MxMIndia

Category: Digital

  • Reports released at Nasscom Game Developer Conference 2016 demonstrate substantial growth of Indian games market

    Mobile gaming to garner $1bn revenue by 2020

    Image courtesy AppAnnie

     

    The mobile gaming market in India is gaining traction, and predicted to garner revenue as high as USD1.1bn by 2020.

     

    The National Association of Software and Services Companies, in association with App Annie and Deloitte, released two whitepaper reports outlining substantial growth in the mobile and applied games sectors in India and the opportunities for both local and foreign mobile game publishers and investors, as well as best practices for applied game developers.

     

    “Both the Mobile Gaming on the Rise in India and the Applied Games in India white paper reports, demonstrate the growth of both mobile and applied games in India, for both local and international developers and publishers”, said Rajesh Rao, Chairman of the Nasscom Gaming Forum. “At Nasscom Gaming Forum we are excited by these findings and the opportunities these give to both local developers and publishers and look forward to continuing to build a thriving and innovative games economy in India”.

     

    The Nasscom Gaming Forum and App Annie report ‘Mobile Gaming on the Rise in India’ discusses how Indian consumers are taking to games, with game downloads doubling in the last two years, and the overall amount of time Indian users spent in mobile games growing sharply over the past year. Mobile game downloads are expected to grow at a CAGR of 58 per cent over the next five years going from 1.6 billion downloads in 2016 to an estimated 5.3 billion downloads in 2020, as a result of growing adoption of games, the rapid proliferation of smartphones, affordable data and universal implementation of direct carrier billing, India presents an ideal opportunity for local and foreign mobile game publishers and investors.

     

    Across the region, Indian gamers continue to embrace globally popular titles, including Candy Crush Saga, Clash of Clans and Subway Surfers. Local Indian publishers are enjoying increasing success in simulation, sports and social card games, with Teen Patti social card games succeeding and proving popular amongst younger consumers in the marketplace. The report continues to discuss how multiplayer and social features have become key engagement drivers critical to the success of games in India and how publishers should draw upon these proven mechanics and incorporate localised and culturally relevant content to grow their user base.

     

    The Nasscom Gaming Forum and Deloitte report ‘Applied Games in India’ discusses the growth of applied games with a focus on traditional learning, business, marketing or social experiences, that are predominantly used for simulation based training (in the fields of aviation and military). The reports discusses how the Indian market for applied games is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14-16 per cent, from USD 40 million in 2016, to USD 80 million in 2021. Currently across India there are 40 developers of Applied Games (Independent studios, IT firms venturing into Applied Games and e-learning companies), that operate out of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and NCR.

     

    Report can be downloaded from: http://go.appannie.com/report-mobile-gaming-india-november-2016

     

  • Gozoop has bagged the full range of media duties, including digital and social, for stem cell banking company Cordlife India

    Gozoop wins digital duties for Cordlife India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Independent creative digital agency Gozoop has bagged the full range of media duties, including digital and social, for stem cell banking company Cordlife India.

     

    Commenting on the win, Ahmed Naqvi, CEO and Co-founder Gozoop, said: “Building on our global healthcare experience, we’re delighted to have been selected by Cordlife. We look forward to working with them on the evolution of their brand communications, and the growth of their business.”

     

    Added Upamannyue Roy Choudhury, CEO Cordlife India:  “Today digital technology has the potential to touch every facet of business and personal life, empowering them to make better choices and allowing people to spend more time on things that are more valued. We were looking for an agency that understands our sector and how effectively they can bring a digital transformation, Gozoop was a clear winner. Their team, values, innovative and strategic thinking, technology and most by Advertise” href=”#48929763″> importantly their dedication for the job makes Gozoop the suitable partner for us, and we look forward for a long and rewarding partnership.”

     

  • Revealing the apps usage behaviour, the report states that on an average, users have 29 apps installed on their smartphones

    Study reveals interesting data consumption habits of pre-paid users

     

     

    In a study conducted on pre-paid smartphone users by IAMAI and Times Internet Limited, it has been revealed that the users spend nearly 72 per cent of their time to access online content while merely 15 per cent of their time is spent on making voice calls.

     

    According to the report, of the 72 per cent of time spent on their smartphones, only 22 per cent of the time is spent on apps while a majority of their time is spent on consuming online content, which includes reading articles, listening to music and watching videos. Interestingly more time is spent consuming content through browsers (WAP) compared to apps.

     

    Revealing the apps usage behaviour, the report states that on an average, users have 29 apps installed on their smartphones. Significantly, the rate of installed apps is higher than uninstalled apps, per month. Data reveals that users on an average install eight new apps, while they uninstall seven apps every month.

     

    The study also revealed that many of the English news readers on the news apps, watch vernacular content regularly. The study was conducted among 750,000 app users in India.

     

    The number of mobile internet users in India has reached 371 million by June 2016. There were 306 million mobile internet users in India in December, 2015. Of the 306 million internet users, 219 million users are from Urban India, which registered a Y-o-Y growth of 71per cent, while the user-base in Rural India has gone up by 93per cent from December 2014, to reach 87 million in December 2015.

     

     

  • The game brings together the unholy trinity of action games with platformer shoot outs, car chasers and bomber maze puzzle game

    Hungama unveils official ‘Force 2’ game

     

     

    Hungama Digital Media has launched the official game of Force 2 – an action thriller featuring John Abraham, Sonakshi Sinha and Tahir Raj Bhasin. The game lets users step into the shoes of the leading three to virtually experience the thrill and excitement of Force 2. The 3D animation game is available on Android and is soon to launch on iOS devices. The game is inspired by the journey of the three leading characters of the film – Yash, KK and Shiv as they foil an assassination in Budapest.

     

    Commenting on the game, John Abraham said, “I think what Hungama has created with this game is commendable. It feels great to see that an all-out action film can be adapted so intriguingly as a game and can be such an engaging experience. The game-play, graphics and overall user experience had me hooked to it completely. Urge all gaming enthusiasts to try their hand at the Force 2 game and enjoy the experience.”

     

    Added Tahir Bhasin: “It feels great to see myself as a part of the Force 2 game. Shiv’s character has been interestingly integrated along with a challenging puzzle game. I am eagerly looking forward to the response to the game and the movie alike!”

     

  • Video numbers are still very low as per a Kantar TNS study

    Only 39% connected consumers watch video daily

     

    Did you hear that online videos were the next big thing on the internet. We’ve been hearing that for a few years, but the numbers are still dismally low. Online video is now a part of lives of 85% of connected consumers in India who watch them at least once a week, according to the findings from Kantar TNS’s Connected Life study into the behaviours of internet users across the globe. The study shows that people in India are consuming online video across various platforms such as video content that appears in their social feeds, free video on platforms such as YouTube along with some paid online TV subscription services as well.

     

    But unlike in other countries, where the weekly trend translates strongly into daily online video consumption as well (global average = 65%), the situation in India is different, with only less than half of these weekly users watching online videos daily (39%). The barriers that stop online video from becoming a mainstream daily habit are mainly around high data costs and patchy connectivity.

     

    An earlier communiqué released by Kantar TNS had revealed findings from the same study saying online advertising industry in India would need a major rethinking in terms of how should they reach out to consumers. It has been found that nearly half (47%) of India’s connected consumers feel ‘constantly followed’ by online advertising, according to the Connected Life study of Kantar TNS.

     

    In addition, the study also reveals that almost a quarter (23%) consumers in Asia Pacific ‘actively ignore’ social posts or content from brands (21% in India). However, the study also revealed that connected consumers in India are fans of social media. The top five most popular social media platforms in India are Facebook (75%), YouTube (64%), Twitter (34%), Instagram (25%) and Snapchat (19%), representing alternative ways of interacting with audiences.

     

    Said Anusheel Shrivastava, Executive Director at Kantar TNS India: “With Jio’s launch the data rates are already seeing a drop; this along with improved availability of public WiFi will help in lowering the barriers. It may not be long before the online video landscape in India will change”.

     

    Connected Life data showed that free online video, such as YouTube, is watched by a large proportion of connected consumers daily, with Cambodian internet users watching the most at 94%, followed by Hong Kong (84%) and China (78%); whereas in India it is at 39%.Two thirds (62%) of people online are also watching videos that appear on their social feed, either from brands, news sources or their friends. Connected consumers in mobile-first markets are consuming a lot of video in this way, with 93% of internet consumers in Cambodia watching social video daily, 80% in Malaysia and 69% in Vietnam. Digital channels are allowing one in three (32%) connected consumers to access on-demand channels, allowing them to catch up on broadcast TV content online. Some are also using paid-for subscription services such as Netflix, viewed by 11% daily across the region.

     

    The type of content that people are seeking out is also evolving. Popular video content no longer has to be professionally produced, with one in three (33%) connected consumers saying that most of the content that they watch online is produced by ‘people like me’ or celebrities. People are also open to video content from brands, with 27% of connected consumers watching this on a weekly basis.

     

    Said Zoë Lawrence, APAC Digital Director at Kantar TNS: “There’s been an explosion in the consumption of online ‘on-demand’ viewing across Asia Pacific, creating new media moments that didn’t exist in a traditional marketing world. Online video provides brands with an opportunity to tell their story in a different way; we’re seeing a lot of brands succeed with long-format video and also great creative work that overcomes some of the challenges of video in a social feed. If the content is good enough, people will watch it. Brands now know that simply putting their TVC online will not work; they need to develop content that works well within the context of the online channel they are using.”

     

  • Provides digital marketing solutions to more than 50 clients in the region

    iCubesWire expands to Mumbai

    By A Correspondent

     

    iCubesWire has announced the opening of its Mumbai office to meet the growing demand of expertise in digital marketing and to support its base of clients in the region. The new office will be led by Veena Shobhani, as the Group Head – West and South.

     

    Having more than 50 clients in Mumbai including P&G, HUL, Pepperfry, Kotak, Axis Bank, Reliance, TATA etc., the company has said that it will expand the team to 20 members over the next six months.

     

    Shobhani has over 11 years of experience having led and managed affiliate marketing, social media, video ads management and SEM for brands across business verticals.

     

    Said Sahil Chopra, CEO & Founder, iCubeswire: “We already have a strong client base in Mumbai, the business capital of India and the region was essentially calling us to establish a more permanent presence in order to continue serving top-notch services to our clients.”

  • Liqvd Asia will be working with the founders and the marketing team of the brand on their performance marketing pie

    Rentickle.com appoints Liqvd Asia for digital performance

    By A Correspondent

     

    Liqvd Asia has bagged the digital performance marketing mandate for rentickle.com. An online shop, Rentickle.com provides furniture, appliance, and other home furnishing essentials on rents to its customer through attractive packages and deals.

     

    Said Vineet Chawla and Amit Sodhi, Co- Founders of the platform: “We have ambitious plans for rentickle.com. I am happy to have Liqvd Asia on board to help us in building our brand online. The team at LA is young, dynamic and enthusiastic bunch of people and I am looking forward to collaborating with them.”

     

    Arnab Mitra

    Added Arnab Mitra, Founder & Managing Director, Liqvd Asia: “Rentickle.com is a fascinating product and I am really excited to work with a brand which is bold in its offering and has a huge potential with the increasingly growing migrant working community in some of the key markets of the country.”

     

  • Urban Yoga stresses on the earthy, calm and experiential retail approach

    ColourCraft Studio to handle digital mandate of Urban Yoga

    By A Correspondent

     

    Urban Yoga, India’s first home-grown yoga by Advertise” href=”#11133823″> apparel brand from the Future Group, has entrusted ColourCraft Studio (CCS) to revitalise its digital footprint. CCS won the multi-agency pitch by unveiling a 360-degree digital strategy for the brand, the x-factor being a mock TV commercial that encapsulated the agency’s vision for Urban Yoga.

     

    “We want Urban Yoga to do for Yoga what Nike has done for running – make it sexier, more desirable, irrespective of age, gender, religion or caste,” says Creative Director Ankit Jain who spearheaded the pitch. The agency centred the strategy around the slogan – #YogaOn – with emphasis on breaking traditional notions about Yoga and therefore expanding the customer base.

     

    Founded in 2006 by Future Group, Urban Yoga has blossomed from a single store in Bengaluru into a successful chain with multiple stores across India. Inspired by the Bali Spa ethos, Urban Yoga stresses on the earthy, calm and experiential retail approach.

     

    Commenting on acquiring this prestigious account, CCS Co-founder and Business Director, Aditi Gandhi said, “Urban Yoga is an immensely exciting brand. The trust Future Group has shown in us is a huge opportunity for us to create large-scale, strategy-driven campaigns to establish Urban Yoga as a name to be reckoned with in the retail space.”

     

  • To The New releases Social analytic report on Digital Celebrity Index 2016

    Social analytic report highlights celebrity trends on social platforms

    By A Correspondent

     

    To The New, a leading digital technology company, has released its annual Digital Celebrity Index 2016. According to the report, Salman Khan ranked on top, indicating him as the celebrity with the largest fan base followed by Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan respectively.

     

    The Digital Celebrity Index is an annual social media analytics report based on the research conducted by the Analytics Services arm at To The New. The report considered past months of digital activities of the celebrities and includes analysis of their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages and also the search trend analysis about the celebrities.

     

    The report highlighted Salman Khan as the most followed Bollywood actor with a total of 51.9 million fan base till September 2016. Joining him in the list was Deepika Padukone as the most popular female celebrity with a fan base of 48.2 million.Amitabh Bachchan with an engagement score of 46.5 million emerged as the most engaging celebrity basis the number of likes, comments and shares on social media.

     

    Shah Rukh Khan topped the chat as a most discussed celebrity with a total of about 10 million mentions, based on the conversations done by netizens around a particular celebrity. Apart from Deepika Padukone, Sonakshi Sinha and Priyanka Chopra were the other two celebrities in the Top 3 female celebrities’ list with 22.1 million followers each. However, Sunny Leone is the most active celebrity on Facebook with a total number of 560 posts during the time-period March to September.

     

    When it comes to using the social platforms as a medium of brand promotion, Amitabh Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor emerged winners. They tied with five brand-related tweets each. Amitabh Bachchan actively promoted the brand Jio, while Sonam Kapoor promoted Colgate and Oppo on Twitter. Whereas, Sharukh Khan ranked 3rd in the race of brand endorsements, promoting Jio and Frooti.

     

    Speaking on the Celebrity Index, Deepak Mittal, CEO, To The New said,“Social media has become a very critical component for celebrities to share their opinion and engage with the fans.Our annual Digital Celebrity Index is a medium to identify the most digital savvy celebrities and understand how they engage with the audience.”

     

  • That was the underlying them as a cross-section talk of how to profit from the mobile-first Indians

    Going mobile-first via Facebook

     

    By Santosh Jangid

     

    Whether it’s banking on the go, catching up on news or flicking through friends’ holidays photos, mobile is the device that has people’s time and attention. It has transformed the way people around the world connect, share experiences and discover new things. Many of the first-time users of internet in India are coming via mobile phones.

     

    This presents a huge opportunity for brands as Facebook has over 166 million monthly active users, of which over 95 per cent users log in via mobile. Facebook is at the heart of a mobile-first shopping journey and can play a significant role to help brands and advertisers reach out to consumers who form a huge and core target audience for them. Speaking to the media in Mumbai on Monday, Umang Bedi, Managing Director, Facebook India started off the session by saying,“Our journey has been focused on connecting people. They said the world is going mobile but that is not correct. The world has gone mobile. India is leading the way on mobile purchases.76% use mobile for e-commerce for exploration, 76% use mobile for shopping, 74% use mobile to post purchases and 42% use mobile to transact/purchase. 90% consumers who seek information on Facebook are likely to buy the product. Facebook is at the heart of mobile-first shopping journey and Facebook users are heavy mobile shoppers. 9 out to 10 e commerce shoppers are active on Facebook.”

     

    Facebook has partnered with India’s top 100 advertisers wherein they have launched their products or engaged with consumer on Facebook which has led to conversions. Some of them include Mondelez, Kingfisher, Tanishq, Goibibo, Adidas, Garnier, Durex, Shopclues amongst others.

     

    Kingfisher launched a new drinks brand on Facebook, bringing its personality to life through vides, photos and slideshow ads aimed at youth on mobile device. Similarly, Goibibo used Facebook, audience network and Instagram to reach Indians on mobile on a massive scale, driving over 15x more installs in three days.

     

    Said Siddharth Banerjee, SVP Marketing, Vodafone on Vodafone’s key learning using digital: “It’s not just about digital marketing in a box but about doing digital marketing in real world. I see three trends in this. The first one being understanding the marketing trends, i.e., What will Facebook/Twitter deliver to my business. The second trend is reorienting creative. We at Vodafone have always understood the value of good story telling. In the last few quarters, we have brainstormed on how to make thump stopping at Facebook. And the third trend is area measurement. Area measurement has enabled us to put more funding. We brought the pug back because the pug connected with our audiences.

     

    Speaking about future of mobile first and digital marketing in India, Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network said ,“Video is very important for us and with JIO and Vodafone coming in market, the data cost will fall and once that happens, the lines between  digital and outdoor and other mediums will blurry. Everybody who predicted 40% will be digital will be proven wrong because by 2020 I think 80-100% will be digital.”

     

    Adding on to what Bhasin said, Siddharth Banerjee averred:’We see great opportunity with m-pesa in the future. We are seeing huge spurs with the payment banks now available. In the future, There will be many Indias within India. There will be a leap from 2G to 4G and we will have the services, offerings to power the road to digitalisation.”

     

    “As the shift to mobile accelerates in India, businesses have to be faster in adopting mobile strategies that reach people at every step of the fragmented commerce journey. We are committed to helping businesses grow .Whether it’s brand building, generating demand, driving leads or sales, we are focused on helping business unlock growth opportunities and help them move their business through solutions that drive results.” said Umang Bedi, Managing Director, Facebook India.

     

    “Mobile, in India, is becoming an integral part of doing business, not just for communications. In some ways, the recent demonetisation decision of the government will further accelerate this process and as a country we will leapfrog a generation, thanks to mobile. It is an integral part of a consumer’s life and brand and purchase decisions. At Dentsu Aegis Network, we want to be at the cutting edge of this revolution, along with our partners like Facebook, to bring the learnings and best practices to India and provide a world class product to our clients” said Ashish Bhasin, Chairman and CEO Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia.

     

  • Enchanted Valley Carnival (EVC) is a music festival property which was introduced to Indian audiences in 2013

    Gozoop wins digital marketing mandate for Enchanted Valley Carnival

    By A Correspondent

     

    Digital agency Gozoop has bagged the digital marketing mandate for Enchanted Valley Carnival (EVC), the multi-genre music and camping festival, a venture by Twisted Entertainment and Universal Music India.

     

    Said Shoven Shah, founder, EVC: “We are really pleased with the service we have received from Gozoop. The team is very responsive, professional, enthusiastic and organised. They have an indepth knowledge of digital marketing.”

     

    Ahmed Naqvi

    Added Ahmed Naqvi, CEO and Cofounder, Gozoop: “It is exciting to partner with a forward-thinking brand like EVC that believes as much in our digital first approach to reach & engage audiences with right message, at the right place and at the right time, every-time. With our deep understanding of today’s digital first audiences, we look forward to breaking new ground through our creative strategies & media innovations for EVC this December.”

     

  • With over 10 years of experience, Taranath Shetty has worked in the digital marketing industry for both digital and print media

    Adomantra Digital appoints Taranath Shetty as Regional Head, West

    By A Correspondent

     

    Adomantra Digital has appointed Taranath Shetty as Regional Head – West of the company. As the newly appointed regional head, he will supervise the regional team in building the brand and strengthen company’s presence in West India.

     

    With over 10 years of experience, Taranath Shetty has worked in the digital marketing industry for both digital and print media. He was associated with brands like Times Internet limited, Business Standard and Amar Ujala. Prior to joining Adomantra, he served as Manager – Digital Ad Sales at Times Business Solutions.

     

    Speaking on the appointment, Vikas Katoch, Founder and CEO, Adomantra Digital said, “As we navigate the complexities of a rapidly growing digital world and build the foundation of a trustworthy company, we have Mr. Shetty on board who will help in the growth and expansion of Adomantra. He brings an in-depth knowledge of digital advertising business, metrics, goals and complexities. His expertise and industry proficiency will help the team achieve the growth path.”

     

    Taranth Shetty brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table due to his know-how of branding and digital marketing. His strong knowledge of customers and brands will be a crucial pillar for Adomantra Digital; as the company is focused on building itself as the world’s most efficient digital marketer.

     

    “I am excited to join Adomantra Digital and share Vikas Katoch’s vision of being a market leader in online video advertising. I hope my expertise will add significant value to our growth, and strengthen our capabilities. The company has aggressive plans to expand its business and I am looking forward to contribute towards the same,” said Shetty.