MxMIndia

Author: mxm_india

  • With more people going to online video hosting site YouTube to find shows and songs, is the audience being fragmented?

    Is YouTube fragmenting TV audiences?

    By Dhara Salla

    Abhilasha Chellam may have come up runners-up in the music reality show on TV last year… but the clip of her singing the Lata classic “Kya janoon sajan” is hot on YouTube. Far more people are likely to have seen her online, and thus remember her better than the ultimate winner of the competition.

    That is part of the power of YouTube. Unlike television where one is at the mercy of the scheduling demi-gods, when one searches, finds and bookmarks a favourite or a series of favourite videos, they can be watched anytime. Even in marathon mode.

    YouTube is the undoubted leader of the online video pack. Just a little more than half a decade old, YouTube made its presence felt the world over within the first year of its inception. It came to India in 2008 and gained popularity especially among the youth in no time.

    Media Perspective

    Ms Ruby Bana, Chief Intelligence Officer- APAC, Havas Media, said, “Youth is and always will be a fragmented audience. Anything that is mass, meaning shared with parents, will rarely be youth exclusive.” She further adds, “The other thing to note is that music channels in India are in the race for numbers, and to satisfy planners/advertisers CPRP demands have tried to compete with mass channels and sacrificed the high ground of exclusive youth.”

    There are very few youth options on traditional media in the country. Therefore, internet/YouTube takes that role on. The consumer habit of viewing has changed and there is a great number of youth moving to online distribution channel. Mr Chanchal Chakrabarti, Leader, Client- Leadership, South Asia, Mindshare, shares his study, “We had done a CPT analysis on YouTube and we found out that it performs even better than a lot of music channels and travel channels. It is a very comparable medium and in a much wider way.”

     

    Television Channels’ Perspective

    However, channels themselves have a different take on this. Mr Aditya Swamy, Channel Head MTV, said, “No I don’t think YouTube is fragmenting our audiences. In fact, youth today needs multiple platforms. It adds viewers, it acts as a reminder and it forms a great loyalty base for us. It also generates more stickiness among the audiences. Everything runs parallel on YouTube that runs on the channel.”

    So for channels YouTube is the medium through which they can target their audiences. But does YouTube also lead audiences to the TV channels? Mr Saurabh Yagnik, GM & Sr VP, English Channels, STAR India Pvt Ltd, shared, “Definitely, we focus on digital as a large part of our audiences are very copious consumers of the digital space and YouTube is thus an important leg in drawing the audience back to the channel.”

    So to cut a long story short, it is a symbiotic give-and-take between YouTube and Music/English entertainment channels. Ms Vibha Gosher, VP Digital, 9X Media Pvt Ltd, elucidates, “What happens is some of our content is launched first on the channel and then the next day it is taken to YouTube. On the channel one can just watch three animations of ‘Bakwaas Band Kar’, our channel IP in one hour, but on YouTube they can watch 100s of it back to back.”

     

    Activities on YouTube

    Since the channels are talking about being in sync with YouTube, MxM asked what activities were planned. Star India has their channel presence on YouTube where they upload short form or promotional activity content to drive traffic on to their website. They also have a strong digital-leg basis which the promotions for most of the shows on the channels are usually digitally led.

    MTV would be doing a lot of activities for MTV unplugged, and it has already done roadblocks for a few other shows. The MTV Roadies Battleground is done only on YouTube. They encourage their participants to upload the videos of their tasks on YouTube and then from there they play it on the channel.

    9XM is doing some activities on YouTube like contests on their IP property. They remove the last punch line of the humour, from the original format, and then ask the viewers to write in their punch lines and complete the joke.

     

    What’s in for the brands?

    Ms Bana explains the difference in the ad spends by the brands in both TV channels and YouTube, “It’s not so much spends that is the point of difference but the measurement and ROI calculation mechanism that brings about the difference in approach to both these mediums.”

     

    YouTube thus seems to have just as much potential as a conventional TV channel. Not just banners, YouTube provides the scope for audio-visual as well. But sadly, advertisers haven’t started looking at it as a great option, confirms Ms Bana. She added, “These are early days of experimentation and learning will benefit the early bold adventurous advertisers in the long run. The game here is not how much your spend level but imagination, experimentation and involvement. The gains can be disproportionately high or completely wasted.”

    Any problem needs a solution, so Mr Chakrabarti comes up with one for the advertisers, “Advertisers will take some time as their comfort zone still lies with the television channels. Now, it is up to the media planners and buyers to bring it to the advertisers as an option to look upto. More and more advertisers will start moving their spends.”

     

  • With the economy heading for a take-off, the government is preparing to join hands with corporate

    Corporate sector to fuel GDP growth in coming years: Singh

    By A Correspondent

    The government is taking several initiatives to usher in a new level of corporate governance which is essential for the national economy to grow annually at a rate of 9 percent, minister of state for corporate affairs Mr R P N Singh said.

    “Our economy is on the verge of a take-off stage. The role of corporate sector is phenomenal in achieving the ambitious target of nine per cent GDP growth during 2011-12,” he said while inaugurating a conference organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

    Some initiatives taken by the government to propel this growth include online approval of director identification number (DIN), integration of DIN and designated partner identification number (DPIN), doing away with the requirement of having two numbers for registering a company or a limited liability partnership, and introduction of online payment through the national electronic fund transfer (NEFT) enabling stakeholders to pay from any bank.

    Other measures taken so far are introduction of XBRL reporting format for filing of annual returns profit and loss account, and creation of a refund mechanism to return stakeholders’ money in cases of wrong debit, said Mr Singh.

    “This brings the chief financial officers on the centre stage to coordinate and monitor all-round organisational growth in terms of output, upgrade professional competencies, create new business markets and – above all – improve bottom-line of an organization at micro-level.”

    Meanwhile, Assocham secretary general Mr D S Rawat said a CFO has to play a strategic role in an organisation’s growth. The role of senior financial executives has expanded to include business strategy, regulatory and ethical leadership, product development and bottom-line growth.

    Mr Mritunjay Kapoor, country managing director of Protiviti Consulting, said the recent economic crisis, introduction of new financial instruments, global expansion opportunities through mergers and acquisitions, and currency fluctuations have broadened the range of responsibilities on the part of CFOs.

    This skill set development and expansion has helped the present day CFOs to move a step closer and lay claim for the top CEO’s job, he said.

    Others at the conference were Mr B D Narang, former chairman and managing director of Oriental Bank of Commerce; Mr S C Aggarwal, chairman and managing director of SMC Group; Mr Gautam Bhandari, managing director of Morgan Stanley India; and Mr B N S Ratnakar, general manager of Central Bank of India.

     

  • 104 GRPs in C&S 15-24 PHCHP; TAM Week 37, 2011; emerges a clear leader across all age groups in the PHCHP region

    9X Tashan debuts with a century

    By A Correspondent

    Punjabi music channel 9X Tashan has made its mark by registering an unprecedented growth of over 100 GRPs in the opening week of its launch across the PHCHP markets.

    Mr Sandip Bansal, Managing Director of 9X Tashan, said, “We wonder if any other music channel has ever hit a century in its opening week. The robust performance of 9X Tashan has made it the most preferred Punjabi music destination for youth and has also captivated viewers across all age groups in the PHCHP markets.”

    Launched on August 31, 9X Tashan has emerged a clear leader in the Punjabi music genre across the PHCHP markets.

    Per TAM data for Week 37, 2011 Punjabi Music; C&S 15 – 24, PHCHP: 9X Tashan – 104 GRPs; PTC Chak De – 47 GRPs; MH1 – 32.5 GRPs; ETC Punjabi – 6.2 GRPs

    Per TAM data for Week 37, 2011 Punjabi Music; C&S 4+ yrs, PHCHP: 9X Tashan – 67.8 GRPs; PTC Chak De – 28.9 GRPs; MH1 – 28.5 GRPs; ETC Punjabi – 5.4 GRPs

    Per TAM data for Week 37, 2011 Punjabi Music; C&S 15 – 24 ABC, PHCHP: 9X Tashan – 95 GRPs; PTC Chak De – 40 GRPs; MH1 – 24 GRPs; ETC Punjabi – 7 GRPs

    Per TAM data for Week 37, 2011 Punjabi Music; C&S 15 – 34, PHCHP: 9X Tashan – 83 GRPs; PTC Chak De – 44 GRPs; MH1 – 27 GRPs; ETC Punjabi – 6 GRPs

    Mr Baljinder Mahant, Programming Head for 9X Tashan, said, “9X Tashan has overall expanded the Punjabi music genre. Its success proves that viewers appreciate the combination of great music and rib-tickling animation.”

    9X Media Group’s flagship Channel 9XM continues its No 1 position in the Hindi music genre across all age groups, being at the top across all age groups for the past 18 weeks according to TAM data.

    Commenting on the strong performance of 9X Tashan and of 9XM, Mr Punit Pandey, Senior Vice President and Business Head – 9X Media Group, said, “It is a double whammy for 9X Media Group as 9X Tashan and 9XM have both emerged leaders in their respective genres. The TAM data endorses our commitment to offer the best music to viewers across various genres. We aim to make 9X Media Group the ultimate destination for music in India.”

     

  • A growing and aspirational middle class spells good news for sectors relating directly and indirectly to education

    Educational publication sector will see more ads

    By Akash Raha

    With the increasing growth of the middle class, and spread of education to the grass-roots levels, educational print publications seem to be doing fairly well in India. According to a report from advertising tracking service AdEx India, education sector print advertising in H1 2011 saw a jump of 4 percent vis-à-vis the same period in 2010. However, the top two categories advertising in this segment were ‘Educational Institutions’ and ‘Coaching / Competitive Examination Centres’ which contributed to 90 percent of this sector’s advertising. MxM India explored the reasons for the growth in advertising in this segment even as advertising in several other sectors continues to shrink, and the reason advertisers from other categories stay away from education sector print advertising.

    It is indeed true that India is a country where education is valued and is sought after. The population of the aspiring middle class too is constantly increasing. “India as a country has always been serious with education,” says Mr Anindya Ray, Vice President, Lodestar UM, “Academics and a good job is the sign of ultimate success. Alternative careers like sports, singing, adventure related sports etcetera, are not the staple for the vast Indian middle class. Even though of late such alternative areas are coming up, a basic-level degree education is a must. Hence education will always be on the growth path. In fact, during the worldwide recession of 2008/2009 when India was having a soft market situation, when all other advertisers were holding on to their media spends, education sector still showed a growth and was the leading spender.”

    Mr Premjeet Sodhi, President, The Collaborative, Lintas Media Group too touched a similar note and said, “Education as a sector is fairly liberalised and there is a lot of private/corporate interest in the sector. A large and growing youth population provides an opportunity for private enterprise in India and hence this sector is on the anvil of significant growth. From the advertising perspective, its prominence in advertising shares is mainly because of the huge number of companies that contribute to the advertising of the sector. In the future, more companies are expected to start advertising. Besides, even the existing ones are expected to increase their advertising spends. However, it remains to be seen if these spends will be retained within the print sector or will television and digital take more and more of it. The recent trends do suggest that it will be a challenge for print to continue to grow in this domain. If one were to estimate the growth not in terms of volume but in value then the trend may already be unfavourable for the print category.”

    As the number suggests, 90 percent of the advertising in this segment come from ‘Educational Institutions’ and ‘Coaching / Competitive Examination Centres’. The rest 10 percent is comprised of ‘Computer Education’, ‘Vocational Training Institutes’ and other categories. When asked why advertisers from other categories don’t see this segment as an opportunity to advertise and get to the young and educated Indians, Mr Dinesh Vyas, Business Head, MEC India said, “Advertisements gain a lot from the editorial content of a magazine. It might be true that educational publications are doing well and is a medium to reach young-educated Indians but several categories might be a misfit in the publication. A consumer buys educational magazines to know more about education and an advertisement about diamond sets or deodorants would be a total mismatch.  While advertising, it is important to match the environment of the magazine”

    When asked the same question, Mr Ray said, “Yes it does make sense for advertisers from other segments to advertise in this sector – theoretically though. However in our country, education is a serious subject and entertainment, technology, consumer durable industries do not want to be in that atmosphere. More so, because there is not a single minded education platform in India and the best that you have are the various education supplements with mainline dailies.”

    In a burgeoning population of educated Indians, the scope of growth in this sector is likely to soar in the years to come. With it, the advertising revenue will rise too and the sector will grow further. However, in the world of digitisation, the current players will have to throw caution to the wind and plan well ahead of time.

    According to Mr Sodhi, as the AdEx data suggests, “The education sector is highly disorganised and fragmented. There have been attempts by various education brands to monetize their education materials/periodicals, events and their chain of training centres, websites, etc by associating with other advertising brands. However, I am not aware of formal education sector print that can be consistently be used as an advertising medium by others.”

    How much the sector grows in future, and whether or not it will put up a good show at IRS and other measurement researches, only time will tell. But currently, going by the media planners’ verdict, this sector seems to be giving good value for money for its advertisers, though some semblance of organization would help the medium on the bullish ride forward.

  • GECs get real with mythologicals and historicals on primetime

    Mythologicals look back to a bright future

    By Dhara Salla

    In the general entertainment channels (GEC) space the race is continuously on to provide differentiated content. While reality shows and new storylines are in great demand, mythology too is back in the reckoning. This time around it’s a blend of mythology and history  no longer just about Lord Rama and Lord Krishna. Jhansi ki Rani on Zee TV can perhaps be credited with redefining the genre.

     

    Among the shows that feature among the top 100 quite regularly (though not at very high positions) are Shobha Somnath Ki, Chandragupta Maurya, Shani Shingnapur and Dwarkadeesh Bhagwan Shree Krishna. However, Sahara One’s Kahani Chandrakanta Ki, Jai Jai Bajrang Bali and Ganesh Leela are not on the list of the top 100 shows. The latest one to hit television is Veer Shivaji on Colors. Though not high-ranking, many of these shows are, in fact, in prime time slots.

     

    One of the major reasons for their resurgence is their simplified avatar. Explained Ms Mona Jain, CEO, Vivaki Exchange, These are well produced and stories are told in a modern way, in simple language. They are made interesting and dramatic. They are riveting, and well scripted and edited to hold viewers interest. The ones you see these days are about strong characters who are known but their stories have never been put on screen these have new value and are of fresh interest for viewers.

     

    Ms Surbhi Murthy, Associate Vice President, Allied Media reasoned, I agree that the numbers are not very high but they do attract audiences. I can say it is appointment viewership. These shows are fairly new, and they will start getting the numbers in some time.

     

    Even if the numbers are low, the channels are ready to take the risk and carry them, said Ms Murthy, adding, The audiences are totally in the experimental phase and so are the channels. The channels don’t want their audiences to get bored.

     

    Mythology has certainly returned to the Hindi GEC arena, as Ms Sushma Zaveri, COO Madison Media Infinity confirmed, Indeed there is a return of the trend of mythology. The good part is that it is also historical costume dramas and not just religious myths.

     

    An interesting observation here is that content of these serials is aspirational and one does not really have to weave a story but present already existing content in a captivating manner. Mr Ajay Rao, Vice President, Dentsu, said, You could put it down as content-mining from culture. With the strong affinity that Indians have for mythological stories as evidenced by the successes of Mahabharata and Ramayana, it was only a matter of time before channels started delving deeper for more.

     

    The reasons for this resurgence can be attributed to a number of factors. Myth does attract a certain segment of people and builds loyal viewers for the channel. To quote Ms Murthy, If you observe the stories of these mythological shows, they give a perfect plot, drama, action, love and a heavy dose of masala. The glamour of the era that has gone by and the canvas on which these are made are so much fantasy-like, that we Indians, like to watch such stories. We like to see such larger-than-life characters. Secondly it is a very refreshing change. It’s different from the usual saas-bahu drama, and the overly decked up women with male dummies. There is a sense of authenticity attached to such shows.

     

    Interestingly, these shows are also good family viewing, as kids too have caught onto the serials like Jhansi ki Rani and their parents do not mind them sitting in front of the TV.

     

    Lot of parents encourage kids to watch them given that these stories are steeped in our culture and values, and are clean, remarked Ms Zaveri.

     

    However, observers believe that whether these shows gain in popularity would depend largely on how captivating the storytelling is. In most cases newness would have to be brought in the execution, as there is not much room for imaginative content in such shows. Stated Ms Jain, Mythological/historical shows will do well if the story is well told and has some relevance. Content and scale of production is most important.

     

    As for marketers advertising on these shows, with their increasing popularity more and more brands are coming forward to be associated with them. Ms Sejal Shah, Vice President, West/South, VivaKi Exchange said, All family-related product categories like FMCG, consumer durables and telecom would associate themselves with these shows. Most of our brands from these categories are present here. Besides this, children’s brands, incense sticks and the brands that focus on the tier 2 and tier 3 regions also look at mythology as an option. As of now, none of our brands are with the mythological shows. But maybe we would go to Colors for one of our brands, revealed Ms Murthy.

     

    And why not? The unanimous belief is that it indeed is a growing trend, with a future that looks positive. Twenty percent of content in the future should be in this genre, forecast Mr Rao.

     

  • Entrepreneur India turns 2

    By Akash Raha

    Entrepreneur India, the magazine for India’s small businesses, start-ups, venture funds and financial instititutions has turned two. The September issue of the magazine is its second anniversary issue.

    Bipin Chandran, Editor of the magazine, which is published in India by Infomedia18, the publishing arm of Network 18, told MXMIndia, As a group, we promote the role of business in the entrepreneur space on our TV channels as well as other properties. Over the last two years, we have made it our focal area as we saw the space still unexplored and untapped. Thereafter, we have carved a niche for ourselves, and it has been a great journey so far. To create a segment and be there successfully is phenomenal. As a matter of fact, we have exceeded our expectations.

    The magazine is priced at Rs 100 and is published monthly. The special anniversary issue focuses on the first two years of several businesses, with several noteworthy industry names contributing. Mr G M Rao of GMR, Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon Limited and Mr Ajay Piramal of Piramal Enterprise Ltd, are some of those who have shared their experiences.

    Entrepreneur India will also do special shows on CNBC Awaaz, Awaaz Entrepreneur. A media campaign is also on currently to tell people what Entrepreneur India set out to do to help people create world class businesses and to guide them through it. The campaign has been planned and developed internally.

    The Indian edition of Entrepreneur has been licensed from Entrepreneur Media Inc, by Infomedia18. Entrepreneur is an over 34-year-old brand in the US with over 3 million readers. It is also one of the largest selling business magazines from newsstands. Apart from the US, it also publishes from six other emerging markets across the globe. Entrepreneur magazine is targeted at entrepreneurs (SMEs) and people who seek to venture out on their own and seek to provide in-depth information and enable them to be successful.

  • Firms and employees taking closer look at posts on third-party review sites like glassdoor.com, insidebuzz.com and salary.com

    Staff cribs and concerns go inside the glassdoor

    By Indu Nandakumar

    The last time, Atira, a software engineer with one of India’s growing software firms, wanted to complain about certain things she did not like about her workplace, she raised her concerns at an employee discussion forum within the company. But the next time she wants to raise a similar issue, Atira, 23, says that she would choose glassdoor.com instead.

    A growing number of websites like glassdoor.com, insidebuzz.com and salary.com, where employees and even prospective ones – can post their complaints, discuss salary details, lodge interview questions and even rate their managers, are gaining in popularity. The crucial difference from other other discussion forums or HR blogs lies in the independence of these websites and the fact that all reviews or discussions are done unanimously.

    But what do such platforms mean for the India Inc? “We track this more often than regular internal HR surveys. I am more concerned about the ratings we get on a glassdoor than all the bad press,” said the CEO at one of the top 10 Indian technology firms..

    “Most companies try to keep a tab on what’s being talked about them in the online space. While many of them monitor employee discussions on social networks and blogs, companies from the IT, travel and hospitality and financial services sector are beginning to track sites such as glassdoor.com”, says Mr Jessy Paul, CEO of Paul Writer Strategic Advisory and former Chief Marketing Officer at Wipro.

    “Even better, companies like Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Cafe Coffee Day not just monitor employee conversations, but they also take necessary steps and respond back to their employees,” she adds

    US-based glassdoor.com, where nearly 200 Indian firms have so far been reviewed and rated on a scale of one to five, 20% of the traffic comes from India and the UK. “In the last one year, we have received more than 65,000 reviews, salary reports and interview questions from all the 200 Indian companies listed on the site”, says glassdoor.com spokesperson Scott Dobroski.

    Launched in 2008, glassdoor.com is one of the biggest in this space and has more than 1.75 million items of content, reviews of more than 120,000 companies and adds nearly 5 million new users every month. But how does glassdoor.com ensure the information they receive is accurate? “We have a multi-tier system to ensure accuracy, says Dobroski.

    “We also have a very comprehensive technological review and reviews by actual people who read through every single piece of content. To give you a better idea of how seriously we take the data we receive, about 15% of the data that is submitted to us to be published on the site is actually rejected, because it does not meet our community guidelines or it is suspicious”, he added.

    So, what has sparked the interest among employees to use such sites? For one, it is the absolute transparency and anonymity that these websites offer, says Ms Sangeetha Lala, vice-president of TeamLease Services, a temp staffing and human resource services firm.

    According to her, popularity of sites like glassdoor.com and insidebuzz.com are best understood in the context of a rising interest among job seekers to know more about the organisations. “People want to join the best of companies. They want to know everything about the organisation they are going to join.”

    Ms Sangeetha says that at TeamLease, many of the mid and senior level job seekers ask how they can do more research on the organizations before they join them. Thanks to millions of discussion forums on the social networks and blogs, job seekers are in no dearth of information. But where these websites score is because of the supposed authenticity they vouch for. “But I would recommend that both employees and job seekers verify the authenticity of information on such sites before they take a decision based on the data”, she added.

    For Mr Prasanth Mohanachandran, co founder of Mumbai based Agencydigi, sites such as glassdoor.com and insidebuzz.com does what a burrp.com does to restaurants. “They give you an inside view into what’s going on within the organizations – and what people who are actually working are talking about the work environment”, he said.

    Mr Prasanth says that in the recent years, most of the companies give much more importance to employee discussions on the web. “I know of many firms which check who their employees are networking with on LinkedIn and what they are discussing on other networks,” he says.

    While some of them go easy on this, Mr Prasanth says that certain organisations restrict its employees from discussing internal matters on the web. “Like for instance, the Indian Army would not allow its soldiers use social networks such as facebook. On the other hand, some of IT firms have set up online discussion forums where their employees can come and talk.”

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright  2011, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • Tribal DDB India president moves on with effect from October 1.

    Max Hegerman quits Tribal DDB India

    By A Correspondent

    It’s log-out time for Tribal DDB India President Mr Max Hegerman. He has held the top job at the digital arm of the Mudra group since July 2009. While sources close to both Hegerman and Mudra have confirmed the development, there is no official confirmation of the move. His last day at Tribal DDB India will be September 30.

    Says his summary on his LinkedIn profile: For roughly twenty years, I have worked in advertising, marketing and communications planning for brands like Saturn, Nike, Oakley, Pizza Hut, Land Rover, Volvo, Scion and Apple. My experience includes a wide range of media and integrated creative solutions to solve for new brand launches, product line introductions/extensions, specific targeting and re-engineering brand positioning.

    His experience has been transnational. Prior to overseeing Tribal DDB operations in India, he was:

    • Regional Managing Director  Beijing at TBWA\Media Arts Lab
    • an automatic contract consultant with Initiative, USA
    • SVP, Client Service Director with Energy BBDO, USA
    • Managing Director, Euro RSCG, USA
    • Vice President, Account Director, GSD&M, USA
    • Account Director, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, USA
    • Marketing Communications Director, Oakley, USA
    • Global Account Supervisor, Wieden + Kennedy, USA
    • Senior Account Executive, Hal Riney & Partners, USA

    At the time of writing, there was no confirmation of where Mr Hegerman was headed, though industry rumours suggest he may be headed to global interactive giant, Sapient. It is also not known who is likely to take over from Mr Hegerman at Tribal.

     

  • I am sending the TVC and stills separately to PM and RM by Gmail as they are large files. Afaqs has the TVC up on their youtube channel but I haven�t found it elsewhere online yet. – VH

    Catchy retro tune for Westside’s reinvention

    By A Correspondent

    Chances are you’ve been humming the Shammi Kapoor-Asha Parekh foot-tapper Aaja aaja, main hoon pyaar tera and not realized quite why it’s stuck in your head.

    You may have seen Ogilvy & Mathers new brand campaign for Westside, Endless Possibilities, starring an ever-changing, bubbly Giselli Monteiro, with the opening bars of the song in the background.

    As the 50-second TVC demonstrates, endless possibilities is Westsides name for mix-and-match. An old concept given a fresh update with an interesting take on the same model meeting herself in different avatars as she progresses through the streets of picturesque Prague, where the TVC was shot.

     

    Mr Suresh Kumar Nayak, Group Creative Director on the Account, comments,When each look is created to tell a story then imagine the endless possibilities of stories with all the different looks a Westside store has to offer.

    The promise of newness permeates the commercial, highlighting how the same piece of clothing can be worn differently for a new take on one’s look. In a way, it’s a hearkening back to pre-globalised India where women got garments tailored with an eye to diverse uses, mix-and-match being the order of the day. Now one goes not to the tailor but to the department store.

    Westside, of course, is much more than clothes from home furnishings and accessories to gourmet food, it’s got something for everyone. In a nutshell, Endless Possibilities sums it up.

    Along with the range of merchandise, Westside’s new USP is the changed in-store look and feel and the international SIS (shop in shop) format.

  • Watch this space, the Chitralekha Group is going great guns with its global Watch World awards

    Chitralekha group announces watch awards

    By Akash Raha

     

    The Chitralekha group’s Watch World magazine is all set to unveil the second chapter of Watch World Awards 2011 on September 24, 2011.

     

    Commenting on the occasion, Mitrajit Bhattacharya, President and Publisher, Chitralekha  said, “With participation of international brands with their latest global launches, Watch World Award is an international award coming from India’s premier watch magazine. An event made possible, thanks to whole hearted participation by leading and iconic brands and a jury comprising the best from the world of horology, fashion, sports, aesthetics and design.”

     

    According to Chitralekha group, this year’s awards received 40 per cent more entries, 30 per cent increase in nominations and 9 new participating brands. Marquee brands like Harry Winston, Zenith, Baume & Mercier, Carl F. Bucherer, Ulysse Nardin, TAG Heuer, Greubel & Forsey, Breitling, Hublot, Girard-Perregaux, Corum, Montblanc, Parmigiani, Romain Jerome, Seiko, Citizen, Swarovski, GC, Titan, Chronotech etc participated in the awards.

     

    The coveted awards cover eleven product categories and six marketing categories and one mega award named as ‘Watch of the Year’. The product categories are Complicated Watch of the Year, Jewellery Watch of the Year, Sports Watch of the Year, Fashion Watch of the Year, Watch with Best Design, Watch with Most Innovative Design, Watch with Highest Utility, Watch with Artistic Excellence, Value for Money Watch of the Year, Limited Edition Watch of the Year and Concept Watch of the Year. The six Marketing Categories are Best Campaign in Print, Best Campaign on Television, Best Out of Home Campaign, Best In-store Merchandise, Best Boutique and Best Organised Event.

     

    The composition of the product jury members was; Mr. Antoine Simonin, an extremely accomplished Swiss master watchmaker and author, based in Neuchatel with over 50 years of watch making experience; Ms. Chhaya Momaya, leading image consultant of India; Mr. Ayaz Memon, reputed journalist and a keen observer of the luxury space and Ms Varuna D Jani, distinguished jewellery designer. Ms. Sharda Agarwal and Mr. Shripad Nadkarni, founders of Market Gate Consulting and seasoned marketing professionals made up the Marketing Jury. Both the jury panels were moderated by Chitralekha’s Mitrajit Bhattacharya.

     

    Says jury member Mr Antoine Simonin who is on his second visit to India to judge the awards: “I am honoured to be a part of the jury once again. There has been an exponential increase in the brands and quality of nominations this year. Seeing the response of global brands in the second year, Watch World Award has made a mark for itself in a very short span.”

     

    The Award night will be a weekend event (September 24-25), where VIP guests will stay overnight at Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort. The night promises to be an evening to remember with a priceless exhibition of exquisite watches. Next morning guests will enjoy a game of golf at the sprawling 18-hole golf course, one of the best in India.

     

    The Watch World team is committed to making this annual event the most respected word for the watch industry. The event is supported by its partners, AU Finja, Luxure by Louis Philippe, GIA, Chhattisgarh Handicrafts, Bloomberg UTV (BUTV), Mint and Big FM besides outdoor and online partners.

  • The FIPB approves a proposal from Burda Gesellschaft mit BeschrAnkter Haftung to set up a wholly owned subsidiary

    Disney needs to wait a li’l more for FIPB nod

    By A Correspondent

    The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) of the Ministry of Finance, the Government of India has approved 12 Proposals of Foreign Direct Investment amounting to Rs 242.88 crore approximately. However, it has deferred its decision on the much-hyped offer by Walt Disney to buy the promoter’s stake in UTV.

     

    The proposal by Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) Asia Pte Ltd was to increase foreign shareholding from 48.02 percent to up to 100 percent to carry out the business of film distribution, content development and distribution, animation productions, and through downstream to undertake broadcasting business, by uplinking one or more general entertainment (not being news and current affairs) channel, in addition to the existing activities.

     

    It may be noted that the deferring of the decision only indicates that they matter has been put off to the next FIPB meeting which is scheduled for September 30, 2011.

     

    Some of the other proposals that have been deferred include Cellcast Interactive India’s proposal of

    setting up of three non-news and current affairs Television channels in Hindi, Tamil and

    Telugu in India. 9X Media Pvt. Ltd has requested to increase foreign equity participation from 80% to up to 100% and also to make downstream investments up to 100 %. Decision on this too has been deferred.

     

    Mr Atul Phadnis’s What’s On India Media Pvt. Ltd also has to wait before it gets an approval on the induction of foreign equity by way of issue and allotment of compulsorily convertible participating preference shares to carry out the business of TV channel license for uplinking a non-news and current affairs TV channel.

     

    Meanwhile, FIPB approved Burda Gesellschaft mit BeschrAnkter Haftung, Germany’s proposal to set up a wholly owned subsidiary to engage in the business of publication of magazines/ periodicals/ journals focussing on lifestyle, entertainment, fashion, interior design/ decoration, cars and computer. The proposal approved of publishing Indian editions of foreign titles and also editions of Indian titles besides custom publishing for third party and events and matters related to publication of magazines/ periodicals/ journals and promotional activities.

  • It’s a Big change at BIG CBS with Vishal Rally moving from Vodafone to join as Business Head

    Vishal Rally joins BIG CBS Networks as Business Head

    By A Correspondent

    In the week when BIG CBS Networks’ channels outperformed their competitors, the Company has yet another development. Vishal Rally has been appointed as the Business Head for BIG CBS Networks Pvt Ltd. He will be responsible for the overall functioning of the channel including programming, promotions, communications and also the P&L and revenue generation for the business.

    With 16 years of experience, Mr Rally joins the BIG CBS Channels from Vodafone Essar, where he headed the Products & Sales functions. He has had a multi-sectoral background, with his career beginning with GTL where his profile included working as a product specialist and looking after the sales, marketing and technical skills – to design, promote and sell a product. After a 4 year stint at GTL, he joined ZIP Telecom as Senior Brand Executive. He has also worked in Hathway and Venture Infotek where he was Associate Vice President – Marketing.

    On the appointment, Mr Nikhil Mirchandani, Business Head, Television Channels, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd. said, “Vishal brings with him varied experience and skill sets that will work to the advantage of the business. He comes on board at a very interesting juncture where all our channels have shown tremendous growth and the time is just appropriate to increase thrust on revenues and top-lines. We welcome him on board and look forward to a fruitful innings.”

    Speaking on his appointment, Mr Rally says, “Am happy to come on board. There exists huge market potential to explore for these channels and I am confident that the winning content, the market standing and the dedicated team when put together make for a winning brand.”

    Mr Rally is a Masters in Management Studies from Mumbai University and Bachelor in Engineering (BE) from Manipal University. He will be reporting to Mr Nikhil Mirchandani, Business Head, Television, Reliance Broadcast Networks Limited.