing tor, DGM Media, “I do not feel all Tolia adds, “It is easy to set up a In case of non-family funded issues related to low sales margins, the sites will survive. There will be a daily deals site but very difficult to companies. or where the owner of attrition of sales force and unhappy consolidation in group buying space scale it up on a day-to-day basis.” the site does not have his own money merchants. With such a situation, for sure.” He further adds, “One can set to support the venture (which may investors will not like to lock their DGM Media is an online mar- up the deals site and also manage be the case with a few of these sites), money in these ventures.” keting firm which deals in affiliate, to get deals from local merchants if other sources of funding may be Says a venture investor, “Perhaps search and display advertising. one hires four-five people in a city. required. unknown and new players will not He further adds, “I feel there will However, it is not that simple for Fundamentally, venture investors receive funding easily, but some be space for more than one player all daily deals sites to build a strong like to invest in projects which are prominent deals sites could get the to grow in this business. One player database and get local customers who will not win it all. It will be like the will actually visit and buy deals from online travel or job business, where the site.” It will be interesting to watch how big three-four players have significant Tolia closed the daily deals site group buying sites scale up and how small market shares.” named Mobstreet.in in December, It will be interesting to watch how after running it for 10 months, players survive in the future. big group buying sites scale up and because of scalability issues. how small players save themselves in unique, scalable and can earn them next level of funding by venture the future. THE SURVIVAL PUZZLE significant profits. Considering this investors if they manage to scale up Will they innovate and dif- n this scenario, when the group fact, it seems that getting funds will together with profitability.” ferentiate their services to sustain Ibuying space is already overcrowd- not be an easy task for daily deals Some websites which are already themselves in the long run? Will ed with sites operating on low sales websites. “The propensity to invest funded are Snapdeal (by NEA- they leverage the mobile platform, and thin margins, how many of them in group buying sites is now going IndoUS Ventures), Taggle ($8.75 where they could find a bigger user will manage to survive for long? down with each passing day,” says million by Battery Ventures) and base? Or, will deal sites scout for Says Kiran Gopinath, founder Kunal Bahl, chief executive officer, Greylock Partners. Mydala is funded alternative revenue streams such as and chief executive officer, Ozone Snapdeal. by private equity veterans Ajay Relan advertising to earn profits and scale Media, “If the same situation contin- He elucidates, “Venture investors and Jayanta Basu. Dealsandyou is business? ues, it may turn out to be a bubble have now realised that group buying backed by Group Buying Global. [email protected]

24 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

New campaigns across television, print, out-of-home and digital media TELEVISION

CASTROL COCORAJ COCONUT OIL ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE INSURANCE Launching Castrol’s ICC World Cup campaign is the Castrol The campaign tries to re-establish the Cocoraj brand Featuring Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign talks about life ‘World Cup Ka Hero’ promotion featuring Sachin Tendulkar. promise of ‘Trust’. The brand endorsed by Krushnaa Patil, insurance as an important requirement to help secure the the youngest Indian woman to climb Mt Everest, conveys the long-term needs of the people and help them enjoy life better. Creative Agency: Ogilvy India thought Naye India ka naya vishwas. National Creative Director: Abhijit Avasthi Creative Directors: Sameer Sojwal, Amitabh Agnihotri Creative Agency: Lowe Lintas Creative Controller: Yogesh Pradhan Chief Creative Officer and Film Director: R Balki Senior Art Director: Swapnil Kambli Creative Agency: Purple Spinach Communications National Creative Director: Amer Jaleel Film Director: Bappaditya Roy Film Director: Ginu John Creative Team: Anaam Mishra, Ateet Shroff, Abhishek Production House: Bappaditya Roy Pictures Production House: Full Circle Communications Dey and Neeraj Singh PRINT

AIRCEL LOOP The campaign MOBILE announces Launching its the Mobile Number partnership Portability of Aircel and campaign, Facebook Loop Mobile introducing also introduces Voice Status the Network Updates, Challenge which enables a user to update his/her status on the where the AMUL BUTTER website through Aircel mobile in his/her own recorded voice service provider Continuing with its own whacky take on recent events that even without accessing the internet. promises to have been in the news, this particular creative is a humorous compensate subscribers facing a call drop problem. dig at the IPL auctions where cricketer Sourav Ganguly found no takers. Creative Agency: Dentsu Communications Client: Aircel India Creative Agency: TBWA India Creative Agency: daCunha Communications Creative Head: Shivanand Mohanty Creative Directors: Rahul Ghosh and Siddharth Deo Creative Director: Rahul daCunha Copywriter: Pritha Ghosh Copywriter: Ritadrata Saha Writer: Manish Jhaveri Art: Niladri Das Art Director: Prashant Bhor Illustrator: Jayant Rane OOH DIGITAL

UTV ACTION To mark its first year, the dubbed-action movie channel UTV Action has used larger than life cut- outs of superheroes across street poles and hoardings. BHARATMATRIMONY The campaign is Men can visit Biwihotohaisi.com and select their ‘virtual to promote its Big GE wife’ from a list, where each has a unique character and Bang property on the The diversified technology, media and financial services style of speaking and thus gives the user a feel of being channel which will air company’s campaign focuses on ‘imagination, ecomagination married to her. superhero-movies. and healthymagination’. The idea is to showcase the company as a local partner focused on the growth and Creative Agency: Webchutney development of India, ‘here and now’. Creative Director: Nishi Kant OOH Agency: OAP Exposure: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad Art Director: Asha Edwin Exposure: Mumbai and Delhi OOH Agency: Media Circle Copywriters: Vanlal Ruatkima and Abbas Zaidi

Got some great campaign that has been published recently? Upload it on afaqs! for the world to see. Visit: www.afaqs.com/advertising/creative_showcase

26 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

Is the Concept of a Second Agency Gradually Becoming Redundant? In the recent past several second agencies have either shut down operations or been reduced to a notional presence. Is the idea itself becoming obsolete? By Devina Joshi

,&,.,., )(+, ,), , ,-&.+,& ,./,-,. Joint Managing Director, Parle Agro ED & ECO, Mumbai, Draftfcb+Ulka Chairman & CCO, Contract Advertising NCD, Ogilvy India FOTOCORP FOTOCORP FOTOCORP THE NOTION OF A AS A CONCEPT IF WE WERE TO FOCUS I DON’T BELIEVE THAT SECOND AGENCY IS SECOND AGENCIES ON ADVERTISING AS AN THE CONCEPT OF ALREADY OBSOLETE. THE ARE ALIVE AND ART FORM, WHICH IT A SECOND AGENCY CONCEPT IS CLEARLY AN WELL. THE ‘HOLDING MOST DEFINITELY IS, IS BECOMING ADMINISTRATIVE MOVE COMPANY’ HAS THEN I WOULD TEND REDUNDANT. ANY ON THE PART OF THE BECOME THE MOTHER TO DISAGREE WITH THE AGENCY - BE IT THE PARENT AGENCY, WHEN OR THE FIRST AGENCY BELIEF THAT SECOND FIRST OR SECOND OR approached by conflicting while second agencies (set up agencies are conflict-parking third - will perish or thrive based with a clear purpose) have also solely on merit. If the agency can brands. Thus, most second managed to grow and thrive. set-ups. A second agency is satisfy its clients’ strategic and agencies have very few busi- What is in question is the an ‘agency’ first and a ‘second creative needs there is absolutely nesses as they’re, more often ‘quick fix’ model of a second agency’ later. no reason for it to not grow. than not, brought in just for agency set up to handle con- If the agency must have any There are many examples flicting businesses. Unless the of second agencies flourishing that one conflicting brand. ‘second’ agency has a ‘first’ success at all, it’s important to over the years. With the Indian Hence, second agencies end agency mindset it has no place in establish its soul and identity. economy rocketing, over the next up with very limited portfo- today’s market place. It’s important to give a mean- few years, many more players lios. The second agency has to ing to its existence at a deeper are going to come into each cat- have its DNA in place, somewhat egory and more categories will Often, the second agency similar to that of the first agency. level than just monetary be created. The need to handle in question ends up getting It has to have the managerial gains from strategic business conflict will be a reality which will pegged as the ‘cheaper’ alter- depth, the talent pool, the pro- alignments. No agency with further necessitate the creation native for the brand. In my cesses, the tools and should be a talented bunch of people of a second agency. able to benefit from the first As long as there is a clarity of opinion second agencies can’t agency’s investments in financial should have to get relegated purpose, great leadership at the do justice to big brands that controls, IT, HR systems and to a little corner and have to helm, passionate people in the have a strong plan and vision the like. So if the second agency constantly look up to the big- corridors and enough empower- for the future. We have never can think like a first agency, but ger agency because they are ment given to them, I see no in a much more agile fashion, reason for second agencies to believed in working with a then the market for it will always bigger. not grow. second agency and will never exist. No venture can be truly do in the future as well. successful if people just keep their sight on the end; it’s important to concentrate on the means.

28 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011 A heavy growth performance …that is in step with Bihar’s resurgence.

30 14 12.04 12 20 10 10 8

0 6 19 -13 -10 4

2 -20 -32

-0.3 0 -30 -1.4 -2 -40 -4

Absolute Growth in Bihar 2010 Q1-Q3 %age growth

Growing at a scorching pace of 12% between 2010 Q1 & Q3, Prabhat Khabar added the largest number of new readers in Rest of Bihar. Whereas the market leader has maintained a negative growth here, losing 13,000 readers in the same period.

Is there a need to tell you which daily’s popularity is on the fastest rise-ever?

Source: IRS 2010 Q1-Q3, Bihar SPECIAL INVESTMENT REGIONS

The state with the higher per capita income than the national average is surely a lucrative market for the players in consumer electronics segment. With Gujarat bracing for improved investment climate, the market is all set to turn exciting.

have more of their population living in cities than in villages.

How is Gujarat important as a consumer electronics market? Gujarat is among the most prosperous states in India It has the highest GDP growth years ending March’09 In 2008-09, the per capita income in Gujarat was `45,773 as against the national average of `37,490 Gujarat has 37.36 per cent urban population versus 27.78 per cent in India Ahmedabad is among the top 10 cities in terms of GDP Surat and Ahmedabad are amongst the ten most popu- lous cities in the country

TOP TELECOM PLAYERS IN

n IT enabled service indus- in 2008-09, the IT sector cur- end of September 2010 from GUJARAT try, India has shown a rently employing 2.2 million 671.69 million in Jun-10, reg- Player Services Iwhopping growth of over professionals directly and anoth- istering a sequential growth of started 600 per cent from $50 million er 8 million people indirectly 7.68 per cent over the previous Vodafone Yes in 1999 to around $2.5 billion accounts for over 5 per cent of quarter. Idea Cellular Yes in 2002. GDP. McKinsey projects the next The Indian information tech- A majority of the Fortune 500 20 years will witness an urban BSNL Yes nology industry has continued and Global 2,000 corporations transformation, the scale and Bharti Yes to perform its role as the most speed of which has not hap- Aircel Yes consistent growth driver for and it is the premier destination pened anywhere in the world Videocon Yes the economy. Service, software for the global sourcing of IT or except in China. Unitech Yes exports and BPO remain the Urbanisation will spread out Etisalat Yes mainstay of the sector. Over the of the global market in offshore across India, impacting almost Loop Yet to start IT services and garnering 35 per #% (IT enabled services) industry !"# Indian history, the nation will Sistema Shyam Yet to start has grown at a remarkable pace. Similarly, the wireless sub- & Reliance Yes The IT exports have grown to scriber base in the country has Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tata Teleservices Yes a staggering US$ 46.3 billion grown to 723.28 million at the Karnataka and Punjab) that will Source: DOT/Service Providers

30 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

Surat and Ahmedabad have economy, especially in the agri- society will only accelerate as Surat and higher household incomes culture sector is giving higher more people become ‘connect- than even Mumbai and Delhi purchasing power to the people. ed’ via mobile phones, Ahmedabad in The rising middle class and the the Internet and TVs. Gujarat have higher According to news reports modern lifestyle is also bring- Before India embarked on its household incomes Gujarat accounted for `77,000 ing an increase in the purchase program of economic reforms, cr. market for consumer goods of various consumer electronics :#< = than even Mumbai and services in 2010, those items. telephones per 100 people, and and Delhi. towns that have population of less than one lakh are a TOP FIVE STATES (IN TERMS OF NET WIRELESS ADDITIONS) ing network to attract export ` whopping 41,000 cr. market, State Sep 2010 Oct 2010 Net Additions market. one of the richest in the country. It should be remembered Gujarat 38,864,347 40,158,662 1,294,315 Among the top 100 cities, seven that electronics Industry is a U.P. (East) 53,290,520 54,628,605 1,338,085 from Gujarat feature on the basis ‘foot-loose’ industry. It is thus of consumer market size. Tamil Nadu 62,216,471 63,671,528 1,455,057 natural that the opportunities for In telecom sector, which Bihar 44,672,870 46,311,291 1,638,421 investments in this sector are ' \ Maharashtra 50,712,196 52,392,102 1,679,906 thus equally good for all the increasing prosperity of an Source: TRAI states in the country as long economy, Gujarat recorded the as the concerned state govern- highest fresh telecom subscrip- Gujarat accounted for `77,000 cr. market ment provides adequate skilled tions in 2010. The state’s share for consumer goods & services in 2010, manpower and reasonable infra- in the all-India subscriber addi- structure facilities. Fortunately, tions rose to 8.5 per cent, higher towns having population of less than one Gujarat is geared well on these than the preceding month by lakh are a whopping `41,000 cr market. two crucial needs. 2.4 percentage points. Gujarat’s There is scope for the con- outstanding subscriber base Boom in mobile communica- virtually no mobile phones. sumer electronics products like expanded by 40.5 per cent y-o-y tions, particularly with growing >=/ radio receivers, CD players, and stood at 3.8 crore by August cellular phone subscribers, is almost tripled to 2.2 per 100 TVs, Video players, electronic 2010. yet another encouraging trend people, the real growth story clocks and watches. However, With this, Gujarat’s tele-den- which is likely to incite inter- has been in mobile, which has these products require higher sity has increased to 63.5 per national players to reconsider exploded and is expected to economies of scale in order to cent as on August 2010 from their earlier decision to postpone scale greater heights in the new be internationally competitive. 45.8 per cent a year ago. manufacturing in India. The decade. India’s mobile mar- Gujarat is offering good widespread growth of IT ena- ket is currently growing even investment opportunities in the Gujarat recorded bled services shall also catalyse faster than China’s, and over- booming electronics sector. manufacturing activities. The all communications spending is Initiatives from the Government the highest dire need of the moment is the expected to continue to grow and the availability of requi- fresh telecom \'/ at a very rapid 13.4 percent per site manpower, infrastructure subscriptions ever and with the whole world now year over the next two decades. and entrepreneurial mindset are looking at India as the emerging likely to augur well for attract- in August 2010, IT superpower; investment into OPPORTUNITIES IN # adding 15.4 lakh hardware manufacturing cannot GUJARAT subscribers to be postponed any more. hile investing in electron- According to McKinsey’s Wics industry one should its base. analysis, if India continues its keep global market in sight and current high-growth path, over not just focus on the local The consumer electronics the next two decades the Indian market, because consid- sector is also coming back in market will undergo a major ering domestic volumes to limelight in the state due transformation. Income levels alone, the player will to a series of positive factors. will almost triple, and India will lose the price edge. The Firstly, the demand scenario for climb from its position as the imports will be cheaper domestic sector improved on twelfth-largest consumer market if economies of scale are +" - today to become the world’s not achieved. Hence, the ing schemes by large banks and /"+ manufacturer will have to # ! 2025. target global market and will above that, a good trend in the India’s shift to a consumer have to develop strong market-

afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011 31 TAM FOR GOOD MEASURE VINAY DOMINIC It is the most commonly accepted television ratings measurement system. But what is it about TAM that makes it a target for attack, time and again? By Anindita Sarkar

omeone like Sourav Ganguly would niche and special-interest channels. Most channels OPPORTUNITY? probably understand TAM Media Research’s and TV programmes have ratings of less than 1 Spredicament well. The former Indian cricket per cent. How much can you analyse those?” asks What the Amit Mitra Committee recommends captain attracted emotions that ranged from Chintamani Rao, president, Media Direction. K Widen the composition of BARC’s constitution and love to suspicion - at various times - from the Take the English news genre. It, Rao goes on to make it more inclusive. establishment to the fans. explain, has a share of 0.3-0.5 per cent of total TV K The formation of a high-powered committee, which Cut to TAM. This venture between AC Nielsen viewership. When you see an ad from a channel will include members from various fields outside the and Kantar Media Research/IMRB has been claiming supremacy because it has a share of 27 per industry, to steer research, design and analysis. knocked about by its users (ad and media agencies cent to another’s 24 per cent, the difference is 3 per K The committee’s proposals should be binding on BARC. and media owners) with regularity. While most of cent of 0.5 per cent - that’s 0.015 per cent of TV K Increase the sample size and number of peoplemeters the attacks were aimed at the ‘small sample size’ viewership. “For any, but the most rudimentary to 15,000 in two years and 30,000 in five years. used, there have been other points too. Ironically, analysis the sample size is too small,” he says. K Users of the data should infuse a certain percentage of their turnover to fund the expansion. TAM was formed at the insistence of media Measurement techniques like TAM’s work Reduce cost of peoplemeters by exploring innovation owners (the top TV channels), advertisers (Indian well in countries like the US but this is different K and local manufacturing techniques. Society of Advertisers) and agencies (Advertising territory. “India has 16 languages and over 550 K Consider reduction in their import duty. Agencies Association of India). channels. The benchmark needs to be reset,” K Make the measurement methodology transparent. As though that was not trouble enough, says Sunil Lulla, managing director and CEO, K Increase the periodicity of the announcements. the organisation also attracted the ire of the Times Television Network. TAM defends itself K No cross holding between ratings agencies and its users. government, as Parliament discussions on TVRs by stating that to upscale, it requires funding and a K The TRP measurement system should be a four- became the issue for the day on more than one clear blueprint. According to L V Krishnan, CEO, step process - design, quality control research, occasion. Last month, the Ministry of Information TAM Media Research, the minimum sample commissioning and establishment survey. & Broadcasting-founded TRP Committee, size and coverage that a measurement system K Guidelines set out in the TRAI 2008 Report on the key headed by Amit Mitra, secretary general, FICCI, should have is based on the industry users’ needs. eligibility conditions of ratings agencies - operational, recommended a roadmap to review the TV “But the role of monetary resources to manage a ethical and disclosure norms - should be followed. measurement system (see box). Why is TAM healthy system should not be forgotten,” he says. Note: If BARC fails to kick off changes and appoint the everybody’s favourite punching bag despite being Broadcasters believe that proper research needs to committee by June 2011, the government can enact the measuring standard in the TV business? be done before deciding on the exact number of legislation to take over (through TRAI or by other peoplemeters instead of talking through the hat. mechanisms) the regulation of audience measurement. ROPE THEM IN any industry observers state that TAM was PAY UP, OR ELSE… would serve as a reliable monitoring service. The Minitially designed for a far more homogenous AM came into being 12 years ago when Amit Mitra Committee has suggested that BARC marketplace, at a time when TV was mostly Tthe Joint Industry Body or JIB (made up should have 12 members - seven broadcasters entertainment-driven. “It is not sensitive enough of the IBF and the ISA) - now called BARC (including Doordarshan), three advertisers and to meaningfully track sharply-deﬁned audiences or - put forth the idea of an industry service that two ad agencies (including DAVP). In 1998, TAM

32 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011 started out with 1,800 meters across nine cities. Admits Punitha Arumugam, CEO, Madison Today, the count stands at 8,000 peoplemeters “It will help if the Media Group, “Competition is good. But will the representing 35,000 TV viewing respondents industry body col- industry be able to come together and support across 165 cities and towns that have a population lates and documents another research body when TAM is evidently of one lakh or more. In Maharashtra, it also covers all the expectations facing funding problems?” Satyajit Sen, CEO, towns that have a population of less than a lakh. and allows us to ZenithOptimedia has an interesting point, “BARC TAM claims that it has started working on address it formally.” had suggested the process of tenders to select a increasing the sample size of peoplemeters - L V KRISHNAN new player. But one needs to understand that we covering rural India and towns in urban India with TAM MEDIA are not procuring a commodity where the decision a population of less than one lakh. Casting the net will be based on the lowest bidder. Instead, we are RESEARCH wider is welcome, but who will fund the expense? trying to procure skill sets.” “Are broadcasters ready to put in 1 per cent of the FOTOCORP `10,000-`12,000 crore TV industry revenue?” asks THE POLITICS OF IT Shashi Sinha, CEO, Lodestar UM India. “For any, but he government committee on TRPs has left According to estimates, TAM’s turnover is over Tmany wondering why the government is `50 crore and its only source of revenue is the the most intervening in an industry matter. The explanation subscription it gets. Many feel that the industry rudimentary is that Cable & Satellite (C&S) homes hardly can surely spend more than the current 0.4-0.5 per analysis the existing watch Doordarshan. With cable prices falling, cent of its ad revenues on research. sample size is more terrestrial households are moving to C&S. Each peoplemeter costs `1.5 lakh. To add, too small.” In just four years, the number of C&S homes has say, 10,000 meters, the one-time investment will CHINTAMANI RAO shot up from 68 million in 2006 to 116 million in ` be 150 crore. But its not about the money MEDIA DIRECTION 2011. The only ones still on terrestrial TV are very involved. Some believe it is to do with fear of low-income households, which are of low interest

losing. Says Amit Ray, president and COO, Lintas FOTOCORP to marketers. Media Group, “Channels which are showing good The government seems to believe that in the growth might be scared that if the number of “India has 16 race for TRPs, channels often compromise on peoplemeters is increased they may lose the race.” languages and over the quality of the content. But TAM is hardly Others believe that increasing peoplemeters is to be faulted for this and it seems like shooting not the only solution. “We don’t need a thicker 550 television the messenger. According to Rao, the politicians lens, we need a microscope,” points out Rao. A channels. The are joined by smaller broadcasters (mostly local top Star News official has an interesting take: benchmark needs stand-alone channels owned by local politicians) “The objective is to make the data more robust. to be reset.” who don’t have the financial muscle or perhaps Peoplemeter is just one way. But there could be SUNIL LULLA the talent to take on the big boys. He also blames others too, such as tying up with DTH players TIMES TELEVISION the print media for playing the supporting cast. (with government permission).” Tracking it NETWORK “Fanning the flames is far easier than making the directly on DTH would be even more accurate. effort to understand the issues at hand,” he says. FOTOCORP

ONE-MAN SHOW JOINING FORCES oo much money is riding on the ever- “I don’t think that he JIB, or BARC as it is called now, was quite Tsensational TRPs provided by TAM to there is any question Tactive in its initial years, but in the last many determine the ad revenue of any particular channel on TAM’s credibility years it had become almost defunct. However, (subscription is too little a part of the total revenue BARC is in the process of setting up a secretariat generated). The industry is apprehensive about the because of its and an office. And there are agencies like AAAI research findings provided by TAM,” complains relations with the that would like to play a role in the scheme of Ashutosh, COO, BIG Broadcasting. WPP Group.” things. Krishnan believes that coming together TAM, according to various broadcasters, keeps SHASHI SINHA is the need of the hour. Says Srinivasan Swamy, asking the market to pay more and more based on LODESTAR UM AAAI member and chairman and managing the monopoly transfer price it pays to its parent director of R K Swamy BBDO, “While the idea company for the required hardware. Krishnan’s KAUSHIK CHAKRAVORTHY of JIB was initially mooted by AAAI, it saddened response: “How can an industry service created follows the highest ethical standards and runs its us that IBF chose to keep us out. And though by the users, for the users and of the users, services in 30 countries. “We could not have done BARC has invited AAAI to be part of the technical qualify for a discussion on monopoly?” Sinha of that had there been shortcomings,” says Krishnan. committee, a decision is yet to be taken.” Lodestar opines, “TAM is being used as the final Sinha who represents Lodestar UM, a non- Ignore the flak that TAM is facing and take a verdict to decide ad rates. That is not fair.” He, WPP agency, says, “I don’t think that there is look at its proactive performance over the past however, feels that TAM is a good indicator of the any question on TAM’s credibility because of its one dozen years. It incorporated the TVM5 digital TV-viewing pattern. The industry should do its relations with WPP. The primary problem is that platform neutral peoplemeter in 2007. This helped own research to supplement the data from TAM. of sample size. As long as that is taken care of, the the industry understand the viewing behaviour of Another accusation is that there is no justification rest of the issues are secondary.” If the sample size C&S homes vis-à-vis digital homes. It also set up the for the predefined pricing for TAM’s services. does not go up, will a second agency do the trick? S-Group in 2002 to help broadcasters understand TAM-baiters have been clamouring for an external Many are of the opinion that TAM is best suited the dynamics - like changes in marketing and audit to authenticate data. TAM says that it has for Hindi general entertainment and channels in promotions, distribution, scheduling and content - a stringent internal audit process that complies other major languages. A similar grievance exists that impact TV viewing. TAM is also open to more with international Nielsen Gold Standards. The for readership surveys as well. Readership surveys ideas. “It will help if the industry body collates and results have been shared with the industry. Its have been accused of being geared towards mass documents all the expectations and allows us to methodology, sampling, sample size, technology circulation newspapers and magazines. The results address it formally,” says Krishnan. and panel home security is on the website. It is also of small publications can be downright weird. The ideal solution is open dialogue supported interacting with professionals for external audits. There has been an argument for developing a by a systematic and a clear blueprint that will wholly redesigned measurement system with the talk about the exact needs of the industry. The THE OWNERSHIP QUESTION sensitivity to enable meaningful analysis of special government move could turn out to be the stick antar Research, one of TAM’s parent interest or non-mass channels. On the other hand, that will make BARC pull up its socks and get the Kcompanies, is a WPP Group company. Critics there could be a parallel to TAM. “If the users who industry together to find a long-term solution. feel that this factor alone leaves the agency’s created TAM want to look at another measurement [email protected] integrity open to question. TAM states that it source, it is up to them,” says Krishnan. With inputs from Anushree Bhattacharyya

afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011 33 STAR PLUS Ladies First In an extension of the Rishta Wohi Soch Nayi tagline, Star Plus has launched a new campaign with four new shows celebrating Indian womanhood. News Bureau

fter unveiling a refreshed brand identity The campaign will be led by the around six months and I think it has last June with the thought, Rishta Wohi Star Plus anthem, penned by Piyush been a rewarding experience for the ASoch Nayi, Star Plus has further extended Pandey, executive chairperson and channel. The role that the brand has its brand promise with the Indian woman at the creative director, Ogilvy South Asia played in the lives of consumers and helm of its new campaign, Ode to the Woman. and composed by Vishal Bharadwaj, the way they talk about Star Plus today The Hindi general entertainment channel, ﬁlm maker. compared to how they did eight to announced the launch of four new shows - Love According to Gupta, the chan- nine months back, has changed dra- You Zindagi, Pyaar Mein Twist, Maayke se Bandhi... nel witnessed huge success post the matically.” Dor and Wife Bina Life. revamp campaign last year. The campaign will run for four Three of the shows were launched on January Says he, “It has been roughly weeks and will have a 360-degree pres- 29, between 7 PM and 10.30 PM and are part of ence. The channel’s creative duties are the weekend entertainment on the channel. handled by Ogilvy India, while its media buying Besides the new line-up, Maayke se Bandhi... “The role Star partner is Mindshare. Dor will be on-air from February 14, at 8.30 PM. Besides leveraging its own network on televi- Sanjay Gupta, chief operating ofﬁcer, STAR Plus has played sion, the campaign will be promoted through India, says, “Rishta Wohi Soch Nayi fundamen- in the lives of radio with the Star Plus anthem and outdoor tally came from the belief that women are at the consumers has hoardings. centre of each family and the catalysts of change. Apart from the content line-up reinforcing The relationship that women have within the changed the thought, the channel will take forward the family is changing quite dramatically. We as a dramatically.” spirit of the campaign through a viewer engage-

channel, must bring to life and celebrate this SANJAY GUPTA ment initiative called Tu Hi Meri Star. through our shows.” [email protected]

MARUTI ESTILO Brought to Life The company rolled out an extensive below-the-line campaign, in a contest format, to help the customers associate the two robot-like characters with the brand. By Poojya Trivedi

stilo, the A2 offering from the Maruti Suzuki stable, has launched an on-ground Eactivity to connect with its consumer base. The activity is the last leg of the three-phase ‘Come Alive’ campaign. The first and second phase of the campaign, primarily television-led, had three commercials in which characters resembling robots came alive with the Estilo. The third phase of this campaign consists of below-the-line and digital activities, where the users are asked to name these characters and then get to meet them. In its first phase, the company launched a television commercial with robot-like objects coming to life with the enlivening features of the new Estilo. This was the teaser phase, accompanied by visual cues to create a hype and buzz and pique the curiosity of potential buyers, with the line ‘Guess Who’s Coming Alive?’ The message was spread through the ATL media, primarily television, supported by web and social media. around Hottie and Nottie and give them a celeb- The teaser campaign was followed by the rity status. This helped the audience associate launch campaign through television commercials. these characters with the Estilo and vice-versa,” The second phase of the campaign was also driven says Nagarajan. The lead characters or brand icons through the ATL media, both television and print, of the campaign went missing with an Estilo from supported by online. the Maruti R&D centre. This activity in the form The third phase comprised of BTL activities of a contest required people to find, spot and meet which were again rolled out in three parts. Says the characters who moved around in the city in Rajesh Nagarajan, brand manager, Estilo, Maruti the Estilo. Suzuki, “The role of BTL activities is to convert In this phase, the characters directly interacted promises into reality. To render this effectively, with the public at select locations, like Café Coffee there are various phases of the same.” Day, Big Bazaar, McDonald’s and Pantaloons as The first part of the third phase was rolled out well as in various Metro stations, malls and market through scrollers on TV, banners on the web and Maruti Suzuki team interacting at Café Coffee Day places. the radio. There was a contest in which partici- “This phase accentuated the ‘coming alive’ pants had to name the characters associated with The BTL activities were aspect of the characters. The characters would the Estilo. come across as celebrities,” explains Nagarajan. The company received about 70,000 entries. meant to create celebrity This activity, which is still on, is being supported The characters were eventually christened Hottie by radio as well. and Nottie. status for the characters, The instances and the audience reactions would The second part of the campaign focused on Hottie and Nottie, be uploaded on YouTube as virals, giving it expo- building celebrity status for these characters. “This 0% activity was rolled out to increase the awareness associated with Estilo. >>

JAGRAN SOLUTIONS - AXN << "# 0$ Brought to...

nential visibility. Sixty Seconds to Win The on-ground activity, which was carried out across Delhi, The new game show was promoted extensively at malls and had many people Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, participating and experiencing the games. News Bureau Lucknow and Ludhiana, was handled by ESP Active Marketing, while rand activation agency Jagran Solutions recently the online activities were handled by conducted an extensive on-ground activation the New Delhi-based digital agency Bprogramme for AXN’s new show, India’s Minute Markigence, which recently bagged to Win It. Through this campaign, AXN wanted to give the account for the brand. audiences a sneak preview of the concept of the show. Come Alive is the third campaign As a precursor to the launch of the show, hosted by in line which aims at taking the base- Gaurav Kapoor, an on-ground activity was kicked off line, ‘Take a fresh view of life’, to a through extensive mall activation programmes across new level. nine top malls in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. Talking about the target audi- The show format has gained popularity in interna- ence (TG), Nagarajan says, “The tional markets and gives participants an opportunity to TG comprises young couples, who win a huge amount of money (`1 crore on the Indian version of the show) if they perform a series of simple and exciting tasks within a span of a minute each. Giving people a taste of the game show, the on- India plays for a minute to win it ground activity involved a total of 13 different interactive modules that engaged the audience with activities such people, giving them an opportunity to play and experi- as Face the Cookie, Moving on Up, Elephant March, ence the games, they would greatly enjoy them.” Junk in the Trunk, Contagious, Nose Dive, Suck it up, With the series of mall activities, AXN claims that Stack Attack, Separation Anxiety, Johnny Apple Stack, it has successfully managed to grab more than 2.5 lakh Hangover, Keep it up and This Blows. eyeballs on a single day. In addition, All these acts were designed in syn- With the series approximately 2,000 people partici- ergy with the game show, albeit in pated in the interactive games and Meeting the Robots a relatively smaller set of activities, AXN were instantly gratified. up. The LCD panel, Says Ambika Sharma, chief oper- are on the hunt for an affordable car, running a timer of managed to grab ating officer, Jagran Solutions, “The but one which comes with a host of 60 seconds, was show itself is so well paced, with features and a great form.” the highlight of the over 2.5 lakh content which keeps viewers at the He further adds, that they are activity. eyeballs on a edge of their chairs, that to mirror looking for a package that will cater Discussing the ground activation in synergy to most of their needs. The target the activity, Rohit single day. with high engagement has been fun. group has evolved over time, with Bhandari, senior vice- The consumer response received was changes in their outlook, tastes and president, AXN and Animax, says, excellent, with enthusiastic participation on ground.” preferences. “The international version of the The mall activities were conducted in Oberoi, “They are getting more assertive show is hugely popular. The Nirmal Lifestyle, Inorbit and Phoenix Mills in Mumbai, and expressive than earlier times. response received at The Great India Place and Ambience mall in Delhi and Our target audience today feel that the call for entry NCR; and Garuda and Forum mall in Bengaluru. they are entitled to better products stage was simply While the show’s offering of performing tasks in and refinement is not just meant for overwhelming. a minute seems similar to the actor Omung Kumar’s the elite,” he says. So, it was antici- shows, Ek Minute and Aur Ek Minute, aired on Zee TV a That the Estilo is the right car for pated that few years ago, the big prize money in the new show is this target audience is the message once we a key driver. Let’s wait and watch how India’s Minute to conveyed through the ‘Come Alive’ were out Win It delivers on viewership. campaign. with the [email protected] [email protected]

AEGON RELIGARE How much is Enough? In true blockbuster style, the insurance brand has released a sequel to its popular KILB campaign of 2008, but with a new message. By Surina Sayal

nsurance brand Aegon Religare, which had KILB as a disease which one should get rid of. launched a catchy campaign urging people But there’s still a signiﬁcant part of the population Ito guard themselves against the ills of under- which is under-insured. We are now putting this insurance or Kam Insurance Lene Ki Bimari (KILB) across in a new way.” in 2008, has now released a sequel about inad- According to Pandey, while lifestyles have equate insurance cover. changed and salaries have increased over the years, As before, the sequel features the actor Irrfan people do not worry much about increasing their Khan, who once again mocks people and points insurance cover and continue with what it has out that they are accustomed to inadequacy. been in the past. Before the company revealed KILB it ran sev- He adds, “We want to reinforce the idea that eral teaser ads, highlighting the inadequacy of with better lifestyles, one must also pay attention size. The first 10-second teaser television commercial shows Khan as shoe-salesman, offering his customer a very small pair of shoes, while The objective of the cam- the second one showed him as a waiter in a paign is to highlight the issue fancy restaurant, providing a very small serviette to a customer. of inadequate cover and its The outdoor campaign has Khan holding a miniature helmet, unusually small pair probable repercussions. Also of sunglasses and a very small cup of tea. Both the campaigns have him prod the customers who are to remind people of KILB. habituated to inadequacy, with him saying Bas itna? Par aapko to aadat hai. The second phase of to being sufﬁciently insured. Therefore, there was the campaign consists of the revelation in a need to create a buzz about the habit and carry which he says, Kab tak KILB ke sang jiyoge? across the aadat badlo message, thus spurring them Aadat badlo. to action.” Commenting on the proposition of the cam- The lead medium used as part of this campaign, Pradeep Pandey, director, branding and paign was television, followed by outdoor, radio, communications, Aegon Religare, says, “Our print and the internet. While the campaign was launch campaign in 2008 was extremely successful. conceptualised by Ogilvy India and the commer- KILB as a concept is a long lasting proposition and cials produced by Apocalypso Films, directed by we wanted to maximise its potential. Hence, we Pradeep Sarkar, the media agency that handled the decided to do a sequel to KILB, similar to the movie outdoor was Bates 141, with television, print and style of sequels. We have launched KILB II also radio being handled by MediaCom and the inter- with a teaser.” net by Media2Win. The brief to Ogilvy India was to highlight The outdoor campaign has been executed the issue of ‘inadequate cover’ and its probable across 64 towns where Aegon Religare Life repercussions. Another objective is to remind Insurance is present. Outdoor is being used to people of KILB. In line with the brand’s iden- create frequency with a mix of hoardings, bus- tity, the tone and manner of the campaign is shelters, unipoles and mobile media such as bus educative, where Khan plays the role backs, side panels, full bus wrap, train wraps of a concerned, friendly guide. and trams. The campaign will run for four-six Discussing the idea behind the campaign, weeks. Pandey says, “The earlier campaign introduced Adequate campaign for in adequate cover [email protected]

GLOBAL BRANDSCAPE Brandspeak The BBC and The Economist presented Global Brandscape, a platform for exchanging thoughts on branding and managing image perceptions. Excerpts. By Biprorshee Das and Sumantha Rathore

WALLY OLINS LAUREL WEST DEZMA DE MELO SUSHIL KUMAR SUSHIL KUMAR SUSHIL KUMAR

ally Olins, chairperson, Saffron Brand aurel West, director, industry and management BC Global News Division’s head of audience WConsultants and a practitioner of corporate Lresearch, Asia, Economist Intelligence Unit Binsight, Dezma de Melo presented a study, identity and branding, discussed the evolving (EIU) discussed the current state of branding in ‘The World Speaks’, that looked at the qualitative nature of branding and how the idea of a brand is emerging Asia. She spoke about how companies in and quantitative study of the impact of word of perceived with particular reference to fast moving Asia are tackling the next critical stage of evolution mouth. Qualitative work in India, Ghana and the consumer goods and services. by harnessing the power of brands. UK revealed many similarities between the differ- With extensive use of examples, Olins illustrat- West presented the report by EIU, titled Brand ent kinds of network that people had. It was found ed the fundamental nature of branding. “Branding, and Deliver: Emerging Asia’s New Corporate that news stories are talked about more often, I believe, is fundamental to the human condition. Imperative, where she put forward the lessons when they fit certain archetypes such as trauma, Branding is about belonging and being seen to that needed to be learnt from companies in Japan heroism, scandal or humour. belong,” he said. and South Korea, which have already succeeded in It was also observed that what people talk about Olins indicated that a brand is often an idea building global brands. could relate to three aspects of the self - things that perceived in the mind. He spoke of how, while on She pointed out that keeping the current state have a local effect (My World), things that affect a cruise, he came across a woman who refused to of branding in emerging Asia in mind, it was a larger geography (Our World), and things with believe that a casually dressed man was a doctor. important to understand that while in the past, global implications (The World). The presenta- He said that from guaranteed consistency, emerging Asian multinationals could manage to tion focussed on a survey that the BBC conducted brands, in time, homogenise in terms of rational thrive without creating strong brands, it wouldn’t in 26 countries, asking people what they think are factors such as price, quality and service among be the case in the future. the biggest global problems, that could be seen as others and then move on to differentiate them- She added that this ‘brand-less success’ cannot issues or even opportunities for a brand. selves emotionally. continue for long. “They (Asian companies) will The fieldwork was done between June and However, he said that an individual does not have to shift from being brand-less to brand con- September 2010, with a sample of 1,000 adults in always buy a product that is offered, for instance, scious, if they want to survive for long.” each country. The survey revealed that the issues at a lower price. For example, in the case of a She explained, that the cost advantages hith- that were deemed most serious and were most woman’s bag, he said, there are more reasons than erto enjoyed by Asian companies were fading talked about by people were human rights abuse, just the functionality of the product that leads to fast. With markets opening up and competition rising costs of energy and food, terrorism, envi- its purchase. getting intense, these companies would face stiff ronment, poverty, climate change and corruption. He stressed on the huge significance of a brand’s competition from their western counterparts, In the final part, it was discussed how word- country of origin for its implications - whether it which have honed their branding skills over the of-mouth could promote a brand. Global is Indian brands with the cultural and emotional years. conversations are happening in today’s networked content, German cars or Chinese products. Branding was not just about succeeding in the world. Brands that join in will succeed. It was Olins said that he saw huge opportunities, par- local markets, it was also critical when going glob- observed that news is a key driver of conversation. ticularly in India, in areas such as textiles, personal al. And, the increasing number of outbound M&A Brands looking to globalise must turn modern, grooming products and Bollywood, among others. deals from Asia are a testament to aspirations. influential adults into communication partners.

Some of India’s well-known professionals write on issues that they feel passionately about Being Pops In the good old days, every adman was known by his quirkiness. This man’s lay in his name. Here’s how ‘Pops’ made Kondiparthi Venkata Sridhar a brand name.

What the sh*#* if Arvind Sharma’s Then came a livewire called Asha driver introduces me as his saheb’s Rishi, an account executive, who papaji? started calling me Pops. It’s not easy being Pops. Yes, it’s By virtue of my personality peo- not easy to be Big B’s (Amitabh ple felt that it was an apt description Bachchan) Popsji, Chennai’s Mr of me. Chax, my partner in crime, Pops, Miss Universe Sushmita needs to take some of the blame Sen’s Pops, Chiranjeevi’s Pops garu, for starting a chain of jokes on Balki’s Pop and Twittarati’s kvpops. Pops. Around the mid ’90s advertis- Baap re, it’s difficult to take loads of ing and marketing media suddenly affection, respect and love. became big and took up the mis- ‘Pops’ made Kondiparthi Venkata sion of making the name Pops stick Sridhar a brand and proved to the inside people’s heads. world, the power of a name and a In the old days, advertising guys brand. Imagine Mr Kondiparthiji! used be real characters with some What did I do to deserve to be called quirkiness. Alyque with his diction, Pops? Kersy (Katrak) with his suspenders, FOTOCORP K V SRIDHAR AKA POPS Simply nothing. Chax with his Gandhi glasses and National Creative Director, Leo Burnett In the early ’90s when Chax signature beard, Piyush (Pandey) (KS Chakravarthy) and I joined with his handlebar moustache, hat the heck if pretty girls Lintas as creative heads of one of Prahlad (Kakar) with his cigars and call me Pops? their Bombay (now Mumbai) units, hat, and since I had none of these, W What the f*#* if peo- Alyque Padamsee was at his wittiest ‘Pops’ helped me in being remem- ple think I was born in the same best when he hired an ex-military bered. year as Zohra Sehgal! What the Major as chief administrator. Now, Jokes apart, the changes that came hell, if people try to find similari- one can imagine the hierarchy and along with the name Pops made me ties between Balki (R Balakrishnan) bureaucracy ruling the floors of look wiser, acquire patience, forced and me, thinking that I am his Pop! Express Towers. me to listen to people and lend In an office like that there was a my shoulder. It also made me stop quiet, ‘shy-ish, six-foot young’ cop- leching at young girls once they It’s not easy being Pops. Yes, it’s not ywriter named Sridhar. Since the called me ‘Pops’. It convinced me culture did not allow bosses to be to adopt young talented kids, and easy to be Big B’s (Amitabh Bachchan) nicknamed, poor little baby-faced above all, it reminds me to make my Popsji, Chennai’s Mr Pops, Miss Sridhar was christened as ‘Baby bucket list every morning. Sridhar’ and me, months later, As the cliche’ goes: the rest is Universe and Sushmita Sen’s Pops. by default became ‘Papa Sridhar’. history.

Some of India’s well-known professionals write on issues that they feel passionately about

L SURESH Logo Talk

hanging a logo is such a HOW IS IT PRESENTED? telling exercise - it tells he most important aspect of a you how much money Tlogo presentation is the number there’s to be made. of options you have presented. The CSo, another year has begun. And, most crucial part of a brand identity if your fortunes still haven’t changed, presentation is the number of slides it’s because you haven’t encouraged that offer the rationale to the new your clients to change their logo. identity. What’s the connect? Well, all So, what does one say in these those clients who haggled over loose slides? It’s simple. Just google the change when passing your estimates, last 10 re-branding exercises. In didn’t bat an eyelid when they had the words of Charles H. Duell, to shell out crores for a re-branding Commissioner, USPTO (United exercise to a brand identity firm. So, States Patent and Trademark office), what you need to do is start one, too. “Everything that can be invented has But, your agency has been doing been invented.” (Can you imagine he logo designs for years. How different said that in 1899?) So, every colour, can that be from setting up a brand every slant, every straight line, every identity firm? curve, even empty space, accidental That question brings in more coffee spills and the creative direc- questions - with answers. tor’s toddler’s endearing squiggles that went unnoticed until the last WHERE DOES YOUR AGEN- 1 " 23 minute have already been given a CY STAND IN THE CLIENT’S rationale. MIND? ""2 4 2 5 So, all you need to do is mix-n- our client will not offer sugges- match the above and get your own Ytions to his doctor. (“Stomach rationale ready. upset? I’m not sure... couldn’t it be WHO DOES THE WORK? It works on the ancient advertising Just make sure that you mix them lymphosarcoma of the intestine?”) ogo options are what your visu- premise, ‘Don’t get straight to the differently, or the client will find a He will not ask options from the Laliser, and if he is busy, the Mac point. What will you do for the rest match with the PPT (power point auditor. (“Can you file my returns, operator creates. Brand identity is the of the day?’ So, it takes months. presentation) of another brand con- one set with 80A, 80P and 80CCC end result of a collaborative effort To start with, understanding sultancy firm. and the other with 80GGC, 80RRB between the client and his brand the client takes a week. During Presenting the estimate is equally and 80E?”) He will not bomb his partner (you!), one that begins with this time, take over his conference important. Remember not to laugh lawyer’s arguments. (“I can under- research, the findings of which go room and his expense account. and maintain a deadpan expression, stand it, but I don’t think the judge through a gestation period and trans- Carry your Wii console and plug even if the client’s contact lenses pop will. Simplify it.”) But, it is not so form into a key insight that gives rise it into his plasma TV. (All the out, or if a couple of buttons fly off with an agency. That’s the reason to a vision for the company, which is hand-waving you do as you return his shirt as he inhales desperately, why you need to create a new entity. then translated into a graphic form. a backhand will be misconstrued trying to keep his heart pumping. In other words, three months are up for an animated brainstorming ses- WHY A BRAND IDENTITY and sweet nothing has happened, so sion.) A fortnight later, play his WHAT IS THE WORKING FIRM? it’s finally what the visualiser, and if brief back to him with some minor METHODOLOGY? wo reasons. One, clients believe he is busy, the Mac operator creates. changes under the title ‘A study of s far as brand identity goes, that’s Tthat when all else fails, try the changing brand landscape in Aan oxymoron. And, as far as the re-branding. Two, they don’t dif- WHEN IS THE DEADLINE? alternating behavioural patterns - industry goes, people asking such ferentiate between a gas agency and logo is designed overnight and a brand narrative approach’. And, questions are... an advertising agency because they A ‘options’ mostly involve chang- that’s just the beginning. A few think both deliver 14.2 kilograms of ing curves to straight lines and blues months down the line, you’ll be (The author is an independent creative hot air every month. to reds. Brand identity is a process. ready to ‘present’. consultant))

<< "# ! or me. Khushiyon ki chabi is exactly desire that ‘Nano feeling’. “They had provide a rational reason to do so, the what the car would be for millions the opportunity of exploring other task of persuasion is accomplished by who are saved from crowded scooter rich emotions,” she says. evoking the emotion of romance,” he The Happiness... rides and the rain.” Raghu Bhat, founder director, says. The ads work beautifully due Khosla adds that while the launch Scarecrow Communications, says, to the seamless manner in which the doubts in their heads. The ads unlock ﬁlm establishes the attributes of “The task of the communication two-wheeler context has been woven emotions which are desired but not speed, space and sturdiness, the rest is to get people to upgrade from into the storylines. experienced; the people could be you of the commercials just make one two-wheelers. Though the ads don’t [email protected]

46 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

RAILWAYS DEBRAJ TRIPATHY I COO I MEDIACOM INDIAN The People-oriented Planner R 8 at such an early stage in his career was an eye opener. He shares, “It helped me groom Titled Rail Bandhu, the myself for the business of magazine will be distributed media.” From Ogilvy, he moved to GroupM where free on ‘premium’ trains. he worked for four years as By Sumantha Rathore general manager, Maxus and shuffled between Bengaluru ndian Railways is and Mumbai. all set to launch its His next job switch was for Iﬁrst-ever print pub- a short time, when he joined lication on April 16, Sieger Solutions (Deccan marking the occasion of Chronicle’s ad sales arm) Rail Diwas. Titled Rail as the CEO. Within three Bandhu, this magazine months he was appointed as will be a monthly, and will the managing director, but be launched in the premium trains of left and moved to OnMobile Northern Railways. In the pilot run, soon after in order to explore the title will be distributed free of cost new avenues. Adds Tripathy, to passengers on express trains such “Mobile and VAS are the fast as the Shatabdi and the Rajdhani. The growing sectors in India. I magazine will have an initial print run have worked on traditional of one lakh. In the course of time, and media during my tenure at depending on the success of the pro- Ogilvy and GroupM, but I ject, the print order could be increased wanted to learn the tricks to up to 8 lakh copies. of this new platform.” After working at OnMobile for two years from 2007-2009, Tripathy took a year off in 2010 to explore the possibili- ties of a start-up. Calling it one of the best years of his professional life, Tripathy says that the break gave him the chance to explore many new areas. “In that one year, I got the O’Brien: traveller’s choice chance to enhance my skills Derek O’Brien, head of the maga- through reading and learning zine project, says, “It will be India’s about new concepts. I used ﬁrst magazine for train passengers. It the time to think about what will be a very engaging read for travel- I wanted to do next.” lers who can afford air-conditioned

SUSHIL KUMAR At Mediacom, Tripathy trains.” He is also the vice-president has only one agenda in mind of Trinamool Congress. By Anushree Bhattacharyya and he plans to put it into The magazine will have around 100 “Talent is one action soon. He explains, “In pages on an average, including content t was while he was studying for his the media industry, people and advertisements. The content mix management degree at IIM Kolkata, of the key move frequently from one of the inaugural issue would include Iin 1992, that Debraj Tripathy company to another - the rate a story on how Rabindranath Tagore decided that he would go on to become pillars which of churn is high. What I am lost and found the manuscript of a media planner. “I was fascinated with going to concentrate here for Geetanjali in one of the London tubes, media planning. Also Roda Mehta (of can make the next couple of months saloon car recipes from the British O&M) was a huge influence on me is nurturing people. If my era and a story by Ruskin Bond. It and I was the only one at the time of or break a manpower is in place, the will also feature the family members campus placement to join media and business will be taken care of of the Railways employees who were advertising.” Interviewed by Sanjay company” automatically. In the media medal winners at the Commonwealth Nayak (then with O&M and now business talent is one of the Games and Asian Games. Rail Bandhu president of McCann Worldgroup) key pillars which can make or will also include news, railway events on campus, he jumped at the chance and joined break a company.” Respecting talent and talented and features, along with stories to pro- Ogilvy, where he stayed for a decade. people is something Tripathy learnt when very mote tourism in the country. Tripathy, who holds a BE degree in electrical young, thanks to his ‘favourite’ teachers Mrs and The editorial board of the maga- engineering, feels that working on the Unilever Mr Ambrose in Stewart School, Bhubaneswar. zine comprises artist Shuvaprasanna account at Ogilvy was one of the biggest learning “They taught me to appreciate honest hard work and key railway personnel, apart from experiences. According to him, the international and respect it.” O’Brien. exposure (he also worked on the IBM account) [email protected] [email protected]

48 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

GILLETTE MACH3 The Razor’s Edge The activity by Gillette saw 2,000 men shaving in the outdoors. afaqs! News Bureau

hat will your reaction be if you see 2,000 men coming together to do Wsomething they do everyday within the confines of their bathrooms? We’re talking about shaving. As part of the Gillette Mach3 Shave India Movement, these 2,000 men shaved their faces in public, using the new Gillette Mach3 razor. And, by participating in the Shaveathon, the men also created India’s first shaving record in the Limca Book of Records - for the most number of men shaving in a day at the same place. Bollywood actors Neha Dhupia and Mugdha Godse were also present at the event, lending their support to the Shaveathon participants. The movement, ideated by BBDO India and held in December at Mumbai’s Chitrakoot Grounds, was conceptualised on the basis of a survey conducted across the cities of Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, By participating in the Shaveathon, the Bengaluru and Patna by Gillette, in association with The Nielsen Company. Around 1,000 men men created India’s first shaving record in the and women in the age group of 15-45 years, belonging to SEC AB, were interviewed to Limca Book of Records. gauge the preference for the clean-shaven look. Men were asked whether they liked to shave Speaking about the event, Sharat Verma, won the Peoples Award for its work titled ‘India or not. Also, they were asked about the feelings marketing manager, Gillette India, says, “It was Votes: To shave or not’. In this case, the chal- they experienced after shaving and the features truly an exciting moment for Gillette Mach3 lenge facing the company was that, although they look for in a razor. and the Shave India Movement to create India’s Gillette Mach3 was liked as a product, Indian The questions thrown at women included first shaving world-record. Helping men look, men found shaving to be a chore, and hence the kind of personality they associated with the feel and be their best is the sole motive of did not prefer to buy this product as it is more clean-shaven look, celebrity associations with Gillette. expensive than regular razors. different looks and whether the choice of razor Studies have proven that clean-shaven men To tackle this, Gillette, armed with a research their men use matters. are more confident, which leads to success and done by AC Nielsen, started a national debate The survey revealed that 86 per cent men that is what Gillette stands for.” on whether clean shaven men were more suc- and 90 per cent women prefer the clean-shaven The company chose not to disclose spends cessful or whether the nation preferred clean look, clearly indicating the preference over the on the BTL activity. shaven celebrities. stubble look. Incidentally, at Cannes 2009, Gillette Mach3 [email protected]

afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011 49 POWERED BY

50 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011 MERCANTILE ADVERTISING, PIONEER NEXT, DRAFTFCB+ULKA, OMD, GROUPM, AFFLE & STARCOM ON A WINNING STREAK ON DAY 1 & DAY 2 OF AUAMCL IN DELHI

he biggest media and agency cricket tour- BBDO INDIA VERSUS PIONEER NEXT his opponents through his bowling, too. He deservingly nament Agency & Media Cricket League he second match of Day 1 of AMCL was played won the Man of the Match title, and after receiving his Torganised by afaqs! and sponsored by Amar Tbetween BBDO India and Pioneer Next. BBDO India trophy, said that bowling with a good length and bounce Ujala is gaining popularity every year, and this is won the toss and decided to bat. The advertising agency could fetch wickets for any bowler on the ground. evident from the number of participating teams, which established a humble score of 98 runs losing six wickets. has gone up to about 50 in Season III. Increasing The opposing side, with Gaurav Nagar, Rohit Kumar DRAFTFCB+ULKA VERSUS GROUPM its expanse and moving South, the tournament added and Gulrez Haider, made the catching up easier with a hough spectators had their share of winsome cricket Bengaluru as one of the venues for the regional league smooth smattering of fours and sixes. Tthrough the day, Season III of AMCL had more action matches, this time. Nagar, the opening batsman of Pioneer Next, made in store. The third and the penultimate match of the day, The season started with matches (each a 10-over his intent clear from the very first ball. The gutsy player between DraftFCB+Ulka and GroupM, was the most affair) of the Delhi leg of the tournament being played in looked determined to roll up the innings in five overs, exciting face-off as it trailed to a perfect nail-biting finish. Kalka Public School. when, upping the ante he sent four balls for two bounda- DraftFCB+Ulka won the toss and elected to bat first. ries and two sixes, respectively. The innings was opened by Sumeet Sharma and Arun MERCANTILE ADVERTISING VERSUS Clinching 22 runs (4-4-6-6-1-1) off the very first over Rawat, but the partnership could not stand for long as STUDIO:THORN bowled, Nagar scored 38 runs (off 11 balls) before he Junaid Hakim of GroupM stumped Sharma on his third tudio:Thorn won the toss and elected to bowl, aiming was caught unawares by a raging Vivek Thakkar. After ball. Anirudh Pahwa came to bat next, but had to return Sto take full advantage of the dew-laden moist pitch. a few hiccups, BBDO India had a promising start when in the second over of the match. Deepanshu of GroupM Daivesh Shah, the seasoned skipper of Mercantile Vivek Sharma timed the ball well and drove it high for a took his wicket. The talented bowler also sent Naresh Advertising and the captain, scored an unbeatable 97 few sixes and took the total to 44 runs. Dutt (captain, DraftFCB+Ulka) packing on a duck, when runs off 33 balls (15X4, 6X6) and making it difficult for Nagar, the brutal batsman, extended the trouble for he caught Dutt’s flying delivery on the pitch.

his opponents. Shah started with an impressive, albeit Arun Rawat, from the opening pair of DraftFCB+Ulka, short-lived, partnership with Chanchal Singh. kept his cool amid all this and scored two consecutive Chanchal gave an easy catch to Studio:Thorn’s Zia- boundaries on the leg side. The highest scoring batsman ul-Haq off a ball from Bharat Sharma. Next on the pitch of DraftFCB+Ulka was Anurag Bhalla, who managed 66 was Joginder Sejwal, who played a successful second- runs (in 33 balls, 9X4, 3X6). wicket partnership of 153 runs with Shah. Sejwal played GroupM had a shaky start when its confident opener, a mature game and delighted spectators as he rained Junaid, fell for an easy delivery by Pahwa. As the match boundaries and sixes across the field. progressed with the target of 104 runs by DraftFCB+Ulka With 15 extra runs given, the bowling line up of diminishing, everybody in the stands sat straight. In the Sharma, Prannoy Khurana, Zia-ul-Haq and Sujeet Gahlot last over, nine runs were required. At two balls, six runs could do little to restrain mounting pressure and increas- were left, while at the last ball, five more would have ing target. Taking full advantage of the opponent’s tilted the match in favour of the chasing team. lack-lustre fielding and its own experienced team mem- However, Sumeet Sharma effortlessly caught the last bers, Mercantile started the day by building up an ball bowled by Praveen Sharma to GroupM’s Deepanshu impressive score of 174 runs, losing only one wicket. amid deafening cheers from his teammates, who had Amid blaring vuvuzelas, Raman Ghai bowled the already started celebrating by them. first over to Sharma of Studio:Thorn. Facing a mighty target of 175 runs, the chasing team could hardly hold STARCOM VERSUS OMD its act together. The opening batsmen could not stand to he last match of the day was played between Raman’s fierce bowling attack. Sharma looked impres- TStarcom and OMD. The former won the toss and sive initially but was soon heading back to the stands decided to field first. OMD ‘Fighters’ (as the team after scoring nine runs (off four balls, 2X4). was named) fought as a team to place a target of 107 Powerful bowling by Mercantile (the team did not con- runs at a loss of seven wickets. Sachin Kumar, Deepak cede a single extra run) coupled with tight fielding, made Verma and Naveen Arora, all falling prey to Starcom’s the innings a mere cakewalk as the opponents wrapped Bhavdeep Sharma, were the star performers. The trio up at 93 runs, losing seven wickets. scored 29, 28 and 26 runs, respectively. Sharma made Shah of Mercantile was declared the Man of the credible efforts to curb OMD’s score within 100, but Match for his unbeaten 97 runs. ‘‘Though the wicket was even after taking four crucial wickets, could not lead good, the ball was keeping low. Play on the front foot is his team to victory. OMD won the match by 14 runs advised. This is a batsman’s ground, anything over 150 is and Verma (who scored 28 runs and took two wickets) a good score,’’ Shah said. was declared the Man of the Match.

afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011 51 POWERED BY

GROUPM VERSUS IMAGES BAZAAR When Team Starcom came to bat, it looked keen tarting its winning streak, GroupM won the toss and on taking advantage of what the bowlers had achieved Sdecided to bat first. Raw from the previous day’s -- restricting the opponents to an easy score. Akshay defeat at DraftFCB Ulka’s hand, the team looked ahead Sharma scored a half-century (off 20 balls, 5X4, 4X6) for a smooth victory. That is what it managed, with an and helped his side achieve the target in only 6.3 unbeaten knockout of 89 runs by Mohit Mahajan (off 33 overs. Sharma won the Man of the Match trophy for balls, 13X4, 5X6). A sturdy second wicket partnership his unbeaten knockout of 50 runs. He also took two with Bharat Sharma saw GroupM setting a comfortable wickets. score of 152 runs after losing only one wicket. The highlight of the batting side was its splendid show CONTRACT VERSUS MERCANTILE with boundaries and sixes. The duo (Mohit Mahajan and he third match of the day was the easiest of the lot. Bharat Sharma) scored 112 runs (off 43 balls, 15X4, 7X6). TIn this match, Mercantile Advertising faced Contract Images Bazaar’s bowlers could not make a dent - either Advertising. The former won the toss and set a target in its opponent’s ambition or in its score. All the bowlers of 171 runs, with a loss of two wickets. The target, one - Kailash Chandar, Vikas Saboo, Jainender Kumar and of the most impressive ones of the day, pressurised Pradeep Yadav - seemed to have lost steam as GroupM’s the opponents from the very first ball. The bowlers of score crossed the benchmark of 100 and then 150 runs. Contract Advertising proved fatal for the side as they Bhagat Mehra of Images Bazaar caught the crowd’s gave away 22 runs in extras. attention when he sent the first ball of the innings flying Mercantile’s bowling line up, led by Joginder Sejwal, high for a six. However, Deepanshu of GroupM contained tilted the match towards it. Sachin Sejwal and Raman the run rally, sending Mehra off for just 14 runs. Harinder Ghai took three wickets each, conceding 44 runs collec-

Kumar, part of the opening pair, and Jainender Kumar tively. Rising high on the previous day’s win, Mercantile, stood firm with a partnership of 53 runs (off 30 balls, with a pumped-up momentum, won the match with evi- 9X4, 1X6), till Sharma of GroupM decided otherwise. dent ease. With his commendable bowling, Sharma clinched four wickets in three overs, ceding only 12 runs. With AFFLE VERSUS PIONEER NEXT measured bowling and a well thought-out strategy, he last match of the day was between Affle and Sharma, with help from Deepanshu, made things easier TPioneer Next. The former was playing its debut for GroupM. The advertising agency won the match by match against Pioneer Next, a regular at AMCL and 57 runs. also a favourite to win the match. Pioneer Next won the toss and elected to bat first. Soon, the team, in OGILVY VERSUS STARCOM high spirits from the previous day’s win, realised he second match of the day was played between that it was up against serious competition. Luvneesh TOgilvy and Starcom. Ogilvy won the toss and decided Suneja of Affle caught Gaurav Nagar, the star bats- to bat first. Nitesh Kumar, the opener, went back without man of the team, off a ball from his namesake, Gaurav opening his account on a yorker from Tushar Seth of Daryani. Starcom. Daryani of Affle proved crucial for his team as his The team, it seemed, lacked a focused strategy and unbeaten 48 runs (off 25 balls, 5X4, 3X6) powered the wrapped up the inning at 95 runs off 9.4 overs. Except team to victory in its very first match in AMCL. The young PS Chauhan, who scored 31 runs off 18 balls sprinkled player was deservingly awarded the Man of the Match with six boundaries, none of the players could stand up trophy.

to Starcom’s bowling attack. By Ankit Bhatnagar ALL PHOTOGRAPHS BY SUSHIL KUMAR

TITLE SPONSOR POWERED BY

IN ASSOCIATION WITH CRICKET PARTNER MAGAZINE PARTNER ASSOCIATE SPONSOR RADIO PARTNER OUTDOOR PARTNER GIFT PARTNER

52 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

>> MOVEMENTS/APPOINTMENTS<< A compilation of some major people movements in the last fortnight

ADVERTISING Mauritius Tourism, Western Union Money Transfer, Marico, DIGITAL > Arindam Sarkar has joined Lakme, Nerolac and Barista. > Ozone Media, an online Mudra’s Delhi branch as head, ad network, has appointed planning. He will be moving from > Suman Srivastava, chief Ajay Bansiwal as senior BBDO India, Delhi, where he executive officer, Euro RSCG vice-president to spearhead was head, planning. At BBDO, India, has put in his papers. its overseas market opera- Sarkar was responsible for Currently, Srivastava is also tions. He will be based in various accounts such as Aviva, functioning as head, strategic New Jersey, USA and will some PepsiCo brands and Gillette planning for India and West Asia report to Kiran Gopinath, chief among others. for Euro RSCG. executive officer and founder, He started his career as He was one of the founder Ozone Media. group account manager with members of Euro RSCG India Earlier, Bansiwal was sen- McCann Erickson. After that he moved to EMI Music India as and was the head of its Mumbai ior vice-president, Reliance label manager - International. He worked as an independent office, before spearheading the MediaWorks, responsible for Big Cinemas’ advertising strategic planning function for creative consultant for a while after that. FOTOCORP revenues in North America. Then he joined Euro RSCG as director, planning and shifted India and West Asia. He started Recently, Ozone Media announced its plans to expand to Ogilvy India as senior planning director and finally moved his career in advertising with Lintas in 1987 and then moved its overseas operations. Bansiwal has 13 years of experi- to BBDO. to SSC&B Lintas in 1994. ence in the online media, entertainment and IT services industries. He started his career in 1997 with Marubeni > Sanjib Dey has been appoint- > Mudra South has appointed Corp as manager, strategy, subsequently shifting to J ed as the COO at Law & Kenneth Vipul Thakkar as executive Walter Thompson as senior media planner the next year. India. Dey, who was earlier presi- creative director. He steps into In 2000, he joined Webshastra as assistant vice- dent, Saatchi & Saatchi, will be the shoes of Joono Simon, who president. From there, he moved on to Smart Information based in Delhi, and will report quit recently to join Leo Burnett, (www.sulekha.com) as senior director and in early 2005, to Anil Nair, CEO and managing Colombo as chief creative officer. shifted to Syntel as director. partner, Law & Kenneth India. He At Mudra, Thakkar will spear- In November 2006, Bansiwal moved to Times Internet will be in charge of the overall head the creative function for (Times of India Group) as vice-president/head of sales, Delhi business. His job will be to Mudra’s southern outfits in Kochi, North America. He set up Times Internet’s North America primarily expand the operations Chennai and Bengaluru. Thakkar, operations before joining Reliance MediaWorks. in Delhi and take care of all the will report to Bobby Pawar, chief SUSHIL KUMAR He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, brands the agency has. creative officer, Mudra Group. He Lucknow and IHM, Pusa, New Delhi. Dey has worked with brands like Bharat Petroleum, moves in from Ogilvy Bengaluru. Hyundai, Mother Dairy, Tata Tea, Panasonic, Revital, Aviva, and Pepfiz. He has worked in agencies like Fountainhead Communications, Everest, Bates 141, Capital and Lowe. MEDIA sales division which manages the > Prasanna Sankhe, nation- > Rajul Maheswari has been appointed as the managing advertising sales interests of its al creative director, Publicis director of Amar Ujala Publications with immediate effect, fol- five news channels. Dua will take Ambience has called it a day at lowing the death of his elder brother, Atul Maheswari, earlier over his new appointment with the agency. this month. immediate effect. Having joined the agency as a Since the last 24 years, Rajul has been a full-time direc- Dua, in his new role, will senior creative director, Sankhe tor of the Amar Ujala Group, handling the group’s finance spearhead the group in its ends a five-year stint here. This and circulation-related activities. In addition, until now, he endeavour at consolidating was his second stint at the agen- was also responsible for handling the Kanpur, Moradabad, and optimising revenue growth cy. He has not yet decided on his Bareilly, Allahabad and Varanasi editions of the daily. across its five news channels, next destination. Rajul, a graduate of Shri Ram College of Commerce, has CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNN- 24 years of experience in managing the newspaper business. IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat. He

In this second stint, he FOTOCORP climbed up the ladder and was will focus on enhancing revenue effectiveness through inno- soon made executive creative director. In 2007, Sankhe was > Sakaal Media group has roped in Gaurish Pathare vative and scaled up network-wide media solutions and an promoted to national creative director. He has worked on as head, advertising for its print business. In his new role, expansion in client categories and yields. brands such as De Beers, VIP, Lux, Godrej, Gujarat Ambuja, Pathare will handle national and local markets for the group, Also, as an additional responsibility, he has been entrusted and will report to LS Krishnan, business head, print. with the task of overseeing sales for the soon-to-be-launched Pathare joins Sakaal from Mid-Day Infomedia, where he network of channels from AETN18, Network18’s recently was national head, sales, print and digital. announced joint venture with A&E Television Networks. OOH Pathare has worked in various capacities in the media Prior to this, Dua was specifically responsible for identify- > Madhuri Sapru, who quit business. He has been associated with Mindshare Fulcrum ing and capitalising on sales growth opportunities at the IBN from the position of manag- for eight years, handling Hindustan Unilever brands. Later, general news channels of the group. ing partner, Kinetic & Dialect he moved to GroupM, looking after accounts such as Onida, South Asia in September 2010 ICICI, Vodafone and HSBC. He has worked with Worldwide > Starcom MediaVest Group and was on a break for a Media (WWM) on brands such as Femina and Filmfare. He (SMG) India has announced few months, has decided to has also been associated with Reliance ADAG’s media team. that Mahesh Ranka, general invest in creative hot shop manager, Relay Worldwide (the Encyclomedia Networks. She > Sun18 Media Services, the sports marketing arm of Starcom has joined the agency as a strategic alliance between MediaVest Group) will move on co-owner. Network18 and the Sun Network, from the organisation. Starcom has promoted Gaurav Gandhi MediaVest Group will announce,

The agency currently FOTOCORP has presence in Argentina, as chief operating officer. Gandhi in due course, the way forward Australia, South Africa, Ukraine, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and will report to Rajesh Kamat, group for Relay Worldwide. Guatemala. With Sapru’s expertise on-board, the agency chief operating officer, Viacom18 Ranka has more than 16 years will now look at developing newer revenue streams and and the executive director on the of experience, ranging from TV business models. board of Sun18 North. programming, channel ad sales and business development to For the record, Sapru was with Kinetic since mid 2006. Earlier, Gandhi was chief internet marketing, sports marketing and consulting. Before that, she held various positions at Tata Teleservices, commercial officer, Viacom18 and He developed Ahmedabad, Baroda and Indore as markets including head, marketing communications and head, cus- head, international business. It is for channels such as Sony and Vijay TV. At Sony, as group tomer service operations. Earlier, she worked with the Tata learnt that he will continue to head the international buness manager, he handled one half of the West region.While at Group, where she managed the Tata brand and also led the division. Vijay TV, in its new avatar as a part of UTV, Ranka led the Tata Group AoR. western region. She has over two decades of work experience, most of > Sanjay Dua, chief operating officer and head, IBN Media Ranka’s other achievements include formulating the plan it at the client’s end with companies such as Nestlé, Blow Operations, has been assigned the mandate to lead Network18 for portal development as marketing and alliances manager of Plast, BPL Mobile (now Loop Mobile) and the Tata Group. News Media Network, the group’s specialised client facing Aptech Internet and setting up the CricInfo office in Mumbai.

54 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

NIRMAL PULICKAL Executive Creative Director, Mudra Communications (North and East)

urrently I am reading Creation by Gore Vidal C(historical fiction) and Rain Men: The Madness Of Cricket by Marcus Berkmann (cricketing satire). My first Vidal book was Julian and I remember finishing it in two days in a seedy hotel room in Singapore while I was there scouting for work. I picked up Creation because Vidal’s Wikipedia entry said it was his first great masterpiece. To be honest, I found it a bit of a drag. It’s fascinating in its detail and accu- racy but I feel like I’m reading Plutarch. Rain Men is a good airplane read, a lighter, thinner book I picked up on Amazon. It is a hilarious account of village cricket and the eccentricities of English folk. My favourite genres are crime pulp novels, biographies, historical fiction, satire and modernist novels; not so much because of the genres but because of the writers I admire. Rudyard Kipling is my favourite author, Jungle Book was my favourite novel while growing up. The characters seem so rich and unforgettable, or be Kim, or Mowgli or Bagheera. Some of my other favourites include Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence, The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Aster, Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy and Big Money by PG Wodehouse. Next on my reading list is a Dashiel Hammett collection. As told to Ashwini Gangal 4,3 SUPER RICH ,( .3, , 9 ## + 2 9+ ( ,

he book, Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All looks Tat the wealth of a person in a holistic sense. In this book, the author shares personal stories about his journey to riches, real life examples, spir- itual philosophies and Yogic principles to help readers achieve a greater sense of happiness and ‘wealth’ in all areas of their lives. According to the book, true wealth has more to do with what’s in one’s heart than what’s in one’s wallet.

THE PERSONAL MBA ) ," , 9/ : "# + 2 9+"

he book is designed to teach the essentials of Tmodern business practice to the layman. One can be a craftsman, designer, programmer, artist, entre- preneur, or a professional, this book claims to be of help for everybody. One does not necessarily go to an MBA school. It is an expensive affair. Rather, one can learn the fundamentals on their own and get to see better results, eventually saving lots of money in the process of self-learning. Thus, this manifesto shows many ways to sub- stantially increase knowledge of business with little cost.

56 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011

JOBSWITCH Organization Name: Exhibit The job also involves collaboration to strategize and execute effective Technologies Private Limited with project development teams for online marketing campaigns for Position: Marketing Head effective integration. clients across various verticals. We Location: Mumbai Email: [email protected] are looking for candidates having 1- Profile: The candidate should be ...... 4 years of relevant experience. from BTL, Print or Digital media Organization Name: Infinity Email: [email protected] with at least 3 years of relevant Advertising Services Private Limited ...... experience Position: Manager - Operations Organization Name: Xebec Email: [email protected] Location: New Delhi Communications Private Limited ...... Profile: The Candidate should Position: GM- Client Servicing Organization Name: Orienta have 8-10 years of rich experience Location: Mumbai Cine Advertising Private Limited in planning and executing different Profile: We are looking for a Position: Business Development BTL advertising campaigns like candidate having 7-9 years of ad Manager & Visualizer events, promotional activities, road agency experience in a Client Location: Mumbai shows, conferences, seminars, Servicing profile. She/he should Profile: Business Development dealers meeting, live show, have knowledge about various Manager should have at least 3-4 corporate meetings, exhibitions and verticals i.e. Print, TV, Radio, years of relevant experience. She/ other rural and retail activations at Outdoor etc. he shall act as one point contact to national level. She/he should have Email: [email protected] liaise with business units around the ability to identify, negotiate and ...... the region as required & developing finalize the vendors for cost effective Organization Name: Fahrenheit marketing strategies with the client. execution of project within the time Communications Visualizer should be a Graduate frame on regular basis. Position: Head- Business with 4- 5 years of experience and Email: hrd@infinityadvt.com Development. proficient in Coral draw, Photoshop, ...... Location: Bangalore Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Maya, Organization Name: India News Profile: The candidate should have Flash and 3D. She/he should Communications Limited a minimum of 5 years of experience have excellent creative ideation & Position: Copywriter in an advertising agency of repute. designing skills. Location: Noida We are looking for a well-connected Email: [email protected] Profile: The candidate must have individual capable of managing the ...... at least 2-3 years of experience business and the team. Organization Name: working in ad agencies. She/he Email: [email protected] Mapsofworld.com should have an excellent command ...... Position: Manager- International over the language (English & Organization Name: Cinema54 Marketing Hindi) and be creative enough to New Media Ltd Location: Delhi conceptualize adverts and develop Position: Marketing Head Profile: The incumbent should contents for the various publicity Location: Delhi have at least 3-4 years of experience materials. Ideally we are looking for Profile: The candidate will be with excellent Communication & MA/BA (English) or a PG diploma required to generate new business Presentation skills. in Mass communication. and serve the existing client base. Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Experience of at least 4 years of ...... relevant experience is desired. Organization Name: Aim High Organization Name: R. Graphics Email: [email protected] Consulting Advertising Private Limited ...... Position: Copywriter Position: Media Assistant Organization Name: WT Retail Location: Bangalore Location: New Delhi India Profile: The candidate should have Profile: We are looking for a Position: Marketing Manager the ability to come up with original, candidate with minimum 3 years Location: Mysore interesting and eye-catching agency experience. She/he should be Profile: The applicant should have concepts and designs. She/he should able to coordinate and communicate at least 3 years of experience with have proficiency with all the regular with channels, publications and 1-2 years in product positioning, software and an inclination to think magazines independently. Ideally campaign management, advertising/ TO ADVERTISE, CONTACT: Neha Arora outside the box. we need a Graduate with excellent PR Strong communication & Ph: 0120 4077866 Email: [email protected] communication and negotiation presentation skills. [email protected] ...... skills. Email: Shataj.sardar@assetzproperty. Tejal Kantharia Organization Name: Idealake Email: [email protected] com Ph: 022-40429708 Position: Flash Developer ...... [email protected] Location: Mumbai Organization Name: Paradigm Organization Name: Stemade Neeraj Ranjan Profile: We are looking for a Plus Marketing Communications Biotech Private Limited Ph: 09886846842 candidate having 2-4 years of Private Limited Position: Marketing Lead [email protected] relevant experience. The position Position: Project Manager - Web Location: Mumbai Deepti Javali requires working with the creative Development/Online Marketing Profile: The applicant should Ph: 09980999163 team to conceptualize new solutions Location: Pune have people management and [email protected] for our clients. She/he would be Profile: The candidate should have co-ordination skills with at least 2-4 To view other jobs in Marketing, required to Develop and build a strong understanding of digital years of work experience. Media and Advertising, log on to: applications in Action Script 2.0/3.0. marketing. She/he should be able Email: [email protected] http://jobs.afaqs.com

58 afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2011