MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • More people looking for more jobs, more positions demanding more skilled hands. Never before, perhaps, has Human Resources been of such significance.

    The Anchor: 5 things that tell you this is the Hour of HR

    By Gaurav Hirey

     

    #1 The changing industry

    The media planning and buying industry is a new industry for HR. Managing people in this industry has been highly difficult and challenging. There are still people and skill shortages, structures are still being created and talented people are in short supply.

     

    #2 Gen Y on the march

    A generation of employees who were pampered by their Baby Boomer parents have now taken our workplaces by storm. Their numbers have jumped from previous years and are growing every year. They bring pluses and minuses to our workplace. So, not only are we trying to absorb these offspring of the Baby Boomer generation, who bring special challenges, but we are also dealing with helping three generations of employees who are happily co-existing to serve our customers as a team.

     

    #3 Recruiting and networking online

    This decade has brought about the transformation of employee recruiting and social and media interaction and networking. From the big job boards like Monster we have seen a transformation in how people find each other for networking and jobs.

     

    Social media networking is the new way to find employees, find jobs, get answers to questions, build a widespread, mutually supportive network of contacts, and keep track of colleagues and friends. Social media and online recruiting bring the employer new challenges. Developing social media and blogging policies, deciding whether to monitor employee time online, and checking candidate backgrounds online, are just some of the things that we have started doing. The power of online media is something that cannot be ignored by HR.

     

    #4 Made-to-order employment relationships

    Perhaps it’s the push from the Gen Ys, and definitely it’s the availability of technology that facilitates the customization, but the made-to-order work relationship has become a dominant force for us in GroupM. Customized talent initiatives have taken workplaces by storm.

     

    Flexible anything has now become the new norm. Flexible work hours, flexible work weeks, flexible time off for appointments, and the most important trend of all: Paid time off which allows employees to take time off when they need it, as it consolidates sick leave, personal time, and vacation time into a bank of days for employees to use.

     

    As employers we don’t need to police employee time but this demands increase openness in the new way of working. We have had to make work and communication more transparent and measurable so the flexibility yields results. Our employees are more motivated and engaged, and less stressed out about family and life issues, because they have the necessary time to address work-life balance issues.

     

    #5 The Big Blur

    Online, all the time, and availability via technology, has blurred the line between work and home. Employees work at home in the evening on collaborative reports and email. They shop at work and take brief breaks by playing online games. Employees do their banking at work and their work accounting at home. Almost no one goes on vacation without their smartphone and laptop. Instant messaging is now a part of our lives!

     

    No generation has ever been this connected, and for good and bad, some employees never stop working. As employers we need to make sure this degree of connectivity does not burn them out. At the same time we too must back away from old rules about what an employee is allowed to do at work. Our policies and processes need to reflect this and that in itself is a challenge.

     

    Gaurav Hirey is HR Director – South Asia at GroupM.

  • The agency has come out with a compelling campaign for Mumbai Mirror which showcases the newspaper on a crusade giving voice to the unheard stories

    Taproot India gives voice to the Mumbaikars

    By A Correspondent

     

    TaprootIndiahas come out with its campaign for Mumbai Mirror. The newspaper had first come out with a campaign in the year 2005 during its launch. This is the paper’s first campaign after that initial launch campaign.

     

    The focus of the campaign is to showcase the newspaper as the voice of the Mumbaikars and brings to its readers umpteen, untold stories.

     

    Talking about the campaign, Rahul Kansal, Chief Marketing Officer, Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd, said: “Mumbai Mirror is a strong newspaper that looks out for its readers. In a city where the ordinary guy can feel rather helpless as he is always at the receiving end of an insensitive system, the paper empowers the reader and gives him a voice.”

     

    The campaign which is out in print, television, cinema, digital and outdoor takes four real stories from Mumbai: burning of Rohinton Mistry’s book, the milk adulteration scam, the case of remand home for children and political posters and then creates fictionalized accounts of how these affected the Mumbaikars.

     

    The objective of the campaign is to underline the fact that every citizen, rich or poor, oppressed or cheated has a voice that reaches the city every morning.

     

    Mumbai Mirror has been bringing to the forefront its readers’ unheard voices through a relentless series of exposes.

     

    Talking about what it is with TOI that has made Agnello Dias and his team come up with the countless powerful campaigns, he said: “Its trust that TOI has in us and I am scared to let them down.”

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Mr Dias said: “Mumbai has many faces. Some that evoke, others provoke. But if we were to look every one of them in the eye, we will find that all of them are the face of Mumbai. Many stories make this city and some need to be told.”

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVb01vfbVEw[/youtube]

    Credits:

    Agency: TaprootIndia

    Client: Bennet & Coleman

    Brand Team: Rahul Kansal/Priya Gupta

    Creative Directors: Santosh Padhi/Agnello Dias

    Media Agency: Lodestar UM

    Copy: Agnello Dias

    Account Management: Mandar Sawant

    Production House: RDP

    Director: Abhinay Deo

    Music: Ram Sampath

    Executive Producer: Apurba Sengupta

     

    Mumbai Mirror – I am Mumbai

  • Companies like Logitech offer incentive tours to the cricket-crazy

    Performance incentives? Try a trip down under for the cricket-crazy

    By Meenakshi Verma Ambwani

     

    Incentives are hard to come by in difficult times such as these. So when computer accessories firm Logitech announced to a set of top performers and about 100 channel partners that they had been chosen for a holiday trip Down Under to watch the Indian-Australia cricket matches, it came as a pleasant surprise.

     

    For one, nobody was expecting a year-end incentive such as this. Two, no one had in their wildest imagination thought a cricket match could be on a holiday package. “Incentive tours are part of our regular corporate interactions. The challenge, however, is to find an exciting destination every year. This time, we got to know about travel packages that included the India-Australia cricket tour, and we decided to go ahead,” says Mr Subratah Biswas, country manager for India and South-west Asia at Logitech.

     

    As the Indian team pads up for another battle with archrivals Australia in their own backyard, a few companies are using this opportunity to reward high performing employees, clients and distribution partners. Sports tourism is starting to find its feet with Indians, both at the corporate and the individual levels.

     

    A Jaipur-based tour operator Ashoka Holidays has designed a unique package for aspiring cricketers and their coaches or parents for a trip to South Africa. They are offering a stay and training to aspiring cricketers. The tour would cover places like Cape Town, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth and Oudshroom and passes or participation in five cricket matches against local teams.

     

    Even big travel firms like Kuoni are now offering packages for cricket, badminton, F1, etc. Tourism Australia says it is expecting a lot of Indians during the upcoming Australian Open tennis in Melbourne. This year, an estimated 30-35% of Indian footfalls are expected in the first three months of 2012 primarily due to the two sporting events. In 2011, an estimated 1,50,000 Indians visited Australia, says Tourism Australia’s country manager Mr Nishant Kashikar.

     

    Travel firms have been quick to gauge the mood. Executives say sports-related travel packages have been in vogue since the Indian Premier League in South Africa in 2009. Today, companies like SOTC Sports, Cutting Edge Events, Makemytrip and Cox & Kings are offering a range of itineraries and packages from just about 2 night-3 days to 6 nights-7 days for Australia.

     

    Packages start at about Rs 1-1.3 lakh per person and go up to over Rs 2 lakh per person, which includes airfares, hotel stays, match tickets and visits to stadiums, museums, etc. Industry players estimate that of the 11-12 million travelers who travel abroad every year, nearly 2-2.5% are travelers who design their incentive travel around sports. This segment, though niche, is growing at nearly 15-20% year-on-year depending on the sports calendar in the year.

     

    “Besides cricket, there is a growing demand for incentive tours around sports like soccer, F1, tennis and golf,” says Mr Mayank Khandwala, co-founder of Cutting Edge Events, which specialises in sports tourism. The company expects companies to plan their outbound incentive tours around UEFA Euro Cup, besides tennis championships like Wimbledon and French Open. In fact, Wimbledon has become a major platform for Indian businessmen to network with bankers and companies.

     

    Delhi-based electrical and power distribution equipment manufacturer, Havells is taking a bunch of employees and dealers to Australia for the cricket matches. Mr Vijay Narayanan, vice-president (marketing) at Havells India, says, “Last year we had organised an incentive tour for our employees and channel partners to Bangkok. This time we might head to Australia during the long cricket tour.”

     

    “We are receiving a lot of enquiries for the Indian cricket team’s tour of Australia, especially for the one-day and T20 matches and are in talks with 16-17 companies who are planning incentive tours,” says Mr SD Nandakumar, head, sports incentive tours (outbound division) at Kuoni India. He says there is less demand for the first two test matches as the timing coincides with Christmas and New Year.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

  • The channel will be distributed through Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN) (TSX-SAT), Canada’s largest South Asian Broadcaster on Rogers Cable in Ontario and on recently launched Bell Fibe TV in Toronto & Montreal

    ATN launches Aapka Colors in Canada

    By A Correspondent

     

    Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd, an equal joint venture between Viacom Inc (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB) and Network18, one of India’s leading entertainment conglomerates, on Wednesday announced the launch of its flagship channel, Aapka Colors in Canada.

     

    The channel will be distributed through Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN) (TSX-SAT), Canada’s largest South Asian Broadcaster on Rogers Cable in Ontario and on recently launched Bell Fibe TV in Toronto & Montreal.

     

    Starting immediately, ATN subscribers can tune in to Aapka Colors (Channel 690 on Rogers and Channel 790 on Bell Vibe TV), which is among the top two Hindi general entertainment channels in India. Viewers can look forward to captivating drama series, blockbuster Bollywood films, star-studded variety programs and nail-biting reality shows on one of the most-watched channels from India.

     

    Moreover, subscribers will now be able to enjoy popular shows such as Balika Vadhu, Sasural

    Simar Ka, Phulwa, Uttaran and Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi at the same time as the viewers in India.

     

    Dr Shan Chandrasekar, president and CEO, ATN said: “We are delighted to have Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd as a programming partner and to share AAPKA COLORS, with its compelling content, across

    Canada.”

     

    Gaurav Gandhi, Head-Distribution & International Business-Viacom18 & COO Sun18, said: “We are delighted with the launch of Aapka Colors in Canada on the 2 leading platforms – Rogers and Bell Fibe, and fulfilling the demands of the South Asian diaspora with our very distinct and popular content offering.”

     

    With this launch in Canada, Colors is now available in close to 50 countries globally.

     

  • Claims by FMCG, educational institutions and health centres also on CCC radar

    ASCI’s Consumer Complaints Council upholds complaints against 17 out of 25 ads

    By A Correspondent

     

    During July and August 2011, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) of ASCI upheld complaints made against 17 advertisements from various sectors like Education, Health, FMCG and Restricted products. During the same timeframe, the CCC did not uphold complaints against 8 such advertisements.

     

    In a complaint received against the advertisement of Maruti Suzuki – Estilo Magic, the advertisement mentions the mileage of i10 (1.1) Era as “16 kmpl”, which is incorrect.  i10 (1.1) Era ARIA certified mileage is 19.8 kmpl. The CCC concluded that the data stated in the advertisement about the mileage of the competitor did not tally with the ARIA Certification and is false.

     

    There was a complaint relating to the advertisement of “Bata India – Think Weinbrenner, Think Outdoors.” As per the complaint, Bata had carried out a print campaign for Weinbrenner, wherein the copy read, “SMS Bata <space> <your e-mail id> to 58888 to win exclusive gifts”. Acting on the line, the complainant sent SMSes twice, but was never offered or sent any gifts. The CCC concluded that the statement, “SMS BATA…to win exclusive gifts”, was misleading as the advertisement did not state clearly all material conditions to enable the consumer to obtain a true and fair view of his prospects in such activities.

     

    A complaint was received against advertising communication of Hindustan Unilever – Pureit Water Purifier. As per the complaint, the commercials make a claim of “Pureit 1 Crore safety challenge”.  The CCC considered the technical proof provided by the advertiser and the complainant and concluded that whilst Pureit “meets USA’s EPA stringent germ-kill criteria”, it is not the only one to do so.  The claim, “It’s been 2 years and till date no purifier in India has been able to meet Pureit’s Safety challenge”, is misleading as this challenge was only against products launched prior to December 2009. Thus, the communication created a false impression that Pureit is the best water purifier.  This complaint was also upheld.

     

    In the education sector, there was a whole set of advertisement that received complaints. For T.I.M.E. – CAT’ 11/12, the claim “Largest student base: 1,30,000+ students trained for CAT’09 & CAT’10” was  rejected as the claim was not validated  by any third party nor the advertiser  had compared any data of other service providers in the same category. Also, the claim, “Best faculty team in Delhi – NCR”, was not supported by any comparative data. Another claim, “Best Results: 50%+ of students in the IIMs are from T.I.M.E.”, was neither validated nor supported with any independent data, and the claim was based on 2009 and 2010 data as mentioned in the advertisement. The CCC concluded that pending the validation of the data by independent auditors, the claims are misleading and hence upheld the complaint.

     

    Career  Launcher (I)  Ltd in one advertisement mentioned that,”4300+ IIM calls in CAT”10″, “CL scores: 4/8 100 % in CAT’10, FMS’10 & 11 Toppers, JMET’10 Topper”. These claims were not backed and substantiated with data/ evidence.  The CCC concluded that pending the validation of the data by independent auditors, the claims mentioned in the advertisement and cited in the complaint are misleading. The complaint was upheld

     

    The advertisement of Team Satyam claimed that “75+ Students and counting, in National Law Schools”, “95% of call getters from Lucknow are Clat Possible students”,  “5/5 NLU-Delhi call getters from Lucknow are Clat Possible students”, “3 NLSIU, 5 NALSAR, 7 NUJS, 8NLU-D  Students to National Law Schools”,  “40+ Students to National Law Schools”. The CCC concluded that pending the validation of the data by independent auditors, the claims mentioned in the advertisement and cited in the complaint, are misleading.  The advertisement contravened Chapter I.4 of the Code.  The complaint was UPHELD.

    A TVC of Greenply Industries Ltd. Greenlam Laminates showed “an old man going through the Catholic sacrament of baptism, and thereafter his funeral which shows a coffin made with Greenlam Laminates. The TVC is extremely offensive and mocks the Roman Catholic faith, by unnecessarily using sacraments to promote its product.  The CCC concluded that the TVC appeared to trivialize conversion and thus is likely to hurt religious sentiments. This complaint was upheld.

     

    Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s Dove Damage Therapy TVC claimed that Dove is the most recommended shampoo by Indian women”, is qualified by a super stating “Based on a study conducted amongst 400 women”.  It was stated that a base size of 400 is far too small to be used to support this claim and it also did not clarify the parameters for which the Dove shampoo is recommended. Also, the supers in the said advertisement are blurred and illegible. The print advertisement, TVC, and the hoardings contravened Chapter I.4 of the Code and the claims are misleading, hence the complaint was upheld.

     

    Procter & Gamble Home Products  Ltd’s -  New  Ariel  Oxyblu – Deep Clean Technology ad showed the removal of three difficult stains, namely ink, oil and tea by use of Ariel Oxyblu, whereas the claim support data mentioned in the super is for ink stains alone. The super reads “Creative visualization.  Based on technical test by independent laboratory (Prema Labs, 2011) tested on ink stain in three different layers of polyster fabric v/s ordinary powder.  It is clear from the same that the claims about removal of oil and tea stains are completely unsubstantiated. The CCC concluded that the claim read in conjunction with the visual depiction is misleading by implication.

     

    Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd, in its  TVC of Royal  Stag  – Mega  Cricket showed the visuals of the cricketer Harbhajan Singh on his first day in a ball bearing factory. He is shown saying, “Have I made it large?” As per the complaint, the TVC begins with the repeated use of the word “large”, which is normally referred to as a measure of liquor and by associating it with Royal Stag, which is a liquor brand, the TVC is an overt insinuation aimed at conjuring up the image of a liquor brand and therefore an indirect and surrogate advertisement for liquor. Despite having approvals from CBFC for using the slogan, the CCC concluded that the TVC uses the brand name and logo of a liquor product. The advertisement contravened Chapter III.6 (c) (d) of the ASCI Code. Also, as the TVC violated the Rule 7(2) (viii) (A) of The Cable Television Network Rules 1994, the TVC is in breach of the law and contravened Chapter III.4 of the ASCI Code.  The complaint was upheld.

     

    As per McDowell’s No.1 Platinum Soda advertisement which begins with the visuals of a Sikh boy resembling cricketer Harbhajan Singh shown sitting on a large ball and saying, “Have I made it large”.  Then they show the arrival of his father and upbraiding him for making a large ball instead of ball bearings. This is followed by cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s dialogue, which goes on to say, “Zindagi mein kuchh karna hai to large chhodo. Kuchh alag karo, yaar. McDowell’s No.1 Platinum Soda. No.1 Spirit of Leadership”.  The TVC is a clever ploy of capitalizing on the image of a liquor brand sought to be created in the TVC of “Royal Stag – Mega Cricket”, and then extrapolating it with another liquor brand “McDowell”.   The use of the word “Spirit” in its tag line further enhances the image of the liquor brand and therefore the TVC is an indirect and surrogate advertisement for liquor. The complaint was upheld.

     

    One of the Ford Figo advertisements stated that the “Ford Figo leaves its competition far behind”, and has made comparison of Figo Advantage with Hyundai i10 in terms of space and maintenance. The facts used in the advertisement were based on Ford’s internal Benchmarking study, and had no independent support. The advertisement was deemed as misleading the consumers by the CCC which concluded that the claims made in the advertisement were not substantiated on the basis of an independent survey.

     

    General Motors India Pvt. Ltd.’s TVC of Chevrolet Beat Diesel adopted the tagline of “India’s most fuel efficient car”, and have, with a view to mislead the consumers, tried to justify the same by relying upon a stray comment in an article published in ‘Autocar India’ of August 2011 issue, whereby the magazine by its own non-standard method tried to give a general sense to consumers of city driving fuel efficiency of the ‘Beat Diesel’.  The Beat Diesel advertisement uses the tagline which is same as that used by “Indica eV2” in their advertisement of being “India’s most fuel efficient car”.  This fuel efficiency claim is backed by ARAI who have certified ‘Indica eV2″. Apart from plagiarism, the advertisement is disparaging the ‘Indica eV2’. The CCC concluded that the claim was not backed by the data of ARAI. This part of the complaint was upheld.

     

    Titan’s Fast Track Watches advertisement showed a young woman taking off her innerwear (bra) from underneath her T-shirt and holding it out as if to discard it.  The advertisement is promoting a new offer of 20% off on watches. The advertisement is offensive to women, damaging young minds, and totally unrelated to the subject of the advertisement.   The CCC concluded that the depiction of the young woman is likely, in the light of generally prevailing standards of decency and propriety, to cause grave or widespread offence and hence the complaint was upheld.

     

    During these two months, the CCC also received complaints against Samsung ACs, Royal Hygiene Care Pvt Ltd’s She Comfort, Hindustan Unilever’s Pureit Marvella eWater Purifier, IMS  Learning  Resources  Pvt  Ltd, Hardcastle Restaurant’s McDonald’s, L’Oreal India’s Garneir Fructis, Hindustan Unilver’s Clinic All Clear and Tata Indicom amongst others as these advertisements did not contravene ASCI’s codes or guidelines.

     

     

  • In the Regional Round of Employer Branding Awards for West, GroupM won five of the 10 awards in the Organisational Category

    GroupM HR Team frontrunners for 6th Regional Employer Branding Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    Adding to an already exhilarating show on the awards front in 2011, GroupM also emerged as the frontrunner in the western regional round of Employer Branding Awards held at Indira Group of Institutes last week.

     

    The team talent from GroupM walked away with a total of five awards, making them the favourites for the finals to be staged in February 2012.

     

    The Employer Branding Institute is an organization that recognizes the best practices in HR employer branding and work of outstanding professionals who are contributing to talent development, management and innovations.

     

    Every year a Top Employer Brand list is released and in the run-up to the World HRD Congress, regional rounds are held in every metro city before the final National Round in Mumbai.

     

    In the Regional Round for West, GroupM won five of the 10 awards in the Organisational Category.

     

    Commenting on the wins, Gaurav Hirey, Human Resource Head, GroupM – South Asia, said: “The consistency at which we have been winning awards clearly reflects GroupM’s commitment to our people. We are now closer to our objective of being not just the best place to work, but the place where the best work.”

     

    The five awards that the agency bagged included Award for Talent Management, Award for HR strategy in line with Business, Award for Innovation Retention Strategy, Award for Excellence in Training, and Award for Innovation in Career Development.

  • LinOpinion will partner with Polaris to develop the best communications route to assist the brand's foray into the Indian market

    Polaris India appoints LinOpinion as PR partner

    By A Correspondent

     

    LinOpinion, the PR division of Lowe LintasIndia, has added yet another powerhouse brand to its portfolio with Polaris India Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Polaris Industries INC.

     

    Polaris Industries is the Minnesota-based off-road vehicles company. It is a recognized leader in the production of innovative, high quality off-road vehicles. These include all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) for recreational and utility use, snowmobiles, military and government vehicles, motorcycles and on-road electric powered vehicles.

     

    LinOpinion will partner with Polaris to develop the best communications route to assist the brand’s foray into the Indian market. Although off-roading as a concept is still in a nascent stage inIndia, Polaris, with their sector expertise and world-class products, are all set to take the Indian market by storm.

     

    “We are very confident that through our association with LinOpinion and their expertise we will be able to create a distinctive identity for the brand. Our aim is to build awareness not only for the brand but the entire category. We are confident of LinOpinion’s strategy and we look forward to a strong and long-term relationship with them,” said Mr. Pankaj Dubey, Managing Director, Polaris India Pvt. Ltd.

     

    “We are extremely proud and eagerly look forward to work with a prestigious brand like Polaris India. This feeds into our objective to represent the world’s best brands. We hope to partner the brand by supporting them with their business and communication objectives,” said Mr. Ameer Ismail, Executive Director, Lowe Lintas.

     

    LinOpinion, the public relations division of Lowe Lintas, was established in 1994. It is the exclusive Indian affiliate of Golin Harris, the leading international PR firm of the Interpublic Group. It provides brand image consultancy to leading MNC and Indian companies.

  • IRS 2011 Q3: TOI still the No1 newspaper, India Today lead the magazines pack

    Top 10 English Dailies:

     

    Besides Times of India and Hindustan Times, all the other English Dailies in the top 10 have witnessed growth in their AIR (Average Issue Readership) figures. The decline in Times of India and Hindustan Times AIR is however marginal.

     

    Top 10 English Magazines:

     

    Five out of the top 10 magazines, namely General Knowledge Today, Readers Digest, Competition Success Review, Star Dust and Business Today saw growth in their AIR. General Knowledge Today climbed up to number two with a growth of 11.26 per cent whereas Readers Digest slipped to number three and remained stagnant in their readership.

     

    All figures are in Average Issue Readership. Like media buyers, MxMIndia only endorses Average Issue Readership as the currency for readership measurement. Please note that these are only topline figures which have officially been supplied to the media. Sensible buying and planning happens when more data is available.

  • IRS 2011 Q3: Top three Hindi dailies witness growth in AIR

    Top 10 Hindi Dailies:

     

    There is no change in the pecking order here. Dainik Jagran rules, Bhaskar is second and Hindustan is third, and all three have shown marginal growth in IRS 2011 Q3 as compared to IRS 2011 Q2. Amar Ujala, Rajasthan Patrika, Punjab Kesari occupy the fourth, fifth and sixth slot respectively. Amar Ujala, Rajasthan Patrika, Punjab Kesari, Navbharat Times and Nai Dunia are the only publications in the top 10 Hindi Dailies to have shown negative growth in their Average Issue Readership (AIR). Patrika, a new entrant at the tenth spot, emerged as the fastest growing Hindi Daily with a  14.31 per cent growth.

     

    Top 10 Hindi Magazines:

     

    Most of the top 10 Hindi Magazines showed decline in their AIR figures. Pratiyogita Darpan and Saras Salil were the top two magazines, but their AIR declined marginally in IRS Q3 2011. Ranked third Meri Saheli, is the only Hindi Magazine in the top five to have witnessed growth. The other Hindi Magazines to have witnessed some growth in their AIR are Vanitha and Nirogdham.

     

    India Today, ranked five, is the only Hindi weekly to have established itself among the top 10 Hindi Magazines. With an AIR of 11,16,000 in IRS 2011 Q3 as compared to an AIR of 11,44,000 in IRS 2011 Q2, it saw a decline of 2.45 per cent.

     

    All figures are in Average Issue Readership. Like media buyers, MxMIndia only endorses Average Issue Readership as the currency for readership measurement. Please note that these are only topline figures which have officially been supplied to the media. Sensible buying and planning happens when more data is available.

  • Wide acceptance and understanding of the digital medium within the fraternity will lead to better returns

    The Anchor: 5 wishes for Santa to augment Digital growth in the country

    By Sameer Pitalwalla

     

     

    #1 Cheap android tablets taking off
    The first generation of Android 2.3+ tablets between $35 – $100, that feature 3G + Wifi and hopefully LTE radio’s by the end of the year. If that happens, the market will open like the way it has for smart-phones.

     

    #2 3G to mature and the first leg of LTE to roll out across major metros

    3G has plenty of issues, including price and connectivity, but hopefully it will grab more share from the current Edge/GPRS data market as it matures. The much awaited rollout of LTE services should begin in metros later in the year.

     

    #3 YouTube to continue its dominance

    With three media companies working on their own hulu’esque product intended to rival Youtube, Youtube itself will continue to grow in traffic and revenue as it gobbles up more premium content, Live TV and events.

     

    #4 Facebook to emerge as a platform for premium content

    Facebook has already done this with music (Spotify) and being the second largest destination in the world for video after Youtube, one would expect they will begin pushing towards leveraging their platform for content owners to distribute and monetize their content. They certainly have the reach and the ecosystem to pull of what could be an incredible media experience.

     

    #5 More Ad Money

    With 120 million internet users, it’s about time we breach the 1-2% of all ad money being allocated to digital. Even if the ad industry grows 50% on its current base in this market scenario, it will open up a lot more innovation in the digital media landscape.

     

     

    Sameer Pitalwalla is Senior Vice President, UTV Interactive and Business Head, Celebrity and Video

  • IRS 2011 Q3: Malayala Manorama and Vanitha top language daily and magazine

    Top 10 Language Dailies:

    Malayalam daily, Malayala Manorama has maintained its leadership position among the language dailies, with a marginal decline of 0.50 per cent in IRS 2011 Q3 as against IRS 2011 Q2. A distant second is Daily Thanthi which grew 2.15 per cent in Q3 2011 from IRS 2011 Q2. Daily Thanthi, Eenadu, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Dinakaran and Sakshi are the five Language dailies to have witnessed growth in IRS 2011 Q3 as compared to the AIR figures in IRS 2011 Q2.

     

    While Daily Thanthi and Dinakaran are the only Tamil dailies in the top 10 rankings, both these language dailies have witnessed growth in AIR when we compare IRS 2011 Q3 as against IRS 2011 Q2. The Malayalam dailies, Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi, ranked one and four respectively, witnessed marginal decline in readership.

     

    Top 10 Language Magazines:

    The language magazines may bring some cheer in the magazine community as six of the top ten language magazines have witnessed growth in readership. Karmakshetra, Mathrubhumi Arogya Masika, Karmasangsthaan, Balarama, Mathrubhumi Thozhil Vartha and Kungumam have witnessed growth. Karmakshetra and Karmasangsthaan, both Bengali weeklies, witnessed a double digit growth of 14.30 per cent and 15.85 per cent respectively.

  • Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on primetime news and in the papers the morning after

    Freaking News: Enough of Team Anna’s high-handed ways

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    There is no greater joy for the newsperson than when you can successfully create a controversy out of very little. So first you have a demand for India’s highest civilian award to be given to India’s great cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. This continues for some years and every time the awards are about to announced, we have breathless speculation on TV about whether Tendulkar is going to get it this year or not. Where TV goes, can the rest of the media be far behind? Experts and fans all have their say. I have no idea what Tendulkar himself thinks; I don’t even know if anyone bothered to ask him or if he deigned to answer. Tendulkar’s views are insignificant here. It’s all about we the people.

     

    Now it turns out that sportspersons were never eligible anyway. So the law is changed to allow sportspersons and entertainers. And immediately, we are in the middle of another controversy. Whether sportspersons and entertainers are deserving or not, whether Sachin is deserving or not, should Dhyanchand get it before Sachin… here we go again.

     

    **

     

    MxmIndia is going into yearender mode, the results of which will be up soon. I am surprised to see that newspapers and magazines are waiting so long though – I would have expected precursors by now. The world has become so fast that usually we celebrate Diwali at Ganpati and Christmas at Diwali! Newsx is doing a countdown of the biggest news stories of the year, so look like someone somewhere has been looking at the calendar.

     

    **

     

    The situation in Egypt seems to be getting worse, as protestors continue expressing their outrage against the military establishment. Indian news however does not see the conflict in the Middle East as more than a story on the international pages and TV is hard-pressed to fit it in between Anna Hazare and Katrina Kaif’s childhood diet. I heard all about it this morning, I kid you not!

     

    **

     

    The fight over a version of the Gita being banned in Siberia gave TV a wonderful opportunity to pull out its ultra-nationalistic flag. But all interested parties have been foiled in fascinating ways. The Russian ambassador promptly damned the banning. The Yadav-run parties created a bigger ruckus over the issue than the Hindutva-based parties. And the Government of India stated that it had been on the case from Day One. Talk about destroying one more round of nation-wide hysteria.

     

    **

     

    We will know later today the latest on the Lokpal-Anna Hazare soap opera, so I’m leaving that till tomorrow. But here’s from an Indian Express edit on the anti-corruption campaign, “The point is, given what we know of them, Team Anna must not be allowed to set the terms any more. They do not own the cause of the Lokpal or that of integrity in public life. The upcoming debate must consider the bill on its own terms, without heeding the chants from Hazare’s crowds.”

     

    I have a request to add to that sentiment: can the TVwallahs please not exaggerate the crowds and pretend that a gathering of 50,000 people is the same as 50 million?