The Meltdown: Slow party expected for international advertising awards

Whether it is the cash crunch caution that advertising agencies are observing, or just the gloom sentiment, the international award festivals, like various other aspects, are set to be impacted. While some agencies have decided to exercise extreme restraint on the number of entries they would send, the others are prioritising the festivals that they would be participating in. Some have stated that the delegation size would come down in 2009.

e4m by Noor Fathima Warsia
Published: Dec 29, 2008 5:23 AM  | 4 min read
The Meltdown: Slow party expected for international advertising awards

If the year 2008 was a dream run for advertising festivals, given that most of them had registered all-time highs in the number of entries and delegates, 2009 is expected to be a challenge. The global recession, which has taken a toll on the Indian advertising industry as well, has led advertising agencies to be extremely judicious on the expenditures that they are undertaking, and award festivals are not spared from the line of fire either.

The national advertising festivals such as GoaFest are seeing their share of deliberations. This is perhaps the first year when Ogilvy & Mather contemplated on whether or not it should enter the awards. From the looks of it though, Indian agencies are positive on GoaFest for now. McCann Erickson is expected to participate this year, unlike last year. Lowe, on the other hand, would continue with its no-participation in Indian awards philosophy. While many agencies are on, some are still deciding.

The international advertising festivals, on the other hand, may see trends that are different from previous years. The entries for festivals such as The One Show, Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, Clio Awards, D&AD, New York Festival, London Advertising Festival, AdFest, and ADC Sydney would soon begin full flow.

exchange4media spoke to a few agency heads to gauge the mood this year.

Quantity down; quality up

Umesh Shrikhande, CEO, Contract Advertising, believes that quality of the awards may just go up. He said, “It would be unrealistic to imagine that paid-for award entries will not get impacted in these times. However, good thinking agencies would treat this as an opportunity to do a more stringent evaluation before deciding on the award-worthy entries. So, while the absolute number of entries might come down, the quality might well go up. It would be interesting to see how this pans out.”

Sumanto Chattopadhyay, ECD, South Asia, O&M, Mumbai, thinks on similar lines. He divulged, “There is no denying that this would be a year of restraint. This may not necessarily emanate from the financial capability of the agency, but from the overall mood around us. We would be giving our entries a very hard look before deciding on what should finally be sent. The number of delegates going may also be impacted.”

Leo Burnett India’s Arvind Sharma, too, is of the opinion that the size of the delegation from an agency may get impacted. He elaborated, “In a relative sense, the cost of entries is not as high as that of sending delegates. The average expenditure of sending one delegate would be around Rs 5 lakh; we can send 20 entries to an international award in that much. Each agency would have their own views on this, but for us, all work that is worthy of recognition should be sent.”

Global awards score over regional in priority

Most of the agencies are also deliberating on which awards they should enter and which they should stay away from. Just about every advertising agency head that exchange4media spoke to stated that the global advertising awards would see preference over the regional ones. BBDO India’s Chairman and NCD Josy Paul said, “Even though the economic slowdown is a sentiment for us and not yet a reality, we would like to respect that sentiment and be prepared. We would be vigilant about our spends on awards. As of now, we would only be entering Cannes, but that would all depend on our work.”

Sharma said, “We are very clear that we would be entering awards like the Cannes Lion, D&AD, The One Show and Clio Awards. What we may review are awards like the AdFest and ADC Sydney. Even though Asian recognition is good, Indian agencies are aspiring to international recognition, so the regional shows may get down-prioritised.”

Shrikhande added, “Given that we now have only one important national award in the Abby Awards at GoaFest, the real impact would be felt on some of the international awards. And here, not surprisingly, the big and best global awards such as Cannes Lions, D&AD and One Show would get prioritised for the superlative work.”

Chattopadhyay reiterated the thought on this and said that awards like the Cannes Lions would see preference.

Perhaps the key international awards festival organisers are aware of the role that the awards play in the overall scenario. This may be one reason why one has not heard of any international awards announcing discounts on delegate packages or any rebate on entries or any promotional package to attract more entries. Sharma explained this best when he said, “In management, one has to just manage. During the 2001 slowdown as well, no award festival had any special packages or deferred dates. The slowdown is much stronger now, but having said that, awards would go on.”

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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

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:15 PM  | 1 min read
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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'

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:07 PM  | 1 min read
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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 by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 11:48 AM  | 1 min read
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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

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 10:54 AM  | 1 min read
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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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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:39 PM  | 1 min read

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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:38 PM  | 1 min read

KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias

Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 24, 2023 3:35 PM  | 1 min read
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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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