chennai the war begins...may 1-15, 2008 the fortnightly from agencyfaqs! the rs 40 profile shiv...

May 1-15, 2008 The fortnightly from agencyfaqs!

T H ERs 40

www.thebrandreporter.com

PROFILEShiv Sethuraman

THE WARBEGINS

CHENNAI

THE WARBEGINSA fascinating battle is all set tounfold. Can The Times of Indiasuccessfullychallenge TheHindu in itsstronghold?

CAN BRANDS MOVE UP?

TBWA’s CEO designate iscoming back from Paris.

SOCIAL NETWORKINGDifferentingHow networking sites arelooking to move ahead.

ADVERTISINGCool and ConfidentHorlicks finds itself acelebrity brand ambassador.

DEFINING MOMENTSPranesh MisraThe Lowe man looks backover 31 years.

Could brand Deccan have been rejigged to survive?Madhukar Sabnavis speculates.

28

32

CAN BRANDS MOVE UP?

38

20

42

36

5The Brand Reporter, May 1-15, 2 0 0 8

Moving with the ConsumerThe profile on Bobby Pawar in

the last issue was interesting becauseit gave the reader an understandingof how this man has developed hisunique take on creativity. What camethrough was that Pawar is an avidobserver of life and has not restrictedhis creative growth within advertis-ing jargons. I particularly likedreading about the bit where he hadstarted appreciating low brow enter-tainment in New York. It once againgoes to show that creative geniusstems from one's understanding ofwhat defines entertainment for theaverage masses. So true that perhapsthe best creative solutions come ifthey are conceived in the mind bybeing media neutral.

Rishita Bhattvia email

Activating Change The writeup on The Times of

India's foray into Chennai was arrest-ing. Needless to say because of thevisuals. The Times Group has reallygone all out to get the branding inplace. Readership is a matter of spec-ulation at the moment but it doesseem that Chennai is saying"Vanakkam" to the Times Group in abig way.

Radhika SharmaMumbai

What Clients Want The article on what marketers feel

about the fact that some of the adswhich win awards do not exist inmass media was thought provoking. Ithink it is high time that the policiesfor creative entries are to be revised.Or creative agencies have to convincetheir clients to run these ads.Whether clients bite into their logicwill actually determine the relevanceof these ads in the practical context.

Sushmita PaliBangalore

The fortnightly from agencyfaqs!Volume III, Issue 19

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Cover Illustration Gogol

This fortnight...India is a more exciting print market than any other in the world. As proof we have this fort-

night’s cover story about Chennai which The Hindu has ruled in near-solitary splendour.

Deccan Chronicle came along in 2005 and created its own market. And last month, The

Times of India (ToI), joined the fray. Nobody blinked an eyelid when ToI said that it is

starting off with a circulation of nearly two lakh copies.

Starting with a big circulation is a relatively new game, just over a decade old.

This approach was first employed by a then little-known Hindi daily as it ventured

into a neighbouring state: that was Dainik Bhaskar entering Jaipur. Bhaskar con-

ducted a door-to-door survey and, in an Indian first, launched with a large,

guaranteed subscriber base.

To return to Chennai, it says something for Indian print that a city with just two

major English dailies (The Hindu and The New Indian Express), is witness-

ing two more within three years. The local market will expand hugely but with

newsprint prices being the way they are, this could turn into a bruising battle.

The other article on the cover is Madhukar Sabnavis’ take on whether low-priced

brands can move up in life. The provocation is Air Deccan’s imminent eclipse.

True, stratospheric oil prices plus overcrowded airports did it in. But rivals faced the

same odds.

Did Deccan overemphasise the fact that it was the common man’s airline to a

point where it could not command the prices necessary to even survive? At the end,

the airline needed to raise its revenue per passenger from Rs 2,800 to Rs 3,100 to

break even – but consumers wouldn’t pay that little extra. In their minds, the Deccan

experience wasn’t worth it. Sabnavis runs through different categories and the Indian class-

obsessed mentality to conclude that once a cheap brand, always a cheap brand.

I feel sorry about the way the Air Deccan story ended: the airline gave rise to a revolution

in air travel which in the end consumed it.

Sreekant Khandekar

Super Sam!The cover on Sam Balsara's recentmedia acquisition made interestingread. Every media personnel whoaspires to turn into a major playersomeday has loads to learn fromBalsara (and from this piece). A mav-erick in his own terms, Balsara knowswhat he wants despite not beingunnaturally aggressive. He truly is asuper Sam, a source of inspiration,and a role model for many.

Mahesh Gargvia email

The Indian automobile industryhas witnessed unprecedentedgrowth in the last few years.

Liberal government policies, presenceof multinational players, lineextensions by established brands andrising disposableincome of the averagepopulation have allcontributed towardsachieving this.According to a reportby the Indian BrandEquity Foundation(IBEF) the Indianautomobile industrywould reach the 10million mark by 2010.And much of thisgrowth will come fromthe commercialvehicles division. Thisis because theburgeoning scale ofgoods which require tobe transported fromone state to the other iscreating an urgentrequirement for morecommercial vehicles.

The recent joint venture signedbetween the Hero Group andDaimler AG for the manufacture ofcommercial vehicles is a significantstep in this direction. The venture

will be called Daimler Hero MotorCorporation. Formal approval

for the new company was issued bythe Indian government this year inMarch. Daimler Hero MotorCorporation will initially producelight, medium, and heavy-dutycommercial vehicles for the Indian

market under a newbrand name. Thesearch is currentlyunder way for a suitableproduction location.Negotiations are beingconducted with threeIndian states. Once adecision is reached inthis matterconstruction will beginon a plant that will startmanufacturingcommercial vehicles in2010.

The new companyis aiming to achieve alocalization rate of upto 80 per cent in orderto optimally utilize costadvantages. In thisIndo German jointventure both the

groups will invest around 700 millioneuros (approximately Rs 4,400 crore)over the next five years. In addition,Daimler will contribute 220 millioneuros (approximately Rs 1,386 crore)in the form of foreign directinvestment. The company will bemanaged jointly by the two partners.

6 The Brand Reporter, May 1-15, 2 0 0 8

TimesofMoney> TimesofMoney, a Times Group Company,in association with Barclays a leading global financialservices provider has launched TimesCard, India's onlyentertainment co branded credit card. It gives an opportunityto customers to attend premier events like Filmfare Awards,Femina Miss India and blockbuster movie premieres. It alsooffers 25 per cent discount on movie tickets across some ofthe best multiplexes across the country and a slew of giftvouchers from leading brands across categories.

SugarFree> The leading sugar substitute in the Indianmarket SugarFree has come up with an innovative marketingtieup. It has recently shot a promotion ad (already on air) andmusic video to promote the movie ‘‘Hope and a little Sugar’’,which has been directed by Tanujaa Chandra. Apart from thisa radio activity and some multiplex promotions are also beingplanned. The brand had associated itself with the movieCheeni Kum in the recent past where in-film productplacement had been carried out.

BPL Mobile> In an era when mobile banking and mobilecommerce are the buzzwords, BPL Mobile has gone a stepahead to bring to its customers mobile entertainment at theirfingertips with the launch of a WAP initiative called ‘BartenderWAP.’ It is a service wherein, the user can browse anddownload recipes, instructions and other details of cocktail ofhis/her choice on their mobile phones. To make this serviceunique, apart from the regular cocktail recipes that are availableon the WAP portal, BPL Mobile has tied-up with HotelIntercontinental Marine Drive for exclusive cocktail recipes.

LG> LG Electronics hasannounced a Mobile Theft InsurancePlan for its customers. LG has tiedup with United India Insurance tooffer this benefit at no extra charge. All LG GSM handsetsbought on or after April 1st 2008 will be insured against theftfor a period of one yea. In the event of handset theft, thebuyer is required to lodge an FIR within 24 hours, block theSIM card with the respective service provider and send theinformation to the insurance company within seven days ofthe loss. The customer will be paid back according to themarket value of the mobile phone once all the documents aresubmitted as explained in the claim form.

SitaGita> Sitagita.com which claims to be India's leadingwomen's website has launched the first all India women's BPOblog.The site has also created a handbook, Late Nights, Coffeeand BPO, which can be downloaded for free. It will soon host aBPO Agony Aunt Column. To complete the package on April 15,Sitagita.com has introduced a live chat for women working inBPO’s which will be aired twice a week, on Tuesdays andThursdays, between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm.

We’re not here to run aMickey Mouse business! We’relooking at substantial revenuesfrom India - in hundreds ofmillions of pounds rather thantens of millions of pounds.

SIR STUART ROSE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, MARKS & SPENCER GROUP IN THE ECONOMIC TIMES.

Envisioned to bean aspirationalcard it offerssome exclusivebenefits.

AUTOMOBILE

Road transportis expected to be

a blue eyedsector of the

Indian economy

MOVEMENTS/APPOINTMENTS

> Rajesh Puri has been appointed as the president of operations at TataTeleservices . Puri joined Tata Teleservices from Airtel where he served asthe chief operating officer (COO) of the Enterprise Business (East) andInternational Calling Business. Prior to this, Puri had a stint at TataTeleservices where he was the chief operating officer (East Circle).

> Manish Sinha has joined as senior vice president-strategy for Mudramarketing services (MMS). Manish will work across all the SBUs of Mudramarketing services, viz. Kidstuff (promotional marketing), Multiplier (trademarketing), Rapp Collins India (relationship marketing), Tribal DDB India (interactiveand new media), Mudra Health & Lifestyle (healthcare brand building) and Primesite(out-of-home solutions). Prior to this he was the VP–Strategy & Regional DigitalInitiatives at Bates David Enterprise.

A compilation of some major account and people movements in the last fortnight

QUOTE OF THE FORTNIGHT

Yahoo!>In an attempt toenable more people toexperience the internet on a PCor mobile, Yahoo! India has launched a service in India for thefirst time. It is introducing maps and walking directions innine local Indian languages. This enables users to walk totheir destinations following a simple walking route. Thedirections can be sent to a mobile phone as an SMS. There isalso an option to pan and zoom to any point on the map, saveit as an image and share it with others.

IMRB> Celebrity led advertising has proliferated in Indiabut has per a survey undertaken by market research firmIMRB it falls short of creating the desired impact. Fifty oneper cent of respondents have categorically stated that theydo not believe that the celebrities actually use the productsthey endorse on screen. The survey covered 2,109 people.

MARK

ETIN

G

PEOPLE

Animal Planet’s popular contestfor budding wildlife filmmakersis back in its third season.

Unearthed: Film School Wild started in2006 with the aim of identifying andencouraging filmmakerswho have the eye to capturenature and its wonders.

Rajiv Bakshi, director,marketing andcommunications,Discovery Networks Indiasays, “The contest is aplatform to providefilmmakers the opportunityto experience the thrill ofcapturing nature from closequarters and, in the process,provide a creative outlet totheir skills, along withpolishing their craft forphotography andfilmmaking.”

The initiative has seenentries from across theglobe in the pasti. Previousentries encompasseddiverse thematic storiestaken up by contestants. The contest hastwo parts to it, explains Bakshi. “Anyoneabove 18 years of age is eligible.Applicants are required to shoot a three-minute personal profile in the DVDformat. The profile shoot has to be

independently shot, directed and

produced by the contestants. Secondly,the contest becomes a reality show aspart of our television series, as we trailthe selected contestants on theiradventurous trips of capturing the wild.”

The selectedfilmmakers will get theopportunity of shooting atShamwari Game Reserve inSouth Africa. All thedocumentaries shot will bejudged by an internationalpanel comprising bignames in wildlifefilmmaking. The winnerswill be mentored andguided by renownedwildlife filmmakers such asLyndal Davies and AndrewBarron.

The winning films willbe aired on Animal Planet,reaching viewers in morethan 160 countries.

Animal Planet wentout to film and mediainstitutes invitingapplications and creating

buzz for the contest. Bakshi reveals that the channel is also

exploring the possibility of tying up withsocial networking sites and blogs toadvertise the terms and conditions ofthe contest. The entries for the contestare open till May 19, 2008.


Walt Disney> The Walt Disney Studios has launched a newfilm label called Disneynature, a production banner that willproduce big screen nature documentaries. The new banner goesbeyond the studio, with the Walt Disney Co. embracing this newinitiative around the world through a number of its businesses,including publications, licensing, parks and educational outreach.

TRAI> The TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)has approved a government proposal to cut licence fees paidby direct-to-home (DTH) television operators, and hopes themove will lead to faster growth in the sector.

Before the tournamentstarted, people said it won’tdo well from day 1. Now, afterseeing the result, they say itwon’t be able to sustain thisviewership. So the goalpostseems to be moving.

SNEHA RAJANI, EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT AND BUSINESS HEAD, MAX, AFTER THEOPENING MATCHES TOUCHED RECORD TVR LEVELS, IN AGENCYFAQS.COM.

The company feelsconsolidation isthe best way tomove forward

It remains to beseen what kind ofripples CNEB willcreate.

With these tie-ups, FutureMedia hopes toaccelerate itsentry intoshopping malls.

The channelhopes a mix ofHollywood andanimation will dothe trick.

ANIMAL PLANET

MEDI

A

> The Essel Group has hired Shirshendu Banerjee as chief operating officerfor its yet to be launched FM radio channel. Banerjee has been a radio jockey with AllIndia Radio and head of programming, Red FM. He was also head of the RadioDivision of Media Guru Quality Solution.

> The NaiDunia Group has got Arpan Chatterjee on board as chief sales andmarketing officer. Chatterjee will be in charge of NaiDunia newspaper andWebDunia Portal, the two properties of the NaiDunia Group.


MOVEMENTS/APPOINTMENTSA compilation of some major account and people movements in the last fortnight

MidDay> A recently-concluded Brand Track Studyconducted by Hansa Research indicates that MidDay BrandHealth Scores (BHS) secured the No 2 spot in Bangalore,amongst all major English newspapers read by 20-40-year-old SEC A/B working males and females.

Percept> Percept Holdings, the entertainment, media andcommunications company, recently concluded a restructuringexercise and renamed its lead operating and holding companyPercept Limited. Under the new structure, seven groupcompanies – Percept Picture Company (PPC), Percept ProfileIndia, Perspectrum, PDM India, Percept Out-of-Home, P9Integrated and Percept Talent Management (PTM) – have beenbrought together as divisions of Percept.

The old laughriot is back with anew look andmore excitement.

Future Media> Future Media,the media firm of the Future Group,has acquired the media rights forthree players in the retail space:My Dollarstore, R-Mall in Mulund(Mumbai) and the upcoming OberoiMall, also in Mumbai. The company holds the rights for in-storetelevision at each of these places. Future Media has signeddifferent kinds of contracts with each of the retailers – a sixyear (three plus three) contract with R-Mall and three year (oneplus two) contracts with My Dollarstore and Oberoi Mall.

CNEB> CNEB, a Noida-based news and entertainmentchannel, is set for launch in May 2008. Besides news, thechannel claims to have some of the finest crime programmes,entertainment shows, travelogues and public interest shows.The tagline of the channel is ‘Lehar toh paida hogi (Rippleswould definitely be created)’.

STAROne> The channel is unleashingSeason 4 of The Great Indian LaughterChallenge. This time the jury will have abrand new look with Shatrughan Sinha andNavjot Singh Sidhu doing the honours. Thechannel promises to come back with anall- new look and a new anchor.

NIMBUS> Nimbus Communications has re-branded the NeoSports Broadcast channels. Neo Sports will now be known asNeo Cricket, while Neo Sports Plus will become Neo Sports.While Neo Cricket will be dedicated to cricket events andprogrammes, Neo Sports will have a mix of sportsprogramming including sports such as football, tennis, golf,motor sports, badminton and beach volleyball.

ANIMATION> Turner International will set up abusiness unit to develop and produce animatedfilms in the country. The animation movies will be in

Hindi and designed specifically to cater to the taste of Indianaudiences. This business unit will aim to produce at least twoanimation films every year. The company will also launch aHollywood movie channel with sister company Warner Bros bythe end of 2008. The content will largely include hit Hollywoodmovies and series from Warner Bros.

Bakshi: happy

It givesfilmmakers

the chance toexperiencethe thrill of

nature.

> Following a multi-agency pitch, the media duties for Asia Pacific Breweries(APB) have been awarded to Lodestar Universal. Lodestar will now handle all theAPB brands that are here in India, as also those yet to be launched. Media Circle isthe incumbent agency.

ACCOUNT

PEOPLE

Nine Indians havebeen selected tobe part of the

jury at the Cannes Lions2008.

Sonal Dabral, chair-man, Bates DavidEnterprise, and regionalexecutive creative direc-tor, Bates Asia Pacific, ison the Film Lions panel.Priti Nair, national cre-ative director, GreyIndia, will be on thePress panel. PrasoonJoshi, executive chair-man, McCann-EricksonIndia, and regional exec-utive creative director,McCann Asia Pacific, ispresident of the OutdoorLions jury.

The Direct Lionspanel will includeNishad Ramachandran, vice-presi-dent and group creative director ofiContract. Lodestar Universal’s chiefexecutive officer Shashidhar Sinha isa juror on the Media Lions panel.Karl Gomes, executive creativedirector, Arc Worldwide, is judgingthe Cyber Lions, while SenthilKumar, ECD, JWT, is on the Radio

Lions jury. Roshan Abbas,

managing director,Encompass, is one ofthe jurors for thePromo Lions, andSudhir Sharma, strategyand design founder ofElephant, is part of thepanel for the new cate-gory, Design Lions.

When asked what shefelt about being includ-ed in a jury for the firsttime, Nair said, “This is agood trend of recognis-ing Indian advertising atCannes.”

Sharma of ElephantDesign is sure that withCannes having includedthe category, design willbecome the most lookedforward to category intimes to come.

According to Gomes,“In India, we are beginning to see a lotof integrated campaigns with digitalplaying an important role, and notjust as a campaign website or a displayad unit. I truly believe the time isnow, when most brands can have, notjust transparent dialogues with theirconsumers, but use the Internet andits various tools to react and optimiseefforts,” says Gomes.


Pond’s> Pond’s has relaunched three of its key products:Pond’s Age Miracle, Pond’s White Beauty and Pond’s PerfectResult with the theme of - rebirth of a timeless brand.Priyanka Chopra has been roped in to endorse the brand in India. Incidentally, she was also signed up recently forHUL’s Sunsilk.

Budweiser>Amoving field in thebusy streets ofMumbai, Pune,Goa, Manipal,Mangalore,Mysore, Bangalore,Hyderabad andVizag. Shocked? Don't be. In a bid to launch the Budweiser International Cup 6V6tournament in South and West India, RC&M recreated the Old Trafford Stadium,Manchester in a 43 ft trailer. The 40 day roadshow was held, to motivate the TG to participate & register forBudweiser 6V6 tournament. The Bud Cup is a six-on-six amateur football tournamentthat gives recreational players from various countries the opportunity to live out theirdreams by taking part in an international competition.

CANNES

It is a goodtrend of

recognisingIndian

advertising at Cannes.

SAINT GOBAIN An old man is shown sweating heavily as he is sitting in hisroom. Seeing this, his wife shuts the window to keep out thesun. The man starts shivering immediately as the window hasSaint Gobain Reflective Sun Ban Glass. Agency: Lowe Worldwide Creative Director: R BalakrishnanCopywriter: Deepa Geethakrishnan Client Servicing: Vijay Xavier

SPRITE� I think the spoof is very nicely done.... A lot of creativethoughts goes in to spoofing a bad product, and actuallymake it hilarious. - Reshma � It is all bakwas but the bakwas could be portrayed in adifferent and creative manner also...this TVC is just madefor the sake of contradicting to Pepsi TVC. - Divya � Pepsi had a really bad ad and it deserved to be spoofed...why the hell did pepsi make such a complictaed ad? - RC

FASTRACKA couple meet to break up their relationship and move on. Themoving on is done in an extremely non-nonchalant manner - bygiving back mementoes, including some Fastrack accessories,before they part.Agency: Lowe WorldwideCreative Director: Raja RamaswamyProduction House: Film FarmDirector: Navdeep Singh

New AD campaign of the fortnightNew TVC

MOVEMENTS/APPOINTMENTS

> Nilanjan (Neil) Dasgupta, creative partner at Rediffusion DY&R, has moved toMudra DDB as a creative director in Mumbai. He will head the group handling the creatives for Reliance ADAG’s soon to be launched DTH venture, called Big TV.

> Niranjan Kaushik is moving from Contract Advertising to partner creative directorAkshay Kapnadak at McCann-Erickson in the same rank. Kaushik is currently serving his notice period at Contract, where he is senior creative director.

A compilation of some major account and people movements in the last fortnight

PEOPLE

Creative people are notfrustrated. They are talentedindividuals who seek toexpress themselves and dojustice to their craft...so letus not demean our ownfraternity.

PRASOON JOSHI IN AGENCYFAQS! ON WHETHER CREATIVE DIRECTORS SEEK LIMELIGHT THROUGHUNFAIR MEANS AS THEY DON’T GET INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION.


VODAFONE� You claim a collection of 40,000 songs but your hero issinging the same song; if it is not against the theme...itseems like other agencies O & M is passing through creativebankruptcy. - Sudha Menon� Well the script though was bit unrealistic and irritatingwent with the USP of the Vodafone. But some more creativitywas expected from O&M. - Kakoli Sarmah� Nice ad, simple and beautiful. - Sandy

Most Debated ADS

ADVE

RTIS

ING

ACCOUNT> ING Vysya Bank, which has a strong presence in South India, has hired JWTBangalore as its creative agency. This is one of the biggest wins for the agency’sBangalore branch. According to the official communique, JWT beat five other leadingagencies to win the business, which is estimated to be worth Rs 20 crore. RediffusionDY&R is the incumbent agency.

Where channel supremacy isconcerned, the generalentertainment space hasn’t

offered many surprises. STAR Plushas had the top spot - since 2000 -with its launch of Kaun BanegaCrorepati (first part).

Change to circa 2008, and STARPlus is still the number 1 channel.But according to TAM, in the pastfew months, ZEE has been slowlyclosing in. But that’s not the story.

It is the third position which is indemand with new entrant NDTVImagine almost taking over SonyEntertainment Television’s (SET)place - a spot which the channel hasbeen enjoying for long.

In January 2008, its launch month,NDTV Imagine commanded a chan-nel share of 3 per cent, whereas Sonycommanded 8 per cent. But after thatNDTV Imagine has remained veryclose to SET’s ratings from week 11to week 15 (March 10 to April 13)(see table).

Media planners see tremendouspotential in this new kid on the block.“What worked for them when theylaunched was their complete under-standing of what will work with theaudiences,” says Anita Nayyar, CEO,MPG India. The channel’s daringthought of putting mythology onprimetime, she believes, needs to beapplauded, as nobody had ever donethat before. “They did it and got manyviewers to sample the channel. Oncethey were able to attract such a largesample size, and offer programmingthat the viewer likes, it obviously ledto stickiness,” she explains.

During the launch of the channel,Sameer Nair, CEO, NDTV Imaginehad clarified, “We are not different forthe sake of being different.” Thechannel wanted to stand for freshprogramming instead. Starting fromAngrezi Mein Kehte Hain to Nachle Vewith Saroj Khan, both new concepts,to Dharam-Veer, all have worked won-ders for the channel and added to givea strong opening. Manoj Vidhwans,executive vice president, ResearchMarketing and Communications,NDTV Imagine says, “We also intro-duced the trend of weekly one-hourshows on primetime after a long time,such as Ek Packet Umeed and IdeaDhoom Macha De,” he adds.

Meanwhile, 9X has been claimingto be the number three GEC, in theC&S 15-24 category. “If 9X is doingwell in the 15-24 years age group, thechannel can attract advertisers look-ing to target that audience,” Nayyarsays, adding that in media planning,the numbers can be reflected inwhichever way possible.

Indrani Mukerjea, founder andCEO, INX Media is happy. “We per-ceive this age-group to be veryimportant, as this is where the adver-tisers put in maximum amount oftheir money,” she states. However, ifthe audience is expanded to 4+ age-group, the channel is the No 4 GEC,as per the TAM Week 15 data. On thisspot, it faces stiff competition fromSTAR’s second GEC, STAROne. 9Xhas properties such as Jalwa, Chak deBachche and Kya Dil Mein Hai. Inorder to consolidate its position, thechannel has also launched a mytho-

logical show, Jai Maa Vaishno Devi at 8pm on weekdays.

SET, on the other hand, hasn’ttaken this challenge lying down.Albert Almeida, executive vice presi-dent and business head, SET India,said, “We have our plans to be in thetop slot in the GE channels space.That will always be the vision. Sonyis perceived to be a leader channel inthis space and we want to be like thatin real terms too. As far as speculationabout positions and stuff is con-cerned, I have no comments to make.Time will tell.”

Sony is gearing up with numerousnew shows. The channel recentlylaunched two fiction shows in the 10pm and the 10.30 pm slots respective-ly, Sujata and Waqt Batayega Kaun ApnaKaun Paraya. Basabdutta Chowdhary,CEO, Madison Media Plus is of theopinion that Sony hasn’t had muchluck with fiction shows. “Sony doeswell with male-oriented and youth-

oriented shows. In case ofreality shows, what reallywill matter is the contentand format,” she adds.

The channel is planninga variety of reality shows aswell. Waar Parriwar is amusic-based reality show,where families will partici-pate. And there is thesecond season of ComedyCircus. The much-delayedIndian adaptation ofExtreme Makeover, hostedby Mona Singh aka Jassi,will go on air soon. On theback of the IPL, there isanother reality show, theIndian adaptation of Power

The Race for Number Three(Channel share in percentage)

Channel Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16Star Plus 29 30 31 33 32 32Zee TV 25 24 22 21 20 32Sony Entertainment TV 9 9 10 8 8 8NDTV Imagine 8 8 9 8 8 8Sahara One 6 6 6 6 6 8Star One 6 6 6 6 69X 5 6 6 7 7DD1 4 4 3 3 4SAB 3 3 3 3 3Star Utsav 3 3 3 4 3Zee Next 1 1 1 1 1


The No 3 position among general entertainment channels has become the most coveted position. Sapna Nair talks to the contenders to find out their plans.

Turning the Heat OnENTERTAINMENT CHANNELS

“We have intro-duced fresh

programming and our focus is

primetime.MANOJ VIDHWANS

EVP, NDTV IMAGINE

“What worked forNDTV Imagine is

their completeunderstanding of

what will work withthe audience ANITA NAYYAR

CEO, MPG INDIA

Note: TAM Peoplemeter system

SUSH

IL K

UMAR

The IPL fever is on. First, it was the fervourand media frenzy over the buying of crick-eters by the IPL team owners. Then, it was

time for roping in sponsors for each team. Nostones were left unturned to promote each IPLteam. From appointing advertising agencies to get-ting individual team anthems and brandambassadors and roping in sponsors big and small,the teams have done it all.

The opening ceremony held at ChinnaswamyStadium, Bengaluru could be compared to theOlympics opening ceremony or even the much-hyped film-awards events. Spectacular fireworks,foreign cheerleaders, star-studded audience—cricket fans had never seen anything quite like thisbefore. It was as if the audience and the participantshad forgotten everything about the game and werefocusing only on the incidentals.

Talking about incidentals – there was music,there was dance, there was beer and there weresponsors by the dozen. The main sponsors areDLF, Hero Honda, Kingfisher Airlines and Pepsi.Others include Vodafone, Max New York LifeInsurance, Godrej Appliances, Coca-Cola,Citibank, HDIL, Aircel, Reebok, Belmonte andTag Heuer. On-ground sponsors are far too manyto list, but every advertiser worth its money hasgained some visibility.

DLF is running its Karmayudh title track onradio and television, and each team has roped in

high-profile music composers, lyricists andsingers to create their team anthem.

Some of the big names areVishal-Shekhar (for

Kolkata KnightRiders), Daler

Mehndi (KingsXI Punjab),and Javed

Akhtarand AnuMalik

(Mumbai Indians). As for brand ambassadors, Akshay Kumar for

Delhi Daredevils, Katrina Kaif for RoyalChallengers, Vijay and Nayantara for ChennaiSuper Kings and Hritik Roshan for MumbaiIndians are doing their bit for their teams, be it on-ground performances, releasing music videos oreven flying their way into the stadium like trapezeartists.

There are others who are doing their bit off-ground. Zapak is the online gaming partner forKolkata Knight Riders. As a part of the partnership,Zapak will create a dedicated cricket zone on theofficial website of the Knight Riders. Indiatimes, onthe other hand, is using its SMS property for IPL.On all 44 days of the matches, one can predict thewinning team by sending an SMS to 58888 and wincash prizes in the bargain.

If television and internet have done their bit, canradio be far behind? The Mumbai Indians team ispopularising the anthem and the players throughRed FM. The radio station is hosting a programmenamed Yeh Kis Khet Ki Mooli Hai, where eachMumbai Indian will be introduced in the context ofwhere he’s from, what his special skills are and howhe feels about being aMumbai Indian.Listeners will get thechance to reach out tothe Mumbai Indians onthe Red Mike and canalso win merchandise.Red FM also has acontest called Red FMSab Ke Sab PL,where 10 lucky RedFM listeners will begiven a chance towatch the MumbaiIndians in action,along with theRed FM crew.

The Delhi Daredevils have partnered withRadio Mirchi. By participating in the on-air con-test, listeners can take away prizes such as HeroHonda bikes, match tickets and ‘Daredevils’exclusive merchandise.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, one of the mainsponsors of the Rajasthan Royals team, is bankingon its ‘super agents’ to build team spirit across its1000+ offices in India.

Mobile handset maker Nokia and KolkataKnight Riders (KKR) have launched a contesttitled ‘Milan of the Villains’. And this one is aimedat a Milan with all the players in the KKR team.The winners will get the chance to watch the KKRmatch from the Nokia Pavilion, with Shah RukhKhan himself. They will also get the opportunityto meet SRK and his team members at an exclusiveNokia ‘After Game’ Party.

What about the returns on investments for thesponsors? We’ll follow up on this one with theadvertisers after 44 days. �

[email protected]


The style, glamour and entertainment associated with the Indian PremierLeague puts the game in the background. A round-up of the marketing andpromotional efforts by the teams and their sponsors. By Chumki Sen

RazzmatazzIPL

After individuals and corpo-rates, it’s the turn of NGOs toacquire virtual lives. CRY

(Child Rights and You), which creat-ed an online office in Second Life inJanuary 2008, is planning to expandits presence in the virtual world. Thenon-profit organisation will launch aCRY Island, which will enable itsmembers to interact with each other.Indusgeeks, a Mumbai-based com-pany, is developing CRY World inSecond Life.

Second Life is an advanced levelof social networking developed byUS-based Linden Lab. It is anInternet-enabled virtual world, inwhich users create their virtualavatars to interact with other users.Members can participate in individ-ual or group activities and create andtrade items like virtual property andservices. Worldwide, 13 millionusers, including 50,000 Indians, sub-scribe to Second Life.

The office in Second Life is beingused to create awareness about CRYamong the users of Second Life,while CRY World is aimed at creatinga meeting platform, which will enableCRY members to interact with eachother and discuss the various projectson which they are working. It will beused for fundraising as well,” saysSiddharth Banerjee, chief executiveofficer and founder of Indusgeeks.

CRY plans to use experiential mar-keting in a virtual way to let usersexperience the role of CRY. Users willfirst need to register with CRY World,which will, among other things, high-light the troubles of children in Indiavia a 3D animated video. There will bea CRY Centre where CRY memberscan interact with each other on proj-

ects. CRY Game will allow membersto hone their donation-managementskills by virtually allocating money forvarious causes. Donation boxes inCRY World will enable members todonate ‘real’ money using credit cards.But it is questionable whether Indianswill contribute to this, as many Indianconsumers are hesitant about con-ducting online monetary transactions.

Indusgeeks is also working on a

3D animated video viral campaign,which will be released on video-shar-ing sites such as YouTube, to inviteusers to explore CRY World. “Thesame video might be used as a TVCin the future,” says Banerjee. CRYWorld will be implemented onceCRY gets the sponsors for it. CRY isnot spending any money of its own.

Philanthropic activities are not newon Second Life. Worldwide, manyNGOs have created islands or avatarsor conducted virtual events to raisefunds for real- life causes or to dissem-inate information about themselves.For example, last year, the AmericanCancer Society, a voluntary healthorganization, raised around $115,000by conducting a virtual walkathon inSecond Life. Volunteers ran around avirtual racetrack and donated moneyto be used for cancer research.

Another fundraising activity thatgarnered a lot of attention was thehomeless avatar of a child created bya Spanish NGO, Mensajeros de laPaz. The child roamed around andinteracted with users of Second Lifeto get donations, which were used tosponsor healthcare and education forchildren in real life. Mensajeros de laPaz runs various assistance pro-grammes for women and olderpeople too. �

[email protected]


More than 450 schools have begun usingTata Sky’s educational services - ActveLearning, Actve Wizkids and Actve

Stories - as a teaching aid in the classroom. Actve Wizkids is an educational service for

preschoolers. Through 15 new learning gamesdaily, the service helps children revise conceptslearnt in school. Actve Learning is an educationalquiz-based service for children between six and 12.It covers questions on Maths, Science and GeneralKnowledge, which are based on the syllabi taughtin ICSE, CBSE and state board schools. ActveStories replicates a storybook on TV. The servicefeatures 720 stories a year, culled from the likes ofPanchatantra, Jataka Tales and Hitopadesha.

The School Contact Programme (SCP) is beingconducted in two ways: personal visits to topschools across India and meeting principal inschools all over India. Since these services aredesigned for children, they are easy to use andunderstand. Vikram Mehra, chief marketing offi-cer, Tata Sky says that the two main objectives ofthe SCP are creating awareness amongst teachers,principals, parents and children about the educa-

tional services and also creating brand awareness. “Schools have permitted us to demonstrate our

services to parents on PTA days,” says Mehra. Headds that school chains like EuroKids andShemrock have sent circulars to the parents rec-ommending these services as an essential part ofthe after-school learning routine at home. “Wehave been able to reach out to over 40,000 par-ents,” he states.

The educational services are available to TataSky subscribers as an add-on package for Rs 30 per

month. Schools do not pay for these services.Mehra informs that the services are being used bytop brands of the country as a platform to promotetheir products, thus generating additional revenuethrough ad sales.

Mehra explains that the perception of TV beingdetrimental to a child’s growth is changing. TataSky’s educational services offer several advantages.The subscriber gets access to new content every-day, so that the child does not get bored. Thecontent is syllabus-driven. The interactive servicesare available 24X7 so that children can choose atime slot suitable to their routine. All voiceoversare in grammatically correct English.

“The response has been overwhelming,” saysMehra. “Research carried out amongst Tata Skysubscribers reveal that, on an average, childrenspend 66 minutes of the day using our services.” �

[email protected]

Tata Sky has found ways to bridge the gap between educationand entertainment. By Surina Sayal

A New Lesson

CRY tries its hand at social networking to get in moremembers. By Kapil Ohri

Second Life

TATA SKY

CRY

NGOs areexploring the

virtual route toraise awareness

about them-selves and their

fund raisinginitiatives.

20

Recently, the US-based MySpace.com andiTimes.com from Indiatimes.com joined theIndian social networking arena.

Although the market is dominated by US-basedFacebook.com and Google’s Orkut.com, severalindigenous players - Reliance Entertainment’sBigAdda.com, Fropper.com from People Interactivegroup and Desimartini.com (at present dormant)from HindustanTimes.com - are also fighting forthe pie. In a scenario where nearly all the network-ing sites have the same set of features on offer, eachhas put some strategies in place in order to differen-tiate itself and grab more users. A look at the playersinvolved and what they are doing.

There are some indigenous players which havecarved out their own niche among networkingsites. For example, Sequoia capital-fundedMingleBox.com and BharatStudent.com targetcollege students and alumni while Yaari.com isfocused on youth.

Sites like Brijj.com from Naukri.com andTechTribe.com has opted for serious career orient-ed networking, similar to the popular businessnetworking site - Linkedin.com. Niche or not,social networking sites have started thinking ontheir feet.

MYSPACE

MySpace India will be similar to its US coun-terpart in features, but plans to use content

as a key differentiator to get Indian users on board. Offline events like rock concerts and talent

shows in various regions and coverage of eventslike college fests will be used to power the content.MySpace has tied up with Zee Network, whichwill showcase various rock concerts organised byMySpace on Zee Café. MySpace is using its affili-ation with NewsCorp to showcase the Channel[V] programme, Campus Star.

A tie-up with music label, Saregama has alsobeen worked out to produce 30 albums that willpromote budding musicians. Tie-ups with variousproduction houses are in progress. The site alsohas a special community for Indians calledIndiHub, where users can create blogs and partic-ipate in various forums. The site claims that over90,000 members have joined IndiHub.

Deep Malhotra, sales director, MySpace Indiasays, “MySpace will look beyond Bollywood andcricket and allow creative people like filmmakersto upload their stuff. We will be covering talentshows at colleges and informal conferences likeBarCamp and DevJam session.”

There are plans to catch the users on the mobile

platform as well. MySpace will monetise its offlineevents by roping in sponsors for the same. On thesite, revenue will be generated through advertis-ing. Online marketing will be used more thanoffline to promote MySpace among users.

ITIMES

Launched this month, this site also plans to fol-low an integrated platform approach by

providing features beyond networking. Apart fromregular networking features like adding or search-ing for friends, messaging, writing testimonialsand participating in communities, iTimes.com alsohas an in-built e-mail system which is differentfrom Indiatimes mail. Users can also create andimport blogs. A gaming section has also been madeavailable on the site, which is powered byGames2Win.

According to Mohit Hira, director,Indiatimes.com, “We want to make iTimes.comthe second major brand after Indiatimes.com,which will be focused on user-generated contentand sharing stuff. We are positioning it as a sitewhich provides an integrated platform for socialnetworking, e-mail and blogging.”

Similar to Facebook, iTimes.com offers smallapplications such as a clock and newsfeeds fromCNN.com and IBNLive.com, which users canadd to their profile pages. Facebook, however, doesnot offer blogs and email on its site.

As of now, online marketing and below-the-line activities will be used to spread the word andpromote the site. There is no advertising oniTimes.com as yet, but the site will be monetisedthrough advertising once it gains traction.

BIGADDA

Siddhartha Roy, chief operating officer ofBigAdda.com says, “At BigAdda.com, 48 per

cent of traffic comes from non-metros and we areplanning to go deeper and target users in smallertowns. Offering messaging in local languages likeHindi, Gujarati and Bengali is a step in that direc-tion.” There are plans to make the blogs andforums available in regional languages as well.

BigAdda.com has recently endorsed bloggingby Bollywood celebrities by launching AmitabhBachchan’s blog on the site. Roy says, “We areplanning to make Bachchan’s blog available inother languages as well.” There are plans to makethe site available on other platforms like mobileand also integrate mobile telephony.

BigAdda.com claims to have a user base of 1.6million members. In January, it opened its adver-

tising system allowing advertisers to create theirown communities on the site. It is also planning tointroduce more rich-media advertising solutions.

FROPPER

Navin Mittal, business head, Fropper.com alsosays, “The next level of growth will come

from smaller cities. Also, we have created tem-plates for blogs, which help users to write blogposts.” There are plans to launch a Fropper.comsite for GPRS phones, which will have certain spe-cial features for the mobile platform, apart fromregular Fropper.com features.

Says Mittal, “We will keep on using onlineadvertising, focus on the product and make it moreinteractive.” Fropper.com recently launched anonline music section called ‘Fropper Music’,which enables users to listen to songs in Hindi,English, Punjabi, Marathi and Telugu - which arestreamed directly from the server. Users are notallowed to upload or download songs.

ORKUT

Orkut.com, as everyone knows, is more popu-lar in India and Brazil than in the US. It

follows a localisation approach to reach out toIndians; in 2007, it began offering Orkut in fiveregional languages: Hindi, Bengali, Marathi,Tamil, and Telugu.

Following Facebook, Orkut has also launchedapplications that users can add to their profilepages. There are local and international applica-tions like Horoscope, a travel application called‘India Dekha’ and ‘Chakpak movies’ application torate and review movies.

Recently, a mobile version of Orkut calledm.orkut.com was also released. This is a reducedversion of the site and includes features like scraps,updates from friends, an alphabetic list of friendsand the user’s profile.

FACEBOOK

The increasingly popular Facebook launched itsSpanish version in February and will also roll

out German and French versions soon. However,localization is not part of its strategy in India.

Globally, small applications available onFacebook are considered the main reason behind itssuccess. Recently, instant messenger-based chat hasalso been incorporated inside Facebook. In 2007,Facebook unveiled its advertising strategy, in whichadvertisers are allowed to create their branded pagesand allow users to become their friends. �

[email protected]

SOCIAL NETWORKS

The social networking party is still on in India. Butthey need to differentiate if they are to get ahead inthe race. By Kapil Ohri

Differentiationis the Key

ORKUT.COMLaunched: 2004Users (in millions): 7.2*

FACEBOOK.COMLaunched: 2004Users (in millions): 0.78*

IN.MYSPACE.COMLaunched: 2008Users (in millions): 0.5

FROPPER.COMLaunched: 2004Users (in millions): 3.5

BIGADDA.COM Launched: 2007Users (in millions): 1.6

ITIMES.COMLaunched: 2008

* (Source: comScore June 2007), All others company claims

The Brand Reporter, May 1-15, 2 0 0 8


To do or not to do?

THE ENTIRE BUSINESS OF SCAMSIS SPOILING THE CREDIBILITY OFOUR INDUSTRY. I HAVE ALWAYSBEEN AGAINST SCAMS AND CON-TINUE TO BE SO.

I think it is unfortunate the way scams

have affected our industry. It isn’t just

McCann - every agency is involved – it’s

just that McCann got caught.

Frankly, I’m a bit surprised that

Prasoon made a statement that regular

work doesn’t tend to win abroad, leading

to scams. One of the pieces of regular

work that I admire most – Happydent

Palace – is Prasoon’s handiwork, which

won practically everywhere.

To an extent, Prasoon is correct: regu-

lar work is more client-agenda oriented,

but that doesn’t mean it can’t win. The

best thing, to me, is to eradicate the

norm of establishing the legitimacy of

the ad’s release. Why not have separate

arrangements for unreleased work get-

ting recognition? Why don’t we do away

with the hypocrisy of the ad having

appeared in some medium?

I will still advocate strongly that the

client’s blessing for the entry of ads in

award shows is a must. It is his brand

name on your ad, guys.

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFYHERE IS THAT THE ENTIRE WORLDISN’T INTO SCAMS, WHICH ISWHAT WE TEND TO BELIEVE TOJUSTIFY OUR OWN. I HAVE worked on the other side of the world,

and I can tell you for sure that almost all

the work that comes out of the US isn’t

scam. The client there will fire you if

you so much as think of creating a scam

on his brand. The UK and the US tend

to win the most Grand Prixes at Cannes,

and this is all big work on big brands. We

should aspire to be like that.

I don’t support scams. We should win

on the basis of our regular, mainstream

work, which I agree is the harder road to

tread. Like I said, in the US, agencies do

work that works in the market and are

proud of it. I wish we had the same arro-

gance. We’re in the business of creativity,

not in the business of awards. It is a great

thing to applaud people who get it right.

But only genuine work deserves that.

I must confess that at some point, I,

too, was infatuated with this rush of get-

ting international acclaim; obsession

with awards is not a bad thing per se – it

pushes people to do better. It just needs

to be channelled correctly.

I WOULDN’T AGREE WITHPRASOON IF HE HAS IMPLIEDTHAT REGULAR WORK DOESN’TWIN INTERNATIONALLY, ANDTHEREFORE, SCAMS EMERGE.Firstly, we’re talking of creative awards, notthe Effies. The latter is explicitly for ad effec-tiveness, while the former deals with searchingfor breakthroughs. Around the world, almostninety per cent of the ads that win awards areeither one insertion or two insertions old. Andtrust me, clients are fully aware of the factthat awards that win at these shows may nothave enjoyed a long stint in the media.Unfortunately, the advertising of yesteryearsisn’t working today. And enlightened clientsknow this. In fact, clients such as P&G encour-age agencies to try for creative breakthroughs.These ads are like experiments for clients –how far they can go with consumers. The amount of monies spent on an ad to haveappeared sufficiently is not a great parameterfor giving an award. Whether it has appearedonce, or $100 million was spent on it, is of norelevance – a great ad is a great ad. Look atthe Levi’s Slim Jeans campaign, which enjoyedlittle presence in the media, but went on tomake the brand bigger and better.I’ll give you an example close to me: In 1999,the AAAI awards committee threw out aComplan print campaign (‘Mama Bear, PapaBear’) because it was a ‘single release’ one.The campaign went on to win several awardsglobally. What’s more, it was converted into aregular campaign by the client who ran it forthe next four years, backing it totally.

CEO, Bates David Enterprise Chairman and CEO, Leo Burnett India Chief Creative Officer, Mudra

McCann India recently ran into trouble for releasing ads for Hanes without client permission with an eye to awards.Some industry leaders react.

FOTO

CORP

FOTO

CORP


It all began when after much pushing and prodding by her mentors atthe agency (Anirban Sen, executive creative director, Mayur - creativedirector, copy and Puneet Sabharwal, associate creative director, art),

Shakoon Khosla created a portfolio of her work to submit for Clio 2008. The Young Creative Programs shortlists 12 finalists under the age of 30

- six copywriters and six art directors selected from all over the world.They will be paired into six teams, following which they will have torespond to a creative brief from the client sponsor Yahoo! within 24 hours.

“Nirmalya Sen, vice-president, TBWA\India, Delhi was enthusiasticand took the initiative to submit my portfolio,” Khosla says. The Delhigirl, who studied at Air Force Bal Bharti School, graduated in commercialarts. Since the age of six, art fascinated her.

In 2006, Khosla began her advertising career as a summer trainee withRediffusion, Delhi. She was deputed to work under Partho Sengupta (a cre-ative director in the agency then) as creative associate (visualiser) on brandslike Amway, Givo, Bacardi, Chevrolet and Xerox. The last three months atRediff were spent on the Airtel account and in December last year she quit.

The portfolio that she sent for Clio 2008 included work done for thepitch of the social networking site itimes.com. There was PVR andPoweron, done when she was with Rediff as well as her work for NationalGeographic in TBWA.

Currently, the 23-year-old is working on print advertising and design-ing (brochures, stationery and corporate identity) at TBWA and onaccounts such as MoserBaer, Pedigree and Dabur. �

SAB has taken the adage ‘Changeis the only constant’, too seri-ously. It is shedding its ‘youth

channel’ image and embracing a newidentity. The sheer number of come-dy show launches by the channelsubstantiates its desperation to getback to its original positioning as a‘comedy channel’.

SAB’s most recent addition to itscomedy platter is a stand-up comedycontest called Comedy ka King Kaun.It’s an ‘inspired’ version of STAROne’s path-breaking reality showThe Great Indian Laughter Challenge(TGILC). The only difference hereis that the contestants on the showare people who have participated inthe various seasons of TGILC.According to Anooj Kapoor, businesshead, SAB, stand-up comedy is thecurrent hot property on Indian tele-

vision and SABwants to leverage that. But he is quickto add that the channel has incorporat-ed variations in the show so as to notlook like a clone.

Most of the shows on SAB arecomedy. Sab ka bheja fry, Office Office,Family No.1 and Yes Boss are a few ofthem. The slew of comedy shows hasstemmed from SAB’s new findingabout its audiences. “We have discov-ered that youth prefers comedy. Weput this observation into practice, afew months ago, by launching threelinear comedies on the channelwhich yielded better dividends com-pared to other shows”, Kapoor says,referring to shows such as America’sFunny Home Videos, Comedy ka Tadka,Office Office.

SAB had never been lucky withfiction shows such as Detective Doll,

Sirf Stories andFull Masti 88.2 and prior to thatTwinkle Beauty Parlour, which had anabrupt end. Taking a cue from there,SAB launched yet another comedyshow, Bhaago KK Aaya early this year to replace Sab ka Boss, yet another sitcom.

After taking over SAB TV, in April2005, SET had decided to positionSAB as a second GEC, targetingmales above the age of 25. Then in2006, after almost a year, SET decid-ed to give SAB a makeover bylaunching four comedies - F.I.R,Party, Ji Behenji and Ishq ki Ghanti. Ittried to woo the youth in 2007 withshows such as Love Story, MohallaMohabbatwala and Left Right Left.Now, yet again, it plans to shed its‘youth channel image’ and become acomedy channel. Ask Kapoor of the

many image changes that SAB hasgone through, he says,” It has allbeen part of the learning curve. Wehave realised that there’s no otherway of getting better returns for thechannel than through comedy”. Sofor now, is it back to the old SAB TVdays, when it was known for its com-edy properties? “We hope to retain itsold imagery”, he adds.

While STAR One has a few hitcomedies such as Sarabhai vs Sarabhaiand Instant Khichdi, there is no chan-nel which caters exclusively to thehumour-loving audiences. Probablythat could be SABs trump card. �

[email protected]

SAB

The channel

By Sapna Nair

Amessed-up last year at school, bad grades and admission into a col-lege which was well-known for all the wrong reasons. For all that,life has been good to Rajat Dawar, one of the finalists for the Clio

Future Gold.The ‘prospective’ medical student decided to enroll for honours in

English literature, at the Deshbandhu College, Delhi (the only college thathe got through). The next three years changed everything. He attributesthis to his English teachers. “Ms Sherina Joshi, Ms Simi and Ms Nag taughtme to think differently, to analyse and to be myself,” he reminisces.

Soon after college he sold credit cards for a while. Later, he found hisway into Leo Burnett, Delhi and then to Rediffusion DY&R, Delhi. Atpresent, the 25-year-old is a creative partner at Rediffusion’s Mumbaioffice.

It is not for the first time that Rediffusion’s creative personnel are goingfor Clio. Last year, Preeti Sharma, a creative partner and finalist at the ClioFuture Gold went on to win the gold. Together they’ve won many awards.

In 2006, they represented India at the Young Lions Creative Councilafter winning the AAAI Young Creative Contest for their ad on femalefoeticide, titled ‘Kalpana Chawla’. Dawar has been awarded a LondonInternational Award and a New York Festival nomination for his ambientmedia innovation titled ‘Banana Mountain’, for PVR Cinemas. The duoalso won two medals at Abby Awards at Goafest 2008.

“Awards,” he says “make a difference the way the bosses look at you andsend better opportunities to do brand work.” �

By Neha Kalra andSavia Jane Pinto

MARCH 2005

NOVEMBER 2005

MAY 2006

2007

2008

SAB’S JOURNEY SO FAR…

Who’s That

SUSH

IL K

UMAR

FOTO

CORP

Step out of Chennai’s Kamaraj Airport andthe first thing that hits you while headinginto the city is the profusion of kiosks.Every available lamppost is taken. If it’s

Chennai, it’s ‘The Hindu’, proclaims the first lot.Keep going and another set of kiosks appears. TheTimes of India - Changing Tunes is the new message.It is hard to miss that a full-scale print war is in themaking. Throw in the Deccan Chronicle and TheNew Indian Express and the arena is truly set.

START PRESS

In Chennai, the English print market is ruled byThe Hindu - and that has been the case for the

last 130 years. However, that hasn’t stopped othersfrom eyeing the market. The Indian Express (now,New Indian Express) has been around for sometime now. Deccan Chronicle made heads turn whenit entered in 2004. The Hindu, meanwhile, held onto its turf impassively.

However, last month’s entry of The Times ofIndia (ToI), the country’s largest read Englishnewspaper - all-India readership of 68.3 lakh(according to the IRS 2007, Round 2) - led tomuch excitement.

And The Hindu moved fast. As a first step, itreduced the cover price from Rs 3.25 to Rs 2.50 onweekdays. Panic? “Not quite,” says N Murali,managing director, adding, “We have faced ToI inother markets. However, we know that ToI is aforce to reckon with. It would be unrealistic tohope that we will continue to hold 80 per cent ofthe market share.”

A Chennai edition has been on the wish list ofThe Times Group for three years now. The newspa-per was scheduled for a May 2005 launch that didnot take place. Plans were drawn up in mid-2004,the company ordered printing machines and MVenkatraman, director-corporate, Bennett,Coleman Co. Ltd. (BCCL), was appointed as theproject head for ToI Chennai.

The project didn’t take off because ToI was pre-occupied with protecting its home turf, Mumbai.The Bhaskar-Zee Group combine’s new launch,

DNA, and Delhi’s Hindustan Times waded intoMumbai in 2004.

Admits Rahul Kansal, brand director, TimesGroup, “Our entire attention shifted to Mumbaibecause of the new players.” Venkatraman latermoved on to Deccan Chronicle and was in charge ofthe publication’s Chennai launch in 2005.However, Murali likes to believe that the TimesGroup delayed the Chennai launch as it found themarket difficult to crack.

SPOT-ON

All that is history now. According to the indus-try watchers in Chennai, ToI’s timing is bang

on. Says Kavitha Srinivasan, business director,MindShare, Chennai, “Things could have beendifficult for ToI had it entered five years ago.” Herrationale? “Chennai is shedding its conservativeoutlook to become more cosmopolitan. And it’smore likely that the new cosmopolitan populationwill pick up this product.” Srinivasan has been akeen observer of the media scene in Chennai forthe last 15 years.

Take the Deccan Chronicle example. It enteredthe market with many promises and an irresistibleoffer in association with ICICI Bank - Rs 99 for ayear’s subscription. Initially, it seemed that theDeccan Chronicle would hurt The Hindu’s circula-tion figures. Instead, Deccan Chronicle managed toget its own followers for lighter news, with morethan 50 per cent of its readers coming from the 20-39 age group (as per IRS 2007, Round 2).

But when it came to serious news and sports

(its sports page is considered one of the best), TheHindu’s popularity seemed undiminished.

As Srinivasan of MindShare, puts it, “It was awin-win situation. Each had a positioning that wascomfortable.” According to the latest ABC report(July-December 2007), the average net paid salescirculation of The Hindu in Chennai stands at2,80,473 copies, while Deccan Chronicle is only23,555 copies behind at 2,56,918 copies (TheHindu’s all-India circulation is 13.3 lakh).

However, when it comes to readership, as perIRS 2007 Round 2, The Hindu is way ahead. WhileThe Hindu has reported a readership of 6.3 lakh in Chennai reporting town, DeccanChronicle trails with only 2.2 lakh readers - anunusual occurrence as the per copy readership isless than one.

THE NEW EQUATION

Despite its 130-year headstart and the fact thatit is printed from 12 cities, The Hindu did not

achieve the image of a national paper because ofthe fact that of these only one edition was printedaway from south India (though it has a presence inMumbai and Kolkata).

Murali rises to the defence. “Not any more. Inthe last 10 years, we have slowly decentralised oureditions and increased local coverage for respectiveeditions. Besides, there was a complaint that we


Can The Times of India successfully challenge The Hindu in itsstronghold? By Prajjal Saha and Sapna Nair

THE WARBEGINS

CHENNAI

“It’s fashionableto call The

Hinduconservative.”

N MURALI

THE HINDU

THE WARBEGINS

JAY/

GEE

IMAG

ES

carry common southern edition ads, but now wehave split ads for different editions, and simultane-ously our regional advertising for respectiveeditions has increased.” Today, according to esti-mates, 40 per cent of The Hindu’s revenue comesfrom local advertising, while prior to 1994, it wasonly 5 per cent.

How does The Hindu propose to fight ToI?“Even ToI which continues to be the market leaderin Mumbai had to give up a share to newer play-ers. In today’s scenario, one can’t have amonopolistic situation, when the print media as abusiness is evolving,” says Murali, the realist.

As Srinivasan of MindShare puts it: “The Hindureflects what Chennai is.” Chennai has alwaysbeen considered a traditional and conservative city.So was The Hindu. Laughs Murali, “It’s fashion-able, or rather, a cliche to call The Hinduconservative.”

But the newspaper too is changing, as isChennai. The city is experiencing what Bengaluruwent through a few years ago. It has become morecosmopolitan. That is quite evident from theincreasing number of IT and BPO operations,more cars being bought and coffee shops that havesprung up across the city. Chennai that used tosleep at 8 pm is now awake until midnight.Besides, the IT boom has added a significant float-ing population. And The Hindu’s antenna was upfor some time now.

A senior media planner shares her opinion,“Even before the Deccan Chronicle entered the mar-

ket, The Hindu anticipated that it’sleadership could be challenged by a

few other players.” When DeccanChronicle got in, The Hindu wasrevamped and redesigned byMario Garcia, an international-ly acclaimed designer, to get a

contemporary-classical look. Murali asserts that the newspaper has

realised the changing aspirations andrequirements of readers. “We cater to different

segments of readership. While we have remainedtrue to the core values of serious journalism –independence, authenticity, integrity, and objectiv-ity - we also have introduced very strong lifestylesupplements on music, fine arts, cinema and edu-cation.”

He also categorically points out that The Hinduwill never go overboard with lifestyle content. “Wewill never have Page 3 kind of journalism and triv-ialise the content,” he says. Edit changes apart, TheHindu has also adopted a flexible approach towardsits advertisers.

As Srinivasan of MindShare Chennai, recalls,“Recently, we did an innovation with The Hindufor our client Ford Fiesta. For the first time, we satwith the editorial team to work out the executionand logistics. The front page of Metro Plus – a sup-plement with the main daily - had the productvisual and the content flowed around it.” Inanother example, Srinivasan recalls seeing a powerjacket (false cover) on the front page of The Hindufor one of the real estate players. “These innova-tions were really impossible on Hindu till a whileago,” she says.

DENT IN THE WORKS

As the 13-edition-strong ToI woos Chennaireaders, The Hindu, despite the ‘loyalty’ factor

is in for some tough times. According to PunithaArumugam, CEO Madison World, in today’s timeof evolving consumers, loyalty is an outdated term.“If they get a good product and that product isaggressively marketed, they will be more prone toaccept it. Moreover, it’s a known fact that ToIemploys aggressive marketing strategies to get astrong hold on any market,” she points out.

That aggressiveness has taken it to the top inmany markets (see table), though in Hyderabad,Kolkata and Chandigarh, ToI found it difficult toovertake the leaders. The Deccan Chronicle inHyderabad, The Telegraph in Kolkata or The Tribune

in Chandigarh are examples. It is too early to predict what will happen in

Chennai but ToI’s strategy, as of now, is to go slow.All it’s trying to say is ‘sample me’. As RaviDhariwal, CEO, Times Publishing, says, “InChennai, we are fighting for the readers’ time andattention. We are just a few days old, and we arenot getting into the race for number one or twoposition. All we want is to give a choice of qualityjournalism to Chennaites.”

Dhariwal claims the current print run of ToI inChennai is close to two lakh. ToI is currently offer-ing a year’s subscription for Rs 299 (the subscriberalso gets a gift worth Rs 150 in return) with acover price of Rs 2, which is just 50 paise less thanThe Hindu’s. The other significant player inChennai, Deccan Chronicle is priced at Rs 1.50 onweekdays.

Keeping the city’s loyalties in mind, ToI’sapproach is consciously devoid of chest-thumping.Says MindShare’s Srinivasan, “Its softer approaceseems to be working.” ToI concentrated on creat-ing a physical presence. Be it consumerengagement programmes in shopping malls or amega musical concert, the Times touch is certain-ly being felt by Chennai. Within one week of itslaunch, it organised a mega concert with ARRehman, which pulled in an estimated 50,000people.

Talking about the history of ToI’s success invarious markets, Narendra Kumar Alambara, gen-eral manager and head, Starcom Worldwide,Chennai, says, “ToI’s success in each market, espe-cially in the south, can be attributed to thenon-local population.” He cites the example of ITcity Bangalore, where the non-Kannadiga popula-tion played an important role.

In Chennai, that segment although small ismore likely to try ToI. And what about the youngChennaite? “Had The Hindu or, for that matter,The Indian Express, not changed, this segment ofreaders would have moved,” points out Srinivasan. R Venkatasubramanian, associate vice president,Lintas Media Group, offers a different take on thisscenario. According to him, ToI being a young andvibrant product, will catch the fancy of youngreaders including the hardcore Chennaites.

He explains, “The strategy will be to enter theloyal Hindu households as a second newspaperthrough young members of the family who arelooking for such a product - and eventually takeover as the lead newspaper.”

On the other hand, Alambara of Starcomopines that before ToI entered the market, the per-ception was that ToI will go after the DeccanChronicle reader, but he has seen quite a few read-ers of The Hindu readers shifting to ToI. “It mightbe surprising but was not really unexpected,” hequips.

ToI has offered combined deals to the readers toget a sizeable market share in other markets. InMumbai and Delhi, it came up with combo offerssuch as ToI with Navbharat Times, The EconomicTimes or Mumbai Mirror. Although there was noofficial confirmation, it is expected that ToI may bepackaged with The Economic Times that already hasa presence in the Chennai market.

Finally, Alambara says, “The future, for ToI -and the market as a whole, will depend on the firstpoint of conversion for ToI. Will it be primarily TheHindu readers, Deccan Chronicle readers or non-readers?”

And what does the Deccan Chronicle have to say


“ToI’s softerapproach seems tobe working as it isbeing accepted by

readers.”KAVITHA SRINIVASAN

MINDSHARE

“ToI’s success canbe attributed tothe non-localpopulation.”

NARENDRAALAMBARASTARCOM

“We are fightingfor the reader’stime and atten-

tion, not theNo 1 spot.”

RAVI DHARIWALTOI

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about the new development? Despite numerouscalls made to that publication, no response wasforthcoming.

MONEY MATTERS

According to industry estimates, advertisingrevenues generated by the Chennai print mar-

ket is estimated to be Rs 800 crore. Of this, Rs 550crore goes to the English press (The Hinduaccounts for Rs 350 crore, or about two-thirds of

the pie) and the rest to the language publications inTamil. According to IRS 2007, Round 2,Chennai’s population is 62.86 lakh and the reader-ship for any Tamil daily is 17.83 lakh while thereadership for any English daily in that market is7.98 lakh. It means that Tamil readership is almosttwo-and-a-half times that of English.

Says Starcom’s Alambara, “For a long time,there was The Hindu and nothing else. However,despite Deccan Chronicle’s entry into this market,the advertising opportunities did not dramaticallyshift. I have a whole set of clients who still swearby The Hindu.” The opinion of MindShare’sSrinivasan is no different. She says, “Initially whenDeccan Chronicle forayed into this market, it pushed

its Chennai edition along with theHyderabad edition, and it was success-ful in getting the corporate advertisers.But there is a substantial chunk ofretail advertisers in the city and theirwillingness to try newer dailies is quitelow.”

Some of the retail players in thecity are big spenders. Saravana Stores,for instance, spends around Rs 20-25crore a year, while Chennai Silksspends around Rs 14 crore. Othersuch as Khazana Jewellers and RMKVSilks have a budget of around Rs 10crore and Rs 8 crore respectively.Retailers who advertise have just oneyardstick: did my message actuallywork?

“Local retail players do not have afancy media plan. They insert an ad in anewspaper and if the response is immediate -walk-ins or call-ins increase - they repeat the ad.As of now, retailers come back to The Hindu andsay ‘It works’. But personally, if I see a pull that’shappening from a particular segment for any daily,I will ask my clients to invest in it provided thispull is sizeable and comes at the right cost,” saysSrinivasan. The Deccan Chronicle is considered agood option too, say media planners.

ToI, on the other hand, has a great advantage ofhaving multiple editions. It will always have theadvantage of bringing the national advertisersunder its umbrella. But it will need to have a size-able base in Chennai first.

Alambara believes that the ToI can get that base.A section of advertisers and media planners saythat ToI also does negative pricing just to keep thecompetitors in place. Explains,Venkatasubramanian of Lintas, “At times, the ToIoffers a lower price for all editions than individualeditions. This compels many national advertisersto go for all editions. This way, the Times Groupkeeps its advertisers away from its competitors.”

Days after ToI’s Chennai launch, there cameanother development that spelt happy news fornewspapers. Following a Supreme Court ruling,all the hoardings in the city have disappeared.

Around Rs 100 crore is spent on outdoor adver-tisement in Chennai, mostly to promote retailbrands and feature films. Now with the closure ofthese outdoor sites, a major chunk of this revenueis expected to move to the print media, which alsoprovides localised reach just like outdoor medium.Suddenly, the pie itself has grown.

Supplements too are a weapon newspapersfound they could use to great effect. It is happen-ing in Chennai too. To capture both thecosmopolitan and young generation, newspapersin Chennai are fighting the supplement battle -and this is the segment whose loyalty towards TheHindu is the least. The Chennai Chronicle (a supple-ment of Deccan Chronicle) is very popular amongthe young Chennaites. So too is Indulge the dailysupplement with The New Indian Express (it is con-sidered to have boosted sales of the newspaper).

ToI has already proved that it is the master ofthis game with such supplements or independentpublications in other markets be it Mumbai orDelhi. The Chennai Times, which comes in atabloid format, is expected to catch the fancy ofyoung readers. The Hindu too has given in. Thenewspaper recently launched a special supplementfor the younger generation, called NXG. Besides,it has the daily supplement, Metro Plus.

OTHER FACTORS

One of the biggest problems that the Englishnewspapers are facing in Chennai is shortage

of talent. What happened in Mumbai three yearsago (at the time of DNA and Hindustan Times’launch) is happening in Chennai with one big dif-ference. Mumbai received talent from all cornersof the country (besides, ToI apparently had a ‘no-poaching’ agreement with its foe-turned-friendHindustan Times).

Apparently, just before Times’ entry in the mar-ket, The Hindu raised staff salaries hugely, butsmaller players such as The New Indian Express lostmany of its journalist to ToI.

Journalists in Chennai today command a pre-mium. An industry insider quips that theplacement scene at the Asian School of Journalismacquired IPL-esque proportions. Though this willincrease the pressure on the dailies already bur-dened by the increasing cost of newsprint andmarketing, most consider this money well spent.

The battle has begun in real earnest and the warahead promises to be fascinating. But it is a prizeworth fighting for. �

[email protected]

“In today’s timeof evolving con-sumers, loyalty is

outdated.”PUNITHA

ARUMUGAMMADISON

Holding its OwnThe Hindu’s journey started in 1878, but as

a weekly. Later it became a tri-weeklyand in 1889, it turned into a daily with only800 copies.

When India became independent, TheHindu had a circulation of 65,000 copies,which was primarily distributed in Chennai.Today, it claims an all India circulation of 13.3 lakh (ABC, July- December 2007.)

In 1950, The Hindu ventured out of Chennaito other southern Indian cities - initiallythrough rail or surface transport. But oftenthere would be delay in the delivery of news-papers, and only the evening or Dak editionscould reach these markets. In 1960, it went a step ahead and hired a chartered Indian Airlines aircraft and laterits own fleet of aircraft to ensure speedy delivery of copies. However, a few years down the line, as the opera-tional costs mounted, the aircraft operations were no longer feasible.

In 1969, it started with facsimile editions in Coimbatore followed by Bangalore in 1970 - with Chennai being thecentre. Later, it started its first printing centre outside Chennai in Madurai. Outside southern India, the newspa-per only has one printing centre in New Delhi. It also has a presence in Kolkata and Mumbai. But it needs tolaunch more editions beyond the south to be called a truly national player.

Cities 1st 2nd 3rdAhmedabad ToI The Indian Express NABangalore ToI Decan Herald Vijay TimesChandigarh Tribune HT ToIDelhi ToI HT The Indian ExpressGreater Mumbai ToI Mumbai Mirror DNAHyderabad Deccan Chronicle ToI The HinduKolkata The Telegraph ToI The StatesmanLucknow ToI HT NANagpur Hitavada ToI NAPatna ToI HT The HinduPune ToI The Indian Express NA

Force To Reckon With(How The Times of India stands in its markets)

Note: Data according to IRS 2007, Round 2

“Being young andvibrant, the Times

will catch thefancy of the

young readers.”R VENKATASUBRA-

MANIAN, LINTAS MEDIA

Chennai is in for some exciting times

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GVB

Karisma Kapur is an interesting case study.The ugly duckling of the early ‘90sbecame the beautiful swan by the end ofthat decade. Her film with Aamir Khan,

Raja Hindustani, was a turning point. If you studyher films before and after 1995, two distinct phas-es appear in her filmography.

In the first, she acted with mass directors andactors. She was often a village belle in village set-ups. She wore loud, garish clothes, had bushyeyebrows, curls and a manly demeanour. She wasmainly a glamour doll in her films, dancing aroundtrees and playing second fiddle to the hero. Duringthis phase her films were characterised by raunchylyrics and songs that appealed to front benchers.

Karisma underwent a transformation in the late1990s. She starred in films made by ‘class’ directorsand actors: Khan was the first among them. Sheplayed roles of the urban sophisticate from theupper classes. She wore designer wear and hadsleek tresses, well made brows, dark eyes. Overall,a more ladylike appearance. She played charactersaround whom the story revolved. Her films wereset in international and upmarket locales. Songswere lyrical and dances were contemporary andwestern. And it all rubbed off on her. Result: bythe end of her career, she had a reputation for style.

Kapur’s story tells us that a ‘mass’ brand can go‘class’ if the right changes are made to all the ele-ments of the mix. Viewers - who are celebrityconsumers - are willing to make the change. Can ithappen in the ‘product’ or ‘service’ brand world?

The question relates to Air Deccan, which,going by media reports, is in the process of beinggradually retired as a brand. By every indication,Kingfisher, the new owner of the airline, will playup its own name as the Air Deccan name slowlyrecedes into the history of aviation. This raisesinteresting questions on branding and brandbuilding.

Deccan was launched in 2003 with the vision ofmaking flying affordable to the masses. With its nofrills offering and rock bottom rates, it managed to

open the airports to fliers who had, until then,seen them only from the outside. It connectedwith the lower classes.

A brand, especially in the service category suchas an airline, is known by the company it keeps. SoDeccan got defined as a ‘mass discount’ brand –good to fly on personal travel but not good to beseen with when travelling on business by the‘mass-class’.

When the Kingfisher deal finally happened lastyear, Deccan was still trying to raise its yield perpassenger from Rs 2,800 to Rs 3,100. Had it man-aged that, it would have broken even and, for allwe know, it could have retained its independence.But it couldn’t make it because travellers wouldn’tpay the couple of hundred extra rupees to fly on aDeccan jet. The Deccan saga shows clearly that itis critical for a product to be continuously upgrad-ed and delivered to consumers if one wants tosustain, even at the lower end of the pyramid. Themarket is ruthless - there are no sympathy pur-chases available.

But one question, albeit academic, is worthpondering: could branding have saved Deccan?Given Deccan as a brand has high awareness andcreated enough emotional equity, could re-jiggingof the price-value equation have helped its busi-ness viability? Could the brand equity built byDeccan brokenreak the shackles of its discountimagery and be used to provide an alternative tothe ‘mass class’ airline travelers in the Indian mar-ket? These are questions worth pondering about.

The Karisma Kapur example shows that brandscan be moved up, if managed well. However, thehistory of Indian branding in the product spacereveals that what happens with ‘people’ brands isnot true about product brands. Products have suc-cessfully managed to move from ‘class’ to ‘mass’.Yet, there are few examples of product brands thatbegan by playing the ‘mass discount’ (or price war-rior) game and later managed to climb up andbecome ‘premium and aspirational’.

Let’s look across product categories. Fast mov-

ing consumer goods (FMCG) is the most devel-oped branded area in the country, having beendriven for decades by multinationals such asUnilever, Colgate and Procter & Gamble (P&G).Historically, most brands have played in the massmarket and addressed the middle class. The ‘massdiscount’ market has often been attacked by newbrands - Nirma and Wheel in detergents, A1 in tea,Tiger in biscuits.

While brands have managed to upgrade theirimage and evolve together with their consumers -Lifebuoy is a great example, having moved from a


Could brand Deccan have been rejigged to become somewhat more premiumand acceptable to the large middle market? Madhukar Sabnavis wonders.

CAN BRANDSMOVE UP IN LIFE?

BRANDING

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carbolic, sweaty association to a desirable healthimagery - there has been no example of a brandthat has moved to the top of the pole after residingat the bottom. Middle market beauty and healthbrands have not been able to offer higher orderbenefits of skin care and thereby appeal to the pre-mium end of the market.

P&G, a late entrant into the market, entered topdown. It came in at a premium to the market witha discernibly superior product and then expandedby offering either low cost variants or low priceSKUs to reach the mass. Clearly, image shifts arepossible, but village belles can’t become style divas.

Brands in consumer durables have acted simi-larly. The discount segment has been often left tolocal and regional players who offer basic price-driven products that give the lower-incomesegment ‘category’ status rather than ‘brand’ sta-tus. LG and Samsung, two late entrants in themarket, used pretty much the P&G principle:came in at the top and then expanded their foot-print by offering lower priced products or bydropping prices to become more accessible.

For Onida, expansion downwards has beenwith a separate brand, Ego. And expansionupwards in the premium segment, as withVideocon, has been via another brand, Integraa.Titan, which falls somewhere between FMCG anddurables, has always been premium in imagery tothe mass market. To keep its integrity intact, it hastapped into the lower income segment by intro-ducing a new brand, Sonata.

All the categories discussed so far are relativelydeveloped in India. Price warriors addressing thediscount segment entered at a later stage of marketdevelopment. Was Air Deccan ahead of its time,especially in a market where infrastructure devel-opment is critical and has been relatively slow?

Branding in services is relatively new in India,even if growing exponentially. Mobile services,financial sector and retail are the three big boom-

ing branded sectors and brands have targeted themiddle market. They have tended to work on uni-versal images of ‘accessibility’ and ‘dependability’rather than attempting to create ‘aspiration’. Hutchand Reliance have been exceptions.

Hutch, now Vodafone, has continuouslyattempted to stay aspirational while broadening itsappeal to reach out to a larger audience. Reliance,interestingly, has done it the other way. It came inmuch like Deccan, with the vision of democratis-ing mobile telephony and putting a handset ineveryone’s hand. But in the last couple of years, asthe market has heated up, it is working hard to

upgrade its image through both product (that is,value added services) and advertising. It’s workinghard to shrug off its ‘phone for the driver’ image.

SO, WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUTBRANDING IN INDIA...

Brands have historically addressed the middleclass market because that is the group which hasthe spending power and yet offers great vol-umes.New entrants into categories have come in fromthe top, offering strong value propositions, andthen extended into the middle market.While there have been cases of brands upgrad-ing their image, a shift from the bottom to thetop has not happened.

...AND ABOUT INDIAN CONSUMERS?

There is a strong price-quality equation in theconsumer’s mind. Higher price means highquality and if the product delivers, brands cancreate desirability - and then extend down.Consumers buy into the brand values even ifthe product is not as good. The bottom marketis always handled separately.In categories that drive status through labelvalue, consumers like to leave behind their pastas they move up. And the middle-lower classdivide is quite well defined. Even FMCG mar-keters have subliminally recognised this. Thereis an unconscious yet clear ‘caste divide’ inbrand purchases and associations too!

Branding in services, especially airlines, is dis-tinct from product branding of the 20th

century. In the manufacturing world, brands areproduct plus advertising. In the service world, it’sthe sum of product, advertising and experience.The service experience extends from consumertransactions to the environment in which thetransactions happen to fellow consumers you aretransacting along with - which is quite apparent inan airline (as it is with retail and restaurants).

India is a class conscious society. And interest-ingly, this is acceptable to the classes. Observe thereaction of a middle class Indian tourist in Londonor Paris, if his tourist bus driver were to come andsit with him at his table: he would become uncom-fortable. Yet, ask your driver in India to come andshare a table with you in a restaurant and he wouldbe reluctant.

In his book, The Argumentative Indian, AmartyaSen says that the only place where India is equal isat the time of voting. At all other times, an Indian’sview of life has to do with the caste system and thedeep-rooted Hindu philosophy of re-birth. Itenables people to accept classes and class differ-ences. In this context, could Deccan have beenre-jigged to become somewhat more premiumand acceptable to the large middle market – there-by allowing it to raise prices and maybe even keepits independence?

I think it would have been a challenge to shrugoff the discount imagery. This would have espe-cially been hard for a brand that managed to getclear defined associations with a focused ‘lowerend market’ – that too in a category where the crowd you travel with is part of the brandimpression.

Does this mean ‘product’ brands cannot moveup the way ‘people’ brands can? It would seem thatway though there is one interesting example cur-rently out in the market.

Pond’s, a mass, familiar, lovable brand hasembarked on a journey of brand re-engineering tomove both imagery and relevance upwards in askin care market where needs are evolving. Abouta year ago, Pond’s launched a premium range totap the top end hitherto occupied by global brands.It attempts to take its ‘beauty and skincare’ equityalongside the consumers as she moves and hashigher-order needs. The jury is still out on its suc-cess, but it’s worth tracking and watching out for.

Till then, the verdict remains that in a class con-scious India, there is a caste divide in brands tooand upgradation has its limits. We remain a brandunequal society. Sounds hard but seems true. �

Madhukar Sabnavis is Country Head - Discovery and

Planning, Ogilvy India. The views expressed are personal.

[email protected]


“An Indian’s view of life has to do with the caste

system and the deep-rootedHindu philosophy

of re-birth”.

GOGOL

Fillers, promos, capsules, PPFs,Sparklers. These may not havetoo much in common but they

do the same thing, more or less.These are just different names forthose minute-and-a-half spots onradio. And some of them might beon their way to achieve iconic status– beyond radio. Some examples tomake the point are: Radio City’sBabber Sher and Radio Mirchi’s Sud– Hassi Ke Phuwarey. As we try andget you some gyaan on the species,for convenience and universal com-prehension, we’ll call them ‘fillers’.

So why ‘fillers’? While the worddescribes their function admirably,ie, something to fill up time betweenscheduled changes or songs, it’s a factthat station programming headsdevote more than a little attentionand resources to these. But then thequestion – what else can these fillersdo? Most radio stations would wantthem to help strengthen their brandand reinforce their personality.

Tapas Sen, Chief ProgrammingOfficer, Radio Mirchi, says, “Thereare two ways to personify the stationbrand. One is RJs and this is theother. We call them ‘Sparklers’,because they add a sparkle to the sta-tion’s sound.” According to him,these are capsules that act as a mem-ory hook for the brand – a windowfor listeners to remember thebrand/station for. Apart from that,they are objects of liking for listenersand reach a stage where audienceslove them. Bappida was a sparkler(yes, we’ll use it as a noun). Therecent Sud – Hassi Ke Phuwareybecame popular because of its like-ability. These are spots of a youngman ‘Sudarshan’ who likes to callhimself ‘Sud’ seemingly to project amodern and urban image and tries tomake listeners laugh at the jokes thathe reads out from a joke-book ‘Hassike Phuwarey’. He also lets listenersknow the page number, and only heknows why. What you end up laugh-ing at, is not the joke, but the vanityof it all. More interestingly, the reac-tion to ‘Sud’ brings out a very

interesting number of interpreta-tions, from the literal, where thelistener simply laughs at his endear-ing vanity, to the treatment of ‘Sud’as an inside joke, for the more upmarket listener, who actuallys enjoyssmiling at the reaction of his down-market cousins to Sud.

Rana Barua, National Head –Programming and Marketing, RadioCity 91.1FM says, “Innovation is keyto listener stickiness and we at RadioCity are known for pioneering inno-vative content, be it Babbar Sher orGoldie Gill’s Golden EnglishSpeaking School. These pre-pro-duced features (PPF) continue todelight our listeners and the goodnews is that we are constantly usinglistener feedback to create newer andrelevant content. Babbar Sher forexample, possibly the longest run-ning feature on Indian FM, is a hugesuccess because of its unique style of

delivery and the ambience of a real‘mehfil’. It is generally accepted thatit is the best produced show onRadio today.” With some of the bestparting lines, one might add. OtherPPFs from City are LUSSI andApratim Nana.

Abraham Thomas, ChiefExecutive Officer, Red FM, doesn’tlike to call them ‘fillers’. “These arenot to fill space between two songs.We call them promos (OK, that’ssimple). These are properties that webuild to bring value to consumers.”Red FM would know a thing or twoabout building properties. Kamla isone. She bajaoes moviedom in a waythat, claims Thomas, Bollywood

stands up andnotices. There isalso an AngryGaneshan, Prayagand Kavi Ki Kalpana.

Most operatorscreate fillers thatmay be uniform informat, style andintent across all sta-tions but would bemodified to appealto local ear drums.Radio City’sApratim Nana, forinstance, airs only inPune. The latestsparkler fromMirchi is MirchiMurga. “Normally,most have a local flavour and wedon’t run the same sparkler acrossthe country, but this one (by their RJfrom Delhi) overrides even a local

connect and we decided to take itnationally.” Mirchi’s Sen adds.

Red’s Thomas would also like usto believe that there is a little bit ofscience involved in slotting thesepromos. They follow a certain rota-tion and also build-in the frequencyand timing while airing their proper-ties. A formula those who areaddicted to just the promos might dowell to figure out.

So are these properties only forinternal consumption (or self-pro-motion, if you may). Or can they bemonetized too? Red’s Thomas saysthat although they are made forbrand RED, there may exceptions.“…like when 7 Up used “Shendi”

around their Bheja Fry campaign. Orwhen the Mumbai Indians askedthem to do a Cricket Ki Kalpana.” hesays. Mirchi’s Sen says that moneti-zation can only be a by-product.While consumer-connect is primary,he doesn’t mind sponsors coming in.

When asked about the length ofsuch promos, Thomas says they areusually about a minute to a minuteand a half long. But he also throws ina last word of caution: However longor short they may be, promos have tobe gripping. If they are gripping andeven three minutes long, they won’tbe considered long. But if they are notgripping enough, even half a minuteis too much. Which, in retrospect isabout the only time you should callthese creative gems fillers. But if theymake you forget the song that is aboutto come, anything but that.

So the next time you laugh at aBabbar Sher or a joke from Hassi KePhuwarey, think harder. It’s doingmore than just filling in. Thesefillers, promos, PPFs and Sparklersact as differentiators for stations, tocreate stickiness and build propertiesthat may become brands in their ownright. And although they are reallygood saleable properties as they offersomething ‘different’ to the mar-keter, monetization is not the priority– branding is.

Those lovely little breaks

Thomas, Barua and Sen: When every minute matters

Taking the lead in promotingsocial issues, 94.3 MY FM radio

station has undertaken to promoteGender Sensitization by supportingthe UNFPA-Laadli Media Awards;given to different media persons andoutfits for promoting the cause ofGender Sensitivity through variousmedia. The Awards were presentedon 26th April at Chandigarh.

The promotions were carried inChandigarh, Chattisgarh andMadhya Pradesh through its 17 radiostations. The station conducted con-tests relating to theme of gender, girlchild and women and madeannouncements and played radio

spots too. Thirty onewinners were chosen indifferent categories.The winners in theElectronic Media cate-gory are Braj Mohan,Ravinder Bawa,Natasha Jha, AnureetSidhu, Suraj and Rajvir-Chandigarh andJalandhar, TVCs ofDraft FCB Ulka, LeoBurnett, and Lowe. Inthe Print section, theawards in different jour-nalism categories havegone to Mohammad

Atahar (Urdu), Sayyed Asgar Ali(Urdu), Dr Harsh Inder Kaur,(Punjabi), Aditi Tandon, TarannumManjul-Lucknow, Anilesh Mahajan,Gayatri Rajwade, Damayanti Datta,

Sushma Verma, AnnuAnand, DayashankarMishra and SultanAhmed.

Special awards wentto Dr Gurmel Chahelfor his telefilm,Dheeyan Maro Na,Avinash for his web ini-tiative, Betiyon Ka Blog,Sandhya Raman, for herconceptualization of themulti-media perform-ance, MythologiesRetold, and AfsanaRashid of Etalaat, J&K,for the best reporting inadverse conditions.

CSR, 94.3 MY FM style

Chennaicelebrated ‘World Earth Day’ inpartnership with Chennai NGO –Exnora International. The FM stationpresented an inspirational contestcalled ‘Green Salute to MotherEarth’ conceived with the sole pur-pose of spreading awareness on thehazards of global warming. The con-test invited Chennai’s Radio Cityzensto share few innovative liners onhow to keep the city clean.

decided to celebrate and cheer forthe Delhi Dare Devils cricket team inMirchi style with its listeners. TheIPL celebrations started with thevisit by international cricket iconsGlen McGrath and Fervez Maharoofto the station. The station has alsointroduced a special on air charac-ter called DITTOO, a pure Dilliwalaand dil se fan of Delhi Dare Devils.

announced theappointment of Himanshu Shekharas the Regional Head-North andWest. An MBA of the 1997 batchfrom FMS, BHU Himanshu’s laststint was with Mindshare Fulcrum,as General Manager Position, han-dling the Unilever Account.

“Our USP is the sheer quality and choice of music ”

As India’s only satellite radio broadcaster, Worldspace has come a long way from the earlydays when consumers wondered just why they should pay for a radio service.

What are the key areas for you this year, in India & internationally.Internationally, WorldSpace is fast expanding its footprint and has acquired licences to

operate satellite-based digital radio services in Italy, Switzerland and Germany. The broaderEuropean market represents a remarkable business opportunity in the next few years. InIndia, WorldSpace will be looking to capture a larger chunk of consumers thereby crossingthe chasm from an early adopter group to an early majority. 2008 looks to be an exciting yearfor WorldSpace in India wherein we will make our presence felt in tier-2, class B cities ofIndia.

How difficult was it building a market for Satellite radio in India. Any lessons learnt in the process? WorldSpace is a pioneer of the medium of Satellite Radio and has the world’s largest global satellite radio broadcast footprint. When we

started our operations in India, we were (and continue to be) the only satellite radio player in the Indian market. In its initial years, WorldSpacefaced the challenge of demystifying a new category and concept of media and entertainment called satellite radio. Our early efforts was focusedon expanding our reach and educating music lovers across the country on the value proposition that WorldSpace offered them. These effortswere of course directed at enabling the consumer to appreciate and comprehend the unique proposition that is satellite radio.

The one thing that is evident from all the years that we have been in business is that a superior product offering with unmatched quality,variety and depth of music will always find a customer in a true music lover.

How would you compare India to other countries, as a market, in terms of response to satellite radio? Satellite Radio was first introduced internationally in the US in 2001. The two companies who operate satellite radio services in the US are

XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio ‘‘these two companies merged in March 2008’’. US as a media and entertainment market is high-ly mature. Despite the presence of hundreds of private FM stations and other formats for consumption of music ‘‘like the iPOD, CD players, andmusic download sites with high-speed broadband connectivity enabling the same’’, the subscription-based satellite radio user base is in excessof 17 million subscribers. That just goes to show how satellite radio business boomed over the past 6 years or so.

In India, the future looks promising. With an average Indian in the habit of ‘free radio’, our subscription based model has over 170, 000subscribers in India. Our USP is the sheer quality and choice of music that is made available to almost every type or category of target audi-ence. With Indians adopting the latest global technologies, and in fact, in many cases dictating the way technologies are developing worldwide,it is a matter of time before satellite radio experiences its point of infliction.

Sponsored feature

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

Many might remember the spin-off campaign that Kingfisher

Airlines created on Jet Airways whenthe latter underwent a brandmakeover last year. While Jet’s out-door campaign read, ‘We havechanged’, Kingfisher came up with astrategically placed hoarding close by,which read, ‘We made them change’,to imply that it wascompetition fromKingfisher thatprompted Jet torefashion its brand.

Exactly a yearlater, April 13 saw asimilar ad war. JetAirways put up anoutdoor campaignfor JetLite that said,‘Our smile lights up 502 flights to goover 50 cities every day’ with picturesof their smiling staff. A couple ofdays later, Deccan put up its cam-paign right next to this, which said,‘We’d rather you smile :)’, with pic-tures of their smiling customers.

The campaign was ideated andexecuted by Equus Red Cell, whichalso created the Kingfisher campaignlast year. Though it does not handle

the Air Deccan business, this specificspin-off campaign was done byEquus.

Swapan Seth, chief executive offi-cer, Equus Red Cell, who ideated thecampaign, says it was just a quickreaction to something JetLite did. “Ijust landed at the airport, saw theJetLite campaign there, and went to

the client with theidea I had.”

He adds, “Theentire intent wasthat while Jet wastalking about thesmiles on theirfaces, we thoughtthat we’d add a lit-tle spin to it andtalk about the

smiles we bring to our customers’faces. This, therefore, providedDeccan with another layer, in termsof a personality of being young, agile,with-it, and reactive and on its feet,which actually stems from the brandkernel of Kingfisher Airlines. Now,since both these brands belong to thesame stable, it was to add that con-

36

There aren’t many who have been associated with one agency for 31 years.Pranesh Misra is one of the few. Take away two stints - a research spellat Clarion and a brush on the client’s side with Mashreq Bank in Dubai

(then Bank of Oman) - and Misra has enjoyed a happy marriage with Lowesince the very onset of his career, thanks to varying roles over the years.

Known in the ad industry for his quiet, reserved persona, Pranesh Misra deliv-ers a shocker when he confesses to The Brand Reporter: “I thrive on risks;life is boring otherwise!” Here’s a peek at some of the defining moments thatshaped Misra’s career.

One of my first highs in this profession was when I was working forLintas, Kolkata. I was all of 24, in my second year there, and IIM Kolkataasked me to serve as visiting faculty for the advertising course. It hadbarely been a few years since I had completed my MBA. I decided to gofor it, and it was a turning point with regard to my confidence in myself.

Later, I took over the Lintas Kolkata branch from my then senior,Stanley Pinto (who in turn, relocated to Lintas Mumbai). I was only inmy late 20s, and it was a different kind of euphoria for me to be man-aging a branch at such a young age.

Another satisfying moment for me was in the 1980s, when I wasworking closely with our team on Cherry Blossom - a brand that wasstruggling to connect with its then tagline, ‘Shines and Protects’. Ourproblem? There was a Cherry Blossom tucked away in every house-hold, but few felt the need to use it everyday.

We couldn’t go down the rational route to make Cherry Blossom acharming friend. Pranob Ghose, Rema Ezra and I cracked the idea at1:00 am on the night before the presentation. We decided to narratecomic tales of a Charlie Chaplin look-alike and his sidekick, fighting tooutdo each other over Cherry Blossom. We didn’t have any storyboardand Pranob had to enact the whole film, and the rest is history.

In 1986, Alyque Padamsee the then CEO of Lintas, asked me tobecome the general manager of Pathfinders – Lintas’ research arm. It was-n’t doing too well then, with just a team of three to boot. I rememberprotesting, “This is a punishment posting!” but Alyque believed that I wasthe only one who could turn Pathfinders around.

I had two options: to either convert Pathfinders into an independentresearch agency, or let it flourish as a brand planning division of Lintas.I chose the former. From 1986 to 1991, I led Pathfinders, managingclients like Unilever, Philips and Nestle. Some ad agencies likeRediffusion and Contract too, became our clients. When it was a teamof 40, Pathfinders finally moved out of the plush Express Towers officein Mumbai (Lintas’ home for the past several decades), into a smalleroffice at Manik Mahal.

I never really had a mentor as such, but three people influenced meimmensely – Stanley, Alyque and Balki. Stanley because he was flam-boyant and I was not. Alyque, to the outside world, was a little mad withhis temper tantrums but to me, he was different: an uncannily intuitiveman who would gauge exactly when a person is getting typecast in arole, and would pre-empt what you want to do next.

Balki is a brilliant lateral thinker, and it has truly been a privilege towork with him for the last 7-8 years. �

As told to Devina Joshi


Airlines are fighting it out through ads for larger marketshares, while the consumers chuckle. By Surina Sayal

OOH

The intent was to add a little spinand bring smileto consumers’

faces.

“I thrive on risks, life is boring

otherwise.”

>>

(Top) Air Deccan’s answer to Jetlite’s campaign this year and (above) lastyear’s rivalry.

FOTO

CORP

He’s gearing up to hit theIndian advertising scene aftera seven year stint at O&M

Paris. When The Brand Reportercaught up with Shiv Sethuraman, 41,who will take on the duty as TBWAIndia’s CEO from mid-June this year,he was busy wrapping up things inParis to drop anchor in Mumbai.

Sethuraman, who has a degree inmicrobiology from MumbaiUniversity, stumbled upon advertisingand joined O&M as a managementtrainee in 1989. He worked on busi-nesses like Cadbury’s and Philips till1993, after which he moved over tothe client side when he joined Shell, asa deputation from O&M.

He spent about 18-20 months inmarketing here where his job includedmoving around the country touringhighways, working on the forecourtsof the gas stations and deciding onpricing strategies for lubricants. Afterthis short stint, he was back at Ogilvy.

In between, he also moved toRediffusion for a year but calls it a dis-astrous experience. “I joined them towork on the Colgate business but did-n’t really enjoy that. They asked me togo to Bangalore, and I did with mywife. On one of the flights back fromthere, I met Ranjan Kapur and I com-plained about how I didn’t like it thereand he just said ‘‘why don’t you comeback?’’ So, in 1996, it was back toO&M Mumbai.

In 2001, Sethuraman was lookingto move within the Ogilvy networkglobally. The job he was looking forwas based out of Paris, and he took it.The good part was that all Ogilvyoffices share the same philosophiesand cultures but personally he feltEurope to be a very individualistic society and this tooksome getting used to.

He says, “The language was a barrier, but I picked itup quickly. Also, leading a French team is not an easything to do, especially if you’re an Indian. My job therewas working with the central clients to develop strate-gies and communication for all around the world,” hesays. As global business director, for the first four yearshe ran the Nestle account out of the Paris office.

After four years at O&M Paris, he was elevated tothe post of managing director there in 2005. There heled the team of about 240 people and also looked afterthe Louis Vuitton business. He served as MD till theTBWA development occurred this year.

Sethuraman says that he was tempted by TBWAbecause of one key tool, ‘disruption’. “Disruption isvery simple,” he says, “Jean-Marie Dru has writtenseveral books on the subject and like all great pieces ofthinking it is a very simple piece of thinking.” ExplainsSethuraman, “In any market, there are conventionsand conventional ways of doing and thinking about

things. If you are aware of the conven-tions in the market place, as a brandyou are now in a position to disruptthose conventions, in order to standout.”

According to Sethuraman he’s“joining the best agency in the world”but he also agrees that in India it’s notat all at that position, so the expecta-tions are high to now take the brandup. “If we’re able to sit and have lunchat the same table as O&M and Lintasin a couple of years, it would be aninteresting achievement,” he says.

“What is nice about TBWA is thatit’s a collection of very creative and strategic agencieslike BDDP in France, Chiat\Day in the US, HuntLascaris in South Africa. It’s not very organised andstructured and there aren’t too many rules and regula-tions. It’s also very young. It’s the youngest network inAsia Pacific and I think it can be shaped and made intosomething fantastic in the future.”

About returning to India, Sethuraman says that hehas always been in touch with friends and colleagueslike Mahesh Chauhan (who he worked with on Shell).Prasoon Joshi, who used to be his creative partner onCadbury’s and Sonal Dabral who’s a good friend, andso he’s been in tune with what’s going on here. “TheIndia story is so good and I read so much about it. I justdidn’t want to miss out on it. I was keen to come back,”he smiles.

On the personal front, Sethuraman enjoys playingsquash and going deep sea diving. He has a nine yearold daughter and four year old son who take up a lot ofhis time. “I am just a regular family guy,” he smiles. �

[email protected]

PROFILE I SHIV SETHURAMAN I CEO DESIGNATE I TBWA GROUP

The Homecoming

“The Indiastory is sogood now

and I did notwant to miss

out on it.”


sumer-centric focus as far as AirDeccan was concerned.”

This idea was used for Deccanand not Kingfisher because the Jetcampaign was for JetLite, says Seth.

He adds, “From a no-frills airline,which is how Air Deccan was con-ceptualised originally, I thought we’dmove this to a ‘few thrills’ kind ofthing. That’s important – that youcan be economical and yet sprightlyand smart.”

The campaign is being done onlyat the airport. Seth believes thatthese are tactics that don’t need largesums of money in terms of a cam-paign idea.

Seth says this kind of advertisingjust reflects a very dynamic market

space in which brands sometimestalk to each other and in that manneralso talk to consumers. “I’m surewhen people see both the hoardingsside by side, they will chuckle andsay that obviously, there’s a bit of aconversation going on between boththe brands.”

Is he worried about how Jet willreact? “The point of the matter is that in these wars, you neverknow how long the war will carryon. I don’t know whether Jet isgoing to respond, but if Jet does, andif we feel it important to react, we might, or we might just sayenough of the game, let’s get back tostudying.”

At the time of filing this report,the Jet Airways spokesperson wasnot available for comment. �

[email protected]

<<

“If Jet does react,and we feel weshould respond,

then the war will go on.”SWAPAN SETH

FOTO

CORP

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In IRS 2008 Round 1, most publications in thetop 10 list saw either a decline in average issuereadership (AIR) or a marginal growth. In

terms of casual readers (those who have sampled itor read it once in a while), the top 10 publicationssaw growth - with a few exceptions.

THE TOP 10 AND CASUAL READERS

India’s most read publication, Dainik Jagran,reported a marginal decline in average issue

readership (AIR). Dainik Jagran’s AIR stands at163.8 lakh which is 1.18 lakh readers less than inthe previous round. But when it comes to casualreadership, the Hindi daily witnessed an increaseof 29.5 lakh readers. Its total readership, as per theIRS 2008 Round 1 report, stood at 5.66 crore.

On the other hand, its closest competitor andarch rival, Dainik Bhaskar reported an almoststeady readership. Its AIR increased by only 9,000readers from 1,28,23,000 readers in IRS 2007,Round 2, to 1,28,32,000 readers in the currentround. When it comes to casual readers, it wit-nessed a growth of 13.6 lakh casual readers. Thetotal readership for Dainik Bhaskar in the currentround of IRS is 3.19 crore.

At No 3, Hindustan not only moved up oneposition from the previous round, but also regis-tered a growth of 2.01 lakh readers. It has 87.5 lakhreaders and is one of the very few in the top 10 list,to have grown both in terms of AIR and casualreaders. For Hindustan, the casual readership wentup by 16.3 lakh.

Things haven’t been too good for MalayalaManorama which came in at No. 4. Not only has ithad to give up the No 3 position to Hindustan, itsAIR also declined by 48,000 from 86,62,000 in IRS2007, Round 2. Besides, its casual readershipdeclined by 2.42 lakh to 1.26 crore. Amar Ujala, atNo 5, retained its slot and also featured among thefew dailies to have registered growth both in termsof AIR as well as casual readers. Its AIR increased

by 16,000 readers, while its casualreadership increased by 13.93 lakhreaders to a total readership of 2.96crore. Daily Thanthi, the sixth largestpublication in the country, recorded adecline in AIR of 4 per cent - from79.1 lakh readers in the last round ofthe IRS to 75.6 lakh readers in the current round.In absolute terms, its readership declined by 3.5lakh readers. If that was not all, its casual reader-ship also declined by 2.87 lakh readers.

At No 7, Rajasthan Patrika’s AIR went down by70,000 readers, but its casual readers increased by4.66 lakh with a total readership of 1.37 crore inthe current round of IRS 2008. Eenadu, at No 8,recorded a growth in readership of 1.9 lakh read-ers. Its readership went up from 69.19 lakh readersto 71.09 lakh readers in the current round. It’scasual readership also increased by 5.02 lakh read-ers while the total readership stood at 1.47 crore.

The ninth and tenth positions saw a switchbetween The Times of India and Ananda BazarPatrika. Interestingly, both registered negativegrowth. At No 9, The Times of India is the onlyEnglish daily to feature in the Top 10 publications.While its AIR declined by 39,000 readers, casualreadership increased by 1.63 lakh readers.

Ananda Bazar Patrika, went down a slot record-ing negative growth in both AIR and casualreadership. While its AIR declined by 77,000 read-ers, the loss of casual readers was 1.83 lakh - from1.57 crore total readers in IRS 2007 Round 1 to1.55 crore readers in the current round of the IRS.

Others that recorded significant growth incasual readership were Oriya daily Sambad (6.82lakh), Chhattisgarh-based Hari Bhoomi (5.88 lakh)and Gujarati daily Sandesh (5.11 lakh).

MALAYALAM AND ORIYA STAR

In terms of languages, Hindi dailies continue toenjoy the highest readership vis-à-vis other lan-

guages. The AIR for any Hindi daily is5.60 crore, although readershipdeclined by 2 per cent - 11.2 lakhreaders in comparison to the lastround.

Among other languages, Marathidailies came in at No 2 with an AIR of1.81 crore. However, the AIRdeclined by 4.12 lakh – 2.22 per cent.Following Marathi - in terms of read-ership - came English dailies with anAIR of 1.66 crore. However likeHindi and Marathi, its AIR alsodeclined - by 1.82 per cent (3.08 lakhreaders).

Malayalam dailies’ at No 4 with anAIR of 1.55 crore, added 1.56 lakhreaders, which is the highest growthfor any language. Tamil dailies, mean-while, rose marginally by 41,000

readers from 1,26,65,000 in IRS 2007 Round 1 tothe current 1,27,06,000. At No 6, Gujarati dailiesare next in terms of readership (1.13 crore). ItsAIR increased marginally by 23,000.

Bengali dailies’ readership stands at 1.02 crore(seventh in the list) with a negative growth of 1.9lakh readers this time around. Telugu dailies wereanother among South Indian languages to haveexperienced growth although marginally by 0.87per cent to 96,88,000 in this round.

Kannada dailies are the only one from theSouth to have registered a decline. They lost 2.16lakh readers to touch 77,41,000 (AIR). Oriyadailies were lucky to have witnessed the maximumgrowth in percentage terms - 4 per cent from 28.34lakh to 29.45 lakh. In absolute terms, the AIR forany Oriya daily increased by 1.11 lakh. WhilePunjabi dailies lost just 8,000 readers with an AIRof 22 lakh. Assamese, which gained 32,000 readers,is the last in the list with 21.55 lakh readers

THE ENGLISH PUBLICATIONS

English publications in all saw a decline in read-ership. While, the Englsih dailies lost 3.1 lakh

readers (AIR), English weeklies witnessed adecline of 12.34 per cent. Similarly, Englishmonthly magazines also recorded a decline of 11.6per cent in AIR.

ToI is followed by Hindustan Times, with a read-ership of 32.8 lakh, a decline of 1.3 per cent fromthe last round. At No 3 is weekly magazine IndiaToday with a readership of 24.02 lakh, dropping 8.9 per cent from the last round’s 26.36 lakh. AtNo 4 is The Hindu with a readership of 22.43 lakh,increasing 0.3 per cent from the last round. It is theonly English publication in the Top 10 to haverisen.

Declining by 8.9 per cent is Readers’ Digest, amonthly with a readership of 15.94 lakh. It lost1,55,000 readers and holds the No 5 rank.Registering the maximum decline, 16.1 per cent, isGeneral Knowledge Today, losing 2,60,000 readers. totouch 13.5 lakh. Deccan Chronicle came seventh - areadership of 12.25 lakh, declining by 2.8 per cent.The Telegraph garnered a 10.08 lakh readership,dropping from the last round’s 10.15 lakh.Competition Success Review is at No. 9 with a reader-ship of 8.99 lakh, 14.6 per cent down from the lastround. Filmfare, lost more than a lakh readers to goto 8.58 lakh, down 13.4 per cent. ToI’s tabloid,Mumbai Mirror, came in 11th with 7.75 lakh read-ers, adding readers from its last round’s status of7.52 lakh. �

[email protected]


Progress ReportIRS 2008 ROUND 1

The Indian Readership Survey 2008 Round 1 is out after a little delay.Does it have any surprises? By Prajjal Saha and Sapna Nair

Publication 2008 R1 2007 R2 % changeDainik Jagran 16,384 16,502 - 0.7Dainik Bhaskar 12,832 12,823 0.1Hindustan 8,752 8,551 2.4Malayala Manorama 8,614 8,662 - 0.6Amar Ujala 8,091 8,075 0.2Delhi Thanthi 7,564 7,910 - 4.4Rajasthan Patrika 7,332 7,402 - 0.9Eenadu 7,109 6,919 2.7The Times of India 6,789 6,828 - 0.6Ananda Bazar Patrika 7,332 7,402 - 0.9

The Top 10(The final standings)

Note: Figures in 000s, AIR Not considered: Infomedia Yellow Pages

Language 2008 R1 2007 R2 % changeHindi 56,096 57,217 - 1.9Marathi 18,129 18,541 - 2.2English 16,599 16,907 - 1.8Malayalam 15,591 15,435 1.0Tamil 12,706 12,665 0.3Gujarati 11,305 11,282 0.2Bengali 10,260 10,451 - 1.8Telugu 9,688 9,604 0.9Kannada 7,741 7,957 - 2.7Oriya 2,945 2,834 3.9Punjabi 2,200 2,208 - 0.4Assamese 2,155 2,123 1.5

Mind the Language(How the regional language publications fared)

Note: Figures in 000s Average Issue Readership

The new Horlicks TV com-mercial features DarsheelSafary, the little star of Taare

Zameen Par. Safary has been signed asthe brand ambassador for Horlicks.

The TVC, which is part of theHorlicks cold consumption cam-paign, is significant in more waysthan one. For Darsheel, it is his firstTV commercial, and for Horlicks,this is its first commercial featuring acelebrity child.

According to Sumeet Saluja, gen-eral manager, GlaxoSmithKline andcategory head for the Horlicks brand,“Summer is a time when most con-sumer brands innovate to bring outsummer variants. Horlicks is tradi-tionally perceived as a hot andnourishing drink, so the ‘cold appeal’was difficult to integrate into it.However, the new variants – pistachioand butterscotch – can be consumedboth hot and cold. So, what better wayto promote it than by using Darsheel,

who has the uncanny ability to be coolby being uncool?”

The script revolves around aschoolboy’s infatuation with aschoolmate and how he manages toimpress her turning on his easycharm.

The initial shots of the TV com-mercial show the boy, Darsheel,walking into the girl’s classroom andbumping into the teacher. The sub-sequent shots show both Darsheel

and his crush dressed in trendy casu-als, with their respective group offriends.

Visibly impressed by his cool atti-tude, the girl compliments him,saying “Cool shades.” The back-ground score keeps up the synergythroughout the commercial.

According to Vivek Kamath, direc-

tor of Vivek Kamath Films, theproduction house which made theTV commercial, “Working with anactor gave us a lot of creative licence.Darsheel is a very spontaneous per-son off screen. We took cues from hispersonality and integrated them intothe script. Unlike the case with mod-els, here, we let the script flow withhis personality.” Kamath points outthat though he is mischief personi-fied, Darsheel is uncannily

professional when the camera rolls. Debarpita Banerjee, director,

client services, JWT, says, “This com-mercial is not different in strategyfrom Horlicks’ earlier TV commer-cials. It is in fact an extension of thestrategy which has been consistentlyrecurring in all the commercialssince 2003, when Horlicks was posi-tioned as a pleasurable nutritiondrink, rather than as just a familynutrition drink. The brand philoso-phy of Horlicks is ‘Live life withvigour and energy and do what youlove doing’.”

Banerjee explains the creativestrategy. “When it comes to kids, it isfor those who are confident beingthemselves. Other health drinksposition themselves in a competitivecontext,” she says.

According to Saluja, “Kids todayare instrumental in purchase deci-sions. So, we are conscious that all communication touches theirlives. Extension of our productattributes through various themes iswhat is intended as part of our strat-egy. This campaign and othercampaigns (which Darsheel will bepart of) are an attempt in this direc-tion. Darsheel’s association will helpus leverage other connections whichare part of the campaign as well.” �

[email protected]


Vodafone India chose to go abroad for this TVcommercial. In an ad for Vodafone’s cus-tomer care service, the company has used the

picturesque Cape Town in South Africa as the set-ting. It even used a South African pug for the ad.

According to Harit Nagpal, chief marketingofficer, Vodafone India, this ad is the first instanceof a customer care service being advertised in thetelecom category in India. Why now? “Actually, wewere waiting for the infrastructure to fall intoplace, post the rebranding of Hutch intoVodafone,” says Nagpal.

With Vodafone stores and mini-stores, mobilevans, self-service kiosks and thousands of cus-tomer service personnel in place, the timing isright, Nagpal asserts.

O&M, Vodafone’s agency in India, has created a60 second TV commercial which carries fourvignettes that have further been broken down intoindividual ads. There are 30-second TVCs in theseries and extensions of the 60-second one too.

The ad opens on a day in the life of a little girl, asshe wakes up and gets ready for school. Just as she

looks around for hermissing sock, her faith-ful pug runs across thehouse with the sock inhis mouth, and puts itbefore her.

In another shot, thelittle girl is sitting on ariver bank, trying to fishsomething out of thewater. Her pug comestrotting along, a net inits mouth, for her to usein her endeavours.

The next vignette is that of the girl dutifullysticking stamps on some envelopes; methodically,she holds out each stamp before the pug, he licks it,and she pastes it on the envelope. Lastly, the girl isseen in a school bus, staring out. Suddenly, her handflies to her throat – she has forgotten to wear her tie.Cut to the shot of the pug with the tie hanging outof his mouth, chasing the bus as it speeds away. Thead ends on the super: ‘Happy to Help. VodafoneCustomer Care’.

The Vodafone pug resurfaces after seven months(it was last leveraged in the Hutch-Vodafone transi-tion ads in September 2007). The pug is usuallyused in the case of thematic brand communication,and generally not for individual products and serv-ices. Then why make an exception in an explicitlyservice based ad?

Nagpal explains, “Customer care is the face ofour brand, so in a sense, this aspect of Vodafoneencompasses the entire brand.”

Rajiv Rao, group creative director, Ogilvy &Mather Mumbai, says the brief was simple: letting

customers know that Vodafone is always ready and‘happy to help’. “The ad is a metaphorical story ofthe brand and our customer,” he says.

The TV commercial has been directed byPrakash Verma of Nirvana Films (who was alsobehind the original network ad featuring the pug,more than five years ago; Verma has shot severalfilms for the brand since).

Verma doesn’t cite any particular reason forusing a Cape Town pug instead of Spikey (the pugwho took to the Vodafone throne after the earlierone, Chika, grew older with time).

A dog trainer at the set trained the animal to doas told. In fact, pugs usually tend to keep their pinktongues hanging out, but this particular onerefused to do so.

“The stamp sequence was quite an adventure,”Varma grins. Once the stamp was put before him,however, he started licking it. Anand has scoredthe background music. The TVC has been sup-ported with other media, including outdoor, print,radio, below-the-line and the Internet. �

[email protected]

The pug which started its run withHutch continues its journey withVodafone. By Devina Joshi

Dogged

Cool and Confident

VODAFONE

HORLICKS

Horlicks has found the perfect fit in Darsheel Safary toposition itself as a fun energy drink. By Proyashi Barua


Customer relationship management (CRM) is a termin modern marketing parlance which holds a lot of

weight. Most organisations around the world spend phe-nomenal sums in understanding the profile and psyche ofthe existing and potential customer base. The fundamentalmandate is more or less common to all organisations - get-ting an insight into what can keep the customers loyal toyour brand/service and thereby induce consistent pur-chase.

But as per a recent study by theNew York based CMO Council,most organisations fall short inimplementing this data. Out of the450 plus marketers polled globally,only 16 per cent of companies wereconfident about the quality of theircustomer relationship managementprogrammes. Forty five per centacknowledged that their customer relationship manage-ment programmes fall short of actual data integration.According to Donovan Deale May, the executive directorof the CMO Council, given the current economicrestraints, marketers need to be more concerned about

cross selling and upselling. Thisessentially means optimising rev-enues from existing customers andcustomer relationship managementis the key towards achieving this.Ironically only half of the marketerssaid they have a strategy in place forfurther penetrating and monetisingkey relationships. Two thirds said

they have no system in place for reactivating lost or dor-mant customers.

Most organisations are faced with the ordeal of inte-grating a wide variety of data sources across ofteninadequate IT systems. �

Pain WithoutBordersAravaged piece of land hanging in

space. The tagline reads ‘To endendless pain make a donation.’

Advertising Agency: TBWA/ParisCreative Director: SebastienVacherot, Manoelle van der VaerenArt Director: Stephane Lecoq

BaygonAliving room with all its furniture and

décor in wrought iron giving it askeletal look. The tagline reads ‘Noplace to hide.’

Advertising Agency: Saatchi&Saatchi, BangkokCreative Directors: Panu Meepaibul Art Director: SomboonCharukijphaisarnCopywriter: Bhakpong Skonvitayanon

Invision:Tumbled Stone Aman sitting on the ground wear-

ing clothes which reflect thecolours of the stone wall in thebackground. The tagline reads:Invision produces commercial car-pet - the target consumers arearchitects and interior designers.

Advertising Agency: FletcherMartin, USACreative Director: Brandy Gill

Johnson &Johnson which years agohad pumped millions of dollars

into television ads to reach out tomothers is now turning a differentroute. It is making use of socialmedia, specifically websites to forge aconnect with young mothers. ‘CampBaby’ an event which the companyhad organised for 56 young influen-tial mothers (who are also activebloggers) early this month was a stepin this direction.Camp Baby wasa three day allexpense paid tripto New Jerseywhere almost allaspects of baby-hood weredeliberated uponby these discern-ing young mothers. The event wasconspicious by the absence of anyadvertising pitches fromJohnson&Johnson. First steps arenever perfect and so is the case withCamp Baby. Possibly one of thebiggest initiatives ofJohnson&Johnson in the socialdomain so far it was criticised forexcluding children. Some socialcommentators also said that theevent lacked focus and it almostseemed if it was trying to incorporatea distinct identity. Johnson&Johnsonhowever is unaffected by these spec-ulations. Lori Dolginoff, global

communications director atJohnson&Johnson, New Jersey, andthe Camp Baby organiser, put thingsin perspective by stating that theonline environment is constantlyevolving and the company is tryingto evolve with it.

The company is trying to reachout to mothers in a social contextthrough other initiatives as well. Italso runs a web site called

BabyCenter,which connectswith momsthrough onlinemessages, videosand bulletinboards. Thismedium not onlylacks any overtcompany plugs,

but accepts advertising from com-petitors and is considered anindependent entity.Johnson&Johnson is not alone in itsinitiatives to reach out to motherswithin the context of commerciallyfree social domains. P&G also has agrowing branding campaign on itssocial networking site, Vocalpoint,that engages mothers via e-mail anddirect mail. The objective is verysimple- spreading product informa-tion through word of mouth.

After Vocalpoint’s participantsstarted discussing about P&G’s prod-ucts, sales increased by 30 per cent. �

The year 2007 was a landmark yearfor UK’s online advertising.

According to a study undertaken bythe Internet Advertising Bureau,PricewaterhouseCoopers and theWorld Advertising Research Centre,spending grew by 38 per cent in theyear 2007 to reach £2.8 billion ($5.6billion). The internet now accounts for15.3 per cent of total media ad spend-

ing in the UK, according to this group.Improved broadband speeds, a profu-sion of multiple sites catering to nicheinterest groups are all favourably con-tributing to the rise in onlineadvertising. In fact online advertisingis expected to overtake televisionadvertising in 2009, to become UK’sbiggest medium, according to GuyPhillipson, CEO of the IAB. Researchalso reveals that paid search adspending grew by 39 per centInternet display and classified adver-tising spending grew by 31 per centand 54 per cent respectively. �

UpbeatMom Knows Best

Smart customermanagement is

the need of the hour

Poor Leverage


Nike and Adidas, two of the world’s leading sportsbrands, are edging anxiously for a score. But this is

a legal score. Nike has sued its German competitor(Adidas) and Chinese soccer star Zheng Zhi at anIntermediate People’s Court at Shanghai. The accusationhurled at the soccer player was that he was making pub-lic appearances at Adidas events while working as a brandambassador for Nike. Nike claimed that Adidas hadresorted to foul play and had bribed him in doing so.Nike is now seeking eight million yuan (1.14 million USdollars) in compensation from the two.

But both the accused had much to say in answer toNike’s insinuations. According to them Zheng’s contractwith Nike did not hold ground as Zheng had not beenreceiving his payments. As per the original contractwhich was signed in 2003, Nike had promised to payZheng 110,000 yuan by October 2003 and another760,000 in 2004. The contract, which was to expire at theend of last year, had stated that Zheng should wear Nikeproducts on any public occasion and refrain from attend-ing publicity events of other competing brands. Nike said

Zheng had adhered to the contract at the beginning.However according to Nike’s attorney the problem start-ed in August 2004 when Nike refused Zheng a raise,which he had requested. Since then abberrations startedin terms of honouring the contract at Zheng’s end. InApril 2005, Zheng wore Adidas soccer shoes at matchesin Japan. Soon after he informed Nike that he wanted tocancel his contract. Nike’s attorney further stated thattaking advantage of Zheng’s faltering loyalties, Adidashad used him for their interests. �

Legal Score

Hearst Digital Media, a sisterconcern of the San Francisco

based Chronicle has found an excitingway to connect with teens. It willsupply celebrity information andother interesting trivia to teens viainstant messaging through social net-

works via a partnership with SanFrancisco’s Spleak. (Spleak takes pre-mium content and user-generatedcontent, aggregates it, and pushes itout for a combined perspective oncurrent topics. Spleak also uses thissame interface for gathering its user-generated content, so users andviewers can participate with the con-tent in a very direct manner.) Spleakcurrently has a program calledCelebSpleak, where users, mostlyteenagers, can share celebrity gossipby publishing it through an instantmessage or text message.To make the

interface with users seem more realand meaningful Spleak operates likea robotic friend. It appears as a buddyon the person’s instant message listto distribute updates to the user.Hearst, which is shifting its tradi-tional media focus to online media

distribution in multiple capacities,will be utilizing Spleak’s publishingplatform for integrating its contentdeeper into social media. As of nowHearst will be using Spleak’sEmbassy option, which allows thepublisher to place a Spleak interfaceon some of its major content sites-such as Teen Magazine, CosmoGIRL!and Seventeen. The San Franciscostartup said it has about 100,000active users a day, and the plan is toextend beyond CelebSpleak to othertopics. �

Compiled by Proyashi Barua

Smart Connect

Talk about finding innovative waysto connect to your target audience.

Procter & Gamble (P&G) has recentlypartnered with the Island Def JamMusic Group, New York, to createTAG Records. TAG is P&G’s populardeodorant brand that competes withAxe in the body spray category. Thepartnership is aimed at appealing tothe savy urban youngsters by promot-ing hip-hop music alongside thepackaged goods product. According tothe deal, the TAG Records’ artists willbe supported by integrated marketingincluding TV, print, radio, digital andevent components.

The TAG brand will use the label’sartists in its brand advertising andmarketing initiatives throughout2008. The first artist will be revealedin May. The deal is also expected toprovide exposure not typically acces-sible to up-and-coming artists. Exact size of the marketing budgetwas not revealed, though the compa-ny said it would be a multimillion-dollar effort. �

Scent Jam

Are marketers across the worldembracing technological innova-

tions at the same pace? The answerprobably will be ‘no’. The mobileadvertising scenario in Russia is acase in point. At best the most opti-mistic analysts can predict that in thisyear the mobile advertising market inRussia will comprise 2 per cent of theworld’s mobile advertising market.Expectations for 2008 roughly fluctu-ate between $12-$14 million and $57million, according to several analysts.However, there are no definite esti-mates and forecasts. Mobileadvertising is a 5-10 fold cheaperoption than internet advertising.Hence analysts expect a fair amountof migration happening from theonline medium to mobile networks,thus resulting in a 80 per cent growthin the mobile domain.

The Gartner analysts expect theworld mobile advertising market tosurpass $2.7 billion in 2008 versus$1.7 billion in 2007. But analysts in

general are of the opinion that thegrowth in this domain has been ratherslow and measured. Though a lucra-tive ground for many players, such astraders, carriers, banks, and paymentagencies there are specific factorswhich are impeding development ofmobile advertising. Analysts attributelack of transparency and exact stan-dards and the value chain complicityas some of the fundamental hin-drances.

Though these operational issuesare likely to be resolved in a couple ofyears it is a matter of conjecturewhether people will actually wantmore and more advertisementsbeamed into their mobile phones.Subscribers might find it a nuisanceand that is when the dead end comesfor advertisers.

However, despite all restrictionsanalysts are inclined to think that themarket will continue developing andby the end of 2011 it is expected toreach $12.8 billion. �

Roadblocks

Social networkingsites are thegateways toreach out to

teenagers


Tommy HilfigerTommy Hilfiger has introduced a collection of handbags & wallets.Sportingunique styles this 2008 spring/summer collection is a manifestation of

style and sophistication. The hobo & satchel styles sporting a mini-malist look can complement designer and formal wear while thecontinental wallets and wristlets are suited for everyday andinformal wear. The handbags and wallets come predominantlyin the shades of pure white, warm brown and dramatic red.This collection is marked by the symbolic ‘‘TH’’ logo. Pricedbetween Rs 995 and Rs. 5,000, it is available at all TommyHilfiger flagship stores, select outlets of Shoppers Stop,Pyramid, Landmark, Pantaloons, Lifestyle and all leading multi-brand outlets across the country.

47

Sony CyberShotSony India has launched the Cyber-shot DSC-H10, a high-zoom digital camera. TheDSC-H10 has a 8-megapixel camera with a powerful optical zoom lens and along-range flash which makes it possible to capture close-ups, even froma distance. Its face detection technology can identify and focus on upto eight faces in a frame, and automatically adjust the focus forcorrectly exposed photos.This high-zoom camera also includesSony’s advanced sports shooting mode, which combines highshutter speed and continuous auto-focusing which helps cap-ture fast-action shots. This technology allows the camera toquickly focus on fast-moving subjects by predicting wherethey will be in the frame – and ultimately reducing shutterlag. The DSC-H10 also has additional accessories such aswide and telephoto conversion lenses, filters, batteries, travelchargers, sports packs and cases. Priced at Rs 15,990, it is avail-able at all leading retail stores and exclusive Sony outlets.

IDLDPLIDLDPL (India Digital Life Style Distributors Pvt. Ltd.) which claims to be one of thelargest distributors of IT and life style products in the country has introduced azeroshock digital camera case. This case has a compact, zippered design whichincludes a built-in belt loop and a handy neck strap for easy portability.Manufactured from low-resilience polyurethane it has superior shock absorbingcapabilities and hence delivers effective protection against impact and externalpressure. In fact compared to normal polyurethane foam this case has extraordi-narily low rebound (slow to compress and slow to reform) which enhances itsprotection quotient. In addition, due to the built-in metal wire frame the contentsare protected from all angles against impacts and even twists.

NikeNike has introduced a designerrange of sports shoes for women.This range includes the Nike AirRelentless which incorporatesdesign elements from the late80’s along with modern technolo-gy. It has an exposed midsolewith a painted or speckled look.The heel contains supportive foamand an air bag which compresseson initial contact and ramps uppressure thus offering greatersupport as it bears more weight.This system allows the athlete tomaintain a cushioned feelthroughout training activities. Thepresence of multidirectional lugson the outsole provide optimaltraction and durable performance.This range also includes a single-lasting phylon forefoot whichimproves flexibility while offering

lateral stability.

WhitesWhites, a leading UK based company, whichmanufactures and supplies bed linen and homeaccessories to leading retail outlets across theworld has recently introduced its summer col-lection in India. The collection includesexquisitely designed fitted sheets, flat sheets,pillowcases, duvet covers and quilted coverletsets in cool blues, soothing pinks and serenewhites. This exclusive collection is available atCity Square Mall in New Delhi and DLF Megamall in Gurgaon. The price range starts from Rs75 and goes up to Rs 10,950.

Wellman Wellman has introduced an ener-gy drink which is an alternative toenergy drinks having a highsugar and caffeine quotient. It isa light and refreshing drink con-taining apple, grape and passionfruit juice. Formulated with aunique mix of B vitamins, miner-als, amino acids & botanical

extracts (Ginseng,Guarana Extract,Green TeaExtract,ArtichokeExtract) thisdrink is packedwith nutritionand is a substi-tute for lightmeals. A 250 mlbottlet is pricedat Rs 100.It is available atselect retailstores across

the country.


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JOBSWITCHOrganization Name: R2S GroupPositions: Manager Operations Location: New DelhiProfile: The incumbent would berequired to check Quality executionof the projects, organizing elementsinvolved in the projects, Sourcingand managing vendors & supplierson regular basis and to Executeproject cost effectively and withinthe time frame. The applicantshould have 4 - 7 years of relevantexperience in Operations andProduction in Events andpromotions with a minimum of 3years in leading a team. Email:[email protected] ............................................................Organization Name: ICG(Integrated CommunicationsGroup)Positions: Associate AccountDirectorLocation: New Delhi & BangaloreProfile: The applicant must have in-depth understanding of BTLcommunication, Experience inprospecting new business leads andhands-on involvement in projectmanagement and Strongmanagement and supervisory skillsin leading a team of dedicatedproject managers. The applicantmust have minimum 8 - 10 yearsexperience in client servicing andmarcom project management.Email:recruitindia@xtentiagroup.com............................................................Organization Name: PentagonCommunicationsPositions: Account Director (ClientServicing)Location: BangaloreProfile: The individual would berequired to handle key accountsindependently, achieving agreedmetrics on customer satisfaction,topline and bottomline as well asLead and motivate a team. Theapplicant must have 10 - 15 yearsexperience and a minimum of 5years in an advertising agency ismandatory. Email: [email protected] ............................................................Organization Name: MediaturfPositions: Senior Client ServicingManagerLocation: MumbaiProfile: The incumbent would berequired to understand clientrequirements and translate theminto accurate briefs for the Creative

team while being able toconceptualise the right marketingstrategies and effectively presentthem to clients. The applicant mustbe a Graduate with minimum 6years of relevant experience inClient Servicing or Media,preferably from an Online AdAgency. The person should knowhow to manage campaignsefficiently and optimise them tomaximise returns for our clients.Email: [email protected] ............................................................Organization Name: VasantCreative CatalystsPositions: Art DirectorLocation: MumbaiProfile: The applicant must haveminimum 4-5 years in a reputed Adagency with Innovative and freshoutlook with a good understandingof branding.Email: [email protected] ............................................................Organization Name: InfinityAdvertising ServicesPositions: Creative Director (Art),Client Servicing Director & HeadHuman ResourceLocation: Delhi, Bangalore &ChennaiProfile: Creative Director (Art): Theperson applying for the positionshould be an acclaimed creativethinker with an exceptional vision,who can inspire the creative teamand raise the creative output of theagency with every assignment. Thecandidate should be a master of theart of design and proficient in thescience of design software whilehaving 10-12 years experience in thefield.Client Servicing Director: Theapplicant would be responsible formeeting the business objectives ofthe Group’s advertising department.The person should have ananalytical bent of mind and a keenappreciation of creativity to be ableto lead the team in creating uniqueand strategically relevantcommunication solutions whilehaving 10-12 years experience insimilar field.Head Human Resource: The personshould have 10+ years experience inthe reputed organization with anexperienced hand in recruitments,training & development,compensation and incentivemanagement. The individual shouldhave exposure to process

intervention such as competencymapping would be an addedadvantage.Email: hrd@infinityadvt.com............................................................Organization Name: Adlabs FilmsLimited (FM Radio Initiative)Positions: Marketing ManagerLocation: BangaloreProfile: The successful applicantwould be required to create systemsand process / implement currentsystems and processes which ensurethat the marketing teams functionin a manner aligned to the businessgoals of the company whileformulating Media strategies fornational campaigns and strategicdirection for regional campaigns.The individual should have 5-7years of experience which would behelp him/her to champion creativeexcellence in the marketing teamthrough a combination of systems,periodic training and rewardprograms.Email: [email protected] ............................................................Organization Name: ExplocityPrivate Limited.Positions: Senior Manager - Sales &MarketingLocation: HyderabadProfile: The candidate should havethe ability to generate revenues forthe company through advertisementsales and should have the ability towork with a team to meet thisobjective. The applicant would berequired to have knowledge ofadvertising sales and should havegenerated business through them asthe individual would be required tohave 5 - 8 years of experience inadvertisement sales with print media.Email: [email protected] ............................................................Organization Name: Aditya BirlaRetail LimitedPositions: DTP OperatorLocation: MumbaiProfile: The candidate should have akeen creative eye for detail and isable to handle projects from start tofinal delivery in record speed. Theindividual with 3-8 years ofexperience would be required toadapt packaging designs, signages,advertisements, visualmerchandising into multiple formatsand sizes in the Print medium. Email:[email protected]............................................................

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