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Impact Communications madehat-trick at RMAI Flame Awards
MUMBAI: At the fifth Edition of The Rural Marketing Association of India Flame Awards 2013,the association acknowledged the finest campaigns in Rural marketing, branding, innovation and CSR Campaigns in rural India in the past year.
The RMAI Flame Awards recognizes the work of corporates & agencies successful in rural marketing every year. This year, the event was attended by 300 participants from Corporate, Media, Consultancy and Agencies. 209 entries were received and 63 won awards across 25 categories. India’s most reputed and eminent personalitiesconstituted the awards jury. These included S Sivakumar – Chief Executive (ABD) ITC Ltd, GeetuVerma, Executive Director, Unilever, Harish Bijoor, Brand – Strategy Specialist & CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. and George Angelo, Executive Director (Sales), Dabur India Ltd,Sidharth Singh Executive VP GSK &N Subramanian EVP TAFE. With over 200entries to compete with, Impact Communications won 13 awards across categories including 5 Gold, 3 Silver and 5 Bronze awards.
This year RMAI celebrated10 years of this platform andacknowledged the best works of the past decade, under special categories of “Long Term campaign of the decade”, “Social Development campaign of the decade” and “Brand association with a traditional congregation platform, of the decade”,Impact Communications found its place in all three categories. Bagging Gold and Bronze with “PehelaEkGhanta” a campaign for pregnant women and neo natal care in the categories of “Long Term campaign of the decade” and “Social Development campaign of the decade” respectively for PATH India. Impact also grabbed Silver for “Brand association with a traditional congregation platform, of the decade” with “LuiDahhan-Sonepur Mela” a proprietary event for Reckitt Benkiser.
Impact Communications won Gold & Silver in the following categories across domains of consumer/ B2B/ CHANNEL MARKETING/ OOH:
• On-ground promotion of the year for Brand Awareness: “Ceat – Monsoon Smart Campaign”. Was activating the Target group by triggering the urgency during monsoons & addressing the procrastinating nature of the customers. The intelligent messages delivery & intercepting them at different relevant touch points & connecting them to convergence point through technology made it comprehensive awareness campaign tailored to deliver for the brand.
• Small Budget campaign of year “Chick Thickness Queen” won gold on its cost competitive approach to drive the core proposition of thick hair promise with thickness meter a tool made of art paper measuring thickness of hair. Creating a moment of truth & recognition for Target group in the school.
• Channel Marketing / Retailer Incentive of the year: “Meri Guarantee, Mazbuti Guarantee”-JK Lakshmi Cements. A brand endeavor of presenting the dealerships with personalized customized branding of outlets and message of recognising them as local ambassadors was an out of box integration of main line communication targeting the dealers for motivational purpose.
• OOH Campaign of the year: “Horlicks -Maha Kumbh”. In sync with brand positioning “BadhayeDoodh Ki Shakti” a spiritual message “ Kumbh Snaan Bhakti Ka, Ek cup Horlicks Shakti Ka” was integrated and casted on clutter breaking above the eye stand out mediums, eateries and ride brandings was recognized as intelligent messaging in the largest congregative platform like Kumbh Mela.
• Direct Marketing campaign of the year: “Ceat-Bike Tagging”. Reducing thepath to purchase through innovative use of technology, Target group were identified by tagging bikes at parking lots. These tags linked the customers back to the dealers reducingdependence on intermediaries.
Commenting on the win, Sanjay Kaul CEO Impact communications said,“We are really pleased that our work has been recognized across categories.RMAI awards definitely energize our teams to plan & implement differentiated & path breaking marketing initiatives for our clients. ”.
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Microdrama Specialist COL Group International Builds Out With Narativ, Rock Networks & BlingWood Deals
MUMBAI: Microdrama powerhouse COL Group International is building out its distribution network, with its CEO saying vertical video is about to enter its “next competitive chapter.”
The microdrama arm of publicly-listed Chinese company COL Group appointed Narativ Media as its official distributor in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and CIS regions and Africa, and a struck new content deal with a new Dubai-based microdrama platform.
The deals were unveiled this morning at MIP London, and also included Rock Networks as its exclusive Southeast Asia telco distribution partner for its app, FlareFlow. MIP London is now into its second day at the Savoy Hotel and adjoining IET London complex.
The deals come soon after COL appointed Harbour Rights to represent its titles in Europe and Latin America, as we reported yesterday in our extended feature on microdrama distribution.
COL’s Singapore-based microdrama unit says its “coordinated global distribution architecture and significantly expanded international content slate” would help to scale its catalogue to more than 1,700 microdrama titles worldwide. These hail from South Korea, Japan, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the UK and roll out across Sereal+, FlareFlow and 17K.
A deal with Dubai-based BlingWood, which recently launched as an OTT platform, will expand COL’s access to Middle Eastern and Indian microdramas, and includes a broader pipeline of Indian series from storytelling platform Pratilipi, Korean titles from BeLive Studios and British reality-led formats from Tattle TV — the UK’s first dedicated microdrama app, including titles such as Dog Dates.
“Microdrama is entering its next competitive chapter, where quality, retention and monetization standards are increasingly shaped by data and operational discipline,” said Timothy Oh, General Manager of COL Group International.
“As pioneers in both China and the U.S., scaling some of the world’s leading platforms in this space, we understand what it truly takes to win sustainably. Our role is not simply to offer catalogue volume, but to help partners select, position and scale the right content for their platform and audience. By bringing together a broad, constantly refreshed slate from across regions, we enable smarter curation, clearer differentiation and long-term growth for serious industry players.”
Narativ deal
COL and UAE-based Narativ described their deal as a “strategic expansion of premium vertical content distribution across high-growth emerging markets,” and comes as the microdrama continues to boom financially. The growth of the medium will be among the key topics of conversation today at MIP London, where COL chief Oh will be speaking.
The pact extends beyond content representation and is being billed as part of a more “structured micro-drama distribution infrastructure.”
Narativ will spearhead market development, platform alliances, broadcaster relationships and digital monetization frameworks across the MENA and CIS regions and Africa, where they have identified “rapid mobile-first consumption growth and strong demand for short-form, high-engagement storytelling formats.”
“Micro-dramas are reshaping global viewing habits, particularly across mobile-first markets like MENA, Africa and CIS,” said Manjyot Sandhu, CEO and co-founder of Narativ. “Our appointment as official distributor for COL Group in these territories reflects Narativ’s strategy to build sustainable distribution architecture.
“A key pillar of the collaboration includes integration with FlareFlow, enabling strategic telco partnerships, bundled carrier offerings, and alternative monetization pathways designed to accelerate scale across mobile ecosystems and OTT platforms.”
Oh added: “We are building more than a content slate – we are building the global infrastructure for microdrama. With hundreds of new titles launching every quarter, scale and regional strength are critical. Narativ with its deep foothold in MENA, Africa CIS and other key markets makes them a natural strategic partner as we expand FlareFlow and bring microdrama to new platforms, telcos and audiences.
Narativ, which is joint venture Sandhu operates with Copyright Capital, manages around 7,000 hours of content and has a digital network spanning 150 million subscribers across 21 language.
COL Group has emerged as one of the biggest microdrama platforms, running platforms such as FlareFow. It is also a part-owner of ReelShort.
