MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • Riding on the last year's success, ToppsIndiahas once again come out with Cricket Attax 2 to coincide with the IPL 5

    Will Cricket Attax be a hit once again?

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    In its first outing, Cricket Attax, the trading cards on Season 4 of IPL had become a rage among the kids. In fact, its success exceeded the expectation of Topps India Sports & Entertainment Company, the company that brought out the Cricket Attax playing cards.

     

    However, the cards became somewhat a religion especially among the 6-13-years-old, who were busy stocking and trading a Sachin Tendulkar or Shane Warne. It is learnt that last year, the company made millions and that too in double digits. Riding on the last year’s success, ToppsIndiahas once again come out with Cricket Attax 2 to coincide with the IPL 5.

     

    Talking about the product, Sanjeev Katyal, Country Head – Topps India Sports & Entertainment Company, said: “This is a seasonal product and cashes on the popularity of IPL. Last year was our first year with Cricket Attax and, encouraged by the success, we are hoping that this year we will do anything between 3 to 5 times more in terms of numbers. Keeping this as the target, we have tripled our distribution and the cards are available in modern trade, stationery and even in mom n pop stores.”

     

    A pack of 5 cards is priced at Rs15 and as Mr Katyal points that pricing is the key here as affordability is something they kept in mind, considering the TG they are targeting. However, the cards have been given a fresh look as the children will be looking at new stats, thus giving a new look and feel to Cricket Attax 2.

     

    The company has also come out with a new campaign to reach out to its TG, primarily television-led and Mr Katyal points that they have been among the largest spenders on TV in the gaming and toys category on the kids channels last year and will continue with it even this year.

     

    Though refusing to put a number on their marketing spends, he divulged that they take around 800-900 GRPs.  He said, “For the TG that we want to connect with, TV gives us the maximum reach hence that’s the medium we ride on heavily.”

     

    The communication for the TVC states “Hum IPL dekhte hi Nahin Khelte bhi hai boss”, thus conveying that these trading cards give an opportunity to the kids to not just watch the game of cricket but play with their favourite players  and be part of the game. Interestingly, Topps has planned an on-ground championship for Cricket Attax, thus creating a parallel tournament with IPL. The tournament began on April 21 in 9 IPL playing cities and will go to semi-finals and finals. The company has planned new product launches too this year.

     

  • Recent media reports had suggested an equity infusion by Cinepolis, the world's fifth largest multiplex operator with more than 2,500 screens, into Big Cinemas

    Cinepolis in talks to pick stake in Big Cinemas

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mexican multiplex operator Cinepolis is in talks to pick up a significant stake in Reliance ADA Group’s Big Cinemas and later combine its Indian operations with that of Anil Ambani’s multiplex chain, a person involved in the negotiations said

     

    “Cinepolis wants to buy a meaningful stake in Big Cinemas,” the person told ET. The companies will consider merger of operations if the equity deal goes through, the person added on condition of anonymity.

     

    Recent media reports had suggested an equity infusion by Cinepolis, the world’s fifth largest multiplex operator with more than 2,500 screens, into Big Cinemas and a strategic alliance to acquire some of the latter’s cinema halls.

     

    Cinepolis India Joint Managing Director Deepak Marda denied any agreement to merge operations. “We continue to explore synergies with various multiplex operators, including the Reliance ADA group. But we have no such agreement in place,” he said in an email reply to a query. Mr Marda added Cinepolis is exploring good investment opportunities in the cinema exhibition space, including acquisition of companies.

     

    Reliance ADA Group officials refused to comment.

     

    Cinepolis entered India in 2009 and has so far launched 32 screens. Mr Marda said the company has signed contracts to set up more than 400 screens across various cities. An industry source, who did not want to be named, said Cinepolis is talking to other screen operators besides Big Cinemas and that some other acquisitions are likely to fructify faster.

     

    Cinepolis is getting aggressive in India because valuations in the business are dropping to more realistic levels from three years ago when deals happened at very high prices, the person said. “This is the perfect time to make acquisitions.”

     

    Such transactions take a long time to get finalised because the companies need to sort out contractual obligations with builders who lease cinema halls to the screen operators, the person said.

     

    Big Cinemas, the exhibition arm of Reliance MediaWorks, is the biggest movie hall operator in the country with more than 250 screens. It has over 500 screens worldwide.

     

    Other big players in the multiplex space include PVR Ltd, Inox Leisure and Fame, in which Inox has taken a majority stake.

     

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

  • The key objective of the survey was to factor in all the relevant components so that results reflect all the ideal key considerations of today's MBA aspirant

    Free Press releases annual B-school rankings

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Free Press group of newspapers has released its annual cluster rankings of Mumbai B-schools. The report is ranked in clusters and by specialisation in one of the most detailed surveys conducted.

     

    The specialisations covered are Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Operations, IT/Systems/Technology. The ranking survey uses proprietary ranking methodology that includes expert inputs from important stakeholders like the corporate sector, faculty, alumni, analysis of some publicly available information, and detailed feedback from academic experts, making this a powerful tool for students.

     

    The survey covers B-Schools based out of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane, offering a two-year, full-time postgraduate degree or diploma program in management studies. The key objective of the survey was to factor in all the relevant components in the research methodology deployed so that research results reflect all the ideal key considerations of today’s MBA aspirant.

     

    The 23-page report also has articles by senior educationists and counsellors. The full copy of the report can be downloaded at www.freepressjournal.in.

     

     

  • MEC India, Maxus Bangalore and Gemini TV win top honours at the prestigious Festival of Media 2012 awards held in Montreux, Switzerland on Tuesday

    Group M shines as MEC, Maxus, Gemini TV win laurels @ Festival of Media

    By A Correspondent

     

    Three Indian entries won top honours at the Festival of Media 2012 which concluded in Montreux, Switzerland. The awards were presented on Tuesday evening at a gala dinner. While the number of awards won may be only three, it’s noteworthy that these are all the main winners in their respective categories (see box). While two winners were from Group M agencies directly, the third was entered by Gemini TV, but went with a mention of Mindshare in ‘Other Credits’.

     

    Also, the categories themselves indicate the wealth of talent and expertise. MEC India’s ‘Night Hammer’ for Colgate was adjudged winner in ‘Creative Use of Media’.

     

     

     

    CREATIVE USE OF MEDIA AWARD

     

    WINNER

    Title: Night hammer

    Entering Company: MEC India

    Brand: Colgate

    Country: India

    Other credits: Bates India

     

    BEST CONTRIBUTION TO A CAMPAIGN BY A MEDIA OWNER

     

    WINNER

    Title: Making of a Superstar

    Entering Company: Gemini TV

    Brand: Lux

    Country: India

    Other credits: Mindshare

     

    BEST USE OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

     

    WINNER

    Title: Light powered media for light powered watch

    Entering Company: Maxus Bangalore

    Brand: Titan HTSE

    Country: India

    Other credits: Titan, KRDS, Kinetic

     

    In ‘Best Contribution to a Campaign by a Media Owner’, a trait that every media agency and advertiser yearns for in a media owner, Gemini TV won the award for ‘Making of a Superstar’ for Lux.

     

    The third award for India was won by Maxus (Maxus Bangalore, to be precise) for ‘Best Use of Emerging Technology’.  Maxus enterted ‘Light powered media for light powered watch’ for Titan HTSE to bag the honours.

     

    The Festival of Media awards are all about rewarding creativity and innovation that is at the heart of effective media communications. The jury, chaired by Mr Michael Donnelly, worldwide interactive marketing director, The Coca-Cola Company, spent two days reviewing the entries and coming to their decisions. “The work was truly inspiring across the board,” Mr Donnelly said in a statement on the Festival of Media website. “The category of Public Service Award was particularly poignant, as was the entries in the Experiential category. These and others, such as Best Use of Content and Creative Use of Media demonstrated outstanding use of strategic thinking and goal setting up front, and then tremendous collaboration amongst clients, agencies, publishers and in many cases technology partners to yield astounding results that will provide learning for all interested parties for many years to come.”

     

    See earlier report and shortlist at: 9 Indian entries in Festival of Media Montreux shortlist

    Link: http://www.mxmindia.com/2012/03/9-indian-entries-in-festival-of-media-montreux-shortlist

     

  • Mr. Kilambi has over 13 years of Marketing and Operations experience in the Media and FMCG industries

    Sriram Kilambi joins BloombergUTV as President

    By A Correspondent

     

    BloombergUTV, India’s premier business news channel announced the appointment of Mr Sriram Kilambi as the President of the channel with effect from April 16. Mr. Kilambi, an IIM-Bangalore alumnus, in his last assignment was Senior Vice-President and National Marketing Head for Radio Mirchi, the FM station of Entertainment Network India Ltd (ENIL). Mr. Kilambi has over 13 years of Marketing and Operations experience in the Media and FMCG industries.

     

    Mr. Harsha Subramaniam, Executive Producer, Bloomberg Television, welcoming Mr. Sriram Kilambi on-board, said: “Sriram is a terrific professional with a strong background in building brands across various platforms. We are excited to have him on board as BloombergUTV gears up to the next level of growth.”

     

    Mr. Kilambi, speaking about his new assignment as President BloombergUTV said: “I am quite excited to be on-board. The channel has made its mark in business news reporting and has seen excellent growth. It is a privilege to be able to work with the amazing team here and I am looking forward to being a part of a wonderful future.”

     

    Mr. Kilambi has earlier worked with Coca Cola India for seven years in various capacities and was instrumental in initiating and implementing key strategic plans for brands like ‘Coca-Cola’, ‘Kinley’ & ‘Georgia’. He also won two awards at the ‘2004 Coca-Cola Worldwide Marketing Awards’ for ‘Best Integrated Marketing Communications Program’ and ‘Consumer Insight with Greatest Business Impact’.

     

    Mr. Kilambi, 35, did his Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University before joining IIM-Bangalore for his post-graduation.

     

    BloombergUTV, India’s premier Business news channel is a strategic partnership between Bloomberg L.P., the global leader in business information, and the promoters (founders) of UTV,India’s leading integrated media and entertainment enterprise. With an enviable squad of Indian journalists, power of over 2500 professionals across the globe and a network of 145 bureaus, BloombergUTV is a product of local news gathering, production and distribution expertise combined with world class financial news capabilities and global reach. The channel is positioned as an enabler that cuts out the terminology and presents the honest truth.

     

  • This joint bid will combine Hansa's extensive experience of readership measurement in the Indian context with Ipsos' global expertise of conducting readership surveys in 60 countries

    Hansa, Ipsos to jointly bid for IRS in ’13, sign MoU

    By a Correspondent

     

    Hansa Research and Ipsos have entered into an MOU to jointly bid for the new Indian Readership Survey (IRS) contract that starts with IRS 2013. Hansa Research has been conducting the IRS, the world’s largest continuous readership survey for the last nine years i.e. since IRS 2003. This joint bid will combine Hansa’s extensive experience of readership measurement in the Indian context with Ipsos’ global expertise of conducting readership surveys in 60 countries. Through the joint participation, the two companies expect to make a very strong and forward looking pitch for the new IRS contract.

     

    Mr Ashok Das, Managing Director, Hansa Research Group said: “We are happy and excited to work with Ipsos on this prestigious project, and hope to bring in a number of new ideas into the IRS.”

     

    Mr Mick Gordon, CEO of Ipsos inIndiasaid: “We are delighted to be working with Hansa on this very exciting project and we hope we can persuade RSCI that our combination will be a very big plus for the industry. Ipsos measures readership in more than 60 countries around the world and has made a name for itself in introducing many innovations into this specialist area of market research – we were the first to use CAPI and DS-CAPI in readership measurement, for example. We believe we can add significant value to Hansa’s proven expertise and experience on the ground in India.”

     

    Speaking to MxMIndia, Mr. Suresh Nimbalkar, Senior Vice President, Hansa Research Group Pvt. Ltd said that the reason Hansa decided to join hands with Ipsos was to offerIndiathe best possible IRS. “We want to deliver the best possible product and we are working forward to it. We started people meter, IOS, we have continuously innovated and besides we have had a long standing relation with Ipsos. There is synergy between the two and so we decided to collaborate, rethink all aspects of IRS and offer an even better product (IRS) whether in technology, talent, and so on.”

     

    Hansa Research is a global full service market research agency headquartered in India, conducting market research in 77 countries with offices in India and US. Over the last few years, Hansa has developed sound mechanisms to reduce fieldwork related issues that has been widely acclaimed by research users for its ability to minimize some long standing industry weaknesses.

     

  • B2B Connect 2012 was the first such attempt by the network as they bought together marketing enthusiasts

    For LinkedIn, it’s abt being relevant & contextual

    By A correspondent

     

    While social media in India is largely about congregating on two of the busiest portals in the space, mostly for the sake of networking and fun, there is another experience – led largely by B2B marketers – that is setting the business community abuzz for a while now.

     

    Having arrived in India only in 2009, LinkedIn has emerged as one of the fastest growing professional networks in India, being valued by its members as professional, trusted, and creating a remarkably different social environment. Having managed to outperform expectations by clocking over 14 millions+ users in a span of just two years and further generating business leads in the range of 149 million, it was an opportune time for the network in India to get together the community responsible for driving such a change.

     

    B2B Connect 2012 was the first such attempt by the network as they bought together marketing enthusiasts – led largely by blue chip clients, evangelists and practitioners to look into the scope that the medium offered for professionals to liaise, interact, get business leads and even look out for talent – new and experienced. Not wanting anyone from the network to miss out on the excitement, the Indian contingent were even successful in getting the otherwise hesitant global CEO Jeff Weiner to be a part of the event as they got him to kick-start the proceedings with a keynote address.

     

    Mr Weiner began by admiring the efforts and innovations bought in by late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, who he described as a talent to reckon with. “The reason Apple is what it is, because it managed to find the right talent for the right opportunity. Obviously, it helped in having a team that was as instrumental in achieving the desired objective.” Likewise for LinkedIn, the focus was on making sure that the right talent matched with right opportunity in making the association with professionals more productive and successful. Emphasising on the three key attributes that would drive the network in the future, Mr Weiner said that it would be about creating an Identity, Insight and being Everywhere.

     

    Throwing up impressive numbers put up by the three divisions at LinkedIn, Mr Weiner said that Hiring Solutions contributed about $261 million, Marketing Solutions contributed about $156 million while Premium Subscriptions contributed about $106 million to the overall growth. Overall, the network witnessed a growth in excess of 100 per cent YoY.

     

    Dhiman Mukherji

    According to Mr Weiner, India was at top of the the markets that were putting up an exciting show, as it grew by more than 300 per cent in terms of user base. Drawing from what Mr Weiner had expressed at the event regarding India being a force to reckon with, Dhiman Mukherji, Director, Marketing Solutions said that the focus is on how the network is positioning B2B in the forefront of everything it does.

     

    In an interaction with MxM India, he said: “What has really worked is that we have been able to create a B2B marketplace and this event is a celebration of that. In two years’ time we have been able to leverage with some of the leading brands in India and that is what has helped us take our business to new levels. When I joined the company in 2010, we were at 3 million-odd user base and today we are at 14 million users. So it’s all a result of not only good trade marketing that has happened but a lot of PR communication drive that has taken place. The fact that increasingly people are finding value in the LinkedIn proposition is what is making this medium click.”

     

    Having already created a strong user base in the realm of IT, according to Mr Mukherji, the focus, going forward, would be to break into each and every vertical, including energy, construction, real estate, and so on. In fact, they are already seeing some amount of traction in these verticals as well. “Going forward we would be increasing our focus towards financial, travel & tourism, auto, and others,” he said.

     

    Providing an APAC perspective, Olivier Legrand, Senior Director – Marketing Solutions, APAC said that India’s current hold is such that “some of the most sophisticated campaigns that have been running in Asia Pacific have been coming out of India. The Indian market has proven to be successful from the users’ perspective. Even in terms of the marketers, as they are really leveraging what’s really available on the platform. We have been consistently working with marketers on what are they trying to achieve and how we could help them in their journey,” he said.

     

    On how India stacks up to other Asia Pacific countries for LinkedIn, Mr Legrand said, “APAC and India are very critical for us in achieving our objective of connecting professionals. Of the 150 million professionals that we have connected thus far, about 25 million are from APAC. We are anticipating a big part of the growth in users to come from this part of the world. Other markets that have been delivering good growth include Australia, Malaysia, Korea, Japan.” He further stated that the key markets going forward would be Indonesia and Malaysia.

     

    On comparisons being drawn to other popular social media platforms of today, Mr Mukherji said: “The two pillars that separate us from the rest is relevance and context because at LinkedIn, it is all about being relevant and contextual. It’s about a network of people who are bonding to share insights, to get feedback from each other and really benefit from each other. Our solutions are such that they give marketers an ability to position their brand in a way that it turns out to be productive and in a manner which is in context to whatever is happening around them.”

     

    Mr Legrand has another version to offer. For him, it all boils down to the mission set by the network: “To connect the professionals in a way so as to make them productive and successful. So what we bring is focus, what we bring is professional identity online, what we bring is opportunities for users to connect with businesses.”

     

    According to him, other social media firms deliver different values. “For example, if we look at Facebook, it deals with fun, entertainment, pictures, and so on and is an environment that has an interest for certain categories for users but we are a place for professionals and are very attractive for B2B marketers. So that’s how we are positioned and that’s what’s going to be our focus going forward. We are about providing identity, providing insights and being everywhere.”

     

    When asked on the growth put in by the Marketing Solutions division, Mr Mukherji said: “Where Marketing Solutions is concerned, we have grown by leaps and bounds. Not only has the user base grown but the sheer number of marketers who want to experiment with LinkedIn – that in itself is growing. So we have been growing substantially from where we started off in 2010.” Even the Hiring Solutions and Premium subscriptions too, contribute significantly to its business, he revealed.

     

    As for the goalpost of increasing the user base in India by a large sum this year, Mr Mukherji said: “We are not in a hurry to add more users as its basic philosophy is putting the user first. Have we improved the experience for the existing user – that is the core of our philosophy. If I can make his current experience on LinkedIn better by giving him access on the mobile, i-Pad, smartphones and others that’s what we would ideally like to concentrate on. So yes, we are not in a tearing hurry to get in more users; that will come when the experience in itself sees an improvisation over a period of time and when it starts benefiting our online community at large.”

     

    The event saw an impressive line-up of guests present interesting case-studies and examples of leveraging LinkedIn for deriving success for their brands. Dell, Philips, Citi India, Microsoft, HCL Technologies, Siemens were some blue chip clients who came in good numbers to imbibe meaningful solutions from the meet.

     

  • The former chairman of P&G and self-regulator ASCI on the decision to set up the National Advertising Monitoring Service with TAM

    ASCI is not a toothless tiger: Bharat Patel

     

    Bharat Patel

    By Robin Thomas

     

    The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has joined hands with TAM Media Research to introduce National Advertising Monitoring Service (NAMS) which will come into effect from May 1. The aim of the monitoring service is to reduce the number of misleading and unsubstantiated advertisements (see accompanying story: ‘Paradigm shift for self-regulation’). AdEx India, a division of TAM, will monitor around 350 televisions and 10,860 newspaper advertisements released every week.

     

    In conversation with MxMIndia, Mr Bharat Patel, former chairman of Procter & Gamble and Board Consultative Committee Member and also former Chairman of ASCI spoke about NAMS and its impact on consumer complaints. And that ASCI is not a toothless tiger!

     

    NAMS has been introduced shortly after the government asked ASCI to fast-track the decision-making process…

    Absolutely. In order to speed up decision-making, the CCC (Consumer Complaints Council) decided to meet twice every month from the earlier once a month meeting. This decision was made following the advice of Ms Ambika Soni, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting. We are open to receiving suggestions, and when the Ministry of Consumer Affairs pointed out that something needs to be done on the increasing number of consumer complaints, we decided to do monitoring and thus the introduction of National Advertising Monitoring Service (NAMS).

     

    And the discussion to set up NAMS?

    The discussion started over three or four months ago. We were in talks with a lot of people, including consumer organizations and we found that TAM has the best availability and resources for the service.

     

    There were reports of the government planning to launch its own version of advertising monitoring services to reduce consumer complaints…

    I don’t think it’s true because the Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Consumer Affairs denied any such move. So we don’t know how true this is but, the Ministry denied it at this stage. The I&B Ministry has been very supportive of the ASCI. They have, in fact, mentioned in their codes that any advertisement that violates the code of ASCI will not be allowed. The Consumer Affairs Ministry is also supportive of self regulation.

     

    What is your reaction on ASCI being called a toothless tiger? Will NAMS give ASCI more teeth in dealing with ads that violate ASCI code?

    Calling ASCI a toothless tiger is absolutely wrong.  Cable TV Act Rules state that no ad which violates ASCI’s code can be released on TV.  Nowhere in the world has such recognition of an advertising Self Regulatory Organisation (SRO) been granted by the Government. All the ads, against which a complaint is upheld by CCC, are modified or withdrawn voluntarily in writing by advertiser. In fact, the I&B Ministry sends all the complaints it receives to ASCI for adjudication. In print, nearly 80 per cent ads voluntarily comply with CCC rulings. So, how can ASCI be called toothless tiger? ASCI is not a toothless tiger!

     

    It has been 26 years since ASCI was established, what are the changes you think ASCI has brought to the minds of the consumers and the advertising industry?

    ASCI has increased awareness, atleast among its members who release 80 per cent of non-government advertising in India, on the need to have ads which are true, decent and fair to competition.  Consumers are also made more aware of ASCI as a service that can help remove ads which they find misleading or indecent or displaying unsafe practices. As a result, the total number of complaints to ASCI has increased from 770 in 2010/11 to about 2,000 in 2011/12.

     

     

    ‘Paradigm shift for self-regulation’

     

    I Venkat
    LV Krishnan

    According to the Advertising Standards Council of India’s agreement with TAM, AdEx India will identify ads which are potential violation of Chapter 1 of ASCI code – to ensure truthfulness and honesty of representation and claims made by advertisements against misleading advertisements. The advertisements that violate the ASCI advertising code will be forwarded to ASCI on a weekly basis, post which ASCI would process them as per its complaint redressal procedure involving its Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) for adjudication.

     

    AdEx India will monitor ads in the auto, banking, financial services and insurance, FMCG (including F&B), consumer durables, educational institutions, health care products and services, telecom and real estate sectors. AdEx will track more than 30 newspapers which is said to contribute over 80 per cent of national newspaper readership and all television channels across India in all languages.

     

    Said Mr I Venkat, Chairman, ASCI: “The National Advertising Monitoring Service or NAMS initiative is a paradigm shift for self-regulation in Indian advertising and probably a benchmark for the other countries. For such an important industry central initiative, TAM’s AdExIndiawas the obvious option to handle such a large responsibility that brought in requisite infrastructure, neutrality, integrity and quality.NAMSwill strengthen the ad self regulation redressal process manifold, as we will be able to proactively monitor wider number of ads. This will be in the best interest of the Indian consumers as it will significantly reduce release of misleading advertising in India.”

     

    Mr LV Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research said: “Apart from media measurement, for decades now, we have been playing a silent, yet central industry, role towards media (advertising) monitoring and analytics as well. Our partnership with ASCI is yet another reiteration of the neutral role we play within the Indian landscape.”

     


  • Every Thursday, Ranjona Banerji will write about a grouse. Either spewing venom or tongue-in-cheek

    [MJR] Making sense of RBI cuts

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    This minor rant is against no one but myself, and my inability to understand the purpose of these one million business news channels on Indian television. There, see, my error in comprehension in the first sentence itself. These channels have nothing to do with news – they have to do with the stock market and sometimes the commodities and properties markets. No connection with business news at all.

     

    Anyway, in an attempt to get the latest on the RBI’s rate cuts, I travelled through all the stock market channels to find out (This is a mistake I have made before, I must confess. Hope springs eternal… said Alexander Pope. He was neither a stock nor a commodities broker or even a real estate agent, so never mind who he was). Did I find out anything? Of course not. I don’t think the Reserve Bank of India really exists in these exclusive clubs.

     

    Oddly, the minute I randomly arrived at a regular news channel, there was D Subbarao, RBI governor, telling us what was in store for us: loans, EMIs, fixed deposits, inflation, GDP, government fiscal policy and more.

     

    O ye of little faith, you might think, slamming TV news everyday and then finding them more that adequate when required. But I have one point in my defence for this little mistake about trying the business route: the stock market channels were really quite good during the unveiling of the Union budget.

     

    Which means I know where I have to go next year but never again until then, unless of course I want to listen to a language I can’t understand and watch lots of little arrows in different colours going up and down. Although I could always watch entertainment news segments if I want to be really confused…

     

  • The Dainik Bhaskar School has tied up with Dale Carnegie Training Consultants, a renowned US-based Training company conducting training programs worldwide for over 100 years, to adapt and create the training programs in identified areas

    Dainik Bhaskar Group launches Bhaskar School of Media Education

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Dainik Bhaskar Group has identified a gap in quality media training and education and with an aim to provide a solution- training media professionals and matching the global standards- have launched the Bhaskar School of Media Education.

     

    Shiv Khera, the eminent motivational guru and author of self transformation, inaugurated the school on April 17. The Bhaskar School of Media Education will be run under the able leadership of Mrs. Jyoti Agarwal. The curriculum has been designed keeping the demands of the media industry.

     

    The Dainik Bhaskar School has tied up with Dale Carnegie Training Consultants, a renowned US-based Training company conducting training programs worldwide for over 100 years, to adapt and create the training programs in identified areas.

     

    The modular curriculum is designed to strengthen students’ skills across areas that will give them personal and professional advantage. The participants will be updated on latest global trends and technological advancements that will open new vistas for development through refresher programs across different verticals in media.

     

    Commenting on this new initiative and launch, Mr. Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director, Dainik Bhaskar Group, said: “This is a first of a kind initiative by a media group to partner with Dale Carnegie – a world leader in enabling businesses to enhance performance and increase knowledge by imparting highly resourceful training and consulting services. We are delighted to join hands with the best in the training industry. This endeavour is an extension of Bhaskar’s vision to drive socio-economic change as the largest print media group and to help develop professionals attuned to the latest trends in media systems, processes and values. We aim to offer challenging careers and training modules in media to aspiring youngsters.”

     

    Every participant will have to undergo a rigorous training program to earn the ‘Dainik Bhaskar – Dale Carnegie Training Certificate’.

     

  • In the creative business you don't need any qualifications to shine. The idea is a great leveller says Robby Mathew

    The Anchor: Robby Mathew on 6 reasons why life of a creative is different from that of others

    By Robby Mathew

     

    1. Most jobs are about patterns where the endeavour is to master the pattern. You do the same thing repeatedly till you are good at it. In creative, every day is new. You don’t know what marketing problem is going to be thrown at you. You have to relearn everything, every single day.

     

    2. Creative is the business for young people. In creative you start ‘losing it’ as you grow older, unless you make a conscious decision to stay young/ stupid/curious/eager/brave.

     

    3. Creative people have to be complex (like the colour white which includes all colours). Creativity allows for paradox, light, shadow, inconsistency, even chaos – and creative people have to experience extremes with equal intensity.

     

    4. Here in this field you can give birth to an idea, nurture it and make it big. And then, like a proud parent, you can show it to the whole world. How many other careers can offer that???

     

    5. In the creative business you don’t need any qualifications to shine. The idea is a great leveller.  A college drop out with a fertile mind can outshine a business school star in no time.

     

    6. In creative, you are only as good as your last job. Nothing keeps you on your toes like a job in any creative function.

     

    Robby Mathew is NCD, Interface Communications

     

  • The on-ground division will also manage Pepsi T20 Football’s on-ground events in India

    ESPN STAR Sports launches ‘Event Management Group’

    By A Correspondent

     

    ESPN STAR Sports, Asia’s leading sports broadcaster, announced the launch of its on-ground division ‘Event Management Group’ (EMG) in India. The company also announced that PepsiCo India has signed on EMG to manage its mega football league Pepsi T20 Football’s on-ground events in India. As a part of the deal, ESPN STAR Sports is producing and showcasing the Pepsi T20 Football tournament in a special 8-episode series. EMG is also managing the School Quiz 2012, where it has roped in HDFC Life as the title sponsor. While the on-ground initiatives around HDFC Life School Quiz 2012 have already started, on-air telecast of the Quiz begin on June 01.

     

    The Event Management Group (EMG) will manage and promote premier sporting events around Asia. EMG specializes in creating, managing, promoting, consulting, producing and syndicating leading sporting events such as the KIA X Games Asia, KL World 5s and Guinness 9-Ball Tour. With over 1000 events in 11 countries, all events organised by EMG enjoy unrivalled regional broadcast across Asia through the ESPN and STAR Sports channels.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Kailash, Executive Vice President, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, said: “Our Event Management Group has firmly established itself across Asia Pacific with world class products designed to engage and entertain sports fans. It offers an exciting business opportunity in the India market as well. We can bring our deep international experience into play; create tailor made events and offer interesting and innovative marketing solutions using multiple platforms of ESPN STAR Sports. I am sure corporates will see lot of value in what EMG has to offer.”

     

    ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia’s definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay-TV services.