Somany Ceramics Signs On Ogilvy & Mather as Its Advertising Agency

Somany Ceramics Limited, the leading player in the Indian ceramics industry, recently awarded its advertising mandate to the global advertising and marketing giant Ogilvy & Mather. The pitch was initiated a month ago where six other major advertising agencies also participated. The estimated advertising budget for Somany Ceramics for FY17-18 is 3 to 3.5% of the revenue. Ogilvy & Mather will manage Somany Ceramic Limited’s operations from their Gurgaon office and the mandate consists of the brand’s diverse product portfolio.

Commenting on the association, Mr. Abhishek Somany, MD, Somany Ceramics Limited, commented,” We are interested in exploring newer ways of targeting specific groups therefore, it became essential for us to collaborate with an agency who understand the dynamic media environment. Ogilvy & Mather comes with a fresh and progressive approach which will help us to focus on developing advertising and marketing campaigns to engage consumers with our products and brands.”

He further added,” To stay a youthful and trendy brand and expand our business and product portfolio, we need a partner and support team that understands how the brand communicates to the consumers in new and existing geographies.”

Speaking on the win, Chandana Agarwal, Managing Partner, Ogilvy & Mather “Somany is responsible for launching many firsts in the Indian Tile Industry. Innovation has clearly been at the heart of what they do and we see a great match of values between the two organisations. We are extremely excited about this partnership and look forward to creating some memorable work”.

Somany Ceramics has been a prominent name as a homegrown enterprise in the Indian corporate landscape since its inception almost five decades ago. They ventured into sanitaryware segment in FY 2011-12 and have recently trebled their sanitaryware production capacity from 3.03 lakh pieces per annum to up to 11.50 lakh pieces. The company has a robust distribution network with over 1,800 dealers and 12,000 touch points across India and plans to open 200 additional franchisee showrooms and experience centers by the end of FY 2017-18.

Omnicom Health Group and Illumina will host a provocative session showcasing the power of the human genome and the information it generates. Genomic medicine promises to transform healthcare and create personalized medical care targeted to each individual’s unique genetic makeup.

This dynamic presentation explores leading edge innovations and advancements in genomics and their influence on future healthcare communications. Genomics, which is at the center of personalized medicine, provides solutions by linking diagnostics and therapeutics with two of healthcare’s biggest problems - with the goal of driving new discoveries in cancer and rare disease.

Presenters Jo Ann Saitta, Chief Digital Officer for Omnicom Health Group, and Paula Dowdy, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Illumina, Europe, Middle East, and Africa will take to the stage to present “Getting to Genome You – The Potential Power of Personalized Medicine” at the annual Lions Health Festival in Cannes, France on June 17th from 12:00-12:45PM.

Saitta will deliver insights and observations on cutting edge digital health trends.

“Genomic medicine is a rapidly evolving medical discipline,” said Saitta. “The technologies have advanced, and what was once a vision for the future 15 years ago, is now becoming a reality. This acceleration is a result of the progress in technology and the ability to assess and analyze data in a much more precise way.”

Dowdy will share compelling genomic medicine stories that demonstrate the powerful intersection of advanced technologies, data and creativity. She currently leads Commercial Operations in EMEA for Illumina, and was part of the senior team behind the launch of the new sequencing system, NovaSeqTM. Illumina was named 3rd Smartest Company by MIT Technology Review in 2016.

“As a company committed to improving human health, we are delighted to be participating in Cannes Lions Health this year,” said Dowdy. “We believe passionately in unlocking the power of the genome to transform healthcare, and the festival reflects one of our key programs to connect genomics to the everyday lives of those living with cancer and rare diseases.”

“Lions Health brings together professionals from across the healthcare communications field. The festival is the perfect venue to ignite awareness around the topic of genomics. As technology and healthcare converge, healthcare communicators who are responsible for all facets of the care continuum will benefit from this knowledge that is changing the field of medicine and bringing a new dimension to our work on behalf of clients,” added Saitta.

Attendees will be inspired by the profound advancements that are taking place in genomics, as well as the impact that it is having on individualized therapies for a myriad of diseases. Presenters will provide data via case studies, videos and information gleaned from large-scale genomic initiatives launched by experts at the forefront of genomics.

For more information on “Getting to Genome You – The Potential Power of Personalized Medicine” taking place on Saturday, June 17, 12:00-12:45PM at the Inspiration Stage at Cannes, please visit: https://www.canneslions.com/festival/events-scheduled#/?activeDay=17%20June&activeFestival=Lions%20Health&event=14-20046

Amazon today announced an exclusive long-term content deal with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution which brings the biggest, latest and most popular movies and TV shows from the Warner Bros. repertoire to Amazon Prime members in India. Amazon Prime Video will now be the exclusive subscription screening home to some of the latest movies like Sully, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, The Conjuring 2, Lights Out along with evergreen titles like Godzilla, Edge of Tomorrow, Annabelle, Into the Storm to name a few. Apart from the movie library, hundreds of popular hit TV shows like Lethal Weapon, Supernatural, Blindspot, The Last Ship, 2 Broke Girls, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals and more are also available at the same time as their US premiere to Prime members. The deal also includes the hit comedy, Two and a Half Men, which concluded its 12-season run in 2015.

Nitesh Kripalani, Director and Country Head, Amazon Prime Video India, said, “Amazon is thrilled to announce this groundbreaking deal with Warner Bros. International that adds some of the most in demand and searched movies and TV shows to our latest and exclusive content selection to Prime customers. With top TV shows soon after their US broadcast and classic ever-green movies and TV shows from the Warner Bros. studio, our Prime Video customers will see even further value in the Prime membership.”

"We are pleased that subscribers of Amazon Prime in India will have on-demand access to these high-quality films and first-rate television series." added Jeffrey Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros Worldwide Television Distribution. "We look forward to continuing to supply Amazon with our great content in India as we do in many other countries around the world."

To watch these and other new release Hollywood and Bollywood movies, US TV shows, kids’ programming and Amazon Originals, please visit www.PrimeVideo.com or download the Amazon Prime Video app today and sign-up for a 30-day free trial of Prime membership.

Our roles as marketer’s will be recast in the future as the inevitable technological forces, such as AI, will completely revolutionize the way we buy, work, learn and communicate, said media agency PHD India at the Predestination session held on June 1st at Zee Melt 2017 organised by Kyoorius. PHD emphasized that as marketers, we need to shift focus to brand ideas where scalability means millions of personalized messages delivered simultaneously using algorithms and as such technology will help to transform the future and not make us fearful.

PHD’s Predestination series - a result of a collaboration with the author, visionary, provocateur and Wired founder Kevin Kelly (and author of The Inevitable) to understand the technological forces shaping our future - explores the ubiquity of technologies such as AI that are taking us towards a Predestined destination, brimming with opportunities but equally disruptive and challenging.

PHD’s session was introduced by its India MD, Jyoti Bansal, who gave an overview of the trends -

cognifying, flowing, filtering and remixing - with a focus on how brands are actively exploring and engaging with them to deliver innovation and the topic was actively debated through a panel discussion featuring Arnab Goswami, Founder Republic TV, Raghav Bahl, Founder & Chairman at Quintillion Media, Samir Bangara, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Qyuki and moderated by Kel Hook, PHD APAC’s Regional Head of Global Account Management. The panellists debated if technology would make us dumb, killing our aptitude to question, or would it force us to be more creative and critical in our thinking.

The key takeaways:

1.Cognifying and Flowing -Technology is enabling companies to become smarter and access more and more data every day to evolve the way they develop their products and services. Brands are now embracing this future and understand that technology and data will open new opportunities and ideas.

2.Filtering and Remixing - Digital technology is changing the way Indian audiences respond to content. As time with mobile screens continues to increase, there is the need for brands & agencies to be able to deliver content and messages in real time. This challenges us to think more about what our audiences need and what they are seeking for.

3.Growth in Digital - Brands and agencies run the risk of underestimating the size and scale of India’s digital audience. It’s time for companies and brands to move into digital channels to cater to the existing audience who fall into the age group of 15 – 35 yrs.
Raghav Bahl mentioned how the new age of data is causing over-certainty, which could lead to us operating in echo-chambers, something marketers and media professionals need to be cautious about.

Arnab Goswami, who announced the launch of virtual reality journalism in Republic at the panel, emphasized that technology should not take over decision-making as the onus should be on human intuition leading change.

Samir Bangara spoke about how Qyuki is using filtering and remixing to leverage trends to gain insights for a mass audience and how technology will help consumers find what they need at a quicker rate.

Jyoti Bansal added, “Technology will only further help to enhance the marketing function; however, creativity will always remain at the core. The value of compelling,engaging and relevant content will only get bigger in this new age that is dawning on us.”

The first shortlist of The WARC Awards, a new global competition honouring the effective use of emerging marketing disciplines, is now released.

A total of 19 entries from ten countries have been shortlisted in the Social Strategy category, which links social strategy to business success.

Chaired by Quinn Kilbury, Senior Brand Director of Heineken US, the 17-strong jury panel of senior industry experts looked for campaign strategies that relied on the benefits of particular social platforms - or a combination of those platforms - to fulfil particular business objectives.

Additionally they looked for marketing programmes that were social by design - not simply a small part of a broader marketing initiative - and that made a significant impact on brand performance or influenced consumer behaviour. They were also keen to see campaigns that had effectively deployed newer engagement tools on social platforms, such as chatbots and live video.

The shortlisted entries are:

Always · Girl Emojis #LikeAGirl · Starcom UK, Leo Burnett Chicago · Global
Batelco · Twitterference · FP7/ Bahrain · Bahrain
Bic · The Bic 4 Colour World Champenships · McCann Melbourne · Australia
BT Sport · #GoalsRecreated · BT (in house) · United Kingdom
Dubai Foundation for Women & Children · Stop Tapping · FP7 Dubai · United Arab Emirates
Gucci Guilty · Dark to Light · MediaCom · Global
Headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation · Reword - Changing Online Bullying Behaviour · Leo Burnett Melbourne, Studio Pancho · Australia
JetBlue · FlyBabies · MullenLowe Boston · United States
JetBlue · Reach Across the Aisle · MullenLowe Boston · United States
Keebler Cookies · Ernie Learns Social · Starcom, Leo Burnett Chicago · United States
KFC · Dirty Louisiana: Don't Make Dirty Good, Make Clean Bad · BBH · United Kingdom
Maybelline · #BeYourOwnFilter · TBWA\ Group Singapore · Singapore
Murr Television · Bald For You · FP7/Beirut · Lebanon
Orange Tunisia · The Hammam Fighter · FP7/Tunisia, UM Tunisia · Tunisia
Reese's · Creating Cupfusion · Ketchum · United States
Seeing Eye Dogs Australia · Free Puppies Forever · McCann Melbourne · Australia
Shell · Pumped It Forward For Charity · Ensemble Worldwide · Malaysia
Unknown User · Unknown Potential · PHD Germany · Germany
WildAid · How planning used the power of the herd to save it · Grey London · Global
The shortlists for Effective Content Strategy and Best Use of Brand Purpose categories will be announced shortly.