MxMIndia

Category: JALDI 5

  • Zee moved fast and was always the first, says Ashok Kurien who backed Subhash Chandra's dream to set up Zee and continues to be on ZEEL's Board of Directors

    Jaldi 5 with Ashok Kurien: Zee changed the Indian consumer forever!

    By Johnson Napier

     

    It was a dream that was waiting to become one big reality. When the rest of India was hooked on to the goings-on of the Gulf War in 1991 through relay from international news channels, a bunch of visionaries were contemplating launching a private channel that would do something similar in India. Thus was sown the seed of India’s first and private Hindi channel, Zee.

     

    Ashok Kurien, the man who ran Ambience Advertising which handled the ad business of Essel Group, recounts how a chance conversation took shape to create one of India’s earliest and most successful Hindi channels. Mr Kurien continues to be on the Board of Directors of Zee Entertainment.

     

    1. Do you recall how you reacted when Mr Subhash Chandra first came to you with the idea of launching Zee? From what we hear, it’s after your reassurance and active support that he got into it.)

    January 1991: Subhash, my client at Esselworld, and I were watching the Gulf War ‘Live’ on CNN. It was our early exposure to satellite TV in India.

     

    “Why can’t we do this here in India?” the conversation went.

     

    “What do you know about TV?” asked Subhash.

     

    “More than anyone else,” I replied, having spent many years on the ad agency side: Concepts and Pilot programmes, Sponsored programmes and FCT during the Doordarshan days…

     

    “Write me a business plan,” said Subhash.

     

    I did… and the rest is history.

     

    Of course, Subhash was way ahead of me, with advice and plans from some ex-Doordarshan people.

     

    The first 5 or 6 years, working hands-on to help Subhash build India’s first private TV station, was the most exciting chapter of my life.

     

    Zee changed the Indian entertainment scenario, and along with it changed the Indian consumer forever.

     

    2. Zee obviously had the advantage of being the first mover in the Hindi space, and later there were many others who entered the scene. What according to you is the reason Zee has been such a success story?

    Zee moved fast, was always the first, and stayed far ahead of everyone for over the first decade.

     

    Zee understood the emotions and tastes of the Indian consumer. It took a long time for the competition to figure it out… mainly by hiring Zee TV’s people.

     

    3. Other than being a director on the Board, are you active in advising the Zee management presently?

    No advice to Zee at all….. unless I am asked to.

     

    I have played a role in helping Dish TV grow to leadership over its first 3 or 4 years, and now helping to take the Zee group into new media with India.com.

     

    4. If there was one thing that Zee could have possibly have done differently in these 20 years, what would it be?

    Zee should have launched a Tamil/South channel 15 years ago. But it was my error of judgement and ill advice that prevented that. My one, big, unforgettable mistake!

     

    5. Zee, it’s said, mirrors Mr Subhash Chandra’s personality: dynamic, aggressive, a maverick, often restless, cost-conscious, risk-taker and a visionary. He’s been a friend for many years, would these descriptors be appropriate (for him and Zee). And how much would you attribute the success of Zee to Mr Chandra and in recent years, his family?

    Subhash’s personality is all this and more. He is fearless and will walk where angels fear to tread!

     

    But as a friend I have seen the warm, but very private, human side of him too. He has great inner strength, and this too is inbuilt in Zee’s DNA.

     

    Zee’s success was driven almost 100 percent by Subhash for many years, and only in the last decade or so did the professionals who joined Zee start contributing majorly.

     

    Punit has reinvented the ‘creative magic’ that Zee started with 20 years ago.

     

    But today, it’s certainly TEAM ZEE!!

     

  • Geetha Shiv, National Director, Analytics & Insight, MEC, on reality shows, ratings and of course the Bigg topic of the day

    Jaldi 5 with Geetha Shiv: Family content can add to Bigg Boss eyeballs

    Over the weeks, media agency MEC has been forecasting how key television properties would fare with ratings. Last weekend, MEC announced that Season 6 of Bigg Boss, the flagship reality show on Colors, would see a growth over last year. We asked Geetha Shiv, National Director, Analytics & Insight why and whether the forecast stays now that we know who is in the house.

     

    01. MEC has estimated the opening TVR for this season to be at 3.9 among All Adults, 15 years+, SEC ABC, All India which is 30 percent higher compared to the opening TVR of 3 in the last season. What are the main reasons for this? How do you think Bigg Boss’s opening episode will compare with other reality shows this season?

    Bigg Boss has moved into the peak of primetime with a 9-10 pm slot in this season compared to 1030-1130 pm slot last season. Also the fact is that KBC clashing in this timeslot has not had a negative impact on Colors channel share. Viewer sampling for the initial episodes of any new programme and particularly reality shows will be typically high and over period the viewership will stabilize.

     

    2. Now that the participants have been revealed, do you think the show will be able to grab enough eyeballs?

    While there are some popular celebrities like Navjot Singh Sidhu in this season, Bigg Boss’ participants have never been mainstream celebrities. It all depends on how the plot develops and what happens in the house. Additionally, the fact that the content this year will be more suitable for family viewing can add to eyeballs.

     

    3. What are your expectations from the Bigg Boss season 6?

    Overall it should deliver better than last season, it is a better time slot.

     

    4. With numerous reality shows on TV, what is the reason for them working?

    Reality as a format has seen success in India. It is all around talent or bites of reality as in the case of KBC or Bigg Boss. There is always some winning-losing that happens between real people which brings in viewer interest.

     

    5. How much of the Salman Khan factor will be a pull on television?

    Salman Khan’s popularity has not declined since the last season. We will have to see how much and how he is being used to trigger viewership.

     

  • Zafar Rais, Founder and CEO, MindShift Interactive gives a peek into how the social media works for and more

    Jaldi 5 with Zafar Rais: Likes mean nothing

    Zafar Rais

    01. Have the clients become more open to pushing boundaries when it comes to their social media strategy in the recent past?

    Absolutely! Clients have evolved and welcomed social media. They are keeping themselves adept with the latest campaigns and case studies by brands and their competitors and are keen to do bigger and better. It is, however, up to their agency to provide them with the right guidance and conviction to invest in mindshifting campaigns versus basic presence management on social media. It’s only when you go beyond the ordinary that you truly can optimize social media.

     

    02. Can you give an example of your recent work that is a perfect example of pushing boundaries in the digital domain?

    We recently had a campaign on Twitter for Reliance 3G to announce the association with Google Android. We started this campaign on a Monday norning when people usually Feel Blue because of the start of a long week ahead and got influencers across twitter to interact by using the Hashtag, #FeelingBlue. As the day went by, we got the same influencers and more across India to join in and use the Hashtag in a positive manner, denoting how #FeelingBlue is now a happy emotion. As the campaign progressed, we go not just India but the world using the hashtag in a positive manner.

     

    At the end of the campaign, the hashtag trended in every city in India, country-wide and worldwide until the next day. To add to it, the Reliance twitter handle trended too.

     

    What we tried to achieve out here was for users to have fun and interact on the platform, while subtly getting the message across. The fact that the twitter handle of the brand trended too was an indication that brand outreach was created too.

     

    While a lot of inhibitions was showcased prior to the campaign, needless to say, the Reliance 3G team and their partners were #FeelingBlue and excited after the campaign. This trend received 800 tweets in less than an hour. The contest held by twitter influencers for this campaign witnessed more than 4000+ entries. The campaign witnessed a total outreach of +8.1 Million (81,26, 612) Link to case study: http://www.slideshare.net/MindShiftInteractive/reliance-3g-feelingblue-case-study

     

    03. There is also the campaign for Chetan Bhagat’s book, how did it help in ‘What Young India Wants’ reaching such phenomenal numbers?

    We ran #18ThingsIWant campaign for Homeshop18.com in order to launch Chetan Bhagat’s new book, What Young India Wants. We decided to use twitter and get users to voice their demands. What followed was a gush of Indians who truly wanted to achieve something or get things sorted out in their Country. Right from abolishing corrupt politicians to getting high grades in school, the demands were aplenty.

     

    The end objective: trended for 2 days while also drawing connect between homeshop18 and lead to a drastic increase in sales for the book via homeshop18.com. The campaign trended in all the Cities, India and Worldwide and it started trending in less than 15 minutes of its launch. It had a cumulative reach of over 1.6 million, over 1.3 million mentions and over 3 Lakh RTs. Link to case study: http://www.slideshare.net/MindShiftInteractive/home-shop18-18thingsiwant-campaign-report

     

    Some other case studies that have become industry best practices are #ChappalMaaro , #KiehlsMumbai.

     

    04. What are the keys to assure that a campaign becomes a viral hit?

    1. Insights: Understand who your consumers and what they’re talking about. Create your campaign around that.

    2. Brand Next: Don’t start a campaign with the objective of getting brand awareness. You’re on social media so think engagement. Your requirement to ensure your brand gets leveraged will follow naturally.

    3. Innovate: Once you gain the right insights, evaluate the right trends your campaign will automatically start short listing as a new wave creator. Ensure a level of innovation and uniqueness by actually coming up with something that has never been done before.

    4. Market it: As a social media agency, your role is to optimize the campaign beyond just waiting for it to kick start. Create the buzz through your klout. A Kolaveri Di didn’t get viral automatically!

     

    05. If ‘likes’ don’t necessarily mean an active audience, why is it still so important for a client?

    Unfortunately, a lot of people “sell” social media and that’s when the wrong numbers become a priority for clients. Clients and Agencies need to understand that the number of Likes means nothing if your Engagement ratio is poor. It’s embarrassing for a brand with 1 Million fans to have only 1,000 people talking about it. Tap on Targeted Fans if you’re in for the long haul.

     

    (Interviewed by Tuhina Anand)

     

  • Dr A L Sharada, Director, Population First, tells MxMIndia that we need more ads with girls shown in a capable light

    Jaldi 5 with Dr A L Sharada: More ads must say: Yes, she can

    Population First has been at the forefront of the initiative on the way the girl child has been projected in the media. Dr A L Sharada, Director, Population First, spoke to MxMIndia on the girl child and the media and how we can prevent the celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child from being mere tokenism.

    01.  It’s good to see that the first ever International Day of the Girl Child is being celebrated. How do we prevent it from being mere tokenism?

     

    I welcome the UN, as a global body declaring October11, as the International Day of the Girl Child. This gives us an opportunity to take stock of the work that we have done so far, look further into what needs to be done and how we could take the issue at hand, forward. However the fear that it may turn out to be yet another gesture of tokenism is a valid one. The only way we can stop it from becoming yet another international day celebrated as a formality every year, is through concerted efforts to work on some of the major issues regarding the girl child.

     

    There are many issues concerning girls such as child marriages, low enrolment in schools and neglect of their health and nutrition needs. We need to advocate and lobby for more focused policies and programmes to improve the status of the girl child. We need to use the opportunity provided by the International Day of the Girl Child, every year to reflect upon achievements, fine tune our policies and redesign our programme, if required.

     

    Do you see that Population First’s efforts have had an impact on the media?

     

    I see lot of positivity and openness from the media towards these issues and a willingness to approach them differently. In the current media scenario, many of these issues are being addressed but more need attention. We, at Population First believe that we have to start a dialogue with all stakeholders, media being a primary stakeholder. We, as a nation have internalised, and have deeply ingrained patriarchal values to an extent that unless someone points it out, at times we are unaware of a possible patriarchal tone in our public communications. We need to initiate dialogues with all groups of society, so that together we can build a more gender-sensitive society.

     

    02, In your experience interacting with marketers and advertising agency professionals, do you think they are sincere in their attempts to appreciate the responsibility towards the girl child in a society like ours?

     

    Our experience with the advertising professionals has been very positive. We found them to be open-minded, willing to look at our standpoints and revise their current approach. From the time we began interacting with professionals in the advertising industry in 2008 up to today, we find a much greater presence of girls in advertising and many advertisements that are now projecting positive and non-stereotypical images of girls.

    03.  Do you think self-regulation bodies like ASCI, Advertising Club and AAAI should also take it upon themselves to promote the cause?

     

    Yes, definitely. It is important that activists working on gender issues and the regulatory bodies of media and advertising work together to ensure that the media does not project demeaning and negative images of girls. It is also imperative that  media does not consciously or otherwise, support or promote negative social attitudes and practices such as eve-teasing, commodification, objectification of women and violence.

    04.  What are your views on gender biases in today’s advertising?

     

    In 2008, during our analysis of advertisements showing girl children, we found that girls had a lesser presence and were often presented in a stereotypical fashion, for example mostly endorsing products that have been promoted by their mothers too. It was also observed that an ideal family is always shown as mother-father with one daughter and one son, or two sons. Rarely did we find ads showing two daughters. While a lot has changed in the last few years, in terms of projection of girls in advertisements, it is still rare to find an advertisement where two daughters are shown in a family setting. This, I believe, promotes the perception that a son is a must in the family. In a context where the country’s sex ratio is declining, this is a very disturbing trend.

     

    Television serials, television and print media content also further aggravate this image of women. What are your views here?

     

    Yes, it is true that the portrayal of women in print and electronic media is regressive and voyeuristic in flavour and we have to work on changing this. This is why we have instituted Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity. We have received 1500 entries this year and the quality of the content is improving. There is a lot of potential for change. The most pertinent example here is that of the popular show, Satyamev Jayate, which has suddenly got numerous issues into our drawing rooms. It shows the effect of one strong programme with a potent combination of Aamir Khan, an industry giant like Reliance and a media tool like Star TV. This shows that there is potential to bring social change. New media and its various options are also democratizing the way news now reaches out and has gained momentum with youth across the country as tools for creating public opinion. It is an exciting time to be, in terms of working with media on social issues

    05.  One view of marketers is that they need to sell to consumers, given the prevailing behavioural patterns, and that they are not in a position to correct these attitudes. How do we bring about a change in this view?

    I would like to highlight two ads here. For instance, an HDFC investment plan ad shows a father investing for his daughter’s education instead of a more common notion, such as saving for her marriage. This is a positive and refreshing approach to the product and in no way undermines the value of the product. The other ad I would like to mention is the Tata Nano ad where a small girl hugs the car, and the father gives her the car keys. This shows that the father is proud of his daughter. Giving visibility to girls in ads, is by itself crucial. We need to see more such instances where girls have to be shown in a capable light and in diverse concepts while selling a product. After all, communication is all about conveying the message effectively, is it not?

    (Interviewed by Fatema Rajkotwala)

     

  • Jaldi 5 with Nishit Tipnis: Elavia innovation delivered

     

     

    Nishit Tipnis

    Nissan’s first attempt to break the clutter and attract the attention of more masses with Evalia campaign may have received more flak than appreciation. MxMIndia quizzed Nitish Tipnis, Director, Hover Automotive India on the campaign

     

    01. The innovation has got a mixed response from the baffled readers. Do you think it will have a positive impact?

    It’s a disruptive way of Innovation and this time we want to create an impact which was well delivered.

     

    02. Which agency has designed the Evalia campaign?

    TBWA India

     

    03. Did the innovation optimize the cost?

    Yes, it has, if you see we have not added any additional sheets to the main newspaper. The whole Innovation was done within the main edition.

     

    04. Please share the thoughts that went behind the campaign.

    We want to create an impact for the launch of our new product Nissan Evalia and the innovation has delivered the same.

     

    05. Apart from print, what are the other innovations that Nissan has planned for the campaign? Which mediums will it be using?

    You will see some really creative stuff in OOH and digital soon.

     

  • Anil Garg, Chairman & Managing Director, Explore Travel Channel on whether digitization will help smaller channels

    Jaldi 5 with Anil Garg: No industry body to take care of smaller channels

    While digitization is supposed to help bring in greater transparency into the broadcast ecosystem, the real beneficiary will be the small broadcaster who could well be on a near-equal playing field as a big broadcaster. But does the small channel-owner really feel that he or she is going to benefit. While there are several independents in the business, we approached one who is indeed completely unattached to any ‘big’ force and is not part of any major broadcast association or pressure group.

     

    We spoke to Anil Garg, Chairman & Managing Director, Explore Travel Channel.

     

    01. Is there renewed hope for small channels such as yours given that digitization will see access fee being eliminated?

    I don’t know if the access fee will be eliminated completely, but yes it will be in cases where the distributors ask a channel for the signal! The good news is that if digitization is implemented in the manner that has been mandated by the government, it will help many specialized and FTA channels to be a part of the FTA package. But most importantly, we should appreciate that the biggest beneficiary of this historic switchover to digital is going to be the consumer. They will have more choice, better quality of signals and a transparency in billing practices.

     

    02. So is it goodbye to carriage fees wef November 1?

    No, I don’t think so. But there will be some rationalization since the operators have more bandwidth unlike what was the case in the analogue space. Also there is really no prime band kind of placement. With the increased number of channels on the digital platforms, channels are typically grouped by genre. With all this, we will see carriage fees being re- negotiated.

     

    03. Are there areas where you think the government can still step and clear the mess?

    I am not sure if there is a mess in the digitization proposal mandated by the government. This is a serious attempt by the government to shift the nation to digital and this is the only way to grow the industry and all the stakeholders in this ecosystem be it broadcasters, advertisers or the distributors among others. Everyone needs to work together at this important and historic juncture in time.

     

    It is important that the rollout be implemented in time and as fast as possible to ease the perceived pain in implementing, as I said earlier, perhaps the first major step towards improving service levels and bringing in transparency and an element of fairness in this business.

     

    I am sure that once the rollout starts, there will be many suggestions on how to improve the process and am sure that the government and the various stakeholders will be open to discussing such suggestions and sorting them out.

     

    04.What’s your view on ratings? Should TAM be suspended in the early days of

    digitization?

     

    As we are aware, there is already pressure on TAM Media Research to suspend television ratings data on account of digitization rollout in the four metros. There is always resistance to change; in this case we hear that in such a situation the advertisers are concerned on the methodology that will be used by media planners and broadcasters in their pricing mechanisms due to lack of an alternate viewership metric.

     

    It is a fact that the TAM (analogue home) sample size in these four metros is substantial. Therefore, there is bound to be inaccurate viewership data till such time TAM transitions totally in the digital markets. Till such time, using such inaccurate data will be rather unfair to all stakeholders. The other grouse is from the advertisers in that they would like to be cautious about spending large sums on advertising on television without any accurate data on the returns on such spends.

     

    Again as I have said, all the stakeholders must take a call in this matter in the bigger interests of the industry and the consumer in particular. My own personal view is that no one should use inaccurate data.

     

    05. Are industry bodies able to take care of the interests of small channels like yours?

     

    I don’t think any industry body exists to take care of the smaller channels. Neither is there any industry body helping promote the growth of pro-social channels. Nor has the government built any mechanisms to support television channels, large or small; I feel it is high time the government came out with a plan to support media channels, especially if they are in the pro-social domain.

     

    There is an urgent need to build a body akin to NASSCOM for the television industry in this country.

     

  • Raj Datta, Senior GM, MPG-Kolkata on his first impressions on the new TOI group daily Ei Samay and whether it will be able to dent the market

    Jaldi 5 with Raj Datta: TOI has a strong youth connect but ABP is undisputed leader

    It was launched with much fanfare in Kolkata yesterday. But will Ei Samay from The Times of India stable be able to create enough impact in the Ananda Bazar Patrika-dominated Bengal market? We spoke to Raj Datta, Senior GM, MPG-Kolkata for his first impressions on the new daily.

     

    Raj Datta

    On the qualitative front a lot of the editorial team has moved from ABP to TOI, almost to prove a point as DNA had done to TOI, giving ABP a run for its money. So they know the market, its people and the competition, a heady combination. Editorial content being good, the case would be to develop their weekend content and other sections.

    On the quantitative front, Ei Samay is offering very competitive introductory pricing. For a  six-month subscription, the package is Rs 175, as also special and bumper pricing helping to increase circulation potential and get  hold of those initial eyeballs. Re-subscription would remain to be seen, but undoubtedly they will garner a captive audience for the first six months, really quite a bit of time for a reader to get habituated to style and format.

     

    02 Will a Bengali newspaper from The Times of India stable will be able to dent the market?

    Historically and in numbers, ABP has been the undisputed leader in Kolkata with a sticky brand loyalty associated with them. TOI has had marketing muscle, been innovative and agile with a strong youth connect and flexibility to changing technologies and trends.

    Whether Ei Samay will dent the market or not remains to be seen but certainly they will dent the method of operation of the ABP group making them more aggressive, reactive and proactive. Already there has been a review in its pricing, something they have not with other entrants and Ei Bela launched to target a younger segment in a compact newspaper format akin to a Mid-Day.

     

    03 How was the response  for the launch issues= of Ei Samay?

    The first issue was out at an inaugural 72 pages, a first-timer for a newspaper anytime, anywhere. The editorial content was very good and it had some great innovations, like there was a French window on the front page which opened half way on both sides. It certainly hit you in one shot as it aimed to do. The response would have to be a wait and watch but certainly it’s something ABP will respond proactively to.

     

    04 About Ei Samay, Times group editorial director Jaideep Bose wrote, “It will be Ei Samay’s endeavour to champion its readers’ causes in every possible way — be it to enhance their quality of life, or help rejuvenate Bengal, or create opportunities for the young, or simply provide a platform for ideas and solutions.” Do you think the product epitomises this thinking?

    The recent IRS confirmed that ABP’s youth profile is poor, something which Ei Bela is positioned to counter-act to balance the absolute number rule with the problematic youth area panacea.

    Traditionally, TOI has had a strong youth connect with experience in marketing initiatives and the ‘power of ideas’ involving a younger audience. It knows how to bring in the celebrity and style, talk of where the next party, poetry reading or art show is happening; or come up with editorial sections by student or experts. It knows how to create events and awards to take center stage.

     

    05 How are advertisers responding? 

    Ei Samay’s pricing is extremely competitive and the packaging very attractive with add-on rates at just Rs.150-Rs.200 making it a value-for-money part of the advertising offering. It is essentially targeting Kolkota city over the rest of Bengal. Ei Bela by ABP is also targeted to the city and is offering competitive advertising rates as are the ABP group publications but TOI is being extremely aggressive on this front.

    The corporate business should be easy for TOI to garner with most of the companies having offices in other cities too, but the real fight is in the retail business, which is huge… like saris, jewellery, etc. And there are other Kolkota publications like Bartaman and Sambad Pratidin too.

     

    As told to Ananya Saha

     

  • Acquired five years ago, Hanmer & Partners is today MSL India, a fully owned Publicis Groupe company and part of leading international public relations major, the MSL Group. Jaideep Shergill, CEO, MSL India spoke to MxMIndia on the new identity

    Jaldi 5 with Jaideep Shergill: Good PR is good storytelling

    Jaideep Shergill

    01. One presumes that other than part of the acquisition plan of Hanmer PR by Publicis Groupe, the switchover to MSL India also indicates that the various MSL policies are now being adopted and totally internalised by the team here. What are the specific MSL Group values that people who deal with you (clients, press etc) can look forward to?

    To be honest, the internalisation has been going on for the last five years. We joined MSL in 2007 and it has been five years since that happened. I do not think that anything is new for people at Hanmer as people here are working as part of MSL for five years. We are already a part of the vision and the brand already.

     

    I do not think anything is going to change as far as our vision and values are concerned. It is not going to change, rather get more aligned, sharp and focused.

     

    What is/are the key differentiator(s) between the agency as it was five years back and now?

    Lots of things have changed over the last five years. When Hanmer joined MSL, the two agencies had a lot of common things. We are focussed on our people, our clients. We have a very transparent structure and open culture. And I think those things are still going to remain.

     

    What has changed is that we have grown from an independent small agency to a global brand today. Today we are working across borders. We have best practices from all over the world. The infrastructure is better. We moved to a new location in a brand new building, which houses all the MSL group agencies. We have focused a lot in the last 3-4 years on digital.

     

    02. Other than the identity, it is interesting that you have moved to an upgraded office. And we thought we were in a stressful slowdown. Evidently you are doing very, very well?

    The company is doing well in any case. But I would say that moving into a new location is not necessarily because of performance but more about the plan that we have spelt out for ourselves.

     

    03. How has this year been for MSL India (including those months as Hanmer MSL India)? In an interview with us last year, you had said: “If there is a slowdown this time we will be better prepared because we have a gameplan”. Are things going as planned?

    Things are going as planned. In the announcement we made last week, we articulated our gameplan for the next three years, and what we want to accomplish over the next three years. Of course we understand that there will or can be difficult times ahead in the market.

     

    We are going to focus more on digital and much more on strategic communication.

     

    In an interview to us last year, you had said ‘Two years to be No 1’ (http://www.mxmindia.com/2011/12/we-are-happy-being-no-1-as-msl-group/). One year has nearly passed since you said this. Are we on course?

    I would say that MSL group is number 1 in several respects. Hanmer or MSL India may not be number one but definitely, among the top two-three. The group, which is the entire umbrella entity, has Hanmer MSL focused towards reaching the number one position.

     

    04. Perceptions these days are created not just by the traditional media, but also by social media… over Facebook, Twitter and thousands of bloggers. Your agency was among the first to start a full-fledged social media division. In the months to come, do you see social media PR integrating with traditional PR?

    In our case, it has already integrated. We have over 50 people in our team dedicated to doing social media full-time. At some level, everybody is engaged in digital PR. We have a global hub, which we call social hive. Within our PR team in India, hundreds of people have been trained to deliver on social media.

     

    05. Tell us more about the ‘storytelling motif’ that your communiqué talks of…

    We believe that our job is of storytelling. That is what today’s PR does. Today it is about communicating more creatively and effectively. We believe in our vision of being advisors to our clients and a source of creativity when there is so much competition. It is not those days that there is only newspaper and television, you have internet, magazines, FM coming into play and conversation happening every time. We have to be in play and be good storyteller. We have to call ourselves creative storytellers because that is the job that we do every day.

     

    (Interviewed by Ananya Saha)

     

  • Veteran adman Gopi Kukde believes there do exist some professionals in our awards-crazy advertising world who believe in the movement to change perceptions on the girl child as a social responsibility

    Jaldi 5 with Gopi Kukde: No gender bias in advertising

    Veteran adperson Gopi Kukde was one of the mentors invited by Population First for the creative thinking workshops engaging mass media students on gender issues. Although the International Day of the Girl Child was celebrated last week, Mr Kukde has been travelling and he completed this interview via email over the last week.

     

    01. It was good to see the first ever International Day of the Girl Child being celebrated last week. How do we prevent it from being mere tokenism (as in, what are the steps that need to be taken to avoid it being just another ‘day’)?

    It always happens that a ‘top-of-mind’ event is spoken about and celebrated for a few days. Unless we feel for the cause from bottom of our hearts it is difficult, rather impossible to convert it into a revolution. Nevertheless one must keep on trying!

     

    02. In your experience with interacting with marketers and advertising agency professionals, do you think they are sincere in their attempts to appreciate the responsibility towards the ‘girl child’ in a society like ours?

    Yes and no. While most of them look at it as an opportunity to win an award, which is why you see most shallow attempts time and again, there are some professionals in this award-crazy world who do it as a social responsibility.

     

    Though I feel that a lot of professionalism and science needs to be added to our attempts for, the task is a mammoth one. It is an issue that is spread across the country for centuries, in different levels, sometimes absolutely contradicting each other.

     

    Do you think self-regulation bodies like ASCI and Advertising Club and AAAI should also take it upon themselves to promote the cause?

     

    Although I believe that advertising is a smaller part of the pie in such a movement, the larger part depends on the government, the media and the social leaders. In this situation, the more the merrier, without making it a case of too many cooks complicating matters. For this we need a systematic approach and a strong belief in the cause. The more systematic we are better the results would be.

     

    03. Your views on gender biases in today’s advertising?

    For the last 35 years I have not come across any instance like this, which is why I am proud of advertising as a profession!

     

    04. One view of marketers is that they need to sell to consumers given the prevailing behavioural patterns and they can’t be correcting those. How do change this view? (Marketers often feel that they need to sell according to prevailing Indian consumer attitudes and mentality and that there is little they can do to change that. How do you think this can be tackled?)

    I don’t think so. Advertising has changed many perceptions. Yes, it might take time, but constant efforts will definitely show results.

     

    05. Television serials, television and print media content also further aggravate this image of women. What is your view on this?

    You are right, our television serials and some other media do portray a woman the way she shouldn’t be. The ultimate goal they look for is TRP and sales. This would automatically reduce once this small effort becomes a movement.

     

    (Interviewed by Fatema Rajkotwala)

     

  • In the run-up to the first phase of Digitization, we spoke to Anuj Gandhi, Group CEO, IndiaCast about the ground realities and beyond

    Jaldi 5 with Anuj Gandhi, Group CEO, IndiaCast

    1. We have a little less than a month to go for digitization in the four metros. If the government estimates are to be believed, by now over 70 per cent of four metros have been digitized. Is that the case?

    The data does not take into consideration that homes have 2-3 TV sets now. That is the only gap I see, which will have to be plugged probably in the first month. Other than this, we think that the numbers are in line with what the situation is on the ground.

     

    2. With digitization, audiences will be able to choose channels. Would IndiaCast channels lose out?

    It depends on what packages the channels are on. Of all the packages that have been declared, I am pretty pleased that our channels are very well-placed. I do not think that is a worry at all. Packages have been announced. we have done deals with most operators in the market and we know where the channels are being carried.

     

    Have you signed the deal with all the operators?

    We have signed deals that cover 70-75% of the market. Our intention is to sign with each and every operator.

     

    3. There is a worry that there will be some piracy in the form of pilferage of signals after November 1.

    In any transformation or reset in the industry, there is always going to be chaos or piracy. We will have to deal with it. Of course, I am not saying that there will not be. But I do not think it will be on large scale and we will have to deal with it when it comes.

     

    4. What more would you like the other stakeholders to do to ensure 100% digitization?

    The critical work that needs to be done, has to be carried out by ground personnel. The last mile operators and MSOs have to ensure that there are enough boxes available on the ground, and that the right communication is going to the final customer.

     

    5. Will digitization cause paradigm shifts in how media brands create value in the future?

    Absolutely. Most of the big media brands have been under-monetized with the subscription revenues for a very long time. And once we start getting our fair value of subscription, I am sure better part of the money will go into making better content and putting more money in the channels.

     

    As told to Ananya Saha

     

  • He was more than a master film-maker… he was an industry leader whose views on the business of cinema held as much weight as those on cinematic craft. Excerpts from an interview taken two years back by MxMIndia columnist Deepa Gahlot which we carry in our Jaldi 5 interview section.

    Yash Chopra: Gimmicks don’t help films

    He was more than a master film-maker… he was an industry leader whose views on the business of cinema held as much weight as those on cinematic craft. Excerpts from an interview canned some time back with MxMIndia columnist DEEPA GAHLOT which we carry in our Jaldi 5 interview section.

     

    01. On why dubbing is a harmful trend:

    Avatar was a great film and is a great threat to Indian films. Dubbing of Hollywood films into Indian languages is eating into the domestic film business in a big way. For such big special effects films, with 300-400 million dollar budgets, dubbing is peanuts. We should see how to fight this threat. We have to safeguard our industry. Maybe dubbing of Hollywood films should not be allowed.

     

    02.  On Co-productions:

     A lot of co-productions happened in the last two years, but I don’t think it has been a very happy experience for the overseas people; it may have been happy for the Indian producers. When a film does not do well, it hurts the person who spends money and takes it. Co-production with big studios can be done as far as money is concerned… otherwise, we are poles apart culturally.

     

    After so many years and much advancement there are certain things our audiences will never accept. True, there are taboo subjects that people are making in India and some audiences are accepting them too-those ‘Hindish’ (Hindi-English) films without songs, which young people are accepting. Films like LSD and Dev D have also done well, but by and large, I don’t think we can make films, that can please both audiences-here and abroad.

     

    03. On promoting films:

    I don’t think just promotion can make a film successful. In India, now everyone is promoting films in a big way, with all kinds of gimmicks, but all that doesn’t translate into success, if the film is bad. It’s unthinkable, the money that it spent on promotion, and after all that if the film does not do well, it pinches.  All these years not more than seven or eight percent films were successful; and I am talking success-failure in terms of money only. Those days of jubilees are gone. Today, lakhs is nothing, everything is in crores and how much comes back? Business is not more than two weeks, and of this 70 percent is in the first week. If you miss the first week for some reason, you miss the business completely.

     

    04. On Bollywood and the world:

    Bollywood has become a big name, the whole world wants it n one way or the other. Indian entertainment, cinema, theatre, costumes, food-everything. It’s a big craze and it has never happened before. We were in Paris at the Ritz Hotel, and Tom Cruise was also there. When he went out of the hotel, there were a few fans, but when Shah Rukh Khan came out, it became difficult to handle the crowds. The security people requested us to travel in a bus and not separate cars, because they could not handle it. It’s happening at every level. Our stars are very big…in Egypt, Amitabh Bachchan is god! India is going global.

     

    05. On the downside of going global:

    We are losing a lot of things in our culture. In our music, the soul is gone… the Indian melody is gone. They say that the market is dictated by the youth and get away with anything. China and Japan have not lost their identity.

     

    The advantage of going global is that people are rejecting formula films. They are patronizing new kinds of cinema. The disadvantage is loss of identity. You hardly see Indian costumes in out films anymore, or hear Indian melody. You hardly get to hear powerful dialogues in our films. In the old days there used to be special dialogue writers with a knowledge of the language, who wrote those dialogues that people still remember. Maybe now people want simple, colloquial dialogue, but you don’ft hear audiences clapping any more, or crying in emotional scenes. Dialogue ka zamana chalagaya.

     

  • MxMIndia interviewed Tarun Rai, CEO, Worldwide Media, as Good Food, the BBC magazine published by WWM, completes a year

    Jaldi 5 with Tarun Rai: Beaten a new path with Good Food

    Good Food, the popular BBC magazine published in India by The Times of India group’s Worldwide Media, completed a year of publishing last week. And a very successful one at that, having achieved the mindshare of the discerning Indian when it comes to food-related content. MxMIndia interviewed Tarun Rai, CEO, Worldwide Media, a day after it celebrated the Good Food Day at Mumbai’s ITC Grand Central hotel.

     

    01. When you spoke to us on the eve of the launch of ‘Good Food’ last year, you had said: “We are going into uncharted territory and we are beating a new path. There are dangers but as I said, somebody has to do it and we believe that the potential is huge”.  Now, a year later, as you celebrated your second ‘Good Food Day’, how do you look back?

    It is good to be the first. While there are no precedents at least there is no baggage. The territory was unchartered but we believed the potential to be huge. We believed the timing was right too. The food sector in India was buzzing. People were experimenting with different cuisines both in their homes and while eating out. And we had a powerful magazine brand in BBC Good Food. And the last twelve months has borne that out. The response to the magazine has been fantastic from readers, the industry as well as advertisers. It, therefore, gave us immense pleasure to celebrate Good Food Day on October 21.

     

    02. Was it tough walking a new path in a slowdown year?

    We went about our plans and investment behind the launch. We were not going to pull back because of any perceived slowdown. We even invested in our 2000 square feet kitchen and studio to test all the 100-odd recipes in the magazine, three times. Triple testing of recipes is the promise that we make and we needed our own kitchen to test the recipes and to create new, original ones. At the end of twelve months we are ahead of our revenue targets.

     

    03. Does it help having a surfeit of television food shows and food channels? Would you say they have fuelled the demand (and need) for an international-level food magazine like yours?

    The shows on TV are another indicator of the new interest in food. Yes, they do help in creating the excitement around food.

     

    04. Will you be looking at extending the ‘Good Food’ franchise to other areas like television shows and even food stores as well? (There’s a ‘Good Food’ food channel in the UK.)

    The Good Food brand has a lot of potential beyond magazines. We are looking at various possibilities of extending the brand. We hope to launch a big property sometime early next year.

     

    05. Now that a year is past us, what are the things that we can look forward to in the next year?

    We are going to keep investing behind the brand in our second year. We will continue to work with the industry and our clients to promote our common agenda to encourage people to try out new cuisines. The Good Food kitchen will become the hub of a lot of activity be it Master Classes with chefs or other food events. The Good Food application and site, which is hugely popular in UK, will also be launched in the year. We have beaten a new path and it has turned out to be a very exciting one.