Videocon has roped in Abhishek Bachchan to endorse its D2H (Direct to Home) services. Videocon is the latest entrant in D2h segment, competing with already established brands like Dish TV, Airtel Digital TV, Reliance Big TV and a few regional players.

Videocon product range would consist of satellite LCD, color television, DVDS and satellite box offering DTH services. This range offers direct service to home without a set top box. The products will have exclusive features like live preview, two tickers on screen, active games, transparent onscreen display, and information bar on screen that will give details about programs, time, date and weather. Customers will get to choose from 244 channels and services.

Speaking about the association, Anil Khera, CEO, Bharat Business Channel Ltd. (BBCL) commented, “Abhishek makes a perfect match with the Videocon d2h brand attributes of innovation and high-quality entertainment. As our brand’s face, he will be instrumental in communicating the benefits to consumers across the country. It is our privilege to be associated with an actor of his calibre and excellent standing in the entertainment industry.”

Abhishek Bachchan also added, “I am delighted to be associated with the brand which has combined technological innovation with a range of products. Videocon d2h is the only one which epitomizes the true meaning of direct–to-home as it connects the viewer directly through their latest product offerings, which no other brand has to offer currently. These satellite Products receive DTH services directly, they do not need a set top box”.

The next time you sip in your favourite cold drink, be prepared to know more about the brand through Labelzine. Mini magazines or booklets, which are referred as Labelzine can be pasted onto products. The point is to make an impact on the consumers mind by making use of each and every minute of his time.

The creative communication tool was launched in 2006 in Australia, and made its presence felt worldwide in 2007. Labelzine is a trademark of On Product Publishing (OPP) International, Melbourne, Australia. Labelzine is available across 230 countries with 15 major licensees. The product ventured into India through Select Group, the licensee for the product in India.

Manisha Sharma, General Manager, strategic planning and development, Select Group, said, “Today’s consumer is looking to get more value for his money. It has thus become imperative for brands to create a distinct image for their products versus competition and thereby stand out. Labelzine gives brands this platform as it allows a brand to interact effortlessly with its consumer and create greater engagement value.”

Sharma further added, “Labelzine allows the partner brand to creatively reach its consumers, where one can enclose a fridge magnet or promotional coupons as well. This is also a very effective medium for alcohol brands, allowing them to stick interesting cocktail booklets on their bottles, which will surely have a retain value for consumers.”

Labelzine offers removable magazines from 4 – 32 pages. These magazines can be included inside the label of consumer goods packages or can be adapted to suit packaging on most media, be it PET and glass bottles, Tetra Pak or cartons.

The new tool helps marketers emphasize on product visibility on the shelves, attract shoppers through innovation, offer surprises and rewards to consumers and achieve reach since people tend to get rid of the usual direct marketing leaflets but not the actual products.

Kimberly Clarke, Virgin Group, L’Oreal, Tetra Pak and Coca-Cola and Marico are some of the companies that have worked recently with Select Group on this new but innovative marketing tool.

LG Electronics has roped in Bollywood hottie Akshay Kumar to endorse its LG Flat Panel Display (FPD) segment.

Moon B Shin, MD, LG Electronics India confirmed the news and said, “We are aiming to be no. 1 in flat panel TV market with a targeted market share of 33% in 2010. To achieve this we are coming up with whole new series of full LED LCD TV’s. Our full LED range, known as Infinia, is loaded with superior features showcasing next generation technology like 3D display, broadband TV, wireless solutions and Full LED’s. We have chosen Akshay as our brand ambassador for LG FPDs because he personifies the LG brand. He is a big style icon, gizmo and action freak”.

A 360 degree marketing campaign with Akshay will be rolled out soon. A multi-media campaign which will include print, television, radio, outdoor, cinema and the internet media, has also been planned.

The advanced version of LED (Liquid Emitting Diodes) will be launched in 2010. The company aims to sell atleast 3 lakh units by the end of this year.

Subway India has finally unveiled its national campaign across the country. Subway has taken route to advertise through transit media to promote its Every Day Value offer with Chicken Ham Sub @ Rs 50. Arms Communications (creative partner) and Alliance Advertising (media partner) together have designed this campaign.

The TG for Subway remains the youth, primarily college graduates and working professionals, in the age group of 15-35 years. In order to extend its reach, Subway has tied up with CashUrDrive, an on-vehicle advertising company with a database of around 20,000 (pan-India) vehicles.

Sanjiv Pandey, manager, marketing, Subway said, “Since this is a national campaign where we wish to reach our TG in a big way, outdoor works well. Branded cabs provide high visibility with lower costs. Earlier, this option was not available, as there were no organized vendors in the market. We plan to use outdoor consistently with a focus on regional markets.”

Raghu Khanna, chief executive officer, CashUrDrive also added that it is of prime importance to keep the creative simple and precise. “The onlooker should be able to understand the brand message, when the vehicle is stationary or moving at a high speed. The client’s brief was to penetrate areas where traditional media cannot reach. To serve the purpose, we roped in both independent vehicle owners and radio taxis like Meru Cabs, Mega Cabs and City Cabs.”

In the coming days, the multi-media campaign for the brand which will include TV, print, social media and mobile marketing, will also go live. The ad agencies have been briefed to merge regional flavor in the national campaign to connect with and attract their respective target audience.

Digital marketing, that’s the buzz word for every marketer these days. Joining the bandwagon is none other than Parle. The company has signed Law and Kenneth as its Digital Media Agency. The move has been taken in a bid to stay ahead in the competition and make its presence felt in the online world.

Pravin Kulkarni general manager marketing, Parle products, said, “We will be increasing our focus on digital marketing. Parle will use all kinds of digital marketing formats to boost the visibility of the brand. The digital market is growing rapidly in India and the awareness level is quite high, especially in metros, mini-metros and tier I cities. It is the medium youth are engaged intensively in; and kids have also got into this media increasingly. So, we would like to make the most of it. Law & Kenneth has understood the mandate for our portfolio of brands. We will also launch the first digital campaign soon.”

Law and Kenneth would be responsible for Parle’s products like Digestive Marie, Melody, Monaco Smart chip, Hide & Seek, krackjack, and Parle G.

Anil K Nair, Managing partner for Digital Law & Kenneth also said, “We will look after the overall digital media strategy and will be responsible for conceptualization and development of the creative aspects of online advertising.”

Though Digital Law and Kenneth will take care of digital media strategy, online media buying will not be its concern.

Coca-Cola has launched a new lemon variant of Minute Maid, which had earlier launched ‘Pulpy Orange’ in 2007. Nimbu Fresh, the new variant was launched on February 19. The brand has been positioned as ‘Bilkul Ghar Jaisa’ attempting to woo the Indian consumers.

The brand was exclusively launched at Future Group’s Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar hypermarket chains. The brand was available only at 96 outlets across seven cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad. The brand was launched under the ‘Shubh Muhurat’ programme by Big Bazaar, where all the new brands are launched.

Sandeep Walunj, chief marketing officer, Big Bazaar, said, “Close to 15 lakh people walk into Big Bazaar on a daily basis. The idea was to work together closely with the brand team at Coca-Cola to deliver a never before launch. Big Bazaar consumers experienced the ‘Joy of New’ with close interactions with the product.”

The Big Bazaar and the team of Coca-Cola planned various activities including unique in-store promotions, signages and branding. An exclusive Minute Maid Nimbu Fresh zone was created along with various contests and sampling. Standees, danglers, dropdowns and cross category reminders were also created for the launch.

Sumanta Datta, vice-president, customer and commercial leadership, Coca-Cola India, says, “This partnership was a win-win opportunity for all as it provides Coca-Cola India the scale to refresh its consumers across the four metros as well as Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune, all in one go. On the other hand, this special relationship enables Big Bazaar to exclusively offer a brand such as Minute Maid Nimbu Fresh to its consumers.”

Nimbu Fresh will be competing with PepsiCo’s Nimbooz by 7Up and Parle Agro’s LMN.

Mountain Dew has partnered with Kings XI Punjab as its official sponsor for the upcoming season of IPL. The deal has earned exclusive rights for the IPL home matches by featuring the brand on player’s uniforms.

Alpana Titus, Executive Director (flavors) PepsiCo India told the press that the partnership will help Mountain Dew as a brand launch consumer engagements that will help strengthening the market share in North India specifically Haryana, Himachal, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir. PepsiCo India has gained a good share in the market from Punjab and Haryana and Mountain Dew as a brand has been responsible for the growth of success.

Alpana Titus also disclosed that they are soon rolling out a campaign “’Dar ki Wicket Girayega to Hamare Saath Khelega’” for cricket fans who get to play with their favorite icons from KXIP. The winner also gets to take home branded merchandise, complementary tickets to IPL matches and other value added gifts.

The brand will adopt a 360 degree marketing approach and roll out marketing campaigns across colleges, marketplaces, radio, TV, outdoor and multiplexes, where direct engagement with consumers is possible.

All the leading ladies of Bollywood have endorsed Lux at the peak of their respective careers. And the latest name to follow tradition is Katrina Kaif. Lux officials have roped in Katrina Kaif as the new face of Lux Purple Lotus and Cream, the new variants from HUL.

Katrina will be seen in a TVC created by JWT, directed by Marco and shot in Bangkok.
Sudhanshu Vats, vice-president, home care and skin cleansing, HUL “Lux, over the years, has been known for introducing exciting innovative variants for its consumers and here’s another such variant which is sure to appeal to consumers with its unique purple color and sensuous aroma. We look forward to this variant becoming a favorite amongst consumers across India.”

“Lux has always used stars that are on top and even the stars realize that. Kaif was the obvious choice because she’s currently very popular and is endorsing the brand for the first time,” concluded Nandita Chalam, VP and senior creative director, JWT, the agency which has worked on the latest TVC.