MAM
WPP bullish on Olympics, fiscal rev up 7.4% to ?10.02 bn
MUMBAI: WPP, the world‘s biggest advertising group, has posted a net profit of ?916.5 million for the fiscal ended 31 December, up 38.7 per cent over the earlier year, and expects the Olympics to give it a further boost this year.
WPP‘s strong performance in a slowdown year has been led by companies spending towards brand building in emerging markets. It has also managed to protect its market share in the matured markets.
Revenue grew by 7.4 per cent to ?10.02 billion, from ?99.33 billion in the previous fiscal.
Geographically, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and Africa and Middle Eastern region posted maximum year-on-year growth in revenue at 12.5 per cent. The total revenue from the region was ?2.95 billion in 2011 as compared to ?2.62 billion in 2010.
Meanwhile, UK registered a growth of 8.8 per cent recording an revenue of ? 1.18 billion as opposed to ?1.10 billion in 2010.
The Western Europe region grew at 7.7 per cent with the revenue increasing from ?2.23 billion in 2010 to ?2.51 in 2011.
The region to show least growth was North America with 2.7 per cent increase in revenue. The region’s revenue for 2010 was ?3.3 billion while in 2011 it registered revenues of ?3.39 billion.
Sector wise, the group’s advertising and media investment management wing brought in revenue to the tune of ?4.12 billion in 2011, up 11.4 per cent compared to ?3.73 billion in the year ago period.
The consumer insight business grew marginally (at 1.1 per cent) to ?2.5 billion.
The PR and public affairs business recorded growth of 4.8 per cent earning the group ?886 million in 2011, compared to ?845 million in 2010.
The branding and identity, healthcare and specialist communications sector brought in a revenue of ? 2.5 billion, marking a growth of 8.5 per cent from last year’s ?2.3 billion.
In the fiscal under review, the WPP group made 24 acquisitions and investments in new markets, 32 in new media and eight in consumer insight. The remaining seven acquisitions were driven by individual client or agency needs.
WPP said the group’s budget for the year 2012 would be made on conservative basis and will reflect on the faster growing geographical markets like the APAC, Latin America, Africa and Central and East European markets. The focus will be on increasing the revenues and gross margins faster than the industry average.
The London Olympics, the Uefa Football Championships and November’s US Presidential Elections alone will grow advertising revenues by 1 per cent this year, helping WPP to meet its budgeted forecast of 4 per cent revenue growth, the group stated.
MAM
Ganesh Chana Sattu ropes in Ravindra Jadeja for new campaign
Cricketing all-rounder fronts ‘unnatural energy’ push for high-protein roasted gram flour drink.
MUMBAI: Ganesh Chana Sattu has just bowled a natural Yorker that feels positively superhuman and Ravindra Jadeja is the man delivering it. The nutrient-rich, high-protein roasted gram flour brand has launched a fresh campaign featuring the Indian cricketing legend. Conceptualised by TBWA\ Lintas, the campaign playfully explores how something truly natural can unlock extraordinary energy, using extreme visual exaggeration and Jadeja’s larger-than-life athleticism to show the power of sattu in action.
Rather than relying on dramatic storytelling, the film celebrates sattu as an age-old, completely natural ingredient that delivers performance so effective it borders on the unbelievable. It positions the drink as a refreshing, cool fuel for the body perfect for a generation seeking honest, high-protein nutrition without the hype.
Ganesh Consumer Products Limited director Devansh Mimani said, “Sattu has always been valued for its nutritional goodness. With this campaign, we wanted to showcase that energy in an engaging way. Ravindra Jadeja’s personality and athleticism helped us bring alive the idea that a natural drink can power seemingly unbelievable energy.”
TBWA\ Lintas unit creative director Tritirtha Chatterjee added, “The thought was to position Ganesh Sattu as a refreshing, cool drink that naturally powers the body. Ravindra Jadeja was the perfect fit to bring this idea alive. As an all-rounder, his game demands constant energy across batting, bowling and fielding.”
The campaign is now live across TV, digital platforms and social media channels, aiming to boost both brand awareness and product consideration among consumers looking for natural, high-protein alternatives.
In a category full of flashy promises, Ganesh Chana Sattu is quietly reminding everyone that sometimes the most powerful fuel comes from the simplest, most honest ingredients. With Jadeja on board, the brand has found the perfect all-rounder to prove that real energy doesn’t need artificial boosts, it just needs the right sattu.
