Skyline Business School

Issue:20

Advertising & Marketing

India

Communications conglomerate WPP has hiked its stake in Ogilvy & Mather India from 51% to 65%.

This is the second major increase in stake by way of WPP buying shares from its employees, the first being in '96 when WPP raised its stake from 40% to a controlling 51%. Employees thus hold 35% of the company after the latest transaction. Sir Martin Sorrell-founded WPP paid Rs 3,076 per share for the stock held by Indian employees of O&M. The face value of one O&M India share is Rs 10.
Source:  Economic Times, October 16, 2003

Reebok India Company announced the launch of its new global marketing campaign "Wear the Vector. Outperform". The largest media blitzkrieg from Reebok ever, this campaign integrates the message of Out performance through an aggressive and consolidated marketing plan, which includes TVC, Cinema, Press and in-store activities. Watch out for the highlight of this campaign - the spectacular TV commercials, with both Indian and International Reebok endorsed sports icons, which had been scheduled to be on air from October 8 onwards, especially during the India/NZ/Australia cricket series.
Source: Agencyfaqs.com (Company press release), October 15, 2003

The world

In New York, vintage advertising posters are gracing walls where fine art used to hang. Such graphics have come to be seen as artistic statements, with the rarest ones worth as much as one-bedroom Manhattan apartment.
Source: Business Line, October 16, 2003

T.V. Media

India

As part of its comprehensive plan for the forthcoming multi-state elections in the country, Hindi news channel Aaj Tak has announced the launching of a new programme 'Aaj Ka MLA'. Its promotions are already on air, Covering 120 constituencies across the four states of Delhi, MP, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan. The group is touting 'Aaj ka MLA' as the elections before the elections. Says Uday Shankar, News Director, Aaj Tak, "Our aim is to provide viewers with behind-the-scene realities, and build-up the atmosphere for a realistic outcome of the forthcoming elections, thereby redefining news with an eye on the future."
Source: Agencyfaqs.com, October 13, 2003

Recent television viewership trends across the country indicate that channels dedicated to sports are giving other niche categories such as news, cartoons and green channels a spirited fight. According to Himanshu Verma, Associate Director (Corporate Communications) ESPN Star Sports, " sports channels have consistently been the second most watched genre after mass entertainment". Also, observes Atul Phadnis, Director (S Group), TAM Media Research, "Even non-cricket viewership has been going up steadily across the years.
Source: Business Line, October 16, 2003

The world

A multi-ethnic coalition has praised US TV networks, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox for boosting the profile of Latino talent. The Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition annually issues a report card on how networks are representing minorities. Last year it offered a damning report, with all networks criticised for their lack of diversity.
Source: BBC News, October 14, 2003

India

Rajasthan Patrika launched its Surat edition on October 9, 2003.

This is the daily's 13th edition, and the second in the state of Gujarat. The media group had launched the Ahmedabad edition of the paper in 2002. This is a milestone of sorts for the group as this is its third edition in a non-Hindi speaking state. Its first edition in a non-Hindi speaking state was Bangalore, with the second being Ahmedabad.
Source: Agencyfaqs.com, October 15, 2003

The world

Strong September advertising sales propelled 2 US newspaper companies to earnings gains in the third quarter, raising hopes that the hard hit publishing sector is nearing recovery.

Gannet, the owner of 'USA Today'and 100 other US dailies, and also 'Newsquest' in the UK, reported a net income of $279m, up 4.8% from the year earlier. Dow Jones, publisher of the wall street journal, on the other hand saw a 29.4% jump in September ad lineage at its flagship newspaper business and nearly quadrupled its quarterly income to $9m. The Executives of the 2 companies were optimistic but were cautious to open the champagne bottle too early.
Source: Financial Times, October 16, 2003

India

Radio has enormous reach, attracts hordes of advertisers and gets a steady stream of revenues from them. There is a scope for more growth. At a seminar on radio conducted by the Madras Management Association in Chennai, the Chief Operating Officer of the Times Group's 'Radio Mirchi', Mr Prashant Panday, one of the speakers, outlined the medium's potential. Radio gives an opportunity to cover a wide range of audience, attract the youth and draw out a high degree of involvement from the listener, but that doesn't mean the medium can be used as a standalone, said Mr Panday. He advocated adding radio slots to an advertiser's print or television plan for the `multiplier effect'. He has is also reported to have said that 3/4th of the total advertising on his channel pertains to brand building.       
Source: Business Line, October 16, 2003

 India

"In turbulent times when budgets are slashed, the web can help," said VS Sudhakar, managing director, Fabmall, while speaking at the day-long seminar organised by OgilvyInteractive on the subject of 'Making Digital Marketing Work', in Mumbai, on October 14, 2003. Sudhakar was speaking about email as a marketing tool, and the relevance of his statement can be gauged from the fact that "email marketing is a low cost affair" when compared with many other offline channels. "However, it cannot work as a standalone medium and has to be used in conjunction with offline channels," he emphasised.
Source: Agencyfaqs.com, October 15, 2003

India

West Bengal's Left Front government has given Ogilvy PR the task of creating and selling the brand image of the state as the infotech destination of the country. Ogilvy PR, a unit of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, is expected to complete the job in six months. The government will pay the agency Rs 9 lakh to market the state's inherent strengths in skilled manpower and infrastructure. Last year McKinsey & Co, IT consultant to the state government, had advised the appointment of a professional agency to promote the state as a top IT destination in the country by 2010. McKinsey's term as consultant to the IT department has also been extended for another year.
Source: Financial Express, September 15, 2003

Showdiff Worldwide, the recently-launched talent and event management company floated by Rediffusion DY&R and Ravi Shastri, has roped in actress Raveena Tandon and cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, as brand ambassadors for Zydus Cadila's Sugar Free brand of artificial sweeteners.
Source: Business Line, October 16, 2003

Applause Entertainment, the AV Birla Group company has bagged a multi-million dollar contract from Warner Bros. To provide the special effects in the third part of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy-The Return Of The King. "This is a first. We are delighted at having bagged this contract as this means that we will be doing cutting-edge work." Said Anshuman Swami, Applause CEO. The second part of the trilogy had a budget of $139m and spending on the sequel will be in the same region. The budget for special effects will constitute around 20-25% of the entire budget of the film. Considering that Hollywood Biggies like Sony Pictures did the FX for the previous flick, it's certainly a major grab.
Source: Hindustan Times, October 13, 2003

India

Barista Coffee Co. has awarded its media planning and buying duties to 'The Media Edge' (TME), Mumbai. The account moves form Mediacom.
Source: Agencyfaqs.com, October 14, 2003

The world   

French media and communications group Vivendi Universal and US conglomerate General Electric have agreed to merge their US entertainment assets marking the beginnings of a huge new US media group. This is the largest such deal since the 2000 merger of AOL and Time Warner. The new company, which will combine GE's NBC broadcasting unit and Vivendi's 86 per cent subsidiary Vivendi Universal Entertainment, will be called NBC Universal and will be owned 80 per cent by the US group and 20 per cent by VUE's shareholders.
Source: BBC News, October 8, 2003                                                               

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