MEC India, a leading media agency, has been awarded the media duties for ParentCircle, for its upcoming products and platform. MEC won this account after a multi-agency pitch.

A household brand of Shri Harini Media Ltd (A Ramco group associate), ParentCircle started off as an English monthly magazine that caters to various subjects related to parenting and child development. After tasting its initial success, SHML also garnered mileage with Chellamey - a monthly Tamil magazine exclusively designed for Tamil reading audience around the subjects of parenting and child development. Taking this success further in an anticipation to strengthen its product portfolio, ParentCircle is planning to launch its new product in the market and create a demand for subjects like parenting and child development.

Commenting on the win, T. Gangadhar, MD, MEC India said, “We are delighted to associate with Parentcircle. ParentCircle is driven by a vision to bring about a positive transformation in the Indian parenting community. We look forward to an exciting partnership”.

Nalina Ramalakshmi, Founder and Managing Director of ParentCircle says, "This is another significant moment for ParentCircle. We are extremely pleased to partner with MEC to help us in our growth strategy. Given the proven record of MEC worldwide, we believe this partnership should bring in more efficiency into our overall media planning. We now are best placed to optimise the opportunities available in the market."

The account will be led from MEC’s Chennai branch.

An all-Brand Jury recognizes innovation and creativity in mobile marketing

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), today announced the jury and awards shortlist for the 2015 edition of the MMA India SMARTIES™ Awards. The SMARTIES™ is the world’s only global mobile marketing awards program that honours innovation, creativity and success in the field of mobile marketing. The MMA SMARTIES™ India Awards, where the final winners will be announced, will take place on September 16th 2015 at The Leela Ambience Gurgaon Hotel and Residences in Gurgaon, India.

This year an ‘all-Brand Jury’, led by Jury Chairperson D Shivakumar, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt Ltd, and consisting of other celebrated marketers in India, will evaluate shortlisted campaigns under 15 categories. The jury will be joined by brand & communication research company, Millward Brown, The SMARTIES™ Knowledge Partner.

The Smarties™ India 2015 covers everything from brand awareness to innovation, video/rich media and social media, and strives to find the best campaigns from across the country. The awards celebrate the excellent work being done on mobile by both brands and agencies, and to inspire marketers to push the envelope in their own campaigns.

“The Mobile industry is about 20 years old and the mobile phone is the most deep personal experience for the user. Marketers are learning to innovate with this medium and I saw a number of great mobile marketing innovations from Colgate, HUL, PepsiCo, UB, Kelloggs and Paytm. We are in the third year of these awards and I expect to see a revolution here in the next few years.” said Jury Chairperson D Shivakumar, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd.

The shortlist consists of 62 campaigns over 15 categories from all over the country with an increment in participation from regional markets. The FMCG companies lead the pack, accounting for over 40 percent of the shortlisted entries. The range of industries which the campaign entries came from only underscores the growing prominence of mobile as a marketing medium. Lead Generation / Conversion / Direct Response, Product / Service Launch, Cross Media Integration, Best Brand experience in Mobile Rich Media, Relationship Building proved to be the most popular categories overall.

“The response that we have received for The Smarties™ India 2015 is very encouraging and demonstrative of the growing potential of mobile marketing in India. These entries are representative of the breakthrough mobile strategies that have been adopted by brands and agencies in varied industries through the past year,” said Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director, Mobile Marketing Association – Asia Pacific. “The campaigns that have been shortlisted are inspiring and demonstrate the countless applications of mobile marketing in India, and providing more opportunities for brands to get closer to their customers.”

THE ALL BRAND JURY MEMBERS FOR THE SMARTIES™ INDIA 2015

1. D Shivakumar, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd

2. Ajit Mohan, Head of Digital, Star India

3. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder, One97 & Paytm

4. Amrit Thomas, President and CMO, United Spirits Limited

5. Manav Sethi, CMO, AskMe

6. Sandeep Menon, CMO Google India

7. Karthi Marshan, CMO Kotak Group

8. Harpreet Singh Tibb, , CMO Kellogg

9. Amarjit Batra, CEO, OLX

10. Sonali Dhawan, Marketing Director, P&G

11. Sunil Buch, Chief Business Officer, Zee Entertainment

12. Manish Aggarwal, VP Marketing, Myntra Fashion Brands

13. Kartik Jain, EVP & Head Marketing, HDFC Bank

14. Gaurav Jeet Singh,  Head Media Services- South Asia, Hindustan Unilever Limited

15. Prasun Basu, MD South Asia, Millward Brown  (The Smarties™  Knowledge Partners)

16. Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director, MMA APAC

Presenting The Smarties India 2015 Shortlist

Brand Awareness

• Mountain Dew | PepsiCo and Mindshare

“Mountain Dew - Inspiring Rural India with Real Heroes’ Real Stories”

• Vodafone and Madhouse Mobile Marketing India Pvt Ltd

“Vodafone Amplify – An Innovation that turned Onlookers to Curators”

• Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd and Red Fuse Communications

“A smile for education”

• Hindustan Unilever and PHD India

“Kan Khajura Tesan”

• Ceat Tyres and GroupM India

“#DriveSafeDad”

Lead Generation / Direct Response / Conversion

• Getit Infomedia Limited /Brand:AskMeBazaar.com and Opera Mediaworks

“AskMeBazaar”

• Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd. and Red Fuse Communications

“Spreading a million smiles with a mobile”

• Comfort and PHD India

“Comfort Housie”

• United Spirits Limited and Mindshare

“How a Spirits Brand Got High on Mobile - United Spirits Limited”

• Caterpillar and Flytxt- Havas Media

“Top-of-the-mind-awareness and lead generation campaign for Caterpillar in urban and rural Indian markets (Flytxt-Havas Media)”

Product / Services Launch

• Getit Infomedia Limited /Brand:AskMeBazaar.com and Opera Mediaworks

“AskMeBazaar”

• Lakme and PHD India

“Lakme Makeup Pro”

• Airtel Wynk and Performics-TLG India Pvt Ltd

“Airtel Wynk Launch”

• Hungama and Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt Ltd

“Happy New Year: The Game”

• GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited and Mindshare India

“Experiencing the “Mix-ability” of Instant Chocolate Horlicks on your SmartPhone - Shake a Mix!”

Promotion

• Hindustan Unilever and PHD India

“Consumer 360”

• Comfort and PHD India

“Comfort Housie”

• Hungama and Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt Ltd

“Happy New Year: The Game”

• Godrej and MSix

“Cinthol: The world is more beautiful than the World Wide Web ”

• Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd and Red Fuse Communications

“Spreading a million smiles with a mobile”

• Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd and Red Fuse Communications

“A smile for education”

Relationship Building / CRM

• Hindustan Unilever and PHD India

“Kan Khajura Tesan”

• Hindustan Unilever and PHD India

“Consumer 360”

• NexGTv and Quasar Media

“nexGTv Entertainment Mobile Application”

• Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd and Red Fuse Communications

“A smile for education”

• Comfort and PHD India

“Comfort Housie”

• Ceat Tyres and GroupM India

“#DriveSafeDad”

Cross Media / Cross Mobile Integration

• Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd and Red Fuse Communications

“Spreading a million smiles with a mobile”

• McDowell’s No.1 Whskey and Mindshare

“TV Makes friendship with mobile - McDowell’s No.1 Whiskey ”

• Ceat Tyres and Group M India

“#DriveSafeDad”

• Mountain Dew | PepsiCo and Mindshare

“Mountain Dew - Inspiring Rural India with Real Heroes’ Real Stories”

• Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd and Red Fuse Communications

“A smile for education”

• Kellogg India Pvt. Ltd and Mindshare West

“Kellogg’s Mobile Breakfast”

Marketing within a Mobile Gaming Environment

• Hungama and Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt Ltd

“Happy New Year: The Game”

• Flipkart.com and Flipkart.com

“Do Thumbthing”

Messaging

• Hindustan Unilever and PHD India

“Consumer 360”

• Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd. and Red Fuse Communications

“Spreading a million smiles with a mobile”

• Hindustan Unilever and PHD India

“Khushiyon Ki Doli”

• Ashiana Housing and Quasar Media

“Neha Sawhney”

Mobile App

• Lay’s and Mindshare India

“Lay’s hid the treasure hunt inside Google Maps”

• 99Games and 99Games

“Star Chef”

• Castrol India Pvt. Ltd and Mindshare West

“India’s first Co-Created App”

• Airtel Wynk and Performics-TLG India Pvt Ltd

“Airtel Wynk Launch”

Mobile Website

• Mahindra First Choice and Isobar

“Mahindra First Choice”

• Sterling Holiday Resorts (India) Limited and Isobar India

“Sterling Holidays Mobile Booking Engine”

Innovation

• Lakme and PHD India

“Lakme Makeup Pro”

• Castrol India Pvt Ltd and Mindshare West

“India’s First Co-Created App”

• Lay’s and Mindshare India

“Lay’s hid the treasure hunt inside Google Maps”

• McDowell’s No.1 Whiskey and Mindshare

“TV Makes friendship with mobile - McDowell’s No. 1 Whiskey”

Location Based

• Lay’s and Mindshare India

“Lay’s hid the treasure hunt inside Google Maps”

• Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd and Red Fuse Communications

“Spreading a million smiles with a mobile”

• Kellogg India Pvt Ltd and Mindshare West

“Kellogg’s Mobile Breakfast”

• Castrol India Pvt. Ltd and Mindshare West

“India’s First Co-Created App”

• 7UP | PepsiCo and Mindshare

“7UP used Technology (TemperAd Engine) to REVIVE sweaty India exactly when they were sweating!”

Mobile Payments

• Paytm and One97 Communications Ltd

“Paytm”

Best Brand Experience in Mobile Rich Media

• Nike and Mindshare

“How Nike risked everything on Mobile”

• GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited and Mindshare India

“Experiencing the “Mix-ability” of Instant Chocolate Horlicks on Your SmartPhone - Shake a Mix!”

• Hungama and Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt Ltd

“Happy New Year: The Game”

• Lufthansa and Mindshare

“How Forbes eMagazine turned into Lufthansa magazine for 4 weeks ”

Most Engaging Mobile Creative

• Lay’s and Mindshare India

“Lay’s hid the treasure hunt inside Google Maps ”

• GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited and Mindshare India

“Experiencing the “Mix-Ability” of Instant Chocolate Horlicks on Your SmartPhone- Shake a Mix!”

• Nike and Mindshare

“How Nike risked everything on Mobile”

Connects Consumers with Neighbourhood Stores in a Never Before Way

FirstHandle Offers Hot Deals in local areas through mobiles alerts

FirstHandle, an entirely new mobile app was launched recently, that seeks to connect a vast audience-base of online and mobile shoppers with merchants. The app makes available more than 5000 offers from 1500 merchants in Delhi NCR.

Claimed to be the first of its kind in India, FirstHandle is a free app that alerts the user of bargains and sale offers in his neighbourhood eventually benefitting both the user and the merchant. The application offers a highly economical solution for small businesses. The offers are notified to the user by the merchant through the mobile or handset.

The app is designed to reach out to people looking for convenience in shopping offline. The alerts can range from offers for eating out to buying apparel or simply looking for general shopping and entertainment. FirstHandle is not an e-commerce venture but seeks to strengthen and facilitate faster traditional shopping.

A highly interactive application, FirstHandle brings spot information about the hottest deals in one’s local proximity, and can be downloaded on all android phones, android tabs, iPhones and iPads. It allows the retailers to deliver timely offers to the customers across a range of categories like food, drinks, apparel, café, salons etc.

Says Gaurav Sinha, CEO, FirstHandle : “The main idea behind launching the app is to ease people’s life by targeting the hyper-local market and reaching out to the right people with relevant marketing notifications at the right time and via a right platform.”

FirstHandle is an excellent example of how mobile technology can be used to help customers to avail amazing discounts from their local proximity, simultaneously helping merchants transform their business models into a highly successful revenue models. For the local neighbourhood merchant, the application becomes an excellent opportunity to connect with his shoppers in his vicinity.

Marketers have, of course, cottoned onto the fact that today’s women have little in common with the figure of the typical housewife who dominated the 80s. They are well aware that the role of women both in family and public life has undergone a radical transformation which shows little sign of stopping. Yet overall they seem to be struggling to adapt to these changes and translate this evolution into relevant and engaging communication that really speaks to women.

This is perhaps less surprising in light of the fact that 97% of creative directors working in advertising are – you guessed it – men. This goes some way towards explaining the longevity of certain feminine stereotypes which continue to dominate glossy pages and digital screens, despite modern women embracing new definitions of femininity. In 2015, women happily play with the codes of a multifaceted femininity, redefining it in the process.

Of course, it’s not simply a question of locking up the ‘classic’ archetypes of femininity which brands have always used in their communication. From the Femme Fatale, with her beauty, sex appeal and irresistible charm, to the Amazon, determined, ambitious and willing to go to any lengths to succeed, to the Idealist, straight out of a fairytale, these models of femininity still have the power to reflect the aspirations of today’s women. The same goes for the Juggler, the iron-willed and steel-nerved wife, mother and businesswomen who is living proof that women are just as capable as men (if not more so). However, while these models can all resonate to a certain extent with today’s women, what really matters for brands is the ability to reinvent models of femininity; rather than rehashing these old archetypes in a contemporary context. Brands must offer a vision of femininity that goes beyond sexualised clichés built around notions of gender. Whether it is the Femme Fatale who uses her sexuality to destabilise men, the Amazon who looks to dominate them, the Juggler who craves their approval, or the hopeless Idealist waiting for her prince, all these archetypes are ultimately defined in relation to the opposite sex and male identity.

The 2015 woman has clearly left these feminine clichés behind. While she might still play with their codes from time to time, she projects and lives her femininity on a level which is more personal, more intimate and above all disconnected from all reference to gender and the male sex. Traditional archetypes of femininity no longer sufficiently reflect the aspirations of women today.

Today’s woman aspires more towards authenticity. Forget the days of anti-ageing creams, applied to 15 year old models to show off their effectiveness. When it comes to beauty, body and wellness, women recognise themselves in a more ‘real’ femininity. This is typified by the authenticity of the Real Me Woman, who is comfortable in her own skin and aware that her ‘flaws’ are what make her individual, or the Harmonizer, who is more focused on her wellbeing than on purely living; on a quest for balance and serenity.

But today’s woman is also full of humour, creativity and audacity. She sees herself in models of femininity which translate this new freedom of expression and put it centre stage. While the Goof is always the first to make fun of herself, she is equally capable of playing with sexist clichés and using them to her advantage (think Cameron Diaz in There’s Something About Mary). The Hummingbird is a whirlwind of creativity and curiosity, and flits around to draw you into a rich, sparkling universe full of surprises.

Finally, the 2015 woman needs to engage in struggles and make voyages of discovery to enrich herself, expand her horizons and experience moments of real intensity. She needs to go beyond her roles and responsibilities as a wife or mother (even if these remain a given for many), and open herself up to the world around her. A more intellectual and cerebral femininity – and one which is perhaps harder for brands to tap into – is typified by the Explorer, who is guided by her passion for the unknown and for new discoveries, or the Alternative, a hyper connected intellectual with an indefinable style.

Of course, this list is neither exhaustive nor definitive. The 2015 woman has a long way to go in her reinvention of models of femininity, which means plenty more riddles for advertisers and brand marketers as females of the world continue to redefine the traditional definitions of femininity.

 

Written by Cécile Gorgeon, Director Added Value.

Source:Added Value

The IT Function No Longer Holds a Monopoly on IT

Analysts to Discuss the Workplace of the Future at the Gartner Digital Workplace Summit 2015, September 21-22, in London

The integration of digital requirements into most work processes and growing employee digital dexterity are leading to a world where every employee is a digital employee, said Gartner, Inc.

"Today's employees possess a greater degree of digital dexterity," said Matt Cain, research vice president at Gartner. "They operate their own wireless networks at home, attach and manage various devices, and use apps and Web services in almost every facet of their personal lives. They participate in sharing economies for transport, lodging and more."

This results in unprecedented numbers of workers who enjoy using technology and recognize the relevance of digitalization to a wide range of business models. They also routinely apply their own technology and technological knowledge to streamline their work life.

Gartner has outlined several ways in which the IT organization should exploit employees' digital dexterity:

Implement a digital workplace strategy

The digital workplace is a business strategy that promotes employee agility and engagement through a more consumer-like computing environment. Most organizations approach the consumerization of IT in a disjointed way, with specific technology initiatives such as mobile or social. Very few have a strategic vision where the business benefits of consumerization are thoroughly analyzed and implemented in a methodical and synergistic way across business units.

Making computing resources more accessible in ways that match employees' preferences will foster engagement by providing feelings of empowerment and ownership. The digital workplace strategy should therefore complement HR initiatives by addressing and improving factors such as workplace culture, autonomous decision making, work-life balance, recognition of contributions and personal growth opportunities.

"IT leaders are in a unique position to strategically sense and respond to a set of seemingly disconnected business initiatives for employees, partners and customers. The central thread that ties them all together is the consumerization of technology, and a failure to engage with this will further marginalize the IT group," said Mr. Cain.

Embrace shadow IT

Over the next several years, Gartner predicts that IT spending will increasingly occur outside the consolidated IT budget. "Shadow IT" is the term sometimes used to describe the situation when business units buy, own and operate IT resources with little or no assistance from the IT group. Many IT departments consider shadow IT inefficient and a source of risk, and see part of their role as containing its spread. This approach is not only futile but a waste of valuable talent in the workforce.

"Shadow IT investments often exceed 30 percent of total IT spend," said Mr. Cain. "This will only increase because demand for new apps and services to pursue digital opportunities outstrips the capacity of IT to provide them. At the same time, cloud services will mature and employee demographics will shift to increasingly technically savvy employees frustrated by the pace of traditional IT, and with the skills to find their own IT solutions."

Rather than try to fight the tide, the IT organization should develop a framework that outlines when it is appropriate for business units and individuals to use their own technology solutions and when IT should take the lead. IT should position itself as a business partner and consultant that does not control all technology decisions in the business.

Use a bimodal approach

To meet the demands of fast-evolving business and workforce dynamics, Gartner suggests that organizations adopt a bimodal approach to IT operations. Bimodal IT separates the risk-averse and "slow" methods of traditional IT from the fast-paced demands of digital business, which is underpinned by the digital workplace. This dual mode of operation is essential to satisfy the ever-increasing demands of digitally savvy business units and employees, while ensuring that critical IT infrastructure and services remain stable and uncompromised.

With the accelerating pace of technology evolution, Gartner said that organizations that can embrace and exploit new and emerging technologies will be in a position to reap substantial competitive advantage.

"Organizations that formally embrace and extend the digital competencies of their employees will experience improved business outcomes and gain competitive advantage," said Mr. Cain. "The trick, however, will be to ensure that employees willingly embrace new technology, rather than feel threatened by it."