MxMIndia

Category: Digital

  • Initiative aimed to encourage Internet users to share the power of the web with a woman

    Google partners with brands to launch #TogetherOnline initiative

    By A Correspondent

     

    In its efforts to gather support for more women to get on the Internet, Google India announced an initiative #TogetherOnline in association with Snapdeal, Axis Bank, HUL and GSK to encourage Internet users to step up and help a women get on the Internet and understand how she can use the web to get ahead in life.

     

    The nine week along initiative, will see a number of activities across India, starting with a concert with Farhan Akhtar to raise awareness amongst the youth in metro cities. Axis Bank, will host special digital literacy workshops for women customers in their branches across India. And Snapdeal will run awareness campaigns amongst its shoppers and educate women on the entrepreneurial opportunities on their platform. To take the initiative to interiors of India, Google will also launch custom designed 500 Internet carts that will reach out to 5000 locations to engage women in towns and villages across India.

     

    On the launch of this initiative, Sandeep Menon, Director Marketing, Google India said “Internet has completely transformed the way we live our lives. Everyday people are discovering new opportunities and finding newer and better ways of doing things on the web to get ahead in life. We want to encourage all these users to extend this power of the web to women in India. #togetheronline is an effort to empower women in India with the knowledge of Internet and how they can use it to do different things in their daily lives. We along with our partners will host a number of initiatives to play our part and we invite all Internet users to play their part and help get more women online.”

     

    In addition, to this Google has partnered with PopXo to cover easy to know & follow steps for day to day living for various categories. The aim of this partnership is to promote digital literacy amongst women.

     

    Rajiv Anand, Group Executive & Head – Retail Banking, Axis Bank said, “As Axis Bank, progress is a part of our identity, our DNA. And we believe that empowering women is integral to the progress of our society.With the Indian woman today transforming from being a key influencer to a decision maker, it is important for her to be empowered with information. We are proud to be championing this cause in association with Google, to bring knowledge at the click of a button and help get more and more Indian women online.”

     

    Prashant Pandey, Marketing Head, GSK Consumer Healthcare India said, “The bond between mothers and daughters has always been a unique and everlasting one. From 1896, Horlicks has been helping mothers make their daughters tall, strong and sharp. Today we are delighted to partner Google for their ‘Helping Women Get Online’ – an initiative that encourages daughters to help their mothers go online to stay aware and connected. This is yet another way of saying #LoveYouMaa like our recent digital film celebrating the universal truth that ‘only mothers can give what they don’t have.”

     

    Google has already introduced a number of initiatives to help get more women online through partnerships with various state governments and outreach efforts in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and more recently in Andhra Pradesh. Under the initiative, Google has imparted basic Internet training across 950 educational institutes training over 45000 girl students and over 5000 teachers who can continue to educate and inform more girl students across India.

     

  • The e-commerce company, which acquired AdIQuity Technologies recently, will build a 200-people strong team in a year for its ad business as mobile becomes its focus area for investments going forward

    Flipkart eyes more buys to boost mobile ad biz

    By Samidha Sharma

     

    India’s largest online commerce player Flipkart is looking to strengthen its mobile advertising platform, a vertical that may help it clock substantial revenues at better margins in a business which has only been guzzling cash till now.

     

    Sachin Bansal, co-founder & CEO of the Bengaluru-based Flipkart, said in an exclusive chat that the e-commerce company , which acquired AdIQuity Technologies recently , will build a 200-people strong team in a year for its ad business as mobile becomes its focus area for investments going forward.

     

    Accepting that desktops weren’t giving the same returns on investments anymore compared to a few years ago, Bansal said Flipkart will keep an eye out for more acquisitions in the mobile space and look to fill the gaps on tech and talent front.

     

    “I believe it (mobile advertising) can be a big business for us,“ said Bansal, who is spearheading the ad business for Flipkart post a reorganisation at the seven-year-old company which started off as an online bookstore.

     

    Search giant Google and social networking site Facebook dominate the online and mobile advertising space, globally and in India, but e-commerce majors who boast of large consumer traffic and data are now looking to target shoppers on their platforms, prompted by their growing seller base and high adoption of smartphones.

     

    The e-tailer, valued at over $11 billion, first started dabbling with advertising a year ago with a few banner ads but put its weight behind the vertical only in the last six months.

     

    “Sellers and brands really needed this platform as they wanted to have more control over their sales, we learnt this from our initial experiment. That’s when we thought we needed a company which had expertise in the mobile ad space,“ Bansal said.

     

    With its massive data insights on consumers, Flipkart is a great platform as marketing dollars move towards data-driven advertising, said Anurag Dod, founder of AdIQuity , who was Bansal’s senior at IIT Delhi. AdIQuity , which started off in 2006, exactly a year prior to Flipkart, as a search engine under the name Guruji, is likely to help Flipkart with mobile-specific ad technology .

     

    Bansal said with a push towards expanding its marketplace, where merchants directly sell to consumers, it was imperative to address the concern of sellers who wanted to push their brands and products on Flipkart.The company claims to have 30,000 sellers and directly competes with Amazon and Snapdeal. For now , the e-commerce biggie will open the mobile platform to its own sellers for advertising and then look at getting external brands on board.

     

    “It’s still unclear in the short term as to how many of the sellers on ecommerce platforms would convert into big advertisers other than the top 30 of the big merchants. Also, if you look at the China digital ad market, it’s 40-50 times larger than India. This is the main reason why Alibaba is able to monetize Taobao via advertising revenue,“ said Karan Mohla, VP at IDG Ventures India.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

    All Rights Reserved, Licensed to republish

     

  • Engaged audiences and new ad formats open up new possibilities for brand advertisers on Skype

    Zirca Digital offers advertising options on Skype in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zirca Digital Solutions announced that it would begin offering advertising inventory on Skype, helping brands take advantage of the growing popularity of Skype in India. Skype inventory will be sold exclusively by Zirca Digital Solutions in India.

     

    Skype is a communications platform that makes it simple and fun to share text, voice and video with friends, family and colleagues; wherever they are on whatever device they choose. Advertising on Skype allows brands to sponsor human emotions – the big and small moments that make life wonderful.

     

    Neena Dasgupta

    Skype has more than 330 million active monthly users in more than 70 markets around the world. In Asia, advertising on Skype is available across Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia. From now on, Skype advertising also became available in India.

     

    “People love Skype, which makes it a great platform for any brand looking to reach a large and engaged audience,” said Neena Dasgupta, Director, Zirca Digital Solutions. “Skype is also part of Microsoft’s unique and connected ecosystem that enables brands to tailor advertising experiences across devices and services. Through Skype, advertisers in India will be able to reach audiences at the right time, with the right information, when they are making decisions with the people they trust the most.”

     

    Vikas Khanchandani

    “A Skype session lasts more than 30 minutes on an average. This means greater time spent for the associating brands. Moreover, adding Skype to our existing portfolio of Microsoft products will help us offer a holistic solution to advertisers who stand to make better ROI on their ad spends,” added Vikas Khanchandani, Director, Zirca Digital Solutions.

     

    Zirca Digital Solutions has begun offering premium branded experiences like Conversation Ads, the Connection Hub Ad and Conversation Corridors to give brands access to the Skype community present across PC & Mobile. Many of the new formats are standard and consistent with the creative formats used by advertisers on other platforms.

     

  • Through their offer in partnership with Ola Cabs, consumers can avail free Ola cab rides on recharge of Rs 50 or more on prepaid and postpaid numbers

    FreeCharge unveils campaign announcing new offer with Ola Cabs

    By A Correspondent

     

    FreeCharge has unveiled its new campaign titled ‘FreeCharge Ola Offer’ that premiered across traditional and digital media on10th March during the ICC World Cup 2015. Through their offer in partnership with Ola Cabs, consumers can avail free Ola cab rides on recharge of Rs 50 or more on prepaid and postpaid numbers.

     

    Keeping in tandem with the previous campaigns by FreeCharge, this 360 hi-decibel integrated media campaign too brings the joy of recharging online by giving consumers a rewarding experience. Conceptualized by Lowe Lintas and directed by Deepti Rao of Spotlights, the TVC’s that premiered during the World Cup have received a good response from consumers, especially the youth, garnering more than 1 million views in just 10 days into the campaign on YouTube.

     

    Speaking on the campaign, Alok Goel, CEO, FreeCharge said, “Consumers are shifting to making transactions from their smartphones and it is FreeCharge’s mission to make those transactions joyful and rewarding. This latest initiative is another step in rewarding users who recharge with FreeCharge.”

     

    The offer entails consumers to recharge their prepaid or postpaid number for just Rs 50 or more and in return, get an Ola cab ride free anywhere in the country worth Rs 250.

     

    Arun Iyer

    Speaking on the campaign, Arun Iyer,  National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas, said “Keeping in sync with the key campaign insight that “the youth of today are charged with being irresponsible with their money” and the brand’s role in helping the youth shed this tag, the Ola offer and communication was a perfect fit and enabled the brand to strengthen their position in this insight space.”

     

  • Or at least they think they can, writes Charulata Ravi Kumar, CEO, Razorfish India

    Charulata Ravi Kumar: 7 Reasons why Brands can do without Digital

    By Charulata Ravi Kumar

     

    Ok, so when you ask me “Can Brands do without Digital”, tell me it’s a joke – Right?!! Such humour is only befitting of those oblivious to the wall they will soon hit. Here are some of the brands that can and are lying supinely on the beach while others are kicking sand on their face as they get ahead.

     

    1. Brands that cater strictly to the 80% unconnected Indians. Just leave it to god for your products and message to reach them. We are a country of tremendous faith.

     

    2. If your brand monopolistically believes that it’s future is secure in being the only one. After all ocassionally we all harbour some suicidical instinct.

     

    3. if your brand loyalty score amongst the 50+ is your unshakeable reason to exist. And you believe in Benjamin Button.

     

    4. You are the most successful brand in Gobichettipalayam and happy to remain. My grandmother will bless you for this.

     

    5. You want to stay off Twitter because public opinion scares you. Don’t worry your mum will still think you are the best.

     

    6. Your brand story is so fantastic that your fan club is desperate to seek you out. Never mind if they don’t know you exist.

     

    7. You are a 19th century Luddite and protest any labour replacing technology. Obviously you believe Transformers is a horror movie.

     

    But, don’t worry. The universe has a place for everyone. That is, until Darwin’s theory takes over.

     

    Just a little advice here for the digital nay-sayers : digital is no longer an option. It is also not an alternative to anything. As technology, it is the backbone that will support the brand and enterprise, and in its application it is the blood that will have to flow through its veins. Like it or not, it is fast becoming the 6th element of our universe. For those who don’t want it, the laws of evolution will phase them out. But then, whoever listened to good advice. And everyone, and every brand is entitled to its own denouement.

     

    Charulata Ravi Kumar is CEO, Razorfish India

     

  • This is the second digital win of the year after Ranbaxy

    Havas Media wins the digital mandate of Caterpillar India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Havas Media Group India has won the digital media mandate of Caterpillar India post a multi-agency pitch which included leading digital agencies. This is the second digital win of the year after Ranbaxy and further strengthens Havas Media Group’s presence in Bangalore.

     

    For nearly 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. Cat® machines have been in India for 60 years. Caterpillar has been a part of important projects in the infrastructure development of the nation like the Hirakud and Bhakra Dams (40’s-60’s), Government road development in the 50’s, the Indus River Basin Project (1962-1977). Over the years Cat has had a crucial impact on people’s lives in India.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Deepak Aggarwal, Marketing & Business Strategy Manager –South Asia, Caterpillar said, “In Havas Media we saw a perfect partner. Their passion was outstanding. Their ‘Digital at Core’ philosophy was impressive and that translated seamlessly in their strategic approach and category understanding. We are keen to utilize the power of Digital Marketing for our growth, and Havas Media has demonstrated the right direction.”

     

    Anita Nayyar

    Speaking on the win, Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media Group India and South Asia said, “We are delighted at the win. We believe in creating Meaningful Brands and Caterpillar is an excellent example of such a brand which shows devotion to the customer. It gives us further scale in our southern operations – specially Bangalore.Look forward to a great partnership.”

     

  • The new TVC pays tribute to Videocon’s good performance in the category for over three decades

    Videocon promotes washing machine range with new campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Videocon has unveiled its new TV campaign, ‘India Ke Rang’ in the segment. Reinforcing its commitment of durability and educating the masses of the functionality of a washing machine, the new TVC pays tribute to Videocon’s good performance in the category for over three decades with more than 50 million satisfied customers.

     

    Acknowledging unique relationships and depicting million emotions of a diverse country like India, the TVC features different families across the country celebrating their distinct festivals and leading their day-to-day life. In all the different situations, Videocon is seen to be a common aspect, lending its expertise in the washing machine segment to brighten up their lives and keeping them carefree. The concept is supported by the tag line, ‘Zindagi ke Har Rang Nikhareinge hum, Videocon Washing Machine’.

     

    Speaking about the new campaign, Sunil Tandon, Group CMO, Videocon says, “Videocon was the first company to launch washing machines in the country and this segment is one of our key strengths and among the best selling product categories. Our past TVCs around washing machine have been successful by not only being able to effectively communicate the essence of the product but also to educate the masses about its functionality i.e. from cleaning, to washing and then drying. Known to be a cult TVC with a memorable jingle, we wanted to recreate the same magic again.”

     

    “Our objective with this campaign was to showcase unity in diversity which we were able to create by depicting different facets of the Indian culture.  We carefully identified the locations, shortlisted different situations and portrayed various emotions, amalgamated it with Videocon washing Machine and build the campaign around it. The TVC is larger than life and will find a resonance amongst people across the country,” said Gullu Sen, Managing Partner, From Here On Communications.

     

    The campaign is also supported by a Digital campaign, #IndiaKeRang, which will run across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to create buzz and engage with customers. It will comprise of different elements such as contests, exclusive launches, platform for downloading the TVC as Video, Song, Caller Tunes etc.

     

  • This is a move to align and streamline technology processes

    Sumit Chowdhury appointed Technical Advisor at BARC

    By A Correspondent

     

    Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has appointed Dr. Sumit Chowdhury as Technical Advisor to the organisation. This is a move to align and streamline technology processes since almost 76 per cent of BARC India spends are on technology. As BARC India moves closer to launch,Dr. Sumit Chowdhury’smandate is to measure and automate all critical processes and to create a mission-critical infrastructure that scales to the requirements of the industry. Sumit will also contribute to the creation of other information products from the vast amount of data collected by BARC India.

     

    DrSumit D Chowdhury is the Founder of Gaia Smart Cities, an M2M/IOT company focused on telecom and ICT solutions for smart cities. Until recently, he was a President of Reliance Jio where he was initially the CIO and then establishing their Enterprise business. Prior to Jio, he was a Vice President of IBM, CIO of Reliance Communications and Partner with KPMG. He is an authority on Telecom, Media, Entertainment and Information Technology. He is an undergraduate from IIT Kanpur and MS and Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University, where he is an adjunct faculty teaching various aspects of industrial automation, telecom and Smart Cities.

     

    Partho Dasgupta

    Partho Dasgupta, BARC India CEO, said, “As we are gearing up for launch, Sumit’sexcellent background and experience in telecom, media entertainment and other industrieswill ensure all systems scale and are in sync and automated for the big data factory that we would be running.”

     

  • With this partnership, Al Jazeera English will now be accessible on all major D2H platforms

    AL Jazeera English now available on Airtel D2H

    By A Correspondent

     

    Al Jazeera English has signed a distribution agreement with Airtel Digital TV thereby expanding its distribution network in India. The channel will be available on the Airtel Digital TV’s Channel No. 321. With this partnership, Al Jazeera English will now be accessible on all major D2H platforms such as Dish TV, Tata Sky, Reliance and Airtel Digital TV in India.

     

    Abdulla Al Najjar, Executive Director, Marketing and Distribution, Al Jazeera Media Network, said: “We are very pleased with this agreement. We have a strategic commitment to employ new avenues and platforms for audiences across the world to access our content. We look forward to delivering Al Jazeera English’s ground-breaking content for audiences across India with such partnerships.”

     

    Al Jazeera English’s association with Airtel Digital TV will allow them to cater to its users on the network. Viewers will now be able to access Al Jazeera’s award winning news and programme content from around the world at a click of a button. Globally, Al Jazeera English is available in over 260 million households across 130 countries.

     

    Launched in November 2011 in India, Al Jazeera English is known for its belief in the shared humanity of the global community, and as a result keeps real people at the centre of the story.

     

  • The TVC is a reiteration of Dell's belief that a school student's education can be made more engaging by leveraging the potential of technology

    Dell questions conventional with ‘Learning Meets Doing’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dell India kicked off the Back to School season with a new TVC that has been conceptualized and crafted in sync with the theme for 2015 – to transform the process of learning with intuitive technology. The TVC is a reiteration of Dell’s belief that a school student’s education can be made more engaging and interesting by leveraging the potential of technology.

     

    Learning by rote is a common practice among young students, faced with the challenge of remembering large amounts of content to do well in examinations. The new Back to School campaign stems from the thought that learning should not be a task, but something young minds should look forward to with interest. With the launch of the new TVC, Dell kicks off its flagship Back to School season with the aim to evolve conventional methods of learning by including technology in education to aid a better understanding and application of learning content.

     

    Conceptualized and executed by GREY group, the TVC conveys Dell’s overall campaign message of ‘Learning Meets Doing’, empowering children to learn and understand better through the use of technology. Taking Dell’s Back to School campaign into the lives of school going students and their parents across the country, the TVC lays emphasis on how in an Indian household, a child studies by rote. Depicted through the “Ratta Raga”, a mother watches her son struggling to learn something he cannot understand, which builds concern around her child’s method of learning. His “Learning Meets Doing” moment is realised when she introduces him to the path of comprehension using the Dell Inspiron All-in-One PC.

     

    Ritu Gupta

    Ritu Gupta, Director – Marketing – Consumer & Small Business, Dell India said: “This TVC is an abstraction of the challenges faced by young students in the country. The demands of education today means more youngsters are taking to “ratta-fying” with the single minded aim of reproducing this learning in their exams. The concept of ‘Learning meets Doing’ is aimed at challenging today’s method of education. We believe that an intuitive and engaging education which underlines real life application can result in the creation of a generation of well-rounded, ambitious individuals. Dell takes pride in enabling young children by providing them with the right technology for their educational needs. We wish for both, existing and prospective users to understand how technology can fuel creative thinking, and holds the potential to open up a world of knowledge for ambitious minds.”

     

    Ram Jayaraman, Executive Creative Director, GREY Bangalore said: “There’s a difference between studying and learning, just as there’s a difference between getting marks and getting an education. Learning happens when we understand something, and understanding happens easiest when things are engaging and fun. Technology can spark imagination, making the mundane come alive and simplify what’s complicated. While growing up, we had no choice but to learn by hook, crook or rote –children today luckily have a much better option.”

     

  • The entire deck from a special Nielsen study on the tribe of heavy internet users with a corresponding high level of dependency on connectivity

    Meet the Media Superviewer!

     

    The entire deck from a special Nielsen study on the tribe of heavy internet users with a corresponding high level of dependency on connectivity

  • The TVC reiterates the idea of self-direction and freethinking, unescorted by the stringent norms of the society

    Jabong takes ‘Be You’ philosophy further with new TVCs

    By A Correspondent

     

    Fashion portal Jabong has unveiled three TVCs, which will be aired across various channels. The TVCs capture aspirations, dreams, thoughts and personal styles for people who have chosen to break free from the norm and followed their own style and passion.

     

    The launch campaign, last year was a reminder, a knock on everyone’s conscience. After radiating this vision, Jabong adds to its philosophy of ‘Be You’. The TVC reiterates the idea of self-direction and freethinking, unescorted by the stringent norms of the society. It inspires lateral thinking and affirms fashion as a mode of unorthodox expression.

     

    On the launch of the second edition of the brand campaign, Praveen Sinha, Founder and Managing Director, Jabong.com, said, “Post tasting success with the launch of ‘Be You’ campaign last season, our team decided to take the winning streak forward and give a different dimension to it in the second season. Jabong.com is constantly innovating to churn out something new for its customers; we let out a spark of individualism last season and we plan to sustain it with this TVC in its second inning. The TVC is very simple in terms of the message it plans to send out, chase yourself, not the word.”

     

    Created by Bang in the Middle, with different films, weaving different stories, this year’s plan is much grander and bolder. Instead of just telling people to follow their own star and break free, it shows the stories of people who dared to be themselves. Here, Jabong celebrates each type of special, every kind of different.

     

    Prathap Suthan

    Prathap Suthan, CCO, Bang in the Middle said, “Last year around when we launched the philosophy of ‘Be You’, we were pretty much convinced that it gave enough and more encouragement to young India to be proud of themselves and to go ahead and be what they wanted to be. Jabong being the one brand that would support and inspire them on their self discovery and conviction with the widest range of fashion. Ready with ideas to help express themselves across the days and nights of their journeys. The campaign was a balanced act of liberation, and pushed people to go beyond the shallow definition of fashion, and gave them the freedom to stand up and be themselves: beLeaders instead of followers. This time around, instead of a common philosophy, we are bringing to life stories of individuals, how they choose to live their lives and how they use their minds to create a niche for themselves. More importantly, these ads also surf the top of emerging social trends and try to present the changing faces of the country. Young India is a more confident, globally conscious, and empowered lot of people. And all you have to do is look around to find youngsters living life the way they want and successfully at that. Jabong is at the cusp of being the one positive pat on the back for these millions of dreamers and thinkers and doers who will do India prouder than ever.”

     

    This campaign is a mouthpiece for the youth that has risen above the herd and retained its true identity. Jabong, with these new ads, exemplifies what ‘Be You’ means. The TVC includes a 30 second couplet narrating the tale of a young couple in a live-in relationship, defying the societal customs and avowing to stay true to their individual beliefs. An additional 60 second film is shot for digital promotion encapsulating the dreams of young India and how they are pursuing their unique entities, away from the social orders. Two more commercials chronicling journeys of the protagonist follow as well this season.