MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • Brand marketers/campaign creators to present their entries LIVE before judges and audience via a unique interactive '4-6-10' format

    APPIES 2012: 100 best marketing campaigns to be presented LIVE

    By A Correspondent

     

    Fierce competition is expected at APPIES 2012 where 100 of the top marketing campaigns from 16 countries in Asia Pacific will vie for 10 Gold Medals. An annual two-day festival of the best marketing ideas, APPIES brings together the brightest minds in the industry from across 16 countries to celebrate excellence, network and exchange knowledge. Now in its third year, APPIES 2012 brings the audience up close and personal with some of the most compelling campaigns through its unique live presentation format.

     

    APPIES 2012 enables brand marketers/campaign creators to demonstrate their stellar ‘Show, Share and Sell’ skills, thanks to the unique ‘4-6-10’ format. Each presentation will begin with a 4-minute showreel video summarising the entire campaign, followed by a live 6-minute exposition of the campaign’s key highlights by the brand’s marketers/ campaign creators. Then comes the interactive 10-minute session where each campaign will be cross-examined by the judges and audience members.

     

    Building on last year’s list of campaigns by companies and brands such as P&G, Nestle, Pepsi, McDonald’s, Fonterra, Singapore Tourism Board, Bacardi, Adidas and Vodafone, APPIES 2012 will continue to showcase the best campaigns from various industries that span across highly-diverse markets in Asia Pacific region.

     

    The 100 selected marketing campaigns will cover a broad range of six product/service categories that include Consumer Durables, Consumer Services, Food & Beverage, Non-Food FMCG, Business Services and Government, Cultural, Social & Environmental campaigns.

     

    APPIES 2012 will also host special keynote sessions and panel discussions on The Future of Industry. Marit Kievit, Global Brand Director (Lux) at Unilever and Chris ter Steege, Director (Digital Integration), Integrated Marketing & Communications at Philips Asia Pacific have been announced as keynote speakers at APPIES 2012. With advisory and assessor panels comprising top marketers in the region, APPIES 2012 is designed to offer excellent networking and knowledge sharing opportunities for industry professionals.

     

    Marit Kievit is the Global Brand Director for Lux (Unilever). The multi-cultural team led by Marit has developed breakthrough and award-winning integrated campaigns. She was also a permanent member of Axe’s global brand team, setting the global innovation agenda for one of Unilever’s most successful brands. Most recently Marit joined the global leadership team for Lux as a global brand director, based out of Singapore.

     

    Chris Ter Steege is a communication professional with an obsession for innovation and creativity in marketing, brand communication, digital and social media, and leading the creation of impactful experiences through integrated communication strategies and tactics. With 10 years experience, Global to Local, B2B and B2C, at Philips, Chris now leads regional cross-sector digital programs in Asia Pacific, co-leads the region brand campaign, works with sector marketers to deliver award-winning campaigns, and manages the digital team in one of the most diverse and fastest growing regions in the world.

     

    Leanne Cutts is Vice President, Marketing for Kraft Foods Asia Pacific Region, based in Singapore. She is responsible for driving the growth of the gum, candy, and powdered beverages categories as well as leading consumer insights & analytics and driving marketing excellence in the region.

     

    The Institute of Advertising Singapore (IAS) was founded in 1990 with the aim to position Singapore as an internationally recognised “centre of excellence” with world class advertising professionals, international best practices and industry leading creative output. The IAS has several highly successful business platforms for the advertising and marketing communities to meet, collaborate and raise the standards of the industry as well as encourage continuous education. The IAS has also organised the Singapore International Advertising Congress since 1998.

     

  • Media analysts and experts don't think there's reason for worry as Star News, Ananda and Majha will replace 'Star' with 'ABP'

    Will the name change work for MCCS?

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    The media has been agog with news of the two looking at options beyond the relationship, only for them to dodge the belief. But all doubts were put to rest on Monday when media giant Ananda Bazaar Patrika (ABP) finally announced it was shedding the Star branding from its slew of channels.

     

    Star India and ABP agreed to discontinue the Star brand affiliation with Media Content and Communications Services (MCCS). Of the many reasons that were doing the rounds, the one that was loud was discontent over editorial content, leading to the two calling it quits. Star had reportedly served notice in January 2012 (see Mediaah!).

     

    As a result of this decision, Hindi news channel, STAR News will now be rechristened ABP News, while Bengali news channel STAR Ananda will become ABP Ananda and Marathi news channel STAR Majha will be called ABP Majha. The three 24-hour news channels are owned by the Media Content and Communications Pvt Ltd (MCCS) – a joint venture between the Ananda Bazar Patrika Group and STAR India Pvt Ltd. MCCS, formed in March 2003, is a 74:26 joint venture between ABP TV and STAR News Broadcasting.

     

    While the move will enable ABP to venture out in the news broadcast space on its own as it wishes to promote and establish its own brands through its subsidiary company – MCCS, for Star the focus will be on building their brand on their core business, i.e. general entertainment. A release issued on behalf of Star Group read: Given the current regulatory environment and structural issues ailing the Indian cable and satellite television market and the news genre in particular, Star took this extremely difficult decision to withdraw its brand from the genre.”

     

    According to the release, the discontinuation will come in effect in phases from a period of 2-4 months and the partners will work together to ensure a smooth transition during this period.

     

    Speaking to MxMIndia Ashok Venkatramani, CEO, MCCS, said, “No, it’s not a set back at all. With the Marathi and Bengali channels, Majha and Ananda as suffixes are unique and have grown in popularity and acceptance. Of course, that’s not the case with Hindi where the suffix is ‘News’ and hence generic. So, yes, Hindi is a challenge on a relative scale, but not so with Marathi and Bengali. (see interview)”

     

    But while the three channels have identified a name for themselves in the respective markets and have been engraved in the minds of the viewers for a long time, it will be interesting to see how a name change exercise will impact the course for the network over a period of time.

    “The first 180 days of a brand name change are the most crucial and critical days. It is in these frenetic days of frenetic brand activity that a name change can be made successful or not,” writes note brank expert and consultant Harish Bijoor in an exclusive analysis on the name change for MxMIndia. “No wonder then that you see a flurry of advertising activity that goes in to establish a new name solidly in the mind of the consumer.”

    Drawing implications over the new announcement, Anita Nayyar, CEO India & SouthAsia, Havas Media said that the popularity of the channels may take a beating if they toy around with the content and if the change is not expressed loudly and clearly to the viewers. “One will have to assess the extent to which the two have called a split in partnership. But if you see the association, Star, as such is a name that has been engraved in the minds of the people for a long time, and therefore it will be tough for the viewers to overnight respond to the change in a positive way. If they announce the change in a big way and do tremendous activity and promotions around it and create awareness levels, then only will the audience respond to the change. Otherwise past examples have shown that no matter how big a brand or name, if the change in name is not relayed properly to the masses, it will see a decline in popularity and fortunes.”

     

    On the impact it would have on the advertisers, she said: “It will be a wait-and-watch game for the advertisers. I feel the current deals will go on as scheduled but new deals will depend on what the change will hold in store for the brand.”

     

    Mona Jain, CEO, Vivaki Exchange, said: “I don’t see the change having any impact on the popularity or the ratings as such. First, one will have to see what is the exact nature of the deal? If the team and other infrastructure related activity remains the same then there wouldn’t be an impact as such. Also, what is important is the quality of content that is played on these channels. If there is no change from the previous deal, then the viewer will continue to stick to the channels the way they used to earlier. We will have to see how it pans out over the course of time.”

     

    According to Tarun Nigam, Executive Director, India North, Starcom Worldwide, this could be an opportune time for ABP to make a name for itself in this arena. “I don’t see this development having any impact on what is currently being offered. If the content remains the same, if there is no breakdown in team and so on, then it shouldn’t matter at all. In fact I think this is a perfect opportunity for ABP to finally make a name for themselves in the news broadcast space, as they already are a big name in the print space. They, anyways, are a very strong and deep-rooted organization and have sustained themselves as a commendable force to reckon with.”

     

    According to Nigam, in a market like Kolkata where ABP are a dominant force, this deal will enable ABP to showcase more regional offerings that they specialize in, which will only catapult the interests of the viewers at large. “One will have to wait and see what will be effects of the change in other markets like Maharashtra,Delhiand others. For all you know, ABP might just emerge a stronger player in these markets as well.”

     

    The ball, for now, seems to be in ABP’s court as they finally get to pursue their dream of going solo and 360-degree in the news space. With healthy ratings and a roster of loyal advertisers willing to cling on to them, the priority for ABP is now to endorse an enduring message to one and all and go loud with their promotional activities announcing the new shift. Till then it is wait-and-watch.

     

     

  • Only a drop in quality can impact a news channel, says Ashok Venkatramani, CEO, MCCS

    A channel is vulnerable only if quality drops: Ashok Venkatramani, CEO, MCCS

    By A Correspondent

     

    A mechanical engineer from Mumbai and MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad, Mr Venkatramani started his career with Unilever, and was with the FMCG giant for 19 years. He held the position of Vice President and Business Head for Unilever inIndiatill February 2008, heading their largest and most profitable business – toilet soaps and skincare business.

     

    From Unilever, Mr Venkatramani moved to being appointed CEO of the Star-ABP JV which ran the news channels of Star India.

     

    While the buzz in MCCS that we are hearing is very positive, what we hear is that the end of the alliance will possibly see MCCS expanding into more channels… a Punjabi news channel, for instance?

    We are always on the look-out for growth and this development has nothing to do with it. I think we have the scope to grow organically and inorganically and we are constantly evaluating options.

     

    While it’s the content that should speak for a media entity and not its name, the fact is that Star is a household brand in the country. Do you see a setback for the Hindi and Marathi news channels since ABP may not necessarily strike a chord with viewers?

    No, not a set back at all. With the Marathi and Bengali channels, Majha and Ananda as suffixes are unique and have grown in popularity and acceptance. Of course, that’s not the case with Hindi where the suffix is ‘News’ and hence generic. So, yes, Hindi is a challenge on a relative scale, but not so with Marathi and Bengali.

     

    Would you expect more synergies with ABP print from now on?

    There will be no significant change on this front… it will be what it has always been.

     

    So will we now a see a blitz to communicate the name change?

    Yes, there will be an aggressive campaign to announce the change, especially in Hindi.

     

    Will the change impact MCCS… your key resources, and the way the business has been done?

    No change whatsoever.

     

    There have been many cases of brands changing in the past. In telecom in Mumbai, we’ve seen Max Touch becoming Hutch, Orange and finally Vodafone. But what is fine for telecom, may not be the case for media, right?

    Yes, there are several changes. UTI Bank to Axis Bank, L&T Cement to UltraTech Cement. When there is a name change, there’s no shift in consumer base. People don’t change their bank or telecom provider as long as the service quality is maintained.

     

    So you are vulnerable only if the quality drops, and that can happen even if the name doesn’t change!

     

  • What does a name transition mean to companies and brands? Plenty really, writes brand expert Harish Bijoor

    Harish Bijoor: What’s in a Name?

    By Harish Bijoor

     

    So STAR News is ABP News. STAR Ananda is ABP Ananda. And STAR Majha is ABP Majha.

     

    Here’s a brand name change once again, and the question is out in debate again: What’s in a name?

     

    What’s in a name? Plenty! Shakespeare-dada was wrong!

     

    For a start, the name is a brand. The brand is a name. And the name is a very important starting point in the voyage of discovery of a brand.

     

    Let me start with my definition of a brand. It is a simple one. I define the brand with the consumer simplicity it deserves. “The brand is a thought”! A thought that lives in people’s minds. A thought that thrives in the soft-space of the human mind.

     

    By this definition, everything that lives as a thought in your mind is a brand. Shantabai, the multi-tasking maid is one, Osama Bin Laden, the late terrorist is one and so is the young Akhilesh Yadav. Each of these brands possibly rub shoulders with other brands such as an Amul and Bata and Tata in your head. The brand is a thought. Nothing more. Nothing less.

     

    What does a name transition mean to companies and brands? Plenty really. Plenty in the initial six months for sure. The first 180 days of a brand name change are the most crucial and critical days. It is in these frenetic days of frenetic brand activity that a name change can be made successful or not. No wonder then that you see a flurry of advertising activity that goes in to establish a new name solidly in the mind of the consumer.

     

    There are brands that have done it well. Vodafone is a veteran of many changes. An Orange became a Hutch seamlessly, just as a Hutch became a Vodafone seamlessly. Every change was accompanied by a high decibel campaign that had transition elements of one collapsing seamlessly into another. The first 180-days are therefore the most critical. You can make a brand name transition happen or collapse. Both are possibilities. The period after just does not matter. This is really the Golden six months of a brand name transition.

     

    UTI Bank did it seamlessly as well, with a transition into an Axis Bank so seamlessly that today UTI is a non-important part of its total brand equity and recall altogether. That is the power of a powerful brand-name transition plan.

     

    In the case of this current transition from STAR to ABP, there are indeed two big brand names. One is a region-centric one (ABP) and the other (Star) is a world-brand for sure. Moving from one to the other will require some degree of panache and scientific brand action.

     

    There are really two sets of dynamics in this transition. One is a B2B dimension. Out here, MCCS is the back-end brand. It is the company that runs the show. It is the company that is the backbone. Employees, clients who advertise, distributors and vendors are all key participants here. These key actors are the easiest to communicate to. These key actors will buy into this name change without a whimper.

     

    The second set of dynamics is that of the viewer. This is B2C space. This is where there is bound to be ruffled feathers and ruffled sentiment. This is where there is bound to be confusion and lack of clarity. This is really the end that needs to be handled well and seamlessly through a process of cogent communication.

     

    STAR News is a thought. The thought of a channel can be a potent one. It starts with the name at hand, and goes on to attach to itself a host of other meta-tags that bring to mind the memory of a channel that is an intrinsic part of compelling and credible viewing experience.

     

    The brand to that extent is plenty. It is a name. A slogan. A symbol. A colour. A character. A personality. A charisma. An image. A reliability. An emotion. A passion. A perception. And lots more. ABP needs to handle each of these. With kid gloves, speed and scientific brand action.

     

    The author is a brand-expert and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.

    Twitter.com @harishbijoor

     

  • Differences have been simmering between the ABP and Star India groups with the latter choosing to opt since it couldn’t exert control without majority shareholding

    Mediaah!: So what let to the Star-ABP split? Will Star start a new news channel?

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    In many ways, Mediaah! owes its existence to the controversies around Star. Many moons ago – in July 2003 to be precise – the network was facing rough weather from rival interests on the issue of foreign equity in some of its ventures – especially news and radio. Most pro-FDI media entities were muted in their response, and realising that it was necessary to have an independent and active media observatory, I set up Mediaah!.

     

    Given the pains that both parties went through to get together in their early days, it’s sad to learn of Star withdrawing its branding from its news channels managed by MCCS, an joint venture with the Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) group. No, Rupert Murdoch hasn’t exited the Indian news TV business. Star will continue to be a 26 percent partner in MCCS, but the only difference is that the channels will no longer be prefixed Star, but ABP. So: ABP News, ABP Ananda and ABP Majha.

     

    Before the Kolkata-based Ananda Bazar Patrika turned majority (74 percent) shareholder (in September 2003), there was a time when the Star News was part-owned by folks like Kumarmangalam Birla, Vir Sanghvi and Suhel Seth.

     

    So what led to this divorce? The reason that a Star India communiqué says is:

    “Given the current regulatory environment and structural issues ailing the Indian cable and satellite television market and the news genre in particular, Star took this extremely difficult decision to withdraw its brand from the genre. Star, ABP and MCCS sustained this affiliation for a lengthy period of 8 years and Star is grateful to its partners, ABP and MCCS for acting as guardians for the Star brand during this period.”

     

    The communiqué adds that this was “one of the steps proposed to be taken by Star in its endeavour to refocus and re-energize the core strength of its business viz. general entertainment channels”.  Note the choice of words in this carefully drafted statement. Announcements of this nature have been subjected to various checks, so you’ve got to read between the lines.

     

    Hence it’s possible that Star might withdraw entirely from the venture. But what’s this bit about re-energizing the core strength of its business – GECS… Star recently exited Hathway, a cable TV company where it had minority stake. Could it therefore also move out of Tata Sky?

     

    Meanwhile,  given the regulator environment cited for withdrawl, does it mean that Star will not return to the genre? Also, there has been no change in the regulatory framework in the last 8 years… why this shift in thinking now?

     

    My questions to Star India have not been answered, but from I understand, yes, the restriction on ownership is the real reason. Star, my sources tell me, wanted greater control of the network (which is impossible with minority control). Since it already handled distribution, it also wanted to look at other non-editorial operations – specifically sales. Star now leads the sales effort for NDTV.

     

    Even on content, Star wanted some say. As the channels bear the Star branding, there have reportedly been occasions when the GECs have lost business due to what’s aired on Star News. Since the Star brand is well-known, the network’s top brass would often be at the receiving end from governments and private corporations.

     

    The problems have been simmering for a bit. Star was apparently unhappy that ABP launched a Bengali GEC to counter its own Jalsha and ABP in turn was said to be upset when Star chose to handle sales for NDTV. MCCS insiders also tell me that these differences were cramping their work and impacting the company’s desire to grow.

     

    “It was an ego battle,” a senior manager told me adding that I shouldn’t be surprised if Star were to come up with a rival channel a year from now. There could be issues on that score though. There is apparently an 18-month cooling off, no-compete period. But, of course, the new channel needn’t be christened Star News. Also, Star India is said to have served the notice on ABP in January this year, so 18 months is just a year away.

     

    Remember, Star India CEO Uday Shankar was CEO of MCCS, a role that he took on after many years as a journalist and editor, and from he has told me in the past that he isn’t happy with the way Hindi news channels were doing (in content) and wouldn’t mind going in for a news channel if and when possible.

     

    So what next?

    MCCS staff is happy to be part of the ABP group, known for its progressive outlook and emphasis on quality deliveries. Not that Star isn’t that, but the ABP group is known to be a fair employer. What they are worried about is the immense challenge that Star News will face with the rechristening. In fact, given that it’s been doing rather well in the TAM ratings roster, this development is a blow. Even MCCS CEO Ashok Venkatramani, in his interview to MxMIndia, concedes that while Majha and Ananda were popular prefixes, the new identity for Star News will be a challenge.

     

    The ABP News logo is ready was unveiled to the staff, with an advisory that it should not be leaked out. Bossman Aveek Sarkar is said to be keen that the switchover happens even before May 31.

     

    My own sense is that Star India will eventually get out of the jv entirely. MCCS is now profit-making and it aggregated sales of around Rs 300 crore in the last fiscal. Private equity players may invest in the enterprise but will be a little wary of how much the Star exit from the brand will take away from the company’s shine?

     

    The brands may take some to regain their shine, but the one thing that is certain to grow at the all-new ABP News channels will be quality journalism. That much one has to grant the Sarkars.

    As for Star, remember Rupert Murdoch is essentially a newswallah. So’s Uday Shankar.

     

    Buzz me if you have a story to tell. Confidentiality assured. There are various ways you can reach me:

    pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, BBM 23050B5D, Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com, Twitter @pmahesh and of course the mobile: 98338 76278.

     

    Disclaimer: Although he is CEO and Editor-in-Chief of this site, Pradyuman Maheshwari’s views in Mediaah! are not necessarily those of the rest of the team and MxMIndia.com. And decidedly not those of the sales team 🙂

     

  • With the baggage of 'STAR News' off their back, they can re-engineer the channel, and ABP News can become that one Hindi channel that takes news very seriously

    Anil Thakraney: Will ABP News eschew sensationalism?

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    So, STAR News is ABP News. Now the two partners have decided to separate. Cool! But my question is: Will this just be an exercise in name change, with all else continuing to be the same? Exactly as the messBombaycontinues to be after the name changed to Mumbai? Ditto with Bengaluru and Poschim Bongo. (As for the last, it’s getting messier with Didi in charge, but I shan’t say more, else she’ll get me arrested.)

     

    Well, I hope not. Now that Ananda Bazar Patrika has total control, I hope the Bengali group, known for its ‘respectable journalism’, extends that respectability to ABP News. STAR News, along with the other Hindi news channels, has always thrived on speculation and rabid sensationalism. It’s almost as if the category owners had decided that Hindi news watchers are restless morons, folks who will only come back if the content is absurd and outlandish. This is obviously not the case.

     

    The problem is, the channel owners DECIDED to be sensational; in their war for ratings, they chose that route. The viewer never asked for it. And in this march of madness, all the Hindi channels fell like nine pins, as each struggled to beat the other guy on dishing out dramatic stuff. Net result: There is very low credibility with the Hindi news channels. We visit them for tamasha, not authenticity.

     

    The point I am trying to make is this: ABP has that chance now to set things right. With the baggage of ‘STAR News’ off their back, they can re-engineer the channel, and ABP News can become that one Hindi channel that takes news very seriously. It can break the cycle of sensationalism, and position itself on the platform of credibility. In any case, with all the hair-raising content on display amongst the various channels in the category, this will provide ABP News a clear brand differential. So it seems to make sense from the marketing point of view as well.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcOpfqEamrY[/youtube]

    Yup, India badly needs a Hindi news channel it can trust. And hopefully ABP News will try to be that. One sincerely hopes the name change doesn’t only mean a change of name. Like when Bombay became Mumbai. And continues to be a filthy slum city.

     

    * * *

     

    PS: Cute commercial from Audi. It’s inspired by the fairytale of how the ugly duckling changed into a lovely swan. Superb execution.

     

  • Endemol India CEO Deepak Dhar on the CA Media investment, Rajesh Kamat and the CA Media role in his operations and plans for the future

    That Rajesh Kamat was 1st CEO of Endemol is not a coincidence: Deepak Dhar

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Deepak Dhar has been responsible for Endemol’s operations since he joined the company in 2006. Dhar has produced popular shows for Endemol such as Bigg Boss, Laughter Challenge, Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi, Jo Jeeta Wohi Super Star, Wipeout, Chottey Miyaan, operacion Triunfo and Mission Ustaad. Prior to Endemol India, Dhar worked with Star TV as group head, programming. He was instrumental in producing shows such as Pop Stars and The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. Before joining Star where he worked for around five year, Dhar was senior producer at MTV for three years. Deepak Dhar has been Managing Director of Endemol India since 2007 and he will continue to lead the company post the alliance with CA Media, as CEo. Excerpts from an interview with MxMIndia:

     

    From what we in the media knew, Endemol India was the wholly owned India arm of Endemol in the Netherlands. So why go to CA for 49 per cent stake?

    We entered into this, largely from a strategic point of view…we had ambitions to go in the film business, and when we started talking to CA Media, they had strategic insights into the business. So this is more of a strategic investment than a financial one.

     

    Is the balance 51% owned by Endemol, Netherlands?

    Yes, the controlling stake is with Endemol and the balance with CA Media.

     

    Is there a possibility of further liquidation?

    I don’t think so.

     

    Any investor likes to cash out at some time… is that something that has been discussed? How much of a window is CA looking at?

    Well it’s too soon to talk about exit. We’ve just taken our company from being a TV production company to a content production company, so we are not looking at exits at this point.

     

    Also read…
    Two investments done. Many to come!
    CA Media to invest in companies, build brands
    We’re looking at strategic inputs from CA Media, Zodius: Vijay Nair

    It’s interesting that CA in India is headed by Rajesh Kamat who was the first CEo of Endemol India? Coincidence or did that help in this?

    Rajesh brings in a huge strategic insight. So no, it’s not a coincidence. With this investment we have put together the power of Endemol and his insights into the business.

     

    Endemol is essentially known as the Bigg Boss and owner of assorted reality show formats. That’s possibly an unfair comment. What next?

    Bigg Boss was only one part of our business. A huge amount of our content is also fiction, we produce around 900 hours of fiction. So fiction is our next focus area, we will also look at regional, we will look at digital very seriously. More importantly, we will look at movie production business.

     

    How much will CA have a say in operations of Endemol? For instance, that x person should be the guest in Bigg Boss?

    None at all. They are controlling the business but the operational control is entirely with Endemol.

     

    You are looking at expanding to regions: so where next? And what will you take where?

    We are already there in the Southern market, we have shows in Telugu and Tamil. Now we are focusing on Marathi. We will also look into Bengali, very soon you’ll hear announcement on regional players.

     

    There are networks like Zee which have not been buying international formats…?

    See that depends on the channel’s philosophy. A lot of broadcasters are picking up formats but there are still those who don’t pick up formats. So it clearly depends on an individual channel’s philosophy.

     

  • CA Media India CEO Rajesh 'Colors' Kamat has announced investments in Endemol India and Only Much Louder. But this is just the beginning…

    Two investments done. Many to come!

     

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    In many ways, the Taj Lands End hotel has been lucky for Rajesh Kamat. The early days as captain of Endemol India and Colors were spent at the hotel in Mumbai. No surprise then that Mr Kamat located his CA Media office at the hotel when he joined it last year as CEO to oversee the Indian investments for The Chernin Group.

     

    For most in the media fraternity, Mr Kamat’s decision came as shocker since he was cruising as COO of Viacom18 Group and CEO of Colors. He spearheaded the channel to leadership position in a record 9 months – thus breaking the 9-year supremacy of Star Plus in the Indian GEC space. Prior to Viacom18, Mr Kamat was Managing Director of Endemol India, where he set up Endemol’s operations in India. As the news of CA Media’s investments in Endemol India and Only Much Louder had just begun reaching the fraternity on Thursday evening, Mr Kamat took time out to speak with MxMIndia:

     

    It’s interesting to see the span of investments you’ve made? One in an international production company and another in a not-so- known youth and music company? So what kind of investments can one expect from CA Media India in the future?

    What we are trying to build is a portfolio of assets and each of these will come in with its own uniqueness. You will see us not only invest in different companies but also build different brands in companies. So the first set of announcements are more on the buying side of it, in the second set you’ll probably hear of a build, we’ll actually support an idea and build out a business.

     

    It’s therefore going to be a diversified media property which has pretty much all kinds of assets under it. Now coming to specifically Only Much Lounder vs. Endemol, Endemol is what I call the content hub and we will go on to make it into a content powerhouse. While it’s a strong television player, we believe there is a fair amount of growth that can be looked in. We can look at inorganic growth in television, we can look at moving from one screen to multiple screens. So, on one hand we have an investment in Endemol which is a traditional content hub, on the other, we are investing in a nascent pocket of music overlapping with youth, I see that as investing in the youth power.

     

    If there is a company which is talking about college festivals, music festivals and managing talent in a Dewarists kind of show and more importantly in a nascent pocket, if you find a promoter who you can bank on, it can’t get better. I think that’s the unique combination we found in a Vijay from OML in the music and youth space and on the other end, Endemol, the conventional traditional content business. So that’s pretty much what you see in our investments today.

     

    It’s a year and 26 days since you set up operations. In hindsight, do you think you could’ve announced the ventures sooner?

    No, that’s my biggest learning, having come from a broadcast background, I am used to weekly ratings. In transactions and deals, when you are talking about building relationships, trust in a partner and then investing in a partner, I don’t think things move at that pace, because you have to build the rapport, relationship, then establish the value that you get to the table, then talk about the value that you can unlock in that business proposition and then do the deal. So I think it’s fairly decent in terms of pace. And if you talk to any private equity VC guys, you rarely have two announcements in one go and too within nine months of starting off.

     

    Also read…
    CA Media to invest in companies, build brands
    That Rajesh Kamat was 1st CEO of Endemol is not a coincidence: Deepak Dhar
    We’re looking at strategic inputs from CA Media, Zodius: Vijay Nair

    How many proposals did you vet?

    I don’t even keep a count (laughs). I would typically say a ratio would be 1 on 10 or 2 on 20… would invest in 1 on 10.

     

    How come Endemol? There are several homegrown production companies too?

    If you are talking about a company which has the single largest independent producer globally, if you are talking about a catalog of offering, if you are talking about a creative hub which is scalable, it couldn’t get better than Endemol.

     

    Is it quite a coincidence that you were also the founder-CEO of Endemol India? It obviously means a lot that you have invested in it… you have a great amount of faith in the company

    It’s not. What does happen is that if you’ve had an association with them since inception, then you know the roots of the company. I have enjoyed an equation with them in form of having set that company up, and then, as partners at Colors and now as investor in the company… I am enjoying all of them.

     

    So will you have a say in Endemol operations?

    In any of our investments, we invest in them because we believe the business model is good and the management is great. So from an operational standpoint we never interfere with what the management is delivering and they are the reason why we are investing. What we get involved is more at the capital, strategy and in terms of an overall direction.  That’s the role we play.

     

    Since a lot rests on key programming that Endemol does, will you possibly look at who the guests in the Bigg Boss house will be?

    No, no…I think Deepak is more than happy and excited and so is the Colors team deciding who goes inside into the Bigg Boss house. In fact I watched the show but I am not as animated about the show.

     

    Which are the languages that you see Endemol getting into?

    It’s only fair if you put up that question to Deepak.

     

    There are investors/VCs who are hands-off, and there are some who are hands-on… what will you be?

    We would like to be strategically involved. In case of an OML, what we do is, we build a plan out with the promoter…if we built a plan out with the promoter, then at every step wherever they need support, we stand by them, that’s our role. So not only do we invest money, we actually invest time and expertise.

     

    Tell us about the other project that you are investing in… Only Much Louder?

    It’s a youth activator brand, it’s a company which does college festivals, as I said we are investing in youth power, so they are a company which focuses on youth. They use music as a vehicle and we believe it’s a great company to get into because alternate music and music is growing as a pocket, and if you have a captive youth which in India more than 65 percent is less than 35 years of age, then it can’t get better. And we have a great promoter in Vijay.

     

    How come Only Much Louder and not other higher profile companies?

    As I said, it’s a great pocket, we love the promoter and we believe that with him we can scale new heights.

     

    Do you see it reaching the heights of, say, a Wizcraft?

    You need to talk to Vijay on that…what I can tell you is, yes we are building the brand. We are making every possible effort to work towards whatever best… there are five verticals they are working on, we would love to work with them on each of the verticals to see whatever maximum potential they reach, why would you want to benchmark on anybody…

     

    What are your targets for CA for the year?

    We don’t set out with a mission to buy five or four companies, what we do is, we talk to promoters, we identify good companies and invest in different companies. So I don’t think we set out with a target or a mission to acquire or build x numbers. We’ll identify pockets which are growing, we’ll identify businesses which are great, promoters who are good to invest and who we can trust, and the minute we find one, we’ll invest, so no targets.

     

    MxMIndia is read by a variety of constituents amongst media and marketers. If we were to send a message to people on the kind of projects you are seeking, what can that be?

    If we find businesses which are synergistic, we believe we can add value, and then we go ahead and invest in them. If we believe that we can grow the business, then we get into them. However, if it’s even a business which we believe is a good investment but we cannot add value and we are not strategic in the business, we’ll not go after it.

     

  • CA Media's announcement in Endemol India and Only Much Louder is in line with the firm's intent to have a diversified media portfolio

    CA Media to invest in companies, build brands

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    It’s been a little over a year since Rajesh Kamat surprised the Indian media to leave Viacom 18 where he was flying high as COO having successfully launched Colors as CEO. Mr Kamat, who had earlier also been Chief Executive at Endemol India, joined the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group (TCG), CA Media. Yesterday, Mr Kamat announced CA’s investment in two Indian companies, Endemol India and Only Much Louder.

     

    Speaking to MxMIndia, Mr Kamat added, “What we are trying to build is a portfolio of assets and each of these will come in with its own uniqueness. You will see us not only invest in different companies but also build different brands in companies. So it’s going to be a diversified media property which has pretty much all kinds of assets under it. Therefore, on one hand we have an investment in Endemol which is a traditional content hub, on the other end we are investing in a nascent pocket of music overlapping with youth, I see that as investing in the youth power. I think that’s the unique combination we found in a Vijay from OML in the music and youth space and on the other end, Endemol, the conventional traditional content business.”

     

    CA Media has acquired a 49 percent stake in the Mumbai-based Endemol India, an independent content production house. The objective is to build Endemol India into a leading and most valuable content production company in India across television, film and digital content.

     

    Founded in 2006, Endemol India has grown to be one of India’s largest producers of entertainment television. The company is known for its successful shows including “Bigg Boss” (India’s version of “Big Brother” which has had 5 Seasons to date) and “Fear Factor” (4 Seasons) for Colors. Other hit programming includes talent shows “Laughter Challenge” (4 seasons) and “Jo Jeeta Wohi Super Star” (2 seasons) for Star Plus, and over 400 episodes of “Deal or No Deal” and the recently launched “The Money Drop” for Sun Network.

     

    Also read…
    Two investments done. Many to come!
    That Rajesh Kamat was 1st CEO of Endemol is not a coincidence: Deepak Dhar
    We’re looking at strategic inputs from CA Media, Zodius: Vijay Nair

    Deepak Dhar who has been Managing Director of Endemol India since 2007 will continue to lead the company as CEO. Commenting on the choice of CA Media as the investor, Deepak Dhar told MxM India, “We entered into this, largely from a strategic point of view…we had ambitions to go in the film business, and when we started talking to CA Media, they had strategic insights into the business. So this is more of a strategic investment than a financial one.”

     

    Key strategic priorities for Endemol India include establishing a strong presence in the Indian film sector as well as expansion in scripted and regional television, areas in which Endemol India is already active. CA Media’s backing provides Endemol India with extensive operational experience from its principals and the required financial resources for executing the ambitious growth strategy. At the same time Endemol India will continue to produce and exploit Endemol’s global portfolio of formats and IP. International distribution of all content developed by the operation will be handled by Endemol.

     

    The Chernin Group Chairman and CEO Peter Chernin commented via a communique: “India is a critical investment market for CA Media and we’re pleased to partner with Endemol to work together to further leverage the growth in the Indian media and entertainment space. We believe that Endemol India is poised to capitalize on the expected explosive growth across all platforms in this industry.”

     

    “India represents a significant opportunity for Endemol and our collaboration with CA Media strongly positions us to become the region’s largest content producer,” added Endemol Group CEO Just Spee.

     

    Rajesh Kamat

    Commenting on the acquisition, Mr Kamat said, “Our new partnership with Endemol fits in well with our plans of creating a diversified portfolio of assets in the media and entertainment space, with Endemol India being at the epicenter.”

     

    This alliance between CA Media and Endemol has reunited Mr Kamat with Endemol given that he was responsible for setting up Endemol’s operations in India. Mr Kamat told MxM India that he has a lot of faith in Endemol and he enjoys an excellent equation with them. “What happens is that if you’ve had an association with them since inception, then you know the roots of the company,” he said. “I have enjoyed an equation with them in form of having set that company up, and then, as partners at Colors and now as investor in the company… I am enjoying all of them.”

     

    CA Media has also picked up an undisclosed stake in Only Much Louder (OML), a music, live events and youth media company, along with Zodius, an investor and operator of digital media, commerce and services.  OML operates at the intersection of three key elements – alternative culture, youth and brands. It focuses on reaching the youth market in India through high quality entertainment properties including music festivals, television and web-based content.

     

    OML started as an artist management firm in 2002 and has now expanded its operations to include a large-format music festivals division, a full-fledged production house, a digital wing and an expansive artist management and bookings enterprise. OML works with various brands in the country in conceptualizing and executing their marketing and branding strategies aimed at the youth segment.

     

    Deepak Dhar


    On this investment, CA Media CEO Paul Aiello said, “Our investment in OML represents one end of the spectrum of our investment plans in India – that of identifying and backing talented people in virgin domains, with sustainable as well as scalable business models. OML is in an exciting domain and we foresee great potential ahead.”

     

    Added Mr Kamat, “It’s a youth activator brand, it’s a company which does college festivals…we are investing in youth power, so they are a company which focuses on youth. They use music as a vehicle and we believe it’s a great company to get into because alternate music and music is growing as a pocket, and if you have a captive youth which in India more than 65 percent is less than 35 years of age, then it can’t get better. And we have a great promoter in Vijay.”

     

    Through this investment and management support, CA Media and Zodius plan to assist OML in scaling up its operations, to achieve true scale, over the next few years.

     

    Vijay Nair

    Speaking to MxM India about the objectives of this alliance, Founder and CEO of OML India, Vijay Nair said, “Building a stronger team is the primary objective of this. And secondly, scaling some of the things that we’ve been already working on. Thirdly, a specific reason for working with CA Media and Zodius is to focus a lot more on the digital and television part of it as opposed to our focus which has just been live events so far. So we want to take it to multiple platforms.”

     

    Mr Kamat clarified that CA Media’s role in the alliance will be strategic in nature and all operational control will rest with the promoters, Dheeraj Dhar in case of Endemol and Vijay Nair in the case of OML.

     

    CA Media was formed in November 2010 by Mr Peter Chernin, former News Corp President and COO and former Star TV Asia CEO Mr Paul Aiello. The company appointed former Colors CEO and Viacom18 COO Rajesh Kamat as its India CEO last year. CA Media, which is majority owned by The Chernin Group, invests in media, entertainment and technology businesses across Asia with a primary focus on India, Indonesia and China.

     

  • Only Much Louder founder and CEO Vijay Nair is looking forward to CA Media and specifically Mr Rajesh Kamat strategic inputs to grow his company

    We’re looking at strategic inputs from CA Media, Zodius: Vijay Nair

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Vijay Nair

    What started as a hobby for Only Much Louder founder and CEO Vijay Nair became a business venture when he set up the first artist management company for indie bands in India. Mr Nair’s career started at the age of 15 when he started consulting Procter & Gamble on their Indian youth portal Masti.com. Subsequently, he worked with the Indian indie music zine Gigpad.com and got initiated into the music business. Excerpts from an interview

     

    So do we see Only Much Louder getting bigger, better and louder with this investment?

    Well that’s the idea… and we’ve been kind of slow in terms of picking which investors we want to work with and at what stage of our company do we want to get the investments in. So having established a few properties, I think this is going to help us amplify lot of that and take it to different cities, work out a much stronger deal as well.

     

    What are the specific objectives of taking this investment?

    Building a stronger team is the primary objective of this. And, secondly, scaling some of the things that we’ve been already working on. Thirdly, a specific reason for working with CA Media and Zodius is to focus a lot more on the digital and television part of it as opposed to our focus which has just been live events so far. So we want to take it to multiple platforms.

     

    You’ve started out as a small enterprise doing interesting things with youth and music and then with Babblefish, you’ve done Dewarists and Sound Trippin’ with MTV. Is there a fear of losing out on the pulse as you grow bigger?

    I don’t think anyone who knows OML will ever fear that…the two examples you mentioned of Dewarists and Sound Trippin’, that’s exactly the kind of stuff we want to do. What this gives us is the opportunity to work with multiple networks and more shows, but everything that OML does, will revolve around music and alternative culture. And that’s something that investors are not only clear about but I think that’s one of the reasons they’ve invested in us, because they wanted to look at a niche player.

     

    Also read…
    CA Media to invest in companies, build brands
    That Rajesh Kamat was 1st CEO of Endemol is not a coincidence: Deepak Dhar
    Two investments done. Many to come!

    Is there a role model among the various Indian and international companies?

    Not specifically… I think as far as Indian market goes, we are quite an exception in terms of what we are trying to do is only be an agency focused on music and alternative culture and not be an event management company, so definitely not with an Indian company. Within each of the divisions that we have, we have role models which are similar to that of abroad but none of them operate as one cohesive unit which is what we are trying to build.

     

    Mr Rajesh Kamat has been a super successful GEC CEO. With CA investing, do you see him adding value on your TV production venture?

    Yes, we have been working with him for the last six months now, when the deal was coming together, it’s already made an immense amount of difference. Rajesh’s inputs make a lot of difference… this year Babblefish should be doing at least six television shows, not only the GEC part of it but he was also one of the main guys who set up Endemol, so from a production perspective, his inputs have been very important because this is the area we were not familiar with. This is one of the main reasons in fact, Neeraj from Zodius and Rajesh from CA. both of them bring in strength which OML definitely needs to be a scalable business.

     

    You’ve not had one but two investors… CA and Zodius?

    The story behind is that initially I met Neeraj and we started talking about this. Zodius has always been focused on the digital part of the business and there’s only one of the divisions in OML which is really focused on digital… Neeraj in fact introduced us to CA Media saying that these are good partners to have because  they have a larger media play and they collectively work with us. So for us it actually came as a team, so it wasn’t us going to two different people, they kind of came in together and structured this entire deal.

     

    What are your immediate targets?

    Right now we are looking at building a fairly strong team and getting the right people in. But otherwise just trying to see what new properties we can seed which can last as a brand for a much longer time, wo we are working on a lot of new concepts knowing that we have the option to scale a lot of them with the investments that have come in.

     

    Both Rajesh and Neeraj are known heavyweights in the business. Do you fear that they could be influencing (and often charting) your course of operations?

    We would want them involved at a strategic level because both the companies, we haven’t looked at them as financial investors. We are very keen on them being involved at a strategic level, in fact both of them are strict believers of the fact that we should stick to the niche stuff we are doing because they have experience on the other side of the fence of building very large scale mass businesses. So they will have significant inputs and we are going to take that very seriously but there’s complete clarity in terms of the direction that OML is going to go in.

     

  • The problem is that much worse has happened since the Bofors scandal and the grand sum of Rs64 crore – the bribe amount – seems quite teeny-weeny compared to the giant figures we've become used to

    [MJR] The Bofors scandal will never die

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    There it is, after quarter of a century, back to plague us. Or has it? The Bofors gun, once the symbol of corruption in government, and which apparently led to the death of one prime minister and the fall of another, is in the news again.

     

    For those who can’t remember anything about it, there were allegations of kickbacks in the purchase of the howitzer (the word sounds better than gun) from the Swedish company Bofors. Last week, a Swedish police officer who had spoken secretly to journalist Chitra Subramaniam all those years ago, came out in the open – to Subramanian, who had covered the story extensively in the olden days.

     

    The problem is that much worse has happened since the Bofors scandal and the grand sum of Rs64 crore – the bribe amount – seems quite teeny-weeny compared to the giant figures we’ve become used to. Also, after years and years of investigation and allegation, nothing really happened.

     

    Swedish prime minister Olof Palme was assassinated, Rajiv Gandhi lost an election and was also assassinated. Meanwhile Martin Ardbo, president of Bofors at the time, whose diary had many leads about money that went from one letter of the alphabet to another, mainly the mysterious middleman Q, also died and so did Win Chadha the Bofors contact for India.

     

    Under successive governments (including non-Congress ones), the CBI floundered all over the place, as it muffed procedures, forgot to send the right letters (not of the alphabet, the other type, probably because neither the CBO nor anyone else in India could understand what a “letter rogatory” was. It’s not ‘R’, that was another alphabet in Ardbo’s diary) and couldn’t conclusively get to Q. Everyone knew who Q was – an Italian middleman who was a friend of Sonia Gandhi’s. Of course, every Italian is a friend of Sonia Gandhi’s because she is Italian. Like all Indians are friends of mine or maybe not since I am not remotely as important as Sonia Gandhi. Anyway, after some time, the CBI gave up on Q.

     

    The story, by the way, was broken by Swedish radio in 1987 and not in India. Amitabh Bachchan was also included in the deal by the Swedish newspaper Daagens Nyheter, and not the Indian media. He successfully sued them and the CBI and everyone else, (except maybe the mysterious Q?) agrees he was not involved.

     

    Meanwhile, everyone says that the Bofors field howitzer is a nice gun or tank or whatever it is. It was very useful in Kargil.

     

    The Bofors  scandal we know will never die. But as time passes, the alphabet will get weaker and weaker…

     

  • Yudhvir Singh has joined Mogae Digital as General Manager & Head of Mobile Activation from Videocon's Corporate VAS team

    Yudhvir Singh joins Mogae from Videocon

    By A Correspondent

     

    Yudhvir Singh has joined Mogae Digital as General Manager & Head of Mobile Activation from Videocon’s Corporate VAS team.

     

    “We are delighted to have Yudhvir on the Mogae team,” said Tanya Goyal, Executive director, Mogae Digital, adding: “Yudhvir has many years of telecom experience spread over the entire value chain of value added services and mobile application to brands. He has worked with VAS product-based companies, system integrators and with telecom operators… his kind of experience will enhance Mogae’s cutting edge in the market.”

     

    “My stay at Videocon corporate VAS team was a great learning experience. Videocon being a greenfield project, I was involved in conceptualization, creating requirement documents for IT solutions, carrying out UATs, product designing, vendor selection and laying out the go-to-market strategy initially. At Mogae, I see similar opportunities to grow new businesses,” said Mr Singh.

     

    After completing his B.E fromITMUniversityand an MBA from IBS Hyderabad, Mr Singh started his career with IMImobile at Hyderabadas a business analyst. After a short stint as analyst, he moved to the company’s international sales team and was based out ofKuwaitfor business development covering all of Middle East and Asia. His next project with IMImobile was as Country Head Sri Lanka where he incubated a completely new mobile activation & VAS business.

     

    After 3 years at IMImobile, Mr Singh moved to the telecom practice of TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) with assignments on SDP (service delivery platform). As a business consultant on SDP, he worked on multiple projects including the much acclaimed Tata Teleservices SDP.

     

    Mogae Digital is an emerging leader in VAS and mobile activation, with products on offer across Aircel, Airtel, Tata Docomo and more. The Mogae Group is co-owned by Sandeep & Tanya Goyal, former JV partners of Dentsu in India & the Middle East.