MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • The digital assets of Nestle India for brands such as Nescafe, Maggi and Milkmaid, which were being managed by multiple agencies, have now been consolidated with Maxus Digital

    Nestle consolidates digital & social wt Maxus Digital

    By A Correspondent

     

    Nestle India has been successfully executing various digital initiatives on brand websites, social media and mobile across brands. Nescafe, Maggi and Milkmaid among others are some of the largest Facebook communities in their respective businesses. These digital assets of Nestle India that were being managed by multiple agencies have now been consolidated with Maxus Digital.

     

    Nestle India has recently established a comprehensive digital hub at its Head office in Gurgaon that will enable its marketing teams to listen to digital consumers and engage in meaningful conversation. Maxus Digital will work closely with the company and also help manage the Digital Acceleration and Services Hub ‘Dassh’. Maxus has dedicated a team for Nestle India with skills in social media platforms, measurements and creative and some of these team members will be operating from Dash in the Nestle head office.

     

    “We are very proud to be a part of Nestle’s digital journey. In a digitally connected world, reaching and engaging consumers requires expertise and understanding in diverse areas of Creative, content, technology, media and the ability to measure,” said Unny Radhakrishnan, Head of Digital Maxus South Asia.

     

    Ajit Varghese

    Ajit Varghese, Maxus MD, South Asia said, “We are excited to partner Nestle India and at being able to set up the first of its kind digital team for them. Nestle has already developed some good digital assets and we will work closely with the Nestle team to mesh them with mainstream marketing.”

     

  • The Big Tent Activate Summit yesterday hosted discussions on the impact of technology and internet in India

    Industry, guardians & gurus discuss Net impact @ Google summit

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    It is not every day that one witnesses a high-power conference like this; in fact it was being held in India for the very first time. The one-day Big Tent Activate Summit, organized by Google in association with The Guardian and MediaGuru saw Indian and international thought leaders focussed on issues relating to the Internet and its impact on economy, politics, culture and society in India.

     

    Kapil Sibal: Committed to Freedom of Expression

    While delivering the keynote address at the Google Big Tent Activate Summit, Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Communications and IT made it a point to highlight that the government is committed to the cause of freedom of expression. “There should be no doubt that we are wedded to the freedom of expression,” he said. He underlined that the Internet is the most important and transformative forum as there are no borders on the net, he stated, “we must move slowly but surely towards making internet the equinet.”

    He underlined the three important points for making the internet a truly empowering, transformational and inclusive force. He said that from the point of view of the State, “we must have an enabling framework – rules and regulations must not come in the way of the growth of the net. Secondly, networks in terms of fibre-optics and also wireless must be developed to facilitate access to the net. Thirdly, affordable access devices are needed for a true inclusive transformational internet revolution.” Mr Sibal also said that it will be truly transformative, if through the internet, “we can reach people in their traditional languages.”

     

    Haves and Have-nots

    Deep Kalra, Founder & CEO, MakeMyTrip.com spoke about how according to a recent study “SME’s who invested in internet presence have grown by 10% and those who did not, have not grown by that much.” Giving the example of China-based e-Commerce giant Alibaba, he said that a single website has helped the entire economy by hand-holding the SMEs. Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau, Director, Economist Intelligence Unit, reasoned, “Why don’t we have Indian Google or Indian Apple? Apart from talent probably, it is also about regulation. In our research, we have found that within Asia there are many challenges facing the SME and thus, global frontier is not a focus for them. They do not know what regulations are applicable to their internet presence, there of lack of clarity about content and third-party content services and policing of content.”

     

    Even as India witnesses increasing internet penetration, Anu Madgavkar, Senior Fellow, McKinsey Global Institute stated, “The urban and rural penetration ratio stand at 20:2 percent. Rural ecosystem will flourish provided there is equality.”

     

    The very Social media

    It is a fact that many big ticket announcements, and now even political statements, are made on social media platforms. Stephanie Cutter, Political Consultant, who was also the Deputy Campaign Manager for Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, spoke about how investing in social media helped them to communicate outside of the media filter, helped them to generate donations and organise online with offline actions. While saying that he is not a big fan of Section 66A, Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for HRD stated that social media is usually used to create brand identity for the person. Even as Ms Cutter said that all US politicians are on social media, Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister, Jammu and Kashmir said, “Social media is now taken more seriously. And hence, I have to be more careful. I am reluctant on social media because it is now taken as statement of record.” Mr Tharoor concurred.

     

    On the question of media restriction in volatile J&K, Mr Abdullah said, “What we say on social media is picked by traditional media. People ask me that what they say on social media is deleted or blocked, and what I say is not. What I need them to know is that what I say on social media will not get people killed.”

     

    Narendra Modi, Chief Minister,Gujarat, joined in the Big Tent summit via Google Hangout. He said, “The internet has therefore truly empowered the citizen. It has forced the politician to perform, not just promise.” He focussed on how the internet has been a gamechanger in the realm of information-based decision making and has transformed the policy making process. He concluded, “Technology in itself is neither good nor bad. That depends on how it is harnessed. While technology in politics plays a crucial role, it would do us great good to stay away from letting politics into technology.”

     

    Google’s play

    Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google shared a fireside with Alan Rusbridger, Editor, The Guardian at the summit. Mr Schmidt began by saying that there are 600 million mobile phone users in India, 130 million Internet users and only about 20 million broadband users. “India is under-penetrated. Many of the next five billion users of internet will come from India, of course in many more languages.” Talking of non-English users, he said, “You want entrepreneurs to take risk but definitely not go to jail for it in India. Fearing the outcome, many Indians might not join the Internet.” He said that interconnectivity might help the telcos and intermediaries like Google to help the entrepreneurs. Talking about privacy issues on internet, he said, “We need to fight for our privacy. As technology becomes pervasive in Indian society, privacy issues need to be considered.”

     

    On Mr Rusbridger comment that Google is talking about privacy, Mr Schmidt said, “If Google was not even present, the privacy issues would still be there. There is no delete button on the internet. But of I would still say that the despite the negative like privacy issues, value of internet is profoundly positive.” Talking about how mobile can adapt to a profitable business model, Mr Schmidt said, “Mobileads need to be more valuable since it is more personal. Mobilegives more info where the consumer is, what is the consumer doing unlike other screens.” In the end, being asked about India and China, he said, “In short span, China gets all the attention, but the math favours India.”

     

    View from the industry

    Jeff Jarvis, Professor, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism; Raghav Bahl, Managing Director, Network18; Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu and Sanjay Salil, Managing Director, MediaGuru discussed how traditional media is adapting to online media and if online is proving to be a challenge to traditional media.

     

    Mr Jarvis said, “It is of course challenging to cannibalise yourself to new media.” Mr Varadarajan said that while print media in India is dependent on advertisements to get revenues, online media cannot yet capitalise of ads for revenues and neither would the readers pay more for online version of news. Mr Bahl said that while India did leapfrog the disruption, “as internet infrastructure catches on, the transition is going to be very fast,” even while adding later that India been a subject of bad regulation, especially internet.

     

    The panellists agreed that news has become platform-agnostic as Mr Jarvis argued “we should be seen as a service industry.”

     

    As Mr Bahl said that TV has made an easier migration to internet, compared to print media, Mr Varadarajan said, “Even today, when there is a breaking news situation, one turns to TV since it is centrally-curated product.” However, he insisted that The Hindu is getting ready for internet, “We ask our journalists to file two reports: one for print and one for internet. The only challenge is how to integrate different forms of narration: reading, listening and watching. No one has industrialised or scaled it.”

     

    Photograph: video grab from an NDTV.com webcast of the Q&A that Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger had with Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google

     

  • The system will be able to detect those MSOs which do not carry the mandated encrypted signals

    MIB to launch Centralised Monitoring System for encrypted signals

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a major initiative to monitor the progress of digitization and to ensure the mandatory adherence of transmitting digital encrypted signals by Multi System Operators (MSOs), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is in the process of installing a Centralised Monitoring System to keep a tab on the encryption of channels by MSOs. The Centralised Monitoring System will be able to detect those MSOs which do not carry the mandated encrypted signals. MSOs are required to carry encrypted signals of TV channels in areas where digitization has been implemented as mandated by Section 4A of Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995. Transmission or re-transmission of unencrypted signals would amount to violation of the terms and conditions.

     

    For the above purpose, a web based pilot project for the DAS monitoring system installed at Bangalore is undergoing field trials. Once implemented, it will enable the ministry to keep a watch on the implementation of DAS by all the MSO licensees through this system. To start with, this system will help the users to centrally acquire, log, analyze and prepare reports on the status of DAS parameters like total number/name of channels, encryption status etc of cable TV signals of head end of each registered MSO across the country in real time. This system can be augmented in future for content monitoring of the cable TV channels at local levels. It is expected that the system will also evolve as an alternative indicator of television viewing by consumers.

     

  • Minister Manish Tewari said that the potential was tremendous as these agencies facilitated information flow at the sub regional, regional and national level

    Need for more wire news agencies: I&B Minister

    By A Correspondent

     

    Manish Tewari

    Minister for Information & Broadcasting Manish Tewari has said that taking into account the potential of the growing media sector and the flow of information in the news segment, there existed a case for more wire news agencies being established across the media landscape in the country.

     

    The potential was tremendous as these agencies facilitated information flow at the sub regional, regional and national level he said. The increase in number of news agencies would not only enable local based news being highlighted at the national level, it would also enable such agencies to balance news dissemination at the national and local level. Taking into account the diversity of information dissemination, such mechanisms would enable local issues to be highlighted as prominently as those at the national level. The minister was speaking at the 52nd anniversary celebrations of United News of India.

     

    Elaborating further, Mr Tewari said that there was an urgent need to outline sustainable revenue models. Quoting the instance of the digitization process the minister said it was an attempt to bring about transparency and a long-term sustainable process in the broadcasting sector which would help all stakeholders. The revenue models would also have to take into account the parameters that were addressing different audiences with the emergence of new media platforms and instant communication mechanisms.

     

  • Hungama.com has launched a next-generation music application that plans to break the competitive digital music market and elevating the listening experience

    An Ap(p)t offering from Hungama

    By Johnson Napier

     

    Hungama.com has announced the launch of a next-generation music application that seeks to enhance the way users listen to and experience music and videos across devices. With the launch of this app, Hungama.com plans to break the competitive digital music market by not only bringing unique features but also elevating the music listening experience of users by allowing them to watch videos and socialise while streaming their favourite Bollywood, regional and international music.

     

    Sidhartha Roy

    Said Siddhartha Roy, COO Hungama, “Hungama.com has many firsts attached to our name. With the launch of the only music app with video and audio playout, and the only entertainment app that introduces a gamification and loyalty programme within the app, we are confident that we have a stellar product for our consumers.”

     

    Explaining the game-changing experience that the app will offer users, Roy said that there are primarily five features that differentiate it from all the apps out there. “First and foremost it is the great music experience- whether it is the way the app is presenting the music or the great quality it plays etc. Secondly, our music is derivative of our movies- we don’t just listen to music we watch it! Therefore we wanted to give the consumer video streaming so they may enjoy the entire musical experience. Also Hungama.com as a business has always been about music and video. It was a natural to take this visual experience onto our app as well.”

     

    He added, “We also kept in mind the fact that there are times when a consumer wants to express himself, and wants to listen to a curated playlist keeping his mood in mind. The app has a rich Mood Discovery feature that finds and plays music to match the user’s mood. This feature allows users to discover music based on their preferences – Mood, Tempo, Language, Genre or Era. And finally, the biggest game changer is our gamification and loyalty program. We are the first music app to reward the consumer for his every action on the app. With this feature, users can earn points every time they watch videos, play/share music, invite friends or create playlists. We believe this feature will increase engagement and consumer delight.”

     

    On the economics for accessing the content, Mr Roy said that the app is free to download on the iOS and Android devices with full-length music streaming and a 30 seconds preview on video streaming. If a consumer wishes to upgrade to a full length video streaming on iOS, the service costs Rs. 110 or USD 1.99 and on Android it is Rs. 50. Further more on android consumers can also download-to-own content, which is priced at Rs. 5 per music or video, he said.

     

    Explaining the monetization plan from the new service, Roy said, “The app that has been launched comes with transaction, a micro-charging model that is unique to Hungama.com, an integral part of this app. This is enabled through the telco ecosystem. As for monetization, the Hungama.com business has always been and will remain a transaction-driven business. The app is another touch point for the consumer to enjoy his music anytime, anywhere.”

     

  • Tigress Tigress, founded by Meera Sharath Chandra, aims for higher order conversations and delivery on overall brand strategy and consumer engagement across all communication touchpoints. In a hot domain, she tells MxMIndia how she plans to surge ahead

    Meera Sharath Chandra: Roaring for her own turf

    By Johnson Napier

     

    Meera Sharath chandra

    By now the industry may have already warmed up to news of a new agency being launched through Tigress Tigress. Founded by Meera Sharath Chandra, former ECD of Momentum Worldwide UK and former MD of WPP company Syzygy UK, Tigress Tigress will engage in higher order conversations and delivery on overall brand strategy and consumer engagement across all communication touchpoints – with digital at the heart of the experience. It’s a bold step, to say the least – floating a venture of her own in a domain that is a hot favourite.

     

    In fact one could very well start by questioning the thought-process that was adopted behind shortlisting a name that is pretty unusual in the Indian context. Admitting to receiving several inquiries behind the naming of the agency, Ms Chandra asserted that it is in fact a well-thought of strategy. “What I increasingly find is that brands need to mark their own territory in the competitive jungle and no one marks their turf in a better way than the tigress. Moreover once a tiger owns the space he doesn’t let go of it easily. Similarly when a brand comes to us I believe we should give them the chance of having a competitive advantage in the market,” affirmed Chandra.

     

    Presenting another stance Chandra added, “The other side to the name is that if you see my personality, I have been absolutely fiercely protective of my team – another trait of the tigress. When it comes to hunting for business I have been known to be fairly aggressive. So these are the two traits that are synonymous with that of the tigress and hence the name.”

     

    So while a strategy had been envisioned where naming of the agency was concerned, another factor that throws up a lot of questions is being tagged as just another agency in the business. But then there is something different about Tigress Tigress that makes it a player to reckon in the future. Asserted Ms Chandra, “The uniqueness of this concept is that there is no resident team which is creating overheads which I pass on to clients like what the other agencies do. The model is more of a just-in-time talent model where I draw the right resources for the brief. The thing is that whenever the client gives us a brief I would not farm it off to the same team as what most agencies do since they already have the overheads. I would look at the right talent that suits that particular challenge in the marketplace, pull together the right resources; and since creative leadership is my strength I would make sure that everybody works together in a seamless fashion – my entire talent pool is anyway people whom I know and have worked with very well.”

     

    This is business strategy which will draw attention from peers in the industry and also be appealing to clients in a big way. Asserted Ms Chandra, “The thing is that clients are getting a lot savvier in today’s world and if you take a look at their relationship with agencies and re-examine it you would find that the kind of lacuna that exists would be fulfilled by the model that we have to offer. If they want freshness of talent, if they want talent across all touch-points of a truly integrated campaign… nobody has everything in-house but in this model we can stretch ourselves beyond the comfort zone of the agency. I truly believe that a meaningful campaign will always put the consumer first, the brand second and the agency third. If you see today’s model the agencies are navel-gazing and are then worried about the brand and then of the consumer. Whereas it has to be the other way round.”

     

    Chandra said that where clients are concerned she is busy chalking out strategies for one big client – Vibrant Advertising, leaving her little time for the others. “I have just about started signing on a panel of clients and it has taken me quite some time. The first assignment that I am working on is for Vibrant Sports which is a massive High School Football exercise in the US and is completely taken care of on the digital and mobile space. This is being scheduled for August so my entire bandwidth is around that project. In fact the project is so massive that I have no time for pitching to other clients,” quipped Ms Chandra.

     

    Some of the other names on the roster include Digital Marmalade, C R Wolcott Ltd and Skidmore Music from UK, Liam Titcomb from Canada and Ocean Pictures from Germany.

     

    Assisting Ms Chandra in her venture in India will be Vijaykumar Arumugam handling animation and illustration, Deepa Kirodian on art resource and actor-director Purab Kohli, who will be working on cause-related webisodes and video content.

     

    Looking at how the digital landscape has evolved in India, Ms Chandra said, “I have been doing digital for the last 15 years and the last time I was in India, digital wasn’t as huge as it is now. Though it’s not at the level seen in the US or the UK it is on the verge of a breakthrough. What is happening is that TG is increasingly getting younger, becoming more net-savvy and social media active… so the centre point around any campaign has to be digital. If you stick to the old model it may work in certain instances but the new emerging audiences require a different approach with a little of the heart around doing integrated campaigns.”

     

    On the possibility of being open to acquisitions from big enterprises, Ms Chandra expressed caution as she said, “Where digital acquisitions are concerned, that is really not a solution because when you buy a digital company and create an integrated campaign with all the acquisitions that have been made, they are all still different profit centres and they are all pulling at the same share of revenues and they are all having the same friction. This means that the brand personality is not coming out seamlessly because different companies are working on it and therefore one is having a very schizophrenic brand experience and the consumer will get confused at the end of the day. So even if you have divisions inside an agency to create a seamless integrated campaign requires an absolute cohesive team.”

     

    More than that and at a personal level, the venture seems to be a perfect way for Ms Chandra to make her dream of achieving something big at an individual level come true. “As I see it, the entity is an early plan for a late retirement.” Those wanting to explore the possibility of buying out Tigress Tigress out can put that thought to rest.

     

  • Mindshare has announced the appointment of Rajit Desai as Partner, Mindshare Consulting

    Mindshare Appoints Rajit Desai as Partner – Consulting

    Mindshare, the flagship GroupM media agency, has further strengthened its consulting and analytics discipline in the west with the appointment of Rajit Desai as Partner, Mindshare Consulting.

     

    In his new role, Mr Desai would actively contribute towards developing and restructuring Mindshare’s business consulting offering for clients in west region. He will be reporting to the Sandeep Pandey who is the head of practice.

     

    In his last role, Mr Desai served as the Vice President and Head of Lab Centre (research and strategy hub) at Lodestar UM. Having worked in the marketing vertical and as media consultant for various leading companies such as HTA, Sony, Times Now, Loadstar, Media e2e and Turner Broadcasting, Mr Desai comes with 16 years of work experience in the media function.

     

    Said Mr Pandey on the appointment, “Our nature of work requires people from strong consulting and business strategy profile and Rajit has a combination of both. It is part of our larger talent restructuring within consulting discipline and you will hear soon about many senior profiles joining from different industries.”

     

    On his move to Mindshare, Mr Desai said, “This exciting role is a logical next step for me. I see this as a big opportunity and I look forward to help address client’s marketing and business problems and grow the practice along with the high quality team at Mindshare.”

     

  • Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisements in Television Channels) (Amendment) Regulations, 2013 restricts duration of ads in channels to a maximum of 12 minutes in any given clock-hour

    TRAI notifies duration of ads on TV channels

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has notified the regulation “Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisements in Television Channels) (Amendment) Regulations, 2013. This regulation mandates the broadcasters to restrict the duration of advertisements in their channels to a maximum of 12 minutes in any given clock-hour as prescribed in the existing rules.

     

    In order to monitor and ensure compliance with these regulations, broadcasters are now also mandated to report the duration of advertisements carried in their channels to the Authority on quarterly basis in a proforma prescribed by the Authority.

     

    TRAI has studied the issue of duration of advertisements being carried in TV channels. The data obtained from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and that collected from the broadcasters, clearly established the general perception that most of the TV channels are in brazen breach of the existing rules on the subject, notified by the Central Government in the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994.

     

    The duration of advertisements being carried on TV channels is closely related to the quality of viewing experience of the consumers which is akin to the quality of service being offered by the service providers to the consumers.

     

    Also, according to the Regulation, every broadcaster shall, within fifteen days from the end of a quarter, submit to the Authority, in the format specified by it by order, the details of advertisements carried on its channel.

     

    The Authority has noted that the duration and format of advertisements, being carried in TV channels are generally, not in accordance with the provisions of the advertising code as prescribed in the CTNR, 1994. Therefore, with the primary objective of striking a balance between giving a consumer a good TV viewing experience and protecting the commercial interests of broadcasters, after following the due consultation process, TRAI notified the “Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisements in Television Channels) Regulations” dated 14th May 2012. These regulations, besides prescribing that the limit of advertisement duration should be adhered to on clock hour basis, also provided that (i) advertisements should be carried only during breaks in live sporting action (ii) time gap between consecutive advertisement sessions should be of minimum 30 minutes in case of movies and 15 minutes otherwise (iii) no part screen advertisements should be permitted etc.

     

    The regulations were challenged by some of the broadcasters in the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). The broadcasters had challenged the said regulations, inter alia mainly on the following grounds: (a) regulation on advertising time and its corresponding effect on the broadcaster’s revenues would adversely affect the growth and competition in the broadcasting industry (b) Sports channels, by very nature of the business, stand on a different footing as compared to other genres because of the reasons such as periodic availability of content, limited shelf life and mandatory sharing with Prasar Bharati. Also, the content is obtained at huge cost and with very stringent conditions which strictly regulate how the events would be broadcast with specified timelines allotted to advertisements.

     

    In order to minimize other breaks during certain live sporting events, in which natural breaks either occur after relatively long periods or there are no natural breaks such as F1 races, part screen advertisements should be allowed (c) the “part screen” and “drop down” advertisements are integral forms of advertising and (d) statutory rules already exist under the Cable TV Act to regulate the format and duration of advertisements that may be carried on television channels and the regulations are beyond the purview of TRAI and in conflict with the provisions of rule 7 of the CTNR 1994.

     

    Meanwhile, the New Broadcasters Association (NBA) has expressed “deep shock and concern” on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) notification and is appalled that by way of advertisement regulations, the TRAI has issued the most sweeping and intrusive “controls” not just “regulations” in relation to advertising that may be carried on TV channels. According to NBA, these regulations have been issued at a time when news channels are facing a most unfriendly business environment. Dependence on advertising remains absolute with over 90 percent of revenues coming from it. The NBA has urged the government to ensure that the said regulation is kept in abeyance till such time digitization is fully implemented in the country (with consequential benefits of no or low carriage fees and credible subscription revenue) and DAVP recommences advertising on news channels at rates which are fair and acceptable.

     

  • For a country mainly mad about one sport, India has a surprisingly large number of sports channels on TV (17!). Is the market sturdy enough for more?

    Does India need more sports channels?

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    Indian television has some 17 sports channels, almost as many as – if not more than – Hindi GECs. Star Sports recently announced a new sports channel: Star Sports 2. Sony Six debuted in the market not so long ago.

     

    Is India’s a big enough market for so many sports channels? Is the audience base growing or becoming fragmented? With channels facing the perennial question of differentiation, how are the advertisers responding to the plethora of sports channels?

     

    MxMIndia spoke to sports channel heads, advertisers and media planners to find out what they think.

     

    Muralikrishnan B, Country Manager India, eBay

    Sports channels are definitely a viable proposition, for a country where more than 50% of the population is young – less than 25 years. The core of sports channel audience is 15 to 35 yrs. Almost 1/3 rd of Indian population sits in that bracket – 400 million. Whether the number of sports channels can stay in the market or not will depend upon what kind of content they are able to show – in other words what are the tournament rights they are able to capture!

     

    Overall the sports viewership base is growing. Multiple sports channel option throws up better opportunity for advertisers. For eCommerce brands, youth is one of the most important Target Groups. And to connect with youth, besides music & movies, the sports channels are one of the key strategic options. Thus, as an advertiser trying to reach out to younger TG, we are very optimistic to the development.

     

    Sports viewership can be categorized in two parts:

     

     

    a) General viewing of sports channel (somewhat like default viewing) – it will depend on convenience of the viewer. And is more driven by what the person chooses to watch when he has remote in his hand, and is influenced by general viewing behavior of individual. Normally the sports enthusiasts tend to watch TV either early evening (younger ones, after school/college) or late evening (young adults & beyond). Both the segments also try and catch up on viewing during day time over the weekends Thus, the key viewing time (thus prime time) can be considered as 5 to 7 pm, 10 pm to midnight for Monday to Thursday and weekends day time.

     

    b) Appointment viewing of specific event – this is primarily driven by the desire to watch a particular event, irrespective of when it’s being telecast. The enthusiasm is more to catch the live action. In such cases, the viewer will adjust viewing behaviour to be in front of TV when the live action is on. For such occasions, that’s the prime time.

     

    With digitization setting in, I possibly foresee more sport channels launched/announced targeted at more niche audience – may be focused on specific sports. For instance, there can be a channel on golf or on motor racing. For all those sports which appeal to niche but influential and high value audience. On channels differentiating their positioning, as on date, seems to be a very difficult proposition where 90% viewership is driven by cricket. And the channel’s fortune depends upon what rights they have of the top cricket tournaments.

     

    Prasana Krishnan, COO, Neo Sports Broadcast Pvt Ltd

    With the limitations of analogue cable being systematically eliminated, the feasibility of existence of multiple sports channels in India is sound. The onset of digitization has ensured that fans are able to watch sports of their choice on a regular basis. This bodes well for the broadcasters and the viewers.

     

    These are early days still in the implementation of digitization, but it is heartening to see the progress that has been made so far. There is a definite surge in reach for the sports category in the digital markets. With digitization enabling delivery of niche sports as well, there is an increase in interest and confidence from advertisers in the genre as they are seeing the value of tapping into properties which have targeted audiences and are being accurately measured.

     

    It is imperative to remember that that sports is mainly consumed around live events. There are huge spurts in viewership during these telecasts and these could be airing at periods other than the traditional prime time band. As long as it is an event of interest, fans will continue to tune in. Sports broadcasters are actively acquiring properties in sports like football, tennis, hockey, golf and badminton. This is happening as a result of digitization unlocking value and making the delivery of other sports feasible. By spreading the pie across sports instead of being completely focused on cricket, channels can position themselves around their unique portfolios.

     

    In the immediate future, I expect existing sports broadcasters to continue to focus on strengthening their portfolios. New channel launches are still some time away.

     

    Navin Khemka, Managing Partner, Zenith Optimedia

    Sports channels are purely led by content. They will only survive if they have the content to sustain. The audience base is definitely growing beyond cricket. With more and more international sports being held in India, the interest levels are rising. It has also a lot to do with how we are performing individually or as a team in a sport.

     

    Advertisers are responding positively. The clutter on cricket and entry level costs are high. Other sports are offering all advertisers an opportunity to target audiences efficiently. It is a mixed bag. For instance, when EPL happens, it is India’s prime time. Advertisers who get in for the season; this gets balanced out.

     

    With digitization we will see emergence of specialised sports content channels within various genres. This will be more for the purists who follow the game. We will see emergence of golf racing soccer etc led specialist content channels. Positioning only on content can work in sports.

     

     

    Vijay Rajput, Chief Operating Officer, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd

    The typical Indian sports fan today has evolved a lot over the years. He is consuming not just cricket but a variety of sports like soccer, golf, hockey, motorsports et al. Today, fans get an increased opportunity to see, understand and appreciate nuances of various games given the number of sports channels that are available in the country. The best of sporting content from across the world is getting beamed live for the benefit of Indian audiences, which is bringing in more and more fans closer to their favourite sporting action.

     

    With better technology, quality production values and the best of TV talent, sports channels in the country have come a long way. We believe that with our superior content line up extending for the next few years across sporting genres, all our channels will be the top choice of sports fans in India and South Asia. Our endeavour thus will always be to acquire the best of sporting content across media and consistently aim to provide the sports fan with quality entertainment round the clock.

     

    Till now advertisers have responded admirably to the content on sports networks as sports can bring in and bind audiences across socio-economic demographics in a manner which other genres find difficult to achieve. What remains critical therefore is to constantly offer a superior value proposition to the advertiser so that he remains interested in associating with a channel and its sporting content. STAR Sports 2 is being launched especially for the Indian sub-continent keeping in mind the growing need of Indian sports fans to consume more and more of quality sporting action. I am sure advertisers will see huge value in what we have to offer.

     

    Sports does not follow typically a GEC pattern where-in you have a defined prime time. Our insights always point out that sports is best consumed live. The pleasure in watching a game unfold live with its twists and turns is what attracts fans. Sports is like an unscripted reality show which throws up surprises every minute.

     

    With digitization, individual preferences will indeed play a key role and we as a network are prepared for that.

     

    Deepali Naair, Country Head – Brand, Corporate Communications & Customer Service, L&T General Insurance Company Limited

    To an advertiser, the events matter more than the channel which is televising it in India, currently. Sports Channels in India still have an opportunity to extend the life of the main sporting event. For instance, if IPL is a two month long event, there is opportunity to capitalize one month before and one month after the IPL, with content around the IPL. There is a scope of making a two-month event into a four-month-event with pre-and-post-content. This logic can be extended to any sporting event with behind the scene coverage, past winners, legends, analysis, etc. Sports channels can also monetize the content digitally far more rather than leaving it to digital content suppliers; this may help in building channel loyalty.

     

    There is also a growing viewership of HD Sports channels, which reaches the top-end segment of consumers.

     

    When it comes to fragmentation, it is here to stay: across screens, across audiences and genres. While the audience for tennis, F1 is there, it is still small. But a change in sports preferences will not happen immediately; such phenomena occur with a generation gap. The audience of the next decade, especially teenagers, might also gravitate towards football, apart from cricket.

     

  • VML Qais, the Indian arm of Cannes Lion-winning network VML, has won all the digital duties for Religare Technologies' Healthcare IT service offering, HealthFore

    VML Qais wins digital duties of HealthFore, division of Religare Technologies

    By A Correspondent

     

    VML Qais, the Indian arm of Cannes Lion-winning network VML, has won all the digital duties for Religare Technologies’ Healthcare IT service offering, HealthFore.

     

    Covering the entire gamut of healthcare operations for providers on all levels, HealthFore provides robust, scalable and efficient IT platforms across a wide spectrum of care delivery including a unique mHealth service where patients can talk to medical practitioners on their Airtel mobile phones.

     

    VML Qais will be responsible for developing the digital roadmap of all the B2B services of the HealthFore brand – including website builds, social media and SEO.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, VML Qais CEO Tripti Lochan said, “We are extremely excited to be working with HealthFore on this unique and dynamic service offering. Healthcare in India is growing exponentially, and we are proud to have been chosen as the agency that will partner HealthFore in their growing thrust towards bettering healthcare services in the country.”

     

    “We are delighted to be working with VML Qais as we grow and expand the healthcare market in India. As we move forward, digital will play an increasingly key role is helping us reach out to the right audience and educate users on our various products. We found VML Qais to be the right partner, in both capability and spirit, to take us where we want to go,” said Pankaj Vaish, CEO, HealthFore.

     

    The HealthFore win is an exciting addition to VML Qais’ already robust portfolio of clients in India, which includes Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Revlon India and Tata Motors.

     

  • PepsiCo India has announced its association with eight out of nine Pepsi-IPL teams as the 'Exclusive Pouring Partner' for the upcoming IPL 2013

    Pepsi bags exclusive pouring rights with 8 teams at IPL

    By A Correspondent

     

    PepsiCo India has announced its association with eight out of the nine Pepsi-IPL teams as the ‘Exclusive Pouring Partner’ for the upcoming Pepsi-IPL 2013 tournament. After winning the title sponsorship for the biggest annual sporting event in the subcontinent, PepsiCo’s partnership with almost all participating teams further demonstrates its commitment to the sport of cricket and the ability to maximize value from the tournament.

     

    The association will extend to PepsiCo’s robust food and beverage portfolio including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7UP, Mango Slice, Mirinda, Aquafina, Tropicana, Lay’s, Kurkure, Aliva and Quaker Oats. These team partnerships, along with the title sponsorship coupled with the robust on-air, on-line and on-ground plans will ensure maximum visibility and engagement for PepsiCo’s brands.

     

    While activations with Delhi Daredevils will be led by both Pepsi and Mountain Dew; Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors will be led by Pepsi; Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab by Mountain Dew; Chennai Super Kings, The Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore by 7UP. Additionally, these associations also bring with it exclusive pouring rights, joint marketing association opportunities along with other benefits for both food and beverage brands.

     

    On securing the pouring rights with eight teams, Gautham Mukkavilli, CEO, Beverages, PepsiCo India Region said, “At PepsiCo, we believe that winning the title sponsorship of Pepsi-IPL was just the beginning and we are committed to back it with smart, strategic and high-decibel marketing and activation plans that will help us maximize the tournament’s potential. We are thrilled to announce our association with the eight franchise teams and will continue to build a campaign that will change the face of sport sponsorships and activations in India. Cricket lovers can look forward to a lot more excitement, never before experiences and a memorable sporting season”.

     

    PepsiCo has also signed the co-presenting broadcast sponsorship deal with Multi Screen Media (MSM), owners of the Set Max channel that will be broadcasting Pepsi-IPL 2013. Apart from a strong on-air play of its portfolio, PepsiCo is working on a series of customized innovations with MSM to maximize its association with the broadcaster.

     

  • Reaching out to audiences across markets, the studio plans to launch new movies in five languages

    Viacom18 Motion Pictures enters regional cinema space

    By A Correspondent

     

    Viacom18 Motion Pictures has announced its advent into the regional cinema space after a successful two years as an integrated movie studio. This move comes in the light of the brand’s vision to be a pan-India studio and reach out to the audiences who consume cinema in varied regional languages.

     

    Jayesh Muzumdar, who is currently Director – Commercial affairs, Viacom18 Motion Pictures, will now also be heading the regional films business, reporting in to the COO.

     

    Sudhanshu Vats

    Speaking on this development, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18 said, “Foraying into regional cinema is in line with our vision for Viacom18 to have a strong presence in the regional entertainment space – both television as well as films. Geographic and linguistic segmentation is a key component of our growth strategy as we move ahead, and the good news is that we have already firmed up our plans in five key regional markets.”

     

    In its inception stage, the studio’s regional division has a pipeline of six movies across Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Punjabi and Bengali. The Tamil and Telugu titles include the remake of the studio’s 2012 hit Kahaani.

     

    Vikram Malhotra, COO of Viacom18 Motion Pictures commented, “With incremental growth coming from regional markets, Viacom18 Motion Pictures will now extend its understanding of path-breaking content and innovative marketing skills to connect with regional audiences.”