Mahendra Singh Dhoni To Bat For Reliance Communications

[Arun 795]

Mahendra Singh Dhoni to bat for Reliance Infocomm

Wednesday - Mar 22, 2006

Deepak Mohanty - Televisionpoint.com

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), which will unveil a new logo and brand identity for the group from tomorrow, March 23, 2006 has roped in Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a brand ambassador for its telecommunications business.

The new logo of ADAG has been designed by UK-based strategic brand consulting and design company Landor Associates. This followed a report by San Francisco-based brand consultancy Prophet, whose inputs have been used in the design work. The decision to seek a fresh brand identity and possibly a new logo was based on the desire to break away from the heavy industry image of Reliance Industries.

Reliance Infocomm had earlier Virendra Sehwag as the brand ambassador, when the company was managed by Mukesh Ambani. Reliance ADAG seems to have picked one of the better performers in this test match from the Indian side. Dhoni was the highest scorer for India in this test match with a 64 in the first innings.

Dhoni already has a host of endorsement deals in his kitty, including Reebok, Orient Fans, Mysore Sandal, Exide and is talking to some others that include a hair care company, a denim brand a two-wheeler manufacturer. Dhoni's account is handled by Gameplan Sports, which also handles the Australian cricket team in India and had struck big deals for Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee and Glenn Mcgrath.

The new star on the Indian cricket horizon Dhoni is on a roll both on the field as well as off it. Corporate's are queuing up to sign the flamboyant wicket keeper-batsman from Jharkhand. According to industry estimates, Dhoni's endorsement deals have so far been around Rs 10 to Rs 15 lakhs annually, but it could now go up to Rs 1 Crore.

Says Jeet Banerjee, MD, Gameplan Sports, "We have received a lot of offers but we are still evaluating the options to decide what best suits his image."

[deepu 0]

Any way his batting is not clicking these days for team India. Will it click for Team Ambani

[Puneet 0]

Viru (remember sehwag ki maaa) to gaya hi tha ab dhoni bhi gaya

[@ksh@T 20]

but yaar........let him face the ball first and then see what type of shot he plays ....does he plays offensive or defensive!

[Arun 795]

R-ADAG brand identity likely next month only

- Financial Express

Friday, March 24, 2006 at 0000 hours IST

MUMBAI, MARCH 23:

In a bid to impart a fresh identity to the Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG) companies, the group will unveil its new logo and brand identity as early as April this year.

R-ADAG has roped in UK-based strategic brand consulting and design company Landor Associates to design the company’s new look.

Confirming the development, Sanjay Bhel, head branding and marketing, Reliance Communications, told FE, “The new brand identity will be unveiled as early as April this year. We have roped in the best consultants in the world.”

However, he did not reveal the details of the brand logo and the new brand identity.

Analysts believe that the decision to seek a fresh brand identity and possibly a new logo was based on R-ADAG’s desire to break away from the heavy industry tag of

Reliance Industries and to reflect its intensely customer oriented businesses like telecommunications, finance and energy distribution.

Lot’s In A Name:

• Use of `Reliance' and the logo to contiue

IN THE OFFING:

• Reliance logo either 'behind the visual'/or

• Graphical representation of the letter 'R' with flame in background

However, R-ADAG will continue to use the word ’Reliance’ and the Reliance logo either ’behind the visual’ or the graphical representation of the letter ‘R’ with flame in the background, as per the trademark management agreement (TMA) signed between RIL and R-ADAG companies.

As per the TMA, both the groups will be allowed to use the logo for their existing businesses and any new business that they may start first. The groups are also allowed to use the logo and trademark for co-branding arrangements too.

When asked whether RIL was also looking at a new brand identity, a source close to the company said, “We are not contemplating any such change. We are the original Reliance company and will continue to use the Reliance brand and logo as usual.”

Televisionpoint.com reports:

After the split of the Reliance Group of companies, an agreement has been signed by the camps for sharing of the Reliance logo and trademark. Both the groups are now allowed to use the logo for their existing businesses and any new business that they may start first. The groups are also allowed to use the logo and trademark for co-branding arrangements too.

The ADAG group has also signed up agencies like Mudra, O&M, JWT, Leo Burnett, Lowe Contract, and Everest Brand Solutions for its Rs 120 crore account. Optimum Media Solutions (OMS), Mudra Group's specialist practice division will continues as the agency of record (AOR) for all the ADAG brand accounts.

Effective March 15, 2006, Reliance corporate is handled by Mudra and O&M, Reliance Infocomm is split between Mudra, Leo Burnett, Contract and Everest Brand Solutions. JWT and Lowe look after the Reliance Capital business.

Televisionpoint.com, had first reported that the Anil Ambani group companies demand a complete makeover. Creative as well as media agencies have been invited for a pitch and that the group is looking at overhauling its branding and communication strategies. Post the Reliance split, Anil had inherited the entire customer facing businesses of the Reliance Group.

[vmsanghrajka 0]

I hope their new logo have some style n corporate look.. coz current logo is hopeless.. i think they gonna copy hutch's strategy...

Cheers!!

[Arun 795]

Reliance Mobile plans new celebrity brouhaha

- Business Standard

Prasad Sangameshwaran / Mumbai September 19, 2006

Anil Ambani group’s Reliance Mobile, which is looking to spread its GSM telephony tentacles across the country, is believed to have roped in a constellation of six celebrities for a big-bang advertising campaign.

While cricket star M S Dhoni is almost certain to be a part of the star cast, industry sources say the company is also in talks with film star Abhishek Bachchan. (The junior Bachchan already endorses Motorola’s cellular phones.) Others in the campaign — to kick off by the end of this month — will be from the fields of sports and entertainment.

Speaking to Business Standard, Reliance executives confirmed that the campaign would be a multi-celebrity campaign involving cricketers, music industry stars and film stars. Sanjay Behl, head of branding, Reliance Mobile said: “We are in an evolutionary stage in growth and imagery. The communication will reflect that.”

The new campaign is being executed by creative shop Cartwheels, run by JWT’s former creative head, D Ramakrishna.

Behl is not willing to disclose if Abhishek, or Hindi music director and singer Himesh Reshammiya, is a part of the cast, though he claims that there might be about six celebrities who will endorse Reliance Mobile.

Celebrities are not new to cellular phone service providers. While cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has been associated with Airtel since 2003 and Rahul Dravid bats for Hutch, former Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly has featured as the ambassador for Tata Indicom. Apart from Ganguly, Tata Indicom has also used star couple Kajol and Ajay Devgan in its campaigns.

But Reliance has reason to be aggressive. Apart from its CDMA services, which form the bulk of Reliance’s approximately 22 million subscriber base, the company is in the midst of scaling up in the GSM space, where it will find itself up against formidable rivals like Airtel and Hutch. While Hutch associates itself actively with cricket, theatre and art, Airtel has played up its music association through ringtones using its brand ambassador, A R Rehman.

In February this year, Reliance had applied for GSM spectrum in markets like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Uttar Pradesh (east and west circles), and Jammu and Kashmir.

It already operates GSM (900 MHz) mobile services in circles like West Bengal (including Kolkata), Assam, Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and the Northeast.

[vmsanghrajka 0]

Exactly tht wht I was wondering tht when they gonna use dhoni for advts.. I think ads may appear in ICC Champions trophy.. Jus a speculation nothing confirmed..

cheers!!

[h1ghlander 9]

Just as Sehwag's ad during the world cup