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Mehra has her own company by the name of Lunchbox Services, which helps clients to launch products and services in existing and prospective markets, help upgrade their image and sales figures, network with companies that they can benefit from association; undertake CRM-based requirements and fulfill HR and management needs. She started her venture in June 2011 with no initial funds. Her existing clients are the sculptor, Mahua Ray; Cubit Inc, architects specialising in lifestyle; Rajesh Yadav and associates, ranked second in hospital management in the country; Diavisz, a high end diamond jewellery firm; Digold, an export house for diamond jewellery; Teah silver refinery and Id exhibitions known as Hoopla in Indore.

Mehra started her career with her father, who was in textile production. She has worked with companies like Interpublicity, INIS Enterprises, Blankslate AdCom Pvt Ltd, Ogilvy One, Kankei Relationship Marketing, and Singapore International School as head PR.

When asked, what were the two things about this stream that made her pick this up as her profession, she said, “Quest to do something different from the crowd and the challenges that this field has.”

Speaking about the challenges that she faced in this industry, Mehra said, “There have been many. I welcomed all of them as a part of life and I am happy that they did happen. Each challenge has helped me grow as an individual and as an entrepreneur.”

She strongly believes in one statement, ‘Under-promise, over-deliver’ and takes it as one of her strengths. Mehra says, “Training my juniors to replace me is also one of my key strengths.”

Pointing out some of her work that she is very proud of, she said, “My mother never told me till date if she was more proud of me or my siblings and honestly I never asked her. I feel good about all the projects that I’ve undertaken so far. Each one of them brought its own challenges and feeling of fulfillment.”

Women leaders like Ektaa Kapoor and Vidya Balan have inspired her with their vision and ability to prove themselves despite tough competition and criticisms. Apart from these, there have been many women leaders who inspired her.

She is against the statement that women have an edge over men in the media space and believes in a very practical statement – ‘Client will associate with you only if you can make a difference to their business.’ She is of the opinion that many a times discipline is what the media industry lacks.

When asked one major change that she would like to see in her work area she said, “Yes! My company and I always encourage our clients to reason more. And I wish that this becomes an industry trend. This will help clients to benefit and see growth in their businesses.” Mehra has started a club on BlackBerry, named Humanity, which helps raise funds for underprivileged children.

Five years down the line she believes and sees herself growing more with clients.
Sharing some of the highlights about Lunchbox Services, she said, “My company is formed on principles of acting as a business companion and not as a media vendor. We work as brand builders, which means that we recognise our clients’ business needs and cater to only those requirements that will help them grow at that moment in time.” | By Aanchal Kohli [aanchal(at)adgully.com]

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In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Navneet Kaushal, founder and CEO of PageTraffic, explained the challenge faced as an SEO agency and their core competencies to survive in the market.

The biggest challenge faced by PageTraffic according to Navneet Kaushal, founder and CEO of PageTraffic, is that, “We have faced it in the terms of growth having knowledgeable people. For us, challenge is not been in terms of sale. It’s all about getting the right set of people, quality of people to work with you. Of course it’s a new field and that too not more than 12-years- old. Getting people who are experienced or has a bend is difficult. Nobody wants to make a career in it and there are no courses in it yet, so that’s the biggest challenge. “

“The second challenge for us has been the growing and demanding customers when it comes to the quality of work, but we have been able to overcome those by putting loads of quality checks. Quality checks is one of the toughest one in the industry, everything goes through a lot of quality checks. And that’s the reason our clients appreciate, our quality and we are trying to build it.”

The core competency of PageTraffic is the search engine marketing. PageTraffic, primarily being an SEO company, now does a lot of other work in fields such as social media and web development. But, the main component lies with the self-engine optimization.

Navneet explained the issues that they faced while acquiring clients for SEO, he said, “It’s been an issue because clients still think that it’s free. If I go 5 years back, people would think SEO is free. So, it was very tough for me to explain to someone that SEO is not free, and that was something which took a lot of time. So, now people understand the value, but still some people think that it’s cheap and its cheapest form of marketing, that’s the biggest challenge. But it has grown from last couple of years.”

Being a SEO company, we asked Navneet about their focus area as of now, he replied, “For us, now the focus area is India. Though we have been focusing outside US and UK, but now are focus is SME sector in India. We are also trying for tie ups, some of which we have in India with agencies, whose core competencies don’t lie in SEO. For example, Google in 2011 had 300 updates; it’s not easy for everybody to keep up with that. They are jack of all but we are the master of it. So, we are consulting for companies who already have SEO teams. Nobody knows they are doing it right or wrong, so now we are doing loads of workshops. And, we want to grow more in that area.”

“We do face stumbling blocks and that has been, previously when our customers were in the US, for us the time zone was a problem. But, we do overcome that. We hired people, we did not have an office in the US, so we opened our office in Chicago and that was the major stumbling block. People are more comfortable in talking to somebody in US, in their accent, according to their time. We are still want quality of people who are passionate about digital marketing, and that’s been still something we are trying to overcome. I am sure every digital agency has the same pains,” explained Navneet.

Being a SEO company, PageTraffic focuses more on hospitality industries such as travel, hotels, travel agencies, and travel websites. Apart from that they are also focusing on, local business like- plumber services in town or a dentist or a local doctor. As local search has risen, loads of e-commerce sites are coming in India. And that’s one of the focus areas of PageTraffic.

We asked Navneet to share with us his success mantra – “Prime thing is passion. Something which started as my hobby is my profession. When hobby becomes profession, my favourite past time is my work. To have passion for this industry and passion to do something better, passion to evolve has helped us the most. Every second year we revamp our process, our offerings. Not because our clients demand that, but because we think the time has come to do so. We introduce new features; new types of reporting which our clients appreciate. These have been some of the key learnings for us and have been good for our growth. Most of people come to us, just because they know our brand. For us, word of mouth is still our number one way of generating more business.”

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Though Sony entertainment remained at the second position but lost 20 GRPs and recorded 217 GRPs whereas Colors, took a huge jump of 30 GRPs last week, recorded 204 GRPs this week after losing 26 GRPs but remains at the third position.

Zee TV sticks to the 4th position and recorded 179 GRPs after gaining 7 GRPs whereas SAB TV also stays at the 5th position and recorded 133 GRPs after gaining 1 GRP.

Similarly Life Ok also remained at the 6th position but again lost 2 GRPs this week and registered 83 GRPs. Imagine TV also continues to stay at the 7th position but lost 6 GRPs and registered 55 GRPs this week.

Though the week remains dull for the channels but let’s see how it was for the programs. This time top 4 positions are taken over by Star’s shows. Saath Nibhana Sathiya takes over its 1st position with 6.21 TVRs. Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai slips to the second position with 6.18 TVRs. Diya Aur Bati Hum takes over the third slot with 6.1 TVRs and on the fourth position is Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon with 4.70 TVRs. Closing the chart was C.I.D at the fifth position with 4.15 TVRs.

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Sahara India Pariwar, in the year 2003 with the intention of supporting the national sport came forward to support the team. Renewing its support Sahara India Pariwar, has assured their whole-hearted support for the development of the national game. This sponsorship is a part of Sahara’s program to promote sports at ground level. In addition to this, Sahara has adopted Indian Boxing, Wrestling, Archery, Shooting, Track & Field and Tennis covering support of a total of 95 sportsmen in these 6 games who are potential medal winners, until after London Olympics 2012 and is associated with other a sports at various levels.

Speaking on the occasion, ‘Saharasri’ Subrata Roy Sahara, Managing Worker & Chairman, Sahara India Pariwar, said, “It is our national game and we are proud to be associated with this game and are elated to continue our patronage and support for the game. We will achieve greater laurels and success in the sport of hockey in the coming years and Sahara India Pariwar is committed to the development of sport at all levels.”

Narendra Batra, General Secretary, Hockey India, said, “I take this opportunity to thank Sahara India Pariwar, specially ‘Saharasri’ Mr. Subrata Roy Sahara who is the greatest patron of sports, for coming forward and supporting the sport of Hockey. I am sure this association would encourage all the players to perform even better in the forthcoming International tournaments.

Sahara India Pariwar has been the official sponsor of the Indian Hockey Team (Senior and Junior Hockey Teams) since 2003. This support was extended to the Indian Hockey Team when the national game was in distress and facing apathy. Apart from being sponsor to the Indian Hockey Team, Sahara India Pariwar played host to Indian hockey team in Lucknow for their coaching camp for Champion’s Trophy – 2003. The organization arranged for the boarding, lodging, practice camps and traveling of the entire Indian Hockey Team. As a part of the Hockey World Cup preparation Sahara organised a physical conditioning team for the whole contingent in Germany.

Sahara India Pariwar also joined hands with Federation Internationale De Hockey (FIH) in 2004, the World’s apex Body for Hockey, and became the 4th Global Partner of the Federation for a period of 3 years. Sahara India Pariwar also felicitated the entire Indian Hockey Team, including both the players and the officials, on winning the Asia Cup – 2003 for the first time. Each member was awarded with a cash reward of Rs. 1, 51,000 in a glittering ceremony.

Sahara also rewarded all the players, coach and assistant coach of the Indian Hockey team with Rs. 2 lakhs each as a token of appreciation after India routed Pakistan in their World Cup match in 2010 and has provided for their insurance individually. In the genuine interest of National Hockey Players, Sahara India Pariwar paid Rs. 1 crore to Hockey India, for distribution to the players so that they can practice and play peacefully and happily for the Country in 2010 when the players were seriously concerned at their emoluments at a Camp hosted in Pune prior to the World Cup.

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MRSS India will offer Indian marketers local access to best breed of technology for consumer insight generation.

Panchal has more than two decades of experience in Market Research. He holds a master’s degree in management studies from Jamnalal Bajaj institute of Management studies and has worked in P&G prior to his career with D&B, VNU and Nielsen.

Majestic MRSS, Asia’s largest independent full service multi-country market research company, has presence in over 18 countries. It has been working with clients in the Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, FMCG, ICT, Automotive, Hospitality, Retail and Media sectors. It conducts research across APAC and MENA regions, and has always been at the forefront of technology-enabled research.

Speaking about MRSS India, Panchal said, “It has been over a decade now that I have observed Majestic MRSS closely. I have developed lot of respect for this company over a period of time for its understanding of our industry, and the company’s ability to leverage technology. My primary role here is to mentor the leadership team that we are putting in place. With my experience, I am best positioned to guide them on what not to do, and what will work. We expect the full team to be in place by the end of the month.

Commenting on today’s scenario of Indian Market Research Industry, Panchal said, “Research agencies need to continue to be receptive to understanding clients needs in today’s dynamic world. Further, extensive use of technology while delivering true consumer insight is something clients appreciate in an internet and digital world. Our aim at MRSS India is to further leverage the use of technology to offer better and customized services. We will continue adding more innovative and strategic technologies as we become one of the leading players in India. We are pioneers in getting technology in the Asia-Pacific region, and now ready to introduce them to India.”

Speaking on apppointing Panchal as advisor, Raj Sharma , Co-founder and President of Majestic MRSS said , “We know Panchal through his work and contribution to the Market research industry in India. His knowledge, associations and active presence in the industry will bring instant recognition to MRSS India as a brand with global technological leadership and hyper-local understanding. We believe that embracing digital is the new marketing imperative. It is a game changer, and how companies will win, moving forward.

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When together, the youth hold the power to create, choose and change their icons. Digital Socialites mark a revolutionary shift into the way idols are perceived which is why today there is no perfect idol but there is a “perfect youth”. Instead, every idol has one exceptional quality that the youth adopts to make themselves a better package. Youth prefers adopting qualities than copying. The difference is that while adopting means taking and exception feature from an idol and blending it with one’s own personality.

By MTV Insights Studio:

MTV Insights Studio brings you the latest from the life of the youth. This unique understanding comes from being a part of their lives every day and not from watching them from the outside. The statistics and trends are taken from various MTV youth studies including Age of Sinnocence, Digital Socialite, Recreation Redefined and discussions on MTV iSpeak. The researches capture responses from 15-24 years across 10+ cities across India. MTV iSpeak is a network of youth in age of 18-24 years from colleges across 10 cities provides a continuous connect to the youth life. For more youth trends, please click on www.mtvplay.in or write to us at insights@mtvindia.com

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Over 35 year since, times have changed, awareness has increased and the women farmers are far more empowered! Celebrating this empowerment and making the video more relevant to the day and age, the new version with refreshing music and visuals showcases Bharat catching up with India like never before. Bringing in the new look and crooning to the tunes today, is none other than the very talented Sunidhi Chauhan.

The 3 minute un-edited video which showcases the changing face of rural India, was launched by Sunidhi Chauhan and Preeti Sagar – who was originally responsible for making the song iconic and won FILMFARE for the Best Female Playback in 1976. Supporting the same was also Managing Director, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd., Mr. R. S. Sodhi and Mr. Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd.

Originally inspired by the Shyam Benegal’s Hindi film named Manthan (The Churning), the song played to visuals of the movie set amidst the backdrop of the famous White Revolution of India (Operation Flood). Now years later, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. has re-created the magic of Manthan which talks about how this independent woman’s life has enriched further and now is walking neck to neck with her urban counterpart be it technology, financial independence or education. The music video emphasizes on her contribution towards creating a healthier lifestyle for the society in general.

The song will be marketed across multi-media vehicles through a month long campaign and premiers on Reliance Broadcast Network’s robust media network across radio, television, out of home and digital.

Speaking on the occasion, R. S. Sodhi Managing Director, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. said, “We are extremely happy to be part of this cooperative dairy development movement. It has always been our endeavor to create a positive impact and help enable rural women farmers to become more independent. India’s milk production has increased from 25 Million MT in 1975 to 125 Million MT today. The video and music is a true depiction of where we were and where we have reached. We are happy to be telling this story of the bonding between rural milk producer and urban consumer to the nation through this campaign”

Amul has played an essential role in the lives of women and has been an excellent example of a co-operative organization’s success in India, establishing itself as a uniquely appropriate model for rural development especially for women farmers. This song captures the spirit of this movement & is sure to captivate India’s imagination.

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With Brands and Bollywood , constantly on the lookout to connect with the customers with innovative concepts which are favourable for all ,
a 25 sec TVC was produced by P9 Integrated to give out the brand message. This TVC was aired on a mix of GEC’s, music channels and news channels. The TVC highlights the USP of the brand-a unique opportunity to attain glowing skin in 15 minutes and also stresses on the primary ingredients of the product and the benefits its offers thereby.P9 Integrated also executed the planning and buying of media for the campaign.

Pritie Jadhav, COO, P9 Integrated says “P9’s effort has always been to generate a perfect coalition for the brands with the movies. The idea to make an association work is to connect to the right type of audience. The film presented with an opportunity to connect with Zydus Cadila’s leading brand Everyuth Golden Glow Peel Off, hence to engage the consumers we opted for a co-branded approach.”

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As the region’s must-attend learning platform and awards for effectiveness, the Festival will bring together a top panel of 34 renowned industry experts from across the region, led by this year’s Jury Chair, James Thompson, Chief Marketing Officer, Diageo Asia Pacific. Jury members will judge entries into the 17 awards categories before announcing and revealing the winners at the Awards Ceremony on Friday 27 April at the Grand Ballroom, Pudong Shangri La in Shanghai, China.

“We’re delighted that we can bring together such a great mixture of professionals from the communications industry. The Asian Marketing Effectiveness Festival is important in setting the benchmark for the region’s marketing strategies and deciphering those that are leading the way in delivering results and transforming businesses. It’s important that we have the right calibre of people debating which entries should be taking home the prestigious awards and with this line-up we’ve certainly achieved that,” says Myriam Coupard, Festival Director of the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Festival.

The 2012 jury are:

James Thompson, Chief Marketing Officer, Diageo Asia Pacific, Singapore – Jury President
Wasim Basir, Director – Integrated Marketing Communications, Coca-Cola India
Stephanie Bell, Regional Media Director, L’Oreal, Thailand
David Brain, President & Chief Executive Officer Asia Pacific, Edelman, New Zealand
Charles Cadell, Regional Managing Director, McCann Worldgroup, Singapore
Pully Chau, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Greater China, Draftfcb, China
Barry Cupples, Chief Executive Officer Asia Pacific, Omnicom Media Group, Singapore
Jonathan Daly, Regional Planning Director, Asia Pacific, Saatchi & Saatchi, Singapore
Mathilde Delhoume-Debreu, Director, Brand Building Integrated Communication, EMEA & Asia, Procter & Gamble, Switzerland
Rupen Desai, Regional President, Lowe + Partners Asia Pacific, Singapore
Matt Fanshawe, Managing Director Asia Pacific, EuroRSCG, Singapore
David Glass, Vice President Regional Marketing Asia Pacific, Wrigley, Hong Kong
Justin Graham, Executive Planning Director, Droga5, Australia
Matthew Godfrey, President Asia, Y&R, Singapore
Pete Heskett, South East Asia Planning Director, JWT, Singapore
Paul Hu, Executive Vice President, Land Rover China
Neil Hudspeth, Chief Digital Officer Asia Pacific, Leo Burnett Group, Singapore
Sheena Jeng, China Chair & Chief Creative Officer, Publicis China
Julie Lyle, Chief Marketing Officer, Prudential Corporation Asia, Hong Kong
Anthony Lau, Head of Marketing, Pacific Credit Card Centre, Bank of Communications, China
Andrew Meadon, Regional Director, GroupM Asia Pacific, Hong Kong
Paolo Mercado, Head of Marketing Communications, Greater China Region, Nestle China
Joanna Mobley, Group Director of Ingredient Marketing, Innovation & Business Ventures, Fonterra, New Zealand
Leonardo O’Grady, Director ASEAN Integrated Marketing & Communications, Coca-Cola Asia Pacific, Singapore
Tracy Ren, Head of Marketing, Pricing & Customer Analytics, Standard Chartered Bank, China
Dona S Arcilla, Group Head Marketing & Communications Group, Philippine Savings Bank, The Philippines
Nirvik Singh, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, Grey Group, Singapore
Mark Sinnock, President, Strategy & Planning, Ogilvy & Mather Group Asia Pacific, Singapore
Chris Thomas, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer BBDO Asia, Middle East & Africa, Chairman Proximity Worldwide, BBDO/Proximity, Singapore
Ian Thubron, President, TBWA/Greater China, Hong Kong
Mei Wai, Head of Marketing, Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore
Haiyan Wang, Marketing Director China, Kraft Foods Corporate Management (Shanghai) Co, China
Charles Wigley, Chairman Asia, BBH, Singapore
James Wong, Managing Director Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea, Unilever, Taiwan
John Zeigler, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, DDB Group Asia Pacific, India, Japan, DDB Worldwide, Singapore

The entry deadline for the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Festival has been extended to Thursday 16 February. A late entry fee will be applicable, details of which can be found at www.ame.asia along with further information on entering the awards.

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Says Kushal Sanghvi, Managing Director, Spiider Digital Hub, “At Spiider we put the brand first. Keeping in mind the way people are consuming and spending large time spans on the Internet through PC’S, Laptops, mobile phones and other hand held devices our strategy would always revolve around “engagement” with these audiences while creating a contextual environment and an interactive platform for the brand.

Today, we believe that there is no brand for which the enablement of technology and a consumer connect through this communication is a challenge and thus our endeavor would be to connect the dots and get the brand closer to the relevant consumer.”

“We stand today in the midst of a media neutral environment. Digital dominance has been the reality of the advertising and marketing spaces across the world, for close to a decade now. As marketers, we’ve always kept our collective finger on the pulse of the consumer. In fact, in the last decade the consumer has really kept us on our toes. From developing digital services to specialist ORM, SEO and Online Strategy Planning strengths, we are constantly re-energising existing paradigms of communication.”