Carat is number one media agency in India: R3
Media communications specialist Carat which is part of the Dentsu Aegis Network has been named the number one media agency in India in the 2014 New Business League table, published by global marketing consultancy R3. Conducted across 14 of the Asia Pacific’s leading media agencies, the New Business League is a market-wise monthly tally of the agencies’ new business acquisitions. In India, the tally was conducted across 17 of the region’s leading media agencies. Carat has also been named as the number one media agency across the Asia Pacific region. Here, apart from India, the agency has been adjudged as the top media agency in Thailand, Korea, Japan, Hong-Kong and Australia. Said Ashish Bhasin, chairman and CEO, South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network, “This is a very proud moment. Carat has been steadily gaining scale in India and I congratulate Kartik and his team for this achievement. New business is the best indicator of the health and vitality of an agency, and this should give us encouragement that Carat is in a good place across the region.
Joono Simon quits O&M; to open interactive agency
Joono Simon, executive creative director, Ogilvy & Mather, Bangalore, has put in his papers. Simon is opening an interactive agency. “The digital agencies’ offerings currently engage consumers only through Facebook and Twitter. We aim to up the quality of engagement by creating quality content employing disruptive technology,” Simon said, adding, “Although the young consumer has moved on, I think we still have a Madmen era hangover, and we need to invent ways to engage with the consumer.”
FirstCry raised $26 million from investors
FirstCry.com, a baby and kids products e-commerce site, owned by Brainbees Solutions, has raised $26 million in a fourth round of funding by a group of investors led by Valiant Capital Partners. Existing investors IDG Ventures India, Vertex and SAIF Partners, also participated in the round. We plan to use the funds to focus on expanding our leadership across all channels (online, mobile and offline), as well investing in the growth of our private label business” says Supam Maheshwari, Founder & CEO of Brainbees.
Micromax leads in Indian smartphone market
Micromax has taken the top spot in the Indian smartphone market with 22% share, pushing Samsung to the third spot, according to research done by Canalys. Samsung has 20% share of the Indian market. Micromax has effectively targeted the $150-200 (R9,000 to R12,000) segment, with products such as the Canvas Nitro and Canvas Hue. Canalys’ recently published estimates show that in Q4 2014 in India, 23% of shipments were of devices priced under $100 (R6,000), while 41% were of devices in the $100 to $200 bracket (R6,000 to R12,000).
