MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • Mindshare brought to life the new Lays proposition of 'Pal Banaye Magical' through an interactive augmented reality activity

    Mindshare makes thousands experience Lays Magic with Saif

    By A Correspondent

     

    Imagine being in a television commercial of a major brand like Lays with a superstar like Saif Ali Khan with thousands others. Imagine all your friends liking and sharing the YouTube video of that commercial on Facebook.

     

    That’s exactly what Mindshare set out to do when they brought to life experientially the new Lays proposition of ‘Pal Banaye Magical’ through an interactive augmented reality activity. Augmented Reality adds new dimensions by letting users discover emerging technology whilst enhancing brand awareness through virtual reality game play within their own everyday life environment.

     

    A first inIndia, in terms of scale, the activity saw thousands of consumers dancing  virtually with the Lays brand ambassador Saif Ali Khan and saw their own projection in the ‘Pal Banaye Magical’ commercial on a giant screen – across several malls in Delhi and Chandigarh- making their moment truly magical!

     

    The Mindshare Dialect and Digital teams worked on the campaign in handling the activation and its digital amplification respectively. The icing on the cake was the consumer videos of the AR activity, made viral on social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook by Mindshare Digital.

     

    Speaking about the concept, Rahul Thappa, Client Leader for Mindshare North India, said: “Augmented reality campaigns are an effective means of effectively engaging with the audience. This campaign provided an unforgettable experience for people present at the malls. The activation has helped us bring alive Lays new ‘Pal Banaye Magical’ proposition for consumers, the essence of the proposition being that Lays makes every moment magical!”

     

    The Augmented Reality experience was organized atNew Delhiand Gurgaon whereby more than a thousand consumers engaged with Lays and Saif. Such experiences provided the brand with the chance of interacting with consumers in an original manner.

     

    As a follow up, Lays is now engaging its consumers with another campaign fashioned around the IPL. Six big hitting cricketers have created six distinct flavours, and consumers have to associate the right cricketer with the right flavor. The entire engagement titled “Guess Whose Flavor” is driving participation to laysguesswhoseflavor.com

     

    Mindshare is a global media and marketing services network with billings in excess of $27.8 billion (source: RECMA). The network consists of 114 offices in 82 countries throughout the North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, each dedicated to forging competitive marketing advantage for businesses and their brands.  Mindshare is a member of WPP, the world’s leading communications service group with $84.2bn in billings (source: RECMA), and is part of GroupM, the world’s leading full service media investment management operation, which was created by WPP Group to oversee its assets in this sector.

     

  • Launches country-wide promotions through on-ground music concerts, live events and public-engagement activities

    beStylish.com ropes in ‘EKA’ as ambassadors

    By A Correspondent

     

    beStylish.com has roped in the upcoming music band ‘EKA’ as brand ambassadors for their online shoe store. With this association, beStylish has launched the first phase of its ‘Friends of beStylish’ program that encourages partners across various walks of life to connect with the online brand.

     

    As the ambassadors of beStylish, EKA will play a key role in creating a brand connect with beStylish.com’s customers and prospects with its highly energetic performances, in various concerts held in music festivals, college fests, corporate events, radio and television shows, clubs, pubs, and so on across the country. Specially composed beStylish jingles will be played as part of these concerts. The brand promotion would be further amplified in the online space through co-promotion on beStylish.com’s online store, online music channels, vignettes, and others.

     

    Speaking about the beStylish brand value and its association with EKA, Shailen Amin, Co-Founder and CEO, beStylish.com, said: “Given our strong marketing focus emphasizing on brand awareness and building a loyal consumer base, we have associated with EKA under our ‘Friends of beStylish program’. EKA’s eclectic, original and contemporary music syncs perfectly with our own approach towards our customers and fans. With this partnership, we are confident of creating real-time public engagement opportunities for the brand, moving beyond a virtual-only space”.

     

    Conferred with ArtistAloud Awards 2011 for the ‘Best Group’, the renowned band ‘EKA’ comprises of Benjamine ‘Benny’ Pinto on Keyboards, Hitesh ‘Rikki’ Madan on guitars and vocals and Lokesh Madan on vocals and bass. The seasoned musicians forming Eka and have performed at over 2,000 concerts in 15 countries and have recorded over 100 songs in various capacities.

     

    Commenting on the occasion, EKA said: “We are excited to be chosen as the face of this youthful brand. beStylish.com aptly reflects the attributes of today’s youth and we are proud to take the brand from the virtual space to their real audience. Through this association, we hope to take our music to new audiences and hope we can help our audiences put their best foot forward with beStylish.com’s ever-growing list of top of the line fashion products. We look forward to growing with the brand and hope that our association with the brand grows stronger in the years to come”.

     

    beStylish.com isIndia’s largest online shoe retailer with the largest range of international, high street and popular footwear brands. It offers its customers an exceptional online shopping experience with over 130 brands and 4,600 styles in shoes catering to men, women and children. beStylish.com was launched in May 2011 under the umbrella of the Smile Group, which has consistently created trusted digital and ecommerce assets, business ideas and entrepreneurs in the digital space.

     

    Eka has performed at prestigious events including The Times of India Earth Care Awards, United Nations Initiative for Women & Children’s Health, International Film Festival of India (Goa), Finale of Bengaluru Habba, Chivas Studio Spotlight & The Great Indian October Fest, among others. Eka calls its music genre ‘Swatantra Rock’ – music beyond music, time and boundaries. Eka delivers a unique experience by blending its originals with selected classic rock, sufi and popular Hindi / Bollywood music.

     

  • For Cheil the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Y Duos was an ideal platform to carry forward the DNA of Galaxy Y and at the same time display the benefit of a Dual SIM Android phone

    New Samsung TVC from Cheil takes ‘Y’ smart to next level

    By A Correspondent

     

    Cheil’s latest television commercial promoting the Galaxy Y DUOS is an extension of the earlier campaign that drove preference for the Samsung Galaxy Y Smartphones and set the pace for Gen Y to make a shift from feature to smart phones.

     

    Once again Samsung has created a buzz in the market by launching the Dual SIM Android phone – Galaxy Y Duos (GT-S6102), a touch-screen dual-SIM Smartphone. It has 3.14″ screen with QVGA resolution and an 832 MHz processor.

     

    For Cheil the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Y Duos was an ideal platform to carry forward the DNA of Galaxy Y and at the same time display the benefit of a Dual SIM Android phone.

     

    Speaking about this new commercial for the Galaxy Y series, Alok Agrawal, COO, Cheil Worldwide SW Asia said,  “Galaxy Y is a great franchise which we’ve built by riding on an insight where we have divided the world of tech into the have and have nots. Smartphones is the way forward in the mobile category and the market is in an exciting phase. This is the second campaign from Galaxy Y and we are looking ahead to more exciting work in this space.”

     

    Cheil’s communication clearly shows the protagonist with Samsung Galaxy Y Duos demarcating the world between the have and the have nots and the need to be smart and have a smart phone in life.

     

    The new TVC created for Samsung ‘s new smartphone is set in a cafe showing a young girl with the new Galaxy Y Duos putting an irritating loud mouthed character in his place. As before, the communication ends with the antagonists being teased with a simple question “Dual SIM hai aur samsrtphone bhi, lekin aap ke pass nahin hai…Uncle?”.

     

    India’s mobile phone market is witnessing exponential growth and the smartphone market has gained traction with every mobile handset manufacturer offering smartphones at various price points and service providers providing lucrative data plans to entice the consumer to use email, apps etc on their phones.

     

    In this growth story, Samsung mobile has emerged as the No. 1 Smartphone brand inIndia. Samsung’s positioning is no surprise as it understands the consumer and develops smartphones to cater to the needs of all types of users. In 2011, the Galaxy Y series were launched though a successful campaign of TVCs that clearly focused on the youth of today- confident and courageous to take up challenges and solve them in their own unique ways.

     

    This TVC is part of the line up of an exciting range of products where Cheil Worldwide is actively involved in building communication across 360-degree consumer touch points, that offer a high degree of excitement and creating buzz for the brand.

     

    Client: Samsung electronics India Limited

    Agency: Cheil Worldwide SW Asia

    Creative Team: Varun Arora, Dinkar Porwal, Vishal Sagar

    Client Servicing team: Srijeet Das, Soma Chatterjee, Shruti Nanda, Chandramouli Prasad

    Production House:Code Rd

    Directed by: Gajraj Rao

     

    Cheil Indiahas been on an aggressive growth plan over the last 2 years, almost doubling its size in its employee strength and billings. Significant expansion and growth has been seen particularly in BTL and Digital areas, making Cheil one of the largest fully integrated single agencies inIndia, executing some of the largest cross-functional integrated campaigns, providing 360°implementation across all facets of marketing services.

     

    Cheil Worldwide Inc is Korea’s largest and one of the world’s leading advertising groups. Cheil offers a full portfolio of marketing communications services including advertising, PR, sports marketing, exhibition and display production, and production of large-scale performance events. In 2011, Advertising Age ranked Cheil as the #11 largest creative agency in the world.

     

  • Prathap Suthan announced on Monday that he is branching out from iYogi to float 'Bang in the Middle' as an independent agency

    Out with a Bang! Prathap Suthan, Naresh Gupta etc launch new agency

    By A Correspondent

     

    Prathap Suthan
    Naresh Gupta
    Viral Pandya
    Manoj Deb
    Sabu Paul

    It was one of the biggest news to have hit adland in March 2011 when Cheil Worldwide’s NCD Prathap Suthan quit his agency to join lesser-known direct-to-consumer remote tech support company iYogi as its Chief Creative Officer. It was seen as an unexpected move by the creative maverick who was responsible for creating some startling work for Cheil Worldwide in India. But after lying low-profile with its activities and having stayed away from the advertising glitz and glam for most part, Suthan (or Pat, as he is affectionately called) made an interesting announcement on Monday when he announced branching out from iYogi to float ‘Bang in the Middle’ as an independent agency.

     

    Started in early 2011, the division headed by Prathap Suthan was set up as the in-house branding, advertising and communication team at iYogi. The unit managed campaigns for the company, primarily leveraging digital media across North America, the United Kingdom, Middle East and Australia. After 12 months, and over 20 campaigns later, iYogi’s in-house agency is ready to step out and offer its services to a wider set of brands. The agency will now offer expertise in brand advisory, communication design and advertising to Indian and global corporations.

     

    To be based out of Gurgaon, the team line-up includes some of the best names in the business including Prathap Suthan, Naresh Gupta, Viral Pandya, Manoj Deb, and Sabu Paul. Speaking about the team, Naresh Gupta, Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle, said: “All the existing employees who worked in the branding department of iYogi are the founding members of BITM. Prathap is a creative leader of outstanding pedigree. I, myself, have worked for a spectrum of clients. Viral Pandya is a celebrated designer who has won every possible international accolade and Manoj Deb is a celebrated art director. Between the four of us we have over 100 years of experience across geographies. The team we have right now is the best that is in the business.”

     

    When asked on the funding pattern being adopted by the company, Gupta said: “There is an external investor who is helping us make the unit operate independently. Our approach is to marry the strengths of new media with the traditional roles of mass media. We have an industry tested model of working and we have real life experience of making it work for the brands.”

     

    In a statement to MxM India, Prathap Suthan, Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle, said: “Despite an overcrowded communication services market, India needs a new kind of communication agency. India is booming with opportunity. Increasingly Indian brands are spreading their wings to global opportunities and new age businesses are coming up all over the country bustling with enterprise, ambition and opportunity. There is an increasingly younger nation out there with global ambitions and enterprises are demanding better communication solutions.”

     

    On his decision to branch out from iYogi, he said: “Organized advertising is getting weaker and getting scattered across many areas, giving rise to independent agencies. We believe that Bang in the Middle comes with the right experience to exploit that opportunity.”

     

    The agency’s services span across brand advisory and campaign design and advertising across platforms and customer touch-points. Bang in the Middle will assist brands in establishing a deeper engagement with customers by creating an ecosystem from visual language to design guidelines and interaction across mediums. It will also assist brands create holistic communications approaches that will reduce dependency on traditional media and leverage digital to gain market share.

     

    As of now, the company just has a single client to boast of but are said to be in advanced talks with a few clients already. But that really may not be an issue for BITM, who have some experienced team that have bagged big clients in the past. What will now matter for the agency is to be seen as a new and small creative force to be reckoned with. Asserts Gupta: “We believe the age of independents is here. The biggest thing going for them is flat structure, focused delivery and hands-on experience of senior people.”

     

    That seems to be an assurance high on confidence and competency too. Given the run that small independents are having at the awards, a new addition will only make life for other agencies, especially the biggies, a tad more challenging. Only time will tell if BITM has it in them to challenge leadership norm and emerge a superior agency in the future.

     

  • Star India will launch Movies OK, its second Hindi movie channel, on May 6. Other than promos on Satymev Jayate, a week-long World TV Premiere will happen from May 28

    Star to launch Movies OK channel on May 6

    By A Correspondent

     

    The offices of Star India are buzzing for more reasons that one. On May 6, not only is perhaps the biggest ever TV show on Indian TV being launched in the form of Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate, but the network is also introducing to the world its second Hindi movie channel, Movies OK.

     

    Star has confirmed the news of the launch and test signals are on. So how will it be different from Star Gold? It will be part of the Life OK suite, and reinforce family viewing and togetherness.

     

    The channel is going to exploit the library it bought from Viacom 18 and starting May 28, it will have a week-long World TV Premiere… so a new film every day at primetime.

     

    The channel will be headed by Star Gold general manager Hemal Jhaveri.

     

  • The channel realigns its programming team with Weekday and Weekend Heads

    Manisha Sharma to head wknd content @ Colors

    By A Correspondent

     

    Media conglomerate, Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. on Monday announced a key appointment of Manisha Sharma as the Weekend Programming Head at Colors, the Hindi General Entertainment Channel. Starting May 1 2012, Ms Sharma will work along with the Weekday Programming Head, Prashaant Bhatt to manage the entire portfolio of fiction and nonfiction content on Colors.

     

    As part of this new role, Ms Sharma will be solely responsible for the shows that air on weekends. Both Mr Bhatt and Ms Sharma will report to Raj Nayak, CEO – Colors.

     

    The realignment and the structural changes have been set up keeping in mind the need to strengthen the entire week, bringing in concentrated effort towards developing content. This move will bring about more attention on building the channel ahead.

     

    Announcing this appointment, Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors commented, “We are delighted to have Manisha on board with us. Given her vast experience and thorough knowledge of the industry, I am sure she will bring in the edge and experience in taking Weekend Programming to a new level.” He added: “With this dynamic combination of Prashant managing the Weekday Programming and Manisha taking charge of Weekends, we are hoping to make sure that Colors is a strong player throughout the week and, through this realignment equal focus will be laid on both – weekday and weekend.”

     

    Ms Sharma, on joining Colors as Weekend Head said: ” I have tremendous appreciation for Colors’ constant attempts towards providing new and innovative content to the viewers through their shows. I am looking forward to working with this incredibly talented group of people and contribute to the weekend programming.”

     

    Prior to joining Colors, Ms Sharma was a Senior Vice President with Sony Entertainment Television. She comes with an experience of over 8 years with Sony and has been responsible for developing shows like Comedy Circus, CID, Crime Patrol and Kaun Banega Crorepati and events.

     

    Colors is Viacom18’s flagship brand in the entertainment space inIndia. A combination of ’emotions’ and ‘variety’, Colors, launched on July 21, 2008, offers an entire spectrum of emotions to its viewers. Colors is a pay channel and is available as a part of SUN18 Media Services in India.

     

  • The youth are also bringing about a cultural change in terms of their influence in advertisements, films, music, television, web and others, says Aditya Swamy

    Aditya Swamy on 6 Gen X facts brands must know

    Aditya Swamy

    By Aditya Swamy

     

    Youth today are coming together to bring about social and cultural change

    Besides the social change, for instance the Meter Down campaign or the Anna Hazare’s anti corruption movement. The youth are also bringing about a cultural change in terms of their influence in advertisements, films, music, television, web  and others.

     

    The generation gap between parents and children is breaking down

    For this generation it is the family which is first over friends. In fact, young people today see their parents as role models and know that it is their parents who will stand by them in both good and bad times.

     

    Warm is the new cool for this generation.

    This is the generation which is in touch with their emotions as they want to make the world a better place, and they want to be a better person. This generation is also very quick to help those that seek their help whether it’s about finding a new home, a restaurant, a job and so on.

     

    This is truly an empowered generation

    Because most of them believe that they can bring about a change in the society or their country. Therefore for a brand to give the youth a platform where they are able to display their empowerment becomes a very powerful tool for brands to engage with their audience.

     

    Technology is equal to life

    The youth today are born into a world where iPhone, iPad, tablets and other mobile platforms are just part of their life. For brands to connect with the youth they must look at how their content can evolve around the four different environment i.e. television, mobile, web and the real life screen. Therefore bringing the four together to engage with the youth.

     

    This generation is already inspired

    So they are not looking at brands to inspire, but they want the brands to engage them. Gone are the days when a Shahrukh Khan is seen as an inspiration, today their role models are those people that brought about a change in their surroundings or country and so on. So brands must start having a two way conversation with their audience and once a brand initiates a two way dialogue that’s when it builds a connection with their audience.

     

    Aditya Swamy is EVP and Business Head – MTV India

     

  • The book is a celebration of the man who went from prodigy to phenomenon, after debuting as an international superstar when he was just 16

    The Hindu releases book on Sachin Tendulkar

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sachin Tendulkar rang in his 39th birthday at Mohali on April 24 by releasing the book Sachin: Tribute to a Legend – a collector’s edition compiled by The Hindu.

     

    The book is a celebration of the man who went from prodigy to phenomenon, after debuting as an international superstar when he was just 16. The book catalogues Sachin’s incredible journey fromManchesterto Mirpur. It strives to convey the sparkle of the moment as it was recorded, so older readers can experience the delight of nostalgia, and younger ones, the excitement of discovery.

     

    The book is more than just a narrative of the man who achieved a hundred hundreds – it is also a window into the mind of one of cricket’s greatest personalities. It includes freewheeling interviews, and interactions that happened after major milestones such as the ones after 100 tests and after 20 years of international cricket. Sachin is engaging, honest and interesting in each of these interviews. The book also has a statistics section and an essay on Tendulkar, the brand.

     

    Arun Anant, CEO of The Hindu Group of Publications said: “This book is our tribute to his unparalleled contribution to the game”. As a part of the team working on this project Suresh Srinivasan, VP-Advt stated: “Sachin is a source of inspiration to millions of people across the globe and is India’s pride. We trust Sachin’s fans and readers at large will find it as exciting and interesting as we did when we were putting it together.”

     

    Speaking at the release function, Sachin Tendulkar expressed his gratitude to The Hindu: “Readingvarious articles and opinions (in The Hindu) has played an important role in my career. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for putting this book together in a matter of a few weeks. It’s a mammoth effort and thank you very much.”

     

  • The WOW Awards were instituted in 2009 by Eventfaqs to celebrate excellence in events, entertainment and live experience creation

    Wow Awards 2012 ends on a high note

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Gitanjali WOW Awards 2012 were held on April 26 at Bhavan’s College Ground in Andheri, Mumbai. The WOW Awards were instituted in 2009 by Eventfaqs to celebrate excellence in events, entertainment and live experience creation.

     

    The fourth edition of the WOW Awards witnessed awards being presented in a total of 27 categories. The title sponsor for the WOW Awards 2012 was Gitanjali, while Giftyaar.com and Wings Group of Cos. were the co-sponsors. The awards show was powered by Idea.

     

    The awards ceremony opened with Sachin Gupta performing the WOW anthem. Hemant Malik, COO – Trade and Distribution, ITC Ltd. and EEMA President Brian Tellis took to the stage to address the audience in the inaugural segment.

     

    There were performances by Pakistani band Junoon, Sophie Choudhry with Sumit Vinod’s dance troupe, a special percussion act by DJ King, Terrence Lewis along with the Terrence Lewis Contemporary Dance Company and the finale act was by Bollywood actor Chitrangada Singh also backed by Sumit Vinod’s dance troupe.

     

    At the event, Gitanjali launched The Great Indian Wedding Carnival, a mega shopping festival dedicated to the wedding season. Actor Aditi Rao Hydari made a glamorous entry on stage with a doli. Aditi Rao Hydari and Gitanjali Gems CFO Kaushik Shah unveiled the The Great Indian Wedding Carnival logo on stage.

     

    Kaushik Shah, along with Raj Naik, CEO of Colors, Viacom 18 and Shri Krishna Hegde, MLA, Vileparle presented the WOW LIVE Film Personality award to Ayushman Khurana.

     

    Television personality Mini Mathur and actress Tisca Chopra were the hosts of the ceremony which also saw a special segment hosted by Roshan Abbas and Brian Tellis and another by RJ Malishka.

     

  • Movies OK will focus on family audience. This means we are going to showcase movies which a whole family can enjoy together says Hemal Jhaveri, who heads the channel

    Movies OK will focus on families: Hemal Jhaveri

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    After the launch of Life OK in December 2011, Star India is planning to launch a new channel on May 6 under the OK banner – Movies OK.

     

    The channel promises to be different from Star Gold, the movie channel launched by the network in 2000. “There is a difference between the two channels. Movies OK will focus on family audience. This means we are going to showcase movies which a whole family can enjoy together,” said Hemal Jhaveri, general manager, Star Gold, who heads the channel. The channel plans to concentrate on genres like comedy. “There is going to be more comedy and less action on the channel,” he added.

     

    Apart from content, the other thing which will differentiate the channel from the competitors is the treatment. “The promos are going to be very different and unique from what the other channels do. For instance, we are going to have a Best of Salman Khan Festival called ‘Bhai Ok Please’ where no film footage has been used. So, for the first time, people will see a promo for Salman Khan without him in it. Communication is going to be unique,” explained Mr Jhaveri.

     

    If that’s not enough, the channel also boasts of having a World TV Premiere every night by the end of this month. Mr Jhaveri said: “The 7 day 7 premiere is something which no other channel has experimented with earlier. I think it’s the first-of-its-kind in the world as well. So, every night at primetime, one will get to see movies like Kahaani, London Paris New York, Jodi Breakers and others. We are planning to build our channel as a unique platform.”

     

    The channel also hopes to use the learnings from their other channels, especially Star Gold which was revamped last year. So, one can expect shorter breaks.

     

    The channel has a library of over 1000 movies. “We have been investing in the channel from the past two-three years and will continue to do so in the future as well. Therefore, it’s going to be a unique library. Last year, we acquired the Viacom18 library so that will also add to it,” elaborated Mr Jhaveri.

     

    The Hindi movie genre enjoys the third largest viewership pie, trailing behind regional channels and Hindi GECs, according to a FICCI-KPMG report on the Indian media and entertainment industry, released in March.

     

    “There are various Hindi movie channels, but there is always space for one more, if it’s different and has good content,” said Mr Jhaveri. Agreeing with Mr Jhaveri’s sentiments, Ashwini Kamat, general manager, MediaCom added: “People don’t have loyalty towards movie channels. So, if a channel has a good library, then it doesn’t need to worry about others because people will switch to it, if they want to watch a particular film.”

     

    Janardhan Pandey, associate vice-president, DDB Mudra Max elaborated: “There is enough space on TV to launch a channel but all depends on if one can sustain it at the top slot. A new channel might showcase latest movies, but after some time, many stop investing in a new library and repetition starts. It is then people tend to move away from it. So, it might make an impact in the beginning, but it is difficult to say how a channel will do in the future.”

     

    However, advertisers aren’t optimistic about it. “One more channel means more segmentation. So, I don’t think it’s going to benefit us,” said Praveen Kulkarni, general manager (marketing), Parle. The categories which spend heavily on Hindi movie channels are services, auto, personal accessories and telecom. “Launch of any new channel means fragmentation and overall inflation for advertisers,” added LK Gupta, CMO, LG.

     

    The channel has a 360 degree promotional plan for the channel. It will also be promoted during Star’s new show, Satyamev Jayate, which will also be premiered on May 6. Radio and digital platforms will be used too.

     

  • Of late, it has taken a beating globally, trounced by the iPhone on the one hand and a gamut of Android powered devices on the other

    What’s ailing RIM’s Blackberry drive globally & in India?

    By Ravi Balakrishnan

     

    Don’t let the kid on the next seat in the train, furiously typing away on his or her BlackBerry fool you. Despite the fact that Indian youth have bonded over BBM, the performance of the parent RIM and maybe even the launch of its latest product in India have revealed a number of holes in the phone maker’s strategy. BE asks what’s troubling BlackBerry, boys?

     

    Minutes before Research In Motion, the makers of BlackBerry, made an announcement at a press conference in Delhi, there was a definite vibe of anticipation. Tech hacks idly wondered just what was going to be unveiled, given that BlackBerry has a fairly conservative release schedule.

     

    The more optimistic were holding out for a glimpse of BlackBerry’s OS 10 rumoured among the brand’s faithful to be a potential Android-slaying, iOS-wrecking killer operating system; one that would propel BlackBerry back to the top of its game. But instead, BlackBerry amid much fanfare and celebrity preening unveiled the Curve 9220.

     

    At the Q&A and after, the questions flew thick and fast: why only a 2MP camera? Why no 3G? And why such a stiff price tag for a phone that lacked these two features?

     

    The device was launched at Rs10,990; inexpensive for brand BlackBerry, but a tad pricey compared to other mobiles, even smartphones if one considers budget Android models from Samsung, LG, Spice and Lava among others.

     

    The Curve offered unique features like a quick access BB messenger button and, critically, long battery life, something of a rarity in the smartphone category.

     

    FM radio, a feature that’s bog standard even for phones that are sold at a tenth of the cost, made its way to Blackberry Curve. But to an audience weaned on revolution, having to settle for evolution was a disappointment. It was a dangerous reaction for any company to deal with; especially a tech firm that’s been gradually losing its reputation as a pioneer.

     

    As one of the first smartphones, BlackBerry had a dream run starting with the enterprise segment and slowly making inroads into the consumer space. ‘Sent from my BlackBerry’ soon became a ubiquitous signature; first for emails from globetrotting CEOs and later among the rank and file as well. Except of late, it has taken a beating globally, trounced by the iPhone on the one hand and a gamut of Android powered devices on the other.

     

    Its most recent financial results reveal a loss of $125 million. And shipments of 11.1 million, down 21 per cent from the previous quarter. Reviews for its Torch series have been unenthusiastic and the game changing OS10 is expected to show only in the latter half of 2012. An industry insider said: “They decided to step back and relax and that cost them. The engine has stopped innovating for some time.”

     

    In some countries like India though, BlackBerry still counts among the contenders. According to Frost & Sullivan, it’s at the third place in the Indian smartphone market with a share of 15 per cent, trailing behind Nokia’s 35 per cent and Samsung’s 40 per cent. It’s attracted a strong app developer network of 30,000 in India up from 4,000 two years ago, according to a company source.

     

    More importantly, for a product that’s worldwide reputation veers towards the stodgy, it has a strong traction with the youth. Abhishek Chauhan, senior consultant, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan, South Asia & Middle East observed: “In India, they’ve been taking segmentation seriously, targeting the youth. I don’t feel India will be a danger space for them if they launch affordable devices and data plans for their consumers here.”

     

    The youth connect has been built in part on the back of initiatives like the BlackBerry Boys campaign; a co-branded effort with Vodafone, currently in its second year. On the distribution front too, BlackBerry was quick to realise there was a world beyond the metros. It is currently present across 250 cities and according to RIM India’s managing director, Sunil Dutt, it continues to expand.

     

    However, BlackBerry India has not remained unaffected by the pressures facing its parent. The pricing strategy has changed: the jury is out on just why this is happening and what it will lead to. Of late, there have been price cuts across its portfolio.

     

    Coupled with the relatively ‘inexpensive’ tag on the new phone, it indicates either a thawing on part of the company or an act of desperation depending on who you ask. Mr Dutt explains the price cuts: “Sometimes when you reach economies of scale, they allow you to pass on benefits to customers.” This becomes important as the phone reaches towns and cities that want the device but find the price tags forbidding.

     

    Mr Dutt has a different take on discounts. He believes they are not an indication of a brand in trouble but an invitation to consumers to be a part of an ecosystem and experience. “We want to reach more consumers. A lot of them want an affordable solution and we provide just that,” he said.

     

    Marketing consultant Shripad Nadkarni of MarketGate however cautioned that the strategy could well be a double edged sword: “It helps garner short term sales, but the brands future depends on how they keep in synch with innovations of the competition. They can reduce the price of existing products but need to buffer up the offering to be a serious player.”

     

    There seem to be several options and suggestions available to BlackBerry, many offered gratis by various tech columnists. Part of the problem according to industry pundits is that the brand strayed too far away from its enterprise roots and ran the risk of being “everything to everybody.”

     

    The industry insider said: “It is still a high stable platform that gets jobs done in least number of steps. They need to recognise what’s driving them as a company and drive it even harder. BlackBerry 10 could change the way people think about the  company. The question is whether it will be too little too late.”

     

    For the longest time, BlackBerry believed the experience its products offered was good enough for it to command a premium. Even as rivals ramped up the megapixels on cameras, and made their phones more music, game and leisure friendly, BlackBerry’s phones remained on a pound for pound basis, a tad underpowered.

     

    But with the competition evolving at a furious pace and throwing in more for less with each generation of phone, it may be a matter of time before even the BlackBerry boys begin to wonder if the experience is worth the price.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Created by advertising agency Lowe Lintas, electrical equipment maker Havells India's 'Fans are forever' campaign takes viewers down the memory lane

    Havells fans ropes in Bollywood’s first superstar Rajesh Khanna

    By Rajiv Singh

     

    He thrilled millions of his fans with his electrifying presence on silver screen during late 60s and 70s. Now, after staying out of the limelight for decades, but with his air of stardom almost intact, a frail Rajesh Khanna has pleasantly shocked all by featuring in his maiden TV ad – for Havells fans.

     

    Created by advertising agency Lowe Lintas, electrical equipment maker Havells India’s ‘Fans are forever’ campaign takes viewers down the memory lane by showing glimpses of the unprecedented mass hysteria and a frenzied fan following that the first official superstar of Bollywood enjoyed for decades.

     

    For a superstar whose fans were legion and who wrote romantic letters in blood to him, a fan commercial may not be the ultimate box-office humdinger, but it has definitely created a buzz with some advertising experts hailing it as a masterstroke.

     

    “It’s a bold ad, so true to the life of Rajesh Khanna,” said Prasoon Joshi, executive chairman and CEO of McCann Worldgroup India and president, South Asia.

     

    Sometimes ads are done not to hardsell a product, but to start a conversation or create a language for the brand, said Mr Joshi. “This is one of those advertisements.”

     

    For Havells India, which has more than 13 per cent share in the Rs3,500-crore fan market, the commercial is yet another instance of out-of-box advertisements that the brand has been resorting to over the last few years to break the clutter on television.

     

    “Fans are not so talked-about category,” said Anil Gupta, joint MD of Havells India. “With almost similar-kind of communication by all the brands, we wanted to break the clutter.”

     

    Josy Paul, chairman and national creative director of ad agency BBDO India, said Havells has always gone for highly salient advertising, to make people look again at boring stuff like switches and fans.

     

    “Nostalgia is a sweet thing and brands can benefit from this,” he says, adding, “We brought music director Bappi Lahiri back with 7Up ‘golden lemon offer’ in 2009, and the commercial was a super hit.”

     

    However, not all are impressed with the brand using a yesteryear superstar. Prathap Suthan, managing partner of brand-new independent ad agency Bang in the Middle, believes the Havells commercial is like a living obituary to the legendary superstar. “This is rank terrible advertising,” said Mr Suthan. “I don’t know whether to cry for Rajesh Khanna or console him.” He feels that the pun around ‘fans’ has not worked.

     

    YLR Moorthi, marketing Professor at IIM Bangalore, said the retro of an ageing yesteryear superstar who looks a pale shadow of his former self may not connect with young consumers. “The ad assumes that the target audience has seen the movie ‘Anand’,” said Mr Moorthi. “Will the new generation connect with the advertisement,” he wondered.

     

    However, Mr Gupta of Havells India is convinced that the new advertisement campaign with cut across all age barriers. “We did a lot of research before roping in Rajesh Khanna,” said Mr Gupta. The young generation is very much aware of Rajesh Khanna’s movies and songs, he added.

     

    The jury may still be out on the advertisement, but for Rajesh Khanna, the star who fathered superstardom in India, a small commercial is a reminder of the many glories that were his for the taking in a country that was rigidly socialist and almost without the amplified profusion of second-by-second ads that innundate the present.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved