MxMIndia

Category: INTERVIEWS

  • 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

     

  • 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.

     

  • Jaldi 5 with Joydip Kapadia: Data based on ground-level info + professional & expert assumptions

    The government claimed an 87% achievement of digitization while the study conducted for MxMIndia by Television Street Maps showed this achievement to be only 59%. While this figure is for cable and DTH homes, that in cable homes alone is a low 38% as against the I&B ministry claim of 81%. MxMIndia spoke to Joydip Kapadia, Business Head, Television Street Maps on the issue:

     

    01. There is a huge variance between the TSM study figures of 59 per cent total digitization as against 87 per cent which the government is quoting. Why do you think do we have this huge difference between the two figures?

    I wouldn’t be in a position to comment on the numbers quoted in other studies. After all, whether its the authorities or TSM or other third parties releasing info about the ground, we all have to resort to diverse methodologies and assumptions. Sometimes the estimates of individual studies could vary due to the underlying assumptions considered. These assumptions work at multiple levels – each or all of these assumptions levels could influence the end result. For instance, differences in defining the areas within the city, definition of Digital TV (including or excluding DTH), total cable homes in a city extrapolated from census and other sources – are just some of the places where assumptions taken upstream within the analysis could produce variations in numbers coming out downstream – at the end of the analysis. All I can say is that our data is based on information obtained from the ground overlaid with our professional and expert assumptions.

     

    02. By your estimates how much do you see the 59 per cent grow to by October 31?

    It’s difficult to predict given the scale of the initiative and the number of players and variable involved. I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess.

     

    03. Would you see broadcasters lose out because of the delay (given more carriage fees, the delay in transparency, but then assured reach)

    We have actually not looked at these aspects so I wouldn’t like to say anything on that.

     

    04. Is there any one thing that you would like to see being done right if there’s a delay in the date and/or for the digitization for the rest of the country?

    We are not direct stakeholders in this and cannot offer any advice in this regard.

     

    05. 05. Do you think it would be prudent for the government to push the digitization date in the four metros by another three months?

    The math for all stakeholders comes down to what is the overall target to achieve vis-a-vis the seeding pace of the industry to reach that target. If that Math adds up then great, else the verdict would be to budget for greater time.

     

  • Jaldi 5 with Tripti Lochan, CEO-Asia, VML Qais on the Cannes winning agency’s foray to India and plans ahead

    Jaldi 5 with Tripti Lochan, CEO-Asia, VML Qais

    Tripti Lochan

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    1. Does the tag of ‘Cannes Lion winning network’ make it easier for VML Qais to make inroads into India?

    Winning Cannes Lions is a fantastic achievement – because being recognized for something like Cannes is a validation of one’s work. But in India clients are looking for our local portfolio as much as they are looking at what VML has achieved globally. To that end, awards are great – but equally important is the context of work you do in that market for brands that are recognized.

     

    2. How do you perceive the Indian digital advertising space and the opportunities here?

    The Indian digital advertising space is an extremely interesting place to be. There are fantastic opportunities, and brands that have global aspirations. But, digital is still at the “lets experiment seriously with it” stage. As brands get successful with their digital initiatives, we will see the real opportunities open up.

     

    3. What will be your focus for the next year in India?

    Continuing to build a solid company, hiring the right people, delivering against the promise we have made to clients, and ensuring that best practices from around the world are show-cased to our clients.

     

    4. What is one factor that differentiates VML from others in India operating in a similar space?

    It’s our insights-based strategic thinking. What we recommend to clients is based on real knowledge of what users want from specific brands. We create actionable insights through research that drives strategy. We have a full research team that does 360-degree research that drives strategy. This is our differentiation.

     

    5. What is the biggest drawback in India that is holding back the progress of digital advertising/marketing making the most of its potential?

    Frankly, India is like the rest of the world in its evolution of digital. The budgets put against digital advertising do not reflect the amount of time consumers are spending online. When this imbalance gains equilibrium, that’s when we will see the real potential of digital unfold!

     

  • Sunil Kumaran, Business Head, Language TV at Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd on why the decision to launch BIG RTL Thrill in Uttar Pradesh

    Jaldi 5 with Sunil Kumaran: UP has much affinity to action content

    It’s been action time for a while for Sunil Kumaran, Business Head, Language TV at Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd. The channel has been in the works ever since a jv with leading European network, the RTL Group, was inked last year. Mr Kumaran spoke to MxMIndia soon after announcing the launch of the BIG RTL Thrill next month.

     

    01. Yours will be the first national Hindi channel doing a phased-wise launch. Why this strategy?

    The strategy for the channel is to enter the different markets with local language feed, catering to the need of the respective market. UP is part of the first phase as it has affinity to action content.

    Our strategy is to consolidate our position further in the markets where we already enjoy a significant presence with our Radio and existing TV offerings.  This gives us a significant edge over the others in the space as we already reach a very large part of the population.

    Also the Hindi-speaking markets contribute to more than 65% of total advertising spends across television, radio, print etc. and the idea is to create a media network that rides on the consumer boom in the tier II and III markets.

     

    Does the UP launch mean consumers in Mumbai will not be able to access it?

    BIG RTL Thrill will be available on DTH platform across India, so people across all metros including Mumbai will able to see it. We have already tied up with Reliance Digital TV and are in the process of closing the rest

     

    Will you also be looking at dialects of UP being used in the dubbing?

    We will be dubbing it in Hindi for UP but with regional undertones.

     

    Will we see it entering southern markets too with local dubbed feeds?

    Too early to comment.

     

    02. Will we see any ‘Made in India’ programming on the channel?

    Yes, that is part of the programming line-up in the future…

     

    03. What has been the response from advertisers thus far?

    We have got a good amount of response especially the brands which have Male as the primary TG. They are also excited to be part of channel which provides differential offering… across Automobile, telecom, FMCG, BSFI, Consumer Durables

     

    04. Any special promotions to hook viewers?

    Apart from big marketing campaign, we are looking innovative on-ground and rural activations. We are also hunting for local Action ka Baap’s

     

    05. Given that action programming lends itself to loads of on-ground activity, do we see that happening?

    Yes, on-ground activation and programming is going to be part of the promotional strategy and sustenance.

     

    Akhadas, et al?

    We are not only limiting it to Akhadas, but also extending it to action stunts in local mela and local talent hunt etc.

  • Jaldi 5 with Ankur Warikoo, CEO, Groupon India, on Crazeal.com’s first anniversary and the e-commerce explosion in India

    Jaldi 5 with Ankur Warikoo, CEO, Groupon India

    By Johnson Napier

     

    India has witnessed huge growth in e-commerce in the past one and a half years where customers online have been bombarded with innumerable offerings. But while many see the space as being crowded there are a few that are making a mark by way of their positioning. Like Crazeal.com, a portal that operates in the daily deals category space.

     

    As Crazeal.com celebrates a year of existence in India there are a lot of things that are going right for the portal like it has managed to sell more than 5 lakh deal vouchers and the fact that it has worked with more than 3000 unique merchants across the country.

     

    As it enters year two of operations, Ankur Warikoo, CEO, Groupon India is clear on the strategy to take the company far ahead. The strategy, he says, is to focus on the quality of deals as only then can it be in the business for a long time. “If you give the best quality of deals, customers will stay. We focus on one deal a day and make that special.” In an interaction with MxMIndia.com, Mr Warikoo says that Crazeal.com is in the market of products, travel and local services – and all three of them are growing at such a pace that for the next 1-2 years we are simply looking at consolidating base in the three.

     

     

    1 How inspirational has been the journey for Crazeal in India as it completed a year of existence in India recently?

    We entered the market just last year and have grown tremendously to reach the #1 rank in the daily deals category (as per ComScore data). We are experiencing super-normal growth quarter-on-quarter and repeat buying pattern of close to 50%. Additionally, we are recognized as the best destination for high quality deals, by our consumers, which is a fantastic achievement in just 12 months.

     

    We have attained this mark within one year of our existence in India because of the deal quality! Groupon globally works with the best merchants and offers the best deal structures to our customers, while solving business problems for the merchants. This has been the same philosophy India has worked on.

     

    We are strongly committed to the Indian market and are also launching our global robust technology to cater the needs of the merchants in India. The Merchant Center is an intelligent application that provides merchants a platform to evaluate and track their performance. The launch of this technological innovation in India will mark yet another milestone in our growth trajectory while setting unmatched global standards for the Indian e-commerce industry.

     

    2 How would you analyze your growth – both organic and inorganic, over the past year?

    I would like to present some key milestones:

    Featured more than 15,000 deals in 12 months

    Average transaction value highest in the category

    More than 5 lakh deal vouchers sold

    Worked with more than 3000 unique merchants across the country

    Sell a voucher once every 33 seconds

     

    3 The space has seen a sudden spurt in activity with a number of players stepping in with their offerings. How uniquely is Crazeal positioned among its competitive peers? 

    Competition is always healthy as it leads to the overall growth of the industry. For me, the real competition for Crazeal are other Groupon countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong. India has witnessed a huge growth in e-commerce in the past one and a half years and customers online have been bombarded with innumerable offerings. India became too crowded too soon and has been molded into a discount deal chasing set-up where merchants do not really understand how their businesses can benefit. The main objective of our channel is marketing. From day one, we have focused on having the right set of merchants on board. We start with city planning, doing merchant reviews followed by personal visits to experience what the merchant has to offer before closing the partnership deal eventually.

     

    4 Will you be laying more emphasis around marketing & promotions activity going forward? What is the budget that you have allocated for the same?

    Our strategy is to focus on the quality of deals as only then can we be in the business for a long time. If you give the best quality of deals, customers will stay. We focus on one deal a day and make that special. We are in the market of products, travel and local services – and all three of them are growing at such a pace that for the next 1-2 years we are simply looking at consolidating our base in the three.

    We will continue to entice consumers with our experiential marketing campaigns. For the birthday week we launched a special consumer campaign to surprise consumers with irresistible raffles every day. Up for grabs were 5gm Tanishq Gold Coins, iPads, Shoppers Stop gift vouchers, Sony Bravia- LED TV, Tata Nano and more.

     

    Previously, we have run ‘larger than life’ raffles including an all paid trip to Las Vegas for 2 at the Bellagio, and a free Harley Davidson bike which saw tremendous enthusiasm from consumers across the country.

     

    We recently hosted a special screening for Hollywood blockbusters – Spiderman and The Dark Knight Rises across 9 cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, Chandigarh & Pune) and gave consumers and exclusive preview of our ad campaign. The special screening involved Crazeal team manning the ticket booking stalls, addressing the entire crowd before the start of the movie and steering on-ground activities to give them a flavor of Crazeal’s personalized services. Multiple on-ground touch points were also created to increase its brand presence and engage with consumers in a fun way. The tickets were priced at a 50% discount and the hall was booked exclusively for Crazeal consumers!

     

    Tell us a bit about your just-announced application Merchant Center. What is its USP?  

    As a commitment to the Indian market and to drive efficiency in operations, Crazeal has launched an intelligent application to provide merchants with a platform to evaluate and track their promotion performance.

     

    Each of our vouchers are bar-coded and have a unique QR code that helps merchants recognize customers who have bought their deal. It can also be done through our merchant mobile applications available on the iOS and Android platform.

     

    No internet company in India offers this kind of technology to their partners, free of cost!

     

    Merchant Center enables merchants to

    Track the number of vouchers their deal sells daily

    Check how many vouchers are redeemed in each of their outlets in different locations

    Get real time feedback from customers on their experience at the merchant’s outlet

    Determine how many customers would recommend the merchant to others

    Redeem the vouchers to enable their payments, on a real-time basis

     

    5 How do you see the e-commerce space panning out in the near future in India?

    Everyone is craving an eShare these days; corporates are looking at diverse product mix, merchants joining hands to offer strong value propositions and consumers shifting to online purchase for obvious reasons. This ePie surely has an opportune slice for all. And with 100 million internet users supporting the e-revolution, the total number of transactions in India is set to take a leap from the present 8-10 million to 40 million by 2015.

     

    The daily deal websites comprise India’s fastest growing web vertical. The coupon business is 16.5% of the total e-commerce audience in India, growing at the rate of 629 per cent with 7.6 million unique users a month in November 2011, as per comScore report. This clearly shows that Indian consumers who were earlier apprehensive about shopping online are now browsing more often to make high value purchases and avail experiential offers.

     

    Internet has played a silent but important role in giving a boost to India’s consumption story. With the advent of 3G, telecommunications and high mobile penetration, e-tailing in India has intensified closing many gaps between urban and rural consumer’s tastes, preferences and consumption patterns. Currently 60 percent of our sales come from six metros with remaining 40 per cent from non-metros. We see this trend catching up fast as consumers increasingly aspire to purchase brands and lifestyle products like never before.

     

    Tier I cities has already seen an explosion in travel and products related e-commerce. They will now witness the next big thing called local commerce. If one thinks of it, this new category is the most frequently consumed category in offline retail, which will now move to online.

     

    Tier 2 and 3 cities are lagging behind, but not in terms of growth. Products e-commerce has made major inroads driven by the ease of buying online and the massive assortment. Travel is following suit. However, local services might take some time as for that to develop as it requires a minimum number of high quality merchants to be present. With large restaurant chains now expanding and the food, wellness industry growing substantially there is a huge scope here.

     

  • Jaldi 5 with Vasant Gokhale on the ABP Group's recent digital offerings for non-resident Bengalis.

    Jaldi 5 with Vasant Gokhale, Head, Mobile Services, ABP

    Vasant Gokhale

    The Ananda Bazar Patrika Group recently announced its digital offerings for non-resident Bengalis. Though three months old, the platform is already gaining traction. MxM India caught up with Vasant Gokhale, Head, Mobile Services, ABP Pvt Ltd to know more.

     01. The digital offering is targeted at non-resident Bengalis. Is Indian market not ready for such platforms?

    We have plans to eventually reach to that point. The back-end plans are already at work. Also, we have our digital websites that are live currently in India. So, we have enough content here online for the resident Bengalis. We will launch the digital offering on same scale in India within this financial year.

    2. What are your subscription models?

    We have two subscription models. One is, standard that is offered for $5 per month and then we have exclusive premium content.

    03. How has been the response from advertisers?

    We do not have advertising options on the My Anandabazar Mobile App on iOS. Current focus is to increase paid subscriptions for overseas market. We already have over 1000 active subscribers MoM without spending a dime on marketing, and once we reach the critical numbers, advertising options can be looked at.

    04. What will be the marketing strategy?

    We will launch a robust marketing plan shortly. We have acquired the current subscriber base all on hearsay, and without spending a penny.

    5. When do you plan to break-even with the digital property?

    All I would like to say is that we are on track as far as investment and other targets are concerned.

     

    As told to Ananya Saha 

     

  • Helios Media Founder-CEO Divya Radhakrishnan on her firm’s first anniversary and how the year has been thus far

    Jaldi 5 with Divya Radhakrishnan: If you haven’t seen the Bad how can you acknowledge the Good

    When veteran media agency honcho Divya Radhakrishnan decided to start Helios last year, there were no doubts about the success of her venture. Her experience in the agency business and her connects in the media are well-known. Yesterday, Helios completed a year of existence, and as a media entity which has just celebrated a year in the business, at MxMIndia, we understand the feeling. We asked Ms Radhakrishnan, founder-CEO of the Helios, a few questions on the year that was.

     

    01.   How has the year been for Helios?

    It has been a year of discoveries every single day. After all we ventured into a relatively new format i.e. a speciality advisory service across various spaces to broadcasters so a substantial part of the year was spent seeding the concept in the  market and continues to be so. Setting up of our infrastructure i.e. team in full force (30) and offices across 4 metros  has also been an adventure of sorts. Besides of course all the standard issues faced by start ups. But, all in all, a great year.

     

    02.   The year has been hit by a slowdown… as you look back, good time to start out?

    Absolutely, it has been relatively slow this year but if you haven’t seen the Bad how can you acknowledge the Good? Getting inducted into the facets of business among adversities brings out the best in you!

     

    03.   You have had a mixed bag of clients… could you share some specific highs in the last year?

    MTunes HD India’s first Bollywood channel in HD has had a great beginning with us. The channel stands tall as a leader in the youth and urban space, hence have managed to build a brand that is now a serious contender in the music space. As far as sales is concerned the proof of the pudding is in the eating as AdEx bears testimony we have managed to give sleepless nights to established players in the segment.

     

    04.   Are media organisations willing to share critical functions like – ad sales, marketing, advertising, etc, or do they prefer to keep it to themselves since they finally contribute to the success of an organisation? 

    There are many obvious fall-outs of the plethora of TV channels that have emerged in India, but a very pertinent one is the need for multiple specializations to be housed with every broadcaster. Limited talent resources and high value investments are being channelized to develop content and ensuring distribution. Hence there is an evident need gap for an ancillary service provider for the channels There is a requirement of a professional set up with an experienced set of specialists having the right skill-sets and expertise, taking charge of specific requirements from the channels Providing them with the best talent in the industry as outside resources, Helping the channels maintain their internal costs/ resource balance and healthier bottomlines in the process

     

    Yes, it has not been so easy however in the last couple of months that we have actually started pitching for business other than those we already had on board, we have had some positive responses based on the way in which we have projected the offerings. The media organisations are warming up to the same

     

    05.   What next… what are your targets for the following year?

    The efforts that we have put in seeding this concept in the market is surely materialising into some major new business wins for us, which you will hear from us shortly. Also these wins are all encompassing, that is besides Ad Sales, Content Advisory & Creation, Marketing, Advertising, PR, Digital, Social Media and Research

     

    Any chance of expanding your portfolio to media planning, which is personally your core specialisation?

     

    NO

     

  • Founder-President of the Cable Operators Federation of India responds to our questions hours before the scheduled sunset hour

    Jaldi 5 with Roop Sharma: All set for digitization!?

    Roop Sharma

    It’s the day of reckoning for the Indian media sector as mandatory digitization is scheduled to happen in the four metros of Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. While there are various stakeholders, the role of the local cable operators (LCOs) is most critical for the move to be successful. Over the last few weeks, LCOs have been exceedingly vocal on the problems with digitization move. MxMIndia spoke to Roop Sharma, founder and president of the Cable Operators Federation of India on the morning of October 31…

     

    01.   So the sun is finally going to set on analogue transmission in the four metros today?

    Yes, this is what looks like considering the attitude of the government.

    Don’t you think some teething troubles would exist even if there was 100% set-top box installation?

    Firstly, everyone including the Ministry knows that seeding of STBs is not 100%. So many consumers would be having a dark day if analogue is switched off tonight. Secondly, consumer choice has not been asked and fed into the SMS systems of the MSOs. Ministry press release says that this would be done in the next 15 days. I doubt if that is possible to collect and feed the data of about 10 million subs in such a situation. Any way, the Ministry’s job will finish after they give another release patting their own back for a good job done. It damn cares for what the consumers go through. I expect a chaotic situation for another two to three months when people come to terms with what has happened.

    Do you still have reservations about whether it will work?

    I have never suspected working of the technology and always favoured digitalisatioin.  However, I do suspect the intention of the government behind the whole exercise. It appears that it is being pressurized by some external force otherwise government would have remembered its social, economical and political responsibility while implementing a new technology, forcing down the throat of the masses in the name of doing good.

    You check the experience in rest of the world. No government has ever mandated digitization in a private cable TV industry anywhere in the world. In the US, Europe, South Africa, Australia and in many other countries, they digitalized terrestrial television services given free to the masses because it frees lot of spectrum that can be used for new telecom services. While doing this, they ensured that till the last customer is given a digital STB, no analog switch off takes place. Not only this, they offered free STBs to millions or gave a subsidy to buy an STB for each TV set.

    India is not so rich. It could have let analogue exist for the poor masses or provided an alternative, digitizing the free terrestrial services of Doordarshan for them. Don’t forget it is cable TV that made a information and knowledge based society in India and not mobile communications. Real globalisation started with cable TV revolution in India in early nineties.

     

    02.   If the government turns a blind eye to data pilferage to non-digitised subscribers for a few months, LCOs and MSOs should not have any problems?

    Let’s not talk about pilferage of data. Even in the US there is 15% accepted piracy. Has the government stopped pilferage of food grains from its godowns, tax avoidance or corruption in the big industries and politics? However, government should have ensured that every existing customer is enabled to receive digital service and afford the service. Ministry is working like Gestapo as if it is a question of life and death for the nation.

     

    03.   If LCOs don’t get proactive, you’ll lose customers to DTH, as there are some attractive schemes on offer?

    No, this cannot happen. Don’t forget that DTH existed since 2003 in India. If the service was affordable and so good, cable TV would have lost all its connections to it. This has not happened in the last eight years. It will not happen now also. DTH gains are only in cable dark areas or far flung isolated areas. This is the main reason that Ministry is so proactive in making Cable TV more costly than DTH so that consumers are forced to shift to DTH.

    For your information, there is no transparency on DTH in spite of it being a fully digital service. All their content deals are done not based on the actual consumer consumption but lump some deals. Consumers do not get their choice. To get your choice on DTH, you shell out not less than Rs 400 per month. Government is befooling the masses to help a few large media groups who enjoy monopolies in the media markets through their numerous TV channels, This was very evident from the ads given by the government, broadcasters and DTH companies on TV and print media. They had a threatening and scary tone to terrorise the consumers rather than convince them. Otherwise, why should the ads tell the cable TV subscribers to approach DTH operators when the law is made to digitalise cable TV.

    If you ask me, this law will prove a death knell for all small players, both cable operators and broadcasters.

     

    04.   Is there fair clarity on the subscription pack tariff and how much LCOs will earn in the new regime?

    No, there is no clarity so far. Many popular channels are missing from packages offered as well as a-la-carte offerings. Consumers are clueless till now.

     

    05.   As owners of the all-important last mile, your role in this gamechanging move is critical. But there are many who think that cable operators have suddenly started creating obstacles to delay digitization. Why this sudden reluctance?

    We appraised the government what is the true situation on the ground. However, since that was against their mindset, they started ignoring us. In fact, they started having separate meetings with broadcasters and MSOs where cable operators were not made to participate.

    Your critics say that LCOs have realized that their income is going to take a beating… legimately with margins and because digital transmission will require reporting correct subscriber numbers

    It is not a question of dwindling income, what is disturbing to the cable operators is that government has made a law to force LCOs to hand over their years old family business to the big media houses.