MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • While the stronghold of the women on the remote continues, the dominance of female fiction characters on television has been challenged, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Shailesh Kapoor: Male Characters Set To Rule Hindi GECs?

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    It’s been a category dominated by female viewers and female fiction characters. Hindi General Entertainment Channels (GECs) have behaved more like Hindi Female Entertainment Channels for more than a decade now.

     

    The stronghold of the women on the remote continues. But the other type of female dominance – that of female fiction characters – has been challenged. As per the latest Ormax Characters India Loves report (May 2014), for the first time since we started tracking character popularity in 2009, the top 10 fiction characters list has more male characters than female characters!

     

    Three years ago, this would have been unthinkable. The contribution of male characters has traditionally been a token one, rarely crossing two out of ten. In the last two years, three out of ten seemed more gettable, but the female dominance remained. Last month, the balance finally tilted, with five male characters in the Top 10 and ten in the Top 20. And remember, we are talking only of fiction characters. The top 5 non-fiction ‘characters’ are all men in the same period of tracking.

     

    What has led to this turnaround and what could be its possible implications? A significant part of the answer lies in the list of popular characters. The five male characters who made it to the top 10 list in May are Jethalal (Taarak Mehta), Maharana Pratap, Akbar (Jodha Akbar), Krishna (Mahabharat) and Inspector Daya (CID). The list offers a good mix of history, mythology, comedy and action-thriller genres.

     

    Contrast this to the female characters in the top 10: Jodha (Jodha Akbar), Sandhya (Diya Aur Baati Hum), Ishita (Yeh Hai Mohabbatein), Anandi (Balika Vadhu) and Gopi (Saath Nibhaana Saathiya). Lack of genre variety is striking. Most of these characters, and others in the top 20 list, are women on a journey, facing challenges on the way. It’s a template that was created starting with Tulsi in 2000, and then redefined with Anandi in 2008. Over years, this template has been exploited to create hundreds of daily serials and characters.

     

    The idea of a woman’s struggle-heavy journey and her eventual victory is a powerful one for female audiences, and shall remain so in the years to come. The problem is, of course, in the same-ness of execution. It’s as if the idea is so powerful that nobody seems to care about the quality of its depiction anymore.

     

    The only female characters in the Top 30 who do not fit this template is Daya (Taarak Mehta) and Dadi Sa (Balika Vadhu). Everyone else is on a ‘journey’, all the time. And while the destinations may be different, the routes are strikingly similar.

     

    Beginning to feel disenchanted by content that is highly relevant but unimaginative, female audiences have increasingly started preferring male characters. Mahadev’s dreamboat looks, Akbar’s attitude and Krishna’s life lessons are the new cool.

     

    GECs would do well to act on both fronts. For one, they should capitalize on the growing interest in male characters by creating some differentiated ones. Amitabh Bachchan’s Yudh is well-timed in this regard. Two, they should consider pushing the envelope regarding female characters. We need women who take the road less travelled in their journeys, while remaining relevant to the mass audiences at large.

     

    Up for the challenge?

     

    TV Trails is a weekly column written by Shailesh Kapoor, 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

     

  • … and Sony sits pretty on ad inventory as it inks deals with Hero Moto, Xolo, Microsoft, Havells et al

    Ole Ola… less than a week to go for FIFA World Cup 2014

     

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta

     

    With barely a week to go before the soccer world cup FIFA 2014, Sony Six, the official broadcaster of the tournament in India, has managed to sell half its on-air advertising inventory, MSM president Rohit Gupta has said.

     

    “We will be closing in most of the deals for the remaining inventory next week”, he said. The tournament will also be aired on Sony Six HD in English and Sony Aath, the Bengali channel of the network. According to TAM data shared by Sony Six, in 2010, 62.7 million Indians tuned in for the FIFA World Cup.

     

    “This year we are expecting the viewership to cross 100 million and it will be at least 50% of the IPL (Indian Premier League),” said Mr Gupta. IPL 2014 received viewership of over 185 million and the 2012 World Cup T20 raked in a viewership of nearly 120 million in India.

     

    “To that extent, football viewership in India is growing at a steady pace of 20-30%,” he added. The data also shows that in 2013 alone 155 million Indians watched football matches on various channels, which is only second to the top game — cricket, which is watched by 209 million Indians.

     

    While the channel has mnaged to ink deals with some of the top advertisers including Hero Motocorp, Xolo Mobile, Microsoft, Havells, Sony India, Samsung, UB Group, Micromax and Diageo, some advertisers have shown concern over the odd match timings. While the sponsors have paid anywhere around Rs 15-20 crore, a 10-second slot on the channel is selling at Rs 2-2.50 lakh, which is almost half of what it had charged during the recentlyconcluded IPL.

     

    “It is not a problem at all because 60% of the matches start before midnight”, said Mr Gupta. Concurs Basabdatta Chowdhury, CEO, Platinum Media, a subsidiary of the Madison World. She said, “A good number of matches will be played at 9.30 pm and World Cup timings have always been in the night. Moreover, South East Asia is a huge football market and therefore some of the match timings have been adjusted to suit the viewers. So timing is not a concern at all.”

     

    However, some media planners have raised concern over the distribution of Sony Six and how many market it reaches in comparison to other established players like ESPN Star Sports and Ten Sports. “The distribution of Sony Six is 50-60% of that of other top sports channels in the country. So advertisers are pretty apprehensive about the reach of the platform and that why the channel is left with so much unsold inventory. Unavailability of Sony Six could be a dampener to its advertising revenues,” said a senior media planner who didn’t wished to be named.

     

    But Mr Gupta says distribution of the channel is not a concern at all. “The biggest testimony of that is the IPL figures. If we didn’t have the reach then how is IPL viewership growing?” he asked. The channel has also planned a two-hour wrap around show on Sony Six which will be aired for 32 days and the channel has signed in actor John Abraham to spearhead the show.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Like in the case of the Publicis Groupe’s acquisition of Law & Kenneth, and the L&K taking management control of Saatchi & Saatchi, Temple co-founders will manage WPP’s Bates CHI&Partners

    Bates CHI&Partners to acquire Temple Advtg. Temple co-founders to manage Bates

    By A Correspondent

     

    The WPP group’s Bates CHI&Partners has announced the acquisition of the business and assets of Bengaluru-based Temple Advertising. But like in the case of the Publicis Groupe’s acquisition of Law & Kenneth, and the L&K taking management control of Saatchi & Saatchi.

     

    Said David Mayo, CEO, Bates CHI&Partners. “In developing our strategy in India, we are building a creative network with scale. Temple is a renowned creative agency with a strong reputation and a broad vision of the world and with them around the table, we will deliver on this promise.”

     

    Temple was co-founded in 2004 by Manmohan Anchan, Vidur Vohra and Srikanth V S. Srikanth VS will become CEO and Manmohan Anchan will become CCO of Bates CHI&Partners in India and they will jointly assume the role of Managing Partner of the Group overseeing all five Bates CHI&Partners offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Dhaka.

     

    Srikanth V.S. said, “We are incredibly excited to be part of a new agency set up in a new India environment and we hope to capture this new mood to build our business.”

     

    To underline the partnership and collaboration principles of this company, the agencies in Bangalore will merge and become Bates CHI&Temple, with the rest of the network retaining the original Bates CHI&Partners branding.

     

    Said Manmohan Anchan: “At Temple, we pride ourselves on our work. If it sells, it’s working. If it builds a brand, it’s working. We don’t create work for clients or juries, we create work that works. The time is right for a new agency in India to give variety to the current order of things.”

     

    Temple has worked with clients across diverse categories such as Automotive, Education, Fashion & Retail, FMCG, Foods, Media & Entertainment, Real Estate and Technology. Its clients include Embassy Group, eTV Kannada, Future Lifestyle Fashions (including Indigo Nation, Scullers, Manchester United, Jealous21), Pearson Education, Reliance Trends, Sumeru Frozen Foods, TVS Motors, Vaswani Group and Wipro Technologies.

     

  • Parineeti will be the new face for the brand and will feature in their upcoming brand campaign that focuses on Indian values

    Parineeti Chopra is brand ambassador of Videocon d2h

    By A Correspondent

     

    Videocon d2h has announced the addition of Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra as brand ambassador. Parineeti will be the new face for the brand and will feature in their upcoming brand campaign that focuses on Indian values.

     

    Through the new campaign, Videocon d2h will showcase their innovative and technologically advanced Unlimited Asli HD Recorder & the new Radio Frequency Remote with earphones which assures convenience and comfort for television viewing.

     

    Sharing his views on the campaign, Saurabh Dhoot, Director, Videocon said, “Indian values epitomize our society. They are a part of our lifestyle and culture. Our new brand campaign featuring Parineeti captures some of these sentiments of Indian values and integrates it with our product deliverables. We believe Parineeti is the most appropriate choice to communicate our brand values. With all these unique features, one can attend to others, without missing the action on TV.”

     

    Commenting on the new brand campaign, Anil Khera, CEO, Videocon d2h, said, “With Videocon d2h, now you can pause your TV, record unlimited content, which means you won’t have a problem being interrupted anymore. We are happy to have Parineeti as a part of the Videocon d2h family.  In addition to her acting talent, her connect with the Indian masses will definitely help us reach out to our customers. Our main focus is to enhance the customers’ television viewing experience.”

     

    The campaign highlights the solution Videocon d2h will provide their customers with this new product that gives the option of Recording, Pause Live TV, rewind-forward.

     

    Videocon d2h currently offers 500 channels and services which includes 27 Asli “HD” channels and services and a host of regional channels.

     

  • The World Press Trends survey includes data from more than 70 countries, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the global industry’s value.

    Print & digital attracting more audiences, notes World Press Trends survey

    By a correspondent

     

    The annual World Press Trends survey released by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has revealed that print and digital combined are increasing audiences for newspapers globally, but digital revenues are not keeping pace, posing a risk for newspaper businesses and the societies they serve.

     

    “Unless we crack the revenue issue, and provide sufficient funds so that newspapers can fulfill their societal role, democracy will inevitably be weakened,” said Larry Kilman, Secretary General of WAN-IFRA, who presented the survey to 1,000 publishers, chief editors and other senior newspaper executives at the 66th World Newspaper Congress, 21st World Editors Forum and 24th World Advertising Forum in Turin, Italy.

     

    “The role that newspapers play in society cannot be underestimated, and has never been more crucial,” he said. “If newspaper companies cannot produce sufficient revenues from digital, if they cannot produce exciting, engaging offerings for both readers and advertisers, they are destined to offer mediocre products with nothing to differentiate them from the mass of faux news. Finding the sustainable business models for digital news media is not only important for your businesses, but for the future health of debate in democratic society.”

     

    The other facets revealed at the global summit meetings of the world’s press include:

    – Print circulation increased +2 per cent globally in 2013 from a year earlier but declined by -2 per cent over five years. Around 2.5 billion people around the world read newspapers in print and 800 million on digital platforms.

     

    – Print circulation continues to rise in countries with a growing middle class and relatively low broadband penetration, but long-term structural declines in print circulation continue in mature markets as audiences shift their focus from print to digital. Circulation rose +1.45 per cent in Asia in 2013 from a year earlier and +2.56 per cent in Latin America; it fell -5.29 per cent in North America, -9.94 per cent in Australia and Oceania, -5.20 percent in Europe and -1 per cent in the Middle East and Africa.

     

    – Over five years, newspaper circulation rose +6.67 per cent in Asia, +6.26 per cent in Latin America and +7.5 per cent in the Middle East and Africa; it fell -10.25 per cent in North America; -19.59 per cent in Australia and Oceania; and -23.02 per cent in Europe.

     

    – Print advertising worldwide declined -6 per cent in 2013 from a year earlier and declined -13 per cent over five years. Digital advertising for newspapers increased +11 per cent in 2013 and +47 per cent over five years, but remains a relatively small part of overall internet advertising. Much of internet advertising revenue goes to only a handful of companies, and most of it goes to Google.

     

    – Print newspaper advertising increased +3.9 per cent in Latin America in 2013 compared with a year earlier, but fell in all other regions: -3.2 percent in Asia and the Pacific, -8.7 percent in North America, -8.2 per cent in Europe; and -1.8 per cent in the Middle East and Africa.

     

    Over five years, print newspaper advertising increased +3.3 per cent in Asia and the Pacific, +49.9 per cent in Latin America. It declined -29.6 per cent in North America, -17.9 per cent in Europe, and -21.1 percent in the Middle East and Africa.

     

    – While digital advertising continues to grow, it still represents a small part of overall newspaper revenue. Globally, 93 per cent of all newspaper revenues continue to come from print.

     

    – Global newspaper publishing revenues from print circulation and advertising were stable year-on-year at US$163bn in 2013. But that figure is down from US$187bn in 2008.

     

    – Paid digital circulation increased 60 per cent last year and rose more than 2,000 per cent over the last five years, albeit from a very low starting point.

     

    The World Press Trends survey includes data from more than 70 countries, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the global industry’s value. The data is compiled through an enormous undertaking by dozens of national newspaper and news media associations and generous support from global data suppliers: Zenith Optimedia, IPSOS, ComScore, RAM and the ITU.

     

  • New guidelines from the Advertising Standards Council of India could change the face of advertising in the approximately Rs 3,000-crore fairness category

    Don’t show bias on basis of skin colour: ASCI to fairness cream brands like HUL, Emami

    By Shephali Bhatt & Ravi Balakrishnan

     

    New guidelines from the Advertising Standards Council of India, a self-regulatory body, could quite literally change the face of advertising in the approximately Rs 3,000-crore fairness category which includes creams, face washes and lotions.

     

    Hindustan Unilever dominates the category with its Fair & Lovely brand, and other big brands include Emami’s Fair & Handsome for men, as well as Garnier from L’Oreal.

     

    A draft of the new guidelines specifically targets several well-established tropes of fairness advertising.

     

    The new rules propose, among other things, that ads should not show darkerskinned people as unhappy, depressed, or disadvantaged in any way by skin tone, and should not associate skin colour with any particular socio-economic class, ethnicity or community.

     

    According to Sam Balsara, chairman and managing director, Madison World and a former chairman of ASCI, “The reason for these guidelines is to make it clear to advertisers as to what society finds acceptable and what it doesn’t.”

     

    When asked about the ramifications on the guidelines on its advertising, a spokesperson from Hindustan Unilever, said, “We welcome ASCI’s move to further strengthen guidelines. This will help to promote transparency in advertising. These guidelines are currently at a draft stage and have been published for seeking industry inputs.”

     

    Adds a spokesperson from Garnier, “We strongly believe advertising should not encourage social discrimination of people based on aspects like the colour of their skin. All Garnier communication focuses on the efficacy of the product and is most importantly, backed by scientific fact. Our conviction is that there is no single model for beauty.”

     

    Both ASCI and Balsara say that advertisers have been consulted while coming up with the guidelines. And advertising folk who chose to respond off the record believe (or at least hope) that the letter and spirit of these guidelines allow a certain room for interpretation.

     

    Pioneered by Afghan Snow in 1919, the fairness category is dominated by Hindustan Unilever’s Fair & Lovely, launched in 1975.

     

    Today, almost every skin care brand worth its name, from Garnier to Ponds, has a fairness variant, with an entire sub-category targeting men. It has been built on storylines about how being dark skinned could materially affect the job and marital prospects of consumers.

     

    However, over the last decade, there’s been a groundswell of protests against these products and how they are marketed. Celebrities like film director Shekhar Kapur have taken on the category on social media including Twitter.

     

    An entire segment in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Traffic Signal is devoted to an anti fairness-cream rant. The category’s ads has been pilloried in global media for promoting a kind of “racism”.

     

    Chennai-based Women of Worth has been running a campaign around the theme Dark is Beautiful with support from actor and director Nandita Das. It’s finally made ASCI take notice.

     

    Long regarded as a well intentioned but powerless body, the ASCI has revitalised itself over the last couple of years, moving with speed and aggression against ads that break its code of conduct.

     

    Says Shweta Purandare, secretary-general at the ASCI, “Over the years, we have come across several complaints against advertisements regarding skin lightening or fairness improvement.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Sethi will be responsible for business development and marketing communications of the Group's print media business

    Kaacon Sethi joins Dainik Bhaskar as Chief Corporate Marketing Officer

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dainik Bhaskar has announced the appointment of Kaacon Sethi as Chief Corporate Marketing Officer. Sethi will be responsible for business development and marketing communications of the Group’s print media business comprising B2B corporate branding, marketing of emerging India opportunities in Tier 2&3 markets, viz. UnMetro, and evangelizing the concept to large clients and media agencies.

     

    Bringing with her over 20 years of industry experience in marketing and sales of content powered customer engagements across platforms, Kaacon Sethi has earlier worked in leadership positions in Lintas Media Group, Mediasys Solutions (as Founder & Partner), K Sera Sera Productions, Sony Entertainment Television (MSM), JWT. She has also worked with Indigo Business Services in a consulting role. In her last assignment prior to joining the Dainik Bhaskar Group Ms. Sethi was employed with Smaaash Entertainment as Marketing Consultant.

     

    Welcoming Ms. Sethi to the Group, Pradeep Dwivedi, Group Chief of Corporate Sales & Marketing, DB Corp said, “We are delighted to have Kaacon joining us at Dainik Bhaskar Group. She has an acknowledged and proven track record of successful marketing, sales, innovation and business leadership while also possessing the requisite domain expertise. We welcome her into the team and look forward to her insights, experience and passion to add value to our brand-marketing endeavors as we move forward”.

     

    Commenting on her induction into the Dainik Bhaskar Group, Kaacon Sethi said “I am delighted at the opportunity of being a part of an extremely exciting business and a talented leadership team at India’s largest and dynamic newspaper group.  I look forward to contributing to the Group’s vision of being the most admired brand within the Indian media industry. The Group has already been further expanding its footprints in some of India’s fast- emerging market, being aggressive yet prudent in identifying significant business development opportunities, which will also be a strong focus area for me.”

     

  • T-SeND is the first such study on STB usage in digital homes!

    What’s-ON conducts study to plot behaviour changes post digitization

    By A Correspondent

     

    Asia’s leading EPG specialist company, What’s-ON, recently concluded a multi-city study in India to understand the way viewers search channels, discover new programmes and reach the channel they want to watch. The study, called as TSeND (Television Search Navigation & Discovery) is a path-breaking and comprehensive research study conducted to understand how viewers interact with digital TV using the set-top box (STB) post the cable digitization in major Indian cities.

     

    The in-depth study was conceptualized and designed by TV Street Maps, a division of What’s-ON that specializes in TV Channel Distribution Monitoring. Hansa Research was brought in to do the field survey across DAS1&DAS2 towns.

     

    TRAI plans to implement Digital Addressable System (DAS) for the cable industry in 4 phases out of which DAS1 & DAS2 have been implemented successfully in November 2012 and April 2013 respectively. This covers the top 40 cities in India. Implementation of DAS in these towns simply means analog signals get completely switched off in them and being replaced by Digital TV delivered via a STB.

     

    Post the first 2 phases of Cable digitization, millions of Indian homes in metro cities had to suddenly watch their staple daily TV content using the STB and navigating with an additional new remote control. The other complexity was in the way Digitization played out on the ground level – every operator’s STB and remote controls were different, the STB menus were varied, the way the channels were organized in every operator’s menu were different (i.e. the channel line-ups) – all leading to non-uniform viewing habits and practices at the viewers level.

     

    Given this massive switch at the TV Households level, there were many unanswered questions within the TV industry that perplexed the operators, broadcasters and distributors alike. Some of them were – How is the set-top box (STB) changing viewer behavior from their analog days? How are viewers locating and landing on their favorite channels and programs now that the STB has a structured menu as well as 4-5 times more channels? What are the factors affecting viewer navigation across channels and how much of it depends on viewer demography, operator’s offerings and various channel genres? Do viewers remember channel numbers to reach their preferred channel or use the STB channel guide?

     

    The T-SeND study proved to be a goldmine of insights. Some of the revelations of the T-SeND study are:

    :: There is a correlation between the operator STB menu and the way a viewer reaches a channel. The more complicated the STB menu, the more viewers dread using the remote forcing them to remember channel numbers and randomly surf channels.

     

    :: About 86 per cent of viewers across DAS1&2 towns were aware of EPG (Electronic Program Guide) features. However, substantial variations were observed across towns; where Delhi being the most aware with 99 per cent versus 70 per cent EPG awareness in Kolkata.

     

    :: About a quarter of Cable & Satellite homes in DAS1 & DAS2 homes have noticed advertisements on the EPG menu.

     

    :: Younger viewers seem more evolved in interacting with operator menu to reach channels. They displayed greater depth of the STB menu usage.

     

    :: Almost half of viewers or 46 per cent to be precise, were not aware of channel packs they are subscribed to; with viewers in metropolitanareas being least aware.

     

    This study puts the viewer at the center and the insights will help redefine strategies relating to all aspects in the broadcast value chain like channel marketing, distribution, placement, etc. It will also help Cable & DTH companies to understand the impact of some of their VAS and STB offerings on their subscriber constituencies.

     

  • The realities, reach, infinite possibilities and, in particular, the risks of the digital age have become ever more apparent as evident from the trends reported by the World Editors Forum

    Top 10 Newsroom Trends for 2014

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The past year has been a defining one for newsrooms. The realities, reach, infinite possibilities and, in particular, the risks of the digital age have become ever more apparent.

     

    For editors and journalists, this has been both good and bad news. The exposé of the extent of state surveillance through Edward Snowden’s leaks sparked stellar investigative journalism and unprecedented global collaboration between publications and editors.

     

    The World Editors Forum unveiled its 2014 Trends in Newsroom report at its annual meetings in Turin, Italy, yesterday, with the repercussions from the Snowden affair taking centerstage.

     

    The WEF report’s Top 10 newsroom trends for 2014 are:

    1. Moves to shield journalism in the post-Snowden era

    2. The rebooting of mobile strategy as “wearables” hit the market

    3. How social media verification is supporting trust and credibility

    4. The way data and analytics are driving the news agenda

    5. Newspapers’ video starts to challenge broadcasters

    6. The rise (and fall) of women editors

    7. Global collaborative journalism breaks new barriers

    8. The need for digital mega-stories

    9. The ethical challenges of native advertising

    10.  The evolving role of the editor

     

    The report is based on interviews conducted with more than 30 editors and senior journalists in more than a dozen countries and incorporates trends that were tracked by the World Editor Forum’s editorsweblog.org over the past year. It includes in-depth analyses and is framed by interviews with five of the world’s news business “thought leaders”, including The Guardian’s Janine Gibson, The New York Times’ Margaret Sullivan, Knight Foundation’s Michael Maness, Twitter’s Vivian Schiller and Nation Media Group’s Joseph Odindo.

     

    “The past year has been a defining one for newsrooms,” said Erik Bjerager, President of the Paris-based World Editors Forum, the organization within the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) for chief editors and other senior newsroom personnel.

     

    “The exposé of the extent of state surveillance through Edward Snowden’s leaks sparked stellar investigative journalism and unprecedented global collaboration between publications and editors,” he said. “But the consequences for the way we practice our craft and communicate with sources are significant.”

     

    The report also focuses on the evolution of news in the face of constant and rapid technological developments.

     

    “The relentless advances in digital technology continue to redefine the newsroom,” Bjerager said. “They affect the way we organise ourselves, engage with audiences, find and verify increasingly diverse content and tell our stories.”

     

    “The tipping towards the digital first environment has shown how many practices need urgent revisiting, ethical codes need updating, and new skills need to be introduced to allow news producers to remain competitive and relevant. The result is a unique space for creation, innovation and reinvention,” he said.

     

    The trends the World Editors Forum has identified are based on observations of emerging and shifting newsroom practices around the globe, and an analysis of original interviews conducted with over 30 editors, senior journalists and editorial strategists from more than a dozen countries (Germany, Italy, USA, U.K., Australia, South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Indonesia, India, Ukraine and Argentina) in 2014.

     

    They have been framed by interviews with five top journalism “thought leaders.”

     

    Janine Gibson, The Guardian’s US editor and incoming Editor-in-Chief of the global online site, will wake you up to the need for “very live, very deep and very revolutionary” journalism, along with the effects of the Snowden phenomenon. Michael Maness from The Knight Foundation issues a sharp critique of the absence of innovation within legacy newsrooms – which should signal opportunity. Joseph Odindo, Group Editorial Director of Nation Media Group discusses the dynamics of the fast-changing African newsroom. Vivian Schiller, Head of News at Twitter, tells us about the platform as a site for breaking news and improving verification techniques. And The New York Times’ Public Editor Margaret Sullivan will alert you to the impact of real-time audience engagement on editorial management.

     

     Trends in Newsrooms 2014 is available (in English) free to members of the World Editors Forum and for purchase by non-members.

     

  • The event allowed a selective group of marketing leaders from the financial sector to understand the growing impact of social media and content marketing on their business

    LinkedIn hosts Finance Connect in India

    By a correspondent

     

    LinkedIn India recently organized one of its marquee events, Finance Connect in India. The event allowed a selective group of marketing leaders from the financial sector to understand the growing impact of social media and content marketing on their business.

     

    The clear objective of holding such an event was to reveal what are the latest trends on social media, what are the consumers in India seeking for and how does content marketing help brands in building a relationship with their customers? Though LinkedIn’s mission is to connect the world’s professionals to make the more productive and successful it envisions creating economic opportunity for every professional in the world. So if there were just about 1 million users globally in the year 2004, that figure has grown and has reached 300+million users in the year 2014 with 2 members getting added every second.

     

    Some of the key takeaways from the event:

    Three keys to success on social: Be accurate, Be helpful, Be every where

     

    Four keys to build relationships:

    1. Find your audience – geography, function, industry, seniority
    2. Establish trust – meaningful content distribution, company updates, sponsored updates, trending content, content market score
    3. Be personal – sponsored inmails, spotlight Ad
    4. Extend the experience -custom APIs

     

    Key tenets to building a content marketing relationship

    1. Don’t just sell, add value
    2. Ask them what they want to hear
    3. Be Human
    4. Tap into the power of story
    5. Empower employees to contribute content
    6. Compel your customers to spread the word

     

    The event also saw the release of Audience 360º which focuses on helping businesses achieve a complete 360 degree understanding of the personal and professional choices of their audience, which includes their motivations and needs, how they interact with various products, as well as their brand perceptions.

     

    The findings of this survey suggest that LinkedIn users in India comprises young educated professionals out of which 69 percent are under 35 years of age and 93 percent have received a university degree or higher. They are not only career focused but also have an international perspective and consider keeping up-to-date on modern technology as akey to their success.

     

    A few interesting highlights from the survey are mentioned below –

    • In India, LinkedIn members largely represent the IT and Financial Services sectors, working at companies with 1000+ employees, more than 1 in 3 are at manager and level above.
    • LinkedIn is the most used social media site among its India members - 92 percent say LinkedIn is their primary social media platform and is considered the most influential portal for business and professional content.
    • It is also a platform of choice for financial content – more people come to LinkedIn for financial information than any other social media site. In addition to finance, technology alerts and new product information are amongst the most sought after content on LinkedIn.
    • 77 percent of LinkedIn users in India are currently following companies on LinkedIn, as they see it as a credible and trustworthy platform.
    • More than 83 percent of the surveyed members own a smartphone, while 44% of them own a tablet. More than 74 percent LinkedIn India users daily access internet through their mobile device. They intend on making big gadget purchases in the next year.

     

    “The relationship-based LinkedIn ecosystem enables brands to develop an influential customer base. Our research highlights that 73 percent of our surveyed members trust the information received on LinkedIn more than any other online professional network. This provides an interesting opportunity for advertisers to effectively engage with their target audience through content marketing,” concluded Ashutosh Gupta, Director, Marketing Solutions, LinkedIn India.

     

  • The digital driven IMC took off depicting how Oreo Cookie and Orange Creme are #OreoBesties, two flavors that blend together

    Interface creates a new digital campaign for Oreo

    By A Correspondent

     

    With the launch of Oreo Orange Crème, Oreo has attempted to create a new chapter in content creation. The digital driven IMC took off depicting how Oreo Cookie and Orange Crème are #OreoBesties, two flavors that blend together.

     

    The entire campaign designed by Interface Communications reinforces the friendship between the two and narrates tales whilst engaging Oreo’s fan base with multiple activities.

     

    The campaign was a fourfold activity that didn’t leave any #OreoBestie loose.The first activity tapped the biggest thing in vogue – the selfie. A spin off of this love for taking pictures, Oreo’s #BestieSelfie ran for three days where users were asked to share their wacky selfies. This activity saw a 387,352 reach on facebook and generated 243,833 impressions on twitter.

     

    The second leg of the campaign was a #ShoutOut between #OreoBesties Cookie and Orange Crème, where one had to #ShoutOut something and the fans had to guess what the other would reply. The conversions were not limited between the #OreoBesties Cookie and Orange Crème, but also pulled in its users to complete the conversation between the two.

     

    Thus, #BestieBond was the most spoken about activity for two long days. The users flourished with entries talking about what made their bond with their bestie unique. Oreo created live #OreoBesties in the most visually appealing way.

     

    A restaurant brand also jumped in the bandwagon by tweeting with #BestieBond. Oreo India showered customized love on them too. The grand culmination received a warm response with a total of 207 personalised posts created live by Oreo India, 6.9 million impressions and 541 per cent increase in Facebook PTAT.

     

    Robby Mathew

    Robby Mathew, NCD, Interface Communications added, “There’s nothing better than users getting involved in driving brand content . . . that’s what Oreo has successfully done time and again. And now with #BestieBond Live, it has taken engagement to a whole new level.”

     

    YouTube being another platform, the launch TVC grabbed 201,995 eye balls (Read: views). Going beyond social media, the #OreoBesties also reached the online audience via display banners:

     

  • Integrated businessframework to deliver 25 end-to-end social use cases

    Ignitee unveils Social IQ

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ignitee Digital, a TO THE NEW group company,has announced the launch of Social IQ, an integrated Social CRM offering.The solution is designed to enable brands to harness the power of social media beyond advertising and derive tangible business performance.

     

    Social IQ’s business framework offers an industry-leading bouquet of25 end-to-end Social CRM use casesranging from strategy, engagement, response management, creative, contentand analytics, underpinned through a strong layer of technology. Social IQ will leverage social platforms to empower various business functions including product innovation, sales & marketing and customer experiences, as brands seek to become more relevant to the social and mobile first consumer.

     

    Atul Hegde

    Commenting on the launch of Social IQ, Atul Hegde, CEO, Ignitee Digital stated, “The penetration of social media across all demographics of consumers has created a huge opportunity for brands and organizations to use social media for business.TO THE NEW developed Social IQ after much research and feedback and Ignitee Digital is well positioned to deliver this using our innovative SMACK services and proprietary technology platform.”

     

    With more than 150 clients globally, TO THE NEW is one of the only digital service providers with specialized centers of excellence around Content, Analytics, Marketing and Technology. Social IQ aims at integrating best practices around each of these to help brands in every step of the way accomplish social for business – from building social strategies to implementing integrated technologies and running these processes on behalf of clients.