MxMIndia

Category: Digital

  • With strapline "Career Hai, Compromise Nahi"

    Masai School launches first digital ad

    By Our Staff

     

    Masai School launches its first-ever digital ad campaign, “Career Hai, Compromise Nahi”.  With the objective of creating awareness, the brand has launched three ad films as part of the campaign which talk about the constraints and fears aspirants face while making career choices, depicted through experiential stories.

    Said Ankur Kayesth, Senior Vice President of Masai School: “Our campaign “Career Hai, Compromise Nahi” is aimed at talking about the most common fears and judgements job aspirants face in their journey towards pursuing their dream careers. The ad films are also an articulation of the earnest efforts of Masai School to make a difference in the lives of those who wish to pursue a career in coding. Through this digital campaign, we hope to reach out to coding aspirants across the length and breadth of the country and emphasize that with determination and commitment, dreams do come true.”

     

     

  • The account was won following a multi-agency pitch and will be serviced from the agency’s Mumbai office

    Kinnect wins digital mandate for Maple

    By Our Staff

     

    Maple Digital Technologies has awarded Kinnect its digital media mandate. The account was won following a multi-agency pitch and will be serviced from the agency’s Mumbai office.

     

    The agency will undertake digital media planning and strategic requirements for the brand, including social media management, web solutions, influencer outreach and online reputation management.

     

    Talking about the partnership, Tushar Bhatia, Chief Marketing Officer, Maple, said: “We are on a high growth trajectory and while last year has faced us with COVID-19, we took this opportunity to re-invent ourselves. As a first step towards thriving in this environment, the focus was to give our customers a seamless experience online and offline, across buying, upgrading and being serviced during these times where #WFH is the new normal and travel is restricted. For this, We needed a partner who could understand our vision. We chose Kinnect after going through their profile and their adept understanding of customers across an array of brands. With the right mix of ideas and innovation, together we look forth to drive value and create experiences for our customers.”

     

    Rohan Mehta

    Added Rohan Mehta, CEO – Kinnect: “As one of Apple’s premium resellers, Maple is in an exciting space and we are delighted to partner with them. Our intent to drive meaningful brand communications coalesced with Maple’s top-notch holistic experience, will strengthen the brand goal of being synonymous to Apple – in predominant regions of operations. So when someone thinks of Apple, they think Maple!”

  • Infomo's R3 and KPMG in India will target the USD 340 billion digital marketing industry

    KPMG & Infomo announce partnership to fight FB-Google duopoly

    By Our Staff

     

    KPMG in India and Infomo today announced its alliance to develop digital advertising solutions for enterprises and large publishers utilising the InfomoR3- a sell-side adtech platform.

    Notes a communique: “The current programmatic digital marketing value chain is currently plagued by ad-fraud and privacy issues (user data abuse). The KPMG in India – Infomo solution transfers total control back to the sell-side stakeholders and is a transparent real time alternative to advertisers and agencies.”

    Speaking about the partnership, KPMG in India’s Head of TMT sector- Satya Easwaran, said that as “digital marketing gains centrestage in advertising arena, publishers will need to strengthen their technology footprint to ensure there is a direct connect between the advertisers and the target audience. KPMG in India – Infomo solution, aims to do just that by providing performance marketing opportunities to advertisers.”

    Added KPMG in India’s head of Digital Consulting practice Akhilesh Tuteja: “KPMG in India-Infomo digital marketing solution is a comprehensive solution, which aims to maximize the effectiveness of digital interactions. It offers win-win outcomes to all the members of the ecosystem and including large publishers, enterprises, telecom carriers and consumers. The solution is innovative and enables direct interaction and engagement with advertisers, agencies, channel promotions and campaigns through digital channels.”

    Said Harsha Razdan, KPMG in India Head of Business Consulting practice: “By leveraging our telecom and media experience, we believe we can assist clients with their digital transformation journey enabling them to take control over pricing and monetise performance marketing opportunities.”

    Added Infomo Founder & CEO Ananda Rao: “By working closely with KPMG in India we address two critical components in our solution set that we offer, Strategy and Managed Services that will enable telecom operators and publishers to monetise their first party data but also offer new offerings to its enterprise and SME customers.” Speaking of the current limitations faced by the industry Rao said: “Advertisers in the digital world require extensive audience reach, known audience targeting, and measurable audience engagement. Our partnerships with telecom carriers and leading publishers around the world provide advertisers access to massive known audiences. Our platform provides a range of new and powerful capabilities enabling sell-side stakeholders to directly enable their inventory buyers to directly interact and engage the known consumer bases they bring to the table within the value chain.”

  • Showcases ‘The Cupid Edit’ by Tanishq

    Voot teams up with Tanishq for V-Day

    By Our Staff

     

    Voot Studio and Mia by Tanishq have collaborated for a Valentine’s Day brand film. Voot Studio has conceptualized and created a 40-second film as part of a campaign to showcase Mia’s ‘The Cupid Edit’ Valentine’s Day collection.

    Said Gourav Rakshit, COO at Viacom18 Digital Ventures: “Voot Studio has been an effective partner for brands in their objective of driving the right message, reach and resonance through engaging and interesting brand solutions. Mia by Tanishq is a very progressive brand that breaks stereotypes through its inspiring product line and messaging.  We are happy to partner with them in creating a captivating film for their latest launch that will strike the right chord with the right relevant audiences on Voot.”

    Added Shyamala Ramanan, Business Head, Mia by Tanishq: “Mia is a line of fine jewellery, hand crafted for the woman of today. ’Mine’ in Italian, Mia is unique, precious and beautiful. Our Valentine collection, The Cupid Edit, captures the Pearl’s timeless allure in combination with the brilliance of diamonds in a modern avatar. We are excited to collaborate with Voot, as it is a perfect platform to run an exclusive brand campaign for our latest collection.”

     

     

  • Conflict arises from the social media’s very functions of the organisation of voices. So, getting spooked is not the answer, writes Shashidhar Nanjundaiah

    Free Discourse in the Age of National Threats

     

    By Shashidhar Nanjundaiah

     

    Shashidhar NanjundaiahThe Twitter-Indian government war is gaining unprecedented but expected proportions. After BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya’s tweet on the farmers’ protest was called out in early December by Twitter as “manipulative media”—its first ever time to do so for all the claims about Malviya as a repeat offender, the micro-blogging company now finds itself in trouble with the BJP government.

    If we must redefine our freedoms, and social media has defined it in its own way, there will be conflict. For the moment, this is a conflict of survival. And Koo comes as a great alternative.

    For the longest time, I have been uneasy with the term “social media”. Can we call it media, I would brood and ask myself. The reasons for my doubt were founded in the definitions we learnt about media. Of course, we have parsed and we have intellectualised it in technology terms—“the plural of medium” is the most common—to its description as “a marketplace of ideas” and most recently, as the non-common carrier of information and insight. For the longest time, the media had been regarded as innocent common carriers of information, much like the telephone.

    Not any longer. Editorial intervention in news still lends it the diversity of voices we have grown to expect it—at least it does so in theory. What Twitter and Facebook did not foresee, however, was that they, too, would be measured with the same yardstick. Surprised, young content moderators are now editors who must determine whether the liberation of expression they had envisioned for their users was too much.

    The less glamorous news item last week was that an Editors Guild of India webinar was cyber-bombed by a number of people who thought the topic—reporting from Naxal areas—was not convenient. Public webinars on platforms such as Zoom always held the technological peril of potentially being hijacked by disruptors. With social media, though, the disruption is a part of the very soul of the technology.

    But as diverse its voices are in principle, organisation remains the very soul of social media, along with its partner-function, transaction. Just as advertisers will take advantage of the big numbers—the soul of the economy of social media—so will organisers seeking to mobilise. If we trust individual minds to determine for themselves what their story should be, there are plenty of opportunities—free of charge—to affiliate with or endorse organised campaigns.

    So while technology has changed, not much has changed in the principle of organised campaigns. Whether it was India’s independence movement or Jayaprakash Narayan, galvanising likeminded people to voice their opinion has been central to change. Social media does beat geography in the mobilisation. Still, like Arab Spring, the real movement is on the ground for any real change to happen.

    That is why, whatever mobilisation of the farmers’ protest may have happened through hashtags, on-ground presence was always going to be critical. The Nishaan Sahib flag (not the Khalistan flag—that, indeed, is fake news that should have been shut down by the government) that fluttered atop India’s best symbol of our freedoms, the Red Fort, is far more emblematic than any hashtag. So while a crackdown on Twitter is underway, a person climbed a Red Fort flagpole at ease on Republic Day, and hoisted a Sikh flag. Police personnel, very much around the place, watched. How difficult was it for the police to prevent a single man from climbing on a flagpole? Questions are being raised whether actors and non-farmers joined the protest. Later, Delhi Police dug trenches and set up barbed fences on roads leading to the capital, and armed themselves with steel batons. It was given much media publicity, as though it were a larger warning. So on one hand, farmers physically violated norms in the capital and the police admitted them on routes that were not permitted.

    On the other, there were online voices that were protesting. While online mobilisation and endorsement was rife—some even calling Prime Minister Modi a potential perpetrator of genocide—this was no longer about the three contentious farm laws. Can such a movement, even considering “Khalistanis” are supporting it, be a threat to the government? Or would the government be better off acting confident of quelling such an attempt? Shouting angrily at Twitter and acting spooked at self-perceived “threats to security” are laughable, puerile actions.

    It all seemed topsy-turvy: the virtual was real, and the real, virtual. Twitter is defending free speech, and a democratic government is shutting it down.

    That is why the homegrown Twitter clone, Koo, comes as a big relief for the government and its political party. Tech-savvy and quick to turn opportunities into advantages, the government has claimed the Koo space to mobilise and co-opt it as a nationalistic platform. For “free discourse,” of course.

    When the US Democrats found that they did not have a strong enough point to claim that Trump instigated violence on the Capitol on January 6, they said simply that he was “responsible”. After Trump was acquitted this week after impeachment proceedings, even Republican leader Mitch McConnell joined the chorus to state that Trump did not do enough to stop the violence. It is reminiscent of what IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and others in his government are doing: They are accusing Twitter of not doing enough. Maybe that is fair.

    But to claim that Twitter must editorialise to suit the government, weeding out inconvenient voices while the government’s own party routinely uses Twitter to spread fake news, is not fair. One is false narrative, the other is fake news. A media-literate government must understand that while we still don’t have laws to protect us from fake news, false narrative is not something you can censor. People at large and political parties and leaders are using instigating language on social media because it sells. Going after Twitter is tantamount to killing the messenger.

     

    As the founder of BeingResponsible, the author is attempting to build media awareness among school- and college-goers via Responsible Media Literacy. Prof Nanjundaiah has led media institutes to positions of repute and leadership. He is also an editor. You can reach him at shashi.nanjundaiah@hotmail.com. His views here are personal.

     

  • All set to offer local content creation to Mahindra’s new farming services

    Digital Refresh Networks wins mandate for Krish-e by Mahindra

    By Our Staff

     

    Digital Refresh Networks (DRN) has bagged the mandate for ‘Krish-e, Mahindra’s Farming as a Service (FaaS)’ division for select digital marketing services.

    Notes a communique: “The role of Digital Refresh Networks (DRN) is to offer search (SEO), optimisation of the app (ASO) and local content creation that will help engage with the farmers fraternity, build relevance and create engagement opportunities at large. The company has actively been in the digital space for 10 years and believes that language shouldn’t be a barrier but trusts that every individual can explore the platform in their own chosen language.”

     

     

  • To curate strategies to boost the learning platform’s business

    Arm Worldwide bags digital pitch of Talentedge

    By Our Staff

    Arm Worldwide has bagged the mandate to steer digital content and conversations for Talentedge’s market leading online learning platform. It will devise a strategy for creative and engaging media towards digital communications for the brand.

    Abhinav Upadhyay
    Abhinav Upadhyay

    Said Abhinav Upadhyay, Chief Marketing Officer, Talentedge: “EdTech and the disruptive power of digital learning is the need of the hour to help grow India’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education from current 26.3% to over 50%. At Talentedge, we are passionate about solving the skill gaps and enhancing people’s careers across the nation. In order to do this, establishing our brand’s promise, enhancing our product value and creating an engaged audience while scaling our business are the core tasks for 2021. Hence, for us, it was a well thought out decision to bring together Talentedge’s brand vision & customer experience practices with #ARM’s expertise in content and organic optimisation to build the Talentedge brand into a career progression powerhouse.”

    Manas-Gulati
    Manas Gulati

    Added Manas Gulati, Co-founder & CEO of Arm Worldwide: “It’s a pleasure to have been selected to undertake this exciting journey with Talentedge. We are super-thrilled to use our capabilities to create a disruptive leg of communication for this fast-paced ed-tech firm with a fantastic brand vision. We have a proven track record of qualitative and quantitative deliveries for brands. Our teams are delighted to enhance Talentedge’s business with a focused and creative approach. #ARM’s experience in the ed-tech sector has given us the leverage to navigate the waters and we are positive that our teams will deliver on the brand objective.”

     

     

  • To introduce digital platforms to enhance studying experience

    Navneet DigiBook to be launched by Minimalist

    By Our Staff

    Navneet Education Limited is set to launch Navneet DigiBook, an app and web-based platform with features like interactive exercises, animations, highlight text, text inputs and read-aloud. The digital video is released in two languages, Hindi, and Marathi.

    The campaign was conceptualised and designed by digital agency The Minimalist under supervision of Creative Director Mayuresh Bangar.

    Said Devish Gala, Head of Branding, Navneet Education: “In changing the traditional architecture of education, while EdTech has the power to transform the future of how education is resourced and consumed, traditional ways have its benefits as well. Digital platforms combined with physical books are the perfect mix to increase efficiency and enhance the studying experience. While digital platforms add fun and convenience while studying, the physical books provides the comfort it has always provided. We at Navneet are motivated to serve students by introducing a user-friendly app/website that will be useful to the students in their studies. We are looking forward to a successful launch of the Navneet DigiBook and hope it will be well received by the students.”

     

     

  • Designed to redefine madness with tagline ‘Made of Mad’

    Poco unveils new brand logo and mascot

    By Our Staff

     

    Poco mobile phones unveiled the company’s refreshed visual identity, with a brand new logo and brand mascot. With a tagline ‘‘Made of Mad’, we’re told the new logo is specifically designed with the intent to redefine madness the Poco way.

    Said Anuj Sharma, Country Director, Poco India: “To commemorate Poco’s successful independent year, the entire objective of the brand refresh is to honor the community which is as different and unique as our smartphones in the market. Poco’s ‘’Made of Mad’’ is a creative rendition of what our fans and consumers can expect from a brand that indicates a very compelling functional promise. It is also a representation of our consumers who are mad, eccentric, irreverent with a thirst to pursue perfection. Through this initiative, we want to build a belief system that enhances the overall Poco experience that our users find relevant.”

  • It could well outgrow the music, film & TV sectors. In fact the Indian market is nearing the USD 1bn, according to an IAMAI & Ikigai Law report

    Game on! Digital Gaming, we mean

     

    By Our Staff

    The Indian gaming market stands at USD 930 million today and the industry is predicted to soon grow bigger than the music, movie and television industries put together, according to a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Ikigai Law, titled ‘Unpacking a Billion Dollar Industry: Digital Sports & Games in India’.

    According to the report, the industry presents a promising future and can be a key pillar of India’s digital ecosystem. This Report puts in perspective the value of digital games and sports for our society and economy. Hence, the report strongly suggests legal and policy changes that could help unlock the industry’s true potential.

    The report finds that there has been a rapid investment in the Indian gaming industry. India’s gaming industry has attracted approximately USD 900 million between 2014 and 2020. Marquee investors such as Sequoia and Softbank are key investors in Indian market, and the government also investing in the sector. The Karnataka government has set up an INR 20 crore fund for animation, visual effects, and gaming.

    Digital games and sports industry has opened numerous job opportunities in India with close to 23,000 gaming-based job openings in India, with annual salary packages ranging from INR 3 lakh to over INR 40 lakhs. Jobs for game design, technology, marketing, sales, data analysis, among others, have emerged. The industry has also created ancillary jobs for live streamers, coaches, mentors, sport therapists, and marketing agents.

    Here’s the executive summary of the report:

    From their humble beginning as pixelated games in the 1950s, digital games and sports have evolved into a USD 150 billion global industry. The Indian market is nearing the USD 1 billion mark. Smartphones brought heavy and complex games closer to audiences and have made them more immersive. At the same time, digital payments and other technological innovations propelled the industry’s growth. Consequently, the industry has garnered the attention of policy makers, world leaders, economists, industrialists, businesses, and educationalists. Digital games are also increasingly being viewed as more than recreation.

    Gamification, for instance, has become a growth driver in many key sectors like education, health, business administration, and governance. The Covid-19 pandemic further highlighted the social value of digital games, and how they help forge human connections in the time of ‘social isolation’. The industry has created  employment and attracted foreign investment, making it a crucial part of the national economic revival.

     

    The industry presents a promising future and can be a key pillar of India’s digital ecosystem. This Report puts in perspective the value of digital games and sports for our society and economy. In this Report, we describe the different types of digital games and sports and present key trends in the industry. We counter some of the negative societal perceptions around gaming. We also intend for this to be a starting point for legal and policy changes that could help unlock the industry’s true potential.

     

     

    Categories of Digital Games & Sports

     

    Digital games and sports are played for several reasons, ranging from recreation and learning, to competitive play, earning money, and better sports engagement. For your convenience, we have split the digital games and sports industry into 4 (four) categories: casual games, other e-competitions, esports, and fantasy sports.

     

    We use the umbrella term ‘digital games and sports,’ or simply ‘digital games,’ to encapsulate the wide range of games and sports. Casual games and other e-competitions fit the mould of a ‘digital game’. And esports are closer to ‘digital sports’. Fantasy sports, on the other hand, are a unique category in itself (associated closely with sports). This Report unpacks each of these segments.

     

     

    GROWTH DRIVERS FOR THE INDIAN INDUSTRY

     

    Emergence of mobile-first games

    Availability of cheap smartphones and affordable data has revolutionised mobile gaming in India, forecasted to grow to USD 1.1 billion by 2020. More than 43% of mobile users engage with at least one digital game.

     

    India has more than 500 million smartphone users today with forecasts to reach 859 million by 2021. Among these, mobile gamers are projected to reach 368 million by 2022.

     

    Growth of digital games as spectator sports

    Esports and other e-competitions command a loyal fanbase and are emerging as spectator sports. Globally, esports viewership is expected to compete with and possibly surpass traditional sporting events by 2021.

    Gaming tournaments have also emerged with televised competitions like UCypher and stadium events like the 2019 PUBG Mobile Club Open in Mumbai that was attended by over 5000 people.

     

    Increased marketing spends by gaming companies

    Companies rely on various marketing modes to attract users and promote their brands. Dream11 spent INR 222 crore to bag the title sponsorship rights for the 13th Indian Premier League. And Mobile Premier League became the official kit sponsor for Indian men’s cricket team. Brands also on-board celebrities for endorsement. MS Dhoni, for instance, is the brand ambassador for Dream11 and PokerStars, and Sourav Ganguly promotes fantasy sports platform My11Circle.

     

    Use of digital games as marketing platforms

    Games based on movie adaptations such as Dhoom 3: the game, Fan: the game, and The Sultan help create interest in the underlying movie and its songs. Digital games are also used to create awareness and social impact like the Chhota Bheem Swachh Bharat Run inspired from the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

     

    Emergence of local gaming content

    India’s push for ‘Vocal for Local’ and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on games based on Indian culture has pushed local games and regional gaming content to rise. The recent ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge’ saw games like Hitwicket Superstars, World Cricket Championship 2, and Scarfall: The Royale Combat emerge as winners. Digital version of traditional games like Carrom Clash and Ludo King are

    also quite popular with monthly average users crossing the millions.

     

     

    ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH DIGITAL GAMES AND SPORTS

     

    The Indian gaming market stands at USD 930 million today. The industry is predicted to soon grow bigger than the music, movie, and television industries put together. Investments in the sector have grown rapidly.

     

    Indian start-ups have boomed while local companies have also collaborated with global gaming brands. The industry has created significant employment opportunities. It has also given rise to allied professions.

     

     

    Rapid investments in the Indian gaming industry

     

    India’s gaming industry has attracted about USD 575 million between 2014 and 2020 (excluding USD 225 million raised by Dream11 and USD 90 million raised by Mobile Premier League recently). Marquee investors such as Sequoia and Softbank are key investors in Indian market, whereas Indian investors are investing in gaming markets outside India. The government has also emerged as an investor in the sector, with the Karnataka government setting up an INR 20 crore fund for animation, visual effects, and gaming.

     

     

    The rise of Indian game developers

    India has 275 game development companies with over 15000 game developers. Around 5468 Indian game publishers are present on the Google Play Store offering 19518 games across categories. India is also a global talent hub for the gaming industry. International studios like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Nvidia, and Zynga already have centres in India. With ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’, promoting Indian game developers will create huge returns and help India position itself as a market leader in gaming.

     

     

    Job opportunities

     

    Digital games and sports industry have emerged as a leading employer. There are close to 23,000 gaming-based job openings in India, with annual salary packages ranging from INR 3 lakhs to over INR 40 lakhs.

     

    Jobs for game design, technology, marketing, sales, data analysis, among others, have emerged. The industry has also created ancillary jobs for live streamers, coaches, mentors, sport therapists, and marketing agents.

     

     

    Revenue generation and tax collection

     

    Huge investments and rapid revenue generation in the industry can create sizable tax income for the exchequer, a rising trend in foreign countries. Collaboration between Indian game developers and foreign gaming companies also brings foreign exchange into the country.

     

     

    NEED FOR AN ENABLING LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK

     

    Every industry needs a robust legal framework to grow and digital gaming is no different. India’s gaming sector faces uncertain laws that are inconducive to innovation. While changes in state gambling laws create uncertainty, the inability of the law to address issues around tax, intellectual property, and content pushes companies to rehash business models. At the same time, unlike its global counterparts, India is yet to focus on the skilfulness of its labour that can fit into the gaming industry. We are also behind in leveraging the

    potential of gamification to boost key economic sectors. While fantasy sports can open a new dimension to sports engagement, recognition and promotion of esports as a profession will help to create global esports athletes from India.

  • To manage social media marketing, digital campaigns and ORM

    ICubesWire bags digital marcom for Servhub

    By Our Staff

    ICubesWire has bagged the digital mandate for a Dubai-based Servhub. The agency will be responsible for managing the digital marcom and strategy for the brand, including media spends, social media marketing, digital campaigns, social listening, and ORM.

    Said Saboor Ahmad, CEO, Servhub: “At Servhub, our prime objective was to move towards an ROI-driven agency that can deliver as required and meet our various digital needs. We are grateful to have chanced upon ICubesWire as their reputation for generating ROI precedes their reputation. We believe this partnership with the agency will help us reach further in our goals.”

    Sahil Chopra
    Sahil Chopra

    Added Sahil Chopra, Founder & CEO, ICubesWire: “We are excited to onboard Servhub as one of our esteemed clients. With utmost dedication in our efforts, we will continue delivering our best. We are looking forward to ensuring a greater reach for the brand while meeting different marketing objectives.”

  • Targets social commerce entrepreneurs

    Meesho unveils new TVC campaign

    By Our Staff

     

    Meesho jas launched a new TVC to create awareness among micro-entrepreneurs with a tagline  #MyStoreMyStory.  It has been conceptualised by  DDB Mudra Group.

    Said Vidit Aatrey, Founder & CEO, Meesho: “At Meesho we are aware about the pulse of our audience – women entrepreneurs and we accordingly provide solutions. Access to smartphones and penetration of internet have brought many women entrepreneurs to the digital fold who run their micro enterprises via social commerce. Through our TVC we want to convey to these entrepreneurs to look no further than Meesho as we understand their aspirations to meet their customer’s varied demands and preferences. One can always find something for everyone at Meesho.”

    Added Rahul Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, DDB Mudra Group: “To take forward our journey of encouraging women entrepreneurs, we wanted to bring out how simple and powerful an ally Meesho is. The film effectively communicates that Meesho is as vast and resourceful as your contact list.”