UNABASHED AMBITION

`100May 1-15, 2016 Volume 4, Issue 22

The in-depth story behind the 100-crore candy brand.

Thumping SuccessPULSE

PLUSTWITTER INDIA

Constant Connect 13

VIRAL NOW

Hitachi Feat Badshah 28

MG PARMESWARAN

Starting Afresh 30

HIMALAYA MEN

No Bias 32Taproot Dentsu’s creative supremo on all things Abby.

Santosh PadhiNTERVIEW

Lynched for sexism, the brand withdraws its ad spot.

6

A Step BackOLA

UNABASHEDAMBITION

22INTERVIEWASHISH BHASIN CHAIRMAN AND CEO, DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK, SOUTH ASIA

Bhasin tells us why he’s confident he’ll overtake IPG well before December 2017.

10 34

editorial

Volume 4, Issue 22This fortnight...EDITOR

Sreekant Khandekar

PUBLISHER Prasanna Singh

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Ashwini Gangal

PRODUCTION EXECUTIVEAndrias Kisku

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIESShubham Garg

81301 66777 (M)

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Pradeep Hegde 9833933577 (M)

Mumbai

[email protected]

MARKETING OFFICEB&B Genesis, A 12/13,

Ground Floor, Sector - 16 Noida - 201301

MUMBAI302, Makani Center, 3rd Floor, Off Linking Road, Bandra (W),

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SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIESAkhilesh Singh

[email protected]

Owned by Banyan Netfaqs Pvt Ltd and Printed and published by

Prasanna Singh, at 7-A/13, Ch. Ratan Singh Complex, Jawala Heri Market, Paschim Vihar,

New Delhi-110 063.

Printed at Cirrus Graphics Private LimitedB-61, Sector 67,

Noida (U.P.), 201301

There was a power pose I once saw WPP supremo Sir Martin Sorrell strike in a photograph. Standing behind a desk, with both palms on the table top, he was

leaning forward and making some serious eye contact with the camera lens.

When I went over to the Mumbai office of Dentsu Aegis Network to interview the group’s South Asia chairman and CEO Ashish Bhasin, I was determined to have him replicate that power pose for our camera. After all, the powerful statements he’s been making over the past year warrant no less.

In an interview with us, Bhasin declared that he will out-perform Interpublic Group (IPG) and take its place as the No.2 network in this market by December 2017. His amused detractors haven’t been particularly shy about making nasty counter comments about his goal, in the press – one of them said buying Madison might help speed things up!

So we decided to run the feedback of his peers by him and ask him a bunch of questions around his now famous goal. He is not only confident he will get there but says he’ll cross the finishing line well before December 2017. He’s even got a plan brewing in his mind, admittedly a premature one, about how he’ll take a stab at reigning leader WPP. But for now, dethroning IPG is his target.

A quick peek into Bhasin’s journey: In 2007, IPG acquired Lintas India. In 2008, Bhasin ended his 20-year-long stint at Lintas to join Aegis. In 2012, Dentsu acquired Aegis. Last year, Bhasin took over Dentsu Aegis Network’s India assets from Rohit Ohri.

At the time, he was confronted with rumours of a mass exodus. “I heard that Aggie and Paddy, among many others, have decided to leave,” he admits, relieved that no one from the group’s senior management team actually did leave. “That has been the biggest surprise,” he smiles.

`100May 1-15, 2016 Volume 4, Issue 22

The story behind the 100 crore candy brand.

Thumping SuccessPULSE

PLUSTWITTER INDIA

Constant Connect 13

VIRAL NOW

Hitachi Feat Badshah 28

MG PARMESWARAN

Starting Afresh 30

HIMALAYA MEN

No Bias 32Taproot Dentsu’s creative supremo on all things Abby.

Santosh PadhiNTERVIEW

Lynched for sexism, the brand withdraws the ad spot.

6

A Step BackOLA

UNABASHEDAMBITION

22INTERVIEWASHISH BHASIN CHAIRMAN AND CEO, DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK, SOUTH ASIA

Bhasin tells us why he’s confident he’ll overtake IPG well before December 2017.

10 34

CONTENTS

Ashwini [email protected]

5afaqs! Reporter, May 1-15, 2 0 1 6

The homegrown handset maker dons a global look.

POINTS OF VIEWMedia Buyers’ WoesHow social media is giving sleepless nights to media buyers.

26

The telco makes a colourful splash at the Kumbh Mela.

30

The brand uses its packaging as a creative device.

Dhoni snaps ties with the brand post digital furore.

AMRAPALI GROUPIn the Spotlight

CNN-NEWS 18

New AvatarNetwork18 Group rebranded its English news channel CNN-IBN as CNN-News 18.

28 12

24 TROPICANA SLICEFruit Passion

AIRTELThousand Hues

16MICROMAX

Taking on the World

In a move to put its most affordable foot forward, app-based cab hailing service Ola launched a

new three-film ad campaign. One of the three ads has been virtually lynched; many consumers have perceived it as sexist. In the ad, a young couple is out shopping and the man pays for the things that catch his girlfriend’s fancy.

Ola tweeted, “We understand one of our TVCs has ended up hurting some sentiments. We’ve pulled it down. However, #OlaMicro continues to run at `6/km.”

Social media has become a powerful tool in the palm of the angry Indian consumer. In the face of mass criticism, brands have little choice but to appease the miffed mob by withdrawing the ad they find objectionable.

Recently, Havells withdrew an ad (‘Main Pankha Hoon’) after it raked in criticism on social media. Inspired by the then topical reservation row in Haryana, the ad found itself in the midst of controversy because it took a

stand against reservation. Earlier this month, following social media furore, Amazon apologised for, and pulled down, a billboard in Bengaluru because it upset a certain community. Rewind a little more and Kalyan Jewellers’ ad, that got bashed online for being racist and pro-child abuse, comes to mind.

Controversy aside, here’s what Ola’s campaign is all about….

Before the mobile app-based taxi hailing segment came to India, an

‘AC cab ride’ was associated with a certain amount of affluence. This is no longer the case as players in this segment battle it out on the product – and communication– front by offering pocket-friendly options.

Ola’s new campaign promotes Ola Micro, its ‘`6 per km’ offering. The humour-laden campaign, created by Happy Creative Services,

underscores the affordability factor.Besides TV and digital, the

brand is using hyper-local media (including outdoor and print) at the city – and even locality – level; this communication uses local languages and contexts.

Speaking about why Ola decided to harp on cost effectiveness, Raghuvesh Sarup, chief marketing officer and head of categories, Ola, says, “Micro is economical for users to make it their daily choice

of commute, and, given its price point, also the first AC cab ride for many millions. In fact, over 75 per cent of Micro users are first-time cab users on the Ola platform.”

About the brief, he says, “Our creative brief to the agency was to create a campaign that resonates with the young Indian customer, since Micro is a ‘Made for India’ offering. This segment includes young adults, early jobbers and working professionals.”

The objective of Ola Micro is to make AC cab rides more affordable for millions of Indians.

“Micro, as a category, is an absolute game-changer for India. We wanted to bring alive the fact that we can end up spending so much more on a normal walk than we ever will on an Ola Micro ride,” says Kartik Iyer, co-founder and chief executive officer, Happy Creative Services.

DOES THE CAMPAIGN WORK?

“Absolutely,” says Spandan

Mishra, head, strategic planning, Rediffusion Y&R. “There is a distinct value proposition here. In the era of ‘surge pricing’, it’s always comforting to know you are travelling this cheap. I think the ‘cost per kilometer’ angle is a smart creative take. The message is loud and clear and the idea is truly campaign-worthy. All three films work,” he says.

Anu Joseph, executive creative director, Creativeland Asia, says, “Everything else is parity. Cost is the only thing the Indian consumer is looking at right now and it’s well highlighted in the campaign.”n

[email protected]

OLAdigital

6 afaqs! Reporter, May 1-15, 2 0 1 6

“Over 75 per cent of Micro users are first-time cab users on the

Ola platform.”RAGHUVESH SARUP

“Micro, as a category, is an absolute game-changer for India. ”

KARTIK IYER

A Step Back

The campaign is targetted at young adults, early jobbers and professionals.

Joseph and Mishra: Well executed

Ola pulls off one of the three ads which has been bashed by netizens for being sexist. The ad promoted company’s new cost effective service Ola Micro. By Ashwini Gangal and Suraj Ramnath

Considering that the population of India stands at 1.25 billion, what does it

mean for a product with a unit price of `1 to cross the 100 crore mark in a span of one year?

Translated linearly, this implies, almost every person in the country has sampled it at least once.

In February last year, DS Group - manufacturer of brands such as Rajnigandha (Pan Masala), Baba (Tobacco) and Catch (spices) - entered the candy segment with Pass Pass ‘Pulse’. Today, the Kaccha Aam-flavoured hard-boiled candy with a tangy twist, which fans also call the ‘magical core’ or the ‘masala bomb’, is a `100 crore brand (as of January 2016), Shashank Surana, vice president, new product development, DS Group, tells us.

Pulse claims to have crossed the `50 crore mark within six months of its launch. It contributed close to 40 per cent to the Group’s revenue in the confectionery segment in the year gone by. This was achieved without any advertising push.

Pulse was launched to capitalise on the fastest growing HBC (Hard-Boiled Candy) segment in the confectionery basket. As per Nielsen India, while the overall sweet candy category, pegged at `6,000 crore, is growing at 14 per cent year-on-year, the `2,100 crore HBC segment is growing at 23 per cent. Kaccha Aam (26 per cent) and Mango flavour (24 per cent) together claim 50 per cent share in the HBC market. Raw mango was thus, the obvious choice. The makers further realised that there were only straight flavours such as mango, orange and caramel in the market. Hence, there was a need for innovation.

“In India, people eat raw mango with something tangy. Whether it is ‘aam panna’ or a slice of raw mango sold on the roadside, it is incomplete without the tang/spices. That’s how we got the idea of a powder-filled candy,” says Surana.

THE ‘PICK-ME-UP’ LOOKWhy ‘Pulse’? A succinct response from Surana is, “Because it sets your pulse racing.”

The candy market had started

shunning the `0.5 price point a couple of years ago with big players such as Mondelez, PVM (Perfetti Van Melle), and Parle launching or re-launching their products at `1. High raw material costs, fewer 50 paise coins in circulation, and the demand for higher margins by retailers were some of the factors that propelled the wave.

However, according to Surana, at the time when Pulse was launched, 86 per cent of the industry was at `0.5 for a candy weighing anywhere between 2-2.5 grams. The DS Group decided to go with `1, and to justify the price, the weight was increased to 4 grams.

“The experience life cycle of any other candy is usually constant throughout. But, Pulse is an innovative value-added candy, the experience of eating which peaks later as you reach the powder filling. In order to give consumers a full mouth feel for a heightened experience, we increased the grammage,” shares Surana.

And, this is indeed true for the visibly large candy that lasts for a good five minutes!

WHO LIKES PULSE? The candy, with its tangy taste, was expected to cut across age groups in a market focussed on straight and sweet flavours for kids. In that case, did Pulse think of owning any particular consump-tion occasion? Says Surana, “Pulse is an anytime, anywhere candy. India is a hot country where you need to keep having something to keep the saliva going. That’s why candy sales are maximum in tropi-cal areas.”

Since Rajasthani and Gujarati cuisines share a similar tanginess as Pulse, the company decided to test-market it in these states. The exercise proved so successful that it had to be converted into a full-

fledged launch.Distribution was no challenge

for the Group, who are the makers of brands such as Rajnigandha and Baba which are available in the country’s remotest corners. The challenge was to scale up production to meet the skyrocketing demand. By January, the brand managed a pan-India presence. Meanwhile, cheaper imitations such as ‘Spicy Beats’, ‘Plse’, and ‘Plus’ exploited the need gap. As of now, Pulse is produced in seven contract-manufacturing units. In December, the guava flavour was also launched.

THE ADVERTISING PUSHThe makers believe that Pulse is one of the most successful examples of brands built on word-of-mouth, with social media facilitating the reach. While the company pushed the candy through in-store promo-tions and an outdoor ad at select locations in NCR, its fans were active in the online world. In fact, the catchphrase on the outdoor ad - ‘Pulse of India’ - was also by them.

To take the story forward, DS Group awarded the mandate for Pulse to Scarecrow Communications last December. Talking about the expectations from the campaign that will be rolled out shortly, Surana says, “Advertising is not going to drive

PULSEmarketing

1 0 afaqs! Reporter, May 1-15, 2 0 1 6

Thumping Success

“To give consumers a full mouth feel for a heightened experi-

ence, we increased the grammage.”

SHASHANK SURANA

continued from page 12 >>

A look at how the 14-month-old brand touched the ̀ 100 crore mark. By Ashee Sharma

advertising

Thousand HuesAIRTEL

Simhastha Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious

gathering and mass pilgrimage that commenced on April 22, is all set to welcome an estimated five crore pilgrims to the city of Ujjain. Over a period of 30 days, religious fervour will be at its zenith as devotees take a dip of faith in the holy river Kshipra. And, dipping themselves in this sea of humanity will be diverse brands endeavouring to grab as many eyeballs as possible. And, Airtel is one of them.

As an outdoor brand initiative, the telecom service provider has undertaken a beautification drive at all the major ghats, including Triveni Ghat, Gau Ghat, Sidhwat Ghat and Mangalnath Ghat located on the banks of the Kshipra river. The brand has organised a visual treat for pilgrims with a medley of wall paintings of spiritual and mythological relevance. These paintings, inspired by themes such as the zodiac, sadhus, saagar manthan and celestial figures, have been provided by the Department of Drawing and Painting - Higher Education (MHRD).

Significant measures have also been taken to ensure high quality network and service experience. While in the world outside, Airtel Girl Sasha

Chettri is aggressively pushing the brand’s 4G services, the focus shifts to 3G for the Kumbh Mela, keeping in mind the audience and the city.

In order to aid the authorities in managing vehicular traffic, Airtel has also provided the police with more than 250 branded barricades, which will be used for manoeuvring the huge traffic during the fair. To make all necessary information available, zonal maps and more than 100 signages have been put up on the 50 km-long road stretch between Indore and Ujjain, which provide Panchayat information

and contact details of the village Sarpanch, as well as information about the nearest police stations and emergency contact numbers. Branding has also been carried out on (500) retail shops, police stations, government buildings within the city, and on ‘dhabas’ and restaurants on the highways leading to the venue.

The aim is to support the call of ‘Clean Simhastha’ by the state government. According to the brand, the clean and beautified ghats are already drawing admiration from the authorities and have become a centre of attraction for onlookers. n

[email protected]

The brand’s outdoor campaign for Ujjain Kumbh Mela comprises ads that draw on Indian mythology and spirituality. By News Bureau


sales. It will be reinforcement. Our objective is to own the innovation Pulse stands for.”

CATEGORY TALKSpeaking about the lack of brand loyalty in this category, Surana remarks, “The unorganised candy market in India is big, and no brand has been able to break the tradition of flavour over brand, wherein customers ask for “orange, mango or mint wali” candy. Pulse has changed that. Looking at its success, other players have started launching their ‘gold versions’ at `1.”

Says Pravin Kulkarni, general manager, Parle Products, “Pulse is a case of a small, but remarkable innovation that caught the customer’s fancy.” While he agrees that the brand’s success is unprecedented, he differs with Surana on the shift in price points. According to him, factors such as fluctuating

raw material costs, especially sugar, fuelled this trend almost three years back, and today, only 30-40 per cent products fall in the `0.5 segment. The rest are `1 and above.

Giving a perspective on how big is `100 crore for a confectionery brand, he says, “`100 crore is a big number - anything beyond `50 crore is, particularly in the sugar candy segment. Since the unit price is low, one has to sell large volumes. Our Kaccha Mango Bite (`0.5) has entered the Rs 100 crore league, while Melody (`1) still has to.”

Other than Parle, DS group competes with companies such as Perfetti Van Melle, Mondelez India, and ITC which have candy brands such as Alpenliebe, Cadbury Chocolairs, and Candyman, respectively.

Commenting on the challenges and opportunities that exist within the category, Vijay Udasi, senior vice-president, Nielsen India Region, adds, “Innovation and introduction of new flavours are two major growth drivers. Distribution continues to play a key role, and newer players and brands in this space face the formidable task of expanding distribution to reach the vast traditional trade universe. Innovation will also help the category move away from the 50-paise price point, as today, consumers are willing to pay a premium for innovative and new flavours. Positive word-of-mouth by consumers will drive trials.” n

[email protected]

Thumping Success<< continued from page 10

digital

1 3afaqs! Reporter, May 1-15, 2 0 1 6

ADVT

.

Online social networking platform Twitter has introduced a feature called

‘First View’ in India. This is a paid feature through which a brand can share its story via video and real-time public conversations on Twitter, for a 24 hour period.

In an official statement, the company says Tata Motors India is among the first lot of advertisers to use this feature in this market.

First View is available in 29 countries including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore.

Through First View, Twitter users (site and app) will see a ‘top ad slot’ in their timelines - a promoted video from the advertiser that has paid the requisite fee to use the feature.

Maya Hari, senior director, product strategy and sales, Twitter, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Emerging Markets, says, “Audiences today demand video content. With First View, marketers have the ability to connect with their audience through richer forms of communication and creative

content, while ensuring that they are constantly top-of-mind on their feeds. First View provides advertisers

with the opportunity to own the most valuable ad space on our platform on any given day, expanding their reach within a 24-hour period.”

Twitter is available in more than 40 languages. The micro-blogging platform claims to have 320 million monthly active users (as on December 31, 2015). n

[email protected]

Constant ConnectTWITTER INDIA

Moving on, Khanchandani has decided to pursue other interests. By News Bureau

“First View allows marketers to connect

with audience through richer forms of

communication.” MAYA HARI

The new ‘First View’ feature allows brands to share their story via video and real-time public conversations for a 24 hour period. By News Bureau

If Micromax’s new ad film were a person, we’d call him loud, audacious and aggressive.The copy goes:“Hey! We’re paying a lot of money for

this. So, you better pay attention. We are Micromax. May be you’ve heard of us. Now, some of you may have bought our phones. And, some of you may have not. But here’s the thing about us. We’re not made in California. And we don’t have a fruit for a logo.”

“You know what we are – one of the top 10 phone makers in the world! We’re not exclusive. We’re inclusive! We brought phones to every town. And built them to last an entire month on a single charge. We have phones that are bigger than your face and slimmer than your pinky finger.”

“We make hardware. We make software. And we make it available everywhere. We’ve gone all in. We’ve gone all out. And you know what… We’re only just getting started. ‘Coz we’re nuts. And we’ve got guts. So prepare for glory.”

In this brand new ad film, homegrown handset brand Micromax unveils its new avatar. ‘Micromax 3.0’ is what the team’s calling it. It includes a new logo – “a modernised version of the ‘Micromax punch’, keeping in mind global design language,” as Shubhajit Sen, chief marketing officer, Micromax Informatics, puts it – and a new tagline, ‘Nuts. Guts. Glory’. Previously, the tagline was ‘Nothing Like Anything’.

Crafted to appeal to a global TG and take on the global smart devices market, the ad features white models who run amuck, championing the brand. The idea is to narrate the brand’s journey from being a backend software company to becoming one of the top ten mobile phone makers in the world.

Creativeland Asia has worked on the ad campaign, logo and brand philosophy. Offroad Films is the production company. Shot in South

Africa over four days, the film promotes the brand’s Canvas 6 series. The crew includes director Mikon Van Gastel and cinematographer Dan Mindel of Star Wars, Star Trek and Mission Impossible III fame.

The campaign attempts to establish an emotional connect with the 15-25 year old from SEC A and looks to build aspirational value for those in the same age group from SEC B and C.

About the new logo Sajan Raj Kurup, founder and creative chairman, Creativeland Asia, says,

“The new identity of Micromax is an evolution of the ‘fist with the phone’ logo.” The brief, he says, was to “refine the logo, simplify it, make it more international and design it for the future.”

Kurup adds, “We created a modular logo that can be used as a single line, a logo stack and as a crest as well.” (see images)

LOUD AND CLEAR?To Saad Khan, vice president, stra-tegic planning, FCB Ulka, the campaign spells out a “classic David

versus Goliath story.” Ironically enough, it reminds him of Apple’s famous ‘1984’ ad that announced the launch of the Macintosh. (Psst… it reminds us of Kurup’s 2014 ad for Café Cuba).

In the opinion of Joono Simon, CEO and chief creative officer, Brave new world, a Bengaluru-based integrated communications agency, it’s a “good tactical move to play the “working class hero card against elitism and exclusivity in a market led by giants with huge credentials.”

“It is a clarion call to unite all Apple antagonists,” he says, adding, “The ‘Lead. Don’t follow’ strategy works well.”n

[email protected]

MICROMAXadvertising

Taking on the World

The new logo is a modernised version of the ‘Micromax punch’.

The homegrown handset brand, Micromax unveils its new avatar. By Aditi Srivastava

Sen and Kurup: Making it knownDesign board for Micromax re-branding: Old (left) and the new logo


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

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

campaigntrailpresents

VADILALThe ice-cream brand has brought on board film actress Parineeti Chopra to endorse its three new variants – Badabite Select, Flingo and Gourmet - as part of its ‘The Best Part Of Everyday’ campaign that promises a world of pure indulgence.Creative Agency:The Co.

CANON The digital imaging company has launched ‘Get ready with EOS 1300D’, a multimedia campaign for its entry level DSLR camera, EOS 1300D priced at `29, 995. The model is being touted as the perfect fit for special occasions such as wedding, birthday and travel.Creative Agency: Dentsu Marcom

LAVA INTERNATIONAL Cricketer M S Dhoni and film actor Prateik Babbar have come together for the mobile handset company’s ad that focuses on quality checks, such as the Drop Test conducted by the company before the product reaches the end-user.Creative Agency: Soho Square

GIONEEAs part of its logo change, the mobile handset maker has in association with Kolkata Knight Riders, rolled out a campaign, ‘Make Smiles with KKR’. The core idea is that Gionee brings smiles on the faces of millions through its technology.Creative Agency: Mullen Lintas

FITBITFitbit Blaze, the smart fitness watch from Fitbit, urges readers to ‘Get fit in style’. The ad also details the watch’s features including guided workouts, call and text alerts, interchangeable bands and continuous heart rate.

AMULThe dairy brand took a dig at the change of name from Gurgaon to Gurugram.Creative Agency: DaCunha Communications

KOTAK MAHINDRA BANKAs part of its print campaign, ‘Raise your hand if you want 6’, the private sector bank informs readers that they can earn up to 6 per cent interest per annum on their savings account by sending a code to a specific number.

VIDEOS

VODAFONEThe cellular phone network has come up with a quirky campaign that invites customers to share their #HakkeBakke dance moves on its social media platforms. The aim is to promote the SuperNet 4G offering during the ongoing IPL season.Creative Agency: Ogilvy & Mather

PRINT


YEPMEThe online fashion portal’s TVC #UnreasonablyFashionable urges people to be unapologetic about being fashionable while promoting its Summer Spring Collection, 2016 for both men and women. Creative Agency: Goddess

Hangonimages

[email protected], Ph : +91-8130382682 website : www.hangonimages.com

UNIQUE COLLECTION OF INDIAN IMAGES

UNIQUE COLLECTION OF INDIAN IMAGES

Last June, Ashish Bhasin, 51, chairman and CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), South Asia, ruffled many a feather

when he went public with his goal of overtaking Interpublic Group (IPG), the No.2 network in India (that has around a fifth of the market share) after WPP (that has well over a third of the market share). Barring WPP’s dominance, global trends are pretty much inverted; Omnicom and Publicis are ahead of DAN and IPG.

Popular agency brands under the DAN umbrella in India include Carat, iProspect, Isobar, Posterscope, Vizeum, Dentsu Marcom, Dentsu Communications, Dentsu Media, Taproot Dentsu and Dentsu Webchutney, among others. IPG’s basket contains MullenLowe Group, FCB Ulka, McCann, Lodestar UM and Initiative, among others. Edited Excerpts.

First things first. On DAN’s official website, there’s a world map that highlights the network’s key markets. Why is India not mentioned at all?

I will confess, that’s a big failure we’ve had. I intend to correct it over the next six months. That’s one of the areas we haven’t done well in. We don’t have a good website, or even a cohesive social media presence, for DAN India. We’ve discussed it to death, internally. We haven’t paid enough attention to these finer points.

Our competitors are very good at marketing their stuff. We build brands for our clients but are not

that great at building our own brand. It’s our weakness and we have to recognise it.

Over the past two years, DAN has acquired WATConsult, Milestone Brandcom and Fountainhead-MKTG. Acquisitions appear to be a big part of your growth plan. It is said you’re more focused on acquisitions than on growing your existing assets. Comment.

That’s a perception. It exists

because we’ve beaten our competition to acquisitions that they would have loved to – but weren’t able to – close. People can see whatever they want to see, they can defend themselves in whatever way they want to. Roughly, 75-80 per cent of our growth has been organic. Over the past 12-18 months we’ve won around `2,500 crore worth of new business.

It is true that acquisition is an integral part of our growth strategy, but it has to supplement our organic

growth; by itself, it is meaningless. Acquisitions are few and far between. Over the past two to three years we’ve made around three acquisitions and not all of them are of huge scale. It’s often about filling a capability we don’t have. It’s very ‘short term’ to do an acquisition to increase revenue or profit. That never works. You’ll fall flat on your face in two to three years. Your goal of making DAN the No.2 network in India by the end of 2017 has grabbed attention, headlines and opinions. What parameters do you have in mind for this? Revenue?

I am happy to be measured on any scale. Revenue, profit, billings, new business, growth... pick any parameter that is fair and uniformly applied. Let’s judge and decide on December 31, 2017. In fact, we’re going to be No.2 well before that but I will announce it at a time when there can be no controversy around it.

Your peers from rival networks are quite skeptical about it...

Of course they’ll be skeptical. Is there any believer? (laughs)

Of course there’ll be detractors. Some will laugh at it, some may choose to ignore it, some will find it incredulous... When I first said it, it shook up a lot of people. I am happy it did. Initially, I was the only one who believed in it. Honestly, it looked harder then, than it does today.

Today, there are some believers. Grudgingly, people are accepting that we’re well on our way to achieving our goal. We’re well ahead of Omnicom and Publicis so we don’t need to compare with them. As far as IPG goes – we’re well aware of what they comprise. We know their relative rate of growth, size and profitability.

If someone doesn’t want to accept reality, there’s nothing anybody can do about that. But any rational person will. It’s a big, stretched dream, a difficult target, yes, but eminently doable.

Others say you’re too preoccupied with the ranking game...

I am not obsessed with being No.2. I am simply telling you that we are going to be No.2 by the end of 2017. Our competitors are feeling threatened and are now obsessed with it. That’s good. It pleases us. We must be doing something right if so

Unabashed Ambition


ASHISH BHASINCHAIRMAN AND CEO, DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK, SOUTH ASIA

Dentsu Aegis Network’s India head bares his fangs and tells us why he’s confident he’ll over-take IPG well before December 2017. By Ashwini Gangal


many people are obsessed with what we’re doing.

My ‘target audience’ is not my competitors. It’s my employees, clients and prospective clients. In the process, if my competitors feel sad or jealous, there’s not much I can do about that. I think everyone should just get on with their work and try to make their own businesses better.

You say the number of ‘believers’ has increased. Why do you think that’s the case?

To an extent, Goafest has helped turn things around (DAN, as a group, won the highest number of metals). The one missing point was creative excellence – outside of Taproot, Dentsu was never known for it. Nobody expected three of the top ten agencies to be from our group. One of the criticisms levied on our network was that we, as a group, are more ‘numbers focused’ than ‘creative focused’. This is the first time we actually entered awards in a serious manner.

In three years’ time I want DAN India to be playing on the global scale on the awards front. It’s an art and we’ve not been very good at it. But I don’t want the agency to become awards obsessed. I’ve seen agencies get destroyed... I want to win awards for real work for large clients and not play the game other agencies do.

It’s one thing to have a goal and another to be markedly vocal about it. Why was it so important to go public with your goal of beating IPG?

The best way to put pressure on ourselves to make it happen is by putting our neck on the block. That’s why I went public with it. I want to be held to it. I made the statement; it’s my neck on the line. I want to be held accountable. I am that sure of getting there. What people didn’t know when I made that statement was that there was a plan of action I already had in place.

It has had some negative impact, yes. Some of our competitors – who’re used to the ‘old order’, who’re used to a very relaxed lifestyle, who assumed that certain positions and ranks were there’s – got a bit riled by it.

What do you mean by ‘old order’?We’re late entrants in this market

(2008). Many of our competitors have been here for 80-90 years. The No.1 and No.2 networks in India have been unchanged for over 80 years.

Sure, because they’ve been around that long, they’ve got all their systems, infrastructure and departments in

place. But these systems were set up decades ago. New-age clients need new media solutions and quick responses. Even clients who have been around for a long time are acting like startups today!

When I did a competitive scan, I saw gaping holes of weakness in some of our competitors. These legacy networks have the history of dinosaur-ish creative agencies with years of sloth built in. It’s very hard to turn those ships around. But we’re a ‘new age’ network and are at an advantage.

Why? What makes you ‘new age’?We are over-invested in digital.

Of our 2,100 people, more than 800 are in our digital companies. Nearly one-third of our revenue comes from digital; the market average in India is 10-12 per cent. We’re also over-invested in out of home. Today we have about 35 per cent of the organised market share in this sector.

We don’t have too many ‘peers’, really. Very few of our competitors have group level leadership. Some of

them do, but they’re non-executive... they’re not the people responsible for the business. Also, our ‘one P&L’ model has started resonating very well with clients.

How is the client concerned with whether a network has one P&L or separate agency P&Ls?

Clients want the benefits of specialisation but don’t want the hassles of silos. When you’re old and have been in the country for 80 years, doing the same thing, in a siloised manner, it is hard to be agile. We want to be a startup. In today’s world, you’re either a startup or a

turn-around case. Because we have one P&L, I

can give a client the best talent from any part of the business. I can quickly put together a team of the best media guy, best digital guy, best creative guy and best out of home guy. Our competitors can’t, because the media head here reports to somebody in Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, London... the creative head here reports to some global creative head, separately... Agencies within groups like WPP and IPG can never come together for a client like we can because they’re not structured that way.

Legacy creative agencies within other networks have virtually become separate companies. Each agency will only try and sell its own service to the client. I’ve seen sad scenarios where one arm of a group actually de-sells another simply because that’s a separate P&L that reports elsewhere. We report one number as ‘India’. All the agencies within DAN have linked their destinies together. I know our competitors would give an arm to get to this position. Many of them are desperately trying to do it.

But isn’t the one P&L structure unfair to individual agency brands within your network? If all the numbers get levelled out eventually, what about the outliers – good and bad? Hasn’t there been resistance at the agency level?

I can’t say there has been no resistance. It took time to sell it to them. The one P&L structure doesn’t absolve our agencies from meeting their own objectives and responsibilities. But just meeting them is not enough; ‘DAN India’ must do well. This way, the agencies help one another.

Have you thought taking on WPP?

I have not yet said I am taking a stab at WPP, because at this stage that’s premature. There is a plan brewing in my mind and I do hope to get there but first I have to achieve the No.2 spot distinctly. Once we get there we’ll see what the next steps are.

Your confidence is admirable, but this must put a lot of pressure on you...

There’s revenue pressure, there’s client pressure, there’s the pressure of competitors sniping at us... but that’s the job. In the advertising business if you don’t know how to handle pressure, get out. Or die young. n

[email protected]

coverstory

“In advertising, if you don’t know how to handle

pressure, get out or die young.”

Every now and then, the spotlight comes back onto the trappings of stardom.

Last year, when Maggi found itself in a muddle, we explored whether celebrities are in any way liable if the products they associate themselves with fail to deliver on the promise they’re employed to convey. This time, we re-examine the subject with a Dhoni-shaped lens.

Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni recently resigned as the brand ambassador of Amrapali, a real estate company, following a social media ‘campaign’ (#AmrapaliMisuseDhoni) initiated by miffed consumers, because several projects taken up by the group have been stalled. Few trolled him, while others implored him to disassociate from the brand.

While reports of possible prison time for celebrities caught in the middle of such product failures do the rounds, we take a look at what one can learn from this saga. The biggest takeaway is the importance of self preservation – celebrities ought to be more mindful than they presently are while picking brands.

Some questions emerged as well. Is social media the villain here? Have we become intolerant? Are celebrities soft targets?

While Advertising Standards Council of India is used to hauling up brands for over-promising in advertisements, the team is not obligated to take action if the advertiser over-promises for real.

SANJAY TRIPATHY Senior EVP, marketing, products, digital and e-commerce, HDFC LifeCelebrities endorse brands basis some homework, and in most cases the intent is right. It is not always possible for a celebrity to understand each aspect of the business. However, how strongly she/he reacts during situations like these, is important.

In the future, with the government enforcing strict rules around endorsements, celebrities will need to do a deeper research into the brands and business they select. They’ll have to monitor the relationship regularly in order to

not get caught on the wrong foot.

NIMA NAMCHUChief Creative Officer, Havas WorldwideWe really don’t know how many people went and bought the property just because Dhoni’s face is on it. And only if Dhoni went out of the way and guaranteed something, should he be held responsible. Everybody who represents the brand suffers from it, not just the celebrities. Yes, they are the most written about but even people who work for that particular brand may bear the brunt of the company’s false promises. So when you represent a company or brand, you will be targeted.

Is it fair or unfair? It’s part of the territory. I don’t think celebrities can do anything to control the damage because the damage lies within the product. This issue is about commercial deals. Celebrities do have the stature to fix things, though.

Social media has given people an easy way to get back at brands and people. So, it is important for brands and companies to be careful about what they do. When consumers don’t feel protected, as is the case when buying real estate, they take to social media to teach brands a lesson.

One may call this intolerance but the truth is, brands tend

to follow up on complaints on Twitter; it’s all about reputation.

VIBHA DESAIIndependent Brand ConsultantCelebrities are easy targets. But then, because they are paid pots, they need to take some responsibility. You cannot be too sympathetic towards them. The good thing is that memories are pretty short. There is a ‘dhamaka’ every once in a while and as they say, for celebrities, there is no such thing as ‘bad publicity’.

That said, celebrities should do some analysis, check the company they are endorsing and not let it be only about the money. Your personal brand, eventually, has more to offer than just the monetary transaction. You stand for so many things and when you are trying to transfer those attributes to another brand, check what it means.

Generally speaking, people have become intolerant. Previously, you would write a letter to an editor which never got published. You were nobody. Today, everybody feels significant and they make vicious comments at times. It helps them stand out on social media.

INDRANIL DAS BLAH Founding Partner CAA Kwan and Chief Executive Officer, Mumbai City FC (ISL team)Celebrities have to be a lot more careful about the kind of brands

they pick. Before you go ahead with an association, make sure you do your background check. Whoever you are dealing with, make sure they have cleared their legal policies. Simply put, be aware about who you get into bed with.

Today, celebrities are accessible through social media. They can’t do much to control the damage because by being on social media, you have agreed to give the masses that access. n

[email protected]

AMRAPALI digital

In the SpotlightThe Amrapali-Dhoni saga rekindles the debate on brand ambassadors’ liability when the products they endorse fail. By Suraj Ramnath

Tripathy, Namchu, Desai and Blah: Tread with caution


pointsofview

Social Media: Bane for Media Buyers?

When consumers bash ads on social media, brands make quick decisions to withdraw them. But, it’s the media buyer who does the dirty work. By Suraj Ramnath and Ashwini Gangal

WHEN IT IS A BRAND, PEOPLE TURN IT UPSIDE DOWN. IT IS ONLY GOING TO BE PULLED OUT DUE TO REQUEST. THE CHANNEL IS NOT GOING TO PULL IT OFF, right? If they do that, then where will they go for inventory at the last minute? A reasonable amount of lead time would need to be given to pull off. It is not bound by the law that it needs to be pulled off, but it is a moral thing. For that you would need to have a stipulated lead time. You can’t be unreasonable about it.

THERE IS HUGE PRESSURE FROM THE BRAND. BUT, WHAT CAN AN AGENCY DO SINCE MANY OF THESE CHANNELS OPERATE FROM SINGAPORE AND Hong Kong. We may want to pull it out and people here may help us out, but Singapore and Hong Kong don’t work on weekends. There is pressure from the consumers on the brand. Clients want to start a campaign in a hurry, and then pull out in a hurry. They think media agencies are magicians. As an agency we can tell the client that we understand the situation and we are trying our best to do whatever we can. It’s not as though that one spot will make or break the brand, right? If they are facing the heat on the social media, then the damage is already done. They can’t blame the media agency for that.

THIS IS JUST ONE INSTANCE. THERE COULD BE A POSSIBILITY WHERE YOU HAVE TO PULL OUT AN AD BECAUSE OF THE ADVERTISING Standards Council of India’s (ASCI) rule or any other reason. I feel it is a bit of nitpicking. These issues existed before (the advent of) social media and will continue to be there. Not all channel logs close on a Friday. There are some channels which require just a day’s notice, but still the odds break down to 60-40 per cent from Monday to Thursday versus Friday to Sunday. Agencies face many such pressures and this is one aspect of operational pressure. The media agencies obviously understand it. At the end of the day, the agency, the client, and the channel work as partners. To my knowledge, we never have had issues with our media partners.

MALLIKARJUN DAS, Chief Executive Officer,

Starcom MediaVest Group

DIVYA RADHAKRISHNAN, Founder and Director,

Helios Media

DINESH RATHORE, Chief Operating Officer, Madison Media Omega

THE MEDIA AGENCY DOES WHAT THE CLIENT TELLS THEM. THEY DON’T TAKE AN INDEPENDENT DECISION. IT IS A JOINT DECISION between the client and the agency. More often, it is the client’s call. The channel logs closing on Friday evening is a technical issue. If you have logged into Star and the tape is already gone, then obviously you can’t do anything.

PRATAP BOSE, Managing Director and Chairman,

The Social Street


advertising

Fruit PassionTROPICANA SLICE

Su m m e r ’ s here, and so are beverage

brands with their respective summer campaigns. And back, for the eighth year, is brand ambassador Katrina Kaif who once again, features in Tropicana Slice’s new ad, in which she bites straight into the Slice bottle.

Conceptualised by JWT India, the commercial begins with Kaif in a café where she orders a Slice. When her order arrives, she refuses the glass, and instead bites into the diced neck of the bottle that morphs into a juicy mango! Then, of course, are the ritualistic zoom-ins and close-ups of her indulging in the fruit. So irresistible is her indulgence that onlookers are also tempted to order Slice - and, it will not be wrong to suppose that they will turn down the glass as well.

The idea conveyed is that to have a Slice (the drink), is like having a real mango. The metaphorical imagery is also reflected in the packaging. Commenting on the creative execution, Vineet Sharma, associate director - marketing, Tropicana at PepsiCo, says, “Tropicana is one of our big brands. It is a `1,000 crore plus brand, within which, Tropicana Slice plays in the space

of indulgence and mangoes. Indians are mango lovers, and it is this passion for the fruit that we try to depict in different ways through our advertising for Slice.”

Tossing in some figures to corroborate his statement,

he shares that India contributes about 50 per cent to the world production of mangoes. This is when we constitute just 15 per cent of the world population.

Kaif has been the ambassador for Tropicana Slice for eight years now, and since then the brand communication has been about reinforcing the thought that every drop of Slice equals a ‘Ras Bharaa Aam’. Previous campaigns have also

shown her drooling over Slice. So, what’s different about this one?

Explains Sharma, “The thought was to depict how a true mango lover forgets the world around him/her while indulging in the fruit. Notice how Kaif turns oblivious to the surroundings while enjoying Slice which gives her the same experience as having a real mango. The diced bottle neck is a packaging unique to Tropicana Slice. Since we feel so proprietorial about it, we thought it would be a good idea to leverage the same. In this

campaign, therefore, we used the bottle and the packaging as creative devices.”

The 360-degree campaign will extend through the summer season. Digital initiatives will involve consumers who will be asked to demonstrate their love for mangoes using social media platforms.

Concluding with some category talk and the introduction of branded ethnic drinks such as Paperboat and Dabur Yoodley in the market over the past couple of years, Sharma says, “Any competition is welcome because it only adds to the overall market growth.”n

[email protected]

The new ad film features ambassador Katrina Kaif and highlights the brand’s unique product packaging. By Ashee Sharma

Sharma: Summer ready

This is a category that strives on innova-tion, so the consumer durables brand Hitachi has its eyes set on the digital

savvy ‘netizens’ who are high on innovation. To capture their attention, the company has associated itself with rapper Badshah (Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia) for the quirky summer anthem #NothingDirty, which highlights the automatic cleaning feature of its iClean air conditioner.

In the over five-minute video, Badshah, who is apparently known for his ability to turn any lyrics into a foot-tapping number is thrown a challenge by video jockey Bani J on behalf of Hitachi. The task at hand is to come up with the next big chart-topper by turning some gross lyrics into the “coolest and cleanest” song of the summer - just like Hitachi’s iClean Plus technology that automatically cleans the AC’s filter. The result is a cool, fun, and upbeat anthem, about which there’s #NothingDirty.

Conceptualised and executed by Dentsu Creative Impact, the digital video released on YouTube has fetched over a million views. The audio composition and lyrics are by Badshah. Shiraz Bhattacharya is the director, as well as the director of photography. n

[email protected]

Hitachi feat Badshah

VIRAL NOW

The rap video promotes iClean air-conditioner’s self cleaning feature. By News Bureau


media

The Network18 Group has changed the name of its English news channel CNN-

IBN to CNN-News18. The change has been effective since April 18, 2016. The re-branding exercise also includes a new logo, tagline - On Your Side - and a revamped studio. The move, says the team, in an official statement, is aimed at “making news more relevant to its viewers by bringing immersive journalism to the fore.”

The news website IBNLive.com will be called News18.com, going forward.

As part of the revamp, the channel will offer new programming formats. The opinions of several popular social commentators including Vir Sanghvi, Swapan Dasgupta, Ayaz Memon and Ajoy Bose, will be part of the new mix.

A show called Prime Time 2.0 will be telecast between 8 and 11 pm; it will comprise on-ground reporting, opinions, debates and humour-laden content.

The channel’s weekend programming will include several new shows including one called Virtuosity, a show about the week’s key issues; Vir Sanghvi will be part of this show.

Speaking about the rebranding excercise, Adil Zainulbhai, chairman, Network18, says, “A decade back, CNN-IBN re-invented news by bringing to its viewers the benefits of a reputed international news partner

CNN, and eventually emerging as the most awarded English general news channel. We are now at a time when the role of breaking news is taken on by social media and there is an oversupply of news sources... just breaking news isn’t enough.”

He further adds, “In this problem of plenty, quality suffers and consumers don’t know what to believe or trust. The insights into an issue keep getting compromised for lack of time and resources. Realising this gap, we have decided to take the onus of breaking this clutter by focusing on quality of reporting, in-depth analysis and an all-round view of key issues. We will keep the journalist and the consumer at the centre of our programming, which is the critical need of the hour.”

Avinash Kaul, CEO, IBN News Network, says, “The refreshed identity of CNN-News18 aims to bring the value of immersive journalism to its viewers. Inspired by our new tagline ‘On Your Side’, CNN-News18 will strive to make news more objective, keeping the

viewers at the centre of its content strategy. We will significantly ramp-up our digital presence to ensure that viewers are seamlessly able to engage with our content. CNN-News18’s programming will focus on leveraging our strength in reporting to offer in-depth on-ground coverage.”

Going on about deploying more resources for the purpose of news gathering and exploring different angles to each story, he says, “We will raise the quality of debates and in-studio discussions by engaging the nation’s foremost journalists and opinion makers. The channel will bring freshness to news television

by developing new on-air talent and exploring diverse genres of programming.”

CNN-News18, he promises, will offer both, international news as well as an Indian perspective on the same.n [email protected]

New AvatarCNN-NEWS 18

The change, a part of Network18 Group’s rebranding exercise for its English news channel, includes a new logo, tagline and revamped studio. By News Bureau

The new (above) and old logo

M G Parmeswaran, popularly known as ‘Ambi’, announced

the launch of his brand advisory firm ‘Brand-Building’. According to the company website the firm will work on functions such as brand definition, articulation,

measurement, expansion, and appraisal. These functions will be executed under the Brand-Building Pentagon model.

The website also claims that it will serve as a coaching and mentoring platform on branding subjects. Brand strategies such

as planning market-mapping programmes, brand development, marketing planning, and marketing execution for the brand building community in India will be developed. Marketing communications strategy will deal with development of the marketing communications programme.

There will be training programmes and monthly interactions. Marketing teams will also be guided on marketing plans and the implementation process

where the Start-Up Advisory will help young start-ups identify the right business segment to tap into. The firm has also roped in experts who will offer their inputs for projects on a need-to-use basis. The website also offers books, videos, and articles presented

by Parmeswaran on brand building. Prior to this new launch,

Parmeswaran was associated with FCB Ulka Advertising as the agency’s advisor. n [email protected]

Starting AfreshBRAND BUILDING

The brand advisory firm will work on the ‘Brand-Building Pentagon’ model. By News Bureau

Zainulbhai and Kaul: Upbeat

Parmeswaran:Focus


advertising

Himalaya Men, men’s care brand from Himalaya Herbals, has released a

30-second-long TVC that features cricketers Virat Kohli, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny and Sarfaraz Khan. They play for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (IPL team).The product being advertised is Himalaya Men Pimple Clear Neem Facewash.

“This phase of our campaign is about debunking the myth that men are too proud to worry about things such as pimples. Fact is, men are as concerned about pimples as women are, but sometimes hesitate to admit it...” says Prateek Srivastava, creative head, Chapter Five, the marketing communications company that has created this ad.

The ad has been directed by Devanshu Singh and produced by Melting Clock. Created in Hindi and Kannada, the campaign is being aired in Hindi speaking markets and in Karnataka.

In this category, two converse things are happening simultaneously. While the advent of the metrosexual male, coupled with the growth of the men’s grooming segment, has, inadvertently levelled out the gender divide (by saying ‘What’s wrong if men care about appearance as much as women do?’), it has also widened the gender gap by ‘genderising’ certain behaviour patterns, sometimes across related segments too.

For instance, Veet, body hair removal cream for women, tried to get women to stop shaving their limbs, by saying, “Razors are for boys” and Park Avenue’s beer shampoo made a case for ‘man hair’ by saying to men, “You need this. It’s got beer.”

MACHISMO OR GENDER NEUTRALITY?

afaqs! Reporter asked a couple of branding experts to analyse the insight Himalaya has used and decode what it connotes. What do the current communication patterns in the men’s grooming segment in India tell us about this relatively young category?

What’s a better communication tack - using historically male symbols like beer to sell ‘beauty’ products to men or going the gender neutral way, by questioning why vanity and masculinity are assumed to be mutually exclusive concepts? Their answers say a lot about the life stage that the men’s grooming segment is in, presently.

Saji Abraham, executive director, Lowe Lintas, says, “Men’s grooming has come out of the closet. Things have changed with the advent of specific products for men. If you recall, it started with the insight - Why use a ‘female product’ if you are a man?”

“Going ahead, I see brands (in this segment) creating strong RTBs (reasons to believe) around why their product is suited for men and creating a strong emotional connect with men. The lowest hanging fruit for this would be things that are stereotypically male, such as gadgets, sports and automobiles,” he predicts,

adding, “My hunch is that different price segments will play the game differently. At the highest end there might be a duplication of fashion trends and the rational underpinnings will increase as income levels (of the TG) go down.”

Specifically about the new Himalaya ad, Lowe’s Abraham says, “The brand misses an opportunity in communicating to men. It shows a player shy about pimples but does not explore where this shyness is coming from. This could have been nuanced with the false bravado that men show when confronted with a problem, for instance. Himalaya should now go deeper and either talk about why they are best suited to tackle men’s pimples (‘mimples’, perhaps?) or create an emotional bond with men who face this problem.”

According to Anand Halve, brand consultant and founder, Chlorophyll, a brand marketing consultancy, this commercial does nothing to foster category growth. It would have, if it explained why this product is

perfect for a man’s pimples over a woman’s, he opines. “Why is this any different from Himalaya with neem for women? Nothing in the commercial tells me why this young boy shouldn’t use his sister’s face wash,” he says.

About the execution, Halve says, “The people plugging it are so artificial. Virat Kohli is shown with a beard under which he could have so many pimples...” he thinks aloud, adding, “...I am talking about creating a category. This ad assumes the category already exists.”

If it were up to him, what kind of ad would he make to sell an anti-pimple product to young men? Halve hazards a make-shift story-board: A slightly older player, like Yuvraj Singh, perhaps, meets a young boy fishing around in the locker room. Yuvraj says, “At your age, I had the same problem and unfortunately ‘Uss zamaane mein kuch nahi tha...’

He’d also change the green pack to a blue-cum-red one. n

[email protected]

HIMALAYA MEN

“It debunks the myth that men are too proud to worry about things such

as pimples.”PRATEEK SRIVASTAVA

No Bias

The product being advertised is Himalaya Men Pimple Clear Neem Facewash.

The brand insists men are also hassled by pesky pimples. By Ashwini Gangal


Tell us about your favorite campaign? What mediums were used to execute it?There was this one I did for Shagun sugar back in 2003, when branded content was not a thing or perhaps even a word. We had done a series of very successful (and awarded) Radio spots for the brand, whose strap line was �Shudh hai, to shagun hai�.Encouraged by the results that he got from his Radio campaign, the client wanted us to do something more using the same medium. That’s when we came up with this idea of a fun program, in partnership with an FM station, called ‘Shagun shuddhikaran karyakram’. Each spot was about a minute and a half long, and featured a voice resembling a teacher, who picked a popular slang in each episode, and then informed us of the shuddh (pure) word or phrase for the same. It also instructed us with examples of its proper usage. So words like ‘kantaap’, ‘bindaas’, ‘raapchik’ etc. would be shuddhi-fied, often to hilarious effect. The shuddh word for ‘kantaap’, for instance, was ‘kapaal tale prahaar’. Each episode would start with a sonorous ‘ Shagun shuddikaran karyakram me aapkaa swaagat hai. And would end with � Aaj ke milaawati yug me, shuddhtaa sanjoye rakhne ka yeh prayaas, shagun cheeni dwara. Shuddh hai, to Shagun hai. The lines are still fresh in my mind, after all these years.

How do you analyze the success of a Radio Campaign? It would be like a campaign in any other

medium. Did it get picked up? Did it get talked about, and discussed? The criterion would be much the same. Though these days, it might be tough to analyze the impact of a campaign as delivered by Radio alone. Especially as one does not hear of too many, that had Radio as its lead medium.

According to you, how important is a good script in making a radio campaign successful?Script is paramount in Radio. Here, you can’t hide a bad script behind visual techniques or great graphics. Sure, there are audio ideas, and sound fx etc., but they only work to underline the idea. So while it is heartening to find much improved production values these days, it only works when all the extra effort and money is spent on a good script idea.

How can a marketer leverage radio as a medium to reach out to his target market?The obvious advantage is, of course, a very localized reach. And that is why a lot of real estate, coaching classes, restaurants and the likes, are often on Radio.

Secondly, Radio is an all-pervasive medium, and has the ability to catch us at all times, and sometimes unexpected places like from gyms, to cabs and buses, to restaurants, and loos at multiplexes and malls. So unlike print, or TV, we listen to Radio even when not consciously, or actively listening to it. This makes it a fabulous medium to support a campaign.

Its effectiveness and ability to reach out to the masses in tier II and III cities have always attracted marketers towards it.. Any other benefits that marketers targeting these areas can look at leveraging through radio advertising? Same as the last point, above. Radio has been called the theater of the mind, so marketers could consider the show timings of this theater a bit more carefully, and perhaps set stage accordingly.

How does your approach change when creating advertisements for Radio in a particular campaign? It has been a while, since I have worked on a campaign with Radio as its lead medium. But when creating the Radio leg of a print, outdoor, or a TV led campaign, I would first get to the essence of the idea, and see how well that travels to Radio. It is a different medium, and so I never try to fit in the execution/concept, as is, to Radio. It would usually be a dimension of the same idea but probably executed differently.

The thumb rule of attention-interest-action is applicable here too.

Sometimes, a TV idea too relies very heavily on words, or music, like our campaign for DoCoMo last year. It had great narrative writing, but that did not mean we could just use the audio track of the campaign as radio. We took the idea/expression of ‘bhalai ki supply’ but found a very different expression of it, for Radio.

How do you see the growth of Radio industry in India?I would like to answer this from the advertiser’s point of view, and specifically from that of a Radio writer.While it has almost always been around, the coming in of the FM channels in late 90s, and early 2000s, quite changed the way one looked at Radio. It once again became a way to reach the young, and for the first time perhaps the medium was pushed beyond what was once staple to it.

The point is, that new technology generated a lot of interest around itself, and so people played with it and new things happened. And with that, more marketers joined the party.

At present, digital is the new toy. So we can see where the interest, and money, is flowing. And Radio like an ex-favorite, still has a space on the advertiser’s shelf

I think there is a need for Radio to give itself an image makeover, if it is to compete successfully for a bigger share in the media mix. Is Internet Radio going to be the next big thing? Will new technology bring in more two-way engagement? Will Telecom and Radio merge in more creative ways? Or will it all be about FM in every village? A Patanjali kind of Radio as it were. But something has got to happen, for advertisers to do a double take on this medium.From the days of Binaca Geetmaala and Ameen Sayani, to the RJ as heroine in a Munnabhai film, Radio has certainly seen interesting times in our country. And I certainly hope it continues to be exciting, and relevant in the future too.

MY FM RADIO A GAME CHANGER

INTERVIEW

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ASHISH CHAKRAVARTYNCD CONTRACT ADVERTISING

Radio is an all-pervasive medium, and has the ability

to catch us at all times.

At the recently concluded Goafest Awards, Taproot Dentsu won 40 metals (second only to JWT’s 47)

of which only two are Gold. That’s probably why the agency didn’t get written about as much; after all, when it comes to metals, type trumps number.

We spoke to Santosh Padhi, aka Paddy, co-founder and chief creative officer, Taproot Dentsu, about all things Abby.

Edited Excerpts. What is more satisfying? A large number of awards or a Gold?

Both have their own place. But we’re not about quantity. We don’t have 9,000 people or six different offices or the many verticals that big networked agencies have. We’re just 40 people in one office.

Despite having the might of a network like Dentsu behind you, why do you still call Taproot small? Is it just about the numbers or also about ‘that boutique-like’ feel?

The reason I call us small is – giant networked agencies have six to seven different verticals each and all these verticals enter (the awards) as one (agency).

At Goafest, there are around 16 categories that you can enter in. You need to have many verticals to enter work in each. Goafest is a platform of quality and quantity but we are only playing the quality game. We don’t have the support system to play the quantity game. That’s where we are losing out.

Both your Golds happen to be for unconventional brands – one is a media brand (The Times of India) and the other, an industry body (Indian Outdoor Advertising Association). Isn’t it considered more prestigious to win a Gold for a ‘regular’ brand campaign?

If you do something for the masses, it gets celebrated more, yes. But it is important to win.

Also, it’s good to have a variety of awards, across sectors. How has the importance of awards changed, pre and post Dentsu? As the head of Taproot, awards, we assume, brought you happiness, but as the head of Taproot Dentsu, it’s probably a mixture of joy and relief, isn’t it?

Luckily, we have never faced a problem from their end. Nobody ever said we need to do this or that. We can decide today that here on we are not going to enter any awards. There is no pressure from Dentsu to win awards.

We recently interviewed Nakul Chopra (CEO, Publicis South Asia, and chairman, Goafest 2016 Organising Committee) about

the evolution of the Abby. After a controversy-laden phase few years back, it appears to have got part of its mojo back. Comment.

The industry was divided ten years back and many people tried to create one single local awards show (Abby and Goafest were separate, then). When I was at Leo Burnett, Arvind Sharma (former chairman and CEO, India sub-continent, Leo Burnett) took a lot of initiative to make this happen.

It was wonderful initially; Goafest became very big. Apart from Lowe, everybody entered. To me, that was the best period for Goafest; Ogilvy and JWT were there.

In 2013, it was a fiasco. Super juries were called in. Eight to ten campaigns were involved. It was unfortunate that the entire judging

process was not well defined. Many agencies took a hit.

There are some agencies that have been staying away from Goafest. That’s not a good sign for the industry and for the youngsters working in those agencies. When we were young, awards and creative glory were the only way for us to get recognised. Fortunately or unfortunately, it’s the way a creative guy/girl gets evaluated.

I have been requesting a couple of agencies to come back. Goafest will only get better. They are all talking about problems that are 10-15 years old. We should forget the past.

We have third party auditors like KPMG; they call every client and check whether the work is legitimate. Such filters don’t exist at Cannes or D&AD.

You’re way past the stage where you view awards as a career propellant. What was that phase like?

My background is in art. When I came to this industry 20 years back, hardcore art and copy would make or break an ad. When I was a young creative, the biggest awards were the Copywriter of the Year and Art Director of the Year awards. At the end of a given year, one’s entire portfolio of work through that year was evaluated for these awards.

At Mudra, I worked for the Art Director of the Year award for four years before I won it.

Leo Burnett, globally, is very pushy. They want glory. There was pressure to win awards there.

Taproot has been winning by default.

At Goafest, agencies win awards in bulk! Hand on heart, how difficult is it to win an Abby, really?

The numbers have increased because the categories have increased.

I think Goafest still has some standards. They are not giving away awards to any damn ad.

Sometimes the judges are generous and sometimes, tough. n

[email protected]

SANTOSH PADHI> CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, TAPROOT DENTSU

interview

The co-founder and chief creative officer, Taproot Dentsu talks about the evolution of Goafest. By Suraj Ramnath

“Goafest has some standards, they don’t give awards to any damn ad”


It is 6 am in the morning in Singapore – the sun has barely risen but the alarm, in all its rudeness, has jogged me awake. It will be

a full two and half hours later when my son’s alarm rings in Mumbai. Far across the globe, in Cambridge, my daughter’s day will begin many hours later. My wife, who is at Bristol, will begin her day along with my daughter.

The family is separated by continents and oceans and time itself. Three clocks run in my head simultaneously. Without thinking for a moment I can tell you, accurate to the minute, the time in Singapore, India and England. I can tell you which airways offer the best fare, in terms of tickets, and the best fare, in terms of food.

Just as a Multinational Corporation (a MNC) has operations in different countries, a Multinational Nuclear Family or MNF (a name I coined at a conference recently), has different members living and working in different countries. And the numbers of our tribe are growing. Chiefly because, unlike in the early years, the Multinational Family can stay connected as never before. My uncle, who left for America to do his PhD in the 1960s, would write home once a month. Phone calls were rare, since it was too expensive. Today, my wife, children and I use Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype and Gmail to connect with each other every hour. Staying interconnected is now possible, practical and priced right.

And every time we connect with each other, we draw from each other’s lives and spread the culture virus across the globe; we help to make culture contagious.

I can speak Singlish after a fashion, with my

friends and colleagues here in Singapore. When I am in doubt, I add a ‘La!’ to everything I say and my friends smile and indulge me, making

me feel Singaporean. My son studied overseas and returned to the city of his roots, Mumbai. He must re-learn the art of being Indian – the art of shaking and nodding his head at the same time, with no apparent contradiction. After the warmth of Mumbai and Singapore, my daughter and my wife find England cold and wet, but they find the English grocer’s cheery ‘Thank you, love’ truly endearing.

I see a day, not very far off, when the London grocer will say, “Thank you, love, la!” in Singaporean fashion and then proceed to nod and shake her head, in the Indian way. And it is families like mine, the Multinational Families, which will have helped, in their own small way, to make it happen.

What does all this mean for marketing and marketing communications professionals? MNFS are just a trickle today but will gather strength in time to come. Marketing boundaries will change and segmentation will become even more of a challenge than it is today.

Marketing communications professionals will have to learn the new world lingo, the new world culture and the new world mores.

That is some time away yet. But sometimes, as I sit on my terrace in Singapore, and think of my wife and my children spread all over the world, it feels good to know that my family is a forerunner of a new generation.

(‘Alby’ Anand Kurian is consultant and module leader, marketing and strategy, Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS). His book ‘Reality Plus: The Neo World You Live And Work In’ is scheduled for publication in December 2016) n

[email protected]

byinvitation

ANAND KURIAN

Multinational Nuclear Families and their effect on marketing

Marketing boundaries will change and

segmentation will become a challenge


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EVEN GOOD CAN

GET BETTER!


peopleA round up of some major people

movements in the last fortnight>> MOVEMENTS/APPOINTMENTS<<

BBDO India has appointed Ritu

Sharda as senior executive creative director, Delhi . Accounts she will work on include 7Up, Quaker Oats, Mirinda, Zandu, Wrigley’s, SC Johnson and Exxon Mobil. She will also handle the creative requirements for new business in Delhi. Agencies she has worked with in the past include McCann, Publicis India, DDB Mudra and Contract.

Leo Burnett has announced the appointment of Dheeraj Sinha as chief strategy officer, South Asia. He will work out of the agency’s Mumbai office and will manage planning function across South Asia. Previously, he was chief strategy officer, South and South East Asia, Grey Group.

FCB Ulka Advertising has announced the

appointment of Saad Khan as vice-president, strategic planning. Khan brings with him more than 17 years of industry experience in brand building and has previously been associated with advertising agencies such as Leo Burnett, Lowe Lintas, Dentsu Marcomm, and Euro RSCG. In 2011, he founded the strategic consulting firm Marketing Unplugged, along with Suman Srivastava, who is currently vice-chairman, strategic planning, FCB Ulka Group. n

Digital and performance marketing firm Performics India has appointed

Suhael Choudhury as senior vice-president and business head - West. She will report to Mayoori Kango, chief digital officer, Performics and Resultrix. Choudhury has 15 years of experience and she was previously associate director - marketing and campaign management, at Aimia Inc.

Razorfish has roped in Swapnil Puranik as head of strategy, Mumbai. Puranik co-founded Clickiya Digital, a digital start-up he ran between May 2014 and January 2015. After exiting it, he worked at Anvis Digital, a digital marketing agency, as business head.

D i g i t a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s agency Rage C o m m u n i c a t i o n s , has appointed Neville Medhora as its head of India business. Medhora, who until recently was the head of Rediffusion-Y&R’s Mumbai office, has 22 years of experience with various advertising agencies in India.

Namrata Keswani has joined OgilvyOne Worldwide as vice president and head, Mumbai. This is not her first stint at Ogilvy; she worked at the agency between 2003 to 2005. She has spent a year and a half at Ogilvy Singapore, where she managed accounts such as GlaxoSmithKline, American Express and Kimberly Clark.

Omnicom Media Group India has appointed Sudhir Nair as managing director, digital. In his new role, Nair will drive the digital agenda for the network and its brands, OMD and PHD. Nair, who has over 15 years of industry experience, had announced the launch of his communications agency 21N78E in September last year, prior to which he was with Grey Group India as senior vice president and head, digital.

DigitasLBi India has appointed Vineet Singh as client partner - Delhi. He comes with over 10 years of experience, having worked with several global marketing communications companies. He has been instrumental in driving growth for global and local brands.n

DIGITAL

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the appointment of

Rahul Johri as chief executive officer, effective June 1. Johri resigned as executive vice-president and general manager, Discovery South Asia, in February this year. Based in Mumbai, he will be responsible for the BCCI’s operations, stakeholder management and for building strategies to promote the sport. Johri has over 20 years of experience in the media industry. He was associated with Discovery Networks for 15 years, of which the last eight were spent leading the group’s South Asia operations.

Ormax Rhodium, the high end business consulting division of Ormax Consultants, has appointed Rajeev Sharma as CEO. Previously, he was with Leo Burnett as national head of planning and strategy. Sharma has over 32 years

of experience in the industry. Brands he has worked on in his career so far include Thums Up, Iodex, Ultratech Cement, Ceasefire, Lakme, Johnsons Baby Oil, Glucon D, McDonalds, and HDFC Life, among several others. n

MARKETING

ADVERTISING

SWAPNIL PURANIK

VINEET SINGH

NEVILLE MEDHORA

DHEERAJ SINHARITU SHARDASAAD KHAN

DDB Mudra Group has appointed Tarun Nigam as executive vice-

president, DDB MudraMax-Media. He will operate from the agency’s Gurgaon office, and will report to Sathyamurthy Namakkal, executive director, DDB Mudra Group and president DDB MudraMax. Nigam comes with a two decade-rich experience which also includes being an entrepreneur. He was CEO and co-founder of PM Media Solutions, as well as COO of GraphisAds. he has also worked with UTV, GroupM, Starcom Mediavest, and Vivaki Partnership Unit.

Nigam has worked for several established brands such as Aircel, Benetton, Bestylish.com,

Diageo Radico, Fashion4U, Gillette, Hero Honda, Hero Cycles, Monte Carlo, Oracle, Richemont, LVMH, Samsung, Suzuki Motorcycles, Starwood Hotels, Tetrapak, VLCC, Wrigleys, Yahoo, and MakeMyTrip.

Publicis Media has made some key leadership changes in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Anupriya Acharya, (Group chief executive officer, ZenithOptimedia India) has been named India CEO, Publicis Media. Acharya’s appointment is

part of the company’s leadership re-structuring exercise in the APAC region aimed at leveraging the scale and capabilities of Publicis Media’s global agency brands. n

MEDIA

ANUPRIYA ACHARYA

RAHUL JOHRI RAJEEV SHARMA


UNABASHED AMBITION

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