MxMIndia

Author: mxm_india

  • Instead of unleashing boring stories of healthy electrons and neutrons inside the cooking oil, Fortune has gone all out to win the housewife's heart.

    Debrief: Cooking emotions

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Here’s another tear-jerker. And if you are an emotional fool (like me), you will rush to your nearest grocer to pick up cartons of Fortune cooking oil. And when the emotion involves a mother/son situation, an advertiser can be pretty sure it’s a safe bet.

     

    Fortune’s new commercial features an elderly mom who whips up delicious food for her merchant navy officer son. Since the officer won’t get a holiday to visit home, she lands up on the ship to celebrate his budday. And then, of course, it’s the predictable re-union.

     

    Smart move. Instead of unleashing boring stories of healthy electrons and neutrons inside the cooking oil, Fortune has gone all out to win the housewife’s heart. And the cleverest thing about the ad is the soundtrack. It’s the classic song from SD Burman: ‘Meri duniya hai maa’. It’s the sort of song that will move a heartless, emotional geek, leave alone an already teary mother.

     

    However, I must add that I didn’t get the same emotional high that I did from the recent Cadbury ‘Lonely maa’ ad. Here, the emotion seems to be a bit contrived and forced, and I suspect the person to blame for that is the ad filmmaker. Somehow the tears get diluted in the translation of the storyboard. Tells you how important it is to cast the right director.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3. Most of those marks go to Burmanda.

  • Kingfisher Red, marketed as India's first 'all season's beer', is looking at expanding its footprint in the next 12-18 months and to have a nationwide presence.

    UB bets big on ‘unchilled’ Kingfisher Red

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Kingfisher Red, marketed as India’s first ‘all season’s beer’, is looking at expanding its footprint in the next 12-18 months and to have a nationwide presence. Currently, Kingfisher Red is available in nine states including Punjab, Chandigarh, Bihar, UP, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Assam.

     

    Talking about the roadmap for the product, Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior Vice-President Marketing, United Breweries, said, “There was a need to bring in a beer that can be consumed round the year as we have seen that the market swings a low of as much as 40 percent during cold weather as beer is largely seen as a drink for summer months. But I must add that since its launch one and a half year ago, Kingfisher Red comprises 5 percent of our total market share in the strong beer market and so far we are satisfied with the progress of the brand.”

     

    Kingfisher Red is marketed using the premise ‘Tastes great when chilled and even better when not chilled’. The product is designed to meet the unmet market during cold weather conditions when traditionally there is a drop in beer sales. Hence the communication is built around the season summer, monsoon and winter and how when it’s cold get Red, when it’s hot get Red and when it rains get Red hence a beer that is suitable for consumption irrespective of the season. The collaterals and merchandising is also built around seasons, like its jackets for winters and T-shirts for summer.

     

    On plans ahead, Mr Sheikhawat said, “We will be looking at being present in 15-20 markets in the next 12-18 months. Also currently the beer is brewed in Ludhiana and Rajasthan and we intend to pinpoint 5-6 more locations where it will be brewed.”

     

    He also said that the overall strong beer category from UB is growing at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 15 percent in the last five years which means it is doubling growth yoy. In the case of Kingfisher Red it has been growing at more than 100 percent. In fact, he is bullish on the product and says that by end of March 2015 Kingfisher Red will comprise 10 percent of the total market share in the strong beer category.

     

    Kingfisher Red is a Premium Gravity beer and is specially brewed to give a distinctive taste with an oaky woody flavour and artistically crafted beer inspired by the traditional brewing practices of medieval European monks. It is so developed following a unique process whereby the beer is golden light oaky brown and can be consumed even at 14 to 17 degree Celsius, without any change in the taste of the beer.

  • The 'soup song' is a rage on FM too, but would it have had such a following if it hadn't viralled online?

    Would ‘Kolaveri Di’ have been a rage if it was only aired on FM?

    By Robin Thomas

     

    Already a huge hit online, with more than 94 lakh views on YouTube, and more than 46,000 ‘Likes’ on Facebook, ‘Why this Kolaveri Di’, a Tamil-English song promoting the Tamil film ‘3’, has become a national rage. The song became so popular online that it was instantly picked up by FM stations across the country irrespective of their language. The Chennai station of Big FM and Radio Mirchi however claim to have aired the song first on radio and that the song was heavily promoted on radio even before it became a craze online.

     

    According to a Big FM spokesperson, “The song is a rage – both nationally and internationally. Big FM premiered the song at our Chennai station with the musicians, following which it went on YouTube. It was the power of the product – lyrics and music that made it a hit! Radio today, has a key role to play in marketing and creating viral music, and in this case too, it worked! We played the song, across our stations in its Tamil-English version.”

     

    So, would the song would have created a similar sensation had it been aired only on FM radio? While there are those in the industry who believe that radio has the power and the reach to create a huge sensation, there is a section in the FM radio sector that are of the view that a ‘Kolaveri Di’ kind of national rage was only possible through Facebook and YouTube, as radio is more city/ town or even state-oriented.

     

    Vehrnon Ibrahim, National Programming Head, Oye! FM

    Vehrnon Ibrahim, National Programming Head, Oye! FM said, “I doubt the song would have been a huge sensation on air (radio) as compared to the craze online. We started playing this song only after it became a huge sensation on the social networking sites. It’s quite an entertaining song, a very filmy story, and we cover all that is filmy or entertaining. We are therefore following the story and not the song.”

     

    Kartik Kalla, National Programming Director, Radio City said, “Yes of course radio would have created such a rage. After all it’s the same person who tunes in to FM and online so whether radio airs it first or after two days is immaterial.”

     

    “We have a very robust policy where songs are tested with the listeners before being put on air. But honestly with Koleveri Di that was not required because it has broken all kinds of records online and you certainly can’t ignore that!” he added.

     

    Ravindran Nair, Director Programmes, Radio Mango

    Ravindran Nair, Director Programmes, Radio Mango, also believes that the song would have been a huge sensation had it been aired first on radio. “Definitely it would have been a hit. Radio has done similar things very successfully. In our case, a song from an album “Coffee on MG road” called “Palavattam” by actor/director/singer Vineeth Srinivasan became huge with radio airplay. Social media has become a part of marketing mix for most products and films and music will be no exception” he explained.

     

    On a different note, Shaan Menon, Manager Content CLUB FM stated, “I don’t think the song would have been such a rage had it been aired on radio first, it is all because of YouTube or Facebook. Just like Kolaveri, any radio link or radio creative such as a promo or an interview bite can also become viral. It’s unpredictable, but will happen for sure. These days, the internet is the first testing platform for any creative product. So, a product getting well sold on the internet is undoubtedly the choice of the masses! Social Network helps us to extend the reach of our product to more number of people.”

     

    He further said, “Radio is confined to a city or a state or to a nation, the possibilities for a Channel to fly high taking the flight of a social networking site is a huge positive sign. Radio is a medium which plays the right taste of the people. It’s just like his favourite restaurant where the listener gets his favourite food.”

     

    Some of the FM stations playing the ‘Kolaveri Di’ song are Radio Mirchi, Red FM, Big FM, Radio City, Oye! FM; Club FM, Radio Mango, Radio Hello and Radio Choklate.

     

    Of course the frequency of the song is pretty high among the south-based FM stations, particularly those in Chennai. The frequency of the song played on the Big FM Chennai station is also said to be very high as compared to its stations in other parts of the country. According to Radio Hello’s website, ‘Kolaveri Di’ has already become the top most popular song in its ‘Top 10 songs for this week’ list. Club FM, a Mathrubhumi initiative, used to play this song for 16 hours a day with a special promo along with it; Radio Mango, another FM station in Kerala, a Malayala Manorama initiative, used to play this song twice per hour, with heavy rotation. Radio City plays this song three to four times a day across their 20 stations whereas Oye! FM plays it for 172 hours.

     

    Interestingly, ‘Kolaveri Di’ is not the first song to have crossed language barriers among FM stations. Even earlier songs like, ‘Aika Dajiba’, a popular Marathi song; Tamil Song, ‘Apdi pode’ were played in various FM stations in the country irrespective of their language.

  • After Comedy Central, Viacom 18 announces Sonic, a sci-fi entertainment channel TGing young 10- to 17-year-old adults

    Viacom18’s ‘Sonic’ plan to dominate TV-land

    By Rishi Vora

     

    After announcing the launch of Comedy Central, Viacom 18 has now unveiled yet another offering in its bouquet: Sonic, a sci-fi entertainment channel catering to young adults, falling in the age bracket of 10-17. The channel will bank on Action, Adventure and Animation – the three main areas around which the programming strategy will revolve.

     

    What Sonic’s launch does to the market is extend its scope a bit. With other channels in the kids’ genre typically falling in the age group, largely between 4- 14, Sonic extends that to slightly older kids, up to 17 years – a segment which constitutes 30-40 percent of the 4+ market, and the one which is underserved in India. For Viacom 18, it is a significant development, for now as a group it caters to every segment in the Indian entertainment industry. Colors – the Hindi GEC, MTV in the youth category, Nick catering to kids aged between 10-14, and Comedy Central – a comedy channel for 14 + audiences.

     

    But it is too early to tell, whether Sonic will make an impact. A senior member from one of the kids’ channels, who did not wished to be named, said, “While we welcome one more channel in the genre, these are early days to comment on what it does to the segment – will it succeed, will it not? So it is only fair to wait and watch. Coming from the Viacom stable, all I can say is it’ll be interesting to see how the channel progresses.”

     

    Nikhil Rangnekar, Joint CEO, Spatial Access said, “It’s going to be challenging for the new player to establish itself, with its new positioning of catering to young adults. It will be interesting to see what differentiation they bring to the genre, as animation and adventure is a game that existing players are already playing.”

     

    Viacom 18 execs, however, are confident of putting up a good show. Mr Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, Viacom 18, said in the official communique, “Sonic further expands Viacom 18’s presence in a demographic bracket that has remained un-tapped, but is probably the biggest influencer on family purchase decisions. Like our other businesses, we are confident of Sonic establishing a dominating presence within the first year of its operations.”

     

    He further added, “The next 12 months will see Viacom 18 in an expansion mode and Sonic is the first step in that direction.” Mr Bob Bakish, President and CEO, Viacom International Media Networks said, “The launch of Sonic is significant in many ways. Not only does it further expand the Viacom 18 Network in India but it also opens up an interesting category for both viewers and advertisers. The Viacom 18 Network can now take pride in being the only entertainment network that has specific brands to entertain viewers across every possible age segment.”

     

    Mr Chawla’s comment on reaching a dominating position is a clear indication that the channel will pump in distribution monies, and of course investments on content acquisition. The plan is to reach 40 million households in India. So distribution and content acquisition are two key areas of investments the channel is looking into, in its bid to be a significant player.

     

    Executive Vice President and General Manager, Ms Nina Elavia Jaipuria said that the channel’s efforts will be to have a large set of loyal viewers and keep them engaged through never-seen-before digital initiatives. Elaborating on the TG, she said, “It is going to be a challenge to hold the attention of our TG – the young adults – ones who are on the cusp of adulthood. They’re rebellious, impatient, tech-savvy, hyperactive, confident and competitive. They’re early adapters, experimental, extremely opinionated and big influencers on matters such as purchase decisions.”

     

    Revenue-wise, it will be both advertising and subscription. Though digitization will help, the channel’s foremost challenge is to bring a wide variety of advertisers, from different categories on the channel.

     

    The tagline for Sonic is ‘Thrills. Guts. Glory.’ For presentation and packaging aspects, UK-based company – Red Bee has been hired. Scarecrow is the creative agency and Vizeum will handle media duties.

     

    December 2011 is when Sonic will go on air. The marketing will roll out soon, it’s going to be a 360-degree campaign to start with and digital initiatives as an on-going strategy to engage and interact with tech -savvy young adults.

     

    As history suggests, in other categories of course, many channels have launched with a bang. On being asked what her expectation were at launch, Ms Elavia Jaipuria chuckled, “Wish I could get 30 percent share and even surpass Nick. On a serious note, it will be only be right to review the channel’s performance post four to five weeks of launch.”

  • Organised retail cushions against Inflation with larger stores cheaper any where between 10-35% in different cities

    Kiranas key to service breadth of Indian consumers, says Kishore Biyani. But big, organized bazaars are cheaper

    By Sarah Jacob & Sagar Malviya

     

    Ram Agarwal, a kirana store owner at Kolkata’s Salt Lake area, every fortnight walks up to competition in the locality-in his case Big Bazaar and Spencer’s Retail outlets-to spy on their product prices. Without surprise, lower prices greet him at every visit.

     

    “The kind of deals these retailers provide in some products is impossible to match,” says Mr Agarwal, who has been running his shop, Radhe Shyam, for 24 years now. But he does match the retail goliaths when it comes to small pack sizes, which makes up the core of his sales basket.

     

    Mr Agarwal knows what opposition parties seem to ignore while opposing the government decision to allow 51% foreign investment in food and grocery retail-that modern retail helps consumers save their precious pennies amidst relentless rise in prices all around. The Economic Times visited popular kirana stores across Kolkata, Gurgaon, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai to compare their prices of day-to-day items with big retail chains in their cities. Modern retail won hands down.

     

    In branded items such as detergents, wheat flour and edible oil, modern trade prices were 4-20% lower than general trade, which primarily sold them on MRP. And in unbranded staples such as sugar and onions, larger stores were cheaper anywhere between 10-35% in different cities. Take the case of onion.

     

    In Bengaluru, Aishwarya department store sells it for Rs 20 per kg, while Aditya Birla Retail’s More on the same road charges Rs 16.90. In Chennai, Star Bazaar, a hypermarket chain run by Tata’s Trent in a franchise agreement with UK’s Tesco, sells onion at Rs 18.50/kg, but at Jyothi kirana at T Nagar it costs Rs 24. The reason for this, say big retailers, is that they are able to cut through various levels of middlemen while sourcing. Also, these chains can bargain for lower prices with manufacturers because of their large purchase orders and pass on the savings to the consumer.

     

    “Modern retail generates up to 10% of the sales for consumer goods companies and can source products at lower prices,” says Mr Kishore Biyani, chairman, Future Group. He says that a big retail outlet, on an average, stocks up to 60,000 stock keeping units across categories, while kiranas store up to 4,000 SKUs.

     

    Does this mean modern retail will ultimately drive mom-and-pop stores out of business? No. Mr Biyani feels that kiranas are essential to service the breadth of Indian consumers. Analysts agree that consumers need both the formats, to always have an option to choose between the convenience of a neighbourhood store and value deals of a big retailer. They say consumers will always prefer aroundthe-corner kiranas for low-volume purchases.

     

    “Kiranas deal with consumer goods brands in low volumes. Since these firms do not share good margins, kiranas make it up by charging the MRP without discount,” says Mr Anand Ramanathan, associate director at management consultancy KPMG. Organised retailers, however, have to make it worth the consumer’s while to drive out, brave traffic and parking hassles and shopping queues. This is where their unique selling point of low prices comes in.

     

    “To draw consumers, retailers squeeze suppliers and ensure efficiency in categories that drive footfalls. They balance it out by enjoying higher margins in categories where impulse buying is high,” says Mr Ramanathan.

     

    As the table suggests, organised chains retail at lower prices even at a time when food inflation hovers at 9%. “It is all about offering consumers a hedge against rising costs,” says Aditya Birla Retail CEO Mr Thomas Varghese.

     

    For its Bengaluru stores, More sources half the produce directly from farmers and the remainder from traditional mandis or markets. “When the cost of procurement increases, kiranas raise prices. But we take a hit on margins and put pressure on the procurement channel instead,” says Mr Varghese.

     

    Experts say big retailers’ ability to offer lower prices will increase when international retailers open hundreds of stores and build backend infrastructure. “FDI in retail can, to some extent, compress the huge difference between the farm or factory gate prices and consumer prices in India, benefiting both producers and final consumers,” says Mr KT Chacko, director at IIFT.

     

    (With inputs from Writankar Mukherjee, Ratna Bhushan, Madhvi Sally, Jayashree Bhosale, Sangeetha Kandavel, Deepika Amirapu and PK Krishnakumar)

     

     

    Source:The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2011, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • Ideas@work have created amusing commercials for Big Rock.com with four fresh creatives, three on television and one a social-media-only ad.

    Chuckle-worthy ads from Ideas@work for BigRock

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Big Rock.com,an internet business providing web-presence solutions, has launched its latest advertising campaign.

     

    The campaign consisting of three TVCs, created by Ideas@work promotes BigRock.com’s offer of having a complete website for Rs. 499. The idea, “Got a business, get a website”, is a continuation of the campaign BigRock had rolled out in January this year.

     

    ideas@work and Big Rock started working together in September 2010. They have worked on TVCs and a few print campaigns.

     

    The dead-pan humour has found likeability to a lot of people’s sense and sensibilities. The treatment of a depicting a real business for whacky/imaginary products and services evoked humor and also drove home the message, subliminally, no matter what your business is, getting a website is essential.

     

    There is a continuation down the path of highlighting unusual businesses in a humorous light and in a way that connects with Indians everywhere. The campaigns are being launched in 5 languages because BigRock is a well-regarded pan India brand. The communication campaign that comprises of TV commercials, and viral campaigns are being unveiled across tier I, II and III cities with the simple message – ‘Got a Business? Get a Website.’ The communication showcases small businesses that have benefited with a website from BigRock and inspires the business owner to think – ‘if they can have a website, so should I.’

     

    The research insight for the campaigns was that there are an estimated 100 million users of the internet in the country. India is projected to become the third largest globally in terms of internet users by 2013. To give perspective, the top country’s in terms of internet usage today – China and US – have an internet user population of 485+ million + and 480+ million +, respectively.

     

    The total number of domains registered in India is only about 3 million. The ratio of the total internet users to the total domains registered in the country thus is an abysmal 1:45. In a country such as the USA that number would be 1:5 – thus there is every indication that the headroom for growth in this industry is enormous.
    Bhavin Turakhia, Founder, BigRock, said, “The ad was communicating a brand and a message which the TV Viewer has never been exposed to. Hence we had to take utmost care of keeping the concepts simple, relatable and humorous.

     

    “If you see any of our TVCs, they have 3 stages. The first stage talks about the funny / imaginary business which then leads to the business owner’s website name and the message – Got a business? Get a website. The last part is the product offering / offer window.

     

    “In totality, we tell the TV viewers that there is a wacky/unbelievable business which has a website and that every business should have their website and finally finishing with the offer that at BigRock, you can get a complete .COM Website at just Rs. 499.”

     

    He adds, “If you were to compare the BigRock ads to any other .COM Company ad, you’ll notice that the treatment and the concepts used for BigRock are highly disruptive, simple to understand and have a clear call to action. The look and feel of the ad is also highly real. We believe that the brand is for everyone who has a business/ has thought of setting up a website. There is a definite risk that when the campaign is this catchy, the consumer gets more engrossed in the campaign rather than focusing on the product but if you’re not entertaining the TV viewer, there are more chances of your brand being forgotten. The balance between the story and the product window has to be optimized to drive home both, the brand name and the communication”.

     

    The campaigns will be a 3-3.5 week affair on TV, Digital Media and Print.
    Sharing his views on the campaign Amod Dani, ECD, Leo Burnett, said, “Some really interesting stuff here by bigrock.com. The campaign has humour nicely woven into it and the Savitri Bai and Rambo acting classes commercials are very well crafted and funny. The “Newspaper… Toilet paper” touch and “Mere ladke ko julab ho gaya hai” got me ROFL!

     

    BigRock really stands out thanks to some good honest and simple execution. Nice to see humour well done, after a long time. Though I feel all of them are not as funny as Savitri Bai and Rambo acting classes, but overall the work is far better than what we’re seeing on the idiot box. Give me also a two now!”

  • Tune in, and cash in. The medium that reaches everyone everywhere is here to stay, and grow.

    The Anchor: 5 reasons radio will flourish, forever

    By Sunil Kumar

     

    #1 It is Local:

    People are more curious about or interested in the happenings in their city or town. Interest in local culture is developing and radio caters to that local culture which other media just cannot. Radio is absolutely local.

     

    #2 It is Participative and Interactive:

    Radio is the only medium where people can air their voice… leave a request… and it provides numerous other ways for active listener participation. Increased density of mobile phones is encouraging this interactivity further. Even social media has its own set of limitations…

     

    #3 It has an Abundance of Content:

    Today different kind of music is played on radio. It is not limited to Bollywood. Since it is a local medium, the music played too is in local language and in accordance to local taste. Today large number of music is produced in India, especially local music. ‘Kolaveri Di’ is one example. Bhajans, Sufi music, or hymns are some other music one can hear in different parts of the Country. In addition to these, the availability of sports commentary and multiple frequencies will offer listeners with more even more differentiation of content.

     

    #4 Car Listenership is Rising:

    Nearly all cars today have FM stereo attached, and as the number of cars continues to increase, it will further increase car listenership. More cars on the road also means frequent traffic jams. There are also those who travel long distances, and as a result time spent in listening to radio is also likely to increase.

     

    #5 It’s Free:

    Unlike any other, radio happens to be the only medium which is actually free.

     

    Sunil Kumar is MD, Big River Radio and a veteran mediaperson

  • MSLGROUP has announced the launch of a global Crisis Network of 50+ experts, to advise, guide and support clients in troubled times, connected by a proprietary real-time platform.

    Dial MSL if you’e a client in a crisis

    By A Correspondent

     

    MSLGROUP has announced the launch of a global Crisis Network of 50+ experts, to provide the best advice, guidance and support for clients in troubled times. Connected to each other by a proprietary real-time platform, the network is devised to help business leaders prepare for a new normal: today’s fundamental reset in dynamics between individuals, influencers and institutions around trust, power, risk and crisis. Alongside 24×7 access to the platform, the crisis experts are also able to leverage the network’s crisis planning framework and crisis simulation workshop — to help clients plan for and respond to crisis situations effectively. MSL is represented in India by Hanmer MSL and 20-20 MSL amongst others.

     

    Pascal Beucler, MSLGROUP’s Chief Strategy Officer commented, “Today, business leaders must master the three key interplays shaping crisis in the “new normal”: the interplay between mainstream media and social media, the interplay between local and global dynamics, and the interplay between crisis planning and response. MSLGROUP’s Crisis Network is a one-stop shop to help guide companies and institutions to do just that.”

     

    Marking the Crisis Network launch, the team has also published its first report, an e-book titled When Every Crisis is Global, Social and Viral. Section one explores how social media is changing trust, power, risk and crisis. Looking first at the role of social media in societal upheavals in the West, the authors then move to the East and review how social media is changing the news ecosystem in China, eroding the wasta system of personal influence in the Middle East and uniting the Indian middle class in a grassroots movement against corruption.

     

    The second section outlines how corporations can leverage social media to manage risk and reputation. The team of experts then take a look at how social media can play a role at each stage in the crisis curve, describe the art and science of crisis simulation, recommend engaging third party influencers in crisis planning, share lessons from managing the global Crisis Command Center for BP, provide a playbook for handling a crisis on Facebook and end with tips and tricks on crisis management.

  • The so-called old-world creative directors, who have been weaned on TV commercials, will continue to thrive because TV isn't about to die in a hurry in this country. But when it comes to using the digital media for their clients, these TV heroes are zeroes.

    Anil Thakraney: Adland blues – where the ‘uncles’ don’t understand digital & ‘dudes’ don’t know Real India

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    One subject that keeps popping up when I meet senior creative directors from the ad world is the challenge posed by new media. And it’s a bit of a worry for everyone because India, unlike developed nations, is placed on a very interesting media matrix.

     

    On the one hand, we have the so-called old-world creative directors (most of them also chairmen of agencies) who have been weaned on TV commercials. Their entire focus and creativity is concentrated on the tube, they can only think TV (not even print!). And they will continue to thrive for many more years because unlike in the western nations, TV isn’t about to die in a hurry in this country. However, these TV hero ‘uncles’ are zeroes when it comes to using the digital media for their clients, and that’s obviously a big weakness. Their understanding of the opportunities offered by the social media space, for example, is very poor. In fact, both Balki and Piyush haven’t even registered for either Twitter or Facebook, that should give you an idea of their disinterest.

     

    Which is why they rely on the ‘young geeks’ in their offices to figure out the use of the digital media for their clients. The twenty-somethings who live their lives purely in the virtual world. The problem with these nerds, on the other hand, is that they don’t understand the traditional media at all. In fact, drowned in their comps/pads/mobiles 24X7, these techno-wizards are disconnected from reality. Therefore incapable of coming up with ideas that are born out of the nation’s culture and beliefs.

     

    For a Kolaveri sort of viral magic to happen for brands, this twain shall have to meet. Either the senior CDs make sure they spend energies to understand and bond with the digital space. Or, they ensure the bachchas in their agencies spend at least half their waking hours getting to know Real India. There is no third way out.

     

    This chasm is no good for the health of the brands they handle.

     

    ***

     

    PS: A review of Suhel Seth’s book has got the author all worked up. And the feisty man has been busy dissing the article writer, calling him a ‘loser’, ‘unemployed economist’, ‘a lowdown’, etc. Apparently, Seth later deleted the sweet tweets. Here’s the link to the said review. Must-read stuff.

     

     

    http://www.caravanmagazine.in/Story.aspx?Storyid=1189&StoryStyle=FullStory

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji finds there's confusion everywhere… in the papers and the news channels

    Why need govts when u have anchors & editors?

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    My cablewallah has decided that the only two English news channels I need to watch are Times Now and Headlines Today. I don’t know whether this is a political statement or an indication of what most people watch or general inefficiency. Of the two I (naturally?) chose Times Now. And I was treated to Arnab Goswami in full flow – he had to save the Indian nation on two counts, from China in the East and Pakistan in the West, so you can imagine the passion and intent. Remarkable, almost as good as watching Keeping up with the Kardashians and a darn sight better than Masterchef USA.

     

    The problem with China was of course that it had interfered in the running of a democratic secular nation (India) by warning the West Bengal governor and chief minister not to go anywhere near the Dalai Lama. This affront to Indian sovereignty was not to be countenanced and it is my overwhelming regret that there was no Chinese representative on the panel. Why do we need governments when we have TV news anchors and editors?

     

    (My personal view is that China forgot that there was no longer a tame CPM government in power in West Bengal!)

    Having blustered away at China – and some poor guest who had the misfortunate of having to explain China’s fears – we then turned our attention to Pakistan. Here, the role was of senior statesman, a negotiator if you will between Pakistan and the United States. The subject of course was the NATO attack which killed several Pakistani soldiers.

     

    It is a credit to our news industry that the larger picture of changing US-Pakistan relations was lost in lots of bombast and sharp positioning.

    In between all this, there was a short session between Rajiv Shukla of the Congress and Chandan Mitra of the BJP about FDI, Lokpal and whatever else is creating excitement in our political lives.

     

    Apparently, everyone is similarly confused because sometimes we like something and the next day we don’t and then again and so the circle of life goes on. Mitra was very emphatic that political parties have the right to change their minds, which is good to know.

     

    **

     

    The morning papers have been equally confusing as one day they tell us everyone is under the Lokpal and the next day they’re not and then everyone is for FDI, everyone is against FDI, partly for FDI, was for FDI once but now no more…

     

    The most interesting news then is that this so-called Bharat bandh by petty traders did not apparently amount to much.

    Team Anna meanwhile seems to be as confused as the rest of us and so has seemingly decided to call off its ritual hysterics for a while.

    Here’s to an equally confusing weekend!

  • Corporates like Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Wipro and Microland help staff turn entrepreneurs

    Now, the likes of Airtel, Infosys and Wipro help you turn entrepreneur

    By Peerzada Abrar

     

    When Sanjay Mittal, an employee at Bharti Airtel, decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge this year, his employer was happy to provide him infrastructure, mentoring, funding and even a year’s salary. Bolstered thus, Mr Mittal (not related to Bharti Airtel founder mr Sunil Bharti Mittal) launched UCIT Managed Services, a company that manages video and audio web-conferencing services. His company now employs 35 and Mr Mittal resigned his job as senior vice-president at the telecom company this year.

     

    “I was surprised when Airtel offered me this kind of partnership,” said Mr Mittal, 44, an alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering and Punjab University. Airtel let Mittal pursue his passion, as the company recognised his contribution of starting this type of unified communication business from scratch, while working at the firm.

     

    Bharti Airtel, which has 238 million customers globally and revenues of over 65,315 crore for FY2011-2012, owns no stake in the start-up, but Mr Mittal says his company has a mandate to grow the audio and video web services business and manage the complete infrastructure for Airtel.

     

    He is also in talks with Airtel’s rival telecom operators to provide the service. Six other Airtel employees have also launched their own start-ups, with assistance from their employer, since it came up with a policy seven months ago to nurture entrepreneurial ability among employees. A board comprising Airtel senior management identifies, funds and guides potential business ideas from employees, who want to leave the company and start on their own.

     

    Apart from this, programmes such as Sparkplug help employees turn their ideas into businesses inside the firm. Other programmes like Zing Labaratory and Start Up Weekend are open for outside entrepreneurs to turn their business ideas into reality.

     

    According to Mr K Srinivas, president for the consumer business at Bharti Airtel, the initiative’s aim is to encourage business plans from within or outside the organisation to create new product ideas. It is particularly important now as Airtel ventures out to data services and applications. “This is not going to happen only through Airtel’s efforts. Building entrepreneurial spirit is vital,” said Mr Srinivas.

     

    Observers said that such corporate ‘intrapreneurship’ initiatives could become hothouses of innovation. “Take Google, for instance. Gmail, Google News and Adsense resulted from its Innovation Time Off programme, in which employees are able to devote 20% of their work day to independent endeavours,” said Mr Krishna Tanuku, executive director at Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development at the Indian School of Business.

     

    INSIDER ENTREPRENEURS

    While Mr Mittal left the Airtel fold, another employee, Mr Moloy Kumar Mukherjee, came up with an idea that was turned into a business by a senior team within the telecom company. The product iFasal, which was developed within Airtel, provides real-time access to the prices of crops, seeds, pesticides, weather information and farming advisory to farmers.

     

    The subscription-based service has spread across states such as Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand. Mr Mukherjee, who hails from a farming family, thought about the idea when he saw small farmers suffering supply-chain losses and being exploited by middle-men. “This is because they don’t get the information at the right time,” said Mr Mukherjee.

     

    OTHER EARLY ADOPTERS

    Other organisations, including IT firms such as Infosys, Wipro and Microland, have also started initiatives to drive innovation.

     

    “This entrepreneurial culture allows employees to think big and bring new ideas to the table,” said Mr Vishnu Bhat, vice-president and global head for cloud computing at Infosys, India’s second-largest software exporter.

     

    Wipro, India’s third-biggest software exporter, has opened up various technology challenges at the firm, which involves open invitation for ideas to solve critical problems. “This itself is driving the innovation culture and the entrepreneurial shift in the organisation,” said Mr Anurag Srivastava, chief technology officer and senior vice president for Wipro’s global IT business.

     

    The intrapreneurs helped Wipro develop a platform made for the Indian garment industry, which will bring down operational costs and help compete effectively with rivals from Bangladesh and China.

     

    Mr Srivastava said if the business plans of employees do not succeed, they are still valued highly in the organisation because of the risk they have taken.

     

    Mid-tier firms, like Bangalore-based IT infrastructure services provider Microland, are also following a similar path. In Microland, an executive team headed by chairman and managing director Mr Pradeep Kar selects ideas from employees. VM Kumar, chief marketing officer at Microland, said customers these days do not pay for the resources like manpower and infrastructure. They carry out transactions based on the business outcome. “For that, we have to innovate, which needs an entrepreneurial mind-set,” said Mr Kumar.

     

    VENTURE CAPITAL MODEL

    Corporate entrepreneurship has been successfully adopted by some of the world’s largest technology corporations such as Intel, Microsoft and IBM. US-based Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp has started an innovation initiative called Cognizant Capital in India. It follows a venture capital model within the company, where it incubates innovative business ideas suggested by employees. The main objective of the model is to create new types of IP-based service offerings that are complementary to their business model.

     

    There is an internal board that screens business plans and allocates funds in a staged model patterned after Silicon Valley venture capital firms, said Mr Sukumar Rajagopal, SVP and Global Head of Innovation at Cognizant.

     

    “Innovation in the current context is increasingly important because customers are going through structural shifts in their business,” said Mr Rajagopal.

     

    CHALLENGES

    Mr Jagdish Kini, former CEO and executive director of Bharti Airtel’s mobile phone operations in India, feels though these are good initiatives to boost the ecosystem, large Indian firms should consider entrepreneurs as partners. “A professional approach is required. They should not portray they are providing some kind of help,” said Mr Kini.

     

    An entrepreneur, who did not wish to be named, was collaborating with Airtel to provide value-added services for entry-level mobile users. However, he said, he had to close down the start-up due to differences with the management at the telecom major. A spokesman for Airtel said that they are trying their best to grow the ecosystem, but it is not necessary that every business scales up and becomes successful.

     

    ZING LABORATORY

    Airtel has now also built a ‘Zing Laboratory’ that helps outside developers and entrepreneurs to test, experiment and simulate various mobile technologies revolving around the 3G platform. Started last year, around 21 entrepreneurs and developers have set up applications that they tested prior to the actual deployment of the solutions in the market.

     

    Last month, Airtel also announced the ‘Start Up Weekend 2011’ in association with SingTel Innov8, a corporate venture capital arm of telecom major SingTel Group. This competition invited individuals to participate and share their new start-up ideas.

     

    Jobs Bolega, a voice-based social network for blue-collar workers, won the competition. The team will join the SingTel Innov8 2012 boot camp in Singapore and get seed funding as well to make their ideas a reality. Tanuku of ISB believes corporate entrepreneurship, which is still at a nascent stage in Indian companies, needs faster adoption.

     

    “A few years ago, if you would do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. But now it is not possible to even keep what you have unless you drive innovation by having entrepreneurial culture inside the firm.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

  • Viacom 18 signs up for capacity on Measat-3a

    Viacom 18 uses Measat for Asia beaming

    By A Correspondent

     

    Viacom 18 has tied up with MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn Bhd to use the Measat-3a satellite for the international distribution of Viacom 18’s channels across the Asian region.

     

    “With wide coverage and a powerful Asian footprint, Measat -3a is the obvious satellite choice for distribution of our international services,” said Piyush Gupta, Chief Technology Officer, Viacom 18.

     

    “Measat is excited to be working with Viacom 18 to distribute its popular international channels via Measat-3a” said Yau Chyong Lim, Senior Director, Sales and Marketing, Measat. “The addition of Viacom 18’s channels further enhances the assortment of premium channels on Measat’s 91.5°E Asia video neighbourhood.”

     

    Viacom 18 is a 50/50 joint venture operation in India between Viacom Inc. and the Network 18 Group. The joint venture includes leading brands across television, film and digital media to build one of India’s leading multimedia entertainment powerhouses. The brands include MTV, Nick, VH1, Colors and Viacom18 Motion Pictures.

     

    The Measat -3/3a satellites distribute News, Lifestyle, Music, General Entertainment, Sports and Documentary channels across Asia over a bouquet of SD, HD and 3D channels.