MxMIndia

Category: Digital

  • Chinese mobile ad network Madhouse enters India to offer comprehensive mobile marketing solutions

    Chinese Madhouse looks to wow India

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    Countless comparisons could be drawn on how two of the biggest and most admired economies are driving brands from all across the world to be a part of a growth story that is unparelled. Or how the APAC region is all about just these two economies today, putting the other developed nations in the region in a state of oblivion. Having wowed the world with growth stories that defy market odds, China and India today command attention from business stalwarts and entrepreneurs like no other, especially entrepreneurs from emerging mediums like Digital and Mobile that are shaping the way the world goes about doing its business. But despite the huge buzz around these two economies, there is very little that transpires when it comes to the two economies trying to venture into each other’s territory to gain mileage and expand base – especially in the digital space.

     

    But all that could change with the advent of the largest mobile solutions and advertising network firm from China- Madhouse. Launched in 2006, the company enjoys the reputation of being tagged as the most intellectual and largest mobile ad solutions company in China. In India, Madhouse will work towards providing brands, advertising and media agencies and marketers with a host of comprehensive mobile marketing solutions. It has already tied up with a host of strategic partners including WPP, Vivaki, Omnicom, Aegis and so on from the media agency side of the business and would work towards providing them holistic mobile marketing and advertising network solutions.

     

    The Madhouse India team would be headed by Vinod Thadani, who until now was handling mobile responsibilities for Group M India andSouth Asia. Given that the two countries share market complexities that are similar in nature and have a population base that is very high, it seemed like a natural extension for Madhouse to step in to India, making it the first such venture into foreign territory in APAC.

     

    Throwing light on how the APAC market compares to the other regions and reacting on his choice of targeting India as the hub for launching the venture, Joshua Maa, Founder & CEO, Madhouse Inc. said: “Today APAC occupies ad spends growth to the tune of 32 per cent, making it the largest in the world. These are led by the economies of China , India and Indonesia that are the key drivers of this growth in APAC. To gain success in a market like India requires the ability to manage complexity, and this is an area where we excel.”

     

    Hoping to leverage the opportunity of using mobile as a mass media device, Maa went on to elaborate the business module by stating: “If you compare the mobile markets of India and China, they are almost identical. While China has a mobile user base of 960 million, India’s number stands at 894 million. But where mobile internet users are concerned, China has 356 million users while India’s number stands at 150 million. Therefore, we foresee a huge growth in India and decided to make this our first market to launch in APAC.”

     

    In India, the agency’s focus would be centred around disciplines of mobile ad serving, mobile ad network and mobile marketing solutions. Having wowed clients in China like HP, KFC, Unilever, Intel, Coke, and others, Maa hopes to emulate a similar example here by getting important brands to align with the network: “Being the only full-service provider in the market and having a skilled and experienced team in place, we hope to attract a lot of clients in the days to come.”

     

    Emphasising on the partnership, Vinod Thadani, COO, Madhouse said: “Madhouse will offer mobile marketing solutions created and carried out for advertisers by a team of experienced media professionals that understand this medium. On a technical level, mobile advertising can now achieve accurate intelligent targeting and provide real-time reporting – a very convincing proposition for advertisers.” According to Thadani, the need of the hour is to unlock the potential of the mobile medium and they are therefore determined to grow the Indian Digital Media market from Rs125 crores to Rs1,000 crores in the next 3 years. “The need of the hour is to understand the medium thoroughly and this would be possible by partnering with the right partners and going back with the right solutions to clients.”

     

    Perhaps the best reason for elation among mobile clients in India was provided by Ranjan Kapur, Country Manager, WPP, who began by discussing how India, as an advertising market, was highly undervalued. “Despite India boasting such a good growth in economy, the advertising spends in China stand at US $55 billion while for India it is at US $6 billion, this shows that we are still an under-advertised and under-branded market.” Citing the reason for China leapfrogging ahead of India, Kapur said that the single biggest factor for India’s dismal record in getting more ad spends was because it jumped on to the services bandwagon and chose to ignore the manufacturing sector. “While the Services sector contributes about 55 per cent to the GDP growth, it is still very shy on spending on marketing and promotional activities. And this is an area where Manufacturing excels. But all that is changing and the Services industry is opening up and spending more.”

     

    On the ad spends growth in India, Kapur said that while there is a 15-20 per cent growth, it is digital that is intriguing the advertisers the most. “Digital ad spends recorded a growth of 30 per cent.Mobile, specifically, is a Rs125 crore industry today and given that there are 300 million internet users predicted by 2015, mobile advertising is expected to account for about one-fourth of conventional traditional advertising. So it can be said that a revolution in digital in India is beginning to happen now.” This growth will be boosted further by the Government’s efforts to spread mobile and internet usage in rural areas for which it has promised 2,50,000 nodes for broadband in the next four years. “So mobile marketing in the rural areas will be a mass phenomenon, once this plan gains momentum.”

     

    Another interesting addition to the venture would be Rovio Entertainment that is more popular for its Angry Birds concept around the world. “Madhouse is a valuable partner for us in China , and we are excited about the opportunity to extend our collaboration to India as well,” said Bijay Gurung, Key Account Director, Rovio Entertainment Ltd. “With India being the second largest Facebook market, it opens the door for us to entertain even more fans as we are aiming for one billion downloads by the end of the year.” The current number stands at 700 million. Apart from that, Rovio would also focus on pushing itself as a publishing firm, a large-scale animations firm and further look to enhance its merchandise business.

     

    In an era where it is becoming difficult to lead lives without smartphones, iPads and other such mobile gizmos and with a lot left to be accomplished in the Data, Voice and Text domain and lack of established tools and systems that makes it difficult to answer the question of how this medium can be leveraged by advertisers to reach out to their consumers, probably an established Chinese mobile dragon could well show Indian mobile companies the way this medium could be harnessed to its full potential.

     

  • Gaurav Mishra-led team develops proprietary tools to scale the SM space and help businesses embrace innovations

    MSL Group on overdrive with social media

     

    By Rishi Vora

     

    MSL Group, the Publicis Groupe’s flagship speciality communications and engagement network, is upbeat about its foray into the growing world of social media. Afer it acquired communications major Hanmer & Partners and later PR and social media firms 20:20 Media and 20:20 Social respecitively, it has now clubbed the social media practices of Hanmer and 20:20 Social under the umbrella of MSL Group India Social.

     

    The group has adopted a unique approach towards tapping the social space for clients in India and abroad – it has created three key capabilities: Plan, Build and Engage. Of the two, Plan and Build are the revenue-drivers, wherein a lot of work goes into providing insights, strategy planning and developing web, mobile and social applications; creating content, communities and conversations.

     

    The company recently launched its proprietary tool – The People’s Lab, a global crowdsourcing platform and approach designed to help businesses embrace innovations. It is a platform which works across multiple application areas; provides end-to-end support, including custom design and content creation.

     

    In 2010, Dell India used an early version of People’s Lab platform to create the Dell Go Green challenge for design students and others to share ideas on how to redesign, reuse and recycle gadgets to make them go green. The idea to create Dell Go Green challenge came from the fact that the client owned a recycling programme, besides having conducted several other CSR programmes.

     

    A mini site was created using the People’s Lab and the result was quite pleasing: About 650 ideas got shared, 25,000 members on Facebook and 8,000 votes.

     

    As is known, Gaurav Mishra launched 20:20 Social and now heads the group’s social media business in India. He is Asia Director – Social Media, MSL Group. Mr Mishra told MxMIndia that the company now plans to launch many more tools that will offer clients comprehensive social media solutions. “Our core differentiation in the social media space is in offering tools; we are in the business to create platforms which bring people together and programmes which energise people. We want to create more tools, more frameworks, so that we can go to clients and offer them solutions that’ll contribute in solving much bigger problems.”

     

    Parveez Modak

    People’s Lab was created in India, led by Parveez Modak and is now sold to clients in Singapore and Italy. “We’re discussing with clients in US, Poland, Taiwan, and in India,” informed Mr Mishra.

     

    He added: “Once we have developed enough tools and capabilities in India, we will look to educate whole of our network and make efforts to spread awareness to our group companies in different parts of the world.”

     

    MSL Group India Social is now working towards creating a corporate citizenship offering globally. As Mr Mishra explained, it is a network of 150 senior members of the group spread across regions – board members, global board members, regional presidents and others. The idea is to bring forward a thought leadership team that can provide insights, views and opinions on various topics ranging from “How clients are looking at Change Management Differently” to Employee Engagement, Corporate Citizenship, Innovation, business opportunities and so on.

     

    How will the Social space evolve in India? Where is it headed? What kind of solutions are clients seeking from specialists? According to Mr Mishra, the market for social media services will pick up dramatically now, and clients will be on the lookout for companies that possess the talent to develop in-house capabilities, and solve greater and much complex marketing solutions within the social space.

     

    Globally, MSL Group has about 200 professionals dedicated to social media; about 60 of them in Asia and, for now, 30 in India. Mr Modak, who other than social media also leads the integration function at Hanmer and Mr Narendra Nag at 20-20 Social constitute Mr Mishra’s core team for MSL Group India Social.

    “Revenue-wise, India is still fairly small, China is becoming increasingly big in terms of size of the market, but there is ample opportunity in India,” concluded Mr Mishra.

  • Xtra is the first ever 24-hour news channel geared towards movie buffs in Andhra Pradesh

    AP viewers to get Xtra dose of Bollywood

    By Rishi Vora

     

    Monica Broadcasting Pvt Ltd, a Hyderabad-based broadcast company has launched Xtra, tthe first ever 24-hour Telugu news channel geared towards movie buffs in the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP).

     

    Launched on January 13, it caters to young audiences in the age bracket of 15-30 in all regions of the state. The content includes news centred around Bollywood, Hollywoodand Tollywood; comprising of celebrity interviews, gossip, events/page 3 news, lifestyle and so on.

     

    Mr. Nagesh Nagi, one of the promoters of the channel said that a unique part of the channel is its hi-fi graphics and presentation, which is a huge audience puller for the industry which produces 200-300 movies a year.

     

    Commenting on the how the channel has progressed in a month’s time, Mr Nagi said: “The channel has a mass appeal, though it caters primarily to the youth. So far we have got a very good response. Our interesting line up of content and the on-going marketing campaign will help us cover a fair amount of ground in a few days from now.”

     

    He further informed that Xtra is the first channel in the genre of filmy news in AP and that they expect competition in form of new channel launches in the near future. The channel has tied up with all cable operators in the region. And, by the end of this month, it expects to cover every TV household in the state.

     

    When asked on the response from advertisers, Mr Nagi said: “We expect advertisers to come in and advertise with us, as we are targeting the youth. We’ve already got a few advertisers on board – Santoor is one such advertiser. We’re expecting to close a few more deals in the near future.”

     

    As for the channel’s marketing efforts, the broadcast company has undertaken an extensive outdoor campaign in Hyderabad and other key locations in AP. It has also tied up with Big FM for promotion on radio. The channel’s tagline, 100% Filmy, is based on the passion that people of AP have for movies.

     

    Monica Broadcasting, founded in 2008, airs Telugu news channel – Mahaa news – in AP.

     

  • E-shopping could get a major boost as familiar & friendly grocery stores come online

    Networking the neighbourhood kirana @ AaramShop

     

     

    Aaramshop, a venture that makes shopping for essentials in FMCG and CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) easy with just a click of the mouse, may be just about seven months old but has been making steady progress. As the name suggests, it is about shopping aaram se, the difference being that it has brought the local kiranas/ banias/ mom-n-pop store on its platform thus making possible for consumers to purchase their daily needs online and what better than it is delivered by your trusted neighbourhood shop that you have been visiting all this while. Aaramshop.com has partnered with1400 independent retailers across the country and plans to grow this number significantly by the end of the year.

    A concept that has not been tried before especially in the e-commerce where its largely dominated by players catering to travel, gifts and apparels and even when there are few who have ventured into selling grocery, fruits and vegetables, the AaramShop model is different as it is bringing into its fold the existing local shops into its domain. Vijay Singh, CEO & Managing Director, AaramShop, talks to MxMIndia’s Tuhina Anand in an exclusive interview and explains the concept behind his venture and the dynamics behind the ever-changing face of e-commerce in India.

     

    In the last few months that you have been running AaramShop, what has been some of the key learnings?

    It is always fantastic to see raw thoughts and ideas turning into reality – and that’s what being happening at AaramShop over the last 7 months. We launched the site in mid-June last year and it was the one of its kind of venture, anywhere in the world, so we did not really have clear benchmarks to follow.

     

    So far, almost all our thoughts and ideas have been reinforced and we are very positive about the future of what we have created. Every member of the brand marketing & retailing eco-system has embraced the idea of AaramShop with enthusiasm.

     

    How do you see the venture going further?

    Today, we are the commerce partner to over 1,400 independent retailers across the country and we will grow this number multi-fold by the end of the year to ensure that every household in the top 10 cities can order their preferred FMCG brands via their trusted independent neighbourhood retailer (AaramShops as we call them) and get it at their doorstep in a matter of a few hours. We intend to scale to approx 20,000 AaramShops.

     

    We are starting to see brands integrating the advantages of the AaramShop platform within their digital marketing assets. This will extend the integration to all marketing initiatives by brands, including print ads, social media, campaign sites, and so on, as it will enable to them to ensure a critical last mile connect.

     

    In a move to make the online shopping experience exciting, AaramShop has introduced its unique product listing option that envelops the shopper in a complete brand experience. The innovation would enable marketers across FMCG / CPG categories to take advantage of the proliferation of online videos and all other digital content and consumers’ increasing engagement with that content.

     

    You have said that AaramShop is just a platform and your revenue model is not dependent on it. Can you elaborate on the revenue model?

    We don’t believe that the typical e-commerce models would work for the FMCG/CPG brands, predominantly on account of absence of deep discounting by brands and the fact that FMCG brands are extremely well distributed across the country and widely available across 12 million plus stores across the country.

     

    At AaramShop, we believe there is no need for more shops (on-ground or online) – the opportunity, however, is in making the existing shops available on the web so that the consumers can do their shopping with added ease, without needing to trudge down to the market.

     

    AaramShop, therefore, has been created as a hybrid retail platform for sales and marketing of FMCG/CPG brands to busy urban consumers. The platform offers the consumers the convenience of selecting from thousands of FMCG brands and then leverages the strengths of neighbourhood retailers to ensure last mile fulfillment of the orders.

     

    AaramShop is a free-to-use platform, not just for the consumers, but also for the retailers and, therefore, it does not disrupt the financial arrangements that the brands have already put in place.

     

    We have created a number of premium opt-in services for brands to use to connect in a more meaningful manner with consumers. These premium services are predominantly built around analytics-driven marketing, advertising options online and offline, AaramShop centric opportunities, and so on. Our revenue model is centred on premium services and brands have started to use some of these services.

     

    Buying grocery online, what are some of the logistics nightmare that you have faced in the last few months?

    Since the last mile of our model is completely managed by independent retailer partners who undertake the warehousing and the fulfillment of orders within their stores’ normal footprint – we do not face any logistics related nightmares. This is the core strength of the retailers within their geographical footprint.

     

    How open have the local kiranas been of joining this platform?

    The ‘kirana’ (independent retailers) are extremely keen to join the platform. They see it as an opportunity to become more relevant to the modern consumers. AaramShop, as a free to use platform, is open not only to ‘kiranawalas’ but also to neighbourhood “pharmacies” as they tend to stock and sell a lot of personal & beauty products.

     

    The independent retailers realize that they are unable to ensure a great “shopper experience” within their small stores and hence tend to lose out on larger orders. However, when they merge the online convenience of AaramShop with its access to thousands of brands with the local distribution and delivery capabilities that they already have, they realize that the combo could be a possible winner.

     

    The digital readiness of a lot of these retailers is still low, but I believe these are quite easily addressable with some technology innovations – and that is when the number of partner retailers would shoot up.

     

    You have been venturing into new and innovative arenas. So what is it that an entrepreneur should keep in mind when going alone especially looking at long term sustainability solutions?

    I don’t believe there is any fun in trending a path that is well-walked.

     

    The environment around us has changed completely in the last five years and consumer behaviour has transformed, however we tend to keep throwing the same set of solutions for the marketing challenges that the brands face. It is important to reboot.

     

    My religion is still marketing; it is the rituals that have changed. This change is dictated by what I see as incredible changes that are happening all around us and, to stay relevant, one needs to change.

     

    We have created a solution which integrates Local + Social +Mobiletrends of the days and it enables the interlinking of the Zero Moment of Truth of brands with their First Moment of Truth.

     

    So long as we can continue to provide an important connect for the brands, consumers and retailers and creating value across the eco-system, we believe that our premium services would be much sort after.

     

    How have you been promoting AaramShop?

    We have not aggressively started to promote AaramShop yet, as the focus is still on building the channel and ensuring we get the technology right. However, in the past and also going forward, our promotion strategies are based on:

    • Extensive use of social media – for example we were the first grocery store on Facebook.
    • Micro-geographic marketing, using the excellent footprint of AaramShops.
    • High quality CRM – grocery buying is a done 20 times a year by an average household, and we want to reach out in a meaningful manner and based on past purchase behaviour to ensure repeat usage.

     

    What are two key goals for your venture this year?

    While we have already released our mobile apps for all platforms, our focus would stay on making AaramShop more easy to use on mobile devices. We believe that mobile is the future and we will release a number of apps that will address different needs of different users in the year ahead.

     

    The other big focus area is going to be the BrandEngagementCenter. The BEC (www.brandengagementcenter.com) enables brand owners and their agencies to seamlessly manage and monitor their brand/products performance on the AaramShop platform. It is also our ad & analytical centre and we would like to ensure more users to start trying their hands on it.

     

    Having said that, I think the list of priorities is very long and we will be fighting on a number of fronts.

     

  • Red Digital will make use of consumer-centric platforms to help connect the online and offline worlds

    Red Digital bags social media duties for Mirinda

    By A Correspondent

     

    Red Digital has been awarded the social media mandate for PepsiCo’s Mirinda. Red Digital will build and execute social media strategies that will help Mirinda, as a brand, reach out to their audience on social media platforms. The agency will play a key role in creating online buzz about the brand’s new offerings along with launching various campaigns and building engagement across social networks.

     

    For Mirinda, Red Digital’s immediate mandate on social media is to create an impact for its latest breathless campaign, with which it has launched two new flavours, Mirinda Orange Masala and Mirinda Orange Mango, while continuing with the base Mirinda Orange flavour.

     

    The launch is supported by a robust 360-degree campaign called the Taste Twister Challenge, supported via Radio, Outdoor and On-Ground activities, along with social media.

     

    Red Digital will help in bringing the experience to Facebook and On-ground. The program requires consumers to call or SMS at 08800033333 to choose the Taste Twister of their favourite flavour and recite it repeatedly in one breath for as long as possible; longer the recording, greater are the chances of winning exciting prizes, including 10 MP3 players and 1 tablet PC every day. Red Digital has replicated this experience on Facebook and Android tablets for on-ground activation, making the programme truly 360-degree.

     

    Red Digital is also geared to exploit the new disruptive full sleeve packaging that captures the taste and fun experience of drinking Mirinda through applications on Facebook. These applications use the most prominent aspect of the packaging: the emoticons, to bring alive the new flavours. The applications range from allowing fans on the Mirinda India Facebook fan page to enter into an augmented reality world and play with the emoticons to classifying friends in various taste categories. The agency will also be creating an augmented reality iPhone and Android application.

     

    The campaign, for the first time ever, will also see Red Digital creating TweetMobs through the duration of this campaign. These will be high-impact subjects being tweeted by Mirinda and re-tweeted by a group of people within a specific time frame. Red Digital will connect with the Twitteratis and get as many people to tweet about the topic with various Mirinda branded hash tags creating a plethora of endorsements for Mirinda.

     

     

    Commenting on the development, Harsh Jain, Founder & Managing Director, Red Digital said: “Social media provides seamless opportunities to build interest groups. Digital is no longer just about showing banners and clicking on them. It’s about generating engagement, activation and creating convergence between the online and offline worlds. We are glad to have an innovative partner like Pepsi Co onboard and look forward to creating path-breaking innovations in new media in the near future. The new activities for Mirinda brand emphasize our continued focus on digital innovation aimed at bringing value to our clients.”

     

    Speaking on Mirinda’s partnership with Red Digital, Ruchira Jaitly, Executive Vice President – Marketing, Beverages (Flavours), PepsiCo India said: “Social Media has become a very important tool for engaging with consumers and having a dialogue with them on a constant basis. We are pleased to have Red Digital on board as our social media partner for this initiative. Their prior experience in handling leading brands coupled with a deep understanding of consumer behaviour in the digital space will ensure there is a high level of engagement and traction for Mirinda’s campaign on three flavours.”

     

  • Tweek can be accessed via iPad and will soon be launched for iPhone and Android devices. The application has been developed in partnership with GENWI

    Times Internet’s ‘Tweek’ hits the market

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tablet users can now discover a whole new world of information and entertainment at their fingertips, with the launch of India’s first tablet magazine, Tweek. Created by Times Internet Limited (TIL), Tweek can be accessed via iPad and will soon be launched for iPhone and Android devices. The application has been developed in partnership with GENWI, inventor and leader of cloud-based mobile publishing.

     

    The weekly magazine will offer content with an urban perspective. Keeping in mind people’s wide range of interests, Tweek will feature stories from around the world across business, entertainment, lifestyle and sport. Its interactive format will allow readers to not just instantly share stories through social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter, but also share their feedback with the Tweek team. Tweek has also enabled the reader to not just read a story, but also to listen to and watch it and thus, experience the content.

     

    In a first-of-its-kind, readers will be able to actively shape a magazine. They will be able to connect directly with the writers of Tweek, and share their feedback about the stories they enjoyed, effectively ‘Tweek’ing the magazine to something they would look forward to reading every week.

     

    “Tweek offers its readers an unparalleled experience in terms of interactivity, customization and usability. Its content will be kept fresh and relevant by the large database of content available within the TIL network. With its launch, we intend to pioneer the tablet magazine space in India” said Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet Limited.

     

    Mr Khiani also said that they are interested in experimenting with different ways to monetize the content beyond traditional web advertising. Taking advantage of this new medium which incorporates the rich engagement features of the web into a mobile touch experience on a larger screen they hope can deliver new advertising concepts.

     

    GENWI’s Cloud Publish solution enables has enabled Tweek to deliver contextual commerce, rich-media advertorials that are geo-location aware, and switch out advertisers or ad units on the fly.

     

    Given the flexibility of GENWI’s mobile content management system, the partnership with GENWI will allow TIL complete creative freedom and control to deliver a beautifully branded magazine-like experience on an app.

     

    PJ Gurumohan, Founder and CEO of GENWI said: “With the power of the cloud, Tweek will save time and production costs by reusing design layouts from week to week – all in standard web-based protocols such as HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. But, the most groundbreaking aspect of the application is the way it surfaces existing content and takes full advantage of the tablet experience to create higher levels of reader engagement and the flexibility to explore new monetization channels.”

     

    Times Internet Limited, (TIL), is the internet and mobile venture of India’s largest media house – the Times Group. Indiatimes.com, TIL’s flagship brand, commands more than one billion views per month. The other key properties in the TIL portfolio are Timesofindia.com and economictimes.com.

     

    GENWI ( www.genwi.com ) makes mobile publishing simple – in the cloud. As the inventor and leader of cloud-based mobile publishing, GENWI enables publishers and enterprises to easily manage content across mobile platforms, deliver an excellent brand experience, and find new monetization opportunities.

     

    Also read
    http://www.mxmindia.com/2011/11/inma-toi-launches-tweek/

  • Kapil Dev & Romi Dev will inaugurate the www.millionweddingpics.com website and upload the first picture

    Bharat Matrimony to create the world’s largest wedding photo album

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kick-starting a two month long run-up to Matrimony Day (April 14), BharatMatrimony.com has set the ball rolling on February 14th in an attempt to create two world records – attempt a Guinness World Record in putting together the world’s largest wedding photo album; set a world record with 1 million wedding pictures online at www.millionweddingpics.com to create the largest collection of wedding pictures online.

     

    During the event, the celebrity couple Kapil & Romi Dev uploaded the first wedding pictures onto the website to officially launch www.millionweddingpics.com.

     

    The website opens up an opportunity for all married couples to participate in this momentous occasion and create history. They can also drop into any of the over 150 BharatMatrimony retail outlets spread across the country to participate in this record attempt.

     

    Spread over a period of two months, the grand finale of this attempt to create a Guinness World Record with the world’s largest wedding album will be unveiled on April 14, which is celebrated as Matrimony Day across the globe. The final lap of events will begin on March 1 to mark Matrimony Day celebrations.

  • Sign three-year exclusive deal with YouTube to live stream all fights on a dedicated SFL channel on YouTube

    Raj Kundra & Sanjay Dutt partner with YouTube for Super Fight League

    By A Correspondent

     

    This summer India will witness a sport it has never been acquainted with. Raj Kundra and Sanjay Dutt, through their company Super Fight Promotions Pvt. Ltd., have launched India’s first professionally organized Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting league, Super Fight League (SFL). Super Fight League has tied up with YouTube to live stream the event on a dedicated SFL channel on YouTube at www.youtube.com/SFL.

     

    The SFL-Google partnership will add a new dimension to MMA event providing on-demand access to millions of MMA enthusiasts across the globe. Now fans from Mumbai to Melbourne will be able to join the action from all the fight night events of SFL and share their experiences on YouTube.

     

    The fans can also enjoy special content like fighters’ interviews, fight night highlights, knockout of the night, submission of the night, Bollywood acts, performances by international performers and much more at their convenience.

     

    Under the terms of the tie-up, Google will have exclusive online and mobile rights for SFL content for three years, and, both, Google and SFL will jointly share revenues from sponsorships and advertising on www.youtube.com/SFL.

     

    Raj Kundra, Founder Chairman, Super Fight League said: “This unique initiative by SFL to partner YouTube will give the league a global reach on a single platform. This will allow MMA fans anywhere in the world to view the action on-demand as per their convenience, thus making the SFL channel on YouTube the biggest virtual MMA arena in the world. Since we are offering this as a free service initially our events will have greater viewership than other MMA events. This strategic tie-up will give SFL the opportunity to give MMA fans worldwide the best fight night events with some of the industry’s best MMA Fighters.”

     

    Sanjay Dutt, Co-founder, Super Fight League said: “Martial Arts was invented inAsiaand MMA in the west, now with our partnership with YouTube we will show the world some of the best Indian MMA fighters. With this initiative, fans will be able to have interactions with fighters and celebrities on our YouTube channel. SFL & YouTube will provide a comprehensive site to catch up on all the action any time of the day. SFL will go live from March 11.”

     

    “We are thrilled to have the SFL as our global partner and bring this exciting Mixed Martial Arts sports content for the YouTube community around the world. The SFL format is super exciting and we’re working with SFL team to provide a unique experience to build greater awareness for the sport,” said Gautam Anand, Director, Content Partnership, Asia Pacific.

     

    “At YouTube we’re committed to bring all the exciting content for our users and this association will help us to build on that promise. Sports and entertainment are a big focus area for us and we’re working with companies to take their content to a global audience and also provide a great opportunity for advertisers to interact with a large number of viewers through interactive video formats,” he added.

     

  • 'Unprecedented response from leading brands proves that digital is where marketing wars will be fought'

    Delegates from 15 countries to attend ad:tech New Delhi 2012

    By A Correspondent

     

    With less than ten days remaining, ad:tech, the world’s No.1 digital marketing, media and advertising event, is on its way to be oversubscribed again. ad:tech New Delhi 2012 has been registering an unprecedented number of entries from delegates, exhibitors and sponsors from all over the world, to make it even larger than last year.

     

    The event is being held over three days instead of two days as last year, and has an agenda full of insightful keynotes, panel discussions, workshops and networking opportunities. To be held between February 22 and 24 at Hotel Leela Kempinski Gurgaon, the first day of this conference and exhibition will be dedicated to in-depth master-classes on social media and search techniques for marketing professionals.

     

    The Master Classes will comprise of a hands-on, interactive workshop to provide in-depth learning on developing a web presence, digital brand building, SEO 2.0, evolution of technologies in PPC, social media monitoring, and imbibing search and social into an organization’s DNA. Leading experts from Google, Communicate2, Simplogy, Quova and Value Pitch will be conducting sessions during these pre-registered master classes.

     

    Rammohan Sundaram, Event Chairman, ad:techIndiaand Founder, CEO & Managing Director, Networkplay Media Pvt. Ltd. said: “This year is going to be a big game-changer forIndiain the digital marketing arena, and ad:tech is proud to be at the forefront in bringing the very best of minds together on one platform. We have global digital heads of top brands like Nestle and Pepsi are among the over 90 expert speakers fromIndia, APAC and the world.”

     

    Commenting on the people coming down to India to attend ad:tech, Mr Rammohan said: “Apart from India, we already have confirmations from delegates and speakers of as many as 15 countries, including USA, UK, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and Korea”.

     

    As the largest gathering of online marketers, the event also promises to showcase leading Indian and global brands, including Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Facebook, Dell, FordIndia, IBM, Nokia, Sony Entertainment Television, Bharti Airtel, LG Electronics, MTV, Linkedin, Homeshop18, Godrej Appliances, comScore, Ogilvy, Avaya, mydala.com, Yatra.com, Kotak Mahindra Group, Tata Teleservices, MotorExchange, and Domino’s Pizza.

     

    Mr Rammohan said: “We see a renewed energy among brands this year. Such an unprecedented response from brands puts to rest any doubt on the future of digital media in India, and proves that digital is the new arena where real marketing wars will be fought, and probably much sooner than we expect.”

     

    Besides the master classes, this year’s ad:tech will also feature an exclusive exhibition area for start-up companies in the digital space, which is almost full booked already.

     

    ad:tech, world’s No. 1 digital marketing ,media & advertising event made its successful debut inIndiain April 2011, withNew Delhi being the first city to host the two day event. With 10 shows in 7 countries, ad:tech has been providing media, marketing and technology professionals with the tools and techniques required to succeed in a changing digital world for over a decade.

     

  • Bloggers need to submit an original and unpublished article on "Digital Marketing- What's in Store for 2012" in up to 800 words, along with their short bio and credentials by February 12

    ad:tech New Delhi 2012 hunts for the best Indian blog entry on digital marketing

    By A Correspondent

     

    The second edition of the world’s No.1 digital marketing, media and advertising event, ad:tech New Delhi 2012, is inviting entries for the ‘Best Blog Entry’ contest.

     

    Bloggers need to submit an original and unpublished article on “Digital Marketing- What’s in Store for 2012″ in up to 800 words, along with their short bio and credentials, by February 12t, 2012. Entries may be emailed to bloggercontest@networkplay.in.

     

    Shortlisted blogs will be put up on the official social media channels of ad:tech New Delhi 2012 and will compete against each other in a poll to get the maximum number of likes and retweets. The blog with the maximum public support will be adjudged the ‘Best Blog Entry’ which will entitle the blogger to an all access pass to the three day exhibition and conference.

     

    ad:techNew Delhiis being held at The Leela Kempinski in Gurgaon from February 22-24. It will provide the winning blogger once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet globally respected advertising and marketing experts, and to present his or her thoughts on digital marketing.

     

    This year’s ad:tech will have participation of over 70 digital marketing companies, more than 2,500 delegates and experts from the digital marketing fraternity. Promising to be bigger, better and bolder than ever, ad:tech New Delhi 2012 already has a glittering line up of keynote addresses by Shiv Singh, Global Head of Digital, PepsiCo Beverages; Pete Blackshaw, Global Head of Digital Marketing and Social Media, Nestle; Arvind Rajan, Managing Director & Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan, LinkedIn; Gian M. Fulgoni, Executive Chairman & Co-Founder, comScore, Inc; Satyan Gajwani, Director – New Media, BCCL; Richard Dunmall, Vice President, Global Accounts & Agencies, Microsoft Advertising; and Kent Wertime, President and Representative Director, Ogilvy & Mather (Japan) K. K., Chief Operating Officer, Ogilvy Asia Pacific.

     

    The winning blogger will also get a chance to hear over 80 leading experts in various panel discussions and sponsored workshops, and attend the vast exhibition of the latest technologies in digital marketing. ad:tech New Delhi 2012 is also inviting and evaluating nominations for the official blogger for the event.

     

  • With this move, Flipkart has firmly established itself as the leader in the consumer electronic space

    Flipkart acquires Letsbuy

    By A Correspondent

     

    Flipkart.com has acquired Letsbuy, the second largest retailer in electronics. With this move, Flipkart has firmly established itself as the leader in the consumer electronic space. This deal will also allow for a faster rate of expansion for both companies, giving the combined entity a much larger share in the consumer electronics market.

     

    The acquisition is a combination of cash and equity. The founders of Letsbuy along with their 350+ team will continue to function independently, with the added advantage of being able to access Flipkart’s superior technology platform and supply chain capabilities.

     

    Speaking about the acquisition, Flipkart’s co-founder and CEO Sachin Bansal said: “This acquisition fits into our strategy of building dominant shares in all categories we operate in. We are already leaders in the books and media verticals. Given that we managed to build a leadership position in consumer electronics as well since its launch in early 2011, it made sense for us to consolidate when we saw this opportunity. This acquisition opportunity came at a very attractive price for us and the timing has also been ideal. The synergies will now allow us to accelerate faster and get to share similar to what we enjoy in the online books category.”

     

    Letsbuy.com founder & CEO Hitesh Dhingra said: “Letsbuy.com has experienced a phenomenal growth in the last one year and holds a dominant position in e-commerce industry inIndia. We believe that our expertise in 3Cs category matched with Flipkart’s superior technology and supply chain could be a killer combination. The company had a choice to raise a large round of funding as well, however aligning our business with the largest player in the market made sense as the resultant synergies will guarantee our customers the best possible service, price and selection.”

     

    While the finer details on mutual synergies are being worked out by both teams at present, the move has been welcomed by investors of both firms. Helion, the lead investor in Letsbuy.com has said it believes that the combined strength of the two leading players is formidable and will be able to deliver a stronger value proposition to customers.

     

    Letsbuy.com, started by Hitesh Dhingra and Amanpreet Bajaj in 2009, has built a strong presence for itself in the consumer electronics space in short span of time. It has strong relationship with over 400 brands in this category.

     

  • Available in twenty languages, 'The Serenade' is designed to put love in the air and smiles on faces around the world

    Heineken lets you ‘serenade’ that special someone Live on YouTube

    By A Correspondent

     

    Heineken is helping ignite romance this Valentine’s Day with the launch of a fun new Facebook application called ‘The Serenade’. Based on the brand’s second global film ‘The Date,’ the new app enables Heineken consumers to send humorous personalized songs to potential partners, inviting them on a date.

     

    Available in twenty languages, ‘The Serenade’ is designed to put love in the air and smiles on faces around the world. Millions of adult consumers across the globe will be able to participate and create their own Serenade songs via Heineken’s Facebook page.

     

    ‘The Serenade’ is part of the brand’s ‘Open Your World’ global campaign which celebrates and encourages aspirational behaviours among adult consumers. It follows the recent launch of ‘The Date’, which celebrated a man taking a woman on a legendary date, set to the catchy 1960’s Bollywood track, Jaan Pehechaan Ho by Mohammed Rafi. Through the app the same band that appeared in the ad will create songs for Heineken fans.

     

    “The Serenade is designed to take some of the stress out of asking a partner to go on a date. It’s fun, interactive and guaranteed to make an impression” said Cyril Charzat, Senior Director, Global Heineken Brand. “We are committed to connecting with our adult consumers both on and offline. The Serenade is one more positive example of how we are doing this.”

     

    Co-developed with advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, consumers can create their own fully personalized Serenade for a date in just 4 clicks. With a total of 640 different Serenades available, consumers should be able to find the legendary Serenade that will bring them romance. Mark Bernath, Executive Creative Director from W+K Amsterdam said: “In a way, we want people to be in the films we make. The idea of giving our drinkers the band from the spot to help them ask someone out is our way to make that happen for real. Let’s hope we make a load of offers that can’t be refused.”

     

    On February 9, Heineken will host “Serenade Live”, nine-hour YouTube event, during which individuals around the world will get the chance to serenade the object of their heart’s desire live online, which will hopefully lead to a host of many  successful dates.

     

    To watch The Date: [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57zo8O5pDXc[/youtube]

     

    The event will feature 50 live personalized Serenades. A select number of Heineken fans were selected to create a Serenade that was written specifically for each couple and will be performed by Paul “Kiss” Kissaun and The Serenades, the singer and band that will be immortalized in the popular Heineken commercial “The Date.” Each couple will tune into the live event via Skype and their reactions will be broadcast live to the public. (Timing forIndia: 11.30pm – 8.30am).