The second edition of HT Printworks, the advertising expo organized by the HT Media Group in Mumbai last week, ended on a high note with the six-day event attracting more than a thousand people and registering a sale of close to 300 discounted advertising packages.

The expo, held at the Sofitel Hotel in Bandra-Kurla Complex, aimed to offer small and medium enterprises (SMEs) the advantages of highly discounted advertising deals for various supplements of Hindustan Times. It was a one-stop shop for first-time advertisers and retail advertisers to take advantage of a year-round, discounted advertising along with tips on media planning and creative for the advertisements.

Several clients from small and medium enterprises across the city, both first-timers and repeaters, attended the various 90-minute sessions held every day, where they interacted with executives on the best deals for advertising.

For the organizers, the response was encouraging. “HT Printworks received a tremendous response and we were overwhelmed with the number of businesses that showed interest in our packages. We saw serious decision-makers who bought the packages on the spot,” said Nitin Chaudhry, business head (West and South), HT Media Group. “The biggest benefit of HT Printworks is the simplicity of this programme which helps advertisers plan their advertising across the audiences that we offer,” he said.

The event was conducted in partnership with Australian media consultancy firm ‘Boost’.

By A Correspondent

The headquarters of JWT India played host to Portfolio Night on Wednesday evening. There was much fanfare, many drinks and eats flowing, a makeshift discotheque and other than JWT employees, some clients and a cross-section of trade and business journalists and photographers.

Cabins and cubicles were where the ‘reviewers’ were in waiting, appraising each entrant. Portfolio Night is a trademarked event where aspiring copywriters, art directors and designers meet with several renowned creative directors in a fast-paced evening of advice, networking and recruitment. While the evening has been called “speed-dating for creatives”,  it’s a lot, lot more. In the 11 years since its inception,  Portfolio Night has grown to be a global event, reaching creative hubs in every continent in an evening where the ‘best of the present’ meet the ‘best of the years to come’.

The Mumbai edition of the Portfolio Night was billed a success with some 90 participants and 28 reviewers or judges. Yes, Bobby Pawar was there, and, no, Ravi Deshpande wasn’t. Both made exits from the JWT fold in recent times. Mr Pawar under controversial circumstances and Mr Deshpande to “pursue his personal passions”.

For the JWT South Asia CEO Colvyn Harris, the storm over the Ford Figo scam ad controversy appeared to be a thing of the past.

Also, Portfolio Night was celebration time. A celebration of talent and a celebration of creativity.

The jury was present – including the big boys. In fact the only reason why there were some absentees was that another edition of Portfolio Night was happening in Delhi NCR on the same day, hosted by Leo Burnett. All of them were present only because they wanted to give back to the industry what they had earned and learnt, and, of course, encourage and mentor young talent.

For the record, Portfolio Night was simultaneously held in over 20 cities yesterday across the world, including Athens, Austin, Beijing, Boston, Costa Rica, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Paris, Sao Paulo, Stockholm, Tokyo, Toronto and New Delhi amongst others. Portfolio Night is an annual property of ‘IHAVEANIDEA’, the creative founders and the world’s first and largest community of the international advertising industry.

Photographs: Javed/Fotocorp 

The Press Club Mumbai has announced it will honour veteran journalists Kuldip Nayar and N.Ram with the RedInk Lifetime Achievement Awards for 2013 for a career dedicated to good journalism. The awards will be handed over by the Governor of Maharashtra, K Sankaranarayanan, on Saturday, May 25, at the Tata Theatre in Mumbai. More than 20 other journalists will receive awards in various categories for excellence in journalism at the Awards event.

The Lifetime Achievement Awards were selected by the managing committee of the Press Club based on a survey of leading and senior journalists from across the country.

“It’s a privilege to honour such distinguished journalists at the RedInk 2013 Awards. Their contribution to the media and professional achievements speak volumes and serve as motivations to us all. We are pleased to felicitate such inspirational personalities,” said Gurbir Singh, President, The Press Club, Mumbai.

This year, The RedInk Awards received over 900 entries from journalists all across India. Winners have been chosen in nine competitive categories including Sports, Media & Entertainment, Health & Environment, Crime, Business, Politics, Television Story, Science & Innovation and PhotoJournalism. Some of the eminent judges included Ravi Shastri, Rahul Bose, Kumar Ketkar, Pritish Nandy, Minhaz Merchant, Shirish Inamdar, Hussain Zaidi, Khalid Mohammad and Colvyn Harris. The media partners of the event are Star India, Podar Enterprise, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Eros International, Yes Bank, Magarpatta City, and Zee Entertainment.

After TOI’s Aman Ki Asha campaign, here comes an idea from Coca Cola to help bridge the divide between India and Pakistan, a divide which only seems to be growing deeper each year.

Coca-Cola calls it ‘Small World Machines’. Vending machines have been installed in malls at New Delhi and Lahore. And through these 3D touch screen machines, people from the two nations are able to virtually join hands. And naturally, since this is an ad venture (which rules out poisonous elements like Hafiz Syed), janata from both nations is elated to meet and greet.

Well, all one can do is appreciate such efforts, and hope that they make a difference. It’s quite obvious by now that the netas from either side can’t lick this problem, so whatever little enterprise is shown by the private sector is welcome. The idea of touch screen machines is neat, since they help you physically bond with the person from the other nation. It demonstrates the similarity of people from both sides, leaves you with that hearty feeling: ‘Oye, yeh toh hamare jaise log hain!’. Also, it goes nicely with Coke’s ‘Open Happiness’ theme. Do take a look at the number of views this video has already garnered, this idea seems to be working.

Hope to see more of these vending machines installed in many cities across the two nations. And if I spot Dawood bhai on the other side, I may not join hands with him, but it will give me an opportunity to show the finger.

Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 4. Cool, innovative public service concept.

Sony Six has added the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament to its kitty, winning the exclusive broadcast rights for it across the Indian subcontinent. The channel will telecast live all 51 matches of the tournament.

Man Jit Singh

Expressing his joy at the acquisition, Man Jit Singh CEO, MSM, said, ”Football has grown immensely in India over the past few years and has found great interest amongst the youth. With the successful acquisition of the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament broadcasting rights, we look forward to attracting viewership to Sony Six by leveraging on the growing popularity of European football in the country.”

European football’s premier international competition will be Sony Six’s first entry into international football. Having broadcast the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, this will be the first successful acquisition of a major professional football competition by the channel.

NP Singh

N P Singh COO, MSM, said, “We are delighted to bring one of football’s elite tournaments to the Indian viewers exclusively on Sony Six. As a broadcaster we are always in pursuit of the best of International Sport and through our latest acquisition we will take the fans closer to the high impact action that the UEFA Euro 2016 promises to deliver.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA’s Marketing Director, said, “We are pleased to welcome Sony Six to the family of broadcasters for the UEFA Euro 2016. UEFA believes that the Sony Six channel and its commitment to high quality programming and sport is an excellent home for UEFA’s flagship national team competition.”

The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship will be held in France with provisional dates of June 10 to July 10 2016.

Lenovo India has released its latest television commercial that showcases a new range of smartphones for the Indian market.

The premise of the new advertisement revolves around the fact that smartphones are one of the most personal devices, and are an extension of one’s personality. The focus is on ‘Hands’ of different sets of ‘Doers’ – a base jumper, a guitarist, a chef, a painter, a surfer girl, a young traveller, a ballerina, group of bikers, and a group of youngsters partying. These are the same ‘Hands that hold a Lenovo’ and ‘Do More’ with their phones, tying in with Lenovo’s brand campaign ‘For Those Who Do’.

Speaking on the new commercial release, Shailendra Katyal, Director – Consumer Business, Lenovo India, said, “With this launch Lenovo continues its drive to leadership in the PC plus era and takes forward the ‘For Those Who Do’ platform. Our smartphones are synonymous with style, performance and quality, making them an ideal choice for the youth. As a brand, we are focused on empowering the youth with ‘tools’ that allow them to follow their passion, and succeed and transform their lives.”

Rajiv Rao, Creative Director, Ogilvy India said, “In a market that is cluttered with various smartphone brands, the idea was to highlight Lenovo as a brand that has not only aspirational value, but also a strong connect with the youth. In short, it is an ode to what is the most personal and capable tool of ’Doers’.”

Cadbury India, a part of Mondelez International, has announced the launch of a new TVC campaign for Oreo Choco Creme. Showing the playful relationship shared by two brothers, the ad campaign captures the essence of the brand – a complete chocolaty treat.

Developed by Interface Communications, the ad is based on the insight that consumers love Oreo for its delicious chocolaty sandwich experience. It shows two young boys, a teenager and his inquisitive little brother, enjoying Oreo Choco Creme and getting confused as to which is more chocolaty – the cream or the cookie. As there is cocoa in both the cream and the cookie, that’s one debate that they find impossible to win, and end up switching sides multiple times.

Speaking on the campaign, Chella Pandyan, Associate Vice President – Marketing, Biscuits,  Mondelez International, said, “It’s well-established that chocolate is India’s favourite cream flavour. The TVC highlights the delightful dilemma the two brothers face.”

Robby Mathew, National Creative Director, Interface Communications, added, “The campaign idea banks on the unique relationship that siblings share. What starts off as a coach-student relationship turns into one of equals, as they together discover Oreo Choco Creme’s double chocolaty delight.”

Marketers are showing continuing confidence in the state of the industry, according to the latest data from Warc’s Global Marketing Index.

The index of marketing budgets rose for the fifth consecutive month, to reach its highest value since the index began in October 2011: 54.3 (up from 52.9 in April).

In the Americas, the index for marketing budgets rose 3.2 points to 58.0, the highest regional figure for marketing budgets recorded so far. Asia Pacific’s index also increased, to 53.8. Europe, on the other hand, slipped back below 50, to 49.7.

Warc’s Global Marketing Index is produced in association with World Economics.

The GMI is a unique indicator of the state of the global marketing industry. Every month it tracks conditions among marketers within their organization and region. A GMI reading of 50 indicates no change, and above 60 indicates rapid growth.

The headline GMI measure – which takes into account marketers’ expectations for trading conditions, staffing levels and marketing budgets – registered a global value of 56.5 in May, identical to the reading from April. Region by region, the headline GMI registered 58.6 for the Americas, 56.7 for Asia Pacific and 53.2 for Europe

I had a delightful experience the other day. My neighbours’ grandchildren are down from Delhi, and as is common up North dropped by to meet me and my ‘family’ (consisting of two small dogs and a maid). As I usually work from home, I am found on my laptop for the large part of the day, and same was the case that day too. The elder one – a ten year old girl had some interesting queries about Internet, however, it was the younger one, a boy about seven-eight years, who bowled me over, “Aunty aap computer pae Internet karti ho?” Me: “Haan beta.” He,”Aur Internet pae?” Me: “sab kuch.” He: “Sabbb Kuchhhhh? You are even crazier than papa!”

Well!

Makes me realize that I spend most of my waking time in front of the computer – and more than 70 percent of it on Internet – Googling, researching, mailing (increasingly lesser and lesser – long live smart phones), and the biggest chunk on social media. Some time goes on news websites also – especially to follow up on news I find on Facebook updates, or in early morning newspapers. The biggest calamity is television – and though it sounds ridiculous – barring IPL. I do realise I am an exception rather than a rule – untypical of my age and gender. My being in the digital space for more than 15 years, being an extremely nuclear family and staying in Mumbai, can be blamed for it.

But then, there is another generation – addicted to the Internet.

The irony, however, is that one still notices the ads on television the most – clutter be damned, remote be damned – and even if the creative is not that good, most of the ads I remember are audio visuals. Some print ads too seldom go unnoticed – electronics – when they are full page and offering discounts, and of course, automobiles. Here, I guess, I am more typical of my generation if not my gender.

Coming back to the Internet, what was the last ad you noticed on Facebook – and when was that? Caught you there! A highly involved environment – engagement at its best – but the users are engaged with each other, and not with Facebook. And so, notice what other people are saying much more than what the advertisers are saying there.

If not today, in less than a decade – one would notice that quite a few audience-dense media options are not effective advertising vehicles – and those that are, would suffer from thinning audiences. A catch 22 for advertisers!

Not trying to be prophetic, and predicting doomsday. Just thinking out loud! Are the advertisers and media professionals not realizing this? Am sure the concerns are being raised in many a boardroom. But, sadly, we would keep looking outwards – wait for another region, another country, another market to find a solution – and then adapt it to Indian market.

But this time around it might be a recipe for disaster – we would be the youngest country in the world by the year 2020. And the solutions we need might be mighty different from what other countries are looking for. Is it time to spread media budgets thin – and ‘hope’ to take a person by surprise by being at a place least expected? Or, to go extremely mass once again – at least someone would take note? Or, to really plan a strategy that enables you to reach your target person – and not target group in an effective manner?

The solution lies in making advertising more effective in high involvement environment, and in making effective advertising media more audience-dense. How? If I knew the answer I would be working in a media agency of repute!

Ritu Midha is a senior journalist and web strategist based in Mumbai. She is also Consulting Editor and Editor – Special Projects, MxMIndia.

http://www.exchange4media.com/51076_i-am-more-bullish-about-india-than-i-have-ever-been-mark-patterson.html

Exchange4media.com/Priyanka Mehra

Srini (CVL Srinivas) has hit the ground running and we are off to a flying start in terms of energy, change, re-organisation and focus; not that we didn’t have that before, but we have it in a different way now.

Maruti to go idea shopping in Delhi

http://www.afaqs.com/news/story/37557_Maruti-Suzuki-to-go-idea-shopping-in-Delhi

Afaqs.com/Ashwini Gangal

Maruti Suzuki is to meet leading agencies (general and digital media) in a week, the report notes.

Industry reacts to ‘death by overwork’ claims after passing of 24-year-old Ogilvy employee

http://www.campaignasia.com/Article/343537,Industry+reacts+to+%27death+by+overwork%27+claims+after+passing+of+24-year-old+Ogilvy+employee.aspx

CampaignAsia/Benjamin Li

There’s some soul-searching post the sudden death of an Ogilvy PR employee and reports that labelled it as the result of overwork, the report highlights.

Rise of the Non-Network Originals Gives TV Nets Cause for Concern

http://adage.com/article/special-report-tv-upfront/rise-network-originals-tv-nets-concern/241535/

AdAge/Jeanine Poggi

There is some concern amongst established TV networks about streaming platforms like Netflix weaning away viewers (and hence advertising) with some of their original content