Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul><li>Last week Ashish Khazanchi-led creative and digital agency <keyword id="1809141" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="enormous" source="Orion">Enormous</keyword> announced that it is joining The <keyword id="12086703" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="stagwell" source="Orion">Stagwell</keyword> Group’s global affiliate network.</li><li>Through the partnership, Enormous will be able to leverage Stagwell’s technology and engineering capabilities, including a stack of SaaS digital marketing services such as LOCATE and STAGE built to help brands connect global talent, and integrate data, research, and consumer insights across global media and content. </li><li>We speak to Khazanchi and <keyword id="12134129" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anas-ghazi" source="Orion">Anas Ghazi</keyword>, Chief Strategy Officer, Stagwell to understand what the partnership will entail, the synergies between the two organizations and how this collaboration will be mutually beneficial.</li></ul>Last week Ashish Khazanchi-led creative and digital agency Enormous announced that it is joining The Stagwell Group’s global affiliate network. Stagwell and Enormous will collaborate on market-level clients and global brands looking to connect with the Indian consumer. The New York-based Stagwell that has been wanting to expand its global footprint and its Global Affiliate Program has been helping it fast-track it presence in high-growth regions. Launched earlier this year, the <keyword id="12167852" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="stagwell-affiliate-program" source="Orion">Stagwell affiliate program</keyword> diversifies the network’s offerings across geographies with the complementary capabilities that brands need to thrive in today's global economy, including scaled media, scaled content, and connected commerce. With Enormous joining the program, it will serve as a strategic partner helping to scale Stagwell's global content capabilities. Over the years, Enormous has worked with global clients and technology startups including DishTV, Motorola, IDFC, Jubilant FoodWorks and more. We recently caught up with Khazanchi and Anas Ghazi, Chief Strategy Officer, Stagwell to understand the synergies between the two organizations and how this collaboration will be mutually beneficial. Excerpts: Q) What will Enormous becoming a part of Stagwell’s global affiliate program mean for the agency? What does the partnership entails? Ashish: It’s leveraging of strengths of each other. The global network that Stagwell offers and their strengths in digital transformation and the incredible creative network they bring with them. They have some of the most awarded agencies in the world working with them and it’d be great for us to work with them on live projects and brands. Q) How will things at Enormous change as a result of this partnership? Ashish: Things are unlikely to change overnight obviously. Over time though we intend to get a level-playing field with some of the holding networks in being able to service global brands through our offices in India. We also intend to leverage Stagwell’s capabilities in data and digital to augment ours. Q) What was it about Stagwell that made you say yes to this partnership? Ashish: For us more than anything else it’s a shared vision that makes two entities work together well. Stagwell also brings in scale and stature that Enormous could do well to plug into. Some of the best agency brands and consumer brands in the world makes it an exciting journey to take on with Stagwell. Q) What were the synergies between Stagwell and Enormous that made it a good fit for you? Anas: Stagwell and Enormous share the same cultural chemistry of moving with speed and efficiency to get the job done, and best-in-class complimentary capabilities that provide a force multiplying effect. At Stagwell, we are a global team with specialists across creative, media and content, digital transformation, marketing communications and data &amp; research. Enormous is a creative company focused on helping brands connect with the burgeoning middle class of India. Together, our teams are empowered to think globally and act locally; and clients only stand to benefit from the comprehensive and competitive value that approach offers them. One example of this is a collaboration between our teams at 72andSunny and Enormous to highlight the stories of the Indian consumer for a global brand. Q) How will this partnership help you dive deeper into the Indian market? Anas: Enormous’ understanding of the Indian middle class is a massive competitive differentiator. When connected to Stagwell’s data-driven capabilities, modern marketing expertise, and product suite, we become a distinctive player in the market. One who can seamlessly bridge Western brands with the Indian consumer and vice-versa. Q) Tell us a bit more about the Stagwell Affiliate Program. What kind of partnerships across the globe have you had so far? Anas: The Global Affiliate Program is our way of fast-tracking a presence in high-growth regions, including the Indian Subcontinent and the Far East, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. We’ve been able to collaborate with over thirty independent agencies (more exciting news on that in the next couple weeks) who have an organic understanding of their respective markets and bring specialist expertise in e-commerce, scaled content creation and ATL and BTL Media. This nimble approach to global expansion has allowed us to scale across 90+ cities, almost 50 countries and contend for $200M+ of net new business revenue this year. We’ve intentionally taken this flexible approach to global expansion to ensure we can support our clients in their international growth in an authentic way, connecting them with localized affiliate partners. We’re passionate at Stagwell about Diversity &amp; Inclusion and the impact representation can have on culture, communities, and our clients. It’s been a pleasure to be able to seed that passion through this program. Q) As a result of the partnership, will Enormous also take on global clients? Ashish: Most definitely that’s the big intent. We have been doing some of the most effective work in the country. We have a strong solutions approach to communications and we’d love to use these for a larger set of clients. Q) What is your vision for this partnership? Ashish: We’d like Enormous to keep on getting better everyday in terms of our capabilities and thinking. We’d like to have some of the most effective work in the country. The best practices in creative and digital available with the Stagwell network and working with some of the sharpest minds from across the globe will keep us moving in that direction.

Here’s how the partnership between Stagwell and Enormous will benefit both organizations

<ul><li><keyword id="1809141" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="enormous">Enormous</keyword> conceptualises ‘<keyword id="11602845" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="girl-power-is-gold-power">Girl Power is Gold Power</keyword>’ campaign for <keyword id="11602844" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="kotak-karma">Kotak Karma</keyword>.</li><li>The campaign celebrates the spirit of all the women athletes representing India at the games.</li></ul><keyword id="1301220" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kotak-Mahindra-Bank-Limited">Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited</keyword> (<keyword id="2271941" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="KMBL">KMBL</keyword>) and <keyword id="3149038" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pullela-Gopichand-Badminton-Foundation">Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation</keyword> (Gopichand Academy) launches ‘Girl Power is Gold Power.’ The campaign has a special message for India's most talented women athletes, as well as all young girls who aspire to follow in their footsteps. The campaign video features badminton doubles specialists, <keyword id="202688" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashwini-Ponnappa">Ashwini Ponnappa</keyword>, a Gold Medal winner at the Commonwealth Games 2010 and N. Sikki Reddy, Gold medalist at the South Asian Games 2016. The one-minute film not only honours the young women who follow their dreams, but also celebrates the people that lend their support to young dreamers – thereby paving the way for a generation of champions. <div type="Youtube" id="viQs2Tkta_Q" title="Kotak Karma | Girl Power is Gold Power" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/viQs2Tkta_Q/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Commenting on the campaign, Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, Enormous says “In Indian households, saving gold for a daughter's future or marriage is a widespread tradition. Her marriage is not just a familial duty but also seen as a social responsibility. The campaign's idea was about girls of today who are forging new routes for themselves and pursuing their dreams in order to achieve anything in life. As a result, you won't need to save gold for your daughters' future; they'll be able to earn it on their own. They will win the gold with their commitment, honesty, and hard work.” Rohit Rao, Joint President &amp; Group Chief CSR Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited said, “Every empowered child is a product of an enlightened ecosystem – comprising family, friends and acquaintances who have extended their support. With the world’s biggest sporting event upon us, this is a good time to remind us all that investing in the dreams and aspirations of the next generation can give us returns beyond measure.” Kotak Karma is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) identity of the Kotak Mahindra Group. Under its CSR Projects on Sports, KMBL has collaborated with the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation based in Gachibowli, Telangana to develop a state-of-the-art badminton training facility with advanced infrastructure and amenities, and international standard coaches that will help India produce more world-class players. Both the athletes featured in the film train at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation. Agency Credits: Creative Head: Ashish Khazanchi (Managing Partner, Enormous) Creative team: Purva Ummat, Ajeet Shukla, Sachin Sharma, Meghna Mitra Account Management team: Mansi Jain, Anuj Aras Production House: Useful Garbage Creations Director: Puneet Prakash Producer: Chandra Mani

Kotak Karma's latest campaign questions the widespread tradition of saving gold for daughter's marriage; says girls can win gold themselves

<ul><li>In wake of players, support staff and team management executives tested positive for Covid-19, BCCI announced the suspension of <keyword id="7866747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ipl-2021">IPL 2021</keyword>. </li><li>Considering how big the league has become over the years, every year there is a lot of money riding on IPL.</li><li>We spoke to experts to understand the kind of impact the suspension of the league will have on different stakeholders.</li></ul> The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has suspended the current season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in wake of players in different teams testing positive for Covid. While there had been talks of moving the tournament to a different city in the past few days, the new positive cases among the players led to BCCI announcing an indefinite suspension of the league. For a while now, IPL had been the topic of a raging debate - Whether there was a need to hold the tournament this year, at this time, when the country is facing a massive surge in Covid numbers. While there were many who had felt that IPL should not have been held this year, or could have been suspended much earlier than it was, there were others who said something like an IPL was important because it acted as a distraction from the grimness that otherwise surrounds us. In its official statement, IPL stated, “The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants involved in organising the IPL. This decision was taken keeping the safety, health and wellbeing of all the stakeholders in mind. These are difficult times, especially in India and while we have tried to bring in some positivity and cheer, however, it is imperative that the tournament is now suspended and everyone goes back to their families and loved ones in these trying times. The BCCI will do everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021.” In its official statement, <keyword id="17943" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="star-india">Star India</keyword> said, “Star India supports BCCI’s decision to postpone IPL 2021. The health and safety of players, staff and everyone involved in the IPL are of paramount importance. We thank the BCCI, IPL Governing Council, players, franchisees and sponsors for their support. We are also indebted to our employees, on-air talent, production, and broadcast crews for trying their best to spread positivity by delivering the broadcast of IPL 2021 to millions of homes in the face of challenging circumstances.” However, the next big question everyone is pondering over is, how will IPL’s suspension impact different stakeholders considering there are massive investments involved in the league every year. This year, Star India had on-boarded 18 sponsors and over 100 advertisers across multiple brand categories including Edtech, Fantasy Sports, Beverages, Pay Wallets, Home Décor, Auto, Telecom, Consumer Durables, FMCG and Financial Services. For most brands, the IPL becomes that one property that garners impressive eyeballs. The leagues has helped a lot of brands build awareness and reach out to an engaged set of audience over the years. However, this year, perhaps due to the ongoing <keyword id="9323110" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Covid-surge">Covid surge</keyword>, IPL’s viewership witnessed a dip when compared to last year’s numbers, according to data from Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India. <div type="image" title="IPL 2021 viewership" msid="82390462" hostid="261"></div> Last year, BCCI had earned Rs 4,000 crore in revenue from hosting IPL, in addition to a 25% rise in TV viewership, according to BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal. The different franchisees make money through title sponsorships, media rights, merchandising, ticket sales and the prize money. When it comes to the broadcaster, Star Sports and Hotstar was expected to rake in advertising revenues of around Rs 3,600-3,800 crore, a substantial jump from last year’s estimated revenue of Rs 2,600 crore. While it might still be very early to understand the implications of the suspension, industry experts believe advertisers will approach Star Sports Network to rework the advertising deals. Many advertisers had to pay close to a 20% premium for ad slots this year and it is expected they would demand for extra airtime, to make up. What the exact implications are, and how different stakeholders work around the suspension, only time will tell. To understand what the industry felt about the league’s suspension, we reached out to experts from the industry, and here is what they had to say: <keyword id="248051" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Bhasin">Ashish Bhasin</keyword>, CEO APAC and Chairman India, dentsu supported the decision to postpone the IPL for now. “Given the prevailing pandemic situation, I think it is the right decision to postpone IPL for now. The health and safety of all the players and everyone involved I think is paramount and keeping in mind the situation in the country and the prevailing mood in the nation, in my view it is the right decision. IPL is the single largest property on television in India and something that appeals to a wide target audience, across the geographies. It has unparalleled reach and has always proven to be an excellent vehicle for brands and I think that will continue to be so and that will not change. Given the fact that several parts of the country are going into lockdown, there are emergency measures been taken in different cities and towns to curb the pandemic, the severe shortages and difficulties being experienced, lives being lost to the pandemic, I think it is more appropriate to focus on that then on commercial issues for now. I’m sure the commercial issues will get discussed and resolved in an appropriate manner.” While she said that the suspension will amount to substantial business impact for a lot of the stakeholders, <keyword id="3123098" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Neena-Dasgupta">Neena Dasgupta</keyword>, CEO and Director, Zirca Digital Solutions also stated that she would not be in favor of it resuming at a later date. “There is definitely going to be a substantial business impact on all associated with the annual spectacle. It's not just Star and BCCI that would be losing revenue but other people as well whose revenue is linked to IPL. Media agencies, digital agencies who were riding big on IPL would now have to look for ways to compensate for the lost revenue opportunity. While it is being said that the tournament would resume during better times, no one should place their bets on it. As a business I would not be in favour of the decision, but looking at the current scenario, saving human lives is top most priority. I would like to say to all my fellow colleagues across the industry, “Hang on and stay safe, this too shall pass,” she said. Pointing at how the first-time advertisers would perhaps be the least daunted by the development, <keyword id="1505615" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Khazanchi">Ashish Khazanchi</keyword>, Managing Partner, Enormous Brands said, “Suspension of IPL will certainly have near-term adverse impact - both in terms of business objectives of advertisers and even more importantly on the market sentiment. Heavy investments may be held back because there's going to be unpredictability on how the returns on investments may turn out to be. The first-time advertisers however are probably going to be the least daunted going by my extensive work with them. For a few important reasons. One, their businesses are heavily digital-enabled. That part of the world will roughly continue unfazed and may actually gain shares at the expense of the traditional business models. Two, they have a much higher risk appetite than traditional business. The older businesses are usually in a consolidate mode, while all start ups are in an aggressive growth and acquisition mode. They may actually take advantage of lesser media saturation to build share of voice. The cancellation is somewhat likely to cast a little shadow of uncertainty even on the World Cup. But only the next few months will tell us the way for sure." Chetan Asher, Founder &amp; CEO - Tonic Worldwide said, "IPL is a major vehicle for visibility for startups in India and brands associated with the event can become a household name, from a marketing perspective. While the suspension derails the opportunity for them, given the current context that's unavoidable and a step in the right direction. However, they can channelise their investments and energy in trying to make a difference by partnering with NGO’s providing relief during Covid-19." Earlier this year, a report from Duff &amp; Phelps had revealed that the value of the IPL ecosystem witnessed a 3.6% dip in 2020. So how will the suspension this year further impact its value? Varun Gupta, Managing Director and Head Valuation Advisory- APAC, Duff &amp; Phelps, A Kroll Business said, “If the tournament had merely been suspended and restarted within a week or two, it might not have much of a difference to the revenues of the IPL or that of the franchisees. However, it appears that that the tournament is postponed indefinitely, which would have the following impact – Firstly, IPL would suffer significant revenue losses for the current season. There will be loss of sponsorship and broadcasting revenues for BCCI. The league was already coping with loss of revenues from ticket sales and in-stadia F&amp;B, besides the loss of revenue last year due to <keyword id="215177" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vivo">VIVO</keyword> pulling out for the 2020 season. Secondly, the teams will also suffer revenue losses on account of reduced revenue from the central pool and loss of team sponsorship revenues. Having said that, one must also acknowledge that while it was ongoing over the last few weeks, the IPL provided 3-4 hours of much needed diversion and relief to the Indian masses who are reeling under a barrage of bad news on the Covid front. IPL’s ability to pull TV audiences continues unabated. Secondly, the value of any enterprise is based on its future cash earning capacity. To our mind, while there will be some revenue loss this year, the future revenue generation ability of the IPL is undiminished.” Sanjay Mehta, Joint CEO of Mirum India said that while the move will have an impact on brands, it also gives them time to rethink their communication strategies. “The suspension of the IPL, then, is going to hurt all those brands. Many (such as CRED, for example) would have invested significant sums in new creatives. Others would have planned campaign schedules and connected the same to product demand forecasts and inventory placement in stores. These plans will all get impacted, as finding alternate spots to run that kind of ad inventory will not be easy. On the other hand, many businesses and their customers are themselves impacted due to the second wave of Covid and might see this as a sigh of relief in a way, as they might save money for ad inventory that is not run. Also, at a time when the mood of a large number of citizens is very low, having "in-your-face" advertising urging you to purchase something as if life was normal, was a little jarring too. Maybe this break gives them time to rethink their creative strategies, for communication in the midst of the Covid challenges,” he said. Ambika Sharma, Founder &amp; MD, Pulp Strategy added, “The battle with Covid-19 which started a year ago has disrupted the operations across the globe. In India, with its huge populace it has become a daunting task to overcome despite safety and Covid-19 protocols. The IPL which is an extremely popular event that everyone looks forward to, should not have been allowed as the charm and excitement of watching and engaging on the ground cannot be matched with watching it at home without your friends and dear ones and right now you see only devastation in either your neighbourhood, family or anywhere. The high stakes of IPL should have been looked into, especially when we see players falling to Covid infections. The infection can have multiple manifestations on the health of the players which can lead to serious lifelong illness. While we stare at huge losses, be it for the Sponsors, Broadcasters and BCCI, the environment is least conducive to host these matches. A mutually agreeable formula by key stakeholders can be adopted transparently to arrive at a decision, especially when the medical experts are warning us about the Covid peak.” Speaking about the impact of the move on brands as well as agencies that have worked on campaigns for their clients, Shradha Agarwal, COO and Strategy Head- Grapes Digital said, "This is definitely going to affect the marketers. There are creative works, campaigns that are yet to be launched as brands were waiting for the IPL to enter its second phase. In May many brands would have come out with ads and campaigns because the IPL advertising inventory is sold through long term contracts that are signed before the tournament begins. This will also impact digital agencies that are ready to launch their campaigns with influencers based on IPL. There are few possibilities, firstly, the IPL is suspended and not dropped hence, advertisers will wait for the league to resume or some clients would cease the campaign and work on Plan B because the budget was allocated for a specific period, and if the quarter changes they will back out. Small advertisers might take the route of moving to regular inventory instead of investing for the remainder of the season in one go." What route the broadcaster takes in the next few days to rejig its advertising deals with brands and sponsors is something we will need to wait and watch.

As IPL gets suspended indefinitely, experts discuss the broad implications of the move on all stakeholders

<ul><li><keyword id="12086703" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="stagwell" source="Orion">Stagwell</keyword> has expanded its global affiliate network with the addition of <keyword id="1127344" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="creative-agency" source="Orion">creative agency</keyword> <keyword id="1809141" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="enormous" source="Orion">Enormous</keyword>.</li><li>Stagwell and Enormous will collaborate on market-level clients and global brands looking to connect with the Indian consumer.</li></ul> Stagwell has expanded its global affiliate network with the addition of creative agency Enormous that helps brands engage India’s growing middle class. Stagwell and Enormous will collaborate on market-level clients and global brands looking to connect with the Indian consumer. “I've been privileged to work in India for decades and now could not be a better time for Stagwell to make a concerted push into the region as the rapidly growing middle class becomes a digital-enabled buying group,” said <keyword id="320843" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mark-penn" source="Orion">Mark Penn</keyword>, Chairman and CEO, Stagwell. “There were 624m Internet users in India in 2021 and the Enormous-Stagwell partnership gives brands a local partner fluent in the new rules of digital marketing.” Enormous is an insight-led content and creative agency specializing in multimedia campaigns, business consulting, and helping start-ups connect with the mid-market to fuel growth. Enormous works with global clients and technology startups including DishTV, Motorola, IDFC, <keyword id="95677" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jubilant-foodworks" source="Orion">Jubilant FoodWorks</keyword> and more. With a track record of using creativity and insights to power “enormous” results, the agency has been ranked one of the top five effective independent agencies in Asia Pacific by Effie’s, the world’s foremost organization celebrating marketing effectiveness. "Stagwell is one of the greatest creative and digital networks in the world, with some of the most cutting-edge agencies being a part of it. It is, therefore, the start of an exciting journey for us at Enormous. We can look forward to the best in class creative and tech-stack to dip into, for better solutions for our clients. We now have the capability and a network support system for us to be able to handle some of the global brands in India as well" said <keyword id="1505615" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ashish-khazanchi" source="Orion">Ashish Khazanchi</keyword>, Managing Partner of Enormous. Through the partnership, Enormous will be able to leverage Stagwell’s leading-edge technology and engineering capabilities, including a stack of SaaS digital marketing services such as LOCATE and STAGE built to help brands connect global talent, and integrate data, research, and consumer insights across global media and content. “Stagwell recognizes an increased need for centralized strategies with culturally relevant, platform-specific executions – and the affiliate program delivers on this promise,” said <keyword id="12134129" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anas-ghazi" source="Orion">Anas Ghazi</keyword>, Chief Strategy Officer, Stagwell. “Understanding the Indian consumer and the growing middle class in India is critical for global brands as they look to engage audiences from all walks of life.” Enormous joins a rapidly-expanding roster of Stagwell global affiliates. Launched earlier this year, the Stagwell affiliate program diversifies the network’s offerings across geographies with the complementary capabilities that brands need to thrive in today's global economy, including scaled media, scaled content, and connected commerce. To date, Stagwell has established partnerships in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong and Russia, with the goal of 50 affiliates across the globe by the end of 2021.

Stagwell adds Enormous to its global affiliate network

<ul><li> As we come to the end of 2021, most of us are entering 2022 with a lot of hope and positivity. </li><li>Despite the challenges, 2021 turned out to be a good year in terms of the campaigns our creative agencies churned out. We saw many heartwarming, thought-provoking, quirky campaigns that won our hearts through the year.</li><li>In today's edition of our year-ender series, we talk to the best storytellers from the Indian advertising world and they tell us their expectations from 2022.</li></ul>2020 was one of the most difficult years we have faced in recent times which brought with it massive challenges. With people stuck at their homes, many of the traditional mediums witnessed a huge drop in spending. 2021, therefore has been a year of slow recovery. While the first half of the year was, in some ways, even more challenging, owing to the havoc the second wave of Covid-19 wreaked, things have been steadying slowly. The second half of the year has seen consumer sentiments slowly moving towards positive and it has been a good festive season. GroupM in its recently published report gave some positive news, that the industry is recovering much faster than earlier anticipated. And there have been signs of the green shoots too with different mediums recording good growth. BARC recently revealed that the November ad volumes for Television stood at 156 million seconds, 3% higher than 2020 and 31% higher than 2019. Meanwhile, Digital has been witnessing steady growth. Magna’s recently released report noted that digital ad formats grew by +20% (APAC average: +23%) to Rs 21,400 crore, while traditional media rose +12% to Rs 44,300 crore. The report also predicted a good recovery for traditional mediums like Print that were impacted due to the pandemic. For mediums like OOH and Experiential, the recovery is slower but again, the hope is 2022 will bring some cheer. With consumer sentiments turning positive and brands’ increasing willingness to spend more on advertising, things seem to be on the mend for now. However, even in a year when AdEx had been impacted, our creative agencies came up with some beautiful campaigns to make the year just a little better for us. From CRED’s Indiranagar ka Gunda to Mondelez’s reimagining of its iconic cricket stadium ad for Cadbury Dairy Milk, we have seen some heartwarming ads that made the year just a little more bearable. Meanwhile, a lot of brands also moved towards purpose-driven marketing. We also saw agencies come up with wonderful ideas to solve consumer problems. So, there was a shift from hard-selling to storytellers also becoming problem-solvers and this is a trend we hope stays. It will all be about going that extra mile, doing some good for the society. We will continue to see a lot of these trends in 2022 as well, but there is more in store. While the industry is moving towards the next year with cautious optimism, we spoke to a few experts from the advertising industry to understand what we can expect from 2022, and here is what they had to say: <keyword id="269997" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amer-jaleel" source="Orion">Amer Jaleel</keyword>, Group CCO &amp; Chairman, MullenLowe Lintas Group The Rise of Regionalism in Advertising At one level, people are becoming more like each other. But look closer and you’ll see more alike, yes but also differently alike. Regionalism undoubtedly will be one of the dominant themes in the coming years, and this does not mean the archaic translations or redubbing of Hindi work that we used to churn out as a matter of course. As people receive more culturally relevant content to where they hail from or reside, we will see them shift towards themes and propositions that appeal to them. We see a confidence among people to claim their cultural territory and ask for entertainment that is more skewed towards them. And because you are viewing, not reading anymore, you can enjoy or be entertained or educated or moved in the nuances and the fine differences of the community you belong to, rather than be part of a generic mass. What that’ll mean to the creative process and production process you can only imagine in a country such as ours. Per piece, per project budgets will keep getting squeezed but overall outlays will go through the roof and marketing costs are bound to explode. It’s interesting times for a creative partner to both strategise in depth and create a plethora of gloriously unique work for the same brand over differentiated audiences. The more the frenzier, ha ha.” <keyword id="3844858" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kainaz-karmakar" source="Orion">Kainaz Karmakar</keyword> &amp; Harshad Rajadhyaksha, CCOs, <keyword id="138018" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ogilvy" source="Orion">Ogilvy</keyword> India Seniors will learn from juniors The pace with which new media and technology are integrating themselves into advertising, we can either up-skill or pack up our egos and leave. This is the truth. The faster we internalise it, the clearer we will be about our future. If this clarity leads us to acquiring new skills, then the best teachers are the youngest people in our offices. They were almost born with a smart phone in their hands. We had to learn to live with devices and apps. They can’t imagine living without them. Technology is blood to them. Add to that the immortal enthusiasm of their youth. An hour in their company is like reading an entire issue of The Wire. We should invest in these kids. Not just money but also our time. Learning something new from them is much more fun than whatever administrative meeting we are missing to do this. The fabric of advertising as we know it is changing. It’s terrific to be a part of this change, even if it means going back to being a student. Most of us had the best time of our lives when we were students. Only this time, our teachers are younger and cooler than us. <keyword id="1106781" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rahul-mathew" source="Orion">Rahul Mathew</keyword>, Chief Creative Officer, <keyword id="910338" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="DDB-Mudra-Group" source="Orion">DDB Mudra Group</keyword> Valuing, Supporting and Protecting Talent This actually isn’t a new trend, it’s going back to what this business was built on – talented people. I can’t remember who said ‘Advertising is the only business where our biggest asset leaves out of our front door every day’. But it’s the most important truth of our business. One we’ve been guilty of forgetting, often. And with work-from-home, while our talent may not be walking in and out everyday, they are getting woo-ed everyday - by in-house agencies, other creative pursuits, start-ups with more money or just by the promise of a better work-life balance. So, if we do not double down on our efforts to make our talent feel valued, supported and protected; we will not have the talent to call ourselves a creative industry. <keyword id="3616322" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="arun-raman" source="Orion">Arun Raman</keyword>, Chief Intelligence Officer, GREY Group India 2022: Happy Brave Year The last 2 years were all about ‘Safety First’. Any action perceived as risky, was quickly branded as irresponsible by all and sundry. And we were all forced to put our heads down and keep our distance from the unknown. Covid, particularly the Delta variant, made marketing prudent too. At a time when there were tectonic shifts happening in consumer behavior, in cultural markers and even in business models, prudence was the operative word. Protection of market shares and protection of bottom-lines were the extension of protection at home. After all, aren’t marketers human first, consumers next and sellers lastly! I predict 2022 to break these self-imposed protectionist mindset by my marketing counterparts. Most have adeptly adapted to the new business models and the new way of consumer behavior. We are already seeing green shoots of big ideas re-surfacing. Big Bold Heroic Brand Ideas. That always are by-products of brave adventurous marketers. I think 2022 will be the Return of Bravery in our industry and the beginning of the end of the pandemic infused risk-aversion. <keyword id="2932117" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amit-wadhwa" source="Orion">Amit Wadhwa</keyword>, CEO India, dentsu Creative Amalgamation of Creative with Data, Technology and Digital 2021 has been a year that has had possibly the most ups and downs. Right from starting the year on a bullish note to seeing the biggest challenge with the second wave both from a business and people wellness front to finally coming out of it and closing the year on a high. The one thing that 2021 taught us was that it’s good to be ambitious but ‘cautiously ambitious’ rather than ‘bullishly ambitious’. So I guess we enter 2022 with this wisdom but there is so much more that we would need to focus on. One thing that I feel extremely passionate about is that we are in the business of creativity and our core is and will always be ‘creative’. And while I say this, we are living in an extremely dynamic world where right from methods of mining insights, ideas reaching consumers to consumers experiencing brands are all changing. 2022 will be a landmark year where creative agencies will see an even bigger transformation of the amalgamation of creative with data, technology and digital as the boundaries will vanish much faster this year. And agencies that are not ready for this change or are reluctant will face the heat while the ones who are better prepared and want to embrace the changing world will prosper. With our investments in data, tech and digital, I am all excited to embrace 2022. <keyword id="1505615" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Khazanchi" source="Orion">Ashish Khazanchi</keyword>, Managing Partner, Enormous 2022: The year of getting back to normal The pandemic was a true test of character of people, teams and organisations. While there certainly was a big drop in businesses and toplines, what was at stake was organisations' humanity. People in organisations everywhere dealt with the kind of uncertainty they never were faced before. Uncertainty of livelihoods, careers and sanity amidst surmounting work pressures. The better organisations, in my opinion, made sure that their people were taken care of at least as much as their businesses. When the specter of lockdowns was a little bit behind us, we saw a simple trend both in terms of people and companies. The ones with initiative thrived even in the midst of a terrible external situation. Anyone who did not take easy ways out, like the typical bottomline managers do, by cutting costs rather than working on newer avenues of organisational growth, are going to be the true hero companies of tomorrow. They've tasted success and now when the tides are turning, they're going to be unputdownable. 2022 will see business return to near normal, I would predict the number of pitches to go through the roof from about March. The ones with the best people and processes and creative products, will win 2022 by a mile. <keyword id="1970421" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="emmanuel-upputuru" source="Orion">Emmanuel Upputuru</keyword>, Chief Creative Officer, Cheil Entering a year of new adventures While the novel Covid-19 virus visited our planet last year, we bore the brunt of it this year. But as we come to the end of 2021, we can only look forward to the coming year, with lessons, hope and confidence. I believe the biggest positive is that so many possibilities have opened up suddenly for talent, companies and brands. We have entered an era where we have to deal with not just uncertainty, but with the unknown. There is a sense that anything and everything is possible today. Some can face it with fear, others with hope and a belief. But as the virus, the human race is also adapting, mutating if I may say so. So many exciting things are happening around us. Metaverse, Blockchain, NFTs, DAOs. Big brands have already entered these spaces. It looks so exciting, like an adventure. I am reminded of the song that my daughter loves and (hates it when I sing), “Don't you know there's part of me That longs to go Into the unknown? Into the unknown Into the unknown

Trends 2022: Where advertising is headed in the year to come

<ul><li>2020 brought a lot of hurdles in our way but the creative industry proved, time and again, that united we stand stronger and nothing can ever put a lock on creativity.</li><li>The creative industry continued social distancing in a diligent manner, thinking out of the box and launching campaigns that reminded us of things that we should be thankful for. </li><li>Keeping these nuances in mind, creative folks tell us some of the trends that they expect to see in 2021. </li></ul>When the entire country is locked down and all you can do is move from your couch to your work desk for Zoom calls or catch some fresh air on your balcony, only to exchange awkward smiles with your neighbour, does that dampen your creativity? In 2020, our Indian advertising industry proved that nothing can stop them from coming up with out of the box (or with COVID, from inside the box) ideas. They were producing ads with minimum money, trying to operate within the government guidelines of production and selling it for expensive slots on television in the second half of the lockdown period. They were also expected to create ads that stood out in a sea full of cliches. They dealt with uncertainty, brainstormed ideas over a Zoom call, pressure to overperform in a dismal atmosphere, operate with salary cuts, take care of their kids and meet deadlines. Our creative folks were there to steer through these mood swings in the market and help their clients tide over treacherous waves smoothly. The worst is behind us and now that production is back and the industry is working at its normal pace, the creative folks have a lot to talk about. They have only come out stronger and with a new perspective to offer. Experts said that the future is empathy-driven and kind. We reached out to a few creative agencies to understand how they are planning to change their process as we move forward in 2021, some of the learnings that 2020 left them with and a few trends that are going to dominate the creative output this year. Here is what they said: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Tarun Rai, Chairman and Group CEO, Wunderman Thompson, South Asia:" text="Tarun Rai, Chairman and Group CEO, Wunderman Thompson, South Asia:">Tarun Rai, Chairman and Group CEO, <keyword id="7067090" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wunderman-Thompson">Wunderman Thompson</keyword>, South Asia:</cmsannotation> Consolidation of client marketing spends: I have said that the pandemic has been more like an accelerant rather than a matchstick. I have said this since it has not necessarily lit any new fires (trends) but acted more as an accelerant, that when poured over the small fires already lit, transforms them into big raging fires. If we really look at it, this holds true for trends that were already shaping up in world economy, in politics, in global trade, reverse globalisation… Closer to us, even the use of technology, increasingly playing a role in how we work, was ‘accelerated’ by the pandemic. A case in point is Zoom that had 10 million participants a day in December 2019 and an astonishing 300 million in April 2020! One such trend, that was amply clear even before the pandemic, was the move of clients’ spends from traditional to digital media. And in this journey, clients were already finding that working with multiple partners was leading to diffused messaging because people were working in silos, and complicated coordination. The pandemic has accelerated clients’ digital transformation journey. More attention is now focussed on technology, on e-commerce, on data, on digital spends… And the pandemic has added another reason for clients to look to reduce the number of partners they work with – the need for efficiency; the need to stretch the marketing rupee. Clients will be, increasingly, looking for consolidation of their marketing spends with fewer partners – for cohesive messaging and for better efficiency. For companies like Wunderman Thompson, that have capabilities from long term brand-building and traditional advertising, to e-commerce and marketing automation, the next year will be full of opportunity. We are focussed, therefore, to work closely with our clients, partner them in their digital transformation journey and, in the process, open up many new revenue streams for ourselves. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder and Chairman of Creativeland Asia:" text="Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder and Chairman of Creativeland Asia:">Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder and Chairman of <keyword id="312631" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Creativeland-Asia">Creativeland Asia</keyword>:</cmsannotation> Even as business picks up and normalcy slowly returns to the new normal, the lessons of frugality and efficiency we have learned through this time beckon a refresh in thinking. From brands changing the way they communicate with their consumers to agencies who have manoeuvred to a different, tech-enabled way of working which is more contactless, yet connected, it has been a year of challenges and learning. Keeping these nuances in mind, one of the prominent trends I foresee in the industry is the advent of short-form videos and mobile advertising. With the constant evolution of technology and smartphones, easy-to-make, easy-to-watch, short-format video ads will definitely rule the roster in 2021. The ‘story’ format which is quite popular across all social media platforms, allows brands and users to ideate and do so much more than just rolling out a few second stories. Brands now have the opportunity to build meaningful and engaging content for their customers on these platforms. In addition, a stark rise in in-app advertising is expected. Since real-time streaming of videos are becoming popular by the day this will be yet another popular ad tendency businesses will explore. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Raj Kamble, Founder and CCO, Famous Innovations:" text="Raj Kamble, Founder and CCO, Famous Innovations:">Raj Kamble, Founder and CCO, Famous Innovations: </cmsannotation> I can summarise 2021 in one word: Accountability. Our business has changed dramatically in 2020 and clients will want partners who are accountable for their business. This means being personally invested in the client’s success – an art that advertising professionals have forgotten about. Asking the tangible question - will this sell my client's product - and not just the vague one - will this build my client's brand. That’s the way things used to be when agencies were owned by the same people that actually did the work. That’s why independent agencies are designed for accountability. Because our success depends on the client's success. Furthermore, this means the end of segregation of agencies and the start of the hybrid era. Lately, a chasm is forming in the A&amp;M industry where on the one side, there are the large traditional agencies that can only play the large campaign and long-term game but don't understand new media and the new consumer as well. While on the other side, there is a sprouting of digital agencies that play the digital medium well but don't have strong strategic and creative pillars in place. In 2021, clients will increasingly seek integrated solutions and a hybrid agency like ours that combines the best of both worlds is well poised to address this gap. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, Enormous Brands:" text="Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, Enormous Brands:">Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, <keyword id="2949725" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Enormous-Brands">Enormous Brands</keyword>:</cmsannotation> Optimism is the one trend that I believe will be one of the most important in the industry in the coming days. With the way the world is slowly but surely coming around and the way the businesses are turning a corner, a certain bullishness is to be expected both from the makers and the buying publics. Brands should look at tapping into the emerging positivity and the new togetherness, generosity, kindness in these times. Brands looking at connecting with their audiences on an optimistic emotional level will do well in creating salience for the brand. The changes coronavirus has made across our society have been unpredictable, but for marketing and advertising, it is an opportunity now to change the course of the conversation from extreme caution of the year gone by to a gradual but imminent change. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Debashish Ghosh, National Creative Director, 22feet Tribal Worldwide:" text="Debashish Ghosh, National Creative Director, 22feet Tribal Worldwide:">Debashish Ghosh, National Creative Director, 22feet Tribal Worldwide:</cmsannotation> I feel it will be an empathy-driven flywheel. We talk about share economy a lot. One thing that’s shared the most is perhaps knowledge, opinions and views. People trust each other’s view and not a brand’s view. And that’s how they make decisions about who to engage with. The hyper-connected world is increasingly providing more avenues to amplify this behaviour. In this world, the consumer is not just the output but also the input. Delighting one person leads to attracting &amp; engaging another. That’s the flywheel. It’s not a finite CX journey but an on-going one. The idea is to open relationships and not close deals. Creativity will need to vitalize all the forces of this flywheel. Ideas with high dose of empathy and elasticity will easily wrap around it to attain sustainable growth. Being creative with content and stand-alone experiences will not be enough. As a norm, performance, automation, lead generation, on-boarding, CRM stack &amp; other consumer touchpoints will need to be creatively humanised. And existing tools will be creatively redeployed like podcasts being used as testimonials or self-service audio clips. All of it won’t happen in a year but it will be around the corner.”

Advertising: The trends to watch out for in 2021

<ul><li>As the year draws to a close, it is important to pause and reflect.</li><li>We speak to industry leaders about the year gone by and a few lessons they learnt from 2021.</li></ul>It was during the peak of the pandemic in 2020 when doctors across the world were still trying to figure out what the novel Coronavirus is, I lost my grandmother. Shortly after, my father tested positive for the virus. His oxygen dropped to 78 mm. We struggled to find a bed for him and found a hospital 50 kms away. He was still mourning the loss of his mother, fighting a deadly virus, struggling to form sentences but he had a huge smile on his face when I taught him how to video call on WhatsApp. He was there for two weeks but those weeks definitely felt like a decade to me. I had the nurse's number on my speed dial, I called her first thing in the morning to ask, "How is my father breathing today? Has his oxygen picked up?" She would respond patiently, "Yes, we are doing our best." To escape from this, I buried myself in work, binge-watched violent movies to numb the pain I was actually feeling. After we heard the news that he is coming back, we decorated the house. I put up some fairy lights, made a rangoli, bought his favourite sweets -- Kaju Katli. After all, we were welcoming Ram back into his home right before Diwali. It took me a while to process the horrendous month that I had spent. Thankfully, I had a very supportive team at work. I remember texting my editor a week later, "I will be submitting my story late today, I am too anxious and panicked." She responded, "Sure, take your time, Karuna." So, if 2020 was about self-isolation, making sure our older family members stay safe and prioritizing their physical health, 2021 taught me the importance of mental health. After months of working from home -- away from our loved ones, seeing the country battle a deadly virus and our medical industry getting crippled, 2021 was all about healing from the storm. It was about finding comfort in little wins and reminding ourselves that we are all in this together. Change can be scary, sure, and not knowing what the future holds is scarier, but resilience is stronger. As we enter a new year with a lot of uncertainty yet again because no one knows what variants COVID-19 will throw at us, it is important to remember that we have survived the worst. By now, we know what works and what doesn’t. The impact of 2020 and 2021 will be felt next year too but remember to take care of yourself first if you want to be able to show up for other people too. And most importantly, double mask up, people! Here's what our industry experts learnt from the rollercoaster year that 2021 turned out to be: <keyword id="1193084" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rana-barua" source="Orion">Rana Barua</keyword>, Group CEO, <keyword id="7001513" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="havas-group-india" source="Orion">Havas Group India</keyword>: <div type="image" title="Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India" msid="88587279" hostid="261"></div> The pandemic has completely altered our perspective of what the future should be. CEOs across the world have redefined their leadership skills based on this reality. If the pre-pandemic stage was all about merging the technology trends and diversity with an added edge of GenY disrupting the way of working; the post-pandemic world is now ushering in the dynamic social age. The upcoming era will be a lot about meaningful relationships within the gamut of the collective human experience, and the bedrock of this will be the trust factor. So, the one leadership lesson that I will cherish from 2021 is the greater meaning of ‘trust’. It has taken a new meaning in my life. And if we were able to sail through the last two years, it is only because I 'trusted' my teams to display unprecedented resilience and commitment. And that trust converged into amazing results. As the leader of this organization, I knew my teams 'trusted' me that I will do everything in my power to navigate them through this storm. And I must say we have a lot to be proud of as it has yielded positive and encouraging results. Dr. <keyword id="248570" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sandeep-goyal" source="Orion">Sandeep Goyal</keyword>, Managing Director, Rediffusion: The pandemic has taught me the power of resilience more than anything else. So many of us personally, and so many businesses have suffered such severe setbacks in the past few months - yet we have been patient, we have persevered, we have buffeted challenges, we have overcome. My belief is that true adversity brings out hidden reservoirs of grit, determination and ability to confront even insurmountable challenges. It is when you discover your real friends. It is when you discover your inner strengths. You also discover the power of love; power of caring; power of sharing; power of prayer. The pandemic has helped each one of us to emerge stronger. It has helped us to realise how finite life is and how we must value all that we have: our health, our happiness, our family, our friends, our relationships … even our work and livelihoods. I hope the pandemic goes away soonest. But the learnings it has bestowed stay. Challenges are a part of life and standing up to them is the true test of every human. Anil Nair- CEO, VMLY&amp;R India: For most of us, the pandemic was a bolt from the blue. It forced us indoors, changed a lot of our behaviour and also made us introspect about the fragility of our existence. For me, personally, the biggest learnings were about empathy , patience and celebrating small wins. Genuine empathy for the other, be it your spouse, neighbour, co-worker or stranger. The need to put oneself in their shoes and feel for what they might be going through in these trying times. And the patience to be able to slow down and deal with situations calmly rather than the ‘runaway’, ‘winner-takes-all’ attitude and pace that we were used to in pre-pandemic times. Lastly, to be able to celebrate ‘small wins’ and to live in the moment given the overall uncertainty that the pandemic continues to cast over us. <keyword id="3609466" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="aditya-kanthy" source="Orion">Aditya Kanthy</keyword>, CEO and MD, DDB Mudra Group: The one thing I have missed most and will try not to take for granted ever again is the simple pure joy of meeting people. Like really meeting them. Not on a call, not on a computer, not as a block on the calendar. So much of the fun at work came from being together in the same space. The banter. The unplanned conversations. The energy. So much of the learning and inspiration as well. We lost something elemental and beautiful. I want that back. I miss it. Equally, I learnt how much more we need to do to listen to each other more deeply. The stuff we read off each other, the non-verbal cues. The comfort of a safe environment where one can be heard without judgement. That was gone. There’s also the realization that, perhaps, the old ways were inadequate. When we’re back together, we need to design ways without assuming that everyone is comfortable expressing themselves in the same way. We need to do more to create that space. This is what I have missed and what I have learnt. My hope is to enjoy coming back together again in 2022 and doing so in a way where each of us can be heard. Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, Enormous: The pandemic was a true test of character of people, teams and organisations. While there certainly was a big drop in businesses and toplines, what was at stake was organisations' humanity. People in organisations everywhere dealt with the kind of uncertainty they never were faced before. Uncertainty of livelihoods, careers and sanity amidst surmounting work pressures. The better organisations, in my opinion, made sure that their people were taken care of at least as much as their businesses. When the specter of lockdowns was a little bit behind us, we saw a simple trend both in terms of people and companies. The ones with initiative thrived even in the midst of a terrible external situation. Anyone who did not take easy ways out, like the typical bottomline managers do, by cutting costs rather than working on newer avenues of organisational growth, are going to be the true hero companies of tomorrow. They've tasted success and now when the tides are turning, they're going to be unputdownable. 2022 will see business return to near normal, I would predict the number of pitches to go through the roof from about March. The ones with the best people and processes and creative products, will win 2022 by a mile. Ramanuj Shastry- Director and Co-founder, Infectious Advertising: <div type="image" title="Ramanuj" msid="88597292" hostid="261"></div> 1. Compassion is everything- Never forget we are a people’s business. Always remember that everyone today is under a lot of stress. A kind word and a patient ear will take you far. 2. Treat everyone as adults - Remote working is only possible when all team members behave like mature adults - fully aware of their roles and responsibilities. Treat everyone as adults - delegate, do not micro-manage and don’t breathe down their necks. They will surprise you pleasantly. 3. Hire Talent from everywhere - We are no longer slaves to geography. Celebrate this new-found freedom by hiring talent from literally anywhere. It will add new voices and new perspectives to your narrative. 4. Be nimble and effective - Clients value these two qualities in tough times. Don’t waste their time and their money. They will stick by you through thick and thin. 5. Spend most of your energy on culture - The culture is the unquantifiable ‘Everything’ - the life force of an organisation. Culture is the ethos - the unsaid but universally accepted codes of what’s ‘done’ and what’s ‘not done.' The culture of your company should take most of your time. And it’s more than worth it. 5 things I learnt as a person: 1. Reinvest in relationships- It took a pandemic for me to take a long, hard look at my relationship. And I realised that I have taken a lot for granted. Money won’t buy you your loved ones. Spend time with them. 2. Take care of yourself - Eat well, exercise and sleep for eight hours. You will enjoy life a lot more if you are fit. 3. Be kind to yourself- I am less critical of myself today than I was in 2019. I am comfortable in my skin and happy where I am. Could I have done better? I don’t know. And I don’t care. 4. Invest in yourself - Learn a new skill. Learn a new language. Take up new hobbies. Add new facets to your personality. Reinvent yourself. Be interesting. 5. Practice Gratitude - You are on a piece of rock whipping around a burning star at nearly 40 times the speed of a bullet. Appreciate the miracle . Be thankful for just being alive. Varun Duggirala - Content Creator, Podcaster, an Entrepreneur and the Co-Founder - The Glitch: If 2020 was about survival, 2021 was about reflection and revival. We've all reflected on the time that has passed and moved towards the time that will come. Because there cannot be a return to business as usual, but rather a move towards understanding how we need to change how we operate as professionals, businesses, leaders and human beings as we work towards a world that understands its new reality. We're all on a path of accelerated change in every aspect of our work and life. This rapid pace requires us all to understand the status quo with total clarity before we take each step (even though each step seems to bring with it a whole new set of changes). 2021 has given us many a moment to take a pause and reflect (something we should all do more often) and drive towards a better future.

Lessons 2021 taught our advertising leaders

<ul><li><keyword id="758541" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-Prime">Amazon Prime</keyword>’s latest <keyword id="878518" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Social-Media-Campaign">social media campaign</keyword> ‘Missing Me’ reminded us of <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>’s ‘WherestheF’ campaign from September 2020. </li><li>This made us wonder if <keyword id="6354632" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-media">social media</keyword> has normalised stealing original ideas in the name of ‘trends.’ </li><li>We reached out to experts to understand what are the perils of working on such similar ideas in today’s world. </li></ul>In the social media world, brands often use a creative template that is conceptualised by one agency and tweak it a little to jump on the bandwagon. Brands don't just take ‘inspiration’, they use almost the same template and put their logo on it without seeking consent from the creator. We have normalised replicating one brand's idea for another by calling it a 'trend.' Nobody has a ‘unique voice’ anymore -- everything today is a copy of a copy of a copy. (For example, take Snapchat’s stories, Twitter Stories, Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories) <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> (Most of us are pretty clueless about who started this ‘India vs US’ trend first) At the end of the day, advertising is a business of ideas and without ideas, no agency would exist. After the advent of social media, however, agencies have violated their own code of conduct about idea duplication that they have been following for years now. It has become convenient for brands to adopt original ideas and formats on social media, in the name of ‘trends’, to grab their consumer’s attention. While one might argue that a brand only draws inspiration from the original idea to jump on the bandwagon, the same format can help another brand become more popular and even viral -- leaving the brainchild behind the campaign’s idea feel betrayed and boiling in rage. The creative person behind this brilliant idea, in return, can only calm his/her rage by commenting on the post, “Hey, that was my idea” and the industry moves on. Another day comes by, another post is uploaded without credit and another brand goes viral for an unoriginal idea. At the same time, brands also consciously try to put out formats that can be deemed worthy enough to be picked up and go viral. In March 2020, digital agency Schbang had written an open letter to the advertising industry titled ‘It is time to kill that #trendingformat’ after it saw thousands of content creators following their formats and the agency even agreed to have jumped on the bandwagon in the past. It read, “Every day some of us have lost our unique voices to a trend. Not entertaining consumers anymore. Just high-fiving each other on the ‘earned media. Let’s make mediocrity unhappy and hard work great again. Let’s make art that’s tailor-made for brands.” <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Schbang articulated and reflected upon what we are trying to convey with this story, almost a year ago. It is about how social media has allowed brands and agencies to leech on each other’s ideas and breed mediocrity. This week, Amazon Prime India dropped 'Me' from its logo across social media pages and soon, everyone was talking about it. A few more brands like Dunzo, Pepsi, Parle G and Tinder India picked up on this and removed 'me' from their creatives, which was possibly a collaboration between the platform and these brands. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> But wait a minute. Did you also feel a déjà vu? We have heard of this before. Sounds too similar, doesn’t it? We couldn't help but compare Amazon Prime Me (Mobile Edition) campaign with Flipkart and Samsung's '#WhereTheF' campaign from September 2020 and spot the uncanny resemblance. Allow us to refresh your memory. For a few days in September 2020, Flipkart had tweeted without using the alphabet ‘F.’ Some of the words in its tweets were like ‘rom’, ‘itness’, ‘irst’, ‘inds’, and others. A-listers and brands joined in and started looking for Flipkart’s ‘F.’ Users were curious about what’s cooking and Flipkart later announced that it was a marketing ploy for Samsung's phone launch. Samsung had taken the front page of the Flipkart store to promote its Samsung Galaxy F41 and used Flipkart's social media pages to build some buzz around its launch. <div type="twitter" handle="Flipkart" handlename="Flipkart" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1267713887165485061/WUR4QXtd_normal.jpg" favoritecount="371" retweetcount="18" status="rom early morning jogs to late-night workouts head to our app or all your itness needs!" createdat="1600583405000" id="1307567688756027404"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="Flipkart" handlename="Flipkart" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1267713887165485061/WUR4QXtd_normal.jpg" favoritecount="167" retweetcount="16" status="We are still inding the solve. This is the irst time we are acing this problem, but i anyone knows or inds the miss… https://t.co/h2M3w97Aak" createdat="1600587024000" id="1307582870790090753"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="Flipkart" handlename="Flipkart" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1267713887165485061/WUR4QXtd_normal.jpg" favoritecount="110" retweetcount="8" status="What seemed like un and games beore, has become serious now. Two whole days &amp; we have not been able to type the let… https://t.co/GfKY202Vkr" createdat="1600687963000" id="1308006236995149825"></div> And now, Amazon Prime got a few brands to tweet without the letters ‘ME’ to announce the launch of its mobile edition. Both of these campaigns have a similar strategy: make a typo to get noticed on the platform, edit your social media bio, support it with a hashtag and get more brands to tweet about it so that there’s a continuous momentum on social media to earn organic PR. While it wasn’t a trending format, it is a similar idea and template, executed a few months apart with little changes: brand name, colour and timing. Had it been a TVC or a giant billboard, Amazon Prime would probably have been accused of plagiarism. While on social media, it is okay to revise and pass the derivative ideas as their own. So, we reached out to experts to understand the perils of working on similar-looking ideas today and discuss if social media has normalised <keyword id="10590919" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="idea-theft">idea theft</keyword>. Here is what they said: Lloyd Mathias, Angel Investor and Business Strategist: I think this a cool twist in moment marketing, where brands pick on ongoing conversations and insert themselves with casual banter weaving their brand messaging. When brands indulge in casual repartee, it helps them come through as casual and friendly and in a sense endear themselves to their audiences. When Flipkart kicked off the #WheresTheF trend back in September the obvious reference was to the more commonly used WTF so part of GenZ speak. It also played on Flipkart’s logo that used the F! Brands like Samsung and Swiggy were quick to pick on this pitching their own lines dropping the letter F. Amazon taking this on with its own variant for Amazon Pri….with the ME missing now has other brands latching on taking the opportunity to up their social media game. This campaign - on the missing ME - that's creating immense curiosity, is driving both interest and sparking off reactions from other brands, fuelling the conversation. These catchy, smart, low coats conversation builders help boost excitement in social media platforms, helping the brand up it's salience and is a welcome trend in an increasingly digitally savvy society. Harish Bijoor, Brand Guru &amp; Founder, HarishBijoor Consults Inc: Good ideas have a restricted shelf-life. Once a brand has used it, it becomes part of used-lore, and loses its original sting. That is the risk of using ideas used once, time and again by others. Social media is really an anarchy. Ownership of ideas is seldom respected. People lift thoughts and ideas without a qualm. Chasing idea-theft is therefore a very laborious task out here. When a brand does have an original idea, the best way to protect it is to go hammer and tongs on it, and go to town with its exposure. If the exposure is large enough, the one who wants to copy it will think thrice before doing it. Abhik Santara, Director and CEO ^ a t o m: It is sheer lazy marketing - by clients and agencies. And both are to be blamed equally. If an agency goes with a new idea/innovation, clients are asking to see a reference. How is that possible? It's a new idea. Similarly, agencies are getting too comfortable to present ideas which have topicality built in. It is easier to ensure a certain amount of engagement on popular subjects. But does that create any difference or add to the core of the brand? Null! A good performance campaign should help the brand and a good brand campaign must deliver performance. It's not either or. Agencies which are equipped to understand and deliver this, will drive the future. The battle of communication between rivals is not new in marketing. It has been happening for many decades. But that was when communication was one sided, and markets were fragmented. Today, in the digital era, it is walking into fire. Consumers will pick it up, competitive brands will lash out. And probably the brand which is being copied gets more mileage out of it. Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, Enormous Brands: I think the online world is all about conversations and fueling those conversations and making sure that you are the guy who's benefiting the most from those conversations. Couple of years back, if I came across a campaign that somebody else has already, we would put an end to ours. But what I see happening is, if I'm the originator of that kind of a thought, and lots of people wanting in on that one, you got a good thing going: you got a campaign you started off, more and more people joining in the conversation. The conversation that you started is actually working in your favor: the world is talking about it. They get some reflected glory, but the main glory, the guy who started off the conversation, that just exactly how the whole hashtagging of it or how you started all those conversations the way it works. Akshara Vasavda, Creative Lead, Schbang: Amazon’s campaign definitely feels similar right now, but how they take it forward might change everything. But yes, they've chosen a route that now begs scrutiny because of its obvious similarities to campaigns of well known competitor brands. Personally, I don't think following a trend is that big a deal. Almost every single thing we consume today is a copy of a copy. Of course outright plagiarism is wrong, but when it comes to creativity in advertising, it's not just the idea on a conceptual level that makes things happen. So yes, the idea might be similar, but how it's executed, in what context it's executed, the end objective, all of that determines the success of the idea. Even if we copy a Cannes winning idea and slap it on a random brand, it won't work if the rest of the aspects aren't fitting in. If Amazon is intentionally or unintentionally copying Flipkart - a) the consumers are smart enough to see through this and it won't appeal to people as much because the intrigue factor will be lost. b) if the consumers do end up liking it, it automatically means that they did something that stood out and made people like the idea despite it being similar to a competitor brand that is also equally well known in India. Basically, in the end, the consumers decide if the brand can get away with 'copying' or not. It would be a very different conversation for things like films, shows, music, etc. But this is advertising we're talking about. Creativity is simply an added layer in the process of marketing the product - the end goal is to generate buzz, get outreach, get sales, etc. If that happens, all is good. If that doesn't happen, even the most unique idea won't be appreciated. The Internet largely works on meme culture. This culture has now trickled down to digital advertising as well where 'formats' essentially become 'memes'. It's got its pros and cons. If your brand puts out an innovative format, and other brands end up using it as a trend, that's big validation for your own brand. Most brands wouldn't look at it as idea theft. In fact, brands today consciously try to put out formats that can be 'picked up' and go viral. But the flipside is that while some brands are pushing for innovation to be the leader of the trend, some brands are happy following trends instead of creating them. That comes down to the agency culture and the creatives working on these brands. It definitely doesn't feel like a case of idea theft right now. And where there have been cases of lazy plagiarism, like I said earlier, the consumers (and even agencies) are smart enough to call it out. P.G Aditya, National Creative Director, Dentsu Webchutney: Similarities like these exist across the spectrum, everywhere. There are multiple campaigns over the years that have removed a part of their brand name/logo/core asset as a teaser to launch something (the most popular global example is the I-Hop, the pancake chain, which changed its name to I-Hob on the internet to announce its new range of Burgers). That campaign by Droga5, NYC, went on to become a huge winner at Cannes Lions a few years back. Check it out here: <div type="Youtube" id="shhowrlz318" title="IHOb, IHOP, DROGA5 New York" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/shhowrlz318/mqdefault.jpg"></div> On a side note, of course, all of us in the creative business can do a better job of celebrating our influences. Users applaud originality and inspiration with the same gusto as long as they’ve loved the work. Sure, we might not lose customers by being less original in our advertising, but we may gain a few more if we’re loud and proud about what’s inspired our thinking.

You Searched For "Ashish Khazanchi" and got 8 results

Here’s how the partnership between Stagwell and Enormous will benefit both organizations

Samarpita Banerjee

Kotak Karma's latest campaign questions the widespread tradition of saving gold for daughter's marriage; says girls can win gold themselves

BI India Partner

As IPL gets suspended indefinitely, experts discuss the broad implications of the move on all stakeholders

Samarpita Banerjee

Stagwell adds Enormous to its global affiliate network

BI India Partner

Trends 2022: Where advertising is headed in the year to come

Samarpita Banerjee

Advertising: The trends to watch out for in 2021

Karuna Sharma

Lessons 2021 taught our advertising leaders

Karuna Sharma

Have social media ‘trending’ formats normalised idea duplication?

Karuna Sharma

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides