Tag: India

Mumbai, India – For the commemoration of the World Mental Health Day last 10 October, Indian bank IDFC First Bank, which is part of the larger financial group Infrastructure Development Finance Company, has launched its latest social media campaign dedicated to promoting mental health – none other than by the use of financial terms.

Conceptualized by digital agency RepIndia, the campaign utilizes said language to present a new meaning from a mental health perspective. For instance, the term ‘investment’ is defined in the campaign as “therapy to ensure that you’re not subject to any mental health risk,” and ‘loan’ being defined as “lending an ear with interest”.

“By thus connecting commonly used financial terms with mental health issues and solutions, IDFC FIRST Bank hopes to be able to remove the stigma and taboo surrounding mental health conversations and drive significant conversations,” the bank said in a press statement.

In a statement given to MARKETECH APAC, RepIndia stated that the campaign aimed to talk about mental health from a way of investing in oneself with the goal of normalizing the conversation just like financial security is already commonly practiced in our society.

“The goal was to redefine the way we look at mental health from the perspective of financial terms that are more commonly present in our vocabulary,” the agency stated.

Said sentiment of normalizing talks on mental health stems from the fact that the aspect of mental health advocacy remains stigmatized and in a ‘crisis. 

“While financial reports have suggested that 70% of Indians now place greater emphasis on securing the future by increasing investments and savings, the mental health pandemic the nation is battling with continues to remain a crisis,” the agency stated.

The World Mental Health Day was first started as an initiative back in 1992 by the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization, which aimed at promoting mental health advocacy, as well as educating the public. For this year, the observance of said date revolved around the theme ‘Mental health care for all: let’s make it a reality’.

Mumbai, India – Media network Omnicom Media Group (OMG) in India has announced the launch of its first-ever OMG Digital Bootcamp, a four-week, full-time intensive learning program designed to provide a launchpad to aspiring digital marketers looking to kick start their career in digital marketing.

The program aims to advance the homegrown potential in digital capabilities, empowering growth and development while attracting talent for the future. It is designed in conjunction with Results & Outcomes, an e-learning platform, conceptualized by domain experts, with rich experience across technology, media, content, and marketing, as well as communications, and monetization.

Kartik Sharma, Omnicom Media Group’s group CEO for India, shared progress and purpose are always at the heart of everything they do, and they believe that wherever learning thrives, so do people, and one of the ways they have decided to support this is by nurturing budding talent in-house.

“This bootcamp is one of the ways in which we have decided to support present and future talent, in-house, by enhancing their digital proficiency,” said Sharma.

Bharat Khatri, Omnicom Media Group’s chief digital officer for APAC, commented that OMG’s Digital Bootcamp aims to address the challenges we face on the tech front, like setup and execution.

“By curating a four-week learning program that has been customized to our requirements, we look forward to creating an agile workforce of digital ninjas. Selected entrants can expect a future-ready learning program that has been designed to fast-track their careers in digital marketing,” said Khatri.

Meanwhile, Anju Kurien, the talent director of Omnicom Media Group India, said, “It’s an exciting time for us as we work towards enhancing our learning curve and empowering our employees, both present and future, by strengthening their digital proficiency.” 

Anand Chakravarthy, Results & Outcomes’ co-founder, commented that they are pleased to collaborate with OMG India to curate and deliver an application-oriented and hands-on, progressive digital learning program delivered by domain experts – experienced professionals who themselves have run digital campaigns for years.

The OMG Digital Bootcamp will kick start in the second week of October and is accepting applications from fresh graduates with a bachelor’s degree in any engineering field, BCA, or from the Statistics, Economics, Business Administration, and Advertising streams. Aspirants can visit its dedicated post on LinkedIn for ‘OMG Digital Bootcamp Trainee’ for details.

Bangalore, India – Global sportswear and underwear brand Jockey in India has stepped into the gamification marketing territory by launching a newsfeed smartapp game that aims to promote its versatile range of bras.

Made in collaboration with creative tech studio AliveNow, the app aims to create a space that consumers can proactively engage with and learn from the brand online. The app makes for a creative platform for the brand to meet its audience and to subtly create awareness about its different categories of bras – while demonstrating exactly what outfit each bra can perfectly be paired with.

For Karthik Yathindra, AVP for marketing and product management at Jockey India, said app game launch focuses on their JOCKEY Woman Knows Me campaign which focuses on increasing awareness about the versatile range of bras that the brand offers, as well as the campaign’s central thought #BrasAsVersatileAsIAm.

“We wanted to bring this [campaign] alive to consumers in an engaging and memorable way. In addition to many creative engagement pieces on social and digital platforms, we are leveraging gamification that is popular with our target group and helps them engage with the brand seamlessly,” Yathindra said.

The app also incentivizes players such as being on the top of the leaderboard, to stand a chance to be featured on the brand’s social media handles, driving repeat plays and higher brand recall.

“The game is fun and visually stimulating – both great factors when the brand’s objective is to create stickiness and increase awareness about its inner-wear line. Consumers can interact with all the bras from the range as they learn about the perfect outfit pairings – all while having a ton of fun,” Rushali Rastogi, senior account manager at AliveNow, commented.

Dubai, UAE – Galaxy Racer (GXR), one of the fast-growing esports, gaming, and lifestyle organizations headquartered in Dubai, has announced the appointment of Romeo Misao as the head of marketing for India and South Asia. The announcement follows the organization’s spate of new hires globally including the recent signing of Galaxy Racer’s Chief Marketing Officer Allan Phang. 

For the new role, Misao will be leading the regional marketing initiatives for both GXR and Nigma Galaxy, the competitive esports division of GXR, and will have his focus on the company’s aggressive expansion plans across India and the South Asia region.

Misao was previously the first esports hire in India for Free Fire, the award-winning mobile Battle Royale game by the leading game’s publisher, Garena. He led and executed esports initiatives for Free Fire in India and Bangladesh as their esports project manager. 

He also spearheaded and launched the leading premium esports IPs in India that went on to be record-breaking such as the Free Fire India Championship Fall 2020 with 300,000 concurrent viewership and the Free Fire World Series, Singapore 2021 with 1.9 million concurrent viewership on local Hindi language streams.

Misao has also worked for award-winning brand BenQ-Zowie, where he drove gaming and esports projects and contributed to the success of the brand’s ranking as the top gaming monitor. 

Galaxy Racer, which was founded in 2019, currently has over 100 content creators across Middle East North Africa (MENA), and Southeast Asia (SEA). Nigma Galaxy, the merger between Team Nigma, champions of The International 7 Dota 2, and Galaxy Racer, will be leading the competitive esports team division with an impressive roster of twelve esports teams in Dota 2, League of Legends, CS:GO, and Fortnite, as well as PUBG Mobile, BGMI and Free Fire, with over 60 male and female esports athletes from over 20 countries.

CMO Phang commented, “Romeo’s vast marketing experience and deep knowledge of the Indian esports industry is vital as part of our strategic initiatives for India. His work is exceptional and I am looking forward to working together with him. As Galaxy Racer pushes forward with our aggressive expansion plans, having a leader of his caliber is important to spearhead our marketing campaigns. We look forward to having Romeo onboard with us. Welcome to our galaxy!”

Meanwhile, newly appointed Misao said, “I am excited to be working at Galaxy Racer, one of the fastest-growing esports, gaming, and lifestyle organizations globally. I look forward to working with Allan and my fellow colleagues as we look to partner with brands who are interested in targeting Gen Z and Millennials. I cannot wait to unleash the awesome marketing initiatives I have in store for the Indian market and to put Galaxy Racer, Nigma Galaxy, and India on the world map in the global esports industry.”

Galaxy Racer aims to create a 360-degree esports, gaming, content, and lifestyle brand. Its group company, Riva Technology and Entertainment (RTE), have secured a streak of acquisitions, partnerships, and brand licensing deals including the iconic comic book series publisher Dark Horse Comics, with RTE producing multiple mobile games based on the massively successful The Umbrella Academy comic books and Netflix series.

Alongside Misao, Galaxy Racer has also recently appointed Danny Lopez as chief content officer, who was formerly the director of brand and content at Guild Esports, an esports team co-owned by David Beckham.

Mumbai, India – With India slowly opening to the the influencer marketing scene to allow brands to connect directly to consumers, the sector is expected to be valued at ₹2200 crores by 2025, or a 25% CAGR trajectory increase from 2021’s ₹900 crores, according to the latest report provided by INCA, the influencer and content marketing solution arm of GroupM, shows.

Part of the reason influencer marketing is thriving in the country is due to the higher preference of brands of utilizing influencers for the campaigns. According to the insights, 75% of influencer marketing campaigns feature influencers such as social media stars, while 25% only for conservative celebrity personalities.

“Social media has given normal people an opportunity to build their own brand, create communities via content. Standard influencers have more authenticity and are more relatable than traditional celebrities.Specialist and niche influencers command a high degree of authority on the topic and bring in more credibility in comparison to mass celebrities,” the company said in a press statement.

In terms of categories being most active in the sector, personal care campaigns garnered the highest percentage of particular brands tapping heavily on the type of marketing, with 25% of respondents saying. These are followed by food and beverage (20%), fashion and jewelry (15%), and mobile and electronics (10%). In sum, these industries contribute to 70% of the volume of influencer marketing in India.

“In the last two decades, digital advertising growth has accelerated and has become ubiquitous. It’s been gaining share in the marketing pie by transforming its presence at the back of advertising technology platforms such as search, commerce, social, and programmatic. Marketing technology platforms such as analytics, CRM, and CMS have also contributed to this growth journey by enabling brands to understand consumer behavior and their journey on and off the internet,” INCA said in a press statement.

The evident growth of the influencer marketing scene in India is best seen with the report’s data stating that 84% of brand marketers are leaning towards launching one influencer campaign this year, and around 81% of brands who have already launched influencer campaigns are satisfied with the ROI it brought to them.

In addition, around 75% of marketers say that influencer campaigns had a positive impact on the consideration and purchase stage of the sales funnel, and 89% of marketers said the ROI from influencer marketing was better or comparable to other channels.

For Prasanth Kumar, CEO at GroupM South Asia, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of influencer marketing by brands, as they are making it an integral part of the brand marketing strategy and is now an important part of the company’s media mix recommendation to brands.

“The key factor that has got brands interested is the bond of trust and authenticity that influencers share with their audiences, thus helping brands associate with an influencer to leverage the same. This report is our effort to help marketers understand various aspects of influencer marketing in the country. Consumer behavior is changing at a fast pace, and we want to empower marketers with the knowledge that can help them,” Kumar stated.

Meanwhile, Ashwin Padmanabhan, president for partnerships and trading at GroupM India, commented that the objective of their report was not only to quantify the industry but also attempted to define and standardize the various formats and industry terms. 

“Influencer marketing industry is at a point of inflection and can take off, subject to the industry initiating to measure, quantify and make investments in influencer marketing accountable. We hope this report will catalyze the industry and ensure the power of influencers is harnessed effectively,” Padmanabhan added.

Mumbai, India – With the aim of helping brands create more responsible advertising practices for their upcoming campaigns, advertising regulatory body Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has launched a new service called ‘Advertising Service’ which gives brands non-binding advice, at a pre-production stage, on advertising claims and depictions to further mitigate the risk of ads being misleading, offensive, unfair or unsafe.

Said service, which will be available for all members and non-members of ASCI, and will be under a paid service.

Part of the objective that ASCI holds with the launch of this new service is that aside from being a regulatory body, they also aim to help protect consumers from objectionable ads. . They also added that the service provides confidential quick expertise to help advertisers make more responsible advertising, which in turn, saves them effort, money as well as possible loss of reputation once the advertisement is already in the marketplace.

In addition, ‘Advertising Service’ aims to help advertisers balance creativity with responsibility and is being offered in line with best global practices followed by different self-regulatory organizations.

“What is quite unique in the ASCI Advertising Advice service is that the Advertising Advice panel will also include technical experts in different specialties who can examine the claim and evidence for technical claim support. It is important to note that this service is not intended to be a pre-clearance, and advertisers may use the advice to better their ads in a manner they deem fit,” the regulatory board said in a press statement.

The service, while provided by the body’s technical team and subject experts, is not a pre-clearance of the advertisement, and neither is it a guarantee against complaints being filed by consumers. However, the service is expected to mitigate the risk of advertising being misleading, offensive, unsafe, or unfair. 

“ASCI will process any complaints they receive against such ads as per its normal process. The advisory panel for Advertising Advice service is completely different from the complaints process to avoid any potential conflicts,” they added.

For Subhash Kamath, chairman at ASCi, the newly-launched service as a crucial element in the cause of self-regulation pushed the body, adding that the service gives brands a chance to better prepare their campaigns and mitigate reputational risks.

“While there is no guarantee that consumers will not raise a claim against a brand, the advisory does help brands take steps to ensure that their campaigns don’t violate any norms formulated to protect consumer interest. We believe that this advisory service will provide the necessary support to the advertising ecosystem to create more responsible ads without affecting creativity,” Kamath stated.

Meanwhile, Manisha Kapoor, secretary-general at ASCI, commented that the advisory can be used by brands to great effect while planning their campaigns as brands wish to be competitive and push the boundaries of claims. She also added that with this service, they can support advertisers to make strong claims while not crossing the all-important lines of honesty, decency, fairness, and safety.

“An external scrutiny by experts at the pre-production stage can add tremendous value to campaign development. [In the] post-release of the campaign, any stoppage can cause significant disruption and cost for an organization. But by making this a part of the way advertisers think of campaigns at an early stage, such risks can be mitigated. We see this as a win-win for advertisers and consumers, who then get exposed to fewer problematic ads,” Kapoor added.

ASCI has long been helping advertisers with proper regulations about advertisements, which included their draft guidelines on influencer ads, and COVID-19 related campaigns.

India – India’s beauty brand SUGAR Cosmetics has appointed Carat, the media agency by dentsu India, to be its new media partner.

SUGAR Cosmetics is crafted across Germany, Italy, India, USA, and Korea. The brand ships its products in lips, eyes, face, and nails, as well as skin categories across the world, scaling its physical presence with over 10,000 retail outlets as of 2020 across more than 130 cities.

As per the mandate, Carat will be overseeing SUGAR Cosmetics’ media strategy, planning, and buying.

Vineeta Singh, the CEO and co-founder of SUGAR Cosmetics, said that Carat’s strategic thinking, experience, and efficiencies stood out, and partnering with them on their media strategy is reassuring, given their data-driven approach in meeting the brand goals.

“The beauty industry is ever-changing and we at SUGAR Cosmetics always like to stay ahead of the curve. As a brand leader, it is my topmost priority to ensure that we keep evolving our strategies to meet consumer requirements. I hope our new association with Carat will help us in this journey of keeping up with consumer trends and stay relevant in the industry,” said Singh.

Meanwhile, Anita Kotwani, Carat India’s CEO, commented that they are pleased to win the media business for SUGAR Cosmetics, and they are committed to creating meaningful end-to-end media solutions through data-driven marketing, and to further accelerate the brand’s growth journey. 

“As a team, we are excited to get this opportunity to work with a brand that is loved by the women of today,” said Kotwani.

Mumbai, India – India-based higher edtech company, upGrad, has launched its biggest campaign to date, with the aim to drive the brand’s mission of driving meaningful career outcomes for its learners.

The campaign, which was conceptualized in partnership with creative agency The Womb, is inspired by numerous emails and messages the brand has received from its alumni who have successfully received double promotions, higher pay grades, and job placements at over 1000 companies and MNCs across the globe on pursuing their online courses. 

Moreover, it dramatizes a similar career journey which will re-ignite viewers’ ambition of achieving meaningful professional growth.

Titled ‘Fast Forward Your Career With upGrad’, the campaign features the story of Sohini, who went from a batchmate to a boss, shocking a few of her batchmates who had also been placed in the same company.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGH6jcHJo10

The campaign further continues and is built subsequently through more film versions.

Arjun Mohan, upGrad’s CEO for India, noted that the campaign aims to bring out this differentiated positioning of the brand in the higher edtech industry. 

“While our past campaigns have helped us create significant awareness and establish upGrad as an online higher education leader, we now wish to push the envelope further and build preference for the brand, especially among a large set of ambitious working professionals who are looking for meaningful career growth, faster,” said Mohan.

Meanwhile, Navin Talreja, the co-founder of The Womb, commented, “This campaign seeks to shake these working professionals out of their career inertia and position upGrad as a viable option that facilitates strong career outcomes in a contemporary, relatable, and engaging manner.”

Vinil Mathew, the director of the film, shared, “The films have a relatable, slice of life quality with an interesting blend of tongue-in-cheek humor and the fuzzy warmth of friendship. It was an absolute joyride to collaborate with the super creative team at The Womb and a progressive client like upGrad.”

upGrad has also partnered with a host of content creators and influencers who will be joining its war cry of fast-forwarding careers. The ad films will also run across media channels in several Indian languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and Bengali, as well as Kannada, and English to connect with the regional audience.

Mumbai, India – Intellimation.ai, the enterprise AI company in India that uses its proprietary natural language processing and machine learning methods in the BFSI sector, has appointed strategy consultancy Pitchfork Partners to drive its strategic communication duties.

Intellimation.ai focuses on the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector, and has large investment banks, asset management companies, and insurance brokers as its clients. Its flagship product, Vector, is an enterprise AI software and acts as an intelligent connective tissue to contextually interpret and transform non-uniform or non-standard information, and automate related downstream processes through a web of self-learning workflows to deliver end-to-end STP. 

As part of the partnership, Pitchfork Partners will be supporting Intellimation.ai’s business growth and will be boosting its brand narrative.

Har Pulak Bahadur, the CEO of Intellimation.ai, believes that AI products will fundamentally alter the way in which businesses are set up and conducted, and this trend will continue, especially due to the increasing adoption of AI as an operational backbone. 

“We are in the early stages of a fourth industrial revolution! At this stage, brand communication is critical, and I am positive that Pitchfork Partners’ expertise will play a key role in our success,” said Bahadur.

Jaideep Shergill, Pitchfork Partners’ co-founder, commented, “We are honored to assist Intellimation.ai in transforming the operations landscape of financial institutions. It’s a privilege to be part of its journey in India.”

In August this year, Pitchfork Partners was also appointed by Rupeek, the asset-backed digital lending platform in India, to be its new public relations and digital consultancy partner, and was tasked to drive the brand’s business growth.

Gurugram, India – India’s full-funnel creative and performance digital agency by media company Zoo Media Network, FoxyMoron, has appointed Umang Puri, former creative director at marketing firm Digitas India, to assume the role of creative director for its North clients. 

Prior to his role at Digitas India, Puri was the former creative manager at FoxyMoron in the Gurugram office.

Puri brings with him over seven years of experience in digital advertising. He has previously worked with brands like Nissan, Datsun, Motorola, Nestle, and Dabur, as well as various brands in B2B, beauty, and fashion.

The new role will see Puri leading the creative operations for FoxyMoron’s North clientele, working with agencies across the Zoo Media Network. He will be reporting directly to Dhruv Warrior, the national creative director.

“As I begin my second stint here, our focus is to navigate the agency into a bigger creative powerhouse by enabling and empowering young talent to become multi-faceted creators. I’m excited to be a part of this journey,” commented Puri, regarding his appointment.

Meanwhile, Warrior believes that Puri’s detailed approach to his work perfectly complements his in-depth knowledge of the digital world, and the combination is vital to elevating creative output for FoxyMoron, which is a key area of focus when delivering innovative digital solutions to our clients. 

“Umang will be a driving force behind our creative direction in the North and we are excited to have him on board,” said Warrior.