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Adgully caught with Debarpita Banerjee to know more about her experience in the advertising as well as in marketing fields.

The two things about this stream that made her pick up this as her profession were Dynamism and creativity. She says, “The television industry is very dynamic. Technology is taking a toll almost every year. Viewer trends are throwing up new challenges when it comes to programming and marketing constantly.”

She also believes that the scope of creativity in this industry is immense. Infotainment genre is only growing as the viewers are beginning to spend more and more time beyond movies and fiction.

Since she has sat on both sides of the fence whether its advertising or marketing and communications so getting used to a whole different lingo & processes and understanding what works and what doesn’t itself was an initial challenge for her whereas the other challenge is that since this industry is ever evolving and the viewer has a plethora of choices.
Banerjee says, “One needs to be ahead of the evolution curve to stay relevant and impactful.”

Sharing some of her key strengths, Banerjee told us that she strive for two things consistently- simplicity and a fresh perspective.

Pointing out some of her works that she is very proud of, she said, “The transformation of Fox History and Entertainment into Fox Traveller, a travel channel with a completely fresh look to travel- where we do not just showcase destinations, but showcase some really unsual, personalised and beautiful journeys.”
Banerjee is inspired by women leaders like Indira Gandhi, Indra Nooyi and Oprah Winfrey.

When asked whether women have an edge over men in the media space, she happily said, “No. I think almost every field has equal opportunities for both men and women.”

According to her media industry does not lack anything organizationally. She says, “Though i think there is plenty of scope for exploratory research in the television and entertainment industry. We do not do enough qualitative work to understand the viewer.”

When asked, where she sees herself five years from now , Banerjee conclusively said, “Being a significant part of stellar channels, that presents stellar shows that leave more than a ripple, and having fun all the way.”

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The Dubai Lynx Advertising Person Award is presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to advancing the reputation and profile of the communications industry in the MENA region. The recipient of the award is selected by the organisers of the Dubai International Advertising Festival.

“With great passion and commitment, not only has Raja Trad achieved great success for the Leo Burnett Group in the Middle East and North Africa, but he has raised the profile and made an exceptional contribution to the development of the region’s advertising and communications industry,” says Terry Savage, Chairman of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the Dubai International Advertising Festival, who, with Motivate Publishing, are joint organisers of the festival. “We are delighted to hounour Raja with this well deserved accolade.”

Raja Trad is the CEO of the Leo Burnett Group of Companies, MENA, an integrated communications network (Brand Agency, Cross Channel Brand Building Experts, Digital and New Media Activation and Public Relations) headquartered in Dubai with offices in Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait, Qatar, Beirut, Amman, Cairo and Casablanca. Through solid and expansive partnerships with its multinational clients and through the strong growth of its regional and local accounts, Leo Burnett MENA has become one of the region’s leading agencies.

Commenting on the award, Raja Trad says,”It is an honour to receive this recognition, especially from such a professional, credible body, which works hard with us to elevate the industry standards of advertising and communications in the region. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Lynx Committee for presenting to me the title Dubai Lynx Advertising Person 2012.

“I owe my success to my team of Burnetters who, together with me, believe in a shared vision and a culture of seamless collaboration. Our common beliefs and passionate commitment to advertising, coupled with high integrity, has got us to where we are today.”

Raja Trad began his career in advertising in 1978 as an account executive with Young & Rubicam on the Procter & Gamble account in Beirut and Athens. In 1981, he joined H&C Leo Burnett Beirut as an account director, and in 1984 he was named regional account director on the Philip Morris account. He moved to Bahrain in 1987 as sub-regional managing director for the Bahrain, UAE and Kuwait operations. In 1991, Raja Trad became the CEO of Leo Burnett Middle East. North Africa was added to his geographic scope in 2000. A year later, in 2001, his responsibilities as CEO of Leo Burnett MENA were expanded to cover all non-media operating units in the region.

Over the years, Raja Trad has dedicated his time to growing the network and developing its talents. Between 1991 and 2011 the number of professionals swelled from 120 to 600, while the network as a whole expanded from three offices to ten.

Raja Trad was the recipient of the Lebanese Order of the Cedar (Knight) from the Lebanese President of Republic in 2004; he served as a trustee to the American University of Beirut (AUB) for three years, and as a board member of Dubai Media Incorporated.

Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Raja Trad received his Bachelor of Arts in political studies and public administration from the American University of Beirut in 1977. He is married to Suzane Sawan, and has two daughters, Nadine and Nathalie.

Raja Trad will be honoured and presented with the Dubai Lynx Advertising Person 2012 trophy during the awards ceremony and dinner to be held on Wednesday 7 March at the Madinat Jumeirah Arena in Dubai, venue of the festival.

Previous recipients of this honour are Joseph Ghossoub, President and CEO of MENACOM (formally The Holding Group); Tanvir Kanji, Head of Inca Tanvir; Ramzi Raad, Chairman & CEO of TBWA\RAAD Middle East; and the 2011 recipient was His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline & Group.

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At the book sale in Mumbai, Strand installed a large autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. As you approach the book and asked a question, it started answering it. People found it intriguing as well as fascinating. Not just Gandhiji, kids present at the venue got to ask questions to Helen Keller, Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs and a few more great people. It was as if the great legends were preaching their philosophy and surprisingly, the children were excited to learn from them.

“People may not like reading but they still love talking, the book may not be a big hit with kids but cell phone definitely is. We decided to position books as a means to have breakthrough conversations in life. And that’s where the idea of a talking book emerged.” Revealed KV Sridhar National Creative Director, Leo Burnett, India.

Vidya Virkar, Managing Partner, Strand Book Stall strongly feels that parents should read at least one story a day to their kids which will turn their kids into active readers.
All in all, the Talking Book was a great success, Strand Book Stall is eager to take the activity to more places like in Mumbai and outside. Surely kids will have a great time and will hopefully start a relationship with books.

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A free million dollar smile with a burger, a chunk of goodwill with some fries and a bout of happiness in a sip of coke is something that would convert a regular moment into a priceless one. The new McDonald’s Happy Price Menu campaign emerges from this philosophy-happiness shouldn’t cost a world. For just Rs. 25 one can share moments that are simply unforgettable. The new Happy price menu campaign created by Leo Burnett is all about such moments that take place at McDonald’s!!

Nitesh Tiwari, ECD at Leo Burnett expands on the philosophy, “From discovering love in an arranged marriage to realizing that you are more than just a driver to a bunch of school kids to a role reversal between a father and son, all such moments no one can put a price to. So we took these real slice of life situations and married them to the Happy Price Menu’s affordability to create this fresh campaign-emphasizing price yet talking of making moments that will last a lifetime.”

Rameet Arora, Senior Director McDonald’s adds, “The new McDonald’s campaign for the Happy Price Menu, reflects the joy, optimism and happiness that epitomizes McDonald’s. The Happy Price Menu, with its deliciously affordable pricing and iconic products, opens the doors for everyone, young old; affluent, budget seeker; working adult, families. The campaign ropes together the brand, the food and the prices. In my opinion it isn’t just advertising for the budget menu, it’s advertising for McDonald’s the brand.”

While food is what attracts people to McDonald’s, it’s the moments one shares that makes them come back. The burger comes for a price, but the conversations, the human connection one savours while having the food makes it an occasion. So why the wait…go on and create your own happy memory with the Happy price Menu at your nearest McDonalds!!

Credits:

ECD: Nitesh Tiwari
CD: Vikram Pandey
Creative team: Brijesh Parmar, Piyush Gupta, Prasad Patil, Shreyas Jain, Manish Patel, Amit Thakur and Shobit Singh.
Account Management: Anup Vishwanathan, Nitin Sharma, Vantia D’Mello and Amrita Katara

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Speaking about the euphoric win, Samarjit Choudhry, executive director, Blackpencil India, says, “It is great to be associated with a prestigious group like TV Today. Media today has evolved a lot and with constantly changing consumer dynamics it’s an extremely challenging business. We are looking forward for an incisive partnership with TV Today and pioneering cutting-edge work in all the varied categories of the TV Today group”.

Commenting on this newly aligned partnership, Joy Chakraborty, Chief Executive Officer, TV Today, said “With Blackpencil, not only a fresh perspective was put on board but they also measured up to a clear strategic understanding of what we are seeking to do.”

Samarjit further adds “Aaj Tak is a market leader, it has defined what news in India is and we are looking forward to being able to contribute to its continued success” Blackpencil has won the account on a retainer-ship basis. The size of the business win remains undisclosed.

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Major developments in 2011: I joined in May which is almost in the middle of the year, but the last six months have been really interesting. Apart from managing a few of India’s most respected brands there has been some significant wins too. Looking after reputed brands like Tata Capital, HDFC Life, Bajaj etc has been great. Apart from this we have Mahindra First Choice on board where the challenge is very unique and interesting. Each of these brands are at a very different stage in their life cycle and thus the opportunities are immense.

Trends in 2012: The focus will clearly be digital. Apart from that you will have a consumer who is far more aware and demanding than he ever was. On the digital front the focus will clearly be in the area of social media and online reputation management. Today the internet plays a vital role in deciding what to buy, where to buy etc. Most importantly the information available online is relied more than any sort of paid media. Today its not just about putting up an ad on Facebook or on YouTube but engaging consumers and keeping a constant dialogue going with them. Its not just about being present in the digital space but making digital work for you.

In the face of economic slowdown how do you see agencies coping up? : Frankly I don’t believe in slowdowns. I think there are enough opportunities out there for all businesses to grow. Yes, we will definitely have to push ourselves on discovering new ways of connecting with the consumer. The truths and traditional principles that we have believed and followed for the last 10-12 years may not hold true going forward. Traditional marketing practices will have to give way to new ones. Innovation is no longer an option – its a necessity.
Consumers lives do not revolve around products or brands. They were and will continue to be interested in doing things that excite them. We as marketers need to see these trends and make our brands fit into the consumers life.

Focus ahead: The focus will be in providing holistic marketing solutions to clients than merely advertising. In the face of budget cuts and reduced spending, areas like digital, brand activations etc will assume larger importance. Clients are increasingly looking for creative ways to engage and connect with the consumer and not just advertising solutions. The key will lie in delivering solutions which are cost effective and which deliver business results for the clients.

All said and done, Leo Burnett, from what it looks like has had a fruitful 2011. The strong voice coming from this agency highlights the significance of the digital medium and focus on holistic, creative marketing solutions than just advertising. Adgully wishes the agency good luck for 2012! | By Suvadip Ghosh Mazumdar, Vice President (Account Management), Leo Burnett Mumbai

About the writer:

Suvadip Ghosh Mazumdar is Vice President (Account Management) with Leo Burnett Mumbai

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not reflect in any way of Adgully.

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Ajay Kakar, Chairperson, EFFIE 2011, commented, “Effies is a great platform. It has always added new and exciting innovations to its basket. Likely last year the Gold Effie was introduced and this was for the first time that 97 entries from 20 agencies were shortlisted. I mean the participation level increased this year. There were 60 winners from 16 agencies. We never had Delhi as a judging place but we did that even. It was heartening to see the high and growing popularity of Effies.”

Amidst high tension drama and crossed fingers, Ogilvy India, the highest scorer for the evening was Ogilvy India, had a total score of 195 points was awarded the agency won the Agency of the Year award. It won a total of seven golds, six silvers, and six bronze metals. Client of the year was Cadbury India Pvt. Ltd and The Grand Effie award was given to Taproot India for Pepsi, the Game changers.

In gold category, the agency won one gold for Dove’s Ambush the Ambush campaign, two for the Cadbury Shubh Arambh campaign, one gold for the Meal-time Meetha campaign for the same client, two for Vodafone’s BlackBerry for Everyone campaign and the rest of the golds were for CEAT’s Be Idiot safe campaign.

Closely following the charts, at the second position this year was JWT India with 65 points with one gold and three silvers. With a tie, DDB Mudra and Lowe Lintas were at 45 points. JWT managed three golds, one silver, and two bronze medals, whereas Lowe Lintas included one gold, one silver, and four bronzes.

DDB Mudra, who was going hand to hand on the winning grounds but lost the track somewhere but won gold and silver effie for the campaigns; for Velocit, the joys of motherhood under the category healthcare, Volkswagen- the tail of innovations, Emirates- Guess where, fly there and for Volkswagen vento.

JWT won golds for Lay’s Flavour of the World Cup campaign, Birla Sunlife Insurance’s Children’s Future Solutions, and the Nike Bleed Blue campaign under the catagories, Consumer products, beverages/drinks and confectionary food, Financial services and Consumer products C- Others respectively.

Whereas, Lowe Lintas’s winning campaigns were, What an Idea, Sirji campaign, Fastrack bags, Lifebuoy superfast handwash, No Idea, Get idea MNP, Idea Languages and Tanishq Diamond Jewellery.

BBDO India won a gold for the ShaveSutra – How to Turn a Mundane Solitary Chore into a Pleasurable Duet’ campaign for Gillette Mach3 Turbo Sensitive from P&G/Gillette.

Leo Burnett and McCann Worldgroup also made it to the Top Seven list at the awards ceremony, with 35 and 30 points, respectively. Contract Advertising, though with just 25 points but had gold and a silver effie in its kitty.

Winning campaigns for Leo Burnett were Tide- tide Collars, HDFC Life child plans, ‘Koi Bhi Sawaal Chotta nhn Hota’ for Kaun Banega Crorepati and two for Mc Donalds: ‘shukra hai Mc donalds hai’ and ‘How spicy is McSpicy.’

McCann world group, won effie for their campaigns like; Safola- World Heart day (Bronze), Dainik Jagran- Jan Jagran judicial reforms (Bronze), TVS scooty pep+- go babelious (Bronze) and Nescafe classic (Bronze).

BBH Communications won silver Effie for Parachute Advanced Ayurvedic, DraftFCB Ulka won a Bronze for its Tata Docomo campaign and for Hero Honda Pleasure. Whereas winning campaigns for Creativeland Asia were Audi A8 L, the world’s first integrated 3D campaign (Bronze) and Audi- the Audi 24 hrs Le mans race (Silver).

Other agencies like, BBDO Proximity, Interface Communications, TBWA India, and Sapient Corporation also marked their presence at the Effies award ceremony.

We at Adgully, after the marvelous evening, took the reactions from the experts that were present and witnessed the most awaited awards of the year.

Joseph George, CEO Lowe Lintas said, “It could have been better. The ceremony was amazing. Some of our brands were not shortlisted but it was exciting to be a part of this evening. The year was really good for us but we will focus towards the betterment next year which is a challenge for us.”

Pratap Bose, CEO Mudra Group, says, “I think we did well but could have done better. The evening was really exciting and for next year we fill focus more.”

Abhijeet Awasthy, National Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather said, “It was an amazing evening for us. We were really lucky to get associated with such clients and the capability of doing different is across our team. I can proudly say that we have a phenomenally talented team.”

Winning the Grand Effie this year, Agnello Dias, chairman and Co-founder, TapRoot said, “It was great to be a part of this evening. We compete with giant agencies. It was a gaming changing moment for us. We believe in one thing that whatever we do we have to do ourselves. Nobody would help us at any moment. Time is in your hand and we have to do it.”

EFFIEs has always and will continue to add a profound insight to the concept of advertising awards. | By Aanchal Kohli [aanchal(at)adgully.com]

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Just like many, Ajeeta Bharadwaj never thought of getting into the advertising field. She says, “I’d never consciously thought of advertising as a career.”
Even through her MBA years, she was equally interested in marketing, advertising and Human Resources – basically, fields involving ‘people’. She says, “People have always interested me. I have always liked reading about leaders, brands or simply experiences that have captured the imagination of millions and moved them to change their attitudes and behaviors”.
Not surprisingly, when she entered advertising through a brand planning profile, she took to it like a fish to water. Even today after a decade of consumer interactions, she is never tired of people and listening to what they have to say. “More often than not, there is always something fresh waiting to be read between the lines”, she quipped.

Speaking about the women she admired, Ajeeta said, “I admire strong women across fields.” She strongly admires Meera Sanyal, who had the courage of conviction to give up a cushy job and take up politics, Naina Lal Kidwai, who broke through the glass ceiling before it was even being discussed, J.K. Rowling who believed in her unconventional, make-believe world of wizards and Sindhutai Sapkal, the legendary social reformist who after being thrown out by her husband, went on to start multiple orphanages and support over 1000 orphans”. Adding further, she said, “Then there was an ordinary woman in Lucknow whom I met on a Sony entertainment channel research. Her father’s untimely death had forced her to give up education, but she fought for the right to run a small beauty parlor where she employed two more girls. I remember being truly inspired by her resolve to ensure that her daughter would never have to leave her education midways the way she did.”

When asked about the works she is proud of,she told us that she is proud of all brands she has worked on. “In case of some of them, our association goes way back in time like Complan and Glucon-D, and it’s been very fulfilling to partner them through their growing portfolios.
Then there have been some very interesting projects – the Tide detergent ‘Value study’, which she is particularly proud of – looked at what value means to low income consumers at the peak of India’s slowdown in 2008″, she said. A year later, they conducted a mobile phone deprivation study wherein they deprived youth of their mobile phones and SIM cards for a week, and made them capture their moments of truth on the project blog. The results turned out to be a fascinating study into youth culture. This study made them win 1 of our 4 trophies in the worldwide LeoIntel Awards for fresh thinking, but the journey was as rewarding as the outcome.

Responding to the most inquisitive question, “Whether you feel women have an edge over men in the media space?”; being a great believer of talent, Ajeeta thinks that it does not have anything to do with gender. “I have worked with both men and women within my team and across functions and I think that at the end of the day, some people are good and others aren’t…there’s nothing more to it than that,” says Ajeeta.
On further elaboration she said, “ I have seen equal levels of commitment and performance from both men and women. I have also seen men handling women centric categories and women handling male centric businesses and doing it with flourish. So the only thing that is real is merit.”

Ajeeta is of the opinion that media industry does not lack in any sphere. She believes that many structures, functions and roles are getting defined as one goes, rules & regulations are getting tightened, and many useful new media partnerships are being forged.
“This is one industry that is so dynamic that everything from organizational structures, to functional and individual roles to the very definition of good performance and creativity will always keep evolving to a certain extent,” said Ajeeta.

Signing off, Ajeeta said, “I have been lucky enough to work with people who believed in my capability and gave me a free playing field. They didn’t sit with a stop-clock to count my working hours, and I don’t think any of them ever gave a thought to my gender. It helped me stay engaged, and I do believe that putting in good work becomes easier when you are truly engaged in what you do.”

Ajeeta Bharadwaj has been in Leo Burnett Advertising since 10 months as she joined in 2010. Earlier she was the Consumer Trends Director & Planning Partner, Leo Burnett (Marketing and Advertising industry) for almost 9 years (2000 – 2009). | By Aanchal Kohli [aanchal(at)adgully.com]

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The campaign created by Leo Burnett, Delhi features a very simple insightful storyline playing out in every Indian household, put together in a compelling and engaging manner. The concept which has been ideated by Leo Burnett will mark the first phase of McCain’s integrated marketing communications, with the TV campaign being aired from August 14th.

KS Narayanan, Managing Director, McCain Foods India said, “Frozen foods is a low penetration category and requires continuous efforts and engagement with consumers. The advertisement is just an extension of the communication that we have been doing in building the nascent but small category of frozen foods in India. The ATL efforts are another dimension in this consumer engagement program, and will complement the ongoing BTL efforts. McCain Foods India is running an integrated communication program covering all aspects of communication”

Speaking on the campaign, Samir Gangahar, Executive Director, Leo Burnett said, “Our study with the consumers revealed that frozen food triggers a mixed bag of perceptions in their minds. However, once they taste McCain’s range of frozen products, they express sheer delight as the products taste delightfully fresh. Through the advertisement we want to highlight the sheer delight that McCain products are all about – hot, fresh, tasty and crisp. Besides this, we also want to showcase how McCain products are quick and easy to prepare within minutes and are truly convenient, so that you can easily spend time bonding with family and close ones, while savoring these delicious products. The creative challenge for us was to communicate the ‘delightfully fresh’ attribute of the product and to break the consumer mindset on frozen foods through a theme which the consumers can easily relate with.”

“The father laments on how the son is always glued to the computer screen and doesn’t spend even a single evening with the family. At that moment, the mother gets out a packet of McCain Smiles from the freezer and quickly starts frying it. As the aroma of McCain Smiles wafts through the rooms, the kid sister opens her brother’s room door, to lure him to the dining area. The boy is unable to resist the temptation of tucking in something delicious and finally leaves his PC, joining his family. He then tastes McCain French fries and loves it immediately, while the others enjoy the McCain Smiles. The father and son then joke with each other and the advertisement ends on a happy note, with the mother cheerfully adding in ‘McCain, Fresh Banega, Baat Banegi” he further added.

The campaign is spread across all mediums including Television, Radio, Print and POS (point of sale merchandize). The television campaign will be aired on General Entertainment Channels, music and lifestyle channels, English movies and select kid channels

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The campaign features a very simple insightful storyline playing out in every Indian household, put together in a compelling and engaging manner. The concept which has been ideated by Leo Burnett will mark the first phase of McCain’s integrated marketing communications, with the TV campaign being aired from August 14th.

KS Narayanan, Managing Director, McCain Foods India said, “Frozen foods is a low penetration category and requires continuous efforts and engagement with consumers. The advertisement is just an extension of the communication that we have been doing in building the nascent but small category of frozen foods in India. The ATL efforts are another dimension in this consumer engagement program, and will complement the ongoing BTL efforts. McCain Foods India is running an integrated communication program covering all aspects of communication”

Speaking on the campaign, Samir Gangahar, Executive Director, Leo Burnett said, “Our study with the consumers revealed that frozen food triggers a mixed bag of perceptions in their minds. However, once they taste McCain’s range of frozen products, they express sheer delight as the products taste delightfully fresh. Through the advertisement we want to highlight the sheer delight that McCain products are all about – hot, fresh, tasty and crisp. Besides this, we also want to showcase how McCain products are quick and easy to prepare within minutes and are truly convenient, so that you can easily spend time bonding with family and close ones, while savoring these delicious products. The creative challenge for us was to communicate the ‘delightfully fresh’ attribute of the product and to break the consumer mindset on frozen foods through a theme which the consumers can easily relate with.”

“The father laments on how the son is always glued to the computer screen and doesn’t spend even a single evening with the family. At that moment, the mother gets out a packet of McCain Smiles from the freezer and quickly starts frying it. As the aroma of McCain Smiles wafts through the rooms, the kid sister opens her brother’s room door, to lure him to the dining area. The boy is unable to resist the temptation of tucking in something delicious and finally leaves his PC, joining his family. He then tastes McCain French fries and loves it immediately, while the others enjoy the McCain Smiles. The father and son then joke with each other and the advertisement ends on a happy note, with the mother cheerfully adding in ‘McCain, Fresh Banega, Baat Banegi” he further added.

The campaign is spread across all mediums including Television, Radio, Print and POS (point of sale merchandize). The television campaign will be aired on General Entertainment Channels, music and lifestyle channels, English movies and select kid channels.