MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • Hero worship or balanced analysis? Ranjona Banerji reviews how the news media has covered the completion of a year of the Narendra Modi govt

    Ranjona Banerji: Indian journalism exposed by ‘one year’ coverage

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    The great gaps in Indian journalism have been exposed by the coverage of one year of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. And also, the great divide within.

     

    The media, print, television and digital (if only we could add radio to this list), have embarked on a first anniversary analysis of the government’s performance. This includes report cards, which former prime minister Manmohan Singh used to do with his Cabinet.

     

    However, who do you find to both praise and critique the government’s performance and appear to be objective? Commentators and analysts have been very sharply divided between pro-Modi and anti-Modi since the nation kicked into election mode in 2014. The supporters are usually either BJP members or open admirers. The anti-brigade are the usual suspects and somewhat larger in number because they include academics and activists.

     

    The only recourse therefore to “balanced” coverage is to ask members of the BJP itself and BJP-appointed members of organisations or pro-BJP corporate to assess the government’s performance. Obviously there is no balance there at all but perhaps there is no option.

     

    So that’s as far as columnists and analysts go. What about bog-standard newspaper coverage? Here we see, more or less, straight outright hero worship. The Times of India’s Mumbai edition gives the Modi government over 77 per cent on May 26, the anniversary of the swearing-in or anointment as TV anchors preferred to gush. Oddly a survey for May 16, the first anniversary of the election results, in the same newspaper, showed many Indians, especially those living in Mumbai, not quite so happy with the government’s performance. Perhaps something dramatic happened in the last 10 days that the rest of us are unaware of?

     

    The Economic Times outdid its sibling paper with its 20 or more days of coverage and analysis of the first year. The paper on May 26 led with the headline “Lage Raho Narendrabhai”, a salute to the successful Lage Raho Munnabhai movies about the life and times of a lovable petty gangster. Not sure if the editors saw the irony there or had not seen the movies… Judging by the gush and mush, I would reckon they thought they were just being super-clever.

     

    The Hindustan Times, Hindu, Telegraph, Indian Express and so on follow the model but with comparatively less hero worship… but am not sure that that’s saying a lot… TV is so idiotically breathlessly ra-ra that analysis is sometimes not possible. The websites have managed to be better sources of opinion than newspapers but is that because they depend not as much on advertising revenue?

     

    **

     

    Rather than speaking to so many “experts”, how would it have worked if newspaper reporters or maybe editors themselves, actually ventured out to the streets to speak to the general public. After all, they are the ones who vote and who wanted “achche din” after four years of stagnation. Had these people understood that the promises made were dismissed as “jumla” or that the promised good days were not supposed to arrive for the next 60 years?

     

    It might have been interesting to know how editors would spin the word on the street. Surveys are so much easier and so what if they’re not always right? You can always increase the margin of error to plus-minus 15 per cent, no?

     

    The foreign media, perhaps most interested in India because of Modi, has been more balanced in their assessment. This is actually a scathing indictment of the Indian media as a whole because it means that too many managements and editors put business interests ahead of truth… Hmm, what’s new, eh?

     

    **

     

    Meanwhile, some Hindi newspapers reported that chairs were broken by crowds angry with Modi’s one-year celebration speech in Mathura on Sunday. Did any English newspaper or TV channel report this?

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She is also Consulting Editor, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are her own. She can be reached via Twitter at @ranjona

     

  • The primary target of the campaign was to target consumers at those touchpoints where mass-gatherings happen

    Posterscope creates OOH campaign for Goodricke’s Roasted

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a bid to give boost to the soulful adda-culture better, Goodricke has taken to the Outdoor-route for the first time to promote their highest selling Brand – Roasted – amongst masses as the most sought after Darjeeling Tea brand in the country.

     

    Outdoor being the only medium of communication here, crafting the campaign strategy was a huge challenge for Posterscope. Since ‘adda’ was at the apex of the campaign brief, the primary target of the campaign was to target consumers at those touchpoints where mass-gatherings happen.

     

    Since people can gather, mingle and gossip anywhere, identifying requisite OOH spots near those areas using multimedia options was the key task that Posterscope took up as part of its client-campaign strategy. The touchpoints needed to cater to all age groups. Therefore, apart from using main media Billboards, different formats such as metro signages, island branding, Glass facad, BQS were used for the campaign. The campaign was rolled out in 2 phases wherein the initial burst was for a 30-day-period, which was then followed up with a sustenance campaign for next 30 days further. In between, there were quite a few filler phases conducted which were of short durations in a bid to give a time-boost to the campaign during the monthly buying cycles.

     

    The whole campaign strategy has been to position ‘Roasted’ as an ‘Adda Starter’ among the masses and influence the buyer’s purchasing decisions, which is then tilted towards Brand Roasted. Supporting the next two phases of the strategic road map, Hyperspace, the Retail Solution division under the Posterscope umbrella, mapped all their retail counters under general trade. Here, a retail audit was conducted to know the exact visibility challenges and consecutive solutions were given in terms of visibility enhancements at those stores; also customized executions were carried out to increase the Brand recall at loose-tea counters under general trade.

     

    Commenting on this campaign, Vikram Sungh Gulia, Senior General Goodricke Group Ltd., said; “When it came to the positioning of Kolkata’s No.1 Darjeeling Tea, we wanted Roasted to truly speak of the spirit in which it is bought, made and consumed in most households in this city. The two things that truly define the spirit of this city and its old world charm are, tea and adda. Both being complementary, in etiquette, in habit and in practice. For years, it has been a custom in this City of Joy, to sit and discuss politics, cinema and life in general, over a cup of tea. In the mornings before everyone goes to work, in the evenings when everyone comes back from work and several times in between. These tea sessions are almost always accompanied by an adda.”

     

    Haresh Nayak

    Haresh Nayak, Managing Director – Posterscope India said, “It gives us immense pleasure to be their preferred agency when it comes to providing outdoor solution and optimisation. The media strategy was aligned to ensure that the campaign matches the means of communication across all platform, be it outdoor or retail, within the consumer ecosystem. A very scientific method was put into the media planning, considering the brand value and insight and took great care in formulating and executing a plan that would create a powerful impact across the target group.”

     

  • Prakash conducted a workshop titled 'Digital Security for Journalists' organised by the Mumbai Press Club and the Centre for Internet and Society

    Your phone is a surveillance device, your ISP a surveillance provider…: Pranesh Prakash

    By Dyanne Coelho

     

    “In India there is no special privilege for journalists over ordinary citizens,” Pranesh Prakash, Policy Director at the Centre for Internet and Society began at the workshop entitled ‘Digital Security for Journalists’ organised by the Mumbai Press Club and the Centre for Internet and Society.

     

    “Even if you don’t care about your own security/privacy, think about you sources. Your sources want privacy,” Prakash said as he began the workshop on how to assess security threats, how to protect sources and how to prevent your ISP from leaking out information. With the growth of the internet since the 1980s, we know we can’t trust everyone; police stations, governments, all engage in surveillance of some sort, he pointed out. Prakash went on to explain the ‘Threat Model’, wherein journalists ought to ask questions like what are you protecting, who are you protecting yourself against, what do you hope to achieve and to what lengths are you willing to go?All of the measures you are going to take to protect your source are going to be inconvenient. Security is always at the cost of convenience he reiterated.

     

    Data threat can be intercepted at two levels, Prakash explained; data in transit and data at rest. The important question to ask is which you wish to secure, because the means to secure both are very different.Emails being sent to someone can be intercepted by an outside source in transit. It is easier to secure you own data on your computer, but an email is so much more difficult to secure because there are multiple points where the information is stored. Targeted surveillance is much more difficult to protect yourself against than mass surveillance.

     

    For WiFi, password protected networks form an encryption, one more barrier to protect you. However, a WEP encrypted network is easy to break through. You need at least a WPAII to be secure enough. Airport networks usually ask for a password after connecting to the WiFi. That too is easy to see through. Avoid using these networks for sensitive work.

     

    One must keep in mind who they want to secure the data from; whether from a casual threat or an Intelligence Agency like the National Security Agency (NSA), National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) or Intelligence Bureau (IB).Mass surveillance or non-targeted surveillance is not legal in India. However. the NTRO engages in mass surveillance, for which it was criticised in a Mint article, following which they shifted only to the national borders for surveillance. It is also possible for the NSA to tamper with your laptop before delivery.The NSA’s ANT catalogue has been working on a technology that has a device that can fit within the connector that connects to your keyboards and it can last there years and years without detection. Hence Prakash suggests that if a journalist is working on a sensitive story that if leaked could cause a ruckus, he/she would be safer buying a new computer and paying for it in hard cash.

     

    The more important a source is, the less you must use your phone, Prakash pointed out. Phones leak information time and again, information of time and location. The NSA uses it, the police use it. If you are meeting with someone and you both have your phone, then information that you have met is transmitted. Even without GPS it can track your location, when you receive/send a call/message, as your mobile network needs to access the cell tower you are around in order to reach you.

     

    Encrypted emails still leak identities. If the police look into an encrypted email, they will still know who you are communicating with. Background information you are doing on a story can also give away a lot you don’t want to be given away. Even with an encrypted email, they have access to your location, IP address, the sender and the receiver of the email, time stamp, Mac id and IMEI.

     

    End-to-end encryption is the way out here.This means that no one in the middle, including the company can read the emails you send from your company server. End-to-end encryption is the most inconvenient. End-to-end encryption means that you and the party concerned need to come up with a code that the other party needs to be able to decrypt. The software both parties use also needs to be compatible.

     

    “I recommend using WhatsApp over Viber and Line, Skype over other alternatives and Twitter is also safe, but never use Facebook for sensitive conversations that you don’t want to get out,” Prakash said. WhatsApp is safer than normal text messaging he points out. Prakash recommended an app called Conversations to use for messaging on your phone. It is safer than both normal SMSing and WhatsApp. An SMS leaks metadata, he explains, that’s why it is preferable to use data or apps that use the internet.

     

    In the 2G network space, only Airtel and Docomo use at least a weak encryption.All the rest use no encryption. Anyone can snoop in on your conversations. Instead one must use data-enabled apps for calling like RedPhone, he suggested. This is a great way to protect your source.

     

    Most people are known to repeat passwords for various accounts. Never repeat a password, Prakash advised. Maintain different passwords for all your accounts. It is the safest. And if you are unable to remember them all, then use password managementsoftware like LastPass or KeyPass. These enable you to key in and store all your passwords in one place and you only have to remember the password to your LastPass/KeyPass account. But if you forget your master password, then there is no way to recover all your other passwords.

     

    The session concluded with Prakash working hands-on with the journalists, helping them to download the required software on their laptops and mobile phones. This knowledge is vital for all journalists in order to protect themselves and their sources when doing a high profile, sensitive story, Prakash said.

     

  • In 2013 Tony Hall, Director General of the BBC, set a target of 500m for the BBC's global reach for 2022

    BBC records good growth in its global audience

    By A Correspondent

     

    New figures unveiled recently show the BBC has a weekly global audience of 308 million people. This represents the combined measured reach of international BBC content – both news and entertainment – for the year 2014/15 and is the first time this figure has ever been measured in this way.

     

    In 2013 Tony Hall, Director General of the BBC, set a target of 500m for the BBC’s global reach for 2022.

     

    The figures – the BBC Global Audience Measure (GAM) – reveal that the BBC’s weekly global news audience, which is measured each year, has increased by 18m people, or7 per cent since last year, to a record-breaking 283 million. This means that one in every 16 adults around the world uses BBC News.

     

    For the first time, television (148m) overtook radio (133m) as the most popular platform for BBC international news, and it is also the first time since we tracked audiences for all three platforms – radio, TV and online (55m) – in English and 28 other languages – that they’ve all grown in the same year.

     

    The BBC World Service’s audience has increased by 10 per cent in its first year of licence fee funding and now stands at 210m, with the biggest boost coming from new World Service TV news bulletins in languages other than English.

     

    The biggest growth for a single service comes for BBC World Service English, which has its highest ever weekly reach ever with an audience of 52m, an increase of more than 25 per cent. The countries where the audience increases for World Service English have been highest are Nigeria, USA, Pakistan and Tanzania.

     

    BBC Global News Ltd’s audience has grown to 105 million with World News TV’s up by 12 per cent, and bbc.com/news growing by 16 per cent.

     

    Fran Unsworth, Director of the BBC World Service Group, said: “These amazing figures demonstrate the importance and impact of the BBC around the world.

     

    “In times of crisis and in countries lacking media freedom, people around the world turn to the BBC for trusted and accurate information. Thanks to our digital innovation we now have more ways than ever before of reaching our audience – from the Whatsapp Service we set up during the West Africa Ebola outbreak to our pop-up Thai news stream on Facebook following the military coup.”

     

    Tim Davie, Director, Global and CEO, BBC Worldwide, said: “Today’s audience numbers show the global reach of the BBC to be strong and growing.  The consumption of branded BBC services across TV, radio and digital platforms speaks to the international appetite for premium content across all the genres for which we are best known – primarily news, but increasingly for drama, factual and entertainment.”

     

    “Having a robust but prudent measurement system in place also helps increase our understanding of our audiences, enabling us to serve them to the very best of our ability in the future.”

     

  • MxMIndia Consulting Editor Jaisurya Das is back with Dear MxM, a special online counselling service that will now appear every Thursday. Write to him at editor@mxmindia.com with Dear MxM in the subject line

    Dear MxM: Sir, I am only one of the four males in my office of 30 women. I feel I get ‘harassed’…

    By Jaisurya Das

     

    It’s lovely to be back with unarguably the best media and marketing site in the country. The MxM edge is its razorsharp news gathering, simplicity of reportage and most importantly its inherent ability to connect with almost every audience segment. Write in to me with your questions at editor@mxmindia.com and I will try and respond to them. Please put Dear MxM in the subject line.

     

    Sir, all global media bigwigs say that media is going digital. Even in India, various forecasts, digital media is growing very rapidly. But the numbers are really small, and there is no spectacular work being done in digital advertising. Is it the right horse to ride on?

    It’s not only the right horse but it’s a sure winner. Let’s not get into the numbers, but the fact of the matter is that India is a behemoth that is growing. Digital is replacing traditional media the world over. The younger digital generation members empower themselves with what interests them. Period.

     

    Inherent attributes of digital media, that is, customization, portability and the sheer depth of

    information at the press of a key make it a sure  jackpot winner. Internet and mobile data connectivity across our country will be its catalyst for success.

     

    Remember the best investments are made much before any brand, product or media is established firmly in the consumers mind.

     

    Go for it friend !

     

    I want to be a television journalist in Marathi, but all the good educational institutes teach in English. Should I take admission there – to an IIMC, Jamia or SIMC or should I just apply directly to the channel and learn on the job?

    That’s good to hear, since there’s always need for more sharp young journalists in the country. The fundamental principles of journalism and the fine nuances of broadcast are best learnt at a good institute. The language is just a medium of dissemination, so today it’s Marathi, tomorrow it could be Mandarin or Kannada next and yet you will be empowered and skilled enough to adapt to a new medium  of delivery and handle it with the same élan.

     

    Learn everything that it takes to make you a good journalist. That’s all that matters in separating the wheat from the chaff. Good luck !

     

    Sir, this is a personal question. I find that I am only one of the four males in my office of 30 women. The others are administration guys and office boys. Sometimes I also feel that I get ‘harassed’ for being a male in a women’s office. Should I look for another job?

    Why would you look for another job for this reason? Think for a momen: the tables are turned and it’s a male-dominated workplace, would you have thought the same way?

    Felling harassed is a state of mind and often because some insecurity creeps into one’s thinking.

    However if it’s bordering on sexual harassment or vindictiveness, it’s probably prudent to move on.  Think and act my friend. You’ll do fine. All the best!

     

    DearMxM will appear every Thursday. Write to our Consulting Editor Jaisurya Das at editor@mxmindia.com and please put Dear MxM in the subject line.

     

  • India Today Group CEO Ashish Bagga on the launch of the rebranded news channel last week

    ‘We want India Today TV to be #1 in Viewers’ Faith’

     

    The India Today group has in the recent past been working hard on having all its media brands work in sync with each other. Last Saturday, at 6pm on May 23 to be precise, Headlines Today, the group’s English-language news channel, was rechristened India Today Television, named after the flagship news magazine. In this interview with MxMIndia, Ashish Bagga, Group CEO, India Today talks about the rebranding and how more than ratings, the objective is to make the channel numero uno in viewers’ faith.

     

    Over the last few months, ever since Karan Thapar and Rajdeep Sardesai have come on board, Headlines Today has seen a steady rise in popularity (though I am sure your marketing team will say that rise started even before they came on board). So why change the name?

    The brand equity of a 40 year legacy is incomparable to any product of today. The attributes the new channel will stand for, like Zero bias, Credibility, Neutrality, Depth are best communicated in two words ‘India Today’ – the brand that has defined the national agenda  – A brand that is in itself an institution of purest form of journalism. At a time when this viewer is yearning for meaningful journalism, what better way to deliver it than with a name that’s stood for it and stands for it. Ushering and nurturing top editorial talent was part of the strategy for the launch of INDIA TODAY TELEVISION.

     

    The Hindi edition of India Today magazine (the printed avatar) has the same name as the English one. Will you consider changing the name of Aaj Tak (the TV Channel) to India Today? Why?

    Aaj Tak has been an undisputed leader for 14 years since inception and has lately achieved a continuous 100 week nonstop leadership streak. It is a symbol of unshakeable trust and the nation turns to only one news channel when it really matters…. Trust is built with a lot of hard work and sincerity over many many years… A question to rename, therefore definitely does not arise.. India Today and Aaj Tak are both mega brands and playing their roles very very well in respective spaces.

     

    We see the aggressiveness in English news channels really hard to beat – quite like it took a long, long time to get over the ‘angry young man’ image of Amitabh Bachchan era of the 1970s and early 80s. In the Hindi genre too, we have seen that the dumbing down has played rich dividends? Do you think a serious news channel will ever work in terms of ratings?

    News consumption habits have evolved considerably with people consuming news content across media and platforms. TV news is still linear and gives only one story at a time leading to lot of missed news and viewer disconnect. What this space awaits is revolutionising the delivery and integrating with digital. An involvement level of the consumer needs to be built in. If you’ve got these elements right, there is definitely not just space but a very strong opportunity for a serious news channel. On Hindi, I disagree with dumbing down. Talking the people’s language and dumbing down are two very different things. I think all the channels in leading position are taking their news and content very seriously.

     

    Running an English channel obviously requires huge investments of monies. Is it really worthwhile making such huge investments at a time when the environment is uncertain and the ‘achche din’ haven’t really arrived?

    We’ve had an increasing rate of return on the investments made on the English channel. If the product is drawing quality audience, revenue will follow. Yes, costs are high, but they also bring along disproportionate returns if the strategy is right and the brand is strong. More so in the English news space than any other.

     

    Given the current scenario in English news television, do you think the one-upmanship which typically exists in the space can also mar the image of India Today, which has a 40-year-old legacy, brand dominance and is much trusted?

    The purpose of India Today Television’s entry is to try and move the genre away from one-upmanship. The only person who should be one up, should be the new news consumer. A consumer who has options, a consumer who sees through the claims, a consumer who prefers depth over breaking news, a consumer who doesn’t want forced opinions. If we keep our consumer ahead, we believe we keep ourselves ahead

     

    As per information that we’ve got from the market, the ad rates of Headlines Today were much, much lesser than those of a Times Now. Will all of that change?

    The feedback has been very positive. While we wouldn’t like to disclose our commercial rates or to enter a comparison, we are surely seeing an upward tick even before the launch

     

    The India Today group also has some other English products in the general news space – Mail Today and Daily O. Will see a rechristening there too?

    No plans

     

    Any targets of by when do you hope to see yourself as the #1 All-India?

    The space in TRP terms is very small and rankings change week by week. Therefore, our attempt is to first become No.1 in the viewer’s faith – his/her reliability on our news. To become the destination channel when it matters to him/her. To stand out as a news channel that makes sense. The rankings will follow… is a matter of time. What is more important is to become the viewer’s knowledge source and not an entertainment hangout.

     

  • New design captures the playful and youthful elements

    Flipkart refreshes brand identity; unveils new logo

    By A Correspondent

     

    After eight years of innovating and transforming the shopping landscape in India, Flipkart has now undergone a brand identity refresh. Starting with a new logo, the brand has now been refreshed across all the elements that have made it endearing to millions across India.

     

    Conceptualized and designed by Flipkart design team and an external agency called Umbrella Design – the new brand identity represents Flipkart’s vision of commerce in India by reinstating its focus on the mobile platform. The 3D design and contrasting color palettes in the new logo helps break the clutter and stands out on the mobile platform. The added zest and flavors in the logo make the brand more appealing and inclusive to all its audiences.

     

    The refreshed personality will reflect in all forms of the company’s messaging and engagement with customers. It will help customers experience ‘One Flipkart’ every time and at all touch points. Every stakeholder, be it customers, sellers, media, brand partners, vendors or employees, will experience a more witty, youthful and sincere Flipkart.

     

    Speaking on this ocassion, Shoumyan Biswas – Senior Director, Marketing, Flipkart said, “The refreshed brand identity, including the new logo, is a reflection of our promise to our stakeholders – youthful, innovative, fast and reliable. We have always been ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving industry and the new brand identity honours the legacy that we have built over the last eight years and at the same time looks into the future.”

     

    Shoumyan further added, “While developing the New Logo, we focussed on three key elements – one, the new identity had to create a positive perception about our Brand; two, the logo needed to be more inclusive in its appeal to all our customers and three, given our focus on the mobile platform it had to stand out on the app interface. With our new Brand Logo, I believe that we have achieved all of these.”

     

    This activity dovetails with Flipkart’s business focus where in the coming year, the brand wishes to reach everyone who has a pin code and a smart phone and fulfil their desires for great products at surprisingly delightful prices.

     

  • Announces Adobe as a preferred partner

    ZO sets up Centre of Excellence for media tech

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tanmay Mohanty

    ZenithOptimedia’s Performics announced setting up a full-fledged digital media technology Centre of Excellence, a first of its kind in India, out of their Bangalore office. This will provide capabilities on real time segmentation and insights, services across marketing automation, attribution, data modeling, content and commerce. The centre will specifically cater to the Indian sub-continent.

    Comments Tanmay Mohanty, MD Performics, India “This centre is set up to provide solutions for comprehensive and integrated marketing, that will enable marketers to measure, personalize, and optimize marketing campaigns and digital experiences across screens and platforms. As you would know, globally Publicis has partnered with Adobe for these ‘Always On Solutions’ that will power insights and data fuelled planning globally for Publicis. The preferred partnership between Performics India and Adobe is already gaining traction with customers such as Airtel and Tata AIG already migrating to Adobe Marketing Cloud. Many other organizations are showing similar interest.”

     

    Anupriya Acharya

    Anupriya Acharya, Group CEO ZenithOptimedia group, India elaborates, “This is something that we have been working on for some time and in our assessment, the time is ripe to set up a centre like this. Online video is seeing explosive growth thanks to the explosion of mobile video consumption and the spread of internet-connected devices like desktop computers, tablets and television screens. All key social media platforms are developing their video products; and more online video is being sold by programmatic buying, providing advertisers with more control and better value. We find that currently a lot of clients, especially in the e-commerce and mobile segment have to work with media technology companies that are outside of India and have a hard time getting the time and attention they require. Inside India we will be testing multiple technologies against client requirements.  Both our teams and clients are excited about it.”

     

    Kulmeet Bawa, Director – Enterprise, South Asia, Adobe says, “Top brands around the world across industry verticals use Adobe Marketing Cloud to reach and engage customers, and our partnerships go a long way in making this possible. We congratulate ZenithOptimedia’s Performics on the establishment of their first centre of excellence for media technologies in India and are certain that customers in India will benefit immensely from this set up.”

     

  • This includes states like Jammu Kashmir, North East and Goa, which were never measured earlier

    BARC to report Individual Ratings Data from next week

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s been a month now since BARC India launched services with week 16 data from a panel of about 12,000 households from cities and towns with population more than 100,000 all India. This includes states like Jammu Kashmir, North East and Goa, which were never measured earlier.

     

    The Board of Directors of this Joint Industry Body have now decided to take the next step to release Individual Ratings Data starting with Week 21 (Saturday, 23rd May to Friday, 29th May). This will now be released every Thursday from 4th June.

     

    Partho Dasgupta

    Partho Dasgupta, CEO – BARC India said, “Response from broadcasters and advertising agencies has been very good. While all broadcasters were using the household data to their benefit – now with Individual data releasing, media planners, buyers and advertisers can make the most of it too. This is the next launch in our series of phased launches for the world’s largest and most modern audience measurement system.”

     

  • Maps has been an integral part of the agency's success story, maneuvering brand strategy for some of the largest and most challenging domestic and international brands in India

    Mindshare realigns S Asia leadership

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mindshare APAC, the global media agency network part of WPP has realigned senior leadership in South Asia, as part of the ongoing commitment to delivering adaptive planning and thinking, for clients and dynamic markets.

     

    M A Parthasarathy

    M A Parthasarathy, popularly known as Maps, currently Chief Client Officer, has been named Chief Product Officer – South Asia. In his new role, Maps will lead a community of Communications Strategy & Analytics experts across 10 Mindshare offices in South Asia.

     

    He will drive usage of Mindshare’s proprietary “Original Thinking” framework, and evolves the bespoke set of tools, strategic product partnerships and crafts analytics solutions to address diverse marketing issues. Having been with Mindshare for over six years, Maps has been an integral part of the agency’s success story, maneuvering brand strategy for some of the largest and most challenging domestic and international brands in India.

     

    Ruchi Mathur

    Ruchi Mathur has been appointed as Leader, Client Leadership – North. In her previous role as Principal Partner on the Pepsico business, Ruchi spearheaded a range of ground breaking activity. With over ten years at Mindshare, her acute knowledge of brands coupled with her infectious energy has resulted in making Pepsico one of the most coveted brands in the country.

     

    Saket Sinha returns to the Mindshare family as Principal Partner leading Rodeos and the East Zone. In his previous role, Saket was championing business in new geographies for GroupM, creating expansions for the network in several new markets.

     

    Saket Sinha

    Saket will be reporting in to Ruchi Mathur for Rodeos and Prasanth Kumar, CEO Mindshare – South Asia, for the East Zone. Maps and Ruchi in turn will report into Prasanth Kumar directly.

     

    Commenting on this re-alignment, Prasanth Kumar, CEO Mindshare – South Asia said: “As pioneers in adaptive marketing, we are focused on creating a team that continues to open up more possibilities and set ourselves apart, with the capability to merge strategy with market intelligence. As we advise our clients to change mindsets that reflect in the communication they partake in, so does our commitment strengthen to ensure our best talent to service the brands we work with. Maps, Ruchi and Saket have always been an integral part of the Mindshare family. Each one of them brings their expertise to the table and I am confident that they will continue to take Mindshare to greater heights.”

     

  • The Essel group company has awarded its creative mandate to Scarecrow Communications after a comprehensive pitch process

    Zee Learn Appoints Scarecrow as its creative agency

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee Learn, an arm of the Essel Group and one of the leading education companies in India, has awarded its creative mandate to Scarecrow Communications. The agency was selected after a comprehensive pitch process. It may be noted that Scarecrow already handles multiple brands of the Essel Group including &Pictures, Zee Khana Khazana and DittoTv.

     

    Zee Learn pre-schools chain Kidzee (which has 1350+ pre-schools in more than 500+ cities), Mount Litera Zee schools, Brain Cafe, Zee Institute of Creative Art and Zee Institute of Media Arts.

     

    Confirming the news, KVS Seshasai, Chief Executive Officer, Zee Learn Limited said, “In Scarecrow, we found the perfect blend of creativity and passion that can empower our journey to the next level. Also, we are poised for strong growth across different categories and this journey with our creative partner will play  a critical role in bringing strong ideas and innovations to life for our brands”

     

    “With Scarecrow Communications as our creative agency, we are confident their passion for creativity will help us communicate our passion and excellence in knowledge building”, added Abhinav Upadhyay, Head – Marketing and Innovation, Zee Learn Limited.

     

    Raghu Bhat

    Said Raghu Bhat, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications said, “At a personal level, I am very happy to be working on Zee Learn as this is an interest area. But there are two other things that make this mandate even more exciting. Firstly, the sheer audacity of Zee Learn’s vision plus the role of communication in realising it and secondly, the company is very entrepreneurial in its approach.”

     

    Added Arunava Sengupta, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications: “We are thrilled to be partnering Zee Learn at such an important stage of the brand life cycle. Through this mandate, we have an opportunity to touch of lives of children from the ages of 2 to 18. That is very satisfying.”

     

  • Starcom MediaVest CEO Laura Desmond says media firms are selling themselves short by harping on scale

    Betting big on India with data analytics & search

     

    By Ravi Balakrishnan

     

    Starcom MediaVest Group’s CEO Laura Desmond in conversation about building a media and content company that is future-ready:

     

    This is something we’ve always wanted to ask a media agency CEO. What are your media consumption habits like?

    I am a daily online newspaper reader: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist and then the newspaper of my city, The Chicago Tribune. I spend a decent amount of time with Twitter and Facebook keeping up with friends, getting news and information. When I am home, I watch a lot of sports. That’s what gets my attention, if I’m watching something live. Everything else is time shifted. I saw the first couple of seasons of Mad Men on my iPad in planes. I also watch Breaking Bad, Homeland and Jimmy Kimmel.

     

    Maurice Levy has spoken about how he’d like Publicis to be a hybrid between an internet and an advertising holding company. Where does SMG fit into those plans?

    SMG is not only at the centre of those plans, in some respects, it has led some of the thinking. Agencies and companies that have made a commitment to data and ad tech will drive the business and have a bright future. Those who do not risk losing scale and becoming irrelevant. Over the last three years, we’ve been working on Playbook 2017. It’s about moving on from a world where we have driven digital billings as a source of our business to about 55 per cent. We’ve jumped the analogue-divide. We are more of a digital, data and content company

     

    You’ve bagged a lot of trophies at the creative awards of late. Did that require a different approach?

    In 2014, we were global network of the year at Cannes, the Effies and Festival of Media — that’s never been done before. We wanted to commit to them since we saw those platforms as a way to elevate the craft of our work. Our view is that media not only should be the distributor of big ideas but can create them via partnerships as well as understanding how people live and what they need.

     

    We created a global product committee about 5 years ago. 25 leaders around the world meet four times a year to review our work, develop strategic initiatives for some of our focus clients looking for breakthroughs and guide entries at all award shows. A lot of media companies just want to be about scale. And that’s selling what media can and should do, so short. Effective media and communication is really creativity, scale and technology all coming together.

     

    You’d made a video on five do’s and don’ts for agencies sending entries to Cannes. How well are they followed at SMG?

    (Laughs) We are a lot better than we used to be. Like everyone, we are guilty of falling in love with work too much, not editing enough and using tech insider language. We really need to work hard on trying to make our work and how we talk about it simple. Sometimes there’s too much sausage making going on.

     

    How satisfied are you with the Indian operations?

    It’s a very important emerging market. And very important when it comes to strategic developments with data analytics and search. As you know, we acquired Convonix two years ago and it’s more than doubled in size. It’s working for Tata and Lodha, two of the largest clients in the country, and doing global search work for nine of our global network clients across the UK, the US, Europe and Latin America.

     

    15 per cent of the workforce in SMG lives and works in a market outside of their home country. I met the team at Convonix and issued a challenge that I’d like to see 10 per cent to 15 per cent of them go across the global network.

     

    The future leaders of SMG and other media companies will be global citizens who work and live abroad. They don’t have to be from the UK or the US at all. But no matter where you come from, you need to have a global outlook.

     

    Has the nature of what your clients expect from an agency like yours changed?

    We are trying to understand where the future dynamics are going and building capability around it. We bring the ideas to our clients many of whom are very supportive. Some of the things we have been building is a suite around data and analytics. We are working on understanding paths to purchase. Incredibly important tools for clients who need to understand what’s working and why. We’ve also developed our content practice. We are not interested being in the 30 second ad business; that’s for others. But content that can live inside a show or associated with a program that has a halo effect on the brand’s equity and vice versa.

     

    Are there any acquisitions on the anvil in India?

    Quite possibly yes but we never give anything away too soon. We have zeroed in on the digital business, performance and content.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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