MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • In the few weeks that I have been away, the situation appears to have become worse. The fact that these ongoing state elections are significant beyond party nitty-gritties is still not adequately reflected in the news, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Ranjona Banerji: Where have we gone as newsrooms and journalists?

    Ranjona BanerjiBy Ranjona Banerji

     

    I have written several times about my time on social media and how integral it is to my work and to some extent to my enjoyment of life.

     

    And yet.

     

    In a short span of time, my Father whom I lived with, fell ill and passed away quite suddenly. As his heart stopped, so did my mind. My need to consume news, to be part of the hurly-burly of political discussion, my intrinsic curiosity vanished.

     

    And what have I missed now that I’m trying to get back?

     

    I watched last night, again, the satirical film of our times, Don’t Look Up. And apart from the digs at politicians and business tycoons, the excoriation of the media stays the most in one’s mind. The nonsensical nature of the way news is presented, the instant reactions of the consuming public, the star value of TV presenters, the clickbait kneejerk reaction “stories”, the compulsive need to constantly assess public reactions and tailor your news content to suit whatever you come up with…

     

    Where have we gone, as newsrooms and journalists?

     

    “Plus ca change” is all very well, so are platitudes about life being an endless cycle. But for what it’s worth, are we any more than a series of pleasure trips for instant thrills as providers of “news”? Are we content to be tools in the hands of social media giants without whom we cannot wake up in the morning and by whose standards we must now judge ourselves?

     

    I picked up a newspaper this morning and found myself in a miasma of horror and tedium. The attacks on schoolgirls in hijabs in Karnataka appears to have escalated into a massive assault on Muslims, with nothing about bleating from opponents and gloating from the ruling BJP and RSS. Nothing new there.

     

    Election fever, the pursuit of power means the usual meaningless party-hopping, negotiation and our acceptance as citizens and the media of being ruled by rapacious cynicism. In a way, it’s like I never went away. Change the dates, change the place names and it’s all the same.

     

    You can successfully argue that this is the cycle of life and news. And it’s hard to combat that. But for the fact that we appear to have lost both context and depth. The threats facing the nation today are lost in the hustle and the details have overtaken the painting itself. In the few weeks that I have been away, the situation appears to have become worse. The fact that these ongoing state elections are significant beyond party nitty-gritties is still not adequately reflected in the news.

     

    Personality cults and their creators remain lauded by our public intellectuals and commentators who remain in thrall of who can fool and dupe us the best. The way we fall all over ourselves to congratulate all the richest men in the world who have reached that position by conquering our minds and scrambling over our bones. We have allowed them to get there and the media has its full role to play in building up charlatans posing as entrepreneurs. Cue in the character of Peter Isherwell in Don’t Look Up, so cruelly portrayed by the incredible Mark Rylance and then think about all those rich men who for no reason at all, in the middle of a global pandemic of incalculable loss, decided to fly to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere.

     

    And look at how the media applauded.

    Welcome to hell.

    I suppose I have to get used to being back here.

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal

  • Okay, an unfair question to ask. But every year we see the string of Super Bowl ads on YouTube, we wonder why there is no Indian brand out there. So we asked Dr Bhaskar Das the question for the February 15 edition of Das ka Dum. Here's his response. Read on…

    Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das | Does the fact that there was no Indian advertiser on Super Bowl LVI half-time an indicator that no Indian brand occupies the world stage?

    Bhaskar DasOkay, an unfair question to ask. But every year we see the string of Super Bowl ads on YouTube, we wonder why there is no Indian brand out there. So we asked Dr Bhaskar Das the question for the February 15 edition of Das ka Dum. Here’s his response. Read on…

     

    If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

     

    Q. Does the fact that there was no Indian advertiser on Super Bowl LVI half-time an indicator that no Indian brand occupies the world stage?

     

    A. I agree that Super Bowl is one of the biggest advertising events of every year as brands flock to grab advertising slots. It’s also a fact that it makes sense, if a brand is a global player, as the ROI would not otherwise justify the outlay. Having said that, I must add that if a brand isn’t in super Bowl, it doesn’t mean that it’s a failure. There are a lot of Indian brands which are playing in global stage and that too successfully without being part of a popular sports event. It’s like saying that if an indian brand doesn’t participate in IPL (not comparing it with popularity of Super Bowl), it tantamounts to a marketing failure. Success in business is not just about advertising in the most popular event.

     

  • Paid partnership tag on Instagram now accepted

    ASCI releases guidelines for influencer advertising, paid partnership tag on Instagram is fine

    By Our Staff

     

    The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has released guidelines for influencer advertising. After extensive feedback from all stakeholders – advertisers, agencies, influencers, and consumers, the guidelines were framed which are applicable to commercial messages or advertisements published on or after June 14, 2021. The guidelines make it mandatory for influencers to label the promotional content they post and ensure that it is identified as paid promotion. Post releasing the guidelines, ASCI saw a compliance of around 97% on the digital front, with a majority of the influencers following the ASCI code and marking the adverts as paid posts.

     

    In a recent development, ASCI shared that the paid partnership tag that influencers carry in their advertorial posts on Instagram meets the principles of the ASCI guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media. ASCI agrees to this as an acceptable alternative to its disclosure labels. This decision will go a long way in reducing the burden on brands and influencers and will encourage greater compliance from all parties.

     

  • Digital will be the largest medium, taking up 45% marketshare in 2022

    GroupM forecast for 2022: 22.2% AdEx growth

     

     

    By Our Staff

     

    WPP-owned media investment conglomerate GroupM has  announced its  advertising expenditure (AdEx) forecasts for 2022. As per the GroupM futures report ‘This Year, Next Year’ (TYNY) 2022, the adspends are estimated to reach 107,987crs in 2022. This represents the estimated growth of 22% for the calendar year 2022. India will be the fastest-growing market among the top 10 global markets and retains its 9th rank in 2022, as per the report. See GroupM TYNY2022 deck.

     

    Commenting on the TYNY 2022 report, Prasanth Kumar, CEO, GroupM South Asia said, “The pandemic has pushed the envelope towards digital and has hence topped the pie, with advertisers keen to explore more of it. Ecommerce and Telco will drive the economy, we also expect FMCG and auto to slowly catch up and contribute towards this growth.”

     

    Added Tushar Vyas, President – Growth and Transformation, GroupM South Asia: “With the pivot to digital by consumers and companies alike, digital emerges as the largest medium in 2022 with an estimated share of 45%.  Digital is estimated to grow by 33% in 2022. As digital capabilities enhance and connectivity becomes omnipresent, technology will further poise and change almost every sector of India’s economy.”

     

    Said Parthasarathy Mandayam, Chief Strategy Officer, GroupM South Asia: “With consumers gravitating towards themes like sustainability and sensitivity, brands are adapting rapidly, and media has the power to lead this change. Flexible, specialist and distributed teams are the order of the day and this trend will be further enhanced with the arrival of 5G. The emphasis on performance marketing has further accelerated and is at the very core of marketing. Intelligent & responsible leverage of first-party data will be critical for brands & marketers in driving this.”

     

    Said Atique Kazi, President – Data, Performance & Digital Products, GroupM India: “Marketers will have to bring together innovation, intelligence and integration in their strategy to win on Digital. In 2022; we will also see addressable TV coming to India in some scalable form and connected tv surge with smart TV sales and new fibre/broadband connections will be on the rise. Focusing on eCommerce, performance marketing, outcome-based media and addressable data is winning formula in 2022.”

     

    Added Sidharth Parashar, President – Investments & Pricing, GroupM India: “While digital is set to take the larger pie, we are expecting a noteworthy revival for OOH & cinema too after a tough period. Advertising on e-commerce, the rise of influencers and short format videos along with OTT has witnessed growth in 2021, which would continue in 2022.”

     

    Said Ashwin Padmanabhan, President – Partnerships & Trading, GroupM India: “The rapid digital transformation of companies, brands and the way they connect with consumers is reflected in the global advertising spends as well as the way even traditional media is expanding with their digital extensions. India in 2022 will see a rapid manifestation of these Global trends and thus fundamentally altering the media industry.”

     

  • To redefine display solutions globally

    Rahi Systems partners with Xtreme Media

    By Our Staff

     

    Rahi Systems, an IT solutions provider, has announced a partnership with Xtreme Media, a LED display signage innovations and solutions company.

     

    Said Sanket Rambhia (Director, Xtreme Media): “Rahi is one of the largest system integrators in the IT & Audio-video space having a strong global footprint across various industries. Partnering with Rahi, we look forward to redefining the display solutions business not just in India but across the globe.”

     

    Sid Sushil Goyal, Managing Director at Rahi: “Xtreme Media is a pioneer in providing end-to-end active LED solutions with a strong service arm. Their chip-level repair capability and 7-year warranty helps us pitch quality solutions to our clients. We are excited to collaborate with them and offer our customers access to enterprise-grade video wall and display solutions via Rahi.”

     

  • To plan and deliver social media and website management

    Digital Refresh Networks bags mandate for Ganesh Grains

    By Our Staff

     

    Digital Refresh Networks , an integrated creative and digital marketing solutions company, has won the digital mandate for Ganesh Grains. As part of the mandate, the creative and digital marketing solutions company Kolkata branch will be responsible for delivering Strategy planning, Media strategy, Social media, Website management

     

    Speaking about the association, Barin Mukherjee, Co-Founder, CEO, Digital Refresh Networks said, “We are extremely proud to embark on this new journey with Ganesh Grains. In the course of our collaboration, we aim to put our best foot forward and leverage our expertise in this category. For us, it is about providing our expertise across functions of content community and commerce to ultimately help the brand grow on digital. We are sure that team DRN will help the brand scale new heights on digital.”

     

  • Has launched 'The 5 Star Valentine's Day Alibi'

    Cadbury 5 Star celebrates the season of romance

    By Our Staff

     

    Cadbury 5 Star has launched ‘The 5 Star Valentine’s Day Alibi’ campaign.

     

    Said Anil Viswanathan, Vice President, Marketing – Mondelez, India: “Being at the heart of the country’s youth culture, Cadbury 5 Star has always communicated narratives that are witty and relatable. As a brand that truly understands Gen Z, we wanted our Valentine’s Day campaign to represent singles – to not only help them steer away from the awkward questions but also give them an experience to sit back and do nothing; bringing back the Cadbury 5 Star promise with elements of humour and quirk intact. After all, singles also deserve to have fun.”

     

    Added Sukesh Nayak, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India: “Valentine’s Day can be quite daunting for someone who’s single or just not into it. Since 5 Star has been championing the cause of people who just want to ‘do nothing’, we took it a step further this year by offering them a perfect escape from the madness. A commonly used excuse that will no more be a lie. As crazy as it sounds, some people will soon be spending Valentine’s Day doing literally nothing on a faraway island called ‘My Cousin’s Wedding’.

     

    Said Shekhar Banerjee, Chief Client Officer and Head-West, Wavemaker India: “We didn’t just stop at creating an Island called My Cousin’s Wedding but also created a larger-than-life Embassy similar to a real one to create a legit experience. If that wasn’t enough, we even went ahead and created outdoor banter with a counter-culture approach between Cadbury 5 Star and Cadbury Silk thus establishing the brand’s different positioning while still leveraging the occasion that’s meant for the brands promoting love. To amplify the campaign further we tapped into various relevant youth touch points with a 3600 activation that helped us dial up the messaging across our TG and build in the brand messaging of escaping this Valentine’s by simply Doing Nothing! The response has been overwhelming and a lot of chatter around the escape plan by simply doing nothing is the talk of the town.”

     

  • Thisquestion concerns the offensive post by Hyundai Pakistan and a few others. So we asked Dr Bhaskar Das the question for the February 16 edition of Das ka Dum. Here’s his response. Read on…

    Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das | Is it a fair ask for multinationals to stay off treading on geo-politically sensitive issues like the one created by Hyundai Pakistan and a few others?

    Bhaskar DasThis question concerns the offensive post by Hyundai Pakistan and a few others. So we asked Dr Bhaskar Das the question for the February 16 edition of Das ka Dum. Here’s his response. Read on…

     

    If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar.

     

    Q. Is it a fair ask for multinationals to stay off treading on geo-politically sensitive issues like the one created by Hyundai Pakistan and a few others?

     

    A. Any organisation, multinational or local, needs to have resident capabilities to tread carefully, when they operate across geographies, or on issues that concern social/ cultural issues in a country, especially when the society has multiple diversities. No organisation that is engaged in marketing their brands locally or globally  can afford to take sides on matters that are sensitive about  geo-political and cultural issues, unless they are ready to face possible unpalatable consequences.

     

  • Onboards two senior journalists Anirban Choudhury and Pew Roy

    TV9 Bangla expands with new recruitment

    By Our Staff

     

    TV9 Bangla News television has onboarded two senior journalists Anirban Choudhury and Pew Roy, among the most familiar prime time faces of Bengali news television.

     

    Welcoming them, Barun Das, CEO, TV9 Network said: “Having made a great start, TV9 Bangla is now gearing up for the undisputed leadership position as we enjoy in all other regional markets. Anirban and Pew bring onboard invaluable editorial experience and will help us reimagine Bangla news primetime.”

     

    Added Amritanshu Bhattacharya, Managing Editor, TV9 Bangla: “As the youngest member of India’s No. 1 News Network, TV9 Bangla has always strived and met great expectations of the viewers and the management alike. With Anirban and Pew on board we are now undoubtedly the most formidable editorial team of Bangla news television.”

     

  • Or is it also one of the ways of being witty and creative, asks Sanjeev Kotnala

    Double Meaning? More in the mind of audiences?

     

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Sanjeev KotnalaBlame  Eularie Saldanha in Campaign India for triggering this article. It questioned if the brands would come on board platforms dedicated to porn? In the current era of targeted marketing, reaching larger audiences, breaking taboos and being woke overall, how ironic is it for mediums with such potential to be avoided by brands for advertising? I am not getting there, but many brands have been using creative clearly and cleverly full of double meaning. Creativity is used in the quest for attention-grabbing, shocking, and otherwise culturally misfit communication.

     

    Pornographic sites may be one of the largest visited sites, but mostly, the audience wants to remain anonymous. The article also suggests that brands avoid pornographic mediums as they believe it would/can contravene the law. However, brands are open to cleverly including titillating objectifying messages to defend them as non-objectionable and straightforward.

     

    Yes, yes, they, in that case, are not breaking any law. However, it is still not safe and can lead to controversies and negative brand impact. On the other side, it can help build up an immediate reaction, a totally anticipated buzz and controllable earned media.

     

    Recently the real estate platform plastered the city with hoardings where the double-meaning was the strategy for attention-seeking. And most people may today see nothing wrong with this advertising, and at least they have not broken any law. The brand, in such cases, has taken a strategic open-eyed conscious decision to use the medium in the way they have- including the predominant yellow background. However, they have cleverly missed simple thoughts along with some provocative communication. Today in 2022, the campaign is seen as Traffic Halting humour! And is also called out for Vulgarity. So clearly, some love it, and some hate it.

     

     

    Zomato, in 2017, did the debated and discredited MC BC campaign. Here the descriptors were the protection. Did it make Zomato a less favoured app? The answer would be a straight NO. Were they right in doing the campaign? Don’t know- but they were within their rights to do so. It was not something that was against prevailing ASCI guidelines. Was it a case of Dirt lies in the eyes of the thinker– the audience who read the campaign differently?

     

     

    Sometimes it is all about relevance and the timing of the campaign. As we evolve and more openness creeps into society, the subject matter of such campaigns may not be called out for their content, hopefully losing the shock value. The operating world is Hopefully.

     

     

    Double meaning campaigns may be as old as the advertising itself. Sometimes they seem witty and humorous, and often crossing the edge, they are deemed hugely offensive. It is always a tight rope walk for the brand.

     

    In India, we had campaigns like – LUX innerwear- Andar Ki Baath ai, Amul Macho- Toying hai, Teda hai par mera hai, Aquawhite- Roz Raat ko kartey ho, ZATAK and many more. Earlier, this was primarily restricted to Condoms, Perfumes, Deodrants and innerwear.

     

     

    In the Campaign India article, Ashish Khazanchi, managing partner, Enormous Brand, speaks on porn sites as advertising media. It is also true for the double meaning campaigns. He says: “One would have to do it in a manner that is really clever and makes the audiences like the brand for its smartness. The potential for cringe remains huge, so the communication better is genuinely witty.”

     

    Defining clearly smart and genuinely witty will always be subjective and open to debate. Every brand has to find its own coordinates for what will be permissible, legally unchallenged and ethically- culturally correct. While doing so, they should check it on the SMEAR index and be ready with an honourable escape. Zomato did it with their campaign– so did brand ManKind Pharma during Navratri– even when there was complete data-based strategic support.

     

     

    The question still remains: who decides these edges and social acceptance. And is it right to throttle creativity by people hungry for media attention? The double meaning is also one of the ways of being witty and creative!

     

  • The departure is reportedly with immediate effect

    Vikas Khanchandani quits Republic. Hersh Bhandari to take charge as Group COO. Darius Maneckji is Business Head

    By Our Staff

     

    Vikas Khanchandani
    Vikas Khanchandani

    Republic Media Network Group CEO Vikas Khanchandani has decided to move on from the organisation. The departure is with immediate effect and MxMIndia has confirmed the development. It is not known where Khanchandani will be moving to.

     

    Meanwhile, Republic has announced a restructure of its management, effective immediately. Newly-inducted Darius Maneckji will report to Hersh Bhandari, who has been elevated to Group COO – Broadcasting Division. Bhandari will be incharge of the entire broadcasting businesses of the network.

     

    Hersh-Bhandari
    Hersh Bhandari
    Darius-Maneckji
    Darius-Maneckji

    Maneckji will be Business Head-Republic TV and Senior EVP. He will now lead the national operations for Republic TV, including the channel’s offices in Bengaluru, Noida, Gurugram, Kolkata and Mumbai. He has been National Sales Head in the past for Times Now and also National Sales Head for the English Movie Cluster at Turner International India.  Before onboarding with Republic TV, his last assignment was with TV Today.

     

    Arnab Goswami

    Said Arnab Goswami, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Republic Media Network: “The induction of strong business talent is part of the expansion of the Network and creation of a strong organizational base to take the plans forward,: adding: “I am excited about the new roles for both Hersh and Darius. The broadcasting division under Hersh will see rapid growth, like never before. Our digital business is being expanded by 100 percent and together with our Strategic Business partnerships, will be hived off into separate business divisions, each with their own leadership and goals. At a consolidated level, this should place us in a fantastic position to be the number one TV+Digital News company across the board in two years.”

     

    On his elevation, Bhandari said: “At Republic Media Network, we continue to consolidate and strengthen ourselves with speed for the growth that beckons us. I’m energised by the trust reposed in me by the Board, Management, and my colleagues, to help shape and deliver the next phase of growth. We think and move as one, shoulder-to-shoulder.”

    Added Maneckji: “I’m excited to join India’s fastest growing news Network. I look forward to working with one of the best teams in the business to ensure we continue to command and establish our leadership role in the English News genre.”

     

    Priya Mukherjee
    Priya Mukherjee

    Khanchandani is the second senior person in the founding team of Republic TV. Distribution head Priya Mukherjee had moved out last year. Both Khanchandani and Mukherjee were part of Republic from before it started in 2017.

     

  • Along with parent company Holcim India

    Ambuja Cement & ACC launch sustainability campaign

    By Our Staff

     

    Ambuja Cements and ACC limited, member companies of Holcim India have reinforced their first joint sustainability campaign ‘#ChangeTheStory’ by introducing their first-ever rap song titled ‘Bubble Rap’ across all the owned platforms. The original fun lyrics and upbeat music sung by remarkable rappers features the campaign mascot ‘Bubble Sharma’.

     

    Notes a communique: “The bubble rap will ensure brand awareness as it will act as a catalyst for encouraging people to be agents of change to transform today into a sustainable tomorrow by urging the audience to embrace sustainable practices and take a pledge on their microsite- https://www.changethestory.co.in/”