Did industry’s creative gurus stop experimenting in 2012?
2012 saw senior level changes, consolidation & rise of more independents but creative innovation was missing

Margaret Fairless Barber, said, ‘To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it more fit for its prime function of looking forward’.
As we retrograde ourselves to the past, we can say that this wasn’t a year that saw the birth of an exciting category or infusion of fresh ideas into the industry. It wasn’t the best of times and neither was it the worst of times because they sold and made money. But quite contrary to the thought of ‘Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving,’ by David Ogilvy, the industry actually stopped testing and hence, improving.
The year saw some major announcements in its leadership. K V Sridhar (aka Pops) was given a South Asia role including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh besides looking after the creative product of Leo Burnett India. To take up creative challenges at a much larger platform, Bobby Pawar said hello to JWT as the Chief Creative Officer and Managing Partner and in an attempt to bring the fun back into advertising, Mudra unleashed a hoarding to welcome the new JWT creative boss. Giving the country one of the most memorable Hinglish campaigns – ‘Humko Binnies Mangta’, the local global, Sonal Dabral, who is the new Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of the DDB Mudra Group started working towards turning the agencies fortune. Ogilvy’s old hand Sanjay Thapar moved to Bates as CEO. The move was an attempt to infuse positivity into the Bates India office that saw the exit of two of its senior executives - Sonal Dabral and Sandeep Pathak.
Bates got a new identity called ‘Bates CHI & Partners’ that followed the announcement of the joint venture between Bates Asia and CHI & Partners with the aim of having deep roots in Asia.
It was surely marked as the year of mergers and acquisitions that led to the marriage between technology and creativity with Dentsu grabbing the hottest deal of the town by acquiring 51 per cent stake in TapRoot India. BBH was 100 per cent owned by Publicis Groupe this year, and India saw its share of the impact too.
In terms of account movements and winning pitches, the year didn’t create any history but roster agencies seemed to be the ‘in’ thing. Lowe Lintas & Partners grabbed Coca-Cola India this summer and Coke in India added three agencies in its roster - McCann Erickson, Weiden+Kennedy and Lowe Lintas & Partners. JWT aligned with Starbucks to brew coffee in India. TapRoot was added to Marico’s roster for Set Wet and also bagged the creative mandate for Karbonn Mobiles.
The urge for creative freedom has led to rise of several independent agencies in the past few years. Within a short span, these desi independent agencies have proved their mettle by lapping up some big ticket accounts. However, this year has seen agencies coming up with specialised offerings to drive differentiation and create value for clients. In a hunt for fresh ideas, big ticket clients have started roping in multiple creative agencies for campaigns like Coke that involved three agencies for its summer campaign.
The new buzz word for agencies was ‘Augmented reality’ that brought interactivity to the real world, maintaining a viral loop. The country has witnessed Mahindra using the technology at the Auto Expo to launch its Mahindra XUV500 and Lakme Fashion Week experienced the launch of Godrej Interio's latest furniture on the ramp through AR. Not only brands but movies such as ‘Ferrari Ki Sawaari’ also did an AR stunt that witnessed participation from a lot of people.
To sum up, it was a year that saw the young ones grow, that led the industry mature and it was a year that saw technology break free but it did not see innovations, experimentation or crazy creative ideas that redefined the landscape.
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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