MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • Tang, introduced last year in India through Cadbury India, part of Kraft Foods, has launched the thick Tang Mango flavour in India.

    Tang introduces mango flavour

    By A Correspondent

     

    Come summer and everyone looks forward to the King of Fruits – juicy mangoes. Tang, introduced last year in India through Cadbury India, part of Kraft Foods, has launched the thick Tang Mango flavour in India. Delicious, refreshing and rich with the taste of mangoes, Tang Mango will give consumers the experience of a juicy mango-flavoured beverage.

     

    Convenient, affordable and available in delicious flavours, Tang provides mothers with an opportunity to make a quick, refreshing drink for their children by just adding water. Tang also contains vitamins A, B and C; and Iron that normally get depleted during the course of a hectic day in the life of today’s children.

     

    Announcing the new mango variant, Narayan Sundararaman – Director, Powdered Beverages, Gum & Candy – Kraft Foods, said, “We are extremely happy to announce the launch of Tang Mango, the first product in the Indian powdered beverage category in a unique thick format. Our consumer research showed that consumers prefer mango drinks that are thick, pulpy and give them the mango flavour and experience. Tang Mango has been developed in line with consumer expectations of consuming a thick and juicy mango flavoured beverage.”

     

    He further added, “We launched the ‘made-in-India’ Tang last year and the consumer response has been very good. We are working towards a bank of flavours that appeal to local tastes. We believe consumers are going to love Tang Mango and the experience that comes with it.”

     

    Tang Mango will be introduced through a new TVC campaign. Developed by Bates, the campaign is based on the theme of “Surprising Thickness” creatively rendered as ‘isse jaldi se kha jao’– “you will need to eat this”, playing closely on the experience of consuming a mango.

     

    Developed to suit the Indian palate, Tang Mango will be available in retail stores across the country in two pack sizes of 200 grams for Rs 40 and 500 grams for Rs 85.

     

  • Global analytics firm AbsolutData Research & Analytics has recently expanded its top management team in India. The new additions to the team will operate out of the Gurgaon, India office of AbsolutData.

    AbsolutData expands Senior Management team in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Global analytics firm AbsolutData Research & Analytics has recently expanded its top management team in India. The new additions to the team will operate out of the Gurgaon, India office of AbsolutData.  A company statement said the expansion is a crucial step forward in supporting the company’s aggressive growth plans for its business activities globally.

     

    Sundar Ramaswamy has joined as Chief Operating Officer. He has close to 15 years of experience across consulting, off-shoring and outsourcing. Prior to joining AbsolutData, he led the Global Analytics capability at McKinsey and Company, and before that close to seven years at Accenture as consultant.

     

    Abishek Sawhny has joined as Chief Financial Officer. He has over 20 years of work experience across consulting and industry in England, India and US.  His experience ranges from strategy consulting, cross border company purchase and sale, diligence, funding, ERP, tax and audit.  He was CEO of Tensys, USA, CFO at RMS, and has worked at Arthur Andersen, Tilda, TeamCube, Wagner & Partners, Morgan Brown & Spofforth.

     

    Rahul Monie has joined as Chief Technology Officer.  He has 22 years of experience across IT business solutions, ERP, data center services, product development, etc. He has successfully run technology startups and managed P&Ls in large organisations. He was Director Engineering at Firstrain, a US based leading provider of search-driven research applications. Prior to that he was at Comsat Max involved with Design, Network Security, Enterprise Data Centres for managed IT infrastructure and outsourcing services. He was at Microsoft Consulting Services leading North & East India branches and before that leading technology at The British Council for SAARC region.

     

    AbsolutData CEO Anil Kaul said, “AbsolutData has been a leading player in providing Marketing Analytics services to global organizations. With this expansion of the India team, we are adding significant and broad industry experience, business delivery skills and senior leadership to our management team. I am very pleased to welcome the addition of Sundar, Abishek and Rahul to the AbsolutData team”.

     

    Founded in 2001, AbsolutData is a global consulting oriented analytics firm headquartered in San Francisco.

     

  • New LinkedIn research reveals seventy-nine percent of Indian professionals believe in career luck.

    LinkedIn survey shows luck helps career, Indians believe

    By A Correspondent

     

    Professional network LinkedIn has released data about global professionals’ perceptions of the role Lady Luck has played in their career trajectory.

     

    LinkedIn has more than 150 million members worldwide and over 14 million in India.

     

    LinkedIn surveyed more than 7,000 professionals globally and found that 84 percent of professionals do believe in career luck. Forty-eight percent consider themselves to have better luck in their careers, compared to other professionals.

     

    Seventy-nine percent of the more than 500 professionals surveyed in India believe in career luck. Out of the fifteen countries in which LinkedIn surveyed professionals, India ranked as the fourteenth-luckiest country. Thirty-six percent of survey respondents report feeling slightly luckier, or much luckier, than other professionals.

     

    For professionals in India, the top five most important factors that contribute to luck are:

    • Learning from your mistakes
    • Having a strong work ethic
    • Having strong communication skills
    • Striving to be the best at what you do
    • Having strong technical skills

    Globally, the top five most important factors that contribute to luck are:

    • Having strong communications skills
    • Being flexible
    • Having a strong work ethic
    • Acting on opportunities
    • Having a strong network

    India is the only country with “Having strong technical skills” in its list of the top five factors contributing to career luck.

     

    “Progressing in their careers and moving up the organizational ladder is crucial for professionals across all levels. The objective of this survey was to discover how professionals perceive luck in their career growth,” said Hari V. Krishnan, Country Manager, LinkedIn India.

     

  • Slowing excitement levels, consumer fatigue, and Indian players' performances… some of the reasons IPL needs to look sharp, feels Ashish Bhasin.

    4 reasons why IPL ratings & revenue won’t be better this year

    By Ashish Bhasin

     

    #1 There has been an overdose of cricket. Immediately after the World Cup last year, which was like a climax, we had the IPL and subsequent to that we had nearly continuous cricket, causing some amount of fatigue in consumers.

     

    #2 Viewership and interest in cricket in India is directly proportionate to the performance of the Indian cricket team. Given the disastrous tour of England, followed by a similarly disastrous tour of Australia, the Indian cricket team’s performance perhaps is at its lowest in the past several years and I feel this will impact cricket in general. Even though IPL is not directly an Indian team tournament, most of the players involved are in the IPL and hence the overall interest gets impacted.

     

    #3 Rightly or wrongly, I think the best days of the IPL were when Lalit Modi was running it because of the hype and excitement he was able to create around it. Subsequent to that the journey has only been downhill for IPL. Hence I feel that will continue for a while, until something new is done to reinvent this tournament and regenerate interest.

     

    #4 Perhaps, because of some of the reasons given above, the Indian consumer has started acknowledging that other sports also exist in the world, like F1, hockey, wrestling and so on. As these sports catch on, IPL will be affected.

     

    Ashish Bhasin is the Chairman India & CEO South East Asia – Aegis Media.

     

  • The Indian Broadcasting Foundation has released an in-depth report on the Socio-Economic Impact of Television at FICCI Frames 2012 which shows how television helps viewers live better lives.

    @FICCI-Frames 2012: TV influences life: IBF study

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has released an in-depth report on the Socio-Economic Impact of Television at FICCI Frames 2012. The IBF has conducted an extensive research in 3 phases to measure the impact of Television on Indian viewers. In the first phase, qualitative research was conducted across 20 focus groups to identify various forms in which television impacts the audience. This information was used to design the questionnaire for the second phase of the research, in which 5400 respondents were interviewed in the 7-60 years age group across 18 cities. They opined on 54 different attributes that encompassed the impact of television on their lives. The third phase of the research was a set of 25 in-depth interviews that amplified the learnings of the previous two phases. This enormous study spanned across 6 months. The research was facilitated by Ormax Media.

     

    The research findings are published in a formal documentthat is aptly named ‘Posi-TV-ity’. This in-depth report bears testimony to the overwhelmingly positive impact of television on audiences across the country.

     

    Uday Shankar, President, IBF emphasized, “Posi-TV-ity showcases the wide-ranging impact of Television beyond its conventionally understood & accepted role of being an entertainment destination. Today, television has moved ahead to offer more… a lot more. It in fact impacts the way India thinks and lives. Its impact on the socio-economic fabric of our country is indelible”.

     

    Today, television gone beyond entertainment and has become a medium that influences public opinion and stirs up sentiments. Everything that one sees on television has an impact and to measure that impact, this extensive study has been conducted by IBF. In this process of understanding the impact, the study has shattered several myths associated with television that were created due to stereotypes associated with it.

     

    In particular, Posi-TV-ity identifies 7 key roles that television plays in the life of a viewer. The study validates and substantiates these roles and impact of television in the country:

     

    Education – Respondents agreed that TV has helped them take more informed career decisions, financial decision and also learn new things that they could apply to their jobs.

     

    Personality Development – Viewers agreed that TV boosted their confidence, helped them become all-rounders and also widened their thinking.

     

    Social Interaction -Audience today feel that TV has helped them in having a better relationship with in-laws, keeping families together in today’s changing world, and strike a balance between Indian culture & westernization.

     

    Exposure – Viewers feel TV keeps them updated on the latest fashion & trends, latest products and also aids their purchase decisions. TV also keeps them informed about health related issues.

     

    Awakening – Respondents felt TV increases awareness of women’s rights, social issues, and rights as a citizen of India as well.

     

    Opportunity -It is widely believed that TV also gives opportunities to people from all over the country to showcase their talent, makes viewers feel closer to celebrities!

     

    Rejuvenation – Many viewers feel that TV makes sure that there is not a single boring or dull moment in their lives.

     

    Shailesh Kapoor, CEO, Ormax Media Pvt Ltd added, “The role television plays in the life of the Indian viewer is grossly underrated. This research identifies seven distinct roles of television, beyond entertainment. Each of these roles have a deep socio-economic or psychological connect with the viewers’ life. The research offers a new way of looking at the medium, in context of today’s India.”

     

  • Rakesh Jariwala, partner and tax expert, Ernst & Young and one of the finest minds in determining the taxing truths for the Indian media and entertainment sector, presents his wishlist.

    Special for MxMIndia: Budget Wishlist for Media

    By Rakesh Jariwala

     

    The key issues affecting the sector and the wishlist from the Budget:

    – High entertainment tax burden on industry that showcases Indian art and culture to the world is totally unjustified.  Hence, the entertainment tax structure across the country should be rationalized by bringing down rates of entertainment taxes in important states like Maharashtra, Delhi, UP, West Bengal, Gujarat, Haryana and others.

     

    – Film producer generates revenues from theatrical and non-theatrical rights both of which are liable to service tax.  Separately, various State Governments classify ‘copyright’ as goods thereby levying Value Added Tax on transfer/ licensing of copyright on non theatrical streams.  To prevent multiple taxation, the government should exempt ‘copyright in theatrical distribution of cinematograph films’ from service tax levy and continue this exemption in the negative list.

     

    – The Government should take a cue from steps taken by federal/ state governments across the world such as Singapore, UK, Germany, South Africa and the US and incentivize the film industry through a well defined plan, for both, content creation and infrastructure. This will help the industry parallel its western counterpart and showcase Indian creative talents to the world.

     

    – The concessional rate of 10 percent on gross basis, as prevalent for non-resident sportsperson for participation in any sport in India should be extended for taxation of foreign artists, performers and entertainers.

     

    – An alternate mechanism for obtaining Income-tax Clearance Certificate (‘TCC’) for clearance or a monetary threshold for triggering TCC provisions is provided as the current set up provisions and administrative burden discourages foreign talent to shoot in India.

     

    – A clarification from the government that the payment for grant of distribution rights to foreign telecasting companies is not for the ‘copyright’ in the content and hence, is not in the nature of royalty thereby preventing protracted litigation.

     

    – Entry into premises such as films, theaters, amusement parks could be liable to service tax under the negative list based service tax legislation.  Since these activities are already liable to high entertainment taxes by states, entry into premise where entertainment is held should be excluded from service tax levy.

     

    – The Government should grant relief from levy and collection of service tax on subscription charges received by cable operators and DTH operators since these charges are already subject to entertainment tax.

     

    – The weighted deduction (ie deduction for 200 percent of the qualifying expenditure incurred on in-house research and development) under Section 35(2AB) of the Income-tax Act should be made available to products as well as production services companies.

     

    Rakesh Jariwala is Partner and Tax Expert, Ernst & Young. Please log on to mxmindia.com on Saturday, March 17 for a special budget edition.

     

  • Nine Indian entries across seven categories made it to the shortlist for the Festival of Media Montreux

    9 Indian entries in Festival of Media Montreux shortlist

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Festival of Media Global Awards 2012 received a record number of entries, with over 870 entries, from more than 50 countries. They celebrate the very best in media thinking from around the world and are a platform to promote the best in class, rewarding creativity and innovation that is at the very heart of effective media communications. India has had its share of mentions in the shortlist. Here goes:

     

    Best Communications Strategy

    Title: Change the game

    Company: Mindshare

    Brand: Pepsi

     

    Title: Making of a superstar

    Company: Mindshare

    Brand: Lux

     

    Best Contribution to a Campaign by a Media Owner

    Title: Making of a superstar

    Company: Gemini TV

    Brand: Lux

    Other credits: Mindshare

     

    Best Entertainment Platform

    Title: Little big film maker

    Company: Mindshare

    Brand: Surf Excel

    Other credits: Newscorp

     

    Best Use of Content

    Title: Little big film maker

    Company: Mindshare

    Brand: Surf Excel

    Other credits: Newscorp

     

    Best Use of Emerging Technology

    Title: Customising Technology to create world’s first light powered Facebook app, mobile app and billboard!

    Company: Maxus Bangalore

    Brand: Titan HTSE

    Other Credits: Titan, KRDS, Kinetic

     

    Title: Technology helped save 100,000 lives

    Company: Maxus

    Brand: Vodafone India

     

    Best Creative Use of Media

    Title: Auto rickshaws

    Company: Mediacom India

    Brand: Duracell

    Other credits: Mediacom India

     

    The Effectiveness Award

    Title: It’s a great time to be a family

    Company: Lodestar UM

    Brand: Microsoft

    Other credits: Excel Entertainment, Turner International, Star Plus

     

    In its sixth year, The Festival of Media 2012 will return to the Montreux, Switzerland on April 15-17, 2012. Billed as the world’s first celebration of media creativity and innovation, the Festival of Media sees global media specialists network with senior marketers, media owners and thought-leaders, to do business and debate the many changes in media that are altering advertising landscapes worldwide.

     

  • Anuj Gandhi to take charge as Group Director, Distribution & New business development

    Anuj Gandhi joins Network 18, to head distribution & biz dev

    Distribution veteran Anuj Gandhi has joined Network18 as Group Director, Distribution & New business development, with immediate effect.

     

    Mr Gandhi brings with him almost two decades of rich broadcast experience, across a variety of mandates including leadership roles at some of India’s leading distribution companies and broadcast networks.

     

    Speaking on this development, Mr B Sai Kumar, Group CEO, Network18 said: “Broadcast digitization and growth in new media will cause paradigm shifts in how media brands create value in the future. Our bouquet of channels straddling genres from news and entertainment to kids, music, factual entertainment etc across national and regional spaces is uniquely placed to make the most of this opportunity and we are delighted to have Anuj on board to drive it. His experience & understanding of broadcasting and distribution in India and his leadership record is impeccable, positioning him well for this task”

     

    Added Mr Gandhi: “Network18 is a benchmark player in the broadcast and new media space in India and it is now at a very exciting stage in its journey. I look forward to being part of it at such a momentous time and hope to work closely with the team to unlock value for our brands in an increasingly digitized environment”

     

  • Following the announcement of Micromax bagging the title sponsorship of the Asia Cup 2012, leading power brands Standard Chartered, Jaypee Cements, Daikin, Indian Oil and Bangladesh Tourism have signed up as the five official partners.

    Micromax Asia Cup 2012 sponsor family grows

    By A Correspondent

     

    Following the announcement of Micromax bagging the title sponsorship of the Asia Cup 2012, leading power brands like Standard Chartered, Jaypee Cements, Daikin, Indian Oil and Bangladesh Tourism have signed up as the five official partners.

     

    Yannick Colaco, COO Nimbus Sport said, “I am delighted to announce a stellar sponsor family for the Micromax Asia Cup 2012. There is no doubt that this is by far the biggest ODI tournament this year. All our commercial partners see tremendous value in associating with the blockbuster that will see the World Cup rivalry among India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka resume once again.”

     

    Nimbus Sport has signed a host of international distribution deals to maximize global reach. The various distribution partners are:

     

     

    No Partners Region
    1 Neo Cricket Indian Sub Continent, US, Canada, UAE, Singapore, North Africa, Philippines & Hong Kong
    2 Willow TV US & Canada
    3 Zee UK & Europe
    4 Super Sports South Africa
    5 PTC Pakistan
    6 BTV Bangladesh
    7 Carlton Sri Lanka
    8 Setanta Australia Australia
  • Yes, it's Budget Day and while you tune into the various Budget Day specials, here's our list of five things which you'll never find the Finance Minister do.

    5 things you will never see any FM announcing in the Budget

    By A N Chorrea

     

    Yes, it’s Budget Day and while you tune into the various Budget Day specials, here’s our list of five things which you’ll never find the Finance Minister do.

     

    1. Reduce levies on cigarette: Alcohol may have seen some rationalization thanks to various international policies, but taxes on the cancer stick never goes down. Rightly so?

    2. Service tax net being narrowed: No way! If your service falls under a category which can be defined to not fall under any listed until now, be sure your celebrations won’t be endless. The FM’s folks keep widening the net every year.

    3. Dramatic reduction in income tax: Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Will never happen, even though every one tries all tricks in the game to duck direct taxes

    4. Make some really sound economic decisions. Remember, the Budget is as much a political document as it’s economic. And when you have in your Finance Minister also your government’s Political Troubleshooter #1, what can you expect.

    5. Abolish Budget speeches. It took many years after the British left us to bring the presentation to the forenoon. Now, it might make perfect sense to do away with the Budget, but no one’s complaining. Not the media definitely, as it’s one tamasha we all love… it helps up ratings and readership. And earn some good revenues.

     

    A N Chorrea is a seasoned media-watcher writing under a pseudonym

     

  • The slow death of console gaming and growing dominance of mobile gaming was among the issues discussed at the session on Gaming.

    @FF12: ‘Console gaming in India is in big trouble’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Console gaming today has become only an urban phenomenon, in the small towns it is the mobiles which has become a primary source of entertainment. Women too in large numbers are exploring gaming and access to mobile gaming in India is expected to further increase. In a country like India, content needs to be contextually and culturally relevant. These were some of the points raised at the Day 2 session of FICCI Frames 2012 – ‘From East to West: The Next Big Thing in Gaming.’

     

    This session was moderated by Mr Rajesh Rao, Founder and CEO, Dhruva Interactive. The panel members included, Mr Jithin Rao, Producer with Ubisoft; Mr Ray Sharma, Founder and CEO, XMG Studio Inc;  Mr Howard Donaldson, President, DigiBC; Mr Vishal Gondal, Founder and CEO IndiaGames; and Mr Ninad Chhaya, COO, Playcaso.

     

    One of the heated topic during this session was the slow death of console gaming and how mobile gaming will play a dominant role. Unlike Mr Ray who strongly believed that the Console market was in deep trouble and that there is a massive value shift happening from console to mobile gaming, his co-panelists Mr Jithin Rao and Mr Howard Donaldson believed that console gaming was here to stay and could still play a dominant role in the Country. “I don’t see the console market going away, it may still have a dominant presence despite the ongoing digital revolution” said Mr Donaldson. Mr Rao of Ubisoft said, “I don’t see console gaming going away even in the next five years because there are still hard core gamers in India. In fact we believe that every platform has its own experience to share with the consumer whether it is big screen or small.”

     

    Another interesting points raised during the session was the importance of mobile in the rapid growth of gaming in India. According to Mr Chhaya, “The change has been that phones are getting smarter. Consoles have become more of an urban phenomenon but, in smaller towns it is the mobile phones which have become major source of entertainment. The people in small towns are fast adapting to mobile internet. Internet on access through mobile is fast growing and the change which has come is that people have not only become more aware but, the fact that the apps system has also changed the entire environment. I would say for the better.”

     

    Mr Gondal observed, “Even women are exploring gaming in a big way. We are expecting four to five million Indians accessing Internet from mobile and expecting atleast 50 per cent of them playing games. In a market like India, local IP will do much better that global. On the production values, consumers are looking at higher production values with the best of the breed of contents and I believe that the consumers will not settle for anything less.”

     

    Mr Rajesh Rao summed up the session stating that while there are many ideas and lots of opportunities and potential in the market, the industry needs to explore them.

     

  • Rahul Kishore has joined Mogae Media as Senior Vice President, Priority Projects. He will work with Gaurav Luthra, Chief Business Officer of the company.

    Rahul Kishore joins Mogae as Senior VP, Priority Projects

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rahul Kishore has joined Mogae Media as Senior Vice President, Priority Projects. He moves from Vivaki where he worked with the Zenith Optimedia team.

     

    A career entrepreneur, Mr Kishore ran his own business for well over 20 years before changing tack in 2008 when he joined the exchange4media group as Business Head and later also as Editorial Adviser. An alumnus of St. Stephens College, Delhi, Mr Kishore’s stint at ZO/Vivaki centred around getting closer to the trading currency and purposive evaluation of media.

     

    “Rahul has entrepreneurial grit and drive. We need loads of that at Mogae,” said Ms Tanya Goyal, Executive Director of Mogae Media. “Rahul is being tasked to look at large opportunity blocks that can benefit from mobile as a medium. We hope he will be able to open up new vistas of opportunity for the company.”

     

    “Mobile has great opportunity. I am happy to be at the forefront of a ‘new’ medium that reaches 800 million consumers in India,” said Mr Kishore. “Mogae is a great new venture … I hope we create a new market with our efforts here. The response has been very encouraging and in the little time we’ve had, we have locked in two high-profile FMCG giants amongst our advertisers,” he added.

     

    In recent weeks, Mogae Media has announced many senior level appointments, including Messrs Tusshar Dhingra (from BIG Cinemas), Atishi Pradhan (from Contract) and Pavan Chandra (from Vivaki). Mr Kishore will work with Mr Gaurav Luthra, Chief Business Officer of the company.

     

    Mogae Media is the sole and exclusive monetization partners of telecom operator Airtel. Veteran mediaperson Mr Sandeep Goyal set up this new venture in January 2012.