MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • An 'HTML 5 Tour in India' begins under the aegis of the Department of Electronics & Information Technology

    Govt undertakes HTML 5 yatra

    By A Correspondent

     

    An ‘HTML 5.0 Tour in India’ began in the capital on Tuesday (Sep 17) under the aegis of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology. W3C Global Technology Leader Michael Smith delivered the detailed technical lectures along with technology demonstration about the new features of HTML 5.0 standard. The tour is being organized by the W3C India office.

     

    From Delhi, the ‘HTML 5.0 Tour in India’ will be moving to 5 metro cities: Bengaluru (19th September), Hyderabad (21st September), Kolkata (23rd September) and Pune (25th September) [details available at http://www.w3cindia.in/HTML5-tour-2013/index.html]. The theme of the workshop in Bengaluru will be, “Understanding the web: Core features of the platform (HTML)”. Sadly no Mumbai where a fair number of users would be.

     

    So why the sugar is MxMIndia carrying this news? Well, as we know, HTML5 is the next evolution of web development standards by which application developers create end-user experience. It provides a full programming environment for cross-platform applications with access to device capabilities, video and animations, graphics, style, typography, and other tools for digital publishing, extensive network capabilities and more. One of the most important benefits of HTML5 is that it is capable of making the Web useful on mobile and wireless devices, which will be next paradigm shift for internet growth in India (information source: ministry communique).

     

    Now hear this (courtesy a press release from the ministry): The Web has become the main channel for governments to deliver services to citizens. Hence, Web technologies play a crucial role in the relationships between governments, industry and common citizens. W3C interoperable, open web standards help to ensure data accessibility independent of devices and platforms. The present series of workshops will be a big step towards creating awareness about the benefits and usage of HTML 5.0 standard for developing next generation web and mobile applications. The entire software and mobile computing industry in India is expected to be benefited from these workshops – which will provide a single unified platform for developers, web-designers , academicians and researchers to have one to one interaction about the upcoming standard of HTML 5.0 and its applications. This will accelerate the involvement of Indian ICT industry towards development of the next generation web standards and its adoption in India.

     

    Now isn’t it strange that a session isn’t happening in Mumbai. Guess the government – and hence its allied bodies – the Expressway toll booths, the railways or airports – want Mumbaiwallahs do the trek to Pune for the gyaan. Or as some will tell you, they’ve been using HTML5 for a while. The government decision is good, but it could’ve come a while back.

     

  • MEC India has appointed Tanushree Radhakrishnan as Digital Head – North

    MEC appoints Tanushree Radhakrishnan as Digital Head – North

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tanushree Radhakrishnan

    MEC has announced the appointment of Tanushree Radhakrishnan as Digital Head -North India. She will report to Vishal Chinchankar – Digital Leader at MEC. Prior to MEC, Ms Radhakrishnan has worked agencies like Webchutney and Zed Digital/Performics (Publicis Groupe).

     

    Speaking about the appointment, Roopam Garg, All India Head-New Business Development and General Manager, MEC North said: “I welcome Tanushree into the MEC family. Her expertise in the digital space will certainly give us an edge in building our organic and inorganic business.”

     

    Roopam Garg

    Added Mr Chinchankar: “Tanushree is a very seasoned professional. Her in-depth knowledge and experience in managing major clients across verticals in digital space is much valued and is well-resourced to maximize the ROI of our clients. I wish her the very best in this new role at MEC.”

     

    On her appointment,Ms Radhakrishnan said, “I am excited to workin an integrated marketing environment, which has been the crux of the growth of all GroupM agencies. I look forward to working with MEC and use my digital experience and skills to grow the digital pie of the business in the North”.

     

  • The normally buoyant media agency conglomerate Group M has revised its projections for the second half of 2013.

    Group M immerses H2 projections, revises forecasts

    Media agency conglomerate Group M has immersed its H2 projections in the Arabian Sea. Or wherever. Adex and Spend projections have been revised.

     

    The slides tell you the full story.

     

  • Posters of the superstar dotted Kerala to promote the DTH service offering 19 Malayalam channels along with a special offer for the festive season

    Tata Sky gets Mohanlal for Onam

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tata Sky roped in southern superstar Mohanlal as its brand ambassador for Kerala for the Onam festive season. Ads of posters of the DTH service were seen across the state. The Lulu Mall in Kochi had a 35 feet poster of the superstar. Ditto with petrol pumps and highways giving out the message of Tata Sky now offering 19 Malayalam channels along with a special offer for the festive season.

     

     

    Tata Sky and Mohanlal received adulations even on Social media by their followers on Twitter, Facebook and similar forum, reports a communique adding that the marketing campaign has been the biggest ever for Tata Sky in South India since its launch.

     

  • 'LiveTalk' platform allows live access of events over a call made from a mobile or landline phone

    VivaConnect takes Narendra Modi live on phones

    By A Correspondent

     

    The next elections will be fought via the mobile phone and social media. Note it’s not going to be only fought via the phone, but telecom technology is sure to be a huge facilitator of sending the message across.

     

    Mumbai-based mobile marketing and tech company whose ‘missed phone’ service is deployed by many has unveiled a new product called ‘LiveTalk’.

     

    LiveTalk, empowers live audio streaming of live events over a simple phone call, wherein one has to call in a published phone number and experience the event live without any internet, smartphone nor a subscription to special or premium add-on services. The caller enjoys this facility at a rate of regular phone call without any extra charges. All one needs to have is a phone connection, be it a mobile or landline!

     

    LiveTalk was launched on September 15 and deployed for BJP’s ex-serviceman rally held in Haryana. The service connected over a lakh callers across India to hear the party’s PM candidate Narendra Modi’s speech.

     

    According to a communique, the BJP partnered with firms like Zipdial and VivaConnect and offered a unique mobile connectivity model between mobile users and the party leadership.

     

    Vikram Raichura, Managing Director of VivaConnect said: ‘We are honoured to be associated with BJP and showcase one more possibility on how by leveraging mobility one can extend overall reach and even cater the far-flung areas to achieve mass involvement on national and international scale.’

     

  • Twitter is hogging mentions in timelines with its new-found aggression. A view from Mindshare's Original Thinker series by Ollie Killick, Elizabeth Barry and Jed Hallam

    Tweet, tweet hota hai!

     

    Twitter is hogging mentions in timelines over not just its IPO, but also on how it is on aggressive mode. As part of Mindshare’s Original Thinker series, Ollie Killick, Elizabeth Barry and Jed Hallam wrote this view. Republished with permission

     

    By Ollie Killick, Elizabeth Barry & Jed Hallam

     

    For many users, Twitter is the place where real-time conversation happens. This engaged audience and stream of real-time data has attracted advertisers and has started to turn into much needed advertising revenue.

     

    The additional functionality and expertise Twitter gains as result of this acquisition will add to its second screen credentials and give advertisers more tools to better target their consumers across whatever screen they are engaging. No doubt we will see much more development in this TV, social, and mobile intersection.

     

    In a quest to scale and better tap into real-time sentiment and mobile targeting, Twitter has gone on an acquisition spree with the purchase of Trendrr, a social-TV analytics company, as well as MoPub, the world’s largest mobile ad exchange. Both moves solidify Twitter’s desire to bring together and own, particularly vis-à-vis Facebook, three key spaces: TV and online multi-screening, mobile, and programmatic buying.

     

    Twitter also added a TV slant on its targeting when earlier this summer it rolled out a TV Ad Targeting in the US. This product allows advertisers to target their ads towards users who are likely to have seen the shows where their ads ran based on what individuals have tweeted or the hashtags they have used.

     

    The acquisition of Trendrr adds two key products to Twitter’s stable: Trendrr.TV and Curatorr. Trendrr.TV provides TV networks, publishers and media agencies with tools to track TV engagement across social networks, including Twitter. Curatorr allows those same parties to sort through social streams to visualize data and to help them identify high-quality tweets. These tweets can then be re-tweeted by a TV show’s Twitter account or show up on air during a live show that includes Twitter conversations as part of their show format.

     

    With these two key products, the ability to now insert MoPubs technology into the equation becomes even more powerful; according to Twitter “they plan to use MoPub’s technology to build real-time bidding into the Twitter ads platform so our advertisers can more easily automate and scale their buys.”

     

    As Twitter points out in the release: “The two major trends in the ad world right now are the rapid consumer shift toward mobile usage, and the industry shift to programmatic buying. Twitter sits at the intersection of these, and we think by bringing MoPub’s technology and team to Twitter, we can further drive these trends for the benefit of consumers, advertisers, and agencies.”

     

    These recent acquisitions actually complement a third major trend occurring with TV and mobile which is two screen viewing and conversations, especially around live events. The ability to track and target real-time messages to relevant users more accurately is being reinforced with these acquisitions.

     

    Finally, there is widespread speculation of a forthcoming Twitter IPO next year; these acquisitions should further improve its attractiveness to advertisers, and therefore Twitter’s financial performance and profitability.

     

    Implications

    These acquisitions will not only allow Twitter to offer deeper audience insights and functionality to marketers, networks, publishers and other organizations, it will also bring in-house a competing service. Trendrr was the last independent player in the social TV chatter space; Twitter bought Bluefin Labs in February and Nielsen bought SocialGuide in November. This is all notable as Facebook has been evolving its platform to become more of a contender in the real-time conversation market with the development of new tools like Trending Topics and hashtags. Facebook has also indicated that it’s looking at its association with TV much more closely.

     

    Facebook announced in July (coincidentally from the results of a Trendrr research piece) that it has more TV chatter than Twitter just behind “closed doors” due to its users’ ability to restrict access to their content. By absorbing Trendrr, Twitter has not only bolstered their appeal to advertisers, but they have also ensured Facebook have limited options for future acquisitions.

     

  • The Businessworld acquisition clearly propels Anurag to a different league of media-owners. From being a Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of a B2B media group he is now the man spearheading one of India’s best known and respected media brands.

    Mediaah! by Pradyuman Maheshwari: The Rise and Rise of Anurag Batra

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    If Anurag Batra had his way, he would possibly want the day to have a few hundred hours. Reason? He could then network several times over. Widely regarded as kingmaker in the media, Mr Batra loves his food and meeting people. He is known to have multiple breakfast meetings, followed by a couple of lunches and then a dinner or two. And not to forget the early evening snack or juice and post-dinner coffee.

     

    He is passionate about helping people across all levels and strata and then at times seeks help for his businesses and his friends. So depending on who you are and what kind of stuff you like, he’ll gift you a book with a personalized note. And if you are the type who wears printed socks, he’ll even bring you those from one of his various international travels.

     

    I have had the fortune of knowing him well for over a decade – first as a friend and then employed with the exchange4media group that he co-owns. After I quit e4m over an ethical issue in 2011, he was a friend too. He gave me a fond farewell and insist I keep an iPad he had gifted me the previous year. He unfriended me on Facebook a year after I set up MxMIndia.

     

    Anurag (or Annurag, as his publications spell his name) was invited by his friend and co-partner Amit Agnihotri to join the group in the late 1990s. A textile engineer and MBA by education (TIT Bhiwani and MDI Gurgaon), he started working in the real estate sector and then with ad agency JWT (then HTA). While Amit is designated Editorial Director, he now spends most of his time running MBAUniverse, an MBA-preparatory service provider. The third partner is Nawal Ahuja who moved to Mumbai in the company’s early days to kickstart operations. He now runs exchange4media.com and Impact editorially as well as heads the business end in Mumbai. There were two sets of partners – adman and BJP loyalist Sushil Pandit and the husband-wife duo of Nitin and Mona Jain. A few years back, Pandit was fighting the Anurag, Amit and Nawaltrio in the Courts. Pandit couldn’t be reached at the time of writing while Nitin Jain said he had virtually written off his investment.

     

    The litigation may have taken its toll on the group’s expansion plans, but that hasn’t stopped Anurag from forging ahead. He set up fashion site Stylekandy and the now-defunct media school FMCC. There were a few other media operations that he has rumoured to have funded, but these are unconfirmed. Earlier this year, he is said to have bought a digital marketing site in Singapore.

     

    The Businessworld acquisition clearly propels Anurag to a different league of media-owners. From being a Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of a B2B media group he is now the man spearheading one of India’s best known and respected media brands.

     

    Will Anurag be able to turn around Businessworld? As a genre, all news magazines and business mags in particular are under tremendous pressure. But the loads of enthusiasm and energy that he comes with, networking with people who matter, and the desire to achieve the impossible could get him there with organising events and look at innovative ways to earn revenues. Businessworld already has a top-grade editorial team and a few tweaks in content and packaging could help it shore up the offering. Friends and those who’ve been tracking his career believe he can turn the fortnightly magazine company profitable if the investors he represents are not impatient and continue to invest. There are some though who believe he is playing with fire and a failure could cost him much as it has with big media aspirants in the past.

     

    Clearly Businessworld needs to reinvent, and Anurag/Annurag Batra can bring in the energy to the enterprise. Good luck to him.

     

  • An influencer can change people's behaviour in the pursuit of high performance, says Al Switzler, co-author, Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change

    Influencing the way to success

     

    By Priyanka Sangani

     

    Very often, organisations find themselves facing a persistent problem that just refuses to go away. The Michigan-based Spectrum Health Systems found itself struggling with a particularly nagging case of hospital acquired infections.

     

    Eventually, they figured out a solution. Realising that the key lay in simply getting people to wash their hands before and after every patient contact, they implemented a three-step process for the 18,000 employees to follow across hospitals.

     

    Employees were asked to wash in and out on every patient interaction, hold people accountable for it, and say thank-you when someone held them accountable. “They marshalled the six sources of influence, and within three months, managed to achieve over 90% hand hygiene compliance, reduce hospital acquired infections by 40-45% across each hospital and have managed to maintain this for four years,” says Al Switzler, co-chairman & co-founder, Vital Smarts and co-author, Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change.

     

    “One of the greatest capacities of any leader is their ability to control their behaviour and the behaviour of others,” says Mr Switzler, on what influence is. Quite simply then, an influencer is anyone who has the competency to help people change for good. Irrespective of the size of the social system- whether a family or a large organisation, it is possible to change people’s behaviour in the pursuit of high performance and goals, he says.

     

    They key reason why most change initiatives fail is because people tend to rely on a single source of influence. “Change initiatives in large organisations often don’t work because they fail to get a buy in at the personal level. People are doing things not because they believe in it, but because they don’t want to anger the management,” says Mr Switzler.

     

    He finds that leaders who had more than four sources of influence going for them were 10 times more successful in implementing initiatives as compared to those who had one or two. Often, just knowing how to implement an initiative and what factors to leverage can be the difference between an effective and an ineffective leader.

     

    The six sources of influence broadly fall into two categories – motivational (is it worthwhile) and ability (can I do it). These two parameters are then looked at under three different lenses – personal, social and structural- dipping into psychology, sociology and organisational theory. (See box) Breaking down each source, he says: Source 1 has to do with personal motivation while source 2 requires that people invest in making the knowledge and skills available so as to enact the behaviours required. Source 3 and 4 have to do with how other people enable and motivate – or de-motivate you.

     

    Studies found that friends or leaders who praise and coach you can play a huge role in making an initiative successful. The last two sources have to do with the nonhuman aspect.

     

    Often, incentives are misaligned. Organisations may say they want quality but they will reward employees for quantity. Interestingly, we found that it doesn’t always have to be monetary incentives,” he says.

     

    The final aspect is the environment and here, it’s often important to put in a little more effort. Make the bad behaviours harder to follow and the good, easier. Make the invisible visible, so that people are aware of the consequences of their actions, he recommends.

     

    For instance at Spectrum Health, there was enormous buy in because the employees knew why they were doing it and there were very visible metrics they were tracking. They were given training and taught how to talk to people who had more authority, and how to praise and hold them accountable.

     

    Finally, the hospital made it easy for people to wash in and out by placing the materials outside every door, despite protests that it would be an eyesore at the otherwise aesthetically designed hospitals.

     

    Mr Switzler adds that it is important to do all of these simultaneously so as to have enough factors (or sources) working in your favour. If you try implementing these serially, it’s quite likely that you won’t succeed.

     

    If all of this seems a bit overwhelming, the good news is that like all other leadership skills, this too can be learned. The first step is to carefully diagnose the existing situation. There could be ability blocks and de-motivators hiding in any of those six boxes and it’s important to diagnose these before you work on your strategy.

     

    Once you do that, you know exactly what you need to work on. “Even the best leaders can have a limited toolkit. They may be good at motivating or restructuring, but they need to be aware that they need a bigger toolkit to marshal all the resources.

     

    Otherwise the tools you are not using will pull against you,” he cautions. This is where the role of an inspired leader, or an influencer, comes in. Once he knows exactly what the gaps are that prevent the organisation or group from reaching its goals, he will leverage the other sources of influence to make things change.

     

    “People often make minor changes and put the old culture in a new box, and then wonder why things don’t change. If you continue to work on using only one or two levers, it will be like being on a yo-yo diet,” cautions Mr Switzler. There will be some improvement and then you’ll slide back to the past performance levels.

     

    Finally, he points out that using these six sources of influence isn’t restricted to fixing something that is broken. At times, its simply about excelling at what you are already doing well, and an influencer can play as big a role in making that happen.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Leading Hindi daily Hindustan launches 'Ranchi Live' in the Jharkhand capital

    Hindustan goes ‘live’ in Ranchi

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hindustan launched a new offering ‘Ranchi Live’, a 6-page companion for readers of Ranchi.

     

    ‘Ranchi Live’ has dedicated sections like Local news, Career, Technology, and Entertainment, notes a communique adding: “There are special sections where news from campus is featured in a manner which is easy to consume and is of interest to youngsters. Technology, Gadget reviews, career tips are featured in dedicated sections on specific days of the week.”

     

    ‘Ranchi Live’ is circulated free-of-cost with the main paper.

     

  • Anurag Batra and Vikram Jhunjhunwala have bought the Businessworld business from ABP on behalf of some undisclosed investors, according to a communiqué issued

    ABP sells Businessworld to undisclosed investors

    By A Correspondent

     

    Anurag Batra

    Anurag Batra and Vikram Jhunjhunwala have bought the Businessworld business from ABP on behalf of some undisclosed investors, according to a communique issued by a PR agency representing Mr Batra.

     

    Mr D D Purkayastha, MD & CEO of ABP is quoted as saying: “We have divested Businessworld business. The brand and the publication will continue under the new owners with Prosenjit Datta as the Editor.”

     

    Prosenjit Datta

    Mr Prosenjit Datta, Editor Businessworld added: “I expect the magazine and the brand to scale newer heights.”

     

    Businessworld began publication in 1981 and is the second-oldest business magazine in the country. It has won many reporting awards in the past year and went fortnightly in February 2013 after nearly a decade as a weekly magazine.

     

  • Race for weekend eyeballs gets keener as Colors to launch drama series '24'

    Anil Kapoor’s ’24’ to launch on Colors on Oct 4

    By Nandini Raghavendra

     

    The race for the weekend eyeballs gets keener from October as General Entertainment Channel (GEC) Colors announces the launch of its most ambitious drama series-24. Beginning October 4, the show, an adaptation from the cult American series, will ride on the already popular Bigg Boss (BB) show with a 10 am slot, Friday and Saturday for 12 weeks in 24 episodes.

     

    Raj Nayak

    Both the time slot and days are important, as these are the two days that host, Salman Khan visits the BB show. “You get to see both Salman Khan and Anil Kapoor on the same day!” says Colors CEO, Raj Nayak.

     

    Since it is a new genre, the GEC is hoping to build the show and funnel in viewers riding on the immense draw of both Khan and the show.

     

    Colors has been building both its non-fiction as well as weekend programming.  Pre-Jhalak, the dancing reality show, their non-fiction contributed only about 10 % to their overall ratings while in the last four weeks this percentage has increased to as much as 30%. This has also increased their ratings by at least 25%.

     

    The show which catapulated them to top slot in non-fiction in the last few weeks, was Comedy Nights With Kapil which will now be moved to once a week on a Sunday slot.

     

    Mounted like a film, 24 is an expensive show which has approximately cost Colors, close to Rs 150 crore in rights bought from actor producer Anil Kapoor who acted in the original series and also plays the lead, Jai Singh Rathod in the Indian adaptation. While sponsor revenues are said to have brought in close to Rs 80 crore, they are also looking at raising the 10-second slot to approximately, Rs 3.5-4 lakh keeping in mind the 12 minute ad cap to be implemented from October.

     

    Mr Nayak had said in May that they would be left with no choice but to raise their prices by at least 30%.  Title sponsor Tata Motors feels the show shares the same values of speed, strength and absolute power. “As Anil Kapoor runs against time, the Safari Storme is the perfect vehicle that supports his agility and total control. It made sense to tie up with a show which has all the characteristics of our SUV,” said President PVBU Tata Motors, Ranjit Yadav.

     

    Yet, a lot rides on whether this new genre will work across audiences or not and if so to what extent.  Shooting in real time, split screens, are all new for the Indian audiences.

     

    With a stellar cast like Shabana Azmi, Anupam Kher, Mandira Bedi and Tisca Chopra among others, helmed by director Abhinay Deo and a writing team led by Rensil D’Silva, a lot of production houses are betting on this genre working as it opens a huge library on content to adapt and produce from.  While Mr Nayak is sure this will be a game changer for the entertainment channel, he is also confident of recovering his investment. “With 24, we are introducing the Indian audiences to a new hybrid genre of entertainment that sees an interesting amalgamation of fiction and reality. The never-seen-before action, thrill, suspense, drama and the exhilaration of solving complex cases real-time within a span of 24 hours, should draw in the eyeballs,” said Manisha Sharma, weekend programming head, Colors, who is excited to be the first-ever network to produce and air the local adaptation of the international series outside the United States.

     

    The award-winning American TV series ran for eight seasons and aired its last episode in May 2010. It had unprecedented success across 43 countries in eight languages. Actor producer Anil Kapoor holds the rights of the 192 episodes for a period of four years extendable to another ten, in what his lawyers, Naik and Naik says is definitely one of the highest licensee deals for a fiction-format show on Indian TV. “I couldn’t have asked for a better team of actors than the ones on 24. Everybody is a hero on the show and the precision and technique that each one of them use to portray their individual characters is unique. Their never-say-die attitude and the passion and enthusiasm put in by each one of them makes me want to strive harder and perform better and better,” said Mr Kapoor who plays Jack Bauer and makes his small screen debut with this show.

     

    Equally excited is director Abhinay Deo about the show. “We have shot ’24’ like a feature film. It is more like cinema on television. Creating a body of work such as 24, is a lifetime opportunity where I could use my craft to the fullest. I have attempted to create a visual medley of powerful characters led by Jai Singh Rathod,” said Mr Deo.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Starting Monday, 23 September, over a hundred events to be held in six venues including Mantralaya and Group M will celebrate and discuss social media

    Mumbai to go Social next Week

     

    By Fatema Rajkotwala

     

    After garnering much success and kudos in over 20 cities globally, New York strategy firm Crowdcentric’s brainchild, Social Media Week (SMW), comes to Mumbai. Digital buffs and enthusiasts will attend their first solely focused social media conference. Organized by Bengaluri-based marketing services firm RSquare Consulting the event will comprise over a hundred scheduled sub-events spread over a span of a week starting Monday, September 23 to Friday, 27 September, 2013 across six venues in Mumbai.(*See Disclaimer)

     

    Toby Daniels, Founder & Executive Director, Social Media Week, and CEO, Crowdcentric is excited about the experience of bringing the Social Media Week to Mumbai, “Given India’s presence in the mobile and tech space, Mumbai felt like a natural fit for SMW13. SMW is a distributed conference and we’re honoured to have RSquare Consulting taking the helms for SMW Mumbai. The team has been responsive and quick to help us understand the cultural aspects of hosting SMW in India. We can’t wait to see the week unfold.”

     

    MxMIndia is curating and hosting two sessions at Social Media Week Mumbai.

    The details of these are as follows:

     

    How Social Media dictates Journalism

    Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2013

    Time: 12noon to 1pm

    Venue: The Barking Deer, Mathuradas Mills Compound, Lower Parel

     

    Like it or not, social media dictates the way journalism in India happens. Newspapers and television channels track celebrites and people in office zealously and that dictates the way the news flow works. For many newsmakers, Facebook and Twitter are a godsend as they can now reach out to their TG and the media directly and with much ease.

     

    Panelists:

    1. C P Surendran

    Editor-in-Chief, dna

     

    2. Sidharth Bhatia

    Senior journalist and author

     

    3. Sachin Kalbag

    Executive Editor, Mid-Day

     

    Moderated by Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Editor-in-chief and CEO, MxMIndia

     

    How ETC rules Social Media

    Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2013

    Time: 12noon to 1pm

    Venue: The Barking Deer, Mathuradas Mills Compound, Lower Parel

     

    News and discussions on EntertainmenT and Cricket rule the social media. How has it changed the way cinema, television and cricket function? Do cricketers get influenced by what is being discussed on social media. Ditto with cinema and television?

     

    1. Raj Nayak

    CEO, Colors

     

    2. Deepa Gahlot

    Senior journalist, awardwinning critic and Head of Theatre and Films, NCPA

     

    3. Omar Qureshi*

    Editor-in-chief, Zoom

     

    4. Hemant Kenkre

    Former cricketer, commentator, columnist and PR consultant

     

    Moderated by Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Editor-in-chief and CEO, MxMIndia

     

    *To be confirmed

     

    What to expect?

    Social Media Week will host to an array of over 100 events themed around advertising, marketing, politics, government, science and technology, business and entrepreneurship, lifestyle and culture, media and publishing, society and environment, education and learning, health and wellness and ofcourse opportunities to network and party.

     

    Over the week, there is a mixed bag of workshops, seminars, exhibitions, parties and speakers lined up such as Dr Subramanian Swamy, Suhel Seth, Gul Panag, Kiran Khalap, Deveika Bhojwani, Subhamoy Das (e-Bay), Harshil Karia (FoxyMoron), Toby Daniels and Benjamin Scheim (Crowdcentric) among others.

     

    The multiple venues across the city are also eyebrow-raisers. These include Mantralaya, National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), GroupM office, Bluefrog, the Barking Deer, the Westin and Trident. As reported earlier by MxMIndia, the event is open to the general public, being an essential part of the social media.

     

    SMW has a visibly city-focused angle. Toby Daniels spoke of how Mumbai and India are viewed globally in terms of their digital footprint, “India is emerging as a major digital force. Its Facebook userbase has amassed more than 60 million. Yet, we know that it’s only beginning to grow. Social media is available for only 60 per cent of the entire Indian audience, and we think Mumbai’s digital industries will be a leader in helping bridge this digital gap.”

     

    Social Media Week Mumbai kickstarts on Monday, 23 September at Bluefrog with a power packed day of interesting topics hosted by IMI Mobile, RSQUARE, International Advertising Association (IAA) and SAP, followed by music performances by artists and the SMW Mumbai Opening Bash by Mindshift Interactive.

     

    From the advertising and marketing arena, September 27 is another day to watch for. The Barking Deer and Westin will host various talks by Group M and other media agencies. Buzz generating topics such as “I’ve got my fans, now show me the money” by Drizzlin Media, “Social by Design: Vada Pav meetup” at Mantralaya are some others to keep an eye out for.

     

    Tushar Vyas, Managing Partner, Group M South Asia spoke of GroupM’s association with SMW, “Social media is becoming central to communication – helping integrate all communication channel. We would like to help highlight the role of social media in marketing communication. Social media is at the heart of adaptive marketing and to look at it as an island would be a big folly. One needs to step back and also peer in at the same time. This is why we at Group M are trying to weave in elements of this medium into everything we do – from activation to content to campaign.”

     

    The week will also see exhibitions themed on Mumbai, wildlife photography and art at the Piramal Art Gallery, NCPA hosted by CRY, R Square Consulting and Indianartcollectors.com. Nokia will also be conducting a Masterclass on Mobile Photography.

     

    The Bombay Street Style Party at Olive Bar and Kitchen is another event to mark your calendar for.

     

    SMW will begin with ‘Mega Pink’, registrations for the women’s fitness run at Shivaji Park by Maximus Events and will end on 28 September with the Chai and Pakoda Bike Ride hosted by the Indian Bike Week.

     

    Why should you be there?

    If you use social media on a professional front or as a means for individual brand development or deal with anything in the digital space, Social Media Week is the place to be. In today’s hyper-connected world though, this includes everyone from brands, digital agencies, entertainers, individual artists, government verticals, and basically, everyone.

     

    Shedding light on Crowdcentric’s philosophy and vision for social media, Mr Daniels said, “We are experiencing one of the biggest shifts in how we communicate in human history. Because of this, our aim is to provide the best information, ideas and inspiration to help people understand how to achieve more in a hyper-connected world. We are often asked about the direction we plan to give Social Media Week and what we’ll do when social media is no longer en-vogue. Whether social media as a term is popular in the future or not has no bearing on the mission we’re embarking on. The world is changing is fundamental ways due to the speed at which technology has permeated our lives and created a connected society.”

     

    Social Media Week promises to be the platform to bring together people from different walks of life to come and share their experiences and learnings of how social media has benefitted them. R Square Consulting, the city organizer for the event, has partnered with the Government of Maharashtra, advertising professionals, photographers and individuals from the entertainment industry who will guide the public through the events chalked out each day.

     

    Hemant Soreng, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the firm spoke to MxMIndia about how an event of this scale will provide multiple takeaways for the public. “Some of the objectives are to help learn to collaborate to share and educate; amplify existing causes/issues within the social media industry; networking and meeting people from different backgrounds; a city-based event that will put Mumbai on the social media map globally. Our vision is for Social Media Week becoming one of the regular annual festivals of Mumbai.”

     

    The Buzz creators

    Talking about the challenge in organizing a new format event such as this, R Square founder Rohit Varma told MxMIndia, “As a format, Social Media Week is unconventional in terms of venues chosen, partnerships and its audience. The basic philosophy here is to collaborate and connect. India has not witnessed this kind of a conference format, which is why when we began talking to partners it took a little while for everyone to realize the power of this format. With this event, we are building the community as social media touches everybody, making it a B2B and B2C event. It is not just about brand development or social media tools; it is about how individuals, artists, a brand use social media, or how an agency uses tools to understand consumer behavior. That is the amazing part of SMW – it is by the community for the community.”

     

    Talking about the challenges and preparations that went into putting the event in place, Mr Soreng said that the newness of the format of the conference that is based on crowdsourcing, posed some difficulty in the beginning but things eased up along the way, “We started the process five months ago by putting an advisory board in place, which comprised experts and veterans from the advertising, marketing, government, media and entertainment industries. We are primarily based out of Bengaluru and have an office in Mumbai. With a systematic plan, timelines and a project plan, along with the global team that we worked with, now there is a buzz that is helping. We believe that next year it would be bigger. The experience has been great so far, challenging but we have learned a lot.”

     

    From the company’s business philosophy perspective, an event focused on social media neatly fits into their ideology. Mr Varma added: “One of the services we provide is events and activations. This is what we want to do and this year being the maiden event in India, I’d say this will go bigger and bigger.”

     

    These features contribute to what makes this conference unique in its own right. The Social Media Week has been favourited the world over for its potential for global collaborations, interesting and educative workshops, knowledge sharing and eclectic mix of speakers and attendees. Mumbai sure is awaitin’

     

    * Disclaimer: MxMIndia is a trade partner of the event and is also curating and hosting two sessions