MxMIndia

Author: mxm_india

  • Terrorists will get a setback if they don’t get the bhav they currently get from the media

    Hard Knocks: Ban terrorism coverage

    Knock, knock. Before you get into the blog, here’s an intro. It was meant to be a one-sentencer, but it’s turned to be a loooongish one. Anil Thakraney is an adman-turned-journalist living mostly in Mumbai, but sometimes in Bengaluru or Nashik. Or for a few days in a year or two: London. Many moons ago, he would edit The Brief:, an ad magazine that the adfrat loved to hate or hated to love. Well, they loved it and hated it. The Brief: was unceremoniously shut, but Thakraney had tasted the thunder. He went on to subject all and sundry to his interviews and stings (and stinging interviews) at Mid-Day and later with Mumbai Mirror. He was even editor of Mid-Day’s Bengaluru edition for a bit.

    When I joined the exchange4media group in 2008, I got Thakraney, a former colleague and friend, to write reviews and interviews. It was only natural that when I thought of launching MxMIndia, I asked him to be our Editor-at-Large. Do a blog, write reviews, interview the biggies. Etc, etc. Publishing Thakraney’s blog was like wearing a near-red shirt in a bull ring. But, heck, he’s one of the bestest writers on medialand. His views, most often contrarian, are interesting. I enjoyed reading his hat ke views today, and I am sure you too will. As for those who are at the receiving end of his commentary, I can only say: dil mein mat lena yaar! – Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Without much ado, Hard Knocks. By The Anil Thakraney:

    I am aware this is a heretical thing to say. And it goes against all tenets of good journalism. But drastic times call for drastic measures, as it’s said. I really think time has come for the owners of the mass media, in particular the TV channels and the newspapers, to come together and shun exhaustive coverage of bomb blasts and other terror attacks.

     

    And I propose this seemingly preposterous idea because the biggest source of motivation for terrorists is to sit back and watch (with beer and popcorn for company… the 76 virgins will have to wait) the hectic media blast of their actions. This 24×7 coverage not only provides oxygen to their deeds, it also encourages other terrorists to join the party. And their message of hatred quickly gets spread all over the world, free of cost. And sometimes, as it happened on 26/11, the TV coverage aids them directly in their planning and execution. In short, the media unwittingly ends up providing a huge bang for their buck.

     

    I wonder if their enthusiasm levels will remain the same if the oxygen supply is cut off. If they are ignored like petty pickpocketers. If they don’t get the bhav they currently get. I suspect it will be a setback for these buggers.

     

    So then what about the role of journalism, you ask? Isn’t it the duty of the media to inform the janata on what’s happening? How can the media ignore such a huge story? These are valid questions. But maybe for the greater good, these need to be compromised. I think a bomb blast should get a tiny slot in the coverage, as would a road rage incident. So people DO know it happened, but there’s no accompanying drama around it. The terrorists will deem this to be an insult to their work. And that’s a good thing, no?

     

    Yup, I know traditional journos and media barons will immediately scoff at this idea. Because it sounds crazy. But once the laughter dies down, they would do well to chew on it. Because often for difficult problems we need to search for lateral solutions. Especially when the horizontal and the vertical ones have failed. And especially when you are operating inside a soft state called India.

    PS: There’s this ad which the Pak government recently released in theUSpress. It would have won an award at Cannes for sure. But they screwed up a bit with a small typo. The headline should have read: ‘WHICH COUNTRY CAN DO MORE FOR YOUR PIECES?’

     

     

  • 12th AGM of Indian Broadcasting Foundation elects Board of Directors

    The full-strength IBF Board of Directors

    By A Correspondent

    The Board of Directors of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation was reconstituted at its 12th Annual General Meeting held on September 19, 2011 at Hotel Oberoi, New Delhi.

    In the Board meeting that followed the AGM, the Board unanimously re-elected Mr Uday Shankar as the President-IBF for second year in a row. Mr Sunil Lulla, Managing Director & CEO of Times Television Network, was elected Vice President and Mr Punit Goenka, Managing Director, Zee News Ltd. has been elected as the Treasurer.

    Earlier in the day, during the AGM, IBF members also elected the Board members after which the IBF Board of Directors for the year 2011-12 would be as under:-

     

     

     

    Mr Uday Shankar, Director, Star News (Media Content & Communications Services I P Ltd

     

     

     

     

    Mr Sunil Lulla, Managing Director & CEO, Times Television Network

    Mr Punit Goenka, Managing Director, Zee News Ltd.

    Mr Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, Network 18

    Mr I Venkat, Director, Eenadu TV

    Mr Jawahar Goel, Zee Network

    Mr Jayant M Mathew, Director, MM TV

    Mr KVL Narayan Rao, CEO & Executive Director, NDTV

    Mr Man Jit Singh, CEO, MSM

    Mr Paritosh Joshi, President (Ad Sales & Distribution), Star India

    Mr Rajat Sharma, Chairman, India TV

    Mr Siddharth Jain, Vice President & General Manager (Distribution & Business Operations), Turner International India & South Asia

     

    Co-opted Directors:

    Mr K Madhavan, Managing Director, Asianet Communications Ltd.

    Mr Markand Adhikari, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Sri Adhikari Bros. Television Network Ltd.

    Mr Raj Nayak, CEO, Viacom 18

     

     

    Special Invitees to the Board of Directors meetings:

    Ms Monica Tata, Vice President & General Manager, Turner General Entertainment Network

    Mr Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN

  • Retail pioneer Raghu Pillai inducted into the Indian Retail Hall of Fame

    Retail pioneer Pillai in Hall of Fame

    By A Correspondent

    Raghu Pillai (1957-2011), considered the father of modern retail in India, was declared the first inductee into the Indian Retail Hall of Fame at a function organized at the India Retail Forum 2011.

    In an emotional ceremony jam-packed with delegates at the two-day retail industry get-together at The Renaissance Hotel, Mumbai, business leaders such as Thomas Varghese, CEO, Aditya Birla Retail, Bijou Kurien, Chairman, IRF and President, Reliance Retail, Lifestyle, and Vikram Bakshi, MD, McDonald’s (North and East India), paid rich tributes to Pillai who passed away in Chennai in April this year due to a fatal cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife, daughter and son.

    Mr Varghese of Aditya Birla Retail said: “Raghu introduced modern retail to India. A towering and inspiring personality, he was a true leader of men who led from the front. He was full of humility and humanity and had a strong sense of right and wrong. The award couldn’t have gone to a more fitting person. He is a worthy example for all young managers to emulate.”

    Mr Bakshi of McDonald’s said: “I learnt a lot from Raghu. When there was a bitter debate going on in India about organized versus unorganized retail, he injected a fresh perspective by saying that there was no clash between the two and it was all about introducing modern retail in India. He believed that modernizing retail was important because it was the last mile for anything that gets manufactured. He was an excellent professional and a true human being. People like him never die but always live in the stories that they leave behind.”

    Mr Kurien of Reliance Retail said: “Raghu loved good food and a good drink and was full of life with an overpowering personality and a loud baritone voice. He had a can-do spirit and was a natural born leader and visionary. Raghu was also very daring who never got stuck with endless analysis. Once he decided something had to be done, he made sure it was done and could be extremely pushy when it came to achieving goals.”

    “He was also a great family man, a loving father and a great husband who never failed to take the call of family members regardless of how busy he was. As a professional, he gave me a lot of insights into the world of retail. He had a unique insight into what makes a store work and just by looking at a location he could tell if an outlet there would be successful or not,” Mr Kurien added.

    Mr Pillai’s wife Janaki Pillai, who specially flew in from Chennai to accept the award on her husband’s behalf, said: “Raghu always said his life must be a story that he could tell to his grand-children. To the last, he was true to his word.  I would like to thank India Retail Forum and the retail fraternity for this honour.”

     

  • DeBrief: Reliance Netconnect’s little movies

    Reliance Netconnect has put out a speed challenge. ‘It’s fast. Are you?’, is the question being asked. And to highlight that offer, they have released three thrilling commercials.

     

    In one, an unknown ‘taskmaster’ has tied a chap with a rope, and placed him inside a van parked across a railway track. As the train approaches, the man struggles but manages to reach his laptop, he then affixes the Reliance Netconnect dongle to it, and surfs to find a way to untie the knots. Yup, he does get out of the van just before the collision happens. In another ad, a girl has been locked inside a moving car, and the boot is set on fire. But she manages to escape by locating the nearest fire station. Using Reliance Netconnect, of course. In the third one, a young dude frolicking inside a deep forest comes face to face with a marauding elephant. And manages to get away by using Reliance Netconnect. When he streams a video that distracts the animal.

     

    Yes, the ads are dramatic and entertaining. Like little action-packed movies. And as Reliance Netconnect has been used as the key part of the plot, it doesn’t appear forced into the stories. Should appeal to young net users.

     

    However, there’s a built-in problem with this approach: Shorter edits of these films won’t work, the drama simply won’t happen in a 20-seconder. Which means Reliance better have huge budgets ready to keep releasing 45-second films. An idea is powerful when it works in short edits too. Creative directors must never forget this basic ad principle before writing TV scripts.

     

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 2.5

     

     

    Anil Thakraney’s ad review column DeBrief will appear twice a week – Tuesdays and Thursdays.

  • The reality show that has fired young imaginations is roaring ahead on the path to success

    MTV’s Roadies is a game to wait and watch for

    By Dhara Salla

     

    Nine years down the line, the Roadies fever can still grip the way it always does. This is probably India’s only reality show format to be adopted internationally.  MXM tracks down the complete journey masala of Roadies.

    MTV Roadies has caught on among the youth to the extent that it has been termed a cult. Not only was audience interest intact throughout, it geared up in its fourth and fifth season. Mr Raghu Ram, the producer of the show, had commented in a media report back in 2005 itself that the popularity of the show has increased to 2500 per cent than what it was in the first season.

    According to the TAM data, Target Audience, CS-15+ in the HSM, for the opening episodes in 2003, the first season of Roadies opened with just 0.14 TVR. Later in the second season in 2004 it ascended to 0.27 TVR and in 2005 to 0.3. It really picked up in the fourth season and one of the reasons of this credit goes to Gurbani, known as VJ Bani, with whom the TVR touched 0.31 in 2006. This was followed by 0.34, 0.34, 0.42 and 0.29 TVR in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011.There has been a consistent upward trend except for 2011.

    In 2009, Roadie Palak aka Gurmeet Kaur claimed to Times of India that Roadies is scripted and all those youth who consider to be a part of this show should re-think. But according to the TVR it did not touch the popularity quotient.

     

    Success Mantra

    Then what could be the success mantra? According to Ormax study in the month of August, it said VJ and Actor Rannvijay is the most popular personality among the youth followed by Mr Raghu Ram. Does the popularity of the faces make this show so successful or is it the concept? Mr Aditya Swamy, Channel Head MTV, answers this, “Every year we try to set a different standard for the show. It is a cult, Rannvijay came in because of Roadies and now Roadies is associated with his face, and Raghu is the brain behind this concept. Everything together gives a complete package of success. We always need two hands to clap.”

    According to Mr Swamy, its not only about the TV show but also the off-TV engagement that they have created, like on Orkut Roadies where the community has more than 3 lakh members. The Roadies Page on Facebook is the fifth most engaged page in the world, and the Roadies Battleground contest that happens online encourages youth to participate by giving them tasks online and uploading their videos.

     

    This year’s Roadies

    MTV Hero Roadies 9 this year travels to USA with the new theme, “Everything or Nothing.” Mr Swamy explains, “The Roadies contestants will be given two choices at every turn and they will have to choose one which will lead to either everything or nothing.” He further adds, “As this year we are going to USA the tasks will be according to that, for example in Las Vegas the tasks will be about gambling.”

    The auditions have already started but Mumbai is not in the list of cities for auditions. On this Swamy reveals that, “Roadies has its diehard fans in the cities like Pune and Hyderabad so we chose to go there and get the right people.”

    The title sponsor is Hero (earlier known as Hero Honda) and the associate sponsors are Mountain Dew, Lava mobiles, Spraymint, Ceat, Steelbird, Denver. Cafe partner is CCD, Radio Partners are Radio Mirchi in Pune, Kolkata, Delhi and Hyderabad and Big FM in Chandigarh, and Multiplex Partners are Inox in Pune and Kolkata and PVR Cinemas in Delhi, Chandigarh and Hyderabad.

     

    What’s In Store

    Mr Swamy said, “We have MTV Unplugged with 10 episodes, second season of Crunch which is a multi platform reality show, F1 Rocks, Vodafone Race to Fame and Roadies will be on air by the end of the year.”

    MTV is a channel that originally started as music television, then moved on to be a youth reality channel and now it is a mixed bag of youth channel and music. Whether Roadies, MTV’s hottest property, will live up to expectations and continue to rule the charts, remains to be seen.

  • Extra sweetness as ‘Mint Indulge’ is launched

    By A Correspondent

    Mint, HT Media’s business daily, launched its luxury and lifestyle publication Mint Indulge on September 09, 2011.  This is a complimentary quarterly read for Mint’s readers across India. The magazine will be in a Berliner format with the opening cover story on ‘The making of Vertu’.

    Speaking about the magazine Mr Hemant Somani, COO, Mint said, “Mint Indulge showcases the most aspirational international brands, which look at India as a promising market to drive the next growth wave for them. The category has gained traction in the last few years and Mint proves to be the best vehicle for these brands to reach their target audience.”

    Mint Indulge focuses on the passions and indulgences of India’s top business leaders and serve as their buying guide for the season. Apart from rich content, the inaugural issue has an international look and feel, making it visually appealing.

    In the editor’s note, Mr Sidin Vadukut, Issue Editor of Mint Indulge, writes, “This newspaper values your time and money. We try to make sure that every piece of newsprint we push your way is worth the time it takes you to flip through it, if not actually read it in full… Mint Indulge is our latest project. The entire point of Indulge is to showcase products, services, concepts, and, most importantly, ideas that have a reasonable chance of exciting the prosperous or won’t give-up-till-I’m-prosperous male.”

    Exquisite gadgets and mobile devices take the centre stage in the inaugural issue along with other indulgences like international clothing, watches and other accessories. Readers can also look forward to premium luggage choices, food and beverages and golf equipment.

     

  • DNA ed-in-chief Aditya Sinha's column is a win-win. He will turn into a martyr if he's sacked and a hero if he gets away with it

    Mediaah!: Of a toothless Press Council and spineless Editors’ Guild

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Apologies for not being regular. A colleague has been indisposed. We’ve been getting our share of exclusives and firsts. So a good part of the day is spent in ensuring that MxMIndia turns into a broadbased media website. So all of you who’ve been missing your daily dose of Mediaah!, chill! I don’t think the blog will be a daily, but an update at least three to four times a week?!

     

    Mint editor R Sukumar’s ‘Edspace’ is a delight to read. Pity it doesn’t appear every Saturday. Delight for me because it deals essentially with the media, and often on ethics. For instance, last weekend, he wrote about journalists being responsible for the state in which the profession is in the India – the corruption levels given the direct and indirect favours journos take (see link). Like awards, being part of a government committee. Sukumar hopes the Editors’ Guild of India will debate these issues.

    Being a Delhi-based editor and “an unacknowledged member” of the Guild, I guess he hopes the apex association of editors will do something. My own belief is that it will not. It could do precious little when the paid political news controversy first surfaced a couple of years back and Medianet did a decade ago.

    If the Press Council of India is toothless, the Guild is spineless. And this is despite having editors like T N Ninan, M J Akbar and Rajdeep Sardesai at the helm. Guess it’s one thing writing about the government or demining, say, a Narendra Modi, but another to take on biggies in their own biradiri.

     

    Paid news and Mid-Day

    Mid-Day exec editor Sachin Kalbag makes a brave defence for the paid news practice that his paper indulges in. Quoted in The Big Story on MxMIndia.com earlier this week, he defends the ‘Centre Stage’ feature in his paper that contains advertorials. Just 15 percent of the content is paid for. He also calls the tagline under the Bombay Times masthead as a disclaimer.

    I don’t think people see it as a disclaimer. If The Times of India and Mid-Day are serious about informing their readers that some of the stuff in their papers is published not on the merit of its editorial content but the amount someone’s paid for it, they must clearly state that they are doing it. They must tell the reader that the content in question must not be construed as that done by the paper’s journalists. Just as Mint has been doing about its advertorials. So in every sense of the term, the 15% of the paper’s Centre Stage section is paid content.

    So, lemme repeat what Sachin says:

    My opinion on paid news is very simple: It’s an abhorrent practice. It demeans journalism. I don’t really know when this crept in, but it has plagued the media for decades. Unscrupulous journalists have been on the take for several years, and this is not a new phenomenon. The widely cited example of institutional selling of content space is Bombay Times which introduced a rate card for coverage in the supplement. Recently, the supplement began putting a disclaimer under its masthead. The phenomenon of institutional selling of content space crept into the media for various reasons – but the root cause was always to increase revenue.

    Our editorial policy is very clear: any “Advertorial” is placed in a two-page section called Centre Stage, which is part of the Classifieds section of the newspaper. Centre Stage in Mid-Day is differentiated in various ways from the editorial part of the newspaper. Here’s how: 1) The Centre Stage carries a prominent disclaimer in a large point size under the masthead “People, Parties, Promotions”. This has been happening since the day Mid-Day started Centre Stage, which was more than two years ago. In Centre Stage, we carry items on movie releases and profiles of actors, fashion designers, parties, etc, that happened in Mumbai that week, apart from product launches.

    Close to 85 percent of the Centre Stage advertorial section is non-paid, that is to say the Centre Stage team of writers (this team is not part of the Mid-Day editorial team) interviews people or writes about their parties or products. Around 15 per cent of the items are placed where the content space is sold by the sales team. Once again, these items are only about Bollywood, fashion, parties or product launches. There is a separate, specialized sales team that sells this space, and at no point in time do they dictate terms to

    Editorial, mainly because Centre Stage is not editorial space, but marketing real estate. In fact, there have been several instances when the Editorial staff in Mid-Day has trashed Centre Stage advertisers in the review section of the newspaper, and the sales team has gotten into trouble due to that negative coverage. Yet, we are very clear at Mid-Day that the Sales and Editorial wires do not cross, and that the Chinese wall between them stays even though we may be good friends outside the office.

    We are also very clear that Centre Stage will not carry any “news”, but only information on these three or four categories listed above. There is neither any opinion nor any recommendation made in the section that is endorsed by the editor. In the strictest sense of the term, it is an advertorial. Mid-Day, therefore, has stayed away from “paid news” and will continue to do so.

    Thus, Centre Stage in Mid-Day is institutional selling of content space which I guess has a rate card. I am told revenues are healthy and though they don’t run over a 100-odd crore as Medianet is said to be generating, but even if it’s 1/100th that, it’s too much to sacrifice for stupid things like editorial integrity.

    Guess for some publications, editorial ethics is also an abhorrent practice. It demeans ad sales!

     

    Dabbang Sinha!

    As a strategy, it’s a win-win. He took on the information broadcasting minister in public saying that ever since DNA went ballistic with the anti-corruption drive of Anna Hazare, the government stopped advertising in his paper. (Link to column)

    Now, from whatever I’ve known of Ambika Soni, she’s a pretty reasonable minister. Given all the complaints that every I&B mantri receives, she could’ve made life miserable for media players. Especially broadcasters. Like her predecessors did.

    A senior journalist in the Capital told me that Aditya Sinha’s column last Sunday is sure to see his scalp. Subhash Chandraji could find it too hot to handle, and the Zee supremo needs the government for his plans a helluva lot.

    But this is why I said it’s a win-win for Sinha. If he gets the sack, he will turn a martyr (that doesn’t help much, I can tell you from experience). And if he continues, he’ll turn into a hero because after all, few have had the balls to say the government is kinda blackmailing the press.

    Sample some gems from his column:

    > Soni’s statement led us to infer that our Anna Hazare coverage was being punished by a suspension of government ads, and that Soni met our ad executives just to ensure the point was driven home.

    >This was not surprising because DNA recently has faced suspicion and hostility from the government which has apparently adopted an attitude of “you’re either with us or against us”. The prime minister’s media advisor has privately accused DNA of an agenda against the government, and its Editor-in-Chief of being close to a political party in the opposition.

    >The day after the meeting with Soni, DNA started getting DAVP ads again. Presumably, from the government side, mission was accomplished

    >Loss of business can be measured, but the loss of credibility cannot. Above all, that someone in government tried to be petty and vindictive is, to us, validation that we were doing our job right

    The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of MxMIndia and its editorial team. In fact often it’s in variance with their views. Meanwhile, buzz me if you have a story to tell. Confidentiality assured. There are various ways you can reach me: pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, 23050B5D, pradyumanm@gmail.com, @pmahesh, 98338 76278.

     

    Tomorrow:  Is The Times of India taking on Times Now?

  • India Inc hires honchos of rival brands; Sanofi, Glaxo, Pepsi are some of the examples

    Big brands hire rival captains to forge ahead

    By Rahul Sachitanand & Gauri Kamath

     

    In late August, when Aventis Pharma, the Indian subsidiary of Europe’s largest drugmaker Sanofi, announced the acquisition of Indian firm Universal Medicare’s branded nutraceuticals business, Mr Ranga Iyer joined the celebration.

     

    Mr Iyer, a former MD of US drugmaker Wyeth in India, was the man Aventis had turned to 18 months ago to help bulk up its presence in the Indian healthcare market. He had then just stepped down from Wyeth after its global merger with world number one Pfizer. Eschewing other job offers, Mr Iyer turned advisor to CEOs of pharmaceutical companies on strategy, business development, mergers and acquisitions. Helping Aventis scout around for potential acquisitions was one of those mandates.

     

    Mr Iyer is not the only head honcho-turned-consultant advising companies that were once rivals. Across India Inc, companies are turning to former business heads of competing organisations for advice and handholding in product launches, entry strategies, acquisitions and new projects. Mr Sunil Alagh, Mr Shripad Nadkarni, Mr Narendra Ambwani and Mr Nabankar ‘Nobby’ Gupta are some of yesteryear’s hotshots who have now become backroom strategists.

     

    When GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH) decided to extend the Horlicks brand into the fragmented 10,000-crore biscuits market two years ago, it sought help from one of the most accomplished names in the industry.

     

    It leaned on the expertise of Mr Sunil Alagh, a former managing director of Britannia Industries, who had built the Bangalore-based biscuit-maker’s brand during his 29-year stint, launching products such as Tiger and foraying into allied areas such as dairy products. GSKCH wanted Mr Alagh to help recreate some of that magic with its own fledgling brand. The strategy appears to have worked. In the near three years Mr Alagh has worked with the company, Horlicks has grown into an over Rs 100-crore brand and launched at least a dozen variants to expand its market share in this competitive market.

     

    Mr Alagh’s inputs were critical for GSKCH to gain a foothold in a market in which multinationals such as Cadbury Kraft are gaining ground and established players such as Britannia and Parle are fighting to retain their shares. After his bitter parting with Britannia in 2003, this may be a sweet comeback for Mr Alagh, but for executives at GSKCH, it’s also a short-cut to the success of its biscuits business. GSKCH declined to comment.

     

    Mr Shripad Nadkarni is a former marketing whiz of Coca Cola, who was responsible for the thanda matlab Coca Cola ad slogan. He’s also credited with growing Thums Up’s lead in the cola segment and was given responsibility of leading the advertising for the beverage-maker’s core brands across rural China, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, besides India.

     

    Now, Mr Nadkarni is using his marketing skills at his boutique consulting firm, Market Gate, that has Coke’s archrival PepsiCo and other beverages firms like Tata Global Beverages listed as clients. He calls his services “consumer informed business strategy” and says his expertise is centred on business turnarounds and expanding footprints.

     

    Those looking for expert insights on consumer medical products are likely to reach out to Mr Narendra Ambwani, a former India MD at Johnson & Johnson (J&J), the maker of Band Aid and Johnson’s Baby Powder. “I have frequently been contacted by other companies in this field since I retired,” says Mr Ambwani. “They want my expertise in branding and marketing their products and also want to leverage my expertise in operations across South and South-East Asia.” Mr Ambwani has used his consumer goods marketing and distribution skills with the likes of Modi Naturals and Godrej Consumer Products.

     

    Mr Nobby Gupta is best known for his skills acquired as the marketing head for consumer durables marketers such as Philips and Videocon. Now, he is leveraging those skills to consult other companies in the white goods space. He is currently advising, among others, one of the world’s largest electronic retailers on their India entry. “Confidentiality is paramount,” says Mr Gupta, whose last corporate role was as president of apparel-maker Raymond’s. “For me, the biggest growth potential exists among mid-market companies, which are open to ideas and have strong growth ambitions.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

  • Reckitt Benckiser launches Dettol Liquid Handwash in new packaging avatar

    New packs benefit Dettol Handwash

    By A Correspondent 

    Dettol, one of the most trusted brands from the portfolio of Reckitt Benckiser, has launched Dettol Liquid Handwash in a new packaging avatar bundled with new benefits.  The Dettol Liquid Handwash range that gives effective protection against a wide range of unseen germs daily is now available in a contemporary, easy-to-hold shape, and new fragrances and packaging.

    Dettol Liquid Handwash has four variants including Dettol Skincare, Dettol Fresh, Dettol Sensitive and Dettol Original, which comes with new formulations and better lather. All the four variants are available in pump packs of 250ml and / or 135ml. The new handwash bottles come with a wider pump for easier use and a wider mouth for easier refill. The refill packs are also available in 185ml and 900ml.

    Mr Chander Mohan Sethi, Chairman and Managing Director Reckitt Benckiser India Ltd, said, “We at Reckitt Benckiser constantly aim at providing new and better solutions to our customers. Our new Dettol Liquid Handwash bottles with wider pumps are in line with Dettol’s primary focus of providing germ protection. Dettol, our flagship brand, is considered the gold standard for protection against germs and infections.”

     

  • Marico founder Harsh Mariwala’s son Rishabh Mariwala opts out of family business to start Soap Opera N More

    Marico son Rishabh takes the soapy way

    By Kala Vijayraghavan

     

    His start-up is dubbed Soap Opera N More – an apt name not just for the nature of the business but perhaps also for the succession drama that’s playing out at the Mariwala family-owned consumer company Marico. Mr Rishabh Mariwala, the 29-year-old son of Marico founder Mr Harsh Mariwala, has moved out of the family’s flagship operations to unleash his entrepreneurial skills.

     

    Rishabh, who spent three years developing business at Marico’s beauty salon services arm, Kaya Skin Clinic, will now sell premium handmade soaps. Two years ago, Rajvi, 30, Mr Mariwala’s elder daughter had also opted out of Marico, where she was a part of the brand-building team, to focus on sociological research.

     

    So what’s playing on the founder’s mind? Does he want to give the Gen Y members a shot at garnering experience in the world before cementing their positions in Marico; or is he clear that professionals will run the organisation, with family having no role to play in operations? As things stand, Mr Mariwala is the only family member with an executive presence on Marico’s board although the family owns around 63% of the company.

     

    There are no clear answers to those questions. But even if Mr Mariwala is entertaining the thought of passing on the baton to his son, he isn’t going to present it on a platter. “This is not a ‘lala’ company,” he declares. “Family members are not automatically entitled to succession. They have to prove their mettle by building a business.” Company watchers add that Mariwala is keen that Rishabh step out of his comfort zone and go through the tribulations of starting and then running a business.

     

    Rishabh’s path is a unique one. Here is a case of a potential successor who got into the business, then got out of it, with the distinct possibility of getting back again. The alumnus of Frank G Zarb School of Business, Hofstra University, New York, will start up Soap Opera N More with family funds, report to his father and sell the handmade soaps that are the brainchild of his mother, Ms Archana Mariwala.

     

    “There are no compulsions of any kind on us as far as our career paths are concerned. And this (start-up) is a great learning experience for me,” says the lad who comes from a family that has a lineage of trading (“Mariwala” translates into pepper trader). Harsh broke out by founding his own consumer-oriented venture.

     

    His son may well be keen to emulate him. “I am an entrepreneur and want Rishabh to have a similar experience in setting up an organisation from scratch. There are no pressures on family members to be part of Marico; eventually it will be their decision.

     

    Marico has always been a professionally-run organisation” says the chairman. A nomination and governance committee in Marico has put in place a drop-dead succession plan as part of a risk-mitigation strategy. As a board member puts it on condition of anonymity: “Blood has nothing to do with the way Marico is run; there is a strong culture of professionalism and it operates independent of who is the largest shareholder.”

     

    Perhaps the Marico founder wants to be sure of the fire in his son’s belly before he hands him a larger responsibility. Elsewhere in India Inc, second-generation scions have chosen routes to the family business. Rishad, son of Wipro chairman Mr Azim Premji, worked with GE Capital and consulting firm Bain & Co before joining the IT services major in 2006. Shravin, the 23-year-old son of Bharti’s Mr Sunil Mittal, worked as analyst with Wall Street banks in London and New York before joining up at one of Bharti’s subsidiaries.

     

    Says Ms Padmaja Alaganandan executive director, PricewaterhouseCoopers: “A very high proportion of geNext in family businesses have professional qualifications and experience of working with good organisations outside their own; this gives them a broader canvas of experience and a good anchor to position and drive change within their organisations.”

     

    In contrast, Mr Adi Godrej’s children Nisaba and Tanya, like Mr Rajiv Bajaj of Bajaj Auto, joined the business at the junior rungs and worked their way up while Mr Sasha Mirchandani, son of Mr Gulu Mirchandani of Onida, is treading a totally different path: he has opted to work with start-ups by founding Mumbai Angels, India’s first angel investment group.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

     

  • Nivea celebrates a century of caring for skin

    By A Correspondent

     

    Nivea in collaboration with Times Red Cell has conceptualized Nivea My Skin Lounge, a unique on-ground experiential programme celebrating Nivea’s 100 years of Skincare for Life in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Nivea My Skin Lounge is a dedicated space where women can enjoy, celebrate their skin and experience the expert care of Nivea for three days.

    Nivea My Skin Lounge will provide comprehensive skin analysis, identify skin personality, and customers can also participate in the Nivea My Skin Moments contest and join Rihanna  The Voice of Nivea’s 100 years campaign in her concert in Germany. The celebration will be hosted at prominent malls in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

    This initiative will be unveiled in Delhi between September 16 and 18 at Ambience Mall, Gurgaon. The Nivea My Skin Lounge will then be displayed at Inorbit Mall at Mumbai from September 30 to October 2, and will culminate in Bangalore from October 14 to 16 at Garuda Mall.

    Nivea is also holding its My Skin Moments Contest for women who visit the Nivea My Skin Lounge. Guests can share their special skin moment along with a photograph in the Nivea My Skin Moments Contest. The three best stories win two tickets each to watch Rihanna, the voice of Nivea’s 100th year celebrations perform live in Hamburg, Germany. (Terms and conditions apply.)

    More details are available at www.facebook.com/nivea100years.

     

     

  • Hindustan Unilever appoints ombudsmen to resolve disputes and effecting out-of-court settlements

    Fair and Lovely: HUL ropes in ombudsmen

    By Sagar Malviya & Maulik Vyas

     

    Hindustan Unilever has roped in four retired high court judges as independent ombudsmen in different regions to resolve cases filed against the company by its suppliers, distributors, stockists and retailers.

     

    An ombudsman looks into complaints against an organisation and its officials and helps resolve them by mediating fair settlements out of court.

     

    “The idea is to have an alternate dispute resolution mechanism with the whole philosophy of customer centricity and the main reason is resolution of matters,” Hindustan Unilever Executive Director – Legal Dev Bajpai said. The country’s largest consumer products firm is faced with more than 100 complaints from business partners across the country, which can be referred to the ombudsman.

     

    Legal experts applauded the initiative, saying it’s unheard of in the country and would benefit the company in the long run.

     

    “The advantage for HUL is that it can figure out in advance whether its case is good and avoid an expensive and protracted legal process,” said Advaya Legal Partner Ramesh K Vaidyanathan. “The choice of an ombudsman of impeccable integrity and reputation for impartiality is critical for any counterpart to agree to this proposal,” he added.

     

    The maker of Dove soap and Rin detergent may have achieved it by appointing retired judges of different high courts-V Panshiker in Mumbai, SK Mahajan in Delhi, K Govindrajan in Chennai and Alok Chakraborty in Kolkata-to look into all disputes in the West, North, South and East, respectively.

     

    They will take up only those commercial disputes that have no legal breaches, company officials said. Typical cases would include distributors who have parted ways with the company and suppliers who made goods that fell short of quality standards.

     

    There is a rider, however. The decision arrived at dispute resolution meetings will be binding on the company, but not on its business partners who will have the option to continue with litigation. In 2008, Hindustan Unilever had roped in an ombudsman to deal with consumer complaints that could spill over into the courts, in a first of its kind initiative by an Indian company. It was restricted to end consumers of HUL products.

     

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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