MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • Reaffirms its promise to empower the country

    L&T releases Diwali film

    By Our Staff

     

    Larsen & Toubro has released a Diwali film to encapsulate its role as ‘a builder to the nation’.

     

    Said Yuvraj Mehta, Head- Corporate Brand Management and Communications, Larsen & Toubro: “Mythologically speaking, Diwali signifies the fulfilment of the promise of homecoming. As India’s foremost construction, engineering solutions and technology services company, Larsen & Toubro has been keeping its promise to empower India through its very many offerings in infrastructure, energy and defence sectors. This film reaffirms that we will continue to live up to our promise so that every Indian too can keep the promises that they make to their loved ones.”

     

     

  • To empower Bharat Youth with their career

    Vi launches campaign for its Jobs & Education division

    By Our Staff

     

    Telecom company Vi or Vodafone Idea Limited has launched a new campaign around its Jobs & Education proposition, during the ongoing T-20 Cricket World Cup.

     

    The campaign conceptualised by Ogilvy showcases Vi Jobs & Education as a one-stop solution for the Bharat Youth.

     

    Said Avneesh Khosla, Chief Marketing Officer, Vi: “At Vi, our vision is to create world class digital experiences to connect and inspire every Indian to build a better tomorrow. In line with this, our offerings and solutions are uniquely curated to address the needs of our customers and help them thrive in this digital era. Our approach of deep integrated partnerships helps us curate differentiated and relevant solutions for our customers. Our new campaign highlights Vi Jobs & Education proposition and reinforces our commitment to enable our customers unlock opportunities, gain a competitive edge and march ahead in life to meet their career aspirations.”

     

     

  • In India's skewed media world, it is accepted that the bulk of the mainstream media and television especially, is not expected to have any standards at all, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Ranjona Banerji: A question of standards

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiThe News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has fined TV channel News 18 for a “debate” held on the Karnataka hijab issue by its anchor Aman Chopra. The channel was fined Rs 50000, and ordered to take the programme off air.

    The order said that the programme was “violative of the principles related to impartiality, neutrality, fairness and good taste and decency”.

    The investigation into this programme by Chopra followed a complaint by tech ethics and safety professional, Indrajeet Ghodpade in April this year. Yes, it took that long.

    If you do a search for this fine, you’ll find just a few references that pop up: Sabrang, Newslaundry and legal platforms like LiveLaw and Bar and Bench. News 18 which has a robust website does not feature at the top.

    https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/nbdsa-pulls-up-news18-india-for-linking-hijab-supporting-panellists-with-al-qaeda-advises-channel-to-guide-aman-chopra-on-sensitive-debates-212529?infinitescroll=1

    https://www.newslaundry.com/2022/10/26/violative-of-principles-of-fairness-good-taste-news18-india-fined-rs-50000-for-show-on-hijab-ban

    There’s also not much heat and fury and handwringing about falling journalistic standards in the Indian media by journalists, viewers, commentators or anyone else. Remember, we’re talking about a massive and powerful mainstream media channel like News18. Not some little independent digital platform.

    However, if you search for The Wire and Meta imbroglio, where The Wire has taken down its investigations into Meta and apologised, you will find references everywhere, including, ahem, from News 18!

    Well, duh!

    Because in India’s skewed media world, it is accepted that the bulk of the mainstream media and television especially, is not expected to have any standards at all. Chopra and his lot are known for constant and consistent destruction of journalism – if they are journalists at all, that is – and of shameless targeting of minorities and lower castes to push a Hindu majoritarian agenda.

    The Wire on the other hand is expected to do good journalism so when it falters or fails, the wrath of the Unrighteous falls heavily on it.

    To me, this is hogwash.

    Yes, The Wire messed up badly. Its expose into how Meta (that is what was Facebook) acts on complaints made in India and how posts critical of the BJP are taken down promptly, was full of unverified suppositions. Experts quickly pointed out that The Wire’s tech understanding was faulty, even as The Wire stuck to its guns and doubled down on its expose.

    However, a week later it issued a statement saying it was investigating its own processes and removed the articles from its website. It has now apologized for the whole episode, claiming it was deceived and that the person concerned no longer works with The Wire. And further, that its reporting and editing standards were being examined and reviewed.

    https://thewire.in/media/the-wire-editorial-to-our-readers-an-apology-and-a-promise

    The Wire continues to face excoriation for carrying the story, for falling for a tech hoax, for not having a rigorous understanding of tech basics and so on. The backlash has been absurd to the extent of its ombudsperson Pamela Philipose being personally attacked on social media for not speaking out. When in fact she did cover the issue when her fortnightly column came up.

    https://thewire.in/media/backstory-getting-to-the-heart-of-the-meta

    What makes The Wire special in that it has to follow some high journalism standards which News18, to mention just one, does not? Why is it all right for News18 to create social disharmony on a regular basis but not all right for The Wire to mess up?

    After all, the core of The Wire’s article on Meta’s processes was about how Instagram posts critical of the BJP were taken down. No matter how The Wire was deceived, how come those Instagram posts were put back only after the first Wire article appeared?

    I myself believed The Wire story based on this, whatever was wrong with its processes. And the inferences that the BJP had an inside line to Meta are easily believable, given Meta’s long history of allowing its platforms to be used, right from the Cambridge Analytica revelations. If the BJP’s IT Cell is not as powerful as many of us assumed, our apologies to it.

    For the rest of us, we need to relook at how and why we raise and lower our journalistic standards for different platforms. The reach of television far overrides that of digital news. The hatred spewed out every night by popular anchors on TV far supersedes any hoax played on random journalists. We cannot continue to accept or pretend that TV has no responsibility. A Rs 50,000 fine does not even begin to cover the tremendous damage done to India by irresponsible journalism.

    And as for Meta, well…

     

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

     

  • To handle the entire gamut of media

    Madison wins media AOR of Godrej & Boyce

    By Our Staff

     

    Madison Media Alpha, a unit of Madison World, has just announced the win of Godrej & Boyce integrated Media AOR. The account was won in a multi-agency pitch and the agency will handle the entire gamut of Media including TV, Print, Social Media, Digital, Performance Marketing, OOH and Activations.

     

    Speaking about the agency’s appointment, Mehernosh Pithawalla, Senior Vice President and Head – Brand and Strategic Insights, Godrej & Boyce said: “Madison World has been an industry leader in the realm of communications for several years, now. During the pitch, we observed a lot of synergies, brand resonance and a strong intent by the Madison team to work on Godrej & Boyce. We couldn’t have thought of a better ally to further business metrics and propel brand growth.”

     

    Commenting on this development Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World added: “My association with Godrej goes back to 1985, even before Madison came into being and I am delighted that Madison World has won this business in a competitive pitch and G&B has found our expertise and capabilities a cut above the rest and handed over the media AOR of this much respected Company to us. We look forward to growing their brands with our innovative and Client First approach.”

     

  • It’s one of those questions where you feel a little embarrassed after reading the answer. So let's dive right into it. Here's Dr Bhaskar Das in the October 28 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

    Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das | What does the rise of a British Indian as PM mean for Brand India? Unlike Kamala Harris, he is quite upfront about his Indian roots and Hindu faith?

    Bhaskar DasIt’s one of those questions where you feel a little embarrassed after reading the answer. So let’s dive right into it. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the October 28 edition of Das ka Dum. 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. What does the rise of British Indian mean for Brand India? Unlike Kamala Harris, he is quite upfront about his Indian roots and Hindu faith?

     

    A. I think we should stop counting chickens before they are hatched. The new PM of UK has to look after his country’s priorities in the context of various global imperatives and not take decisions on the basis of his country of origin. That’s pretty myopic and not in sync with what the world need. He has a tough task in hand and the world is surely looking at how he demonstrates his leadership skills for UK and the world.

     

  • With a new logo, new packaging and innovative new blends

    Luxmi Tea undergoes makeover

    By Our Staff

     

    Luxmi Tea, owned by the Chatterjees of Kolkata, gets a 360-degree makeover this year. With a new logo, new packaging and innovative new blends, the brand takes on a new avatar of Luxmi Estates for its products, and showcases the brand’s legacy, origin story and focus towards wellness.

     

    Speaking about this new avatar, Rudra Chatterjee, Managing Director, Luxmi Tea Group, said: “Change is the only constant, and to move onwards and upwards, evolution becomes imperative. We are grateful for the overwhelming love Luxmi Tea has received over the years, and we believe it to be our duty to upgrade into the best versions of ourselves for our consumers. Luxmi Estates has the essence of Luxmi Tea, along with an added flair of wellness, growth and abundance. This new avatar is here to spread our message of wellness far and wide and empower others to unlock their truest, healthiest selves. We are ecstatic to reveal this new version of us to the world and hope you will love it as much as we loved creating it.”

     

  • To highlight the effective approach towards language proficiency test

    VMLY&R creates campaign for Pearson Test of English

    By Our Staff

     

    VMLY&R India has conceptualised and enabled a campaign for Pearson, the British multinational education company, on the Pearson Test of English -“PTE Kar, Befikar‘’.

     

    Said Nikita Parmar, Creative Director – VMLY&R India: “PTE is different. An unbiased test which is more like a friend or a mentor who pushes you to do your best while you stay stress-free or ‘Befikar.’ The aim is to make PTE synonymous with being stress-free, so we thought what is it that resonates with ‘Befikar,’ and the whistle tune was born. We tend to whistle when we are at our relaxed best. PTE’s signature tune will remind and assure people to appear worry-free for the test and pursue their dreams.”

     

     

  • Talkwalker & Khoros report Enabling better customer experiences on social media platforms

    Social Media Trends 2023

     

     

    By Our Staff

     

    Talkwalker, the consumer intelligence acceleration platform, and Khoros, a digital-first customer engagement software and services, have released the Social Media Trends 2023 Report. The report follows the announcement of the companies’ strategic partnership to seamlessly deliver deep listening and social media management through a unified experience.

     

    Some of the key trends identified in this report include:

    ● Customer experience will get even more social – 75% of consumers say the pandemic has driven long-term changes in their behaviours and preferences, including a bigger focus on urgency. Brands must prioritise customer experience by providing support, information, or solutions as fast as possible. In 2023, expect more brands to leverage social media as dedicated support channels, enabling a fast, efficient response no matter which platform consumers use to get in touch.

    ● Social commerce will rise and fall – Large increases in post-pandemic digital growth and rising costs of living are driving increased demand for affordability. Soon, consumers will be more willing to explore new shopping channels such as social. However, some countries are more ready to adopt social commerce than others. In India, from FY 20-25, social commerce is expected to grow at 55-60% CAGR, taking the current market size from $1.5-2 billion to $16-20 billion.

    ● Brands will place emphasis on communities rather than personas – 66% of branded communities say that their community has led to increased loyalty. Brands will focus on gaining deeper knowledge of their consumer ecosystems to understand who is driving and sharing brand-focused conversations. Influencers, employee advocates, and consumers will be engaged within brand communities to generate authentic connections and consumer-led content.

     

    David Low
    David Low

    Said David Low, Talkwalker CMO: “We all know the digital ecosphere has disrupted how marketers engage with consumers. In this new environment, marketers must focus on forging symbiotic relationships through a better understanding of online conversations and taking quicker action. It’s this new understanding that will help brands create meaningful experiences and become closer to their consumers.”

     

    Added Dillon Nugent, Khoros CMO: “As marketers, we know the value of data and the importance of listening to our customers. But, we need to be more action-oriented and use those insights more effectively. Consumers’ comfort level for doing things online-shopping, researching, socializing—is not slowing down as the world opens up. They also care more about their communities—global, local, IRL, and online. Marketers need to tap into these trends and behaviours more deeply to personalize customers’ experiences and create more impactful strategies that empower your brand to stay connected to customers and grow your presence in the market.”

     

  • To spearhead the Network’s broadcast ad revenue operations

    Times Network elevates Gaurav Dhawan as CRO

    By Our Staff

     

    Gaurav Dhawan
    Gaurav Dhawan

    Times Network has announced Gaurav Dhawan as its Chief Revenue Officer. He will spearhead the Network’s broadcast ad revenue operations and drive monetisation strategy for the bouquet of channels across Hindi and English news and Entertainment and branded content. GD, as he’s popular known, is a Times Network stalwart having been part of the core team that launched Times Now in 2005.

     

    MK Anand
    MK Anand

    Said MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network: “Given Gaurav’s successful background leading go-to-market teams and his relentless focus that drives sustained growth, the decision to move him into the Chief Revenue Officer role was clear. He’s already proven to be a strong leader and I’m confident he will continue to drive our strong revenue growth strategy.”

     

  • The more brands use technology to bring alive its promise, the stronger will the emotional connect of the brand be, writes Vikas Mehta

    Emotion & Technology can go hand in hand

     

     

     

    With apologies to none at all

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaDiwali, IPL and World Cup cricket are the times when Indian marketers unveil new campaigns and this year the T20 World Cup coinciding with the Diwali season meant that a deluge of new campaigns could be expected. But now there is also technology into play and this means that the communication is well targeted and not necessarily mass. To this mix, throw in the long videos which advertisers hope will go viral through social media and it becomes more difficult to keep track of such new campaigns.

     

    This is also the time when brands attempt feel-good campaigns. Family bonding, celebrations, helping the needy, are the themes that become norm de rigueur. And many brands flaunt brand purpose at this time. Something which I highlighted in my last post (Festival Videos Article)

     

    It’s definitely a plus for the brands to leave one with a lump in the throat or a tear in the eye with such videos. But a greater impact can be created when brands actually do something which can make a difference in real life. Coke always has an interesting communication around getting together, family values etc. But they would not really do anything to highlight the same. On the other hand, I have seen HP actually do stuff like creating space for local artisans in HP stores to display their talent, bring alive the purpose of helping those who struggled to find space for display (HP Diwali).

     

    Predictably, Coke released an ad which was about not just wishing but meeting people for Diwali. Iss baar gale milke kaho Happy Diwali (say happy Diwali by hugging) was the thought. Watch it here Nice, cute and I thought that was it. So, imagine my surprise when I came across two more versions of the same thought but these used technology to make people actually meet up. Specially locked Coke bottles, which could be ordered using a QR code and unlocked only when the people met, with a code (Watch).

     

    It’s not that Coke has not done something similar in the past. I remember some Open Happiness videos of Coke in various countries where Coke installed phone booths to help migrant workers in the middle east connect back home or the valentine’s day free coke can if one kisses your partner in front of the specially designed vending machine in Europe; this was to me a very good example of taking a festival thought not just as a tagline of an ad but actually making it happen. The most important thing for me was the use of technology.

     

    In marketing and marketing communication, technology was all about either a product improvement or a media innovation. What Coke has achieved is significant as it has transcended the feel-good factor into actually making people experience the feel-good factor. It’s not just preaching about hugging people but enabling them to do so.

     

    And that brings me to the bigger issue. When the first murmurs of brand purpose broke out with the ex-Unilever CEO Paul Polman suggesting brand purpose as mandatory for all Unilever brands, there was lot of hue and cry and pessimism from investors. It exists today also with some pundits asking what could be the brand purpose for Walls Ice cream or Lux Soap. The same argument could be extended to a carbonated sweet drink like Coke. I am not suggesting that Coke has discovered brand purpose but it has shown that using technology any brand can make its promise come alive.  To me that’s as close to brand purpose than anything else.

     

    Till now most of the Diwali or festival ads were woke advertising. But Coke has demonstrated that using technology, one can take the leap to make the emotion come alive. I have no clue how many people actually got the locked Coke bottles and were the bottles easy available. To be honest, I did try to get a locked bottle by scanning the QR code but the message I got was that they have run out of bottles. This could well mean that the locked bottles were a sell out or maybe Coke did a very modest run of the locked bottles. Whatever, this is proof that using technology, brands can make their emotions, if not exactly the purpose, come alive. And that is sure to make the brands more attractive to its potential customers.

     

    Indeed, the brand which has been a pioneer in this field, at least in India has been Cadbury. More than two decades ago the brand came in with a gifting pack called Celebrations. It would be available during Diwali time and with deft and emotional communication the brand took off. Over the last two decades, the brand has become synonymous with gifting and is available through the year. I dare say, today the idea has actually become outdated as every tom dick and harry in confectionary or even Indian namkeens has a gift pack.

     

    Therefore, when Cadbury Celebrations used technology to promote small neighbourhood retailers by using pincodes and geo-location to highlight the name of the retailers in the particular pincode where the ad was played, it was a great breakthrough. This was 2020 when all small local retailers had taken a hit due to pandemic induced lockdowns. The brand reinvented itself by having a strong purpose of helping local retailers and brought its tagline of Kuch meetha ho jaye, kuch achha ho jaye (Have a sweet. Do some good) alive in real terms.

     

    In 2021 the brand went one step further. It used Artificial Intelligence and any retailer, through a website could get its own name endorsed in an ad by Shah Rukh Khan. The ad was then sent by Whatsapp to the retailer who could use it as he desired. And all this happened in almost real time. I helped a neighbourhood retailer in my city to download his personalised ad and he forwarded it to his customers. Many came in just out of curiosity to know how could he get SRK to endorse him.

     

    This year, the brand with QR code on the pack is helping hawkers to put their merchandising on a website and one can find a hawker in the neighbourhood through pincode (Cadbury 2022).

     

    We all talk about technology being an enabler. These examples are showing that in communication too, technology can be an active enabler. For brands which spend money on advertising or brand videos during festival season, the time has come to put the horse before the cart. Be clear on your purpose or on your promise. Decide what will the brand do on ground to make the promise come alive. Then think of the communication. The idea of the activity has to be bigger than the idea of the communication. And tap technology, both for the activity and also for the communication.

     

    The more brands use technology to bring alive its promise, the stronger will the emotional connect of the brand be. I see more such technology induced activities and communication during the festive season in the near future.

     

  • Nothing new in this question as we tweeted on it last week. But we didn't get too many answers, so we posed this to our Wizard with Words today. Here's Dr Bhaskar Das in the October 31 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

    Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das | Last week, newspapers in Ahmedabad were shut for three days. In Pune for two. And this is when printwallahs have been complaining that ‘dhanda’ is ‘manda’. What’s your view?

    Bhaskar DasNothing new in this question as we tweeted on it last week. But we didn’t get too many answers, so we posed this to our Wizard with Words today. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the October 31 edition of Das ka Dum. 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. Last week, newspapers in Ahmedabad were shut for three days. In Pune for two. And this is when printwallahs have been complaining that ‘dhanda’ is ‘manda’. What’s your view?

     

    A. Your question seems to suggest to me that continuing publication for the two-three days would have cured all the perceived ills that plague the print media.

     

    I find no substantive logic in this legacy industry convention. Incidentally, I feel this convention has a humane aspect in it, beyond the cold logic of business. Just imagine: the entire community of sellers and hawakers who work round the year during the wee hours when all of us are in deep slumber. Day in, day out, in all seasons. They never fail to deliver the daily newspaper at our doorsteps. They deserve two-three days in a year to celebrate an annual festival with their families.

     

    Finally, even in terms of cold logic of business, I can mention with confidence that no advertising revenue (generally 75/80 per cent of a newspaper’s topline) is lost due to this as advertisers also make their media plans accordingly. The only loss is the cover price revenue which won’t be generally more than 25% topline of a newspaper, leave or take 5/10% plus- minus. In fact I would hazard a guess the savings due to non-publication on those two-three days of holidays would be more than the loss of cover price revenue.

     

    So there is economics in being humane too. If you are really concerned about the future of print media, there are other systemic issues which, if addressed, can make more impact on the sector.

     

  • Well, an unfair question to ask because Elon Musk is known to be an unconventional businessperson, and his ways are even more dramatic. While all of it may work for Tesla, but will it work for a platform like Twitter? We posed this to our Wizard with Words today. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the November 1 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

    Das ka Dum with Dr Bhaskar Das | It’s now been a few days since Elon Musk took over Twitter. Your expectations from the ‘Chief Twit’?

    Bhaskar DasWell, an unfair question to ask because Elon Musk is known to be an unconventional businessperson, and his ways are even more dramatic. While all of it may work for Tesla, but will it work for a platform like Twitter? We posed this to our Wizard with Words today. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the November 1 edition of Das ka Dum. 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. It’s now been a few days since Elon Musk took over Twitter. Your expectations from the ‘Chief Twit’?

     

    A. I am too small a fry to pen down my expectations from the ‘Chief Twit; and as a digital immigrant, I am not an avid social media user.

     

    Having said that I must admit I was watching the developments at the Twitter takeover battle and being a fan of Elon Musk—I love his attitude and his business ventures—and find a lot of comparable stuff with Steve Job’s story of his return to Apple, albeit in different contexts and circumstances.

     

    I may guess from Elon Musk’s tweets on how he wants to change Twitter. He seems to have a lofty plan like defeating spam bots on Twitter, prevent Twitter to becoming an echo chamber of hate, to be more inclusive and would support free speech etc. Now, the God is in execution and it might not be a smooth task, especially when one has to work in sync with multiple-nation regulatory frameworks. Musk must have an execution roadmap in his mind and the new lead driver (if I may suggest) of these goals Shriram Krishnan would certainly try to fructify Musk’s vision. Come to think of it, it’s too early to comment authentically on the subject. So, as they say, watch this space.