Yahoo Inc! has entered into a definitive agreement to Acquire Maktoob.com. The decision has been taken to reach out to the Arabic markets through Maktoob’s compelling local content, which today reaches one in three people online throughout the Arab world.

Maktoob.com, the largest Arab online community was founded in 2000 by Samih Toukan and Hussam Khoury. It was launched as a free Arabic/English Web-based email service, and since then has grown to be the leading Arab online community in the region.

The agreement has been done to capitalize on the Internet market in the region. “This acquisition will accelerate Yahoo!’s strategy of expanding in high-growth emerging markets where we believe Yahoo! has unparalleled opportunity to become the destination of choice for consumers,” said Yahoo! chief executive officer Carol Bartz.
“Access to information and communications tools can positively impact people’s lives in many ways, and with the acquisition of Maktoob.com and our investment in the region, the Arab world will soon get a Yahoo! experience in Arabic with relevant local language content, programming and services.”

Maktoob.com is accessed by users in countries that include UAE, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

“Internet users in the Arab world will have access to Yahoo!’s vast content portfolio, as well as world-class communications products, which will be available in Arabic for the first time. In addition, advertisers will be able to leverage the vast reach of the newly combined audiences to effectively market to consumers across the region,” said Ahmed Nassef, general manager of Maktoob.com.

Following the acquisition, Maktoob.com will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yahoo!. Ahmed Nassef, the current general manager of Maktoob.com, will continue to lead the Maktoob.com teams and will report to Keith Nilsson. It is expected that the transaction will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The international cosmetic giant Olay, recently announced Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador of Olay Natural White. She will promote international brand Olay’s range of Olay White Radiance products.

The company has done its homework extensively and is believed to have decided upon Katrina Kaif only after seeing her Midas touch in the film industry as well as overwhelming popularity among youth of the nation.

The 25-year-old actor had been tagged as the sexiest woman in India by FHM international, earlier this year. The Namaste London star was also declared as the most searched Indian Celebrity by a famous search website Google. The star also endorses Slice -Aamsutra, Nakshatra, Veet, Godrej Renew, Spice Telecom, Dyna sandal soap.

About her association with Olay, Kaif revealed, “Be it a skin, hair or a jewellery product, I am very selective about the brands I endorse. I undertake extensive research on the company and try to ensure that the brand delivers on its promises made to the user of the product.”

Whether it is her sensuous antics in the Slice Aamsutra ad or putting her best leg forward for the Veet hair remover commercial, Katrina sure is grabbing eyeballs.

Omnicom seems to have hit a hetric as in a period of less than a month; it has bagged three global accounts.

Earlier this month OMD took Monster’s global media-planning and -buying account without a review, and just last week it was awarded telecom giant Vodafone’s $1 billion-plus global media-buying account in 19 regions, including the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Spain — all regions where they previously held the business — as well as regions in which they weren’t managing the business, such as the U.K., Australia, India, Greece, Ireland and South Africa.

And now Virgin Atlantic has awarded its $30 million-plus traditional and digital global media business to Omnicom Group’s OMD.
Paul Dickinson, marketing director at Virgin Atlantic, said the consolidation was done to develop better brand consistency around the globe.

OMD and RKCR/Y&R both previously held the media and creative accounts, respectively, in the U.K., Virgin’s biggest market. The consolidation effort was initiated from Virgin’s headquarters there.

Global probiotic leader, Yakult Danone India (P) Ltd recently announced Bollywood actress and superstar Kajol Devgan as its brand ambassador for promoting its probiotic health drink Yakult in the Indian market.

Yakult encourages healthy living by promoting probiotic products across the globe. 28 million people in 32 countries drink Yakult everyday and the company invests heavily in ongoing research in the area of probiotics and gut health. Launched in New Delhi, NCR, Jaipur & Punjab, Yakult is planning an aggressive foray in other Indian metros soon.

Speaking about the product Kajol said, “Yakult is a brand that celebrates health. I have seen it in grocery stores across the globe and I am happy to see Yakult is now available in India. This product is known to improve digestion and build immunity. Today’s lifestyle demands a lot out of people; hence Yakult can go a long way in providing the needed protection. Being a mother and a wife, for me my family comes first making me conscious of their healthcare needs. I would recommend that all of us include Yakult in our daily diet.”

The brand association has been done keeping in mind the Indian house wives, who are the decision makers in their respective families.

Aviva Life Insurance, a venture between Dabur and UK’s Aviva plc has appointed BBDO India as its new creative agency. Earlier the account was handled by Publicis India. The account transition has been done as part of the global brand alignment of Aviva.

BBDO has already conceptualized Aviva’s new campaign – “Education is Insurance” and is ready to roll it all over the idea which is parallel to modern India’s thoughts and value system.
Aviva is planning to spend approx Rs 25 crore for advertising and marketing and intends to build an attractive product portfolio in the next few months.

Indian Markets are on the wish list of every foreign brand. Lot of foreign brands have made an entry in the market off late, and joining the bandwagon is none other than Harley-Davidson, US based Motorcycle Company.

Matthew Levatich, President of Harley-Davidson’s main motorcycle division feels this is the perfect time to launch leisure motorcycle riding due to confluence of factors like rise of middle class consumption, increased government investment in new highways and the recent economic boom.

The brand has a huge presence in the US market, but many feel is not a perfect fit for the Indian roads. Although India recently announced an ambitious plan of connecting various cities with highways, the potholed roads and the traffic-struck roads will be one of the major obstacles for the company.

The bike will be targeted towards the niches, particularly affluent Indians, for whom the biking experience and the pride of owning a Harley bike is like a dream come true. The company will sell about 12 models in India at a starting price of Approx. Rs 6, 70,000 ($14,000), twice the U.S.starting price.

The bike may rollout in the first half of 2010, as the company is still looking for suitable Indian dealers.

The biking brand seems to be in top speed to enter the world’s second largest market of bikes.

Get Set Go!

Nielsen Online, a service of The Nielsen Company, recently tracked the time Britons spend online and the sites that account for the highest share in the online market. The results were as interesting and varied as the medium itself, as 10 brands accounted for 45% of total UK Internet time.

Communication and Entertainment are Central Themes Amongst Most Heavily Used Web Brands. Facebook (13%) is the most heavily used brand followed by MSN / Live Windows.

In April 2009, the average Briton spent 22 hours 20 minutes online or using Internet-related applications. This represents a 34 percent increase on a year ago when the figure was 16 hours 36 minutes. Facebook is one of the major factors in the increasing time people are spending online – the site recording 3.8 billion more minutes in April 2009 than April 2008.

Rank Brand % Share
1. Facebook 12.7%
2. MSN/ Windows Live 9.2%
3. Google 5.3%
4. EBay 4.1%
5. Yahoo! 3.5%
6. AOL Media Network 3.0%
7. BBC 2.3%
8. You Tube 1.9%
9. Microsoft 1.5%
10. Apple 1.5%

Consequently, the Other 7,625 Brands Currently Tracked by Nielsen Online are Fighting for the Remaining 55 Percent of Time Britons Spend Online.

Alex Burmaster, Communications Director, EMEA, Nielsen Online concluded that the major players have had a pretty good year which will further attract advertisers as the medium has already engaged users through the vehicles of entertainment and communication.

An ad agency serves its clients by producing effective and highly oriented ad campaigns and placing them in the media. It focuses on getting the best business for its clients via aggressive promotion.

Read the process adopted by most ad agencies on http://magazine.indiabizclub.com/advertising/role-of-an-advertising-agency/