MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • Bigger than its previous edition, Mosaic 2012 features 121 print campaigns across 105 brands from 31 top agencies

    Dainik Bhaskar to launch Mosaic 2012 ‘Best in Print’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dainik Bhaskar Group is all set to launch the second edition of its best-in-print ads – Mosaic.

     

    The book will be unveiled on April 5 at the Dainik Bhaskar Group sponsored IAA debates in Goa. In recognition of the talent and massive creative potential that India has to offer, the group hopes that this book will be a reference point for all possibilities in the print category.

     

    Bigger than its previous edition, Mosaic 2012 features 121 print campaigns across 105 brands from 31 top agencies. The insights section features senior industry members sharing their reasons for picking the featured advertisements.

     

    This collector’s compilation is facilitated by afaqs! and supported by ABP News and Ad Club.

     

  • The economics of the broadcast business would not hold up for very long anywhere if there was 'unlimited inventory' in any market and this is one of the reasons the economics of the broadcasting industry in India is so weak

    Peter Mukerjea’s Media Mullings: Less is More!

    By Peter Mukerjea

     

    So, is it a surprise that broadcasters are unhappy with the TRAI for enforcing the 10+2 per hour of commercial time on TV channels?

     

    Short-term pain for long-term gain in simple terms is what it will be. But no one wants short-term pain.

     

    Many of my friends in the broadcast industry are up in arms about this ruling, but when we talk about this, to be fair, they do conclude that it is actually the right thing to do for their business. After all, it will see the advertising rates go up, which will benefit their individual revenue lines and their shareholders in turn. Once the 10+2 regulation sets in and becomes standard operating principle, investors both national and international will re-look at the Indian broadcast industry as an investment opportunity. They will see that the supply-demand ratio is finite and not infinite as it is today. Infinite makes no ‘big picture’ sense.

     

    Advertisers, brand managers, small, medium and large will not like the sound of this 10+2 directive either, as it will mean that they will need to increase their TV budgets if they want to continue to get the same ‘secondage’ as they’re getting today. There just won’t be enough ‘secondage’ to go round and advertisers could get into a bidding war for the best TV properties. But the flip side to that is that they will get a secure share of voice. Surely advertisers see more value in their brands being 1/20 than being 1/30. And, if they tell you they don’t care about that, then that’s the biggest load of rubbish you will hear and you can’t let them get away with that.

     

    And all credit to the TRAI who have now really begun to act like the regulator it should be ie to look at the big picture – digitization, commercial time, quality of service and so on – but not get drawn into the itsy bitsy litigation attempts of the various stakeholders in the business.

     

    There cannot be a single broadcast market anywhere in the grown-up world, where there is ‘unlimited inventory’ of commercial time available to broadcasters. The economics of the broadcast business would not hold up for very long anywhere if there was ‘unlimited inventory’ in any market and surely this is one of the reasons the economics of the broadcasting industry in India is so weak and will not improve so long as it continues with broadcasters taking more ads into their programmes/movies at the expense of the quality of service to the viewers.

     

    And why should sports be an exception to the rule? The ad usage will need to be modified to cater to the differing nature of each sport, as tennis differs from cricket and from football or F1, but the 10+2 rule should stay the same.

     

    All promo tags, bumpers, drop-downs, split screens are all possible so long as they stay within the 10+2 guideline. It’s not that difficult. Of course broadcasters will resist. Someone once said – “Resistance after all, is the best form of seduction.”

     

    In the final analysis of broadcasters’ economic sustainability, growth and profitability, the adage “less is more” will ring true and makes sense for all broadcasters but the faint-hearted or the economically very weak as they will simply not survive, in a survival-of-the-fittest environment.

     

    They will simply have to get better at what they do and compete, or fall over and get out of the business.

     

  • Money transfer brand Xpress Money has appointed digital marketing agency Gozoop Online to augment its social media presence

    Xpress Money appoints Gozoop as its digital media agency

    By A Correspondent

     

    Money transfer brand Xpress Money has appointed digital marketing agency Gozoop Online to augment its social media presence. The agency is set to lead the social media strategy and communication for Xpress Money to ensure synchronization between online and offline activities.

     

    The objective of Xpress Money to appoint an agency is to leverage its digital presence to increase consumer connect, said a release. Gozoop will make use of consumer-centric platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare and YouTube to reach existing and potential Xpress Money users and engage with them.

     

    Commenting on the development, Vinesh Nair, VP, Global Marketing and Communications, Xpress Money said, “Xpress Money as an organization believes that digital media is an extremely important channel to engage with and have meaningful conversations with consumers. It makes perfect sense for a brand like Xpress Money to have an active and a continually interactive digital media presence. We have executed some of our biggest initiatives in the past that were purely seeded through Facebook. With Gozoop’s in-depth understanding of the medium and strategic inputs, we now have a robust social media presence and we are confident about their levels of execution.”

     

    Gozoop MD Dushyant Bhatia said, “We are excited to work with Xpress Money on enhancing its digital media presence. We are happy to have a client that believes in digital media and considers it as a core part of their overall marketing strategy. We look forward to adding substantial value and help Xpress Money achieve its objectives.”

     

    Xpress Money is a global money transfer brand with a presence in more than 150 countries. More information is available at www.xpressmoney.com.

     

  • IBF has called for withdrawal of the notification and re-initiation of a participatory dialogue that helps make self-regulation of advertising minuteage in line with global standards a reality

    IBF asks for withdrawl of TRAI notification on ad duration

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) is deeply concerned about the Telecom Regulatory Authority’s notification which will force television broadcasters to a maximum of twelve minutes of advertising in every hour of broadcast.

     

    Like several industries that continue to reel from the after-effects of the global economic recession, India’s television broadcasting industry has been suffering too. The industry is largely dependent on advertising revenues for its economic sustenance. IBF has been working with TRAI over the last several months to arrive at a way forward on the quantum of advertising duration. Its fundamental stance has always been to self-regulate, aligned with globally practiced standards.

     

    According to the official statement issued by IBF, the trickle back effect from the first stage of digitization is yet to begin. Carriage fees introduced in 2008 remain a burden, especially for the more than 500 smaller channel operators. Cable TV tariffs remain frozen at 2005 rates. HD TV and pay channel revenues are just about beginning to happen and will take time to start providing economic value. These factors need concomitant addressing. Regulation on just advertising minuteage will have a severe impact on the survival of the broadcasting industry from amputation of a critical arm of the fourth estate.

     

    IBF has called for withdrawal of the notification and re-initiation of a participatory dialogue that helps make self-regulation of advertising minuteage in line with global standards a reality. None of the industry players are in disagreement with the overall objective of the notification. The staging of doing this has to be in line with economic sustenance of the broadcasting business and is best aligned to the full value of digiti zation becoming a reality.

     

  • According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, complete digitization has been achieved in four cities, 8 cities have achieved more than 75% and 28 cities achieve more than 50%

    Digitization reaches 67% in Phase II cities: MIB

    By A Correspondent

     

    Fresh data from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting states that 67 percent of the digitization target has been achieved in the 38 cities which are set for digitization by March 31. According to DTH operators and MSOs, a total of 108 lakh Set Top Boxes (STBs) have already been installed in Phase-II cities against the target of 1.60 crore, registering overall achievement of over 67 percent digitization.

     

    Hyderabad, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Allahabad have achieved nearly 100 percent digitization, according to the MIB, and 75 percent digitization has been achieved in eight cities – Jodhpur, Thane, Aurangabad, Jaipur, Pune, Faridabad, Nashik, and Ghaziabad.

     

    Analysis of the data further reveals that out of 38 cities to be digitized in Phase II, 28 cities have achieved more than 50 percent digitization individually.

     

    The ministry has also stepped up the public awareness campaign to sensitize consumers on the benefits of digitization, through print and electronic media. Both All India Radio and private FM broadcasters are airing radio jingles, the ministry has brought out a print advertisement in all 38 cities in the respective regional languages, SMS campaign is under way, and television channels have been frequently running video spots, blackout advertisements and scrolls.

     

    Meanwhile, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has reiterated its commitment to television broadcasting digitization. As mandated by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting under the Cable Television Network Amendment Ordinance 2011, for the 38 cities notified in the Phase II sequence of the digitization roll out, television broadcasters will comprehensively switch off all analogue signals from midnight Sunday, March 31.

     

    The IBF board has stressed that such a move is necessary to smoothen the transition from analogue to digital cable TV. IBF members have been running regular awareness campaigns to educate consumers on the various benefits of digitization. Some of these benefits include better picture and sound quality, enhanced services such as high definition, video on demand content and eventually, higher quality content. In addition, digitization will also enable viewers to choose and pay for only those channels they want, rather than pick from packages with fixed prices. Digitization will also bring about greater transparency between broadcasters, cable operators and consumers.

     

    Man Jit Singh

    IBF President Man Jit Singh said, “IBF and its members are committed to the successful implementation of digitization in India. Our awareness campaign has received very good response. We are confident that the successful implementation of DAS-II will tremendously improve the quality of television content and consequent viewership in the country.”

     

  • HUL's Domex ran a campaign on Big FM, with characters Jaggu Jaundice, Tatya Typhoid and Danny Diarrhea spreading the message of toilet hygiene and sanitization

    Germs personified on radio for HUL’s Domex

    By A Correspondent

     

    While most toilet cleaner campaigns focus on TVCs and print, HUL’s Domex has taken to the radio waves in an innovative bid to target the markets of Maharashtra and South India.

     

    Big FM has carried out an innovative and engaging campaign on the pegs of toilet hygiene and sanitization, called ‘Germs Ka The End’, with characters Jaggu Jaundice, Tatya Typhoid and Danny Diarrhea spreading the message of toilet hygiene and sanitization.

     

    Led by National Solutions Head Dheeraj Kumar along with his team comprising Zara Zaki, Sreejith Vijayan and Usha Malasi, the campaign also saw a song rendition by music director and singer Bappi Lahiri, titled The End.

     

    Created against the backdrop of ‘shaayri’, the characterized germs poetically profess the ill-effects of unhygienic and unsanitized toilets through an imaginative exchange of dialogues.

     

    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head – 92.7 Big FM said, “We are happy with the success of the campaign. To be able to tailor solutions to meet client requirements, while also keeping listener sensibilities in mind has been our strength which has been showcased once again with this campaign with Domex. The team has done an excellent job and we look forward to continuing to serve audiences and marketers alike, with innovative and highly engaging offerings.”

     

    George Koshy, Category Head (Household Care), Hindustan Unilever Ltd said, “Toilet cleaners category cues are such that consumers cringe on seeing any form of advertising. Our germ world campaign is our attempt at making this category easier on the eye. In order to make the germ world and its characters popular, we decided to use music as the medium. Mindshare created a unique tie-up with 92.7 Big FM and Bappi Lahiri to create a fun jingle around Domex’s characters – Jaggu Jaundice, Tatya Typhoid and Danny Diarrhea. Radio is a key medium with our audience residing in our key markets. The song enabled us to enter the realm of radio content and away from the by now done-to-death RJ integrations and station roadblocks.”

     

  • TV channel Zoom has rolled out a 30 percent hike in its advertising rates with immediate effect, stating that this is in line with the true value of its offering

    Zoom hikes ad rates by 30%

    By A Correspondent

     

    TV channel Zoom has rolled out a 30 percent hike in its advertising rates with immediate effect, stating that this is in line with the true value of its offering.

     

    In a release, the channel said that it has consistently enjoyed a loyal and ever-growing audience base. Zoom dominates the Bollywood category with over 45 percent channel share and delivers to a significantly higher premium audience when compared with other music, entertainment and lifestyle channels.

     

    Avinash Kaul

    Avinash Kaul, CEO of ET Now, Times Now and Zoom, said, “Zoom’s strong and consistent viewership figures capture just one dimension of the brand’s popularity among its audience. Over the last few years we have seen a staggering response from Zoom’s fans in the real world engaging with the brand on Social Media platforms from across the globe. Zoom generates over 1.3 crore impressions and sparks over 1 lakh interactions every day in the social media space – it is the biggest TV brand on social media in Asia. Our esteemed clients believe in the power of Zoom as a platform to reach out to their urban, upscale consumers and the fact that Zoom has the largest client base in the category is reflective of that trust.”

     

  • Heineken is looking to recruit a lucky football fan, who is digitally and socially savvy, creative, witty, passionate and eager, to report on the UEFA Champions League Final weekend for Heineken's social media channels in India

    Heineken upbeat about social for UCL

    By Johnson Napier

     

    With the rollout of the Social Reporter contest, Heineken is looking to recruit a ‘Man of The World’ from India, to live the Heineken Experience and report on it. The attempt is to recruit a lucky football fan, who is digitally and socially savvy, creative, witty, passionate and eager, to report on the UEFA Champions League Final weekend for Heineken’s social media channels in India.

     

    Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior Vice President (Marketing), United Breweries Ltd. tells MxMIndia on what makes this contest a unique experience for football fans in India and also what are Heineken’s growth plans for India.

     

    This is Heineken’s first association with UEFA Champions League in India. Given the huge popularity that UCL enjoys around the world, what are your expectations from the association in India?

    Heineken globally has been a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, the world’s most prestigious club football tournament, since 1994. This makes it a perfect match for Heineken, the world’s most international premium beer brand.

     

    The Heineken Social reporter initiative is an extension of the brand’s global campaign The Candidate, and one of the initiatives as part of Heineken’s activation of the UEFA Champions League sponsorship in India.

     

    We expect this initiative and our overall Champions League activation plans to give Heineken a salience boost, and connect with young urban consumers in the key consumption months of the upcoming warm Indian summer. The winner of our search will not only experience the time of his life, but will also play an extremely important role in his assignment as Heineken’s Social Reporter. We are looking for someone not just with advanced degrees or skills, but for someone who is smart, spontaneous, witty and creative; and someone who has the ability to think out of the bottle.

     

    Could you elaborate on the Social Reporter contest that you’ve announced in India? How is it unique?

    With the Heineken Social Reporter, the brand is looking to recruit a ‘Man of The World’ from India, to live the Heineken Experience and report on it. The attempt is to recruit a lucky football fan, who is digitally and socially savvy, creative, witty, passionate and eager, to report on the UEFA Champions League Final weekend for Heineken’s Social Media channels in India.

     

    The search will begin with the profiles that interested fans create on our Facebook app: https://apps.facebook.com/heinekencandidate/. From here we will create a shortlist and then engage with the candidates on a one-to-one basis over two or three more rounds, before we arrive at our Heineken Social Reporter.

     

    Will you be looking at extending the contract of the winner beyond the UCL tournament?

    The Heineken Social Reporter is ideally a onetime opportunity for one successful consumer to report Live from the upcoming UEFA Champions League Final from Wembley Stadium, London.

     

    What are Heineken’s plans around other sporting properties (including football) in India?

    Across the world, Heineken connects with consumers through marketing activation campaigns based on its global Sport, Music and Film platforms. These include the UEFA Champions League Football and the Rugby World Cup. In India, we will be continuing on the same lines. At this moment we are concentrating on Heineken’s activation of the UEFA Champions League sponsorship in India. We do not have any other sporting associations at the moment.

     

    Growth-wise, what are your expectations from India for the year 2012-13?

    Heineken is our fastest growing brand. It has grown at close to 100%. We have almost doubled volumes from what they were last year.

     

    For the upcoming year, we are looking at increasing distribution of the brand to reach out to our target consumers.

     

  • Star Plus is available on the Sky Go service in the UK from March-end, and is the first Asian television channel to join the service

    Star Plus now on Sky Go in UK

    By A Correspondent

     

    Star Plus is available on the Sky Go service in the UK from March-end, and is the first Asian television channel to join the service.

     

    Yeshpal Sharma

    Yeshpal Sharma, Senior Vice-President, Star UK & Europe, said, “With the launch of Star Plus on Sky Go, we are extremely pleased to offer our viewers yet another exciting viewing experience to enjoy the best of Asian television entertainment, anywhere in the UK, anytime, on the go.”

     

    Luke Bradley-Jones, Sky’s Director of TV products, commented, “Sky Go continues to offer Sky customers even more value by being able to access even more shows across a range of devices. The service is currently enjoyed by over 3 million customers and we will continue to bring even more content to customers as part of our continued commitment to offer people the best TV, and the best ways to watch.”

     

    Sky Go offers Sky TV subscribers live TV and a library of on-demand content from Sky at no extra cost, which they can watch online, on iPhone, iPad or selected Android smartphones with the Sky Go app.

     

  • The 128-page special issue is priced at Rs 60 per copy

    Vikatan launches premium offering Aval Kitchen

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Vikatan Group has launched a 128-page issue of special edition magazine Aval Kitchen. The first premium offering that Vikatan brought out was Aval Manamagal (wedding issue) in January 2013. For 2013-14 it will be a quarterly magazine.

     

    Aval Kitchen is the second premium offering from Vikatan, which already cultivates its readers with a 30-recipe booklet with every issue of Aval Vikatan. The special issue, besides offering readers dedicated content on food, restaurant reviews etc, also offers advertisers a niche platform to advertise at an attractive price point.

     

    Vikatan Group has a robust plan for promoting new products, with promotions across all their magazines, and poster campaigns at points of purchase across Tamil Nadu. Aval Kitchen is also being promoted via Vikatan.com, which has nearly 1 lakh paid subscribers and more than 10 lakh registered users, as well as Facebook with more than 2,00,000 fans.

     

  • The book, Devalaya, showcases some of the prominent temples of Jharkhand which are held in high religious esteem by local and trans-state devotees

    Jagran launches coffee table book on Jharkhand temples

    By A Correspondent

     

    Jagran Prakashan Limited has come up with another new coffee table book on the temples of Jharkhand. Titled Devalaya Jharkhand, the book showcases some of the prominent devalayas (temples) of the state which are held in high religious esteem by local and trans-state devotees.

     

    It explores the glorious history and contemporary significance of 67 such temples through exclusive pictures and narratives. The book is the second in the ‘Devalaya’ series by the Jagran Coffee Table Book (JCTB) vertical. JPL had come out with Devalaya Bihar in November.

     

    Conceptualized by Anand Madhab and authored by Sharmishtha Sharma, Associate Editor, i next, the book is believed to serve as a ready reference material for the people who are inclined to know about the religious/spiritual past of Jharkhand. Inputs from renowned experts on temples have given this book extra shades of authenticity. Given the glorious religious history of Jharkhand, the book is a tribute to the spiritual sentiments of the region.

     

    Devalaya Jharkhand was released by Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, heir of Shankaracharya, Jyotish Peeth, at a function.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Mr Madhab said, “Devalaya Jharkhand is not only a tribute to the religious ethos of Jharkhand but it also introduces the devotional facet of the state to a larger number of people in and outside the country.”

     

    He applauded the team effort that went into the book. “With the continuing support from the JCTB team, we shall keep coming up with more and more such books which influence and benefit a whole spectrum of people and fraternities, specially religious folk.”

     

    The book, which includes a specially compiled bhajan collection CD, is being sold pan-India through a wide network of over 400 retail book stores, as well as online on Flipkart and Infibeam. More details are available at www.jagrangems.com.

  • Seven of top 10 publications, six of top 10 dailies, eight of Top 10 magazines, six of top 10 Hindi dailies, five of top 10 English dailies, six of Top 10 language dailies, seven of top 10 Hindi magazines, nine of Top 10 English magazines and nine of top 10 language magazines registered degrowth in Q4 of 2014 IRS

    IRS Q4 2012: Most publications show degrowth

    By A Correspondent

     

    The last quarter of 2012 has not shown much promise for the print media inIndia, going by the recent IRS figures released by MRUC. Most of the categories have shown degrowth. While the Hindi daily, Dainik Jagran continues its leadership position in Top 10 publications, its AIR fell from 16,474 in Q3 to 16,370 in Q4 with the AIR gainers in the category being Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan, Malayala Manorama, Rajasthan Patrika and Mathrubhumi.

     

    Eight of Top 10 magazines have lost readership numbers. According to the current survey numbers, Vanitha has lost 1,18,000 AIR; India Today 46,000 AIR; Saras Salil 39,000; Meri Saheli 47000; the weekly Bengali magazine Karmakshetra 78,000; Cricket Samrat 20,000; Malayala Manorama 45,000 AIR and English monthly General Knowledge Today 54,000 AIRs. Pratiyogita Darpan in the category of Top 10 Hindi Magazines has gained readership going from 18.94 lakh in Q3 of 2012 to 19.02 lakh in Q4. SamanyaGyan Darpan and India Today are the only two who have gained numbers here while Saras Salil, Meri Saheli, Cricket Samrat, Grih Shobha, GrehLakshmi, Champak and Vanitha have witnesses dip in their readership. Among Top 10 English Magazines, India Today maintains its leadership position but has shown a dip in readership going from 15.26 lakh AIR to 14.8 lakh AIR in Q4. General Knowledge Today, Readers Digest, Competition Success Review, Outlook, The Week, Stardust, Business Today, and Wisdom have registered a dip in their AIRs. The only magazine to have gained 14,000 AIRs is the monthly Pratiyogita Darpan.

     

    Nine of the Top 10 Language Magazines show degrowth. Malayalam weekly Mathrubhumi Thozhil Vartha has added 85,000 AIRs while the Bengali fortnightly Sananda has added 9,000 readers. In the Language dailies, Malayala Manorama, Eenadu, Sakshi and Daily Sakal have gained AIRs. The Times of India maintained leads the Top 10 English Dailies category but has registered negative growth and lost 38,000 AIRs: from 76.53 lakh in Q3 2012 to 76.15 lkah in Q4. On the second position, Hindustan Times has added 34,000 readers going from 37.86 lakh to 38.20 lakh readers. While the third daily in the category The Hindu has lost numbers, The Telegraph at fourth position has added AIRs. DNA, Mumbai Mirror and The Tribune have added AIRs while Deccan Chronicle, The Economic Times and The New Indian Express have seen a dip in readership.

     

    Of the Top 10 Hindi Dailies, six show a decline in readership. The publications that saw a dip in AIRs include Dainik Jagran (1.04 lakh AIRs), Dainik Bhaskar (75,000 AIR), Amar Ujala (1.02 lakh AIR), Punjab Kesari 41,000 (AIR), Navbharat Times (6,000 AIR) and Nai Dunia (1.95 lakh AIR).