MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • The channel will work on inventory of 12 minutes per hour giving more content and news to the viewers that brings knowledge and empowers them.

    Zee launches FTA Hindi news channel, India 24×7

    India 24x7

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee Media Corp Ltd has launched India 24×7,  a national Hindi Free to Air (FTA) news channel today (Oct 24).

     

    While the news genre is traditionally seen as largely an individual viewing space, India 24×7 wishes to create a family appointment viewing experience, noted a communiqué.  Said Channel Editor, Vasindra Mishra “India 24X7 will choose clarity over aggression, Jankari over sensationalism. It endeavours to offer ‘distinctive news’ as opposed to breaking news, or sensational news. With our family viewing objective, the flavour of coverage will focus on the positive side of every story and also enliven us through its entertainment quotient,” adding: “If you look at existing news programmes, you will find that majority of the news channels are busy proliferating negativity in the society as if there is no hope available for them. But, India 24X7 believes in hope. We will try to fish out hope even from the tragic incidents.”

     

    The channel will work on inventory of 12 minutes per hour giving more content and news to the viewers that brings knowledge and empowers them. The channel will be available on most leading cable and DTH networks.

     

  • The brand identity for Voot has been created by transnational brand consultancy Brand Gym and Pune-based Elephant Design

    Viacom18 announces plans for OTT platform ‘Voot’. To be only source for all network content

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s the last of the big GEC-led broadcast networks to announce an OTT platform. But, then, the time is possibly just right to be in the business. Viacom 18 Digital Ventures, the digital arm of Viacom18, the brand name and identity of its OTT platform. The soon-to-be-launched service has been branded Voot,  “an expression used by the digital generation to express happiness, enthusiasm and triumph”. The brand identity for Voot, which is expected to go live in the next quarter, has been created by transnational brand consultancy Brand Gym and Pune-based Elephant Design.

     

    Voot will be the exclusive destination and source for all of Viacom 18 network’s content portfolio, including an independent and aggressive original programming strategy spearheaded by the seasoned broadcasting professional Monica Shergill.

     

    According to a communique, Viacom18 Digital Ventures has been working for the last few months with its set of strategic partners on the brand designand logo with the aim of keeping it distinctive, differentiated andin-sync with the brand mission to create a fun filled world of entertainment.

     

    Specifying the need for an exclusive new platform, Sudhanshu Vats, group CEO, said “As one of the fastest growing media companies in the country, for us at Viacom18, digital content creation, delivery and access are essential focus areas for driving growthThe brand mission of Voot is to create a whole new world of entertainment, filled with happy discoveries and addictive content”

     

    Said Gaurav Gandhi, COO, Viacom 18 Digital Ventures: “The idea of creating this new brand comes from our desire to create a new, alternate and differentiated world of entertainment for audiences in the digital space. The core essence of the brandis ‘infectious fun’ and ‘happiness’, and this is something that not only flows through in our bright and colorful logo, but will also resonate in our content philosophy.

     

    Working with strong technology, content & branding partners in India & across the globe, the new service will deliver high quality content to consumers on a wide variety of connected devices over Wi-Fi, 4G, 3G and 2G networks.

     

    ABOUT VIACOM18 DIGITAL VENTURES

    Viacom18 Digital Ventures is a newly created division within Viacom18 with a mandate to build consumer facing digital businesses for the company. In addition to building direct-to-consumer streaming businesses, Viacom18 digital ventures will also manage all digital licensing and monetization for the company’s content assets. The division will also look at expanding the group’s digital businesses and partnershipsvia both organic and in-organic routes.

     

    The mission of Viacom18 Digital Ventures is to entertain and enrich the lives of every online Indian, by bringing personalized world-class entertainment experiences on their connected screens

     

    For further information

    Siddharth Bijpuria

    Director – Corporate Communications

    Phone: 9920706646

    Email: siddharth.bijpuria@viacom18.com

  • The finding is from a recently concluded study by EY with global creative and digital advertising agencies, titled ‘What’s next in margin improvement?’

    Adding 2% or more of additional margin drives major bottomline results, say ad agencies: EY study

    By A Correspondent

     

    As high as 84% of agency respondents believe they could achieve margin improvement of at least 2% with more robust project and resource management processes, according to a recently concluded study by EY with global creative and digital advertising agencies, titled ‘What’s next in margin improvement?’.

     

    While 90% agencies have project managers, only 9% of those say that their project managers are formally trained in project management. Similarly, while 65% of agencies have resource managers, only 12% of those resource managers are trained in talent management or resource optimization. With the increased diversity of skills required, use of freelancers, crowd-sourced creative models and tech providers, there is an even higher demand for robust resource and project management.

     

    Additionally, the advertising business is seeing a fundamental change – from paying for people, clients are now paying for the output. The move away from the retainer model to project-based fees is also putting pressure on margins. The challenge is typically internal pertaining to poor infrastructure and managing talent. However, in this change of economic models, lies a sizable opportunity for agencies that have the capabilities to find value in such flexible arrangements, according to EY. Only 21% of respondents saw new economic models and performance-based fee structures as an opportunity.

     

    “The advertising industry is at a turning point in its cycle where the agencies will need to evolve their project and resource management skills in order to continue to be sustainable. Talent is their core asset and they should therefore have clear guidelines and processes, even for freelancers. Agencies will need to take into account the clients, employees and their self-growth when designing their strategy. A one-size-fits-all approach may not be profitable. They must be flexible depending on the complexity of projects and clients,” said Bharat Rajamani, Director and Solution Champion, Marketing and Advertising Risk Services, EY.

     

    The survey included inputs from nearly 50 agency executives from leading global agencies and represents combined revenues of approximately $58 billion.

     

  • Which of the media giants is is allied with or controlled by the Kremlin, Karl Marx’s ghost and the Vatican or the Mormons, wonders Ranjona Banerji

    Ranjona Banerji: Whiners gonna whine, but why the daft arguments?

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Most of my life in the media I have heard how opinion pieces are meaningless, no one reads edit pages, they are a waste of space which could be used to make money from advertising and so on. Marketing people plus journalists and editors with borderline writing skills would regularly produce data which showed that an edit page is read by two per cent of the newspaper readership. Some editors even got rid of the edit page when they were in charge of a newspaper.

    Now we have the piquant situation where the same editors and journalists have been putting their opinions out in the public domain and apparently, they love it. So the narrative changes when it suits their political perspective. Opinions, which no one reads, are now world- and life-changers and certainly influential when it comes to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

    Apparently, Modi has not just walked into a trap set for him by evil, liberal English language journalists, all of whom live in the part of Delhi built by the British architect Edwin Lutyen, but his life is being affected by this trap. Actually I do not know if this is one trap or many or whether there is one EVIL LIBERAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE JOURNALIST IN LUTYENS DELHI who is manipulating Modi’s fortunes like Gogia Pasha did with the waters of India or whether there are many.

    Oddly though there are a large number of journalists and commentators who have been supporting Modi since he became the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate before the 2014 general elections. These worthies also write in English and many live in Delhi though I am not familiar enough with the national capital to know the architects who built their particular houses.

    Should we name some of them? Let’s see. Swapan Dasgupta and Chandan Mitra, also editor-owner of the Pioneer, have long been BJP faithfuls and are regulars on TV channels and in newspapers. They are the genuine old guard. Then there are those who jumped on to the bandwagon or joined the party later like Minhaz Merchant and MJ Akbar, both very well-respected names in Indian journalism. Veteran journalist Tavleen Singh, academic and author Meghnad Desai and economist Surjit Bhalla delight us with their ideas on who exactly is ruining Modi’s party every week in the Indian Express. Author and India’s most influential opinion-maker amongst the young, Chetan Bhagat, regularly offers advice to Modi, the BJP, women, Muslims, people in general. R Jagannathan, till recently editor of the influential English news and opinion website firstpost.com has been regularly telling Modi the five things he should do today and the ten things he must do tomorrow.

    These are just some of the brightest and biggest names in the Indian media and Indian public space who are avid supporters of Narendra Modi and/or also the BJP.

    This is from Jagannathan’s recent article in firstpost on Modi’s media strategy and the evil English media. (Disclaimer: I have worked with Jagannathan when he was editor of the business section of DNA and later when he was editor of DNA. The Daily News and Analysis was first a joint venture between Dainik Bhaskar and Zee and was later bought out by Zee.)

    “Modi’s communication strategy is simply not working. Making a rousing election speech is Bihar and speaking from the heart at a Mann ki Baat session are, of course, important, but they can achieve little when your rivals have a better strategy and, moreover, control the mainstream English media, with allies in the powerful international media, the Indian and international Left, and the Christian Right in the US.

    Let’s look at some media houses, whose flagship journals and channels are in English. Firstpost is owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance and before that by Raghav Bahl’s Network 18. Dainik Bhaskar is owned by the Agarwal family of Bhopal. Zee is owned by Subhash Chandra. The Hindu is owned by the Kasturi family. Deccan Chronicle and Asian Age are owned by Ram Reddy. The Telegraph is owned by the Sarkars. The Hindustan Times is owned by the Birlas. The Times of India, by far India’s most powerful media group, is owned by the Jains.

    Which of these, I wonder, is allied with or controlled by the Kremlin, Karl Marx’s ghost and the Vatican or the Mormons.

    I have not mentioned the language media which is larger and more influential than any the entire English media regardless of whether language journalists live in homes designed by Lutyens or not. There is a fallacy that the language media is wholly in favour of the current prime minister and the BJP. Or that all journalists who write in languages other than English are cheerleaders for this dispensation. The argument of classism made by Swapan Dasgupta for instance is patronising in the extreme, implying that people who do not write in English cannot think for themselves or hold different and diverse viewpoints.

    Sadly, although I do not believe that no one reads edit pages or cares about opinions, I also do not believe that the media in India is strong or powerful enough to oust anyone from power. The people of India will decide and the people of India are intelligent enough to see through you, me and everyone. For all that Modi supporters in the media whine endlessly about how others in the media hate him and only support the Congress, remember that the Congress won only 44 seats in the 2014 general elections. The might of the Vatican and the US Bible belt and whoever else controls the Indian media was not enough.

    That might lead some of these worthies to realise how daft their arguments are but I doubt it. Like Taylor Swift could have sung, “Whiners gonna whine”.

     

  • Urban Development minister M Venkaiah Naidu launches real estate and property business news channel – Magicbricks Now

    Times property channel ‘Magicbricks Now’ to launch on Nov 1

    By A Correspondent

     

    The real estate business is said to on a low. Don’t get fooled by those big ads in the papers. Apartments aren’t selling as well as they should. But that hasn’t deterred Times Network to launch what is being billed as an “unbiased, trustworthy and authoritative perspective on the property business and will help its viewers ‘Be Un-Confused’ about the sector.

     

    This is tough to believe given that the Times group has pioneered offerings like Medianet which deals with editorial space in certain sections of the group’s publications being sold like advertising. Even discerning and values-driven business groups have embraced the cash-for-content innovation. In the light of this, it will be interesting to say how much the new channel will ward off the pulls and pressures of advertisers, and still offer unbiased and trustworthy content.

     

    While Minister Venkaiah Naidu said good things about the Times group and on the need for a property channel, here’s what others from the network said.

     

    Note: MxMIndia wasn’t present for the event held in Delhi, though we were invited to it. The invitation had the name of Editor-in-Chief and President – News Arnab Goswami, but the communiqué we received doesn’t bear his quote.

     

    M K Anand

    This is part of the quote from M K Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network:, “Magicbricks Now has been launched to guide the consumer through the complex and seemingly intimidating world of real-estate transactions.  While real estate is of paramount importance in the life of every Indian, equally, the space is full of complexities, jargon and confusion.  Magicbricks Now will provide unbiased, trustworthy and the most authoritative perspectives on the property business to help the consumer ‘Be un-confused’.”

     

    Faye D’Souza Editor, Magicbricks Now, said: “Magicbricks Now is here with a singular focus – on the end-consumer. Magicbricks Now will offer a rich array of programs that range from News bulletins to property hotlines, debates, leadership insights and more.”

     

    Sudhir Pai, CEO, Magicbricks.com added: “Magicbricks is delighted to be a part of this initiative with the Times Network. Our endeavour has always been to make our brand ubiquitous across media so as to provide consumers with rich and in-depth information when it comes to matters of property. With this association we leverage the visual appeal of television to communicate our rich data and analytics in an easy-to-consume manner for the consumer. With this launch, we strengthen the offering and make ourselves available at every touch point to consumers.”

     

    It may be remembered that Magicbricks.com is the popular online property transaction portal set up by the Times group.

     

    Meanwhile, the channel has has partnered has got on board Lotus Greens Developers Private Ltd and Mantri Developers Pvt.Ltd, as key sponsors from Day One.

     

  • Last year, the Grand Diwali Mela received over 5.5 million visitors in a course of 30 days. Over 150,000 samples were shipped across India, with 70 percent sample orders going to Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns

    GroupM brings back online Diwali mela with Google

    By A Correspondent

     

    Following the success of the 2014 edition, GroupM along with Google is bringing back India’s largest online Diwali celebration. This year, the online festival initiative has a new title sponsor in Askmebazaar.com. The other brands to come on board are Lakme, Horlicks, Kurkure and Hungama.com renewing their partnership with the Grand Diwali Mela and new partners Eno and Godrej Securities.

     

    Last year, the Grand Diwali Mela received over 5.5 million visitors in a course of 30 days. Over 150,000 samples were shipped across India, with 70 percent sample orders going to Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. The samples ranged from make-up, skincare and household products.

     

    On the second season of the Grand Diwali Mela, CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia said, “After the success of the ‘Grand Diwali Mela in year one, we are excited to bring the online festival back again this year. With a clear focus on taking the festival to not just metros, but also Tier 2 and 3 towns, where the mobile phone is their window to the world, GroupM and our partners are integrating traditional print, TV and radio with mobile and digital marketing.”

     

    Said Punitha Arumugam, Director Agency Business, Google SEA & India: “As more and more consumer products companies embrace the internet to drive sampling and consumer engagement, we’re delighted to partner Group M to scale this initiative further and help brands make the most of the opportunity online.”

     

  • The campaign won a $5,000 prize as five of 17 awards were from Made-in-India entries

    No Ullu Banoing this. Lowe bags Warc Grand Prix award for Idea

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    There was no hooting like we have in the Effies and the Emvies and also the Abby and Kyoorius. There were no men in black from Ogilvy. And even when the grand cash prize of USD 5000 (Rs 3 lakh-plus) was given away, there were just some loud claps.

     

    But, then, it was a closed door affair. Playing host to the evening was Madhukar Kamath and his team from DDB Mudra in Mumbai. It was held in the reasonably large hall on the sixth floor of Mudra House. There were plenty of nibbles and assorted liquids that you could just pick up.

     

    There were many reasons to celebrate the evening. For, as the market is getting tougher and advertising needs to deliver, the emphasis is on how strategy can work for your client.

     

    The Warc Prize for Asian Strategy celebrates the very best in strategic marketing in Asia. Entries are judged on the quality of strategic thinking and the results it delivers.

     

    More than 135 campaigns from across the region entered the 2015 Prize, with half of the shortlisted entries hailing from India.

     

    Entries were judged by a panel of senior marketers and agency-side strategy experts, chaired by BV Pradeep, Unilever’s global vice-president of consumer and market insight.

     

    A campaign for telecom major Idea Cellular won the Grand Prix at the Warc Prize for Asian Strategy awards.

     

    “Idea Cellular’s campaign ‘No ULLU Banoing’ was outstanding because it was based on a powerful and universal cultural insight that worked across the whole of India, across urban and rural populations and across socio-economic classes. The strategy expanded the market, strengthened brand equity and drove growth of sales revenues. To achieve all three deliverables with one campaign was really amazing,” said Pradeep in a statement.

     

    Seventeen campaigns from across the region picked up gold, silver and bronze awards at the Prize event in Mumbai. Five award-winning campaigns came from India with work from Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines also represented in the prize list. The Grand Prix, as we mentioned earlier, went with a $5,000 cash prize. Five other entries won Special Awards, each worth $1,000.

     

    The full list of winners can be viewed on the Prize website, www.warc.com/asiaprize, but we also have them here. A visit to the Warc site is recommended where you can get a look at the shortlisted stuff, some even without a paid subscription.

     

    Winning entries (Agency / Client / Market of Origin)

    Cash prize winners

     

    Grand Prix ($5,000 cash prize)

    Idea Cellular: The ‘fool-proof’ internet service
    (Mullen Lowe Lintas Group India / Aditya Birla Group / India)

     

    Market Pioneer Special Award ($1,000 cash prize)

    Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh: Anti-urinal campaign ‘language matters’
    (Grey Advertising Bangladesh / Ministry of Religious Affairs Bangladesh / Bangladesh)

     

    Research Excellence Special Award ($1,000 cash prize)

    Visa: Get Lost challenge
    (BBDO China; Proximity China; OMD China / Visa China / China)

     

    Channel Thinking Special Award ($1,000 cash prize)

    MasterCard: The Priceless Engine
    (TBWA\Digital Arts Network, Carat / MasterCard / Singapore)

     

    Local Hero Special Award ($1,000 cash prize)

    Havells: A woman is not a home appliance
    (Mullen Lowe Lintas Group India / Havells India / India)

     

    Asia First Special Award ($1,000 cash prize)

    Whisper: Touch the pickle
    (BBDO India / Whisper / India)

    Regional winners: Multi-Market

     

    Silver

    MasterCard: The Priceless Engine
    (TBWA\Digital Arts Network, Carat / MasterCard / Singapore)

    Regional winners: East Asia

     

    Gold

    Visa: Get Lost challenge
    (BBDO China; Proximity China; OMD China / Visa China / China)

     

    Silver

    Volkswagen: Project Polo – turning probationary drivers into professional ones
    (DDB Group Hong Kong / Volkswagen Hong Kong / Hong Kong)

     

    Bronze

    McDonald’s Hong Kong: Repairing a relationship in 12 weeks
    (DDB Group Hong Kong / McDonald’s Hong Kong / Hong Kong)

    Bronze

    AIDS Concern: Can coffee melt stigma?
    (TBWA Hong Kong / AIDS Concern / Hong Kong)

    Regional winners: South Asia

     

    Gold

    Idea Cellular: The ‘fool-proof’ internet service
    (Mullen Lowe Lintas Group India / Aditya Birla Group / India)

     

    Gold

    Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh: Anti-urinal campaign ‘language matters’
    (Grey Advertising Bangladesh / Ministry of Religious Affairs Bangladesh / Bangladesh)

     

    Gold

    Whisper: Touch the pickle
    (BBDO India / Whisper / India)

     

    Silver

    Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme: A crash course in recovering taxes from stubborn defaulters
    (McCann Worldgroup / Government of India / India)

    Silver

    Havells: A woman is not a home appliance
    (Mullen Lowe Lintas Group India / Havells India / India)

     

    Bronze

    Mawbima: The newspaper that stopped dengue in its tracks
    (Leo Burnett Solutions / Ceylon Newspapers / Sri Lanka)

     

    Bronze

    Tata Tea: From packaged good to packaging good
    (Mullen Lowe Lintas Group India / Tata Global Beverages / India)

     

     

    Regional winners: Southeast Asia

     

    Silver

    CebuanaLhuillier: Re-meet
    (Ace Saatchi & Saatchi / CebuanaLhuillier / Philippines)

     

    Bronze

    OMO: Reunion champions
    (Lowe + Partners / Unilever / Vietnam)

     

    Bronze

    Tiger Beer: How a brand that had lost its way found its way home
    (BBDO Singapore / Asia Pacific Breweries / Singapore)

     

    Bronze

    McDonald’s Singapore: Wake me up before you go go… for breakfast
    (DDB Group Singapore / McDonald’s Singapore / Singapore)

     

    Bronze

    IKEA: 2015 Bookbooklaunch
    (BBH / IKEA / Singapore)

  • The Garhwal Post has almost no local news now except updates of school events and has hardly any advertising, writes Ranjona Banerji

    Ranjona Banerji: Sad to see national biggies kill local dailies in Doon

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    When my parents moved to Dehradun about 16 years ago, you got the “dak” or “first city” editions of whichever English newspapers bothered to even come here. All news therefore was about two days late and there was almost no local news to speak of. Dehradun was then still part of Uttar Pradesh, a small town below a famous hill station, filled with schools and retired people.

     

    There were a couple of local English newspapers. The oldest, The Himachal Times (no explanation why it has that name except according to members of the Pandhi family who own it, some family member liked the name), was in broadsheet format and barely written in English. Local news was as fascinating as “Car locked for three hours on Rajpur Road frightens residents”.

     

    People recommended Garhwal Post, a tabloid and certainly it had more local news, better English, opinion pieces, gardening advice, plenty of nostalgia and fascinating beauty and household tips. It also had the other thing which a newspaper needs to survive: local and retail advertising.

     

    Then the Times of India arrived with a local edition last year. It took time to build itself up, which surprised me as I have some small experience with increasing local coverage in more than one journal and also in a Times of India edition. The resident editor was a non-resident editor then but over time, coverage has drastically improved.

     

    The Tribune of Chandigarh also has an excellent Uttarakhand bureau which rarely misses a beat. The state of Uttarakhand is divided between the Garhwal and Kumaon regions and sometimes we are in a “never the twain shall meet” situation, given bad connectivity. But both TOI and Tribune cross that gap easily.

    However there is a tragic side to this. As these larger newspapers have grown and overtaken the local space, the area for local newspapers to thrive has shrunk drastically. The Garhwal Post has almost no local news now except updates of school events. It also has practically no advertising.

    There is a piquant situation here. The reader gets more news from the big papers but to have an established paper which served you over the years die as a result is sad. A bit like the corner shop versus the gigantic mall problem but in the current economy in India, the small shop is still surviving and even thriving. The small newspaper however may find it more difficult without money.

    Having said this, there are still some shortcomings in local coverage. The Times of India especially, which prides itself on its glamour quotient, has not yet got the knack of tapping into local “high society” for its Doon Times edition. And, not enough retail ads either.

    **

    As the political atmosphere heats up in the country, as it is doing, TV debates have become more hysterical. BJP spokespersons have become more strident which makes everyone else around them even louder and soon you will be able to hear them even when the TV is on mute. Still, you have to admire the talent of a political spokesperson (of any party) to keep talking very loudly while saying absolutely nothing. Do they practise?

    Having said that, TV anchors who can control their panellists reminds a fond and distant dream. On Thursday night, the anchor (not Nidhi Razdan who is sharp and firm) on Left, Right and Centre on NDTV did not even challenge a spokesperson for calling every writer, artist, filmmaker and scientist in India “juvenile”, nor did she allow anyone to defend themselves against this appalling name-calling.

  • The Holmes Report is the most respected platform of the international public relations industry

    Adfactors PR is ‘Global Financial Consultancy of the Year’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Adfactors PR was recognised as the ‘Global Financial Consultancy of the Year for 2015’at The Holmes Report Global Public Relations Summit.The Holmes Report is the most respected platform of the international public relations industry and a leading source of news, trends and events for PR professionals.

     

    Adfactors PR won the coveted title against competition from a set of finalists, which included several leading financial PR firms from the US, Europe and Australia. This is the first time that an Indian PR consultancy has been selected for the top global honours.

     

    Separately, the firm’s PR campaign ‘Banking Giant SBI Wins Over Indian Millennials’ (client: State Bank of India) was ranked among the top 40 global public relations campaigns conducted during the period under review.

     

    The Holmes Report website says that these 40 campaigns were selected by a global jury out of more than 5,000 entries submitted from over 60 countries around the world. These campaigns were described as “the elite of the elite” by The Holmes Report – representing best practices in categories ranging from social media to social responsibility, and from public affairs to employee communications.

     

    Madan Bahal, co-founder and Managing Director of Adfactors PR, said, “The recognitions are a testimony to the trust of our clients and the outstanding work by our teams. It is a milestone event that will inspire us to get better and enhance our relevance in a fast-changing world.”

     

     

  • He will be taking on this new role in addition to his existing duties as the head of English Entertainment at Viacom18 which includes channels such as Vh1, Comedy Central and the recently launched Colors Infinity

    Ferzad Palia to also head MTV and Pepsi MTV Indies

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ferzad Palia

    Viacom18 has announced the appointment of Ferzad Palia as Head of Youth Entertainment with immediate effect. In his new role, Palia will head the MTV and the indie platform Pepsi MTV Indies. He will be taking on this new role in addition to his existing duties as the head of English Entertainment at Viacom18 which includes channels such as Vh1, Comedy Central and the recently launched Colors Infinity.

     

    Speaking about Palia’s appointment in this new role, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18 said, “Appointing Ferzad as the head of Youth Entertainment, along with being a logical move for us – considering his extensive experience in broadcast, is also a strategic one as we drive further synergies between Youth Entertainment and English Entertainment. Ferzad has been instrumental in transforming the English Entertainment landscape in India with Vh1, Comedy Central and Colors Infinity and I’m sure he will take both MTV and Pepsi MTV Indies to new heights of success.”

     

    Expressing his pleasure regarding his new role, Palia said: “MTV, is an iconic brand and it’s my pleasure to have been appointed to take it further on its journey to success. Pepsi MTV Indies with its pulse on the indie subculture in India has been a key driver of change and I’m really looking forward to working closely with the team on it. It’s a new and exciting role for me and I’m really looking forward to creating interesting brand customizations for the youth demographic while driving growth for both, youth and English entertainment brands at Viacom18.”

     

  • Samayam apps for Android can be downloaded online and can be accessed on the mobile web too

    Times Internet unveils digital news & infotainment brand ‘Samayam’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Times Internet (TIL) unveiled ‘Samayam’ – a news, entertainment and lifestyle content destination available in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam languages. ‘Samayam’ has been created to bridge the gap between users looking for quality content in their very own languages and trustworthy platforms providing them.

     

    Samayam is available as an android app, on mobile web and also on desktop. With the launch of Samayam, Times Internet’s language offerings are now available across eight languages – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi and Bangla – in addition to English.

     

    Speaking on the launch, Puneet Gupt, Head of News Business at Times Internet, said: “We are really excited to launch Samayam. Mobile led media landscape is evolving rapidly in India and we hope to become the destination of choice for millions of Indians and Indian diaspora users across languages and platforms.”

     

    Samayam apps for Android can be downloaded online and can be accessed on the mobile web too. Once a user sets a default edition or makes a language choice, subsequent visits to Samayam would directly take the user to his/her default edition.

     

  • The Insights2020 initiative examines the drivers of customer-centricity and how being a customer-focused company impacts business performance

    Insights2020 study highlights role of Insights and Analytics in driving customer-centric business growth

    By A Correspondent

     

    Seventy-four percent of companies that over-perform on revenue growth create customer experiences based on data driven insights, with only 30 percent of under-performing companies reporting the same, according to initial findings from Insights2020 – Driving Customer-Centric Growth, a global marketing leadership initiative. The study, led by Millward Brown Vermeer in partnership with The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), ESOMAR, LinkedIn, Kantar and Korn Ferry, builds on the findings of Marketing2020 and is focused on aligning insights and analytics strategy, structure and capability to drive business growth.

     

    Based on more than 325 in-depth interviews with senior marketing and insights leaders and 10,000+ interviews with practitioners across 60 markets, the Insights2020 initiative examines the drivers of customer-centricity and how being a customer-focused company impacts business performance. The research team analyzed over-performing and under-performing companies in terms of revenue growth to understand what over-performing organizations are doing differently to drive success.

     

    “More than a set of activities, customer-centricity is a strategy to deliver business value against customer needs, guided by brand purpose,” said Frank van den Driest, Chief Commercial Officer, Millward Brown Vermeer and Insights2020 global program leader. “Building on the findings from Marketing2020, Insights2020 found that companies that out-perform their peers on revenue growth do so by over-performing on key drivers of customer-centricity. With a robust and global sample, we are able to quantify the financial opportunity for any business and guide organizations on their journeys to customer-centricity. The connection is clear and it is time to elevate insights and analytics to the boardroom.”

     

    The research revealed a number of striking differences between over- and under-performing organizations, and all tie back to three key dimensions of customer-centric growth: Total Experience, Customer Obsession and Insights Engine:

    :: 83 percent of revenue growth over-performers link everything the company does to its brand purpose, as opposed to only 31 percent among revenue growth under-performers.

    :: 62 percent of over-performers leverage insights and analytics to drive consistency across all customer touch-points, only 26 percent of under-performers do.

    :: In 78 percent of over-performing companies, customer-centricity is fully embraced by all functions whereas this is only true in 12 percent of the under-performing companies.

    :: 66 percent of all over-performers are working to link their disparate data sources, compared with only 33 percent of under-performing companies doing so.

    :: The Insights and Analytics function reports straight into the CEO in 33 percent of over-performer companies; this is true for only 13 percent of the under-performers.

     

    Phase two of Insights2020, available in early 2016, will build on the key drivers of customer-centric growth and will explore the roadmap for helping brands reach customer-centricity.

     

    Laurent Flores, President of ESOMAR added, “Our industry and clients’ businesses are in a period of significant transformation. These findings present an opportunity for the research industry to increase our impact and play a pivotal role in driving customer-centricity and business growth.”

     

    Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Unilever, and chair of the Insights2020 advisory board said, “I am particularly excited about practical application opportunities highlighted by the initial findings. These findings offer every CMO and Insights and Analytics leader a clear list of focus areas and I look forward to building on our initial learning as we share and explore the findings with the industry.”

     

    Harish Bhat, Member, Group Executive Council, Tata Sons says, “Our market is changing very rapidly, the role of marketing too has changed beyond all recognition. Most marketers are probably asking themselves, how ready are each of our organizations to drive growth in this new age of the connected consumer.  This is indeed the dawn of a new age of marketing, with limitless possibilities and equally daunting challenges. Insights 2020 has looked to understand the role of insights and analytics profession in this context, and you will agree with me that the insights and analytics profession is critical to each of our organizations, our CEO’s and CMO’s, as we take our business forward into the future. This is a study of how companies in India and other parts of the world can make best use of insights and analytics to drive customer centric growth.  Its findings are an important foundation on which marketers can build.”

     

    Dinesh Kapoor, Chief Solutions Officer – South Asia, Millward Brown, said “Insights2020 underscores the point that in today’s fast-changing environment, being in constant touch with the customer is fundamental to continued business success. The only way to achieve that is to create a culture where customer-centricity is fully embraced by all functions, and all data sources are linked to get the sharpest insights that deliver the best customer experience across all touch points.”