MxMIndia

Category: Digital

  • Myntra.com, the largest online retailer of fashion and lifestyle products inIndia, is aiming revenue of Rs500 crores in the financial year 2012-13. The company, which entered the lifestyle and fashion retailing segment in December 2010

    Myntra targets Rs 500 cr revenue for next fiscal

    By A Correspondent

     

    Myntra.com, the largest online retailer of fashion and lifestyle products inIndia, is aiming revenue of Rs500 crores in the financial year 2012-13. The company, which entered the lifestyle and fashion retailing segment in December 2010, has registered a 10-fold growth in 2011 and is, relatively, the fastest growing company in the e-commerce space inIndia.

     

    Mr. Mukesh Bansal (Founder & CEO) said: “Myntra has undergone phenomenal growth in the last 12 months and has emerged as the clear leader in Fashion/Lifestyle space. We have now reached a scale where we ship up to 10,000 products every day. We are planning to cross revenue of Rs500 crores in FY 2012-13, which will further strengthen Myntra’s leadership position in the lifestyle category. This is an exciting category with the total market size projected to be over $100 billion in 5 years with mid-single digit portion being online, making this, possibly the largest online category inIndia.”

     

    He added: “We have built the largest catalogue in fashion & lifestyle category with over 200 brands, have very extensive supply-chain capabilities, including world-class warehouse in multiple cities and our own logistics network in large cities. We will continue to invest aggressively in our technology platform, supply-chain and the Myntra brand to rapidly scaling the business.”

     

    The e-commerce company has received overall funding of $40 million through top-tier venture capitalists like Tiger Global, IndoUS, IDG & Accel Partners.

     

    Myntra.com is among the Top 5 e-commerce companies with over 2,00,000 daily visitors to the site. The company has already reached out to 10,000 zip codes across the country and is constantly expanding its network to support the growing demand.

  • On an overall level, the index had peaked during the mid-months of 2011 but most months saw the index about 20 per cent lower than the July 2008 levels.

    Media hiring 9% higher in Jan than Dec

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Indian entertainment and media sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy, and has witnessed tremendous growth in last couple of years.

     

    In January 2012, hiring activity in the media sector saw a growth of 9 per cent above December 2011 levels and 3 per cent above the January 2011 levels.

     

    The May 2011 index at 1025 was the highest point on the job index in three years. The last three months of 2011, however has seen some dipping hiring numbers.

     

    Hitesh Oberoi, CEO and MD, Info EdgeIndiasaid “With the beginning of the new year, the recruitment scenario seems to be moving in a positive direction. However, this year, firms will be more particular about recruiting the right talent and employees who can make meaningful contributions to the firm.”

     

    Thus, on an overall level, the index had peaked during the mid-months of 2011 but most months saw the index about 20 per cent lower than the July 2008 levels.

     

    Naukri.com, India’s No. 1 job site, is the flagship brand of Info Edge. It revolutionized the concept of recruitment inIndia. Since its inception in 1997, Naukri.com has seen continued growth while outperforming its competitors in every sphere. Info Edge is the first internet Company to be listed inIndia.

     

  • Inorbit Malls have created an online forum on Twitter and launched a dedicated 24 hour customer SMS service

    Inorbit Malls’ interactive feedback mechanism on Twitter & SMS

    By A Correspondent

     

    Inorbit Malls, the pioneers in mall culture in India, now brings to its shoppers an interactive feedback mechanism that will enable them to connect with their consumers in real time as well as provide a forum for consumer interaction and response. Inorbit Malls have created an online forum on micro blogging site, Twitter as well as launched a dedicated 24 hour GSM customer short messaging services (SMS).

     

    The feedback mechanism will enable an expeditious and inexpensive forum to shoppers for resolution of complaints relating to certain services rendered by the mall. All that the consumers, who are active on Twitter, have to do is #InorbitMall on twitter while posting their queries or complaints and Inorbit Malls will respond immediately. A dedicated digital and social media team has been set up, which will monitor these posts and respond to shoppers in real time.

     

    Similarly, people who are not active online can send an SMS with key word ‘FEEDBACK’ on 9619792233. The query will be stored after the mechanism captures the key words, which will thereafter send an alert to the response team for further action. The response team will respond to all the queries within 24 hours.

     

    Talking about this initiative Kishore Bhatija, Chief Executive Officer, Inorbit Malls Pvt Ltd, said: “Consumer engagement and feedback is an integral part of brand awareness and commitment. As a brand, it is extremely critical to understand and connect with consumer on a personal level, as these help us in improving and furthering brand experiences. With this feedback mechanism, we will able to communicate with our shoppers in real time and build trust in the brand.”

     

  • The solutions, a global first, will give more recruiters in India access to high potential candidates and drive the growth of the local talent economy

    LinkedIn announces localized solutions 4 Indian recruiters

    By A Correspondent

     

    LinkedIn, world’s largest professional network, with over 135 million members worldwide and over 13 million in India, on Tuesday announced localized hiring solutions used by recruitment professionals in India.

     

    This move, a global first for LinkedIn, will give more recruiters in India access to high potential candidates and drive the growth of the local talent economy.

     

    LinkedIn India is rolling out, specifically for India, localized versions with India pricing for offerings like LinkedIn Recruiter, which will allow Indian recruiters to search and target profiles in India. Other offerings with differentiated India pricing include Jobs Network, Work with us Ads, Targeted Recruitment Ads and Talent Direct.

     

    “The growth currently being experienced by the Indian economy needs to be complimented with the right talent. Our member base, which consists of educated and engaged professionals, is much sought after by recruiters from corporations and executive search firms. By creating localized products for recruiters in India, we hope to build on our philosophy of connecting talent with opportunity,” said Irfan Abdulla, Head of Hiring Solutions at LinkedIn India.

     

    “LinkedIn’s localized pricing is in line with its commitment towards introducing efficiency enhancing tools for professionals and an acknowledgement of the growing demand for customized solutions in the Indian market,” he added.

     

    Since managing talent is core to making recruiters productive and successful, tools like LinkedIn Talent Pipeline enable recruiters to easily manage all their talent leads in one place; LinkedIn Career Pages, is a one stop virtual destination which helps companies build a brand amongst prospective candidates; and Targeted Recruiting Advertising is a strategic tool which enables recruiters to reach a specific population of candidates as per skill, location or experience. These tools empower hiring managers to make effective and strategic hiring decisions.

     

    In India, LinkedIn Hiring Solutions are used by a number of companies including ING Vysya, Genpact, Biocon, Wal-Mart, HCL Technologies, L&T Infotech among others.

     

  • The campaign talks about activating "your personal blockbuster theatre" featuring BigFlixs+, equipping subscribers to download blockbuster titles in addition to merely streaming

    Reliance Entertainment’s BigFlixs unveils its latest ad campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    BigFlixs, a part of Reliance Group’s digital entertainment business on Tuesday announces the launch of a new ad campaign to increase awareness and promote its movies on demand service – BigFlix+ which lets the user ‘Click-Download-Play’ over 500 Blockbusters at a subscription fee of Rs249/ a month across PC, Tablets and Mobiles.

     

    Today’s metro generation is not able to see all films in theatres; they don’t want to watch the same on TV because of lack of variety and time limitations. There was a clear need of a service that can offer users the best in class movie experience on the devices that they are comfortable using – laptop, mobile or/and tablets.

     

    Hence the brief to agency was to establish BigFlix+ as a premium movie on demand service, where users of the service can also download blockbuster movies in addition to merely streaming them online.

     

    Commenting on the new campaign, Shreyash Sigtia, Business Head, BigFlicks Pv Ltd said: “The basic idea behind the campaign is to let the viewer know that they can now finally select a movie of their choice and view it wherever and whenever they want to see it. With BigFlix+, they can rest assured about the picture quality and enjoy a complete movie experience without the annoying ad breaks, on the device of their choice. This makes BigFlix+ service a Personal Blockbuster Theatre of the viewer. We deliberately kept the creative simple and focused the communication on the core offering and its benefit in order to build the category in the country.”

     

    On the completion of this campaign, Joy Ghoshal, Marching Ants, said: “Film content is not exclusive and viewing it comes with its irritants, so we decided to challenge the biggest provider; television. Big Flix+ is about to change the role of the laptop and other mobile devices to that of a ‘blockbuster theatre’, supported by huge choice of quality content and uninterrupted viewing.”

  • These mobility solutions have specially been designed to bring the power of internet job search on mobile

    Naukri.com launches job search apps for iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices and HTML5 site

    By A Correspondent

     

    Naukri.com, India’s no 1 job site introduces free job search apps on mobile for all smart phone users. This includes special apps for Iphone, Blackberry and android devices and an exclusive HTML5 site. In today’s world, where everyone is competing to be ahead of time, these applications will provide jobseekers an efficient and customized way to search and apply for jobs even on the move. These mobility solutions have specially been designed to bring the power of internet job search on mobile, thus ensuring that their users never miss out on any opportunity.

     

    Both the mobile app and the site are enriched with features which allow jobseekers to filter job openings by location, keywords, functional area, experience bracket and minimum expected salary. Also, users can create up to 5 custom job alerts on the basis of the search criterion defined by them. These job alerts are directly sent to the users’ inbox 3 times a week. To make job search further convenient and mobile friendly, as soon as the user logs into the site it will automatically recommend jobs on the basis of the information provided during the profile creation process. Jobseekers can view the detailed job descriptions and apply in a secure and confidential environment – directly from their mobile devices.

     

    It will be an added boon for employers as well because it acts as an additional platform to reach to their target audience. With the introduction of this mobile site, the response time for jobs posted will be reduced considerably and thus recruiters will be able to cater to a larger audience within a short span of time. This site has specially been designed keeping in mind the need and convenience of a mobile user.

     

    Commenting on the same, Vibhore Sharma, EVP, Technology, Naukri.com said: “Mobile devices are bringing about a revolution in the way people use internet and consume content from the web and smartphones are the new basic phones that would eventually engage users more than a PC. With the launch of our apps and (re-purposed) website for mobile devices, we aim to offer our users the ability to continue their job search on the go and never miss out on a career opportunity.”

     

    This HTML5 site has been optimized to work with all popular smart phones. Further, through this platform jobseekers can also manage and update their Naukri profile effortlessly and conveniently. Users can keep a track on how many times their CV has been viewed by an employer and also which companies have they applied for jobs earlier. Thus, this bouquet of mobile solutions will make job search simpler, productive and much more efficient.

     

    Naukri.com, India’s No. 1 job site and the flagship brand of Info Edge revolutionized the concept of recruitment in India. The site enjoys a traffic share of around 61% as per the Aug Comscore data.

     

    Naukri.com is a recruitment platform that provides hiring-related services to corporates/recruiters, placement agencies and to job seekers in India and overseas.

     

  • This deal will make available select blockbuster UTV titles to BigFlix plus subscribers to help them further expand their personal movie collection

    BigFlix inks deal with UTV Motion Pictures for popular titles

    By A Correspondent

     

    BigFlix, a part of Reliance Group’s digital entertainment business, on Tuesday announced a license deal between India’s first online movie-on-demand service – BigFlix plus and Studio UTV Motion Pictures to bring the best of UTV’s titles to movie buffs across India.

     

    This deal will make available select blockbuster UTV titles to BigFlix plus subscribers to help them further expand their personal movie collection whilst simultaneously adding popular titles to their personal blockbuster theatre.

     

    Jodhaa Akbar, Wake up Sid, Raajneeti, I Hate Luv Storys, No One Killed Jessica, Dev D, Udaan, Fashion, Race, and Kaminey amongst several others will now be available on BigFlix.

     

    BigFlix plus subscribers can now enjoy these, and many more, movies from the UTV banner via a high quality movie viewing experience at their preferred time, sans advertisements, across all internet connected devices such as desktop, tablets, smartphones and connected TVs.

     

    This deal gives audience access to their favourite films at their convenience and provides them with an ever-increasing bouquet of High Definition (HD) blockbuster movies.

     

    “Pay per View (PPV) and Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) options on internet platforms like BigFlix is a great way for audience to watch movies at their convenience. This is the one of our first internet deals inIndia. BigFlix is one of the first players in this space inIndiaand we are happy to have our movies available for their vast subscriber base,” said Amrita Pandey – Senior Vice President, International Distribution and Syndication, UTV Motion Pictures.

     

    Commenting on the deal, Mr Pankaj Chandra, Chief Operating Officer(COO) – BigFlixs Pvt Ltd, said: “BigFlix plus is India’s first movie-on-demand subscription service, which offers an exhaustive choice of HD quality movies to the net savvy movie buffs in India, at their convenience, across all internet connected devices. It is our constant endeavour to equip consumers with latest blockbuster movies and our partnership with UTV is a step closer to enhance, strengthen and expand the VOD (Video on Demand) service inIndia. We are confident this partnership with UTV Motion pictures will add significantly to our movie offering.”

     

     

  • The website launches 7-Day Shopping Extravaganza to celebrate the 'Republic week offer' with huge discounts and gift offers

    HomeShop18 commemorates 63rd Republic Day Celebrations

    By A Correspondent

     

    HomeShop18 has launched a special 7-Day shopping extravaganza from January 24. It is an effort to celebrate Republic Day with the customers of HomeShop18. On offer are huge discounts and gifts to the brand loyal customers. It is an initiative to add excitement over the 63rd Republic Day celebrations. The promotions also ran on HomeShop18, the shopping channel, from January 24 to 26.

     

    HomesShop18 also offers ‘26 deals’ on multiple categories like apparels, appliances, cameras, computers, electronics, health, beauty, jewellery, mobiles and toys during the Republic Day week on all purchases made from the official website,  www.homeshop18.com.

     

    Shopaholics will benefit from heavy discounts, ranging from 69 per cent off on traditional clothing and 72 per cent off on jewellery and watches along with an 81 per cent off on health & beauty products.

     

    HomeShop18 has always endeavoured to offer customers world-class products and provide benefits that enable them to make the best use of on going offers. All these initiatives enable customers to shop at leisure from home during Republic Day.

     

    The Republic Day 2012 shopping extravaganza will offer an array of products including home appliances, jewellery, home decor, kitchen appliances, mobiles, digital cameras, laptops, apparel, furniture, gift items, bags and many more from world’s well known brands. The brand stores something valuable for everyone who shops from HomeShop18.

     

    In addition to the above offers, HomeShop18 is holding a Facebook Contest from January 25 to 27, where participants will get a chance to win three products from any category. Participants will have to answer two questions, one on Freedom and the other, a clue-based question. The customer has to search the answer (which will be a product from www.homeshop18.com). There will be a lucky draw of all the correct answers and winners get a chance to bag surprise gifts.

     

    HomeShop18 is Network18 group’s online and television retail marketing and distribution venture. It isIndia’s fastest growing e-commerce website. Adding a new customer every 6 seconds, HomeShop18’s robust distribution set-up helps it reach out to over 3000 locations in the country.

  • Earns top ratings in customer service, global footprint, market presence, management team, executive vision, mobile, social and more, finds Forrester Research

    Experian CheetahMail achieves a leader status

    By A Correspondent

     

    Experian CheetahMail, the leading global technology services provider of integrated email, social, mobile and display marketing, on Thursday announced that Forrester Research has deemed it among the leaders in its January 2012 report, “The Forrester Wave: Email Marketing Vendors, Q1 2012”; most notably recognizing CheetahMail’s customer satisfaction scores and rave client reviews

     

    As reported by Forrester: “We count on high services and customer satisfaction scores from Experian CheetahMail and it did not disappoint. Its large support teams – which are staffed and operated independently of the larger Experian organization – win customer kudos, particularly for their availability, operational expertise, collaboration and practical, proactive advice. Retailers love this firm because of its experience managing promotional emails although it suits any marketer who needs some extra hands on his email program.”

     

    The report continues: “Experian CheetahMail shines on services. Experian CheetahMail, the study’s largest vendor, lands as our third leader because of its well-staffed, capable professional services teams, tenured management, 14-country international footprint, and near-perfect customer satisfaction scores. Rave client reviews of this vendor’s social and data security solutions…”

     

    “I was gladly a reference for Experian CheetahMail for this year’s Forrester Wave and gave them top marks across the board. I’ve worked with a number of email service providers referenced in the report and have never worked with an email services provider who has made as significant of an impact on our business,” remarked Jenn McClain, vice president of online marketing for Chico’s.

     

    “We are truly obsessed with our clients, and it’s always great to receive recognition for the service, expertise and technology we provide them with every day. Our continued global growth; 97 per cent client retention rate; and investment in emerging mobile, social and display technologies are just some of the things that illustrate our dedication to our clients’ success. We were thrilled to not only be recognized for our customer service, but also for our technology. We received the highest scores for ‘Market Presence,’ highlighting the fact that we continue to be the largest email services provider in the world,” said Navin Chandani, Managing Director, Experian Marketing Services inIndia.

     

    The Forrester Wave: Email Marketing Vendors, Q1 2012, evaluated six Email Service Providers (ESPs) based on a variety of 37 weighted criteria, including current offering, strategy and market presence. Ratings also were based on Forrester Research’s opinion of each ESP’s corporate strategy, product road map, vertical strategy and revenue. Technology demonstrations and in-depth interviews with a number of customer references and top executives also were included in the evaluation process.

     

  • Komli Labs will be primarily focused on driving innovation in digital advertising through applied research and big data analytics

    Komli Media launches Komli Labs to research digital advtg (and hence offer innovations)

    By A Correspondent

     

    Komli Media, Asia Pacific’s leading media technology company, has announced the launch of Komli Labs, a centre for research in advertising sciences. Srinivasan H Sengamedu (SHS) has been appointed as the Vice President and Head of Komli Analytics and Labs. SHS, former Director of Research at Yahoo Labs, is a world class researcher in the field of machine learning and data mining.

     

    Komli Labs will be primarily focused on driving innovation in digital advertising through applied research and big data analytics, in the areas of real time bidding, audience measurement and targeting, ad verification and traffic quality management. This, in turn, will help create innovative solutions to deliver more relevant ads to users, maximizing value for all: users, advertisers and publishers.

     

    The Labs team will be deeply integrated with various teams at Komli, and complement product, engineering and business functions.

     

    “Komli Media is committed to bringing scientific and technological innovation to the digital advertising ecosystem for the benefit of our customers”, said Prashant Mehta, CEO Komli Media.

     

    “With SHS’s leadership, I am confident Komli Labs will help create huge differentiation for us,” he added.

     

    “There are three aspects to what we do: developing best-in-class technology to power Komli products, creating long-standing IP, and authoring high-impact research papers. The Labs team is armed with deep technical knowledge and data expertise.  At the same time we are passionate about solving practical problems and fearless about being hands-on,’ said SHS, on his role.

     

    “SHS is a top notch applied researcher who is driven by creation of economic value and real business impact. Under his leadership at Komli Labs, we are confident that Komli Media will fortify its position as an innovative media technology company,” said Satish Kadu, VP and Business Head – ATOM, Komli Media.

     

    SHS has a PhD in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Science and has several years of experience in research, technology leadership and entrepreneurship with over 100 research papers published, 30+ patents filed and 3 patents granted.

     

    Komli Media is APAC’s leading media technology platform, one of the few companies in the world offering 360 degree digital media solution across real-time display, mobile, video, social and search.

     

  • Dharma Productions partners with mydala.com initiate unique multimedia marketing campaign across 11 cities.

    mydala.com brings battle of Agneepath to real life

    By A Correspondent

     

    India’s largest group buying/social commerce portal, mydala.com, has announced that it has partnered with Dharma Productions as the social commerce promotion partner for 2012’s most awaited movie, Agneepath.

     

    mydala.com will engage its fans, customers and merchants in ‘gang wars’ leading to Agneepath through an aggressive multimedia campaign. The real-life battle to win movie tickets, merchandise, and other prizes every day, and a chance to attend a special preview screening of the movie, has already started even before the reel-life battle begins later this month.

     

    Releasing worldwide on January 26, the movie revolves around Vijay Dinanath Chauhan (Hrithik Roshan) and his revenge against Kancha (Sanjay Dutt).Priyanka Chopra plays the female lead of Vijay’s aide and best friend Kaali, while Rishi Kapoor plays city gang lord Rauf Lala. Directed by Karan Malhotra, and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Karan Johar, the film also features Om Puri, and Katrina Kaif makes a special appearance.

     

    According to Mr. Apoorva Mehta, CEO, Dharma Productions: “In a networked world, traditional marketing alone is not enough to ensure success of a movie. We have partnered with mydala.com because of domain expertise and experience in creating unique and successful social commerce campaigns for Bollywood movie launches.”

     

    As many as 2,000 merchants across 11 Indian cities have already professed their allegiance to either Vijay’s or Kancha’s gang by sporting their gang posters for the movie at their merchant outlets, and are now enrolling thousands of customers to join their gang to emerge as winners through pamphlets bearing promo codes.

     

    Every customer who shops for Rs500 or more at any of these merchant locations is eligible to receive a leaflet with a unique promo code. Customers purchasing deals worth Rs500 or more onwww.mydala.com during this contest period will also receive a promo code. The campaign will runs till January 31.

     

    As part of its comprehensive multimedia campaign, mydala.com is promoting the movie across its entire network and beyond, including its website, Facebook, Twitter, and other partner sites. mydala.com has also roped in the movie’s leading stars Kancha (Sanjay Dutt) and Kaali (Priyanka Chopra) to lend their voices for an aggressive campaign across leading radio channels in several cities all over India.

     

    Elaborating on the tie-up with Dharma Productions for promoting Agneepath through social commerce marketing, mydala.com’s founder and CEO, Anisha Singh said: “Having successfully run social commerce and multimedia promotions for recent big titles such as Don2 and Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl has given us great exposure to film marketing. Agneepath is special and we’ve created a social commerce marketing plan equally special to match its calibre. To further add flavour to the war between Vijay Dinanath Chauhan and Kancha, we have also created a special Facebook app, Walk the Agneepath, where people can participate in a contest by watching a movie clip and correctly answering the questions.”

     

    mydala.com has also created a live scorecard on its Agneepath page on the mydala website where you can find how your gang is faring. Scoring is based on every promo code entered into the system. The gang that gets the most points at the end of the promo period will not only get to win Agneepath merchandise, movie tickets, mydala vouchers and other prizes, but also a chance to meet the star cast of Agneepath.

     

     

  • Space Lab announces 60 finalists of ‘Send Students' Experiments into Space'. The competition received thousands of entries from more than 80 countries; US leads in number of finalists followed by India, Poland, Canada and Spain.

    9 Indians among YouTube Space Mission finalists

    By A Correspondent

     

    YouTube, Lenovo, and Space Adventures in cooperation with space agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), on Wednesday announced the sixty finalists of YouTube Space Lab (youtube.com/spacelab), the global science competition that challenges 14-18 year-olds to design a science experiment that can be performed in space.

     

    YouTube Space Lab received thousands of video submissions from more than 80 countries, a remarkable number given the unique challenge of designing an experiment that could actually be carried out in space – something that has traditionally been the mission of qualified astronauts and scientists. Entrants not only described their science experiment ideas via video, but demonstrated and animated the procedures they were submitting.

     

    TheUS led with 10 finalists, followed byIndia with nine. Rounding out the top five countries in terms of total submissions arePoland,Canada, andSpain.

     

    Starting from January 18 through January 24, the YouTube community will be invited to judge these entries alongside a prestigious panel of judges, including renowned scientist, Professor Stephen Hawking, NASA’s Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s Associate Administrator of Education and former Astronaut Leland Melvin, ESA Astronaut Frank De Winne, JAXA Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and Cirque du Soleil’s founder Guy Laliberté, to determine the winners.

     

    YouTube users and the judging panel will determine 6 regional winners (2 teams from each of the 3 regions) who will travel to Washington, DC, where the global winners (2 teams from each age group) will be announced in March.

     

    “We’re thrilled with the response to YouTube Space Lab,” said Zahaan Bharmal, Google’s Head of Marketing Operations, Europe, Middle East, andAfrica, and the man behind the idea for Space Lab.  “They rose to the challenge – demonstrating great imagination, creativity and passion with their ideas. Our mission was to inspire the next generation and the response shows, we’ve done just that. Today’s Space Lab entrants are tomorrow’s space explorers,” he added.