Interview with Jai Subramaniam

The Indian Bull Run continues at Cannes as wego into print. Film is one category that might add further to India’s already respectable tally. There were a healthy number of entries too,from India this year – 738 against the 602 we sent in last year.

Sometimes, the list of winners doesn’t do justice to those that came so close to a Lion. So, for the record, and also in appreciation of all the blood, sweat and tears that went into each and every glorious short listed Indian entry at Cannes Lions 2006, Impact is printing the list of the short listed entries.


THE INDIAN SCORECARD:
At the time of going into print, JWT has two Gold Lions for the count, with fi ve entries in Press (Levi’s) bagging Gold, and one Promo Lion for Pepsi’s urkure. O&M and Rediffusion DYR won one Outdoor Gold each, for clients Discovery and MidLand Bookstore respectively. Also in the Outdoor category, Leo Burnett won Bronze for Dinodia Photo Library, and so did Everest for clients Cancer Patients Aid Association.

In Press, O&M’s work for Indian Association for Promotion of Adoption and Child Welfare won Silver, with its two entries. Leo Burnett bagged the Bronze Lion for its campaign for Maneland Jungle Lodge. In the Lions Direct competition, ediffusion DYR raked in Silver, for work on MidLand Bookstore.

Among the Media Lions were Leo Burnett and Madison. Leo Burnett won Silver for Prerana, while Madison Communications bagged two Bronzes – one for P&G Home Products and the other for Cadbury.

Our favorites like the Ariel ‘Corners’ campaign didn’t feature even in the shortlist, leaving us bewildered. But that’s the beauty of Cannes. You can’t really track who has done what and entered what in each sub category. Having said that, except for the Promo Lions winner from JWT, most other pieces are familiar works recognized at several awards.

At last count, we won four Golds, three Silvers and fi ve Bronzes. (See list of winners) And the Film Lions holds promise. We’re getting there.


UNIVERSITY OF CONVERSATIONS
I listened to Maurice Saatchi on Thursday, spellbound by his “One Word Equity for Brands” concept. Saatchi’s ruthlessly imple philosophy boiled down to the word being the word that a company wants associated with its brand. Google can be described through the One Word Equity by the word Search. Saatchi‘s call inspired and impressed me a lot. I also try and follow what I learn and implement it in my daily work. What is the point of knowledge if one does not apply it? We are not into it for intellectual and visual masturbation.

When I sat to write about Cannes for Impact, I said to myself I should be able to describe Cannes Advertising Festival in a single word. The two words that competed in my mind for that single word were: ‘University’ and ‘Conversations’. I am not sure the festival organizers necessarily think the same.

Before I elaborate on the choice of my words, let me start by telling you a story about Roger Hatchuel. Hatchuel was the founder of the Cannes Advertising festival which is regarded by most as the “Olympics of Advertising”. Now that could be another expression for Cannes. Romain Hatchuel, Roger’s son, who was the festival’s chief executive till 2002, joined EURO RSCG in a senior position after disagreements with his dad over shifting the festival’s London headquarters to Paris, and this led to Emap communications taking over the festival two years ago. While Emap has tried to broaden and professionalize the appeal by initiatives like the Media Person of the Year, giving a separate award and jury for outdoor, it would be fair to say that Hatchuel has created and left behind a masterpiece and laudable celebration of advertising creativity. What continues aspart of his legacy is the weeklong stint at Roger Hatchuel Academy by international students studying advertising and communications.

So you’re buying a car? Or an exotic summer holiday package for the entire family? A washing machine, perhaps, to replace the one that’s, well, outlived its lifespan, or an air conditioner? Or Insurance, maybe? You’ve compared prices, specifications, colour, plan, features, whatever, right? And made a decision about what to purchase? Good. But wait. Don’t bring out that cash or credit card yet, because if your toonager or tweenager, or even your tot of a toothager prefers something else, chances are you will change your mind, give up your own selection, and end up buying what your kid prefers.

So – and much more – say the findings of a study conducted by Disney, the leading media brand, and GroupM, the world’s leading full service media investment management company.

KidSense, which Rajat Jain, MD, The Walt Disney Company (India) describes as “ a strategic initiative to bring insights into the world of kids,” is a comprehensive single source study on Kids in India that combines both quantitative and qualitative research.

And why did Disney and Group M decide to venture upon this joint endeavor to explore the exciting world of kids in India?

Because kids have been largely ignored by the media and marketing fraternity due to their insignificance and their relatively lower spending power. Hence they have for long been classified into a holistic segment of ‘4-14 year olds’ which was rarely researched into. This led to the failure to realize the potential of this knowledge to create better and relatable products for Indian kids.

Says Jain, “The study was jointly launched to explore the world of kids and share insights with the media and marketing fraternity. Kids have increasingly emerged as savvy, sensitive and an extremely important consumer segment today. As global leaders in this genre, it is our responsibility to understand kids and provide a knowledge-house for all the stakeholders.” Jain hopes that the findings of this study would act as “a credible reference-point for the industry, our business partners and help grow the business in this industry as a whole.”

Ashutosh Srivastava, CEO, GroupM, South Asia, says, “The association of GroupM with Disney is all about unlocking value in this growing market segment of young consumers. An important learning for all is that kids like to be spoken to in their own environment – their schools, their play areas, their homes and their shows. Disney’s KidSense shows new realities of influence from this genre on purchase decisions in categories ranging from confectionery to cars and insurance companies.” In other words, if marketers want to sell more, they need to influence the parents through the kids. And how do they do that? Simple. As Srivastava puts it, “talk the kids language to enter their homes.” And if you want to connect with kids in the 4-14 age group, you’ll have to speak not one, but three languages. That’s right, but more on that in a bit.

The first thing that begins our morning everyday, along with the mandatory cuppa is the newspaper. People from all walks of life- vegetable vendors, businessmen, savvy housewives and inclined-towards-art souls read it. While there are some news pieces which are relevant to all, quite a bit of the content as well as the advertisements fail to evoke the desired interest in some readers.

We have come a long way from having print editions to the online avatars. A logical step ahead would be a possibility that would accommodate customized content and advertisements based on the reader's preferences.

This will bring about a shift from a pushed content to a pulled content. The possibilities are vast. There can be translated versions for people who want news only in a particular language. There can be kids who will be happy with a personalized edition that features stuff on their favourite games. The stock market buff will be delighted to go through his unique personalized newspaper that has anamysts' say on the ongoing boom or bearish trends as the case may be.

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That’s what each women’s magazine seems to be telling every potential reader. Women's magazines arguably have a certain homogeneity to them. The glossy look, the thin, preposterously dressed women, the endless perfume and make-up ads. Yet we love the escapism they offer. The Indian market place has exploded with brands and magazine in the last 10 years, and now, there’s another – Marie Claire’s India edition, launched on the 2nd of June. Shalini Amarnani casts an analytical look at the world of Indian Women's magazines – which are definitely bracing for renewed battle with one more aggressor – and tries to see where Marie Claire is likely to find its place.

The battle for the Indian Woman's mind-space began some 10 years ago. Till then the English magazine-consuming population had a limited choice reading women Eve's Weekly, Femina and Women's Era.

The paper quality was poor, as was the photographic element. The content was mainly about how to be a blushing bride, handle your in-laws and dish out the most scrumptious food. Woman' Era is still stuck in that era.

Foreign magazines like Vogue, Harper Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Marie Claire and the like would come to you only if you had friends coming from abroad, or you could catch a year-old issue at the raddiwala.

Enter stage left : Marie Claire

After a decade we are seeing the entry of another big international name. The entry of Marie Claire in the Indian market from the solid Outlook Group has rattled a few quarters. The advertising pie will be redistributed, as will the readership. Claims Suresh Selveraj, the magazine’s Associate Publisher, “Marie Claire's entry in India will change the journalist standards amongst the women's magazine in India.”

Marie Claire is known worldwide as a fashion magazine for the thinking woman. So, besides a lot of elegant fashion and beauty they have strong features content. Says Editor Shefalee Vasudev, “We have first-person articles, special investigative reports, relationships, photo stories, and hope to develop a lot of bold and beautiful reports that tell people about India and not the rich urban India. We believe in being real. So we will talk about issues in India as they are. Our fashion content is slick and doable – it doesn't come from a dream factory but it shows women possibilities in fashion. And leaves them with many good ideas.”

The older players are shuffling along The change in Women's magazines in India came with the entry of Cosmopolitan and Elle in the Indian marketplace. It shook the players out of their slumber and got them rethinking their strategy. In this story, one has attempted to analyze the major players in this arena, and their strengths and weaknesses.

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Anew research study by the International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) has unveiled key methods used by business-tobusiness (b2b) magazine publishers to create some of the world's most successful and profitable b2b websites. The Routes to Success for Business-to-Business Publishers' Websites study has found that around 66 per cent of websites surveyed are in profit, compared with only about 25 per cent in the same survey four years earlier. The proportion of sites making a loss has fallen from about 50 percent to less than 20 per cent. The objectives of the survey were: to examine good practice online among publishers of printed b2b magazines worldwide; to learn how success has been achieved; and to better understand how publishers are using the internet in conjunction with their magazines.

Word on the streets of Bangalore is that The Hindustan Times is looking to enter the market. Admittedly, Bangalore is next on the Deccan Chronicle's agenda too. Rumors on the next stage of DNA's ambitions featuring Bangalore are doing the rounds too.

But all these are rumours. And then, there's fact. About a publication. that's mastered the art and business of the English tabloid in India. Midday, the paper whose t a g l i n e professes it's for – and profiles -- Mumbai on the Move, is on the move itself. Midday, it's been confirmed, is Bangalorebound.

Four weeks from now, a team of 50-odd journalists and other staffers that comprise the team of the forthcoming Bangalore Mid-day, will heave a collective sigh of relief. Many of them were hired as long as three, even four months ago, but were sort of kept on hold, doing nothing much.

A few got so bored, they left. But now, it is final. Under the stewardship of Editor Anil Thakraney and Publisher Sundar Kondur, Tariq Ansari is now ready to unleash the Bangalore edition of Mid-day, with the same tagline: Bangalore on the move. And so, Bangalore will soon witness intense action in the print daily space in English, in the months to come. Vijay Times, the last entrant into Bangalore's English daily market, from the. publishers of the leading Kannada daily (ABC) Vijaya Karnataka, has grown appreciably since its early hiccups. Market leader The Times of India is still miles ahead, and Deccan Herald from The Printers (Mysore) is ahead too, but by a much smaller margin

The time to celebrate media initiatives are here again. The Bombay Ad Club instituted Media awards, EMVIES are just around the corner. In keeping with its annual schedule, this year the awards are planned on June 22, 2006. Action around the EMVIES has commenced with the Bombay Ad Club inviting entries for the event. In the past four years, EMVIES has seen the trend of increasing the number of entries that it has been getting last year seeing a peak of over 350 entries. EMVIES Chairperson Apurva Purohit states that this is what The Ad Club is expecting this year as well. To take a closer look before commencing action around the awards, the Ad Club had organised a pre-judging cocktail, inviting professionals from the industry to given their opinions on the awards and the judging process. “We received a very positive feedback from these industry leaders and they commended the Ad Club to be able to out together such an event for the media,” informed Ad Club's Bipin Pandit.

The EMVIES has seen in participation year-on-year, the number of entries in the first year was 78, which steadily notched up to 125 plus, 200 plus to the 350 plus mark last year. Purohit puts in a word of caution here. Purohit said, “Getting the mark of 400 was a sense of peak as every agency had participated last year with a decent number of entries.We are expecting to secure the margin this year as well.” She believes that between the addition of new categories and streamlining of some of the existing categories, the said target can be achieved. Another noteworthy factor that was seen in 2003 were the different industry bodies that participated in the EMVIES. Moving beyond from just the media agencies, research agencies, marketers, channels and interestingly creative agencies had competed to take home an EMVIE. “And we had seen some very good work coming from all of these organisations,” emphasised Purohit.

She further added, “EMVIES really are pan industry award for media innovations and I expect the same kind of participation this year as well.” Another area of expectations comes from the quality of entries. Purohit said, “Without doubt, every year we have seen improvement in the kind of entries that have come and this year wouldn't be any different either. Especially in categories like new media, out-of-home, never before used media, we have seen some genuine innovations.” Hopefully TV and Print will also show the next level of media innovations this year. Nonetheless, all said and done, the expectations from the industry to feature some ground breaking work is also high. EMVIES forms are sent across to agencies and can also be downloaded from exchange4media.com. The last date isMay23, 2006. The awards has roped in Times Now as the title sponsor. The category sponsors are indiatimes.com for the digital category and Radio Mirchi for the radio category. TAM continues with the award sponsorship of the 'Best TV Research' category. exchange4media.com is the official media partner.

Explaining more on the reasons why TimesNowpartnered with the event, Partho Dasgupta, Vice President and Business Head of the channel elaborated, “Times Now supports advertising and media fraternity.We even have a weekly show called the Brand Equity dedicated to this audience. We were associated with the Ad Review 2006, International Advertising Association, the Brand Equity Quiz and with Abbys. EMVIES takes us a step further in our celebration of good work by media agencies.” While Dasgupta “wishes to recognise the excellence in media industry through EMVIES”, Prashant Panday, Dy CEO, Radio Mirchi opines that as a media event, EMVIES has come a long way. “Given the kind of industry initiatives we have been associating with, EMVIES surely fits our scheme of affairs perfectly.” The countdown has begun. Can MindShare retain its Champion status?Will Lodestar claim back 'Agency Of The Year' Award? Will agencies like Maxus and Initiative, Starcom take home the Grand EMVIES?