MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • The Shah Rukh Khan-starrer's premiere on Zee TV garners a record breaking 19541 TVTs and the channel soars to No.1 position this Diwali!

    Recording-breaking ratings for Chennai Express helps Zee create Diwali ‘dhamaka’ in GEC-land

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s news like these that gladden our hearts. Zee TV which has been yoyo-ing between #2 and #3 slots shot to the numero uno slot on the back of Shah Rukh Khan’s Chennai Express scoring a record 19541 TVTs and the evergreen DID Season 4 premiere netting 6075 TVTs. This has propelled the channel to the No.1 position with 505442 GVTs.

     

    Channel Week 43 GVTs in ‘000s (Week 42 GVTs)
    Zee TV 505442 (409304)
    Star Plus 492849 (517048)
    Colors 423584 (384496)
    Life OK 334635 (316904)
    Sab 331674 (319214)
    Sony 281638 (292327)
    Information: TAM Media Research, TG: CS 4+, Market HSM, Period: Wk 43. Source: Trade

    The blockbuster starring Shah Rukh and Deepika Pudokone, Chennai Express has not only broken all box office collections at its theatrical release but has also broken all movie television premiere records across GECs on Indian Television and become the biggest grosser in terms of ratings, notes a communiqué from the channel. It may be noted that the specific ratings numbers are not sourced from TAM, but from independent and reliable sources.

     

    Genre

    Channel

    Date

    Days

    Programme

    TVTs

    Movies

    Sony

    25-Jul-10

    Sun

    3 IDIOTS

    13997

    Star Gold

    12-Nov-11

    Sat

    BODYGUARD

    14766

    Colors

    28-Nov-10

    Sun

    DABANGG

    11818

    Star Gold

    10-Sep-11

    Sat

    SINGHAM

    12798

    Zee TV

    20-Oct-13

    Sun

    CHENNAI EXPRESS

    19541

    SONY MAX

    28-Jul-13

    Sun

    AASHIQUI 2

    10952

    Information: TAM Media Research, TG: CS 4+, Market HSM, Period: Wk 43. Source: Trade

     

  • Passion is instinctive. You can't prepare for it. And you don't have to work hard to communicate it. If you are truly passionate, it reflects in your identity, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Shailesh Kapoor: The much-abused media word: Passion!

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    “What is the one thing about this role that interested you so much that you applied for it?”

     

    Over a decade now, having met more than a hundred ‘candidates’ (I prefer the expression ‘potential team members’, but it is a mouthful) for various positions, first in the television industry and now at Ormax Media, I have found this to be the one question that does half the job.

     

    Many candidates speak about the company’s credentials in their answers, in which case, being a true researcher now, I reiterate the “you” in the question. After all, why would a company’s credentials interest you, unless there was something in it for you?

     

    Some young people use the “growth and learning” plank for an answer. Most times, I am disappointed with their understanding, let alone articulation, of these two words. Both growth and learning are deeply proactive as concepts. To say that you will learn a lot in the company makes it seems like the company is some kind of an incubator with the responsible of ‘hatching’ you. The truth is, the company doesn’t even know at the interview stage if you are a good egg or a bad egg. The interview is about that itself!

     

    But the word that features the most in the answers, across younger and more seasoned candidates, is the P-word: Passion. “Because I have a passion for television…”, “Because media industry fascinates me…”, “Because I love research…”

     

    Let’s focus on the ‘passion for television’ for now, though you can replace the word with ‘films’ or ‘media’, and still read on. I have taken great pains in some of the interviews to understand what candidates actually mean when they say it.

     

    The first level of detail often given is: ‘I watch a lot of TV’. Television is a household thing. Everyone watches it, in varying degrees. So, “I watch a lot of TV” makes you no better suited for the job than a 33-year old mother-of-two in Indore!

     

    When I probe further, many are at a loss explaining their ‘passion’ as a mental thought. All they can explain is behaviour. I watch TV, I read about TV, I discuss TV, etc. If behaviour was all-important, half of Mumbai will be passionate about local trains.

     

    Here is a little passion-test I have developed over time, which goes beyond behaviour and evaluates the mindset. It will more applicable to ‘non-creative’ roles or to first-timers in the industry:

     

    1. Watching vs. consuming television: Everyone watches TV, but the truly passionate ones ‘consume’ it, at an overall category level. They build their thoughts based on what they watch, discuss them, have a view on them. An easy way to judge this by asking the candidate what her favorite show on television is, and what makes her like it. A ‘watcher’ will talk like a housewife. A ‘consumer’ will talk from inside the watcher’s mind.

    2. Watching breaks and promos: If you surf channels the moment a break starts, your passion for television is highly questionable. Being passionate about an industry includes being passionate about all aspects of it. The most fascinating things happen on TV channels in breaks. Those who are truly passionate have noticed them and can intelligently speak about them.

    3. Deciphering trends: A seasoned guy with a passion for TV will speak the language of trends in an interview. He will instinctively and effortlessly compare the program or channel being discussed to past successes or failures, some of them dating back to more than two decades.

     

    Passion is instinctive. You can’t prepare for it. And you don’t have to work hard to communicate it. If you are truly passionate, it reflects in your identity.

     

    Back in 1997, when I was graduating out of IIT Delhi, an anecdote about one of our seniors was doing the rounds. He had taken up a course on Corrosion Engineering as an elective. It was a post-graduate course and very few B. Tech. students opted for it. He had probably taken it because the faculty was “cool” and it seemed like an easy course to pass. In the first lecture, the professor asked him why he took a course as eclectic as this. His reply, and I kid you not, is a part of the folklore: “Since my childhood, I was always interested in rust and corrosion.”

     

    It was an intentionally irreverent answer. But when candidates try to pass the same ‘interest’ as genuine in interviews, it doesn’t fly.

     

    Shailesh Kapoor is founder and CEO of media insights firm Ormax Media. He spent nine years in the television industry before turning entrepreneur. The views expressed here are his own. He can be reached at his Twitter handle @shaileshkapoor

     

  • Star India announces commitment of more than Rs 20,000 crore in the sports business with non-cricketing games given fair importance

    Star junks ESPN brand, launches Star Sports with 6 channels and website

    By A Correspondent

     

    Premier media and entertainment conglomerate Star India has unveiled a new brand for Star Sports across six TV channels — Star Sports 1,2,3,4, HD1 and HD2 and starsports.com. All the offerings will be under the ‘Star Sports’ brand and with ‘Believe’ as the credo. The two channels bearing the ESPN brand and Star Cricket are being suspended to create this bouquet.

     

     

    Uday Shankar

    Speaking on the occasion, Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India, said, “Cricket is too big to be confined to just one channel. Today, we are redoubling our efforts to showcase the best of Indian and international cricket to the sports fan. We will cover more of it, have wider coverage, go deeper, use multiple languages and take it beyond television. The new brand is also about showcasing our commitment to other sports. While cricket will be central to our approach, we will also be faithful to our role as a sports broadcaster and bring in the best of local and world sports to India, whether in soccer, hockey, badminton, tennis, F1 or the many other sports that fans in India are deeply passionate about.”

     

    In a communique, Star has disclosed that it has made a commitment of more than Rs 20,000 crore in the sports business. The investment is being used to fuel expansion of sports coverage in the country as well as in building exciting new leagues including the Indian Super League in football, the Hockey India League and the Indian Badminton League. The network will also showcase new non-live programming and new shows and formats, all of which will create more choice for the Indian sports fan. Post the brand refresh, the network will carry over 5,000 hours of premium live sports content, including around 200 days of live cricket in a year.

     

    The broadcaster also announced the launch of India’s first 24×7 Hindi sports channel – Star Sports 3, with content, graphics and shows in Hindi – a giant step forward to dramatically increase the reach of sports in the country.

     

    The network has been launched with a campaign that urges India to “Believe” and as if underscoring the importance of cricket to the network even though Mr Shankar says it will be faithful to other sports too, Indian cricket team captain M S Dhoni has been signed on as its first ambassador.

     

    What’s Out, What’s In

    Sr. No.

    Old Name

    New Name

    1

    		 STAR Sports STAR Sports 1

    2

    		 STAR Sports 2 STAR Sports 2

    3

    		 STAR Cricket STAR Sports 3

    4

    		 ESPN STAR Sports 4

    5

    		 STAR Cricket HD STAR Sports HD 1

    6

    		 ESPN HD STAR Sports HD 2

     

     

  • Mumbai with 12 million internet users has emerged as the topmost city in internet penetration, followed by Delhi with 8.1 million and Hyderabad with 4.7 million internet users.

    Mumbai tops Net penetration, Cal is fastest growing: IAMAI

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mumbai with 12 million internet users has emerged as the topmost city in terms of internet penetration, followed by Delhi with 8.1 million internet users and Hyderabad with 4.7 million internet users. Chennai with 4.5 million internet users and Kolkata with 4.4 million internet users are fourth and fifth respectively. These are figures put out by the Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI]. In 2012, Mumbai had 8.3 million internet users, while Delhi had 6 million internet users. There were 3.6 million internet users in Hyderabad in 2012, while Chennai had 3.4 million internet users and Kolkata had 3 million internet users.

     

    With 47% year-on-year growth, Kolkata, however, registered the highest growth of internet users among all the top cities in India. Mumbai with 45% y-o-y growth is second while Bangalore with a growth y-o-y of 43% is third. Pune, with a growth of 37% is fourth while Delhi with a y-o-y growth of 35% is fifth.

     

    Source: IAMAI-IMRB I-Cube 2013 Findings

     

    Ahmedabad, with y-o-y 26%, registered the lowest growth rate among the top eight cities. Overall, the the top 4 metros have a 37% penetration of active internet users. Among the other 4 Metros, Hyderabad leads the charge with a penetration of 37% active internet users. Coimbatore with a 40% penetration leads in the small metros category.

     

  • NDTV 24×7 and Good Times launched on Singapore's StarHub TV platform

    NDTV can now be watched in Singapore, la

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading news broadcaster New Delhi Television (NDTV) has announced it entered Singapore on October 18 with NDTV 24×7 and NDTV Good Times on StarHub TV

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Rohit Jaiswal, Associate Vice President, Network Distribution and Affiliate Sales, NDTV, said, “We are very pleased to announce the launch of our channels on StarHub TV. Like in other parts of the world, our channels, which are now available in over 78 countries, will aid Indian expatriates and everyone else who has an interest in India keep abreast with a constantly evolving India.”

     

    “We are pleased that New Delhi Television has chosen StarHub TV as its preferred platform to showcase their premium channels to the Singapore audience. The addition of NDTV 24×7 and NDTV Good Times will strengthen StarHub TV’s Indian content line-up by offering more entertainment choices for our customers,” said Lee Soo Hui, Head of Media Business Unit, StarHub.

     

    The channels are also available on StarHub TV Anywhere via www.starhubtvanywhere.com. TV Anywhere is StarHub’s multiscreen solution which allows StarHub TV customers to watch their favorite TV channels on their subscription plan using their personal devices.

     

  • Veteran adman and Exec Prez, BCCL gives a detailed account on The Times of India's 175 years' celebrations

    [RECALL] Inside the Times 175 years’ celebrations

     

    It’s celebration times in Indian media as The Times of India completes 175 years of existence. The exercise was kicked off in right earnest last fortnight with much fanfare. We posed a few questions on the celebrations to Rahul Kansal, Executive President of BCCL. And since it was Mr Kansal who was giving us a low-down, we also spoken on branding issues and asked him for finer details… beyond what’s already carried in the announcements.

    A veteran adman (Deputy Managing, Leo Burnett – 2000-02; Exec Director, Mudra 1994-2000 and Exec Director, Ogilvy 1989-94), Mr Kansal has been with BCCL since 2007, initially as CMO and since last year as Exec President.

     

    Excerpts from an interaction of Mr Kansal with Pradyuman Maheshwari:

     

    Q. One still remembers the 150 years sesquicentennial celebrations of The Times of India. What can one expect from the 175 years’ celebration? We’ve been seeing a celebration in the paper in the form of culling the best of the last 175 years…. Could you share a few specifics?

    Well, we’ve started with celebrating India’s journey over the past 175 years, and of giving readers a glimpse of how we’ve helped lead the change in the country over this period. We’re doing daily editorial spreads mining the best material from our archives and presenting them in a contemporary context.

     

    We’re also doing seven books on various themes, covering the defining moments over the past 175 years in sports, cinema, society and politics. The books are being anchored by acclaimed journalists and authors like Bachi Karkaria, Jug Suraiya, Santosh Desai, Boria Majumdar, Sandipan Deb and others. The first, Sporting Times, authored by Boria is being launched on May 23 in Mumbai, by some of India’s sporting luminaries like Sachin, Abhinav Bindra and Mary Kom.

     

    In a few weeks from now we’ll get into the heart of the 175 years’ celebration: a powerful activation programme called ‘I Lead India’. Being launched on a scale bigger than any of our earlier such interventions, the programme is basically an exhortation to India’s youth to stop whining about all that’s going wrong in our society, and instead start doing something about it. It asks our youth to say: Enough of pointing fingers, of blaming the ‘system’, of wanting them to change. I must be the change I wish to see in the world. I (will) Lead India.

     

    ‘I Lead India’ will peak in early November. This will be followed by a round of celebrations covering 25-odd cities, including, hopefully, some marquee programmes in some of the larger cities.

     

    Q. It started on April 23…. Till when will it continue (given that the ‘birthday’ is in November).

    The ‘I Lead India’ programme will reach a crescendo on November 10 – the actual birth date. And then we’ll go into a month-and-a-half of celebrations (musical and other cultural events across various cities of India)

     

    Q. Other than the ads in TOI group publications, we see a Ranbir Kapoor TVC, hoardings across Mumbai . Could you share some details of what the playout is going to be? Any more TVCs being planned?

    For the 175 years’ celebration there are several print ads, the Ranbir Kapoor film, various radio and outdoor messages. Besides, we are developing seven books, some very interesting merchandise (t Shirts, mugs etc) and some other interactive ideas. There will also be a stamp from the Government of India.

     

    ‘I Lead India’ will have an extensive communication package including 3 TVCs and an intensive package of print, radio and outdoor advertising.

     

    Q. It was good to see a TOI 175 years’ celebration ad take the HT Delhi Page 1 solus (and HT granting that to TOI). Do we see similar ‘tie-ups’ elsewhere?

    HT and we always agree to take each others’ ads in our papers, so long as they are not directly competitive or denigrating the other’s brands

     

    Q. The sesquicentennial had in many ways seen The Times of India (the paper) take a quantum leap, turning into a modern-day newspaper publishing company. Do you wish the 175 years celebrations to help you achieve a similar transformation?

    In the past 25 years, the TOI has already become a very robust brand, at the cutting edge of technology and of modern journalistic and management practices. The 175 years’ celebration is more to dedicate ourselves to the future rather than wallow over the past. It will seek to further cement its position as ‘The Masthead of India’, and in particular, as the voice of young India.

     

    Q. The Times of India footprint (@150) has increased much in the last 25 years. Do we expect a nationwide celebration or restricted to the publishing centres?

    Well, our publishing centres are ‘nationwide’ now. We will have ‘I Lead India’ chapters as well as the subsequent celebrations in 26 centres around the country.

     

    Q. While at one level you will be obviously talking of the 175-year history and heritage and at the same time you want to portray an image of a young, dynamic, forward-looking newspaper… is there a problem doing that? How are you looking at achieving the best of both?

    To our mind, modernity and heritage must go hand in hand, if either of them is to be meaningful. A first-generation industrialist may be dismissed as nouveau riche; an aristocrat old patriarch as a bore. ‘Money’ needs ‘class’ to become a well-rounded whole; ‘success’ needs ‘breeding’. Neither is complete in itself.

     

    Our 175 years’ campaign looks ahead even more than it looks back. Our archival stories are presented with a contemporary context. Besides, the centrepiece of the programme ‘I Lead India’ is entirely forward-looking.

     

    Q. You are a brand specialist… if one were to build a brand personality for The Times of India brand, what would it be?

    a. Sachin Tendulkar: old (in sporting terms), yet young and agile
    b. Ranbir Kapoor: young, energetic, hardworking, flirtatious
    c. Virat Kohli: young, brash, aggressive, streetsmart, a wtf-attitude to life
    d. Any other

     

    – Sachin’s track record is unparalleled, but his age is taking him to the end of his illustrious career. The TOI will hopefully go on for another long, long time.

    – Virat is probably India’s brightest new cricketing star. But he still has some way to go to reach the stature of some of the greats that preceded him.

     

    Amongst the above three, Ranbir represents perhaps a more balanced mix of proven achievement, heritage and a promise that ‘the best is yet to come’. To that extent I’d say he represents the values of brand TOI a little more closely.

     

    Q. And lastly, some finer details:

    How many people from BCCL working on the 175 years project. How many full-time on this? And at what levels?

    The TOI Brand and Edit teams are anchoring the programme, but the whole company is actively involved. Each department is creating its own interventions and celebrations.

     

    We saw the print ad was crafted by Taproot. Any other agencies?

    Mainly Taproot. Shop (Freddy and Naved) will also do some bits later.

     

    Any agencies for activation/digital/social media/etc.

    Gopika Chowfla designs for our books, stamp and merchandise.

     

  • Season 2 of 'Jai Ma Vindhyavasini' will air as 'Love Dosti Dua' on Big Magic, the Reliance Broadcast Network GEC

    Magic! Season 2 of ‘Jai Ma Vindhyavasini’ is romcom ‘Love Dosti Dua!’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network’s GEC Big Magic is living up to its name. The popular show ‘Jai Ma Vindhyavasini’ has gone in for a new season as ‘Love Dosti Dua’, a romcom set against the backdrop of showbiz, glitz and glamour. It premiers today (Nov 11) and will air Monday through Friday at 8.30pm.

     

    Sunil Kumaran

    Commenting on the show’s new season, Sunil Kumaran, Business Head, BIG Magic said: “Love Dosti Dua! is our offering basis audience feedback and our positioning of a light family entertainment channel. It is our constant endeavour to offer an eclectic programming mix that is inclusive of a larger audience base. I am sure viewers will love the new avatar of the show and will relate even better. The introductions of new characters and their quirks will undoubtedly up the entertainment quotient of the show.”

     

    The channel is planning a high blitz marketing activity across radio, television and digital.

     

  • Radio City's web radio destination PlanetRadiocity.com has embarked on a crowd-funded initiative of rural electrification in association with the solar power company, Sunkalp Energy. We think initiatives like these deserve all the encouragement and accolades

    Three cheers! PlanetRadiocity lights up lives with ‘Deep Jyoti’

    By A Correspondent

     

    There are press releases and press releases that news media offices receive every day.  A new show, a new sponsorship, a new starcast, a new whatever whatever. Most of these communiqués that are inboxed to us every day are flagged unusable.

     

    PR agency and inhouse PR professionals call and remind us about the releases, and we politely show them the decline button.

     

    And then there are some which silently land on our mail software and we don’t really get badgered for an inclusion. Yet, we think they ought to merit a mention, because they deserve all the encouragement and accolades.

     

    Radio station network Radio City’s web radio destination PlanetRadiocity.com has embarked on a crowd-funded initiative of rural electrification. In association with the solar power company, Sunkalp Energy, PlanetRadiocity has launched ‘Deep Jyoti’. Through this initiative, PlanetRadiocity pledges to light up an entire village in the Etah district of Uttar Pradesh. Project Sarmanpur, which rolled out ‘Deep Jyoti’, on November 6, has been receiving encouraging response from listeners the world over, notes a communiqué.

     

    Listeners will get an opportunity to sponsor solar ’tiles’ on the village’s roof in return for a chance to get their name on the project’s foundation. A special microsite http://planetradiocity.com/deepjyoti has been created for the listeners who wish to donate towards lighting up the village. The microsite offers all the information about the project and also the process for donation of the funds. The microsite will be live until the midnight of January 6, 2014. For more information on Deep Jyoti, one can log onto PlanetRadiocity’s social media pages (facebook.com/planetradiocity, @planetradiocity). Collections amounting to Rs 3 lakh are targeted towards the completion of Project Sarmanpur.

     

    Rachna Kanwar

    Talking about the association, Rachna Kanwar, SVP & Business Head, Digital Media & New Business, Radio City 91.1 FM, says, ” ‘Deep Jyoti’ is an initiative that offers us an opportunity to create a positive impact in the society whilst building a platform of sustainable growth.  We are extremely proud to be part of the wonderful initiative undertaken by Sunkalp Energy. Through this crowdfunding campaign we hope to leverage the huge reach and fan-base we have in the webradio space and make the project a success.”

     

    Kanika Khanna, Founder, Sunkalp Energy, says, ”There are still close to one lakh un-electrified villages in India with a majority of them being in Uttar Pradesh. Project Sarmanpur marks a milestone in our endeavour to electrify 200 villages. PlanetRadiocity provides the perfect amplification for this initiative. The roof-top microgrid will provide proper electricity connections in to each household in the village. Harnessing solar energy for sustainable development is one of the major priorities for rural development the world over. We are very happy to have an effective platform like PlanetRadiocity for this important initiative.”

     

    We wish we had the monies to make a donation to the PlanetRadioCity effort. Perhaps after all the people who are supposed to pay us do that, we will donate some. But if you have the monies now – even if you belong to a rival FM network/station, please do. Asap. It will light up many lives. And if they have the light, they’ll be able to read our newspapers. Watch our channels. Listen to our radio broadcast. Surf our websites. Go for it.

     

  • The channel will be launching a new locally made show called 'Engineer This'

    ZeeQ completes a year of ‘edutaining’ kids

    By  A Correspondent

     

    ZeeQ, the edutainment channel from the Zee group, has completed a year of existence and ‘edutatainment’. ZeeQ was created for kids in the age group of 4–14 and telecasting content suitable for preschoolers as well, notes a communique, adding: The channel is constantly working towards bringing in the best content suited for children and has been successful in acquiring rights for few of the finest internationally acclaimed shows such as the Cbeebies, Sid the Science Kid, Dinosaur Train, Zou and the most recent Fishtronaut.

     

    Along with bringing in international content, ZeeQ has also created shows under its own banner, namely M I Four, Teenovation, Word Match, Science with BrainCafé and Weekly Wrap. The channel will soon launch a new produced show named ‘Engineer This’, adds the release.

     

  • The fourth edition of the digital advertising and planning awards in India are now open for submissions

    In Google & Facebook-dominated world, Yahoo invites entries for Big Idea Chair Awards India 2013

    By A Correspondent

     

    A few years back when this correspondent was invited with some media maharathis to an event organized by a premier Ahmedabad-based management institute (not the IIM), the large student crowd expressed its unfamiliarity with the Yahoo! brandname to a senior functionary from the internet giant. Evidently, to a generation for whom Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter are the most visible digital brands, Yahoo’s name belongs to sepia-tinted history books.

     

    Sad because Yahoo and Yahoo India in particular have done some pioneering work in the business ever since they announced their entry to the country with a mother-of-all-parties at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Hotel over a decade back.

     

    Yahoo! is of course still relevant in the Indian digital media scenario, and it ensures it stays there by hosting the fourth edition of the Yahoo Big Idea Chair awards by inviting advertising and media agencies in India to showcase their best work in digital. Spread over nine categories, the call for entries will be open till November 25, 2013.

     

    Interested teams can now register for free at www.bigideachair.in. The winners will be announced next month (Dec 2013)

     

    Announcing the Yahoo Big Idea Chair call-for-entries, Nitin Mathur, the normally out-of-bounds Senior Director & Head of Marketing, India and South-East Asia, Yahoo, said:  “India is seeing some amazing creativity in digital advertising, helping brands integrate more meaningfully into consumers’ everyday lives.  Yahoo Big Idea Chair Awards honours individuals and agencies who are pushing the boundaries on digital in their search for the next big idea with the highest impact.”

     

    Last year, as many as 376 entries were received, with over 100 brands and 57 agencies participating in the Yahoo Big Idea Chair awards, noted a communique, adding: Acknowledging the increasing importance of content marketing in brands’ digital marketing strategies, Yahoo has added a brand new category of Best Content Marketing, to the existing stack of awards. Advertising and media agencies can now submit their exceptional creative and innovative ideas across 9 award categories including:

     

    Best Use of Display Advertising to recognize the most creative and innovative use of display advertising.

     

    1. Best Online Video Advertising for excellent work on video ads or video series created for digital

     

    2. Best Use of Social Media for the most innovative use of social media for brand advertising

     

    3. Best Use of Technology recognizing innovative use of technology for digital advertising on the Internet or mobile (includes technological innovations such Augmented Reality, applications, blufi, other tools).

     

    4. Best Use of Mobile Advertising to recognize campaigns that use mobile as a medium for to effectively communicate the brand message and engage consumers

     

    5. Best Use of Search – to recognize creative and innovative use of search advertising in a brand campaign

     

    6. Digital 360 degree Award -This award recognizes campaigns that strategically used digital as the core medium and implemented all digital channels including display, search, social, mobile.

     

    7. Best Content Marketing Award to recognize campaigns that strategically use content to ensure targeted message delivery and high levels of consumer engagement

     

    8. Yahoo Big Idea Chair Award flagship award to recognize fantastic digital campaigns which combine ideas, content, execution and real innovation to deliver with impact

     

    The entries will be judged by a panel of eminent industry leaders and professionals drawn from diverse sectors, including marketing, advertising and media planning. The jury panel will be announced soon.

     

    Now if only the digital generation would do a Yahoo! for Yahoo after all of this.

     

  • Six channels. One website. Rs 20,000 cr investment. Gayatri Yadav, Star India's EVP Marketing and Communications, take us through what is the network's most ambitious launch offensive

    Star’s new sporting highs

     

    Last week, the 21st Century Fox-owned Star India unveiled its grand plan for sports that it has been piecing together for over a year. STAR, India’s premier media and entertainment company, unveiled a new brand for Star Sports across six TV channels — Star Sports 1,2,3,4, HD1 and HD2 and starsports.com. With an investment of over Rs 20,000 crore, the brand highlights the Star network’s ambition to change the face of sports broadcasting in India. Six channels on television and a vibrant website are are alreadyon and a slew of on-ground activities are planned.

     

    To signal the change to the consumer, Star Sports announced the new network with a campaign that urges India to “Believe”. The campaign, says Gayatri Yadav, Executive Vice President Marketing & Communications, Star India, is based on a core insight that consumers are searching for hero moments in their life. “They want to strive for better and realize their own potential for greatness. Our belief is that everyone can take part and share in greatness. We can all be inspired. The mission is to bring the fan closer to heroes than ever before.Our aim is to inspire the hero in you. “

     

    India cricket captain M S Dhoni is the first “Believe” ambassador. The campaign is created by Abhijit Awasthi and team of Ogilvy. An innovative media placement across news dailies with jacket ads and moving up of the sports page to the front of the paper was initiatied. News channel Aaj Tak (which was incidentally once headed editorially by Star India CEO Uday Shankar) saw Star Sports coming on before the Aaj Tak brand and anchors wore Star Sports T-shirts. On digital the thought was taken forward with all news becoming sports news on Yahoo and MSN networks. There was a strong engagement with fans on Facebook and the objective of reaching over 15 million views for the new look on Day 1 itself!

     

    Simultaneously, a TV campaign to promote ‘Star Sports 3’, the 24×7 Hindi Sports channel with Navjot Singh Sidhu extolling the virtues of Hindi was created by McCann.

     

    “The bold new star icon is to stand for a new era of sport,” adds Ms Yadav. The star is sharp, bold and iconic. It brings strength and authority to the channel. The fiery trail ignites and unites every sport, every player and every fan.”

     

    Hmmm. We didn’t leave it at just the unveiling of the brand story which the Star group marketing head gave MxMIndia exclusively.

    Presenting a Q&A with Gayatri Yadav, Executive Vice President Marketing & Communications at Star India.

     

    So for how long have you’ll been working on this refresh?

    We been working on this for about a year now and we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the brand and what do we want to stand for, its values and what should be the identity of the brand and we were convinced that we needed a brand with a strong purpose and we wanted to build not just a leading sports brand in India which we are already but make it one of the most iconic brands in the world. And then we started work the brand identity being co-created across three continents with the Star Broadcast Design team in India working with Venture 3 in the UK who worked on the brand identity and Capacity who designed the broadcast package.

     

    The rest of the sports network specially in Asia changed ESPN to Fox Sports. So why the shift in India?

    It was a choice between Fox or Star and we just felt that Star is one of the iconic aspiration of brands in India and it make sense to bring sports under the Star banner. We also think that there’s a lot that Star as a brand can give to sports and there’s a lot that sports can give to Star, so there a mutually positive re-enforcing relationship.

     

    We considered what is the best brand option whether it should be Fox whether it should be Star whether it should be completely new brand. Star as a brand has such a strong Indian identity as well and has this connect with consumers. The Star entertainment brand has a very strong connect with women and with sports now we have a very deep connect with men as well and therefore the brand extension into sports makes a lot of sense for us strategically.

     

    Is there any difference that we see in the sports offering before and after the change?

    Earlier we had a clutch of very strong channels but there was no overarching brand identity. So there was ESPN which took premium sports, Star Cricket which catered to the cricket audience and Star Sports. I think it also got a little confusing for consumers to navigate on what sports was coming from what channel. Today we have just one platform one brand and one purpose and one of the overwhelming feedback we already got in the last day or so from people as varied as deep sports fan to the layman is that it its simpler to navigate. We also made a very clear decision not to have several channels for single sports. Star Cricket was such a strong channel and lot of people has asked us why did you retire the Star cricket brand. And I think Uday Shankar puts this best by saying “Cricket is too big to confine to any one channel”. Star Cricket which was a strength at first almost became a constraint because we want to offer consumers the deepest engagement with all forms of cricket.

     

    But while you have one big sports network, in entertainment you have two – Star Plus and the like and the Life OK bouquet. And it’s not Star Plus 1 and 2.

    That’s really an interesting question. We decided to create one brand – what the brand strategist would call monolithic brand identity – so it’s one brand Star Sports spread across six channels and you can find your content anywhere so it’s almost multiplex branding if you ask me where you walk into the Star Sports stadium and Screen 1 is showing this and Screen 2 is showing that and so on because it’s one brand one purpose, one consumer connect but we have so much content to offer to you that you can find it in continuum of channels.

     

    But why not adopt the same policy for sports that you did in entertainment?

    We segmented Star Plus and Life OK differently because they are talking to different consumers. The whole identity of Star Plus is also about an aspiration of emerging India. Life OK is talking to conservative India to whom we like to show that value of life is indeed Ok. So we needed two brands because we are addressing two different mindsets, two different consumer constituencies and therefore needed necessarily to have a different brandname and in sports we decided to take a monolithic brand strategy where there it’s one brand one purpose and the best way to describe it is think of it as a 96-hour channel where you can find your content spread across multiple channels and we could add more as time goes by.

     

    Did the new orientation of the channels also mean re-orient your faces, your commentators some of who are the biggest names in the games?

    We have a great panel of commentators. It is important to orient people not by way of re-training them but look at how the lens of storytelling changes a little bit. Explaining what the sportsperson was thinking about and not just the plot of the game.

     

    You had these sessions even with Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev?

    We had these workshops where the focus is on storytelling and what kind of story you want to tell.

     

    While your credo ‘Believe’ continues to be that in the Hindi ads too, your channel even has the scorecard in Hindi.

    This was a commitment we made for the channel. It is India’s first 24×7 Hindi sports channel.

     

    Will there be any dumbing down of the commentary to gather a new set of viewers

    Not at all, there is no question of dumbing down but we do think that we need to explain the game better, we need to engage better, we need to be more entertaining, we need to provide insights, we need to help the consumer to know what’s going on and read the heroes mind and why he took a decision… so it’s all about telling a better story. It’s all about engaging and connecting the consumers and telling the story of sport in a more meaningful and provocative way

     

    Last year, you tied up with a sports recreation centre in Mumbai called Smaaash. Will the connecting with consumers happen on the ground as well and do we see more of these in other cities?

    When we undertook Smaaash, we worked to co-create the brand with Shripal Morakhia. We knew we wanted it to be this great destination and the strategy was to take the brand experience from ON AIR to OFF AIR and let the people live the brand so Smaaash powered by or inspired by Star Sports for me is a very important part of our strategy

     

    Is that going to be extended to various other cities?

    Absolutely.

     

    So when it is going to happen?

    Shortly, and it is a very important part of our strategy as a Smaaash really allows you to live the brand.

     

    Anything else other than Smaaash that is going to happen?

    We also started doing lot of engagement in terms of ground screenings. Star Sports dug-outs is something that we are working on.

     

    Which is nightspots and lounges airing your content on large screens?

    Correct, not much as lounges but creating spaces where people can come and watch sports together.

     

    So will you have a separate team doing that given that it’s an all-new activity?

    We are actually building up our entire events and application team. It’s not going to be only connecting with consumers ON AIR but on the ground as well.

     

    Any targets in terms of numbers… ratings?

    Like I said it’s just begun… it is beginning of the journey. It’s not just about a week’s ratings…

     

    The acquisition costs are high and the dollar rate has gone up, so obviously the emphasis is on marketing delivering the numbers. Any targets on that?

    I think numbers are out of the scope of this discussion (laughs)

     

  • The Sony Pictures Television EVP and GM in Asia will cross over to Turner as the APAC boss

    Ricky Ow to replace Steve Marcopoto as head of Turner in APAC

    By A Correspondent

     

    International television executive Ricky Ow will join Turner International as President of Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific effective January 2014, it was announced today by Gerhard Zeiler, President of Turner Broadcasting System International. In August this year, Steve Marcopoto had announced that he will step down as President and Managing Director, Turner International Asia Pacific  at the end of his contract next month (Dec 2013).

     

    At the time of Mr Marcopoto’s announcement, it was mentioned that  he would stay on as a Senior Advisor to Mr Zeiler, to ensure a seamless transition and provide continuity on current new initiatives, but this has not been stated in the Turner communiqué on Mr Ow.

     

    As President of Turner APAC, Mr Ow will have executive oversight for all entertainment and kids networks, the digital and media services offered, the distribution of CNN’s services in that region, and all licensing and merchandising activity in APAC.

     

    “We are delighted that Ricky is joining us and look forward to the leadership and wealth of international media experience he will bring to one of the most strategically important areas of Turner International,” said Mr Zeiler.

     

    “I am very excited to join Turner and it is an honour to work with Gerhard and the team that has built some of the most valuable media brands in the world including CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network, Pogo and Turner Classic Movies,” said Mr Ow.