MxMIndia

Category: BLOGS

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on primetime news and in the papers.

    [MJR] In which Justice Katju tells it like it is. Again

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Press Council of Indian chairman Markandey Katju has been one of the most vocal holders of this post, losing no opportunity to stand up for the media when required and to castigate it at other times. The trivialization of news remains a key issue with him and he has questioned once again whether our obsession with Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th century was justified. Interestingly, Tendulkar himself questioned it, pointing out that in the four matches when he got his 99th 100, no one mentioned it at all!

     

    Katju, speaking at the convocation ceremony of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in New Delhi (“over the weekend” says The Hindu in Monday’s paper) however saved his best for last, taking on Anna Hazare and his methods. While making it clear that corruption is a mega issue and that is why Hazare’s movement gained so much support, he questioned Hazare’s methods. “What is the rationale of the thinking of Anna Hazare? With due respect, I could not find any scientific ideas. These shoutings will not do anything.”

     

    Katju is a man who calls a spade a spade. Much as he rubbed most of the media the wrong way, there is perhaps some merit in taking some of his criticisms seriously. Is Aishwarya Rai’s pregnancy really front page news? Did the world end with Rahul Dravid’s retirement from cricket? There’s no point getting defensive here and saying, “The media has every right to choose its own stories”. Quite right it does. But does that mean that the media never makes mistakes? Or indeed, can one deny the dumbing down of the media in terms of choice of stories and understanding of news?

     

    **

     

    Talking about getting defensive, the editor in chief of this site Pradyuman Maheshwari faced some defensive posturing on the media’s role in the Norway-Bhattacharya child custody case on NDTV “over the weekend”. The anchor Sunetra Chaudhury, journalist Rashmi Saxena and former diplomat MK Bhadhrakumar staunchly held that the media had done no wrong. It was only when Maheshwari pointed out that no fact-checking had been done by the media and that the other side of the story was not presented – “a basic trait in journalism” – that the bluster of the others died down a bit and it was accepted that the media could have done more.

     

    Arrogance is all very well, but stupidity is just that.

     

    **

     

    This lack of perspective in the television media, especially when it comes to the armed forces, is equally appalling. It has the narrow-focused ability to only see every problem from the side of the armed forces. Yet surely we have seen, more so in recent times, highly ranked officers involved in the most reprehensible acts of corruption. In the current allegations made by chief of army staff VK Singh that he was offered a bribe by a former Lt-general, surely it would be better to get a few more facts on the case before having hissy fits in favour of every soldier ever accused of anything at prime time? At the very least it would be interesting to see if TV can seriously question what seems to be an obsession with attention as far as VK Singh is concerned. Also, at the risk of facing a firing squad at dawn, I would suggest that the media would be better served if it stopped treating the armed forces like a collection of overly-principled martyrs eschewing payment for their cause and just treat them with customary scepticism.

     

    **

     

    In an aside, how about TV channels hire some people with better spelling skills for their written portions? All morning on Monday I read about a “defemation vase” filed by Arun Jaitley against somebody. Of course, there are no bigger teasers than those little ticker tape thingies that run across the screen which promise so much and deliver so little.

     

    Twitter: @ranjona

     

  • Not everyone has the mental toughness required to face up the uncertainties and challenges of a start-up; Vijay Singh lists the traits that get one there.

    The Anchor: 6 must-have traits for entrepreneurs

    By Vijay Singh

     

    There is a newfound zeal these days for being an entrepreneur, and a number of folks are chucking away the securities & comforts of “salary on the 1st” and venturing into the unknown.

     

    Entrepreneurs are the best thing that can happen to a society, economy and country. Entrepreneurs create value out of nothing, create opportunities and fuel overall growth, and they need to be deeply respected for it.

     

    However being an entrepreneur is the toughest job in the world. There are no cushions; no soft landings and the failure rates are very high.

     

    In an environment where most won’t make it, while luck might play a huge role, there are other traits that I believe an entrepreneur must have to break through:

     

    #1 Imagination: A good entrepreneur sees not just the big picture but well beyond the picture. He / she needs to imagine ideas that will create solutions to obvious and everyday problems.

     

    #2 Foolishness: Now made famous by Mr Jobs’ speech, foolishness is a virtue that is a must have, to pursue a dream that others don’t see, understand or give a damn about.

     

    #3 Stubbornness: An entrepreneur lives in a lonely and often unkind world – especially in the early years. There are, more that you need, armchair advisors and critiques that would question the validity everything starting from the macro business environment, to the business model, to scalability, to ability, to sustainability. The entrepreneur needs to stay the course with persistence.

     

    #4 Willingness to evolve: While staying the course, it is important to learn from mistakes and spot opportunities along the way and evolve into a better idea. It is my view, however, that one should stay true to the original & pure DNA of the idea and not drift at every opportunity (or failure) that pops up, as there would be plenty of both.

     

    #5 Team: As an entrepreneur one you get into every aspect of the business, however, to do justice to the organization that you are going to create bring in specialized talent for specific roles and ensure they are better than you at that task.

     

    #6 Passion for the idea:  Take up your entrepreneurial journey for the right reasons – the reason being absolute belief and passion for the idea that you have imagined. If one feels deep down that the passion has started to drain, that is the green light to quit and maybe take up a lucrative 9-to-5 assignment.

     

    Not everyone has the mental toughness required to face up the uncertainties and challenges associated with a start-up; however, it is my belief that everyone with a real passion for an idea will acquire that toughness over time and they should jump in.

     

    Professionally let me assure you there is nothing more fulfilling that to create something of value – out of nothing.

     

    Vijay Singh is the CEO & Managing Director, AaramShop, and can be followed on Twitter @vijaysingh.

     

  • A copywriter has taken the trouble to try and revive the art of writing long copy, and he has come up with a cool idea. Bodhisatwa Dasgupta of Ogilvy & Mather has announced a contest called: 'Longhand'. Which invites contestants to write long copy ads. And win instant recognition.

    Anil Thakraney: Ready for long copy?

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    It’s quite well known that ever since television boomed in India, and ever since the Hindi heartland boys took control of the ad world, the press ad has been dead. No one cares about it, often not even the client. It’s now treated as a support medium which must coldly state the facts, and no more. It is also widely (and incorrectly) believed that people don’t read any more, that they have become video junkies, therefore the copy must be kept as crisp as possible.

     

    With the advent of social media, the last nail in the coffin of the press ad got hammered in. Forget penning long prose, writers today don’t even know how to spell simple words. These are days of “Hiya gr8 2 c u!” In such a gloomy scenario, there emerges a ray of hope. A copywriter has taken the trouble to try and revive the art of writing long copy, and he has come up with a cool idea. Bodhisatwa Dasgupta of Ogilvy & Mather has announced a contest called: ‘Longhand’. Which invites contestants to write long copy ads. And win instant recognition.

     

    What makes things even more exciting is that the entries will be judged by legendary copywriters like Indra Sinha and Neil French. (Below are their posters encouraging writers to participate in the contest.) Moreover, the product briefs sound pretty enticing. One is for a whisky brand called ‘Gambler’, which is sold in little sachets.

     

    Full marks to Dasgupta for trying to do his bit. At least there’s someone out there who’s kept the faith. So get cracking and craft out that lilting prose. And prove to everyone that Indian ad world writers can still write. And can communicate without murdering the Queen’s language.

     

    All the best!

     

    To enter, you can join this Facebook page:
    http://www.facebook.com/putheadlinehere

     

    And here’s the link to the contest:
    http://putheadlinehere.blogspot.in/2012/03/faq-briefs.html

     

     

     

    Indra Sinha Neil French

     

     

  • Network 18 group channels shine at the NT Awards with 39 awards as MCCS bags 24 for awards presented to channels and professionals in Telugu, Marathi, Hindi and English news channels + on Anant Rangaswami on afaqs

    Mediaah! Network 18 bags 39 news TV awards, MCCS 24

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t write about an event until we were physically present at an event. But, in India, sadly media entities in the same space are normally not invited by peers (rivals), and so MxMIndia wasn’t present at the annual News Television awards of Anil Wanvari’s IndianTelevision.com. Sad, because we would’ve loved to report on the event. Okay, we would’ve have networked with people, exchanged cards and consumed some alcohol and food, but, heck, by not getting due coverage, the very industry you are trying to promote loses out.

     

    Regardless of this and since I was associated with one edition of the awards, here’s a quick, politicially incorrect report – Mediaah-ishtyle:

    Network 18 channels (and website ibnlive.com) bagged maximum honours at the annual News Television (NT) awards presented by IndianTelevision.com in New Delhi on Wednesday.

     

    MCCS channels bagged 24, TV 9 with 15 and NDTV and TV Today with 12 metals awards each. CNN-IBN (and its website ibnlive.com) bagged 17 awards followed by IBN Lokmat in Marathi and TV 9 in Telugu with 14 awards each. MCCS channels Star News and Star Majha (Marathi) bagged 12 awards each.

     

     

    Some trivia: in general English channels, Headlines Today bagged 7 awards while NDTV 24×7 had 5. Also, ET Now with 5 and Bloomberg UTV with 3 was ahead of CNBC TV18 with 2 in the final tally. CNBC Awaaz was the only Hindi business channel in the awards list with 4 awards. Times Now does not figure in the list of awardees, though ET Now from the stable does.

     

    Note: Since MxMIndia was not invited to the event, this is based on the Indian Television report at link

     

    Full list of winners can be accessed at link.

     

    Important: while reading the tally and list of winners, it is vital to note the number of entries sent by each channel as well as who participated and who didn’t.  Reason: the more you participate, the more you are likely to win. And, an obvious observation, but must be underscored, if you don’t participate, you don’t win.

     

     

    It’s good to see Star News bag a good number of awards… they’ve been consistent at their work and also playing second-fiddle to Aaj Tak in mass and NDTV India in class. Though I don’t find anyone more mass than Deepak Chaurasia and class as some of the other anchors whose names I forget.

     

    Anant Rangaswami on afaqs

    It was nice to read Anant Rangaswami on afaqs.com. He’s a great writer, and having been in the business for a few decades, is on backslapping terms with a host of folks. More importantly, he has a good understanding of advertising and media issues.

     

    The footnote in the afaqs article says he’s a consultant at firstpost.com, but the site notes he’s senior editor, but those aren’t significant issues. I think firstpost.com is picking up well, and I’m beginning to enjoy some of its commentary, even though I don’t agree with some of it.

     

    I had stopped reading Campaign India after Anant quit, but his successor (seasoned theatreperson and Printweek editor) Ramu Ramnathan is a great guy and has managed to set it back on sail. It’s credible, looks good and is still popular… guess that’s what matters.

     

    But lemme not digress any further and get back to Monsieur Rangaswami’s afaqs piece. I was quite surprised to see him believe that regulating ad duration on television is good. Agreed what we have on some of the channels is obnoxious, but that’s because all of them are doing the same. The moment a few channels change their standards, I am sure the rest will follow.

     

    In fact Anant’s very argument that digitization should reduce the pressure on revenues from advertising is what should make things exciting. If the government really want to reap the benefits of a free-for-all, it must watch the fun post digitization. I understand TAM is also getting digitization-ready and the master strategists amongst all broadcasters will be put to test to figure what their revenue policies must be in the wake of viewership data coming in from addressable set-top boxes.

     

    Let the free market prevail, my friend!

     

    The views expressed here are my own and not necessarily those of MxMIndia.com and the team working with it.

     

  • A fine example of how smart execution is critical to communication. There's no storyboard out here really, it's simply the joy that comes from watching fabulous human bonding. And wonderful performances from both the actors.

    Debrief: Cadbury Oreo: The importance of execution

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    A truly refreshing commercial. Fantastic presentation of father/daughter bonding. There is no idea as such in the new Cadbury Oreo commercial, but the powerful execution gives it a huge lift.

     

    In the TVC, a male exec arrives home. The wife is missing, so his little daughter role plays her mum. And pretends to serve daddy a Cadbury Oreo as if she has laid out a dinner spread for him. And all that happens in the ad is a super, very engaging interaction between the two. Cannot be described in words, you simply have to watch this one.

     

    A fine example of how smart execution is critical to communication. There’s no storyboard out here really, it’s simply the joy that comes from watching fabulous human bonding. And wonderful performances from both the actors. The little girl is totally cute, and the dad plays a subtle role. This contrast works brilliantly. (Imagine the over-acting Shahrukh Khan might have done in this commercial. He would have killed the emotion.)

     

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

    One more thing: I don’t know if this was intended, but a little beti playing her mommy strikes you subliminally. You are subconsciously left wondering if the man’s wife is no more, or that maybe she’s left him. Or it could be that she’s too busy building her own career. Any which way, that untold angle endears you even more to the father/daughter team. You feel happy for this little family.

     

    Full marks to the ad filmmaker. This is his/her film.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 4. Superb direction and acting.

     

  • In Freaking News, which will now appear every Tuesday and Friday, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare in the morning papers and the nightly news. And sometimes the afternooners, the newsmags and all that's on the Web

    Freaking News: Making sense of the army revelations

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Not surprisingly, the extraordinary revelations coming out of the army have consumed most of our days and nights. Kudos must go to DNA for first carrying the letter, which the army chief sent to the prime minister, about our lack of defence preparedness. Of course amidst all the high-decibel hot air about “high treason” and calls for sacking, we have as usual wandered into all kinds of marginal territories and taken a little time to put matters in perspective.

     

    Arnab Goswami on Times Now felt great shock that former prime minister Deve Gowda’s son Kumaraswamy said that arms dealers had tried to approach his father through him. Twitter took this as a joke with someone pointing out that Deve Gowda probably never took up the offer because he was asleep at the time. The innocence of television – is it endearing, annoying or just so put on?

     

    On NDTV and CNN-IBN, there were sometimes back to back discussions on the same subject with different anchors and guests. No great purpose was served by any of these – people who once wore uniforms claimed that the uniform-wearers were all purer than the driven snow, defence analyst Ajai Shukla said everyone always knew that India was badly prepared except probably Parliamentarians. Tarun Vijay of the BJP took great exception to being called ignorant but was told that he didn’t know what he was talking about for all his troubles. Brajesh Mishra felt that this government had spent too much money on development and “giving money to villages” and other unimportant stuff like that instead of presumably spending it all on national security. Luckily there was very little Chandan Mitra in all this.

     

    It, therefore, took the newspapers to explain to us the inner workings of the Tatra-Vectra-BEML deal, the connection between Ural trucks and army chief VK Singh and the problems with defence procurement. To be fair to Mishra however, he also said that the armed forces wasted time testing equipment in the snow, desert, mountains, plains, wind, water and so on till everything had become obsolete. All former uniform-wearers blamed the bureaucracy for the same.

     

    At the end of it all, you had to read the papers to find out who was who and who was doing what to who. This is a familiar pattern now and perhaps TV continues to be the saving grace for newspapers which have to make sense of the sound and fury. We now need some comprehensive stories on what appears to be some sort of internecine warfare within the army. It would also be good to know where the other service chiefs stand on all this.

     

    * * *

     

    As a break from all this, was the BRICS summit which just concluded in Delhi. TV did focus on that as well but sometimes when the reporters babble on and on saying the same thing in 16 different ways to guarantee their 2 minutes of air time, your eyes just glaze over. The business channels, however, had more focused coverage, including interviews with industrialists and so on. BBC and CNN were also more interested in the summit than in our military mis-manoeuvres.

     

    * * *

     

    A quick look at Pakistani papers this morning showed that in spite of all the fears of our former generals with moustaches quivering with rage, the Indian army’s lack of preparedness has not consumed them.

     

    * * *

     

    The Hindu has written a very welcome editorial, if a little late, slamming spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for his ridiculous comment that government schools are breeding Naxals. Does the media usually treat them too kindly?

     

    * * *

     

    The felicitation for Sachin Tendulkar by Mukesh Ambani provided the relief factor. TV, of course, pointed out that Bollywood attended in full force, leaving out the industrialists, politicians, artistes, literati and other movers and shakers in evidence. Where Bollywood ends, India ends I guess.

     

  • Kids would most probably view this as harmless fun, and not as a license to either misbehave with members of the opposite sex or to get into bed at the age of 12

    Anil Thakraney: Voda must commission study on campaign

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    There is a controversy raging in the virtual world over the new Vodafone pug campaign. The one where the doggie plays cupid between two kids who look to be in their early teens. The problem is this: Some people find them too young to be flirting, and feel that this sort of a campaign would send the wrong signal toIndia’s kids.

     

    I did allude to this when I reviewed the campaign some weeks back, and I recall wondering if the two are indeed a bit too young to be glad-eyeing each other. But I left it at that and passed no value judgments. And that’s because I am not really sure of the propriety (or the impropriety) of the situation. While it is true that young ones in urban India often start dating early in their lives (and this used to be the case even when I went to school, so it’s nothing new), I am not entirely sure what happens in small towns and villages.

     

    However, some ad experts seem to think that the campaign is indeed a terrible influence on young minds, and veteran ad man Alyque Padamsee’s comments have gone viral in the social media. He seems to think that ads like these can lead to social problems like eve-teasing and sexual harassment when the lads grow up!

     

    Quite obviously this is an over the top reaction. My own view is that kids would most probably view this as harmless fun, and not as a license to either misbehave with members of the opposite sex or to get into bed at the age of 12. And I also believe that kids usually get influenced by adult behaviour, as it’s the grown ups who tend to be their role models.

     

    Still, it might be a good idea if Vodafone commissioned a study amongst the young teens, in urban and ruralIndia, to understand the influence of this campaign on young minds. And if it’s a harmless one, then great! And if it is found to be pernicious, they could pull the campaign. Either way the marketer will be appreciated for taking a pro-active step.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSLOnR1s74o[/youtube]

    However, they must act quickly. Before, egged on by comments of worthies like Alyque, some dudes with too much free time on hand file in bitter PILs. And cause the early death of a campaign which to my mind seems to be quite cute, and doesn’t really threaten the moral fabric of the great Indian society.

     

    * * *

     

    PS: Wonderful use of emotion. The happywallah emotion. Keep a hanky ready, it’s sure to leave a little moisture in the eyes. Especially if you are a parent.

     

  • Alpana Parida spells out the 5 Rs brands should adopt, to shake off cobwebs, beat competition, move with the times and above all, remain relevant.

    The Anchor: 5 ways a brand can stay relevant

    By Alpana Parida

     

    #1 Rejuvenate

    An old brand like Pepsi has remained relevant for Gen X in the ’80s and now Gen Y as it has constantly rejuvenated itself. If a brand never changes the way it appears – it atrophies and dies. It must constantly rejuvenate itself to infuse freshness and youth into the brand.

     

    #2 Reinvent

    Environment keeps changing and brands need to reinvent the brand proposition to create relevance. Amul Ghee was slowly losing relevance even in homes where ghee was loved. A dry roti was becoming the norm. At DY Works, we realized that the consumer needed a nudge in reassuring them that there was enough according to Ayurveda that said one spoon a day was good for you.

     

    #3 Repurpose

    No amount of logo rejuvenation can keep a brand from dying if it does not repurpose its core deliverables in a changing environment. By not taking the threat of digital cameras seriously and in a timely manner, Kodak joined the brand graveyard which is littered with examples of giants who did not read the writing on the wall.

     

    #4 Retract

    Flexibility is key. Admitting mistakes is greatness. Wrong decisions get taken but brand leaders, like great generals, know when to retreat. Coca-Cola became an American Classic when it quickly retracted its New Coke formulation.

     

    #5 Restore

    As I was passing by Metro Cinema in Mumbai the other day, I was struck by how little interest there is in restoring its glory. Metro Cinema (1938) is an example of our Art Deco heritage. Today it is a multiplex movie theatre in Mumbai. It was built and originally run by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the Hollywood studio. This has the ability to become a destination landmark and the equivalent of the Kodak Theater in LA for Bollywood. Sometimes, all that great brands really need is a little restoration.

     

    Alpana Parida is President, DY Works.

     

  • A whole lot of huge names from all walks of life… industrialists, politicians, movie stars, sports stars, etc, were in dutiful attendance. I wonder if the allure had to do with the blaster or that the invite went from Mukeshbhai. I suspect it was the latter… no one in his/her right mind would wish to offend India's richest man.

    Anil Thakraney: The Big Sachin Bash

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I caught glimpses (on NDTV) of that mega party Mukeshbhai and Neetaben threw for Shri Tendulkar. And no, that it was held at that deeply repugnant structure called Antilla didn’t prompt me into hitting my remote control as deftly as Sachin would, in his hey days, heave Shoaib Akhtar over fine leg. It was the master being felicitated after all, so one was expected to pay attention.

     

    Here are some random observations: A whole lot of huge names from all walks of life… industrialists, politicians, movie stars, sports stars, etc, were in dutiful attendance. I wonder if the allure had to do with the blaster or that the invite went from Mukeshbhai. I suspect it was the latter… no one in his/her right mind would wish to offend India’s richest man.

     

    Mr & Mrs Ambani are enormously poor public speakers. They may know how to turn stone into gold, but the duo lacks the ability to keep you from yawning miserably. Two options: They can get other speakers to do the honours. Or, they can enroll for a public speaking course. Don’t think it costs much.

     

    Abhishek Bachchan, on the other hand, is a far better public speaker than he is an actor. Small B needs to attend acting classes, but that’s another story. Priyanka Chopra as the anchor was perfect. Though, quite disappointingly, she turned up over-dressed. Aamir Khan was at his professional best. Guess he rehearsed his speech for the 100th 100 time before driving out for Antilla. Salman Khan mumbled a lot. No one understood what he said, but people laughed all the same. Given the macho star’s fiery temper, that’s always a good idea. But his little dig at SRK was delightful. By the way, wonder why Shah Rukh failed to turn up. Had he arrived, he ought to have been seated next to Sallu bhai. TRPs would have gone through the Antilla roof.

     

    Sachin tried his best to sound cool and humorous. Didn’t really work. Partly because of his recent angry, arrogant outburst at a press con, where he was (quite rightly) questioned on his retirement plans.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGU45aNm-C4[/youtube]

    Lastly, the high point of the show was Lata tai singing “Tu jahaan jahaan chalega, mera saaya saath saath hoga.” Total paisa vasool. Mukeshbhai should now felicitate her just for that.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Nissan India has produced a five minute ‘movie’ starring Ranbir Kapoor. And it’s been created in full filmi shtyle, with all the romance, passion, colour and noise our flicks pack in. This blockbuster will officially be released this month. You saw it here first!

     

  • Ok, so it's not the brightest of economic scenarios, but there are opportunities that Advertising and Promotions can leverage on, to surge ahead. Nagesh Alai tells it like it is.

    The Anchor: Nagesh Alai on 6 ways advertising & promotion can prosper in the new fiscal

    By Nagesh Alai

     

    #1 Economic Situation:

    This is one of the prime factors driving advertising and promotions. In a challenging economic environment, which the GDP downtrend seems to be indicating, ensuring brand recall and staying top of mind with the consumers will be a necessity. While the sluggishness in anticipated growth started showing signs on the back of inflation, high interest, falling currency, etc., in the second half of last year, in a research conducted by our Group’s consulting arm, Cogito Consulting, the bold Report 2012 (available on www.cogitoconsulting.com) shows that CEOs and CMOs of leading companies have predicted a slightly more positive outlook this year with a marginally higher growth rate than earlier years. Some see it as the beginning of a slow return to the high growth rates in the past. My expectation is that the more aggressive companies will take advantage of this trend and try and be the early drivers of growth in their respective categories, thereby investing ahead of their competition to establish an early lead.

     

    #2 The London Olympics

    Usually there is very little interest in the Olympics and more often than not this event slips by the advertisers radar. However, this year there is some interest in Men’s Hockey, Boxing, Wrestling, Badminton, Tennis and the firing range etc….which might pull in a larger number of sports hungry Indian audiences as they search for heroes beyond their usually preferred cricket

     

    #3 CAS and Digitisation will lead to better segmentation and availability of more robust data about the audience, this will encourage companies as they will be able to measure the efficacy and coverage in a more systematic manner. The recent Star-Zee combine efforts and push for ensuring real reporting of actual subscribers should also give a further fillip in capturing better viewership data, as will the industry bodies ( IBF, ISA and AAAI ) coming together on BARC.

     

    #4 Blockbusters on TV

    As everyone knows, movies are a big, big draw in India. Nearly 40-50% of total content on TV is directly or indirectly based on films. The entire movie distribution model has changed. Unlike in the past, now blockbuster movies come on TV within weeks of their release in theaters, instead of months earlier. DTH, Pay TV and Video-on-Demand are shortening the time frames dramatically. This is also drawing audiences and therefore attracts higher spends by advertisers, ultimately helping grow the advertising industry

     

    #5 New/Dormant Categories getting active

    The general anticipation (though some call it sheer optimism) is that the government will open up new categories like retail. An upward trend to the economy would also help drive spends in financial services etc. The government is keen on generating funds for development by diluting it stake in several public sector companies. It is also a reality that there is a huge pent up queue for IPOs planned by various private sector companies as well….an improving economic situation will encourage companies to go public to raise funds and thereby spur the need for corporate campaigns and IPO advertising which will expand the industry further.

     

    #6 And lastly, but not the least, the increasing “through-the-line” emphasis, whereby communication concepts are conveyed to target audience/consumers seamlessly through print, TV, out-of-home, activation, internet, social media, etc. will ensure that advertising and promotion will prosper. At the end of the day, it is all about building the brands and the clients better see advertising and promotion as an investment (which prudent clients do) and not as a cost – it is important to have long term view of brand building and not be blindsided by quarter pressures.

     

    Nagesh Alai is the Director – Draftcfcb Ulka Group India Operations and the President, AAAI.

     

     

  • Because the promise isn't really earth shattering, the execution has to play a very important role. And must say the ads are done nicely.

    Debrief: eBay: Simplicity works

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    You want to patao that supermodel? You want to be a beauty queen? No worries. You can do it all via eBay.

     

    The promise in eBay’s new TV campaign seems to be simple enough. I watched two commercials. In one, Ms Jabalpur desires to become Ms India. And she easily gets what it takes on eBay. In another ad one rather seedha saadha banda is able to win over a hot babe by buying her scintillating goodies on eBay. Simple enough and very massy concepts. And it works. Only because the communication is single minded.

     

    eBay only tells you that if you desire it, it’s here. And there’s no clutter of additional promises forced into the advertising. Also because the promise isn’t really earth shattering, the execution has to play a very important role. And must say the ads are done nicely. Although the humour isn’t really strong, they do leave you with a smile. So that’s fine.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTKyVR3RfAI[/youtube]

    All said, it’s done well. And they can produce many ads with this theme. Just one suggestion: What will make the communication work even better is if people are shown to desire bizarre stuff. AND they get them too. Just to give you an extreme example: A man wants to kill himself, but doesn’t know how to go about it. Till eBay comes to his, er, rescue. Of course, it’s macabre. But you get the idea!

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3. Focused and effective.

  • In Freaking News, which will now appear every Tuesday and Friday, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare in the morning papers and the nightly news. And sometimes the afternooners, the newsmags and all that's on the Web

    [MJR] The big wound in Indian newsgathering covered with Kareena Kapoor’s bandaid

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Even three years ago, my father couldn’t tell the difference between Kareena Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan, if he even knew who they were. Now he can recognise every single Bollywood star and can even talk knowledgeably about their new films and their goings-on. He has not watched a film, I must clarify, in I-don’t-know-how-many years. But he is a news junkie. Therefore, when he told me on Saturday that the biggest TV news of the day was that Kareena Kapoor had a band-aid on her leg, I believe him.

     

    I think I also take back every criticism of Markandey Katju I ever made. I opened the e-paper of The Times of India this morning, to have a look at what was happening in the world. The front page of the main edition and the front page of Bombay Times opened next to each other. I have not read Bombay Times since Medianet began, so I did not look further. Why should I, when I already knew from opening the TOI website that Sajid Khan thinks that the Shah Rukh Khan-Farah Khan fight was meaningless and that Sachin Tendulkar had handed over the captaincy of the Mumbai Indians to Harbhajan Singh.

     

    Actually, it said ‘Bhajji” but by now we all know who that is. Should they have called Sachin “Tendlya” to keep the casual tone consistent? Maybe you’re not allowed to get casual with Sachin.

     

    I then went to Google to have a look at Hindustan Times. “Click for the latest Bollywood and cricket news” said the link. Ah well. I already know that, I thought. Kareena Kapoor has a band-aid on her leg and Sachin is no longer captain of the Mumbai Indians. Of course I was wrong. The most viewed story on the Hindustan Times website is “Akshay Kumar, John Abraham in a brawl”.

     

    I had foolishly thought that the Myanmar elections and Aung San Suu Kyi’s imminent victory was big news but couldn’t find it on the home page of these two worthy websites.

     

    So I went to the Times Now website and that is where normal service was resumed. Arnab Goswami, in save-India mode, looked at me sternly and I then knew all about Jaganmohan Reddy’s yatra as the CBI noose around him tightened, the fact that Team Anna was now taking on the BJP over Himachal Pradesh and the Lok Ayukta Bill, that the prime minister had refused to meet army chief VK Singh. I also saw Mynmar there.

     

    I hereby humbly take back all the nasty things I have ever said about Indian television. This I predict will last three days. Because I just remembered Kareena Kapoor and her band-aid.