MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • The panel discussed how the technological innovations and its resultant empowerment of individuals have significantly changed the way people consume news today

    INMA 2012: ‘News is not static but dynamic’

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Sanjay Gupta
    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alB7H-4TpGU[/youtube]

    The International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA) hosted its 6th annual South Asia conference in New Delhi on August 7. With its theme of ‘Complexity Advantage’, Day 1 of the INMA conference witnessed some power packed sessions.

     

    One such session, ‘The Future of News’, was moderated by Jacob Mathew, Executive Editor, Malayala Manorama and President, WAN-Ifra. The session saw a lively discussion by the two eminent panelists, Mr MJ Akbar, Editorial Director, India Today & Headlines Today and Mr Sanjay Gupta, CEO, Jagran Prakashan Ltd.

     

    The technological innovations and its resultant empowerment of individuals have significantly changed the way people consume news today. Introducing the topic,’The Future of News’, Mr Mathew raised a few key questions: “Would the existing formats be relevant to the future? How will we ensure that news is available anywhere anytime in any format to be consumed by our readers?”

     

    He added that the growth of print has still not been affected as much in South Asia and that the countries in the region should learn from the mistakes made by colleagues in the rest of the world.

     

    MJ Akbar
    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5gZXE8988w[/youtube]

    Addressing the basic worry around the future of news, Mr Akbar said: “The reason why news will always be in demand is because man is not a hermit. Man lives in a community and in any community, ignorance is the basis of all conflict. Curiosity is elemental to human experience and as long as curiosity remains a vital part, news will thrive.”  He added that news needs a vehicle and that will be provided by news organizations in the future as well.

     

    Mr Akbar alleged that the real problem facing the society today is not the future of news but the future of a ‘journalist’. He pointed out two traps that journalists today increasingly fall into: “One trap is a fish trap where a journalist looks at the bait and swallows it. This trap is a dangerous challenge to credibility of news as this form of journalism is based essentially on what the journalist has ‘heard’. The other trap is delusion trap where the journalist thinks he/she is more important than news.”

     

    Mr Akbar also compared the newspaper to a ‘thali’ which has a variety of food ranging from healthy ‘dal and rice’ to not-so-healthy ‘achaar'(pickle). He said: “No thali is complete without achaar, but on the other hand, achaar cannot replace dal and rice.”

     

    Coming back to the basic point in question of how big a threat does technology pose for the print industry, Mr Akbar said: “No technology completely destroys another. They all continue to exist together. The only thing that will be destroyed in the future will be your business plans which will have to be reoriented.” He added that there is no essential competition between products (radio, TV, newspaper), every product has its own rationale and news organizations have to be ‘format-driven’.

     

    He concluded: “As long as the newsmaker and the news owner understand that news is not static but dynamic, there’s no reason to worry.”

     

    Mr Gupta echoed Mr Akbar’s views and maintained that there will be news as long as there’s society and as long as there are incidents taking place. He said that the new technology does help in uncovering the truth faster and in an easier way sometimes, but the basics of news is to uncover the truth. It is important, he said, that news media engages audience in a public debate over issues that matter.

     

    Mr Gupta added that good journalism is good business and he concluded by quoting Google’s head of news products, Richard Gingras: “The pace of technological change will not abate, and to think of our current time as a transition between two eras, rather than a continuum of change, is a mistake.”

     

  • The moderator for the session Mr Ashish Pherwani opened the discussion on the ad growth challenge

    INMA 2012: ‘Print must engage audiences effectively’

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Day 1 of the sixth annual South Asia INMA conference opened with a host of promising sessions which addressed key issues facing the industry.

     

    Ashish Pherwani
    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfREkdmTRuc[/youtube]

    The session ‘Winning the Ad Growth Challenge: Is it a Plausible Model’ was moderated by Ashish Pherwani, Partner- Advisory Services, Ernst & Young India and the other panelists included Bharat Bambawale, Director, Global Brand Bharti Airtel Ltd; Mayank Pareek, COO (Marketing & Sales), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd; and Shashi Sinha, CEO, LodestarMedia.

     

    The moderator, Mr Pherwani opened the discussion on the ad growth challenge by listing out four factors that he felt were impacting ad growth: inherent competition, technology change, slow economic growth and growth of television. Citing a recent research, Mr Pherwani said that there were clear indications that consumers are spending more time on digital media at the expense of traditional media.

     

    He also listed out some questions for the print industry to address, the broad one being, how to stay relevant and grow revenues. Among the other questions he raised were: New ways advertisers can use print, how to enhance effectiveness of print for advertisers, what makes advertisers continue on print when times are tough and finally how can print companies explore new media.

     

    Mayank Pareek
    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYJJnTGb12U[/youtube]

    Mr Pareek said that the demography is changing because the way people seek news is changing. He said that Maruti had redefined their strategy to invest in print, looking at the changing trends in consumption: “We’ve gone from 67 per cent to 23 per cent in our spends on advertising in print in the last five years.” He said that it is important that companies continuously adopt to the changing demographic needs. He added that even though digital spends are low today, digital is growing and changing rapidly. So for print to remain relevant, there is need to develop engaging content as the other media are offering. However, Mr Pareek agreed that print will continue to play a role in the future as well.

     

    While the other panelists agreed with Mr Pareek that print will continue to be the part of a media plan for an agency or an advertiser, they also shared his concern on the need for print to adapt to changing consumption patterns.

     

    Mr Bambawale of Airtel said: “We are using much less print. There is one strong global trend which holds true forIndiaas well, young eyeballs are moving away from the printed word to the video. So for print medium to engage this audience is a great challenge. The conversation should change from ‘how can we put an ad out there’ to ‘how can we engage’. In a newspaper, content is all about facts and events but in engagement, content is about making things interesting. The answer lies in creating content that has high degree of engagement even around topics of news or current issues.”

     

    Mr Sinha said that the strength of print lies in the fact that it brings a lot of credibility: “Print still stands for credibility, I am not so sure if digital has that. We’ve embraced digital because of the youth. For certain brands which go through an erosion of trust, print is the best place to be in.”

     

    He added that not growing fast enough is the problem of measurement: “The current measurement metrics are limited to cost and reach. There is no way to measure engagement or performance. Unless we start showing these to the advertiser, things won’t change. There is a need to introduce new metrics of measurement.”

     

    Mr Bambawale echoed Mr Sinha’s view on measurement being limited to cost and reach as far as newspapers are concerned: “If you change the matrices by which you present the title to an advertiser, it’d be a more fruitful conversation perhaps.”

     

    The discussion concluded with two key takeaways, Print needs to find new ways of engaging its audience to stay relevant in a changing era. And second, there is a need perhaps to look at other matrices of measurement for print, a way of measuring effectiveness of an innovation.

     

  • This year's theme – Complexity Advantage – would discuss driving readership and circulation

    INMA to address ‘Complexity Advantage’ at Sixth Annual Conference

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA) is set to host its sixth Annual South Asia Conference on August 7-8 in New Delhi under the theme ‘Complexity Advantage’. In today’s scenario of accelerated change and complexity, strategic competitive advantage is created by the combination of strategy, culture, systems, brands, products, services and by the people that operate throughout the organization.

     

    The INMA South Asia Conference aims to address some of these tectonic shifts that are creating the complexities in our business, so as to stimulate the industry towards evolving a roadmap to convert the various existential challenges into opportunities. As such, the theme of this conference is aptly titled ‘Complexity Advantage’.

     

    Sanjay Gupta

    Mr Sanjay Gupta, who was elected as the President INMA South Asia 2011, and is the Director, CEO and Editor of Jagran Prakashan Ltd said: “This year’s theme would discuss driving readership and circulation. My expectation from the conference is that the industry people from South Asian countries can get their act together when it comes to talking about how to tackle various issues, including digital revenue models.”

     

    Mr Bharat Kapadia, INMA Board Director, and Chairman of Whatuwant Solutions, said, “Even though India is better off when it comes to print market, the last quarter can only be described as tough. The two-day seminar will get the industry to come together and talk about the challenges and work towards a better future.” He added that the complexities of businesses in driving revenues and circulation will be the focus of the conference.

     

    Bharat Kapadia

    INMA aims to bring together top newspapers from South Asia into a two-day, fast-paced tour de force of ideas and innovations to grow newspaper advertising, circulation and brand across titles and across consumer platforms. Over 35 speakers, several partners, press and over 180 delegates from 25 newspapers and another 20 companies across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Europe will be attending this conference.

     

    INMA is the only industry association that is able to pull together South Asia’s top publishers and specifically executives charged with growing advertising, circulation and brand. There will be excellent opportunities to network and share the “INMA conversation” among this exclusive fraternity of the world’s most innovative newspaper executives. INMA is the world’s leading provider of global best practices and marketing ideas. It provides its members thought leadership and practical ideas to grow audience, advertising, brand and profit. Currently, INMA has over 5,000 members in over 82 countries worldwide, which include several members from Indian and now Bangladesh and Pakistan newspapers.

     

  • Eenadu's I Venkat is elected new Chairman of ASCI

    I Venkat is new top cop for ad world

    The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the self-regulatory voluntary organization of the advertising industry, has unanimously elected Mr I Venkat, Director, Eenadu, as the Chairman of the Board of ASCI at its board meeting. Mr Venkat has been a member of the Board of Governors for five years and has provided active support to self-regulation in advertising.

    Mr Arvind Sharma, Chairman of India Sub-Continent, – Leo Burnett, was elected Vice-Chairman; and Mr Vikram Sakhuja, CEO-South Asia – Group M Media India, was re-appointed the Honorary Treasurer.

    During 2010-11, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) met 12 times and considered 777 complaints against 190 advertisements. Of these, complaints against 104 ads were upheld, while 80 were not upheld and six were considered non-issues. In 84 cases, the ads in which the complaint was upheld were voluntarily withdrawn or modified as per the CCC’s decisions, making for an over 80 percent compliance rate.

    Mr Rajiv Dube, Director-Group Corporate Services ,Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt Ltd, and the outgoing Chairman of ASCI, said, It has been a privilege for me to have served as the Chairman of ASCI and I step down from the position with the satisfaction of a progressive year on self-regulation in advertising behind me, for which I would like to thank all who supported strengthening the movement further.

    On his new role, Mr Venkat said, It is my honour to be elected as the Chairman of an organization which has been providing remarkable service to the Indian masses and the ad industry by effectively self-regulating advertising content over the past 26 years. With the support of the ASCI’s Board and the CCC, I will endeavour to further improve the awareness and usage of ASCI. I urge the ad sector, the regulators, civil society activists and above all, the general public to actively seek ASCI’s services and also provide suggestions for its improvement.

     

    The other members of the new Board of Governors:

    Advertisers

    Mr Narendra Ambwani (Agro Tech Foods)

    Mr Rajiv Dube (Aditya Birla Management Corporation)

    Mr Shantanu Khosla (Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care)

    Mr Gopal Vittal (Hindustan Unilever)

     

    Media

    Mr Rajan Anandan (Google India)

    Mr Benoy Roychowdhury (HT Media)

     

    Advertising Agencies 

    Mr Subhash Kamath (BBH Comms India)

    Mr Srinivasan Swamy (RK Swamy BBDO)

     

    Allied Professions

    Mr Dilip Cherian (Perfect Relations)

    Mr Dhananjay Keskar (IBS)

    Mr Pranesh Misra (Brandscapes Consultancy P. Ltd.)

    Mr Partha Rakshit (Partha Rakshit Associates)

     

  • The seminar will be packed with powerful speakers, giving the participants an opportunity to interact with the 'Thought Gurus' of the industry

    APREE 2012 to focus on social media marketing

    By A Correspondent

     

    Spotlight Event & Entertainment announced the fifth edition of APREE, which is an annual interactive knowledge exchange platform aimed at bringing Advertising, PR, Entertainment & Event Management companies come together for networking and to discuss the way forward.

     

    “We are pleased to announce the fifth edition of APREE and I am grateful to the industry experts who have contributed in making this a huge platform and trusting the benefits it can bring to the communications industry by way of networking, sharing and evolving through each other’s experience,” said Salama Yamini, Operation Head, APREE Organizing committee.

     

    The seminar will be packed with powerful speakers, giving the participants an opportunity to interact with the ‘Thought Gurus’ of the industry. It will also provide an insight into relevant data explaining where the communications industry is heading. The event is catalogued to provide one with better networking with competitors, brands and industry professionals from all aspects of communication business.

     

    Speaking about the event, Gagan Myne, Director, Spotlight Event & Entertainment said: “This year the focus of APREE 2012 is to concentrate on “How to make most out of Social Media Marketing.”

     

    Some of the prominent speakers this year are: Santosh Desai, MD & CEO Future Brand; Ekalavya Bhattacharya, Head of Digital MTV India; Ryan Valles, CEO Deal & You; Kunal Kishore, Founder & CEO, Value 360 Communications; Moksh Juneja, Founder of Avignyata Inc.; Snigdha Manchanda, Storyteller; Xavier Prabhu, Consultant on branding and Communication

     

    The event will be held from August 23-26th 2012 in Goa.

     

     

  • A weekly column by Paritosh Joshi, until recently CEO, Star CJ. Given his varied experience in the media and industry bodies, Mr Joshi will analyse issues concerning the business of media, measurement and research

    Paritosh Joshi: Independence and Free Media

    By Paritosh Joshi

     

    Constitutional Law is assumed to be arcane, dense and generally beyond the comprehension of anyone except the most learned of legal minds. And yet, some of the most soaring, inspiring expressions of humanity’s pursuit of a higher ideal, the greater good, a more just world are to be found there. Here are two splendid examples:

     

    “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

    JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

    LIBERTY, of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

    EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

    and to promote among them all

    FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

    IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949,DO HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION”.

     

    “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.

     

    84 words in that first quotation, the Preamble to the Constitution of India (and it was only 82 before Indira Gandhi imposed ‘SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST’ upon it vide the Forty Second Constitution Amendment Bill, 1976) and a mere 45 in the second, the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Look at how emphatic both are on the matter of Free Speech.

     

    Why should this be so? Jurists aver that all other fundamental freedoms can be logically derived from Free Speech. Conversely, truncate Free Speech from the rights enjoyed by the citizens of a nation-state and you have an inevitable path to oppression and tyranny. The Scottish essayist, Thomas Carlyle in his book On Heroes and Her Worship cites the British Parliamentarian Edmund Burke as the progenitor of the phrase “Fourth Estate” to describe the Press. The quote that has passed into common usage is: “There were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all”. The importance of this Estate grows exponentially as private and state power expands in a rapidly growing Socio-Economy. By ensuring that the reader or viewer is kept abreast with the latest developments in the world around them and, in particular, calling out malfeasance, misdemeanour and mischief in high places, the media keep untrammelled might in check.

     

    How well are we inIndiadoing on this front?

    Not very, one has to say, with the greatest regret.

     

    Doordarshan, set up with an ambitious charter of achieving everything from “Catalyst for change”, “Promote National Integration” all the way through to  “Create values of appraisal of art and cultural heritage” has now been reduced to an anamic copy of private Hindi GE channels. So much for our much vaunted “Public Broadcasting System”.

     

    And have the private broadcasters covered themselves with glory? Let’s look at news in India’s most widely spoken language: Hindi. With a potential audience footprint running into several hundred million people, the genre must surely recognize its indispensable role in protecting the rights of this, often disadvantaged, class of viewers / citizens. What do they actually get? A puerile confection of tabloid sensationalism, GE quasi-reruns and an endless barrage of news pablum.

     

    Can we be hopeful that things can or will change? Yes. For the strangest reason.

     

    The promise of BARC to give us a wider and deeper understanding of the needs and interest of the television audience. And its other promise of shifting the inventory valuation from a relative currency (CPRP) to an absolute one (CPT). As broadcasters receive a more fair value for the product they sell, their need to be incessantly strident to get audiences or perish trying, will be replaced by greater sobriety and a renewed focus on creative quality.

     

    66th Independence Day Greetings to all my readers and their families!

     

  • The Interconnect arrangement will allow WWIL to carry the encrypted TV channels signal on its digital delivery platform

    WWIL signs DAS interconnect deals with MediaPro

    By A Correspondent

     

    Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd. (WWIL), the cable television service provider, has signed DAS Interconnect arrangements with Mediapro Enterprises for about 70 channels, as part of its commitment for timely implementation of digitization.

     

    WWIL operates under the Siti Digital Cable Television brand name inDelhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.

     

    The Interconnect arrangement will allow WWIL to carry the encrypted TV channels signal on its digital delivery platform. With this arrangement, WWIL can offer channels of Zee, Star, Turner, NDTV, Fox and NGC bouquets to its customer under DAS regime.

     

    With about two and half months to go for first phase of digitization of cable TV networks in  metros, the company  is in active negotiation with all other leading content aggregators / broadcaster for DAS Interconnect arrangements.

     

    By inking all content arrangement the company will roll out channel packages which will be available for consumer, and with this the power will shift in the hands of consumer to choose what they want to watch.

     

    The company is seeding STB in its markets so that subscriber can continue watching cable TV even after the digitization deadline. The government is continuously monitoring the progress report on digitization of cable TV. TRAI has recently directed all MSO and broadcasters to enter into the interconnect agreements by August 21, 2012.

     

    As the digitization of cable will provide better viewing experience to the consumer in terms of the more number of TV channels with better quality picture and sound.

     

  • The social networking sites were requested to take appropriate steps in line with those outlined in the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2000

    Government regulation for networking sites

    By A Correspondent

     

    The government has held many discussions with social networking sites and brought to their notice that objectionable content appearing on the sites may lead to law and order problems. The social networking sites were requested to take appropriate steps in line with those outlined in the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2000.

     

    Adequate legal provisions are already in place in this regard. Government has notified Information Technology (Intermediaries guidelines) Rules, 2011 under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Further section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 empowers the government to issue directions for blocking for public access of any information through any computer resource in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence relating to these.

     

    This was stated by Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Sachin Pilot in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on August 8, 2012.

     

     

  • Aegis Group plc ("Aegis") announced that it has acquired Communicate 2, a performance marketing and search agency inIndia. MxM spoke to Ashish Bhasin, Chairman India & CEO South East Asia, Aegis Media on his views…

    ‘By 2015, we want to be the top 3 player in every single sphere we operate in’

    What led you to shortlist Communicate2 as the partner of choice?

    Communicate2 is one of the largest and oldest firms in the area of search & performance marketing in India. Vivek Bhargava, as you’d know, is considered to be the guru of search inIndia. He is also one of the guys to be Google-certified and has been in this business since 1997 – a time when the internet and search was in its absolute infancy. In our view, nobody else managed the quality and scale of the business that he has built up, and therefore he was a preferred partner of choice.

     

    The other important reason for choosing Communicate2 was chemistry – Aegis Media has a certain vision and value outlook which is very close to our heart and Communicate2 seemed to have gelled very well with those attributes. There was a lot of comfort on both sides. So these were some of the key reasons for us to choose Communicate2.

     

    Will you be laying enhanced emphasis on Search with the current acquisition…

    The focus is on search because it is one of the fastest growing parts of our business. Clearly, Communiacte2 is the biggest player in the space and now with iProspect and Communicate2 together, we are straight away the number one player of search in India. So that’s how it is placed as of now.

     

    How long has it been since you have been pursuing Communicate2? Did you scan the market for other potential candidates?

    We were working with them about 4-5 years ago, but nothing more came out of that deal. This recent move has been in the works for a few months. Also, we did scan the market as anybody else would and we did have a few names that we shortlisted and we narrowed down to Communicate2.

     

    The deal seems heavy on the investments front. Would you share with us the monetary plans you engaged in towards snapping the agency?

    An agency that is the oldest and has a workforce of more than 130 people is not going to sell out cheap. I cannot disclose the amounts behind the deal, but I can say that it has been fairly priced.

     

    The market has been abuzz with news of big communication houses buying out specialist digital agencies in the recent past. What would you infer of this trend that everybody is taking a liking to?

    I cannot comment about others, but there is a clear strategy that Aegis Media believes in and that is by 2015, we want to be the top three player in every single sphere that we operate in – be it out-of-home, search or digital. As part of our strategy to be in the top 3, the best way of getting there was by partnering with Communicate2 because their expertise, their client base and their search professionals coupled with the iProspect tools and knowledge would be an unbeatable combination.

     

    In an acquisition it is very important that you have to see how the acquisition fits with the plans of your company. So the task of integration becomes key, which is why the quality and type of people and the chemistry become important. So companies that are blindly going out and buying companies will fall flat on their face, but those who are able to acquire and integrate companies and have a great bond with the partners will be successful in the long run.

     

    Globally, digital contributes more than 35 per cent for Aegis Media. What is it that you anticipate from the Indian market post the acquisition of Communicate2?

    We are looking at being the clear No 1. Globally, iProspect is the world’s largest search network, and in India we now become No 1 with this venture. But we want to be No 1 by a long distance. We want to be double the size of the No 2 guy in a few years.

     

    What are the immediate changes that will be seen on ground?

    There is a new office that we are in the process of doing up in Mumbai; their staff will be moving into that new place soon. Likewise the Delhi team too would be amalgamated in our office. With this the entire Aegis Media clients will have benefits from Communicate2 and vice-versa.

     

    As for people, Vivek will be the MD of the new venture. He already has a management team. Of course, as growth happens we will keep recruiting more people. All other aspects remain the same.

     

    The announcement comes just weeks after Dentsu acquired a stake in Aegis Media. Has this deal been inspired from that takeover…

    These things do not happen overnight; it has been ongoing much before that. The two are not related.

     

    Future plans from Aegis Media…

    As I said, we will be the top 3 player in every space that we operate in. In some instances we will do that organically, in others we will do that inorganically – provided we get a good partner. We are not on the lookout as of now but if any new opportunity does come up we will not be turning a blind eye to that.

     

  • Communicate 2, a performance marketing and search agency inIndia, has been acquired by Aegis Group plc ("Aegis"). MxM spoke to Vivek Bhargava, Managing Director Communicate 2 about the acquistion…

    ‘It was a meeting of the best minds of the world’

    The buzz was that you were being hounded by most big communication players in the market for a takeover and now you’ve finally given in to Aegis Media. How would you describe the takeover journey?

    We had the opportunity to talk to every single large player and we found that the way the market is growing, there is going to be a lot of technology components required in it and iProspect globally has the best technology in the world. Also, we are a very dominant agency as far as search and performance marketing is concerned inIndiawhile iProspect was the world’s largest search company, so it was a meeting of the best minds of the world. The digital market inIndiahas matured to the level where clients are looking for the best in the world and we felt that with the expertise that iProspect had to offer, it was a perfect solution to offer to our partners. And we endeavour to take decisions for our partners as much as it helps us.

     

    What is your view on big communication players showing sudden interest in digital in India?

    Digital marketing inIndiahas now arrived. More promoters and senior management people now believe that digital is a very critical part of their marketing endeavour. So they are spending a lot of time around the medium. About 3-4 years ago we were talking about digital being the future and today digital is now considered as present. Earlier digital used to attract a small budget from marketers, but now they position it as their first priority and question whether they need conventional media or not.Mobilehas given digital three times the reach of television. So I believe digital is going to be the dominant medium in the future.

     

    What is the value that you’d be leveraging from this partnership?

    Globally if you see, there are clients like GM, Nokia, Philips and others who have operations in 60-70 countries and they are aligned with Aegis Media. I see tremendous opportunities there. As for us, we are a 140-people agency which makes us the largest digital agency in the country. So with the clients we have and with the kind of team we have in the enterprise sector, I see it as a perfect marriage of the two. I see tremendous value in the venture.

     

    How have clients responded to this move of yours?

    I had spoken to clients even before this venture and they seemed pretty positive about it. Also there is no change as such in the team and talent, so there was a comfort level there. Generally they are happy with the merger.

     

    Do you see the gap between digital and advertising being bridged?

    If you ask me the demarcation between digital and conventional media will probably go away. This is going to be an advertising agency and digital is going to be an integral part of the advertising medium, probably the largest. Demarcation is something that we have created for ourselves but it is about giving out advertising solutions.

     

  • In other words, they applied a terrific amount of strategic thinking into each and every sport and took a very business performance management approach to everything

    Peter Mukerjea: 2012 Olympic Games – The philosophy of marginal gains!

    By Peter Mukerjea

     

    So now that the 2012 Olympic Games are over, I felt a sense of withdrawal for a day or so. I had got so used to watching hours of fabulous TV coverage across 24 channels – some in HD, of virtually all the events from different venues across the City ofLondonand further afield – sailing and rowing. I wasn’t one bit disappointed though, at not having been to the Games to see anything LIVE, only because the TV broadcast was of such a high standard, that making the effort to steer through the traffic to get there, shuffle with seating, break for snacks or lunch or tea or a pee break, that watching several events at the same time on TV was simply unbeatable, as an option.

     

    But, I did start wondering what it is that the recent 2012 Olympics did for me, in context to India Inc. and what I learnt from the Games themselves. The Games were terrific, as an event of course, the opening ceremony, the athletes, the management, et al, but how did Team GB do so well and so much better than the Beijing Games, just 4 years ago. What was their secret and how did they go about it? I asked a few people who are in the know of these things and the answers I got were astounding, although not surprising. There was also some timely in-depth research done by the IES (Institute for Employment Studies ) which will give us some insight on this.

     

    What stuck out for me was the “The concept of marginal gains”. This simple philosophy has made a big difference to the end result – the medal tally and put Team GB in 3rd place. This was a real surprise for me but not so when I probed a little to find out more.  Each sport had a performance director who had set a very clear goal for the team and at every stage of activity, the same question was asked – over and over again  – “is this going to make us better?”

     

    Be it rowing, sailing, running, jumping, shooting, boxing, whatever. They set a goal and then went about deconstructing the goals to see what needed to be done and how could something new make a slight marginal difference to the performance – a marginal gain each time. Not to make gains in leaps and bounds, but to do this on a step by step basis. And then to collectively achieve a better result each time.

     

    They would do multi-planner activity and had a meritocratic approach to everything – training, teamwork, funding, performance management, but they were also open to criticism. They were self critical at all times, got rid of flabbier organisations as compared to the earlier Games and better understood the concept of loss aversion. In other words, they applied a terrific amount of strategic thinking into each and every sport and took a very business performance management approach to everything. The support and funding that each sport got from Government was also based largely, if not entirely, on results achieved.

     

    None of this is earth shattering in itself perhaps, but the revelation gets more interesting when we see the ‘how’ and ‘why’.

     

    Based on interviews and focus groups with 154 team members, the research goes on to flag coaching and mentoring as key ingredients for a happy and successful team. It shows the team managers are not afraid of change and help create an atmosphere for innovation rather than wallowing in a blame culture. It also outlines 6 areas to avoid for anyone aspiring to engage their team.

     

    1. Never hope it will go away.

    2. Never have a bad day.

    3. Don’t be part of the problem.

    4. Don’t encourage discord and don’t play games to keep people on their toes or enhance competitiveness.

    5. Don’t manage performance before people

    6. Don’t hide, even if you are naturally shy and retiring.

     

    Great team spirit doesn’t happen by chance. The best leaders ensure their behaviour sets the standards for their staff.  The man behindBritain’s cycling success, Dave Brailsford, insists that it’s the little things that make a difference. Hence the likes of Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton taking their own pillows to meets, so they sleep better and making sure they clean gaps between their fingers to reduce probability of illness.

     

    Marginally obsessive perhaps, but dedication to success is infectious, particularly when it so clearly gets results. It’s certainly something for all managers to chew on in this post Olympic period.

     

    (But apart from this , what was also most endearing to me , was the lack of commercial breaks during any of the TV broadcasts. By the way, how’s the IBF getting on with limiting the volume of minutes per hour, for commercial breaks? )

     

  • He was VP, Business & Programme Development earlier

    Elephant elevates Ravi Kabara as President

    Ravi Kabara

    By A Correspondent

     

    To further strengthen its professional & operational practices, Elephant TM, India’s largest independent strategic design outfit with presence in Pune, Delhi and Singapore, has elevated Ravi Kabra to the position of President. He was VP, Business & Programme Development earlier.

     

    Mr Kabra joined Elephant in 2008 to look after Business Development.

     

    Mr Kabra, a post graduate in Marketing Management with degree in Mechanical Engineering has over 17 years of experience across Marketing, Brand Management, Business Development and Design. He worked with Bajaj Auto across functions in Sales & Marketing for 13 years before he crossed over.

     

    Speaking about his new role, Mr Kabra said: “My aim is to achieve higher levels of growth from meaningful work. I will focus on expanding the reach of Elephant brand and augment the contribution of strategic design across client’s business needs. I will also be responsible for ensuring that quality of delivery, teams & operations remain excellent.”

     

    Elephant team has built a strong portfolio of leading brands and award winning projects across sectors and clients.”

     

    Talking about this development, Ashwini Deshpande, Founder Director, Elephant said: “Ravibrought a good balance of professionalism and business understanding at Elephant without affecting the intrinsic passion and free thinking that this profession requires. It seemed like the right time to entrust him with greater responsibility that would leave the founders with more time to mentor teams and explore newer ways of achieving innovation.”

     

    With 23 years of experience, practices at Elephant include product design, retail spaces, packaging, brand strategy & communication, corporate identity & innovation consulting.