MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • Space Lab announces 60 finalists of ‘Send Students' Experiments into Space'. The competition received thousands of entries from more than 80 countries; US leads in number of finalists followed by India, Poland, Canada and Spain.

    9 Indians among YouTube Space Mission finalists

    By A Correspondent

     

    YouTube, Lenovo, and Space Adventures in cooperation with space agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), on Wednesday announced the sixty finalists of YouTube Space Lab (youtube.com/spacelab), the global science competition that challenges 14-18 year-olds to design a science experiment that can be performed in space.

     

    YouTube Space Lab received thousands of video submissions from more than 80 countries, a remarkable number given the unique challenge of designing an experiment that could actually be carried out in space – something that has traditionally been the mission of qualified astronauts and scientists. Entrants not only described their science experiment ideas via video, but demonstrated and animated the procedures they were submitting.

     

    TheUS led with 10 finalists, followed byIndia with nine. Rounding out the top five countries in terms of total submissions arePoland,Canada, andSpain.

     

    Starting from January 18 through January 24, the YouTube community will be invited to judge these entries alongside a prestigious panel of judges, including renowned scientist, Professor Stephen Hawking, NASA’s Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s Associate Administrator of Education and former Astronaut Leland Melvin, ESA Astronaut Frank De Winne, JAXA Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and Cirque du Soleil’s founder Guy Laliberté, to determine the winners.

     

    YouTube users and the judging panel will determine 6 regional winners (2 teams from each of the 3 regions) who will travel to Washington, DC, where the global winners (2 teams from each age group) will be announced in March.

     

    “We’re thrilled with the response to YouTube Space Lab,” said Zahaan Bharmal, Google’s Head of Marketing Operations, Europe, Middle East, andAfrica, and the man behind the idea for Space Lab.  “They rose to the challenge – demonstrating great imagination, creativity and passion with their ideas. Our mission was to inspire the next generation and the response shows, we’ve done just that. Today’s Space Lab entrants are tomorrow’s space explorers,” he added.

     

  • Superstars Mohan Lal and Mammootty also honoured the King Khan for his outstanding contributions to the Indian film industry

    Mollywood honours King Khan at Ujala-Asianet Film Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The 14th Ujala-Asianet Film Awards 2012 took place recently in a glittering function held at theFestivalCity,Dubai, with almost 25,000-strong crowds gathered to witness the action. Several prominent persons from the film industry and socio-cultural spheres were present on the occasion.

     

    Asianet Managing Director K Madhavan presented the Millennium Actor award to Shahrukh Khan, the King Khan of Indian cinema. Mollywood superstars Mohan Lal and Mammootty also honoured the King Khan for his outstanding contributions to the Indian film industry.

     

    The event was attended by stars from South Indian film industry and had colourful performances by leading Malayalam artistes along with stars from Tollywood and Bollywood. Dhanush, Asin, Vidya Balan, Dilip, Madhavan, K B Ganesh Kumar, Kalabhavan Mani, Jagathi Sreekumar, Jagadheesh, Nedumudi Venu, Maniyan Pillai Raju, Lakshmi Gopalaswami, , Archana Kavi, Sibi Malayil, Siyad Kokker, Menaka , and Suresh Kumar were among the stars who attended the function.

     

    Pranayam won the award for the best film, which was accepted by the producer Sajeev and director Blessy. Ranjith won the award for the best director for Indian Rupee. Mammootty was honoured as the Cultural Icon of Kerala for his outstanding contributions in various fields. Mohan Lal won the best actor award for his role in Pranayam and Kavya Madhavan won for the best actress for Gadhama & Bhakthajanangalude Sradakku.

     

    Other winners include Asin ( Pride of Kerala in Bollywood), Vidya Balan & Madhavan (Asianet Golden Star), Dhanush (Popular Tamil Actor), Kunchako Boban (Youth Icon of the Year), Innocent (best Supporting Actor), K P A C Lalitha (best supporting actress), Siddique (best villain), Suraj Venjaramoodu (best actor in a comic role), M Jayachandran (music director), Hariharan (playback singer- male), Shreya Ghoshal (playback singer-female).

     

    Asianet will telecast Ujala Asianet Film Awards 2012 on January 21 and January 22 at 6.30PM.

  • Wins awards for Mildred Pierce, Game of Thrones and Enlightened at the 69th Golden Globes.

    HBO wins 3 Golden Globes

    By A Correspondent

     

    HBO recorded three wins at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards for Mildred Pierce, Game of Thrones and Enlightened. The award ceremony took place on January 15 in Los Angeles.

     

    Kate Winslet won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Mildred Pierce. Mildred Pierce is the story of a proud single mother struggling to earn her daughter’s love during the Great Depression in middle-classLos Angeles. The five-part miniseries, produced in association with MGM and directed by Oscar nominee Todd Haynes, was adapted from the story by James M Cain’s 1941 novel of the same name.

     

    Peter Dinklage won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Game of Thrones. This epic HBO Original fantasy series is based on George R.R. Martin’s best-selling ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ books. It traces the struggle for the Iron Throne where kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men… all will play the Game of Thrones.

     

    Both Mildred Pierce and Game of Thrones premiered in 2011 on HBO India.

    Laura Dern won Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series for her turn as Amy, a self-destructive health and beauty executive who has a very public workplace meltdown in Enlightened. The series is an offbeat HBO Original Series which follows Laura Dern’s Amy as she navigates an unconventional path between who she is, who she wants to be… and what everyone is willing to tolerate from her.

     

    HBO was launched in South Asia in September 2000, as a 24-hour English language movie channel.  HBO is the only English movie channel to feature cutting-edge award-winning original productions year on year. In 2011, HBO has won 19 Primetime Emmy awards already, which is maximum for any network.

     

  • Aradhana will have content taken from Kathakar and Morari Bapu, Kajal @ 9 will deal with issues and concerns ranging from relationships to career.

    Two new interactive programmes from MY FM Ahmedabad

    By A Correspondent

     

    On January 16, MY FM announced that it is all set to launch two new interactive programs – Aradhana and Kajal @ 9 – in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. These shows will have unique content with big names driving it.

     

    The show titled ‘Aradhana’ will be aired from 6 to 7 every morning in the spiritual time band and have content taken from Kathakar and Morari Bapu.

     

    Kajal @ 9, a show hosted by eminent Gujarati writer Kajal Oza Vaidya, will be aired from 9-12 pm, Mon – Fri. The show, going on air from January 16, will have Ms Oza Vaidya resolving issues and concerns, ranging from right from relationship to career. Ms Oza Vaidya’s first show will be based on Uttarayan, the kite flying festival ofGujaratand relationships.

     

    Harrish M Bhatia, CEO MY FM said: “We are committed to provide quality and innovative content to our listeners. We feel great that highly prominent and renowned personalities are extending their support to fulfill our commitment. The shows are interactive in terms of knowledge and entertainment.”

     

    MY FM, the radio business of DB Corp Ltd, took a bottom-up approach and started functioning from the Tier II cities of the country where the Bhaskar Group already had a stronghold. It set up its first station in Jaipur in 2006 and slowly expanded to 17 cities.

     

  • George Sebastian, who won a gold in the Maharashtra Posts exhibition, is the GM of Mathrubhumi and an avid philatelist.

    Mathrubhumi’s George Sebastian wins gold at stamp show

    By A Correspondent

     

    Matrubhumi general manager George Sebastian’s stamp exhibit titled ‘The Sun – Myths & Manifestations’ has been awarded the Gold Medal in the Thematic category, at Mahapex 2012, the philatelic exhibition organised by Maharashtra Posts in Pune. The awards were given at a glittering function, attended by prominent philatelists and stamp enthusiasts at the Shiv Chatrapati Krida Sankul, Balewadi.

     

    Mr Sebastian’s award-winning exhibit traced the various aspects of sun worship by different religions and cultures around the world, starting from the Incan and Mayan civilisations, right to the Egyptian and Indian civilisations.

     

    The impact of the ancient Sun cult Mithraism, on Christianity and other religions was brought in to focus by Mr Sebastian through the medium of philately.

     

    Stamps and covers from erstwhile states of Jaipur, Gwalior, Junagadh and Mewar illustrated the importance of Surya, as a god, in official insignia of early indian kingdoms.

     

    The impact the Sun has on literature and in our daily lives has been portrayed through stamps from around the world. Beautiful stamps and miniature sheets showcased aspects of solar eclipse, Copernicus’ heliocentric theory, and even Albert Einstein’s famous equation, E=mc2, found expression through stamps.

     

    Mr Sebastian, actively encouraged by his father, started collecting stamps at the age of 5. The exhibit ‘The Sun – Myths & Manifestations’ took over four years to complete. The exhibit also won the Trophy instituted by Col Dutta for ‘Best Research’.

     

  • The ranking of the best launches of fiction and non-fiction Hindi GEC shows has been derived from Ormax Media's awareness tracking tool Showbuzz.

    Colors dominates Ormax Media’s list of most effective launch campaigns in 2011

    By A Correspondent

     

    Colors delivered the best fiction launch campaigns in 2011 across Hindi GECs, while Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) on Sony was the top non-fiction launch campaign of the year, according to Ormax Media.

     

    The ranking of the best launches of fiction and non-fiction Hindi GEC shows has been derived from Ormax Media’s awareness tracking tool Showbuzz, which measures the awareness levels of new shows across various Hindi GEC channels. This ranking is a measure of the effectiveness of the campaign, irrespective of how the content fared thereafter.

     

    In the fiction shows ranking, Colors controls the top three positions and a total of four spots in the top 10. Listed below are the top 10 fiction launch campaigns of 2011:

    Rank Program Channel
    1 Phulwa Colors
    2 Mukti Bandhan Colors
    3 Sasural Simar Ka Colors
    4 Parvarish Sony
    5 Diya Aur Baati Hum Star Plus
    6 Parichay Colors
    7 Kuch Toh Log Kahenge Sony
    8 Hitler Didi Zee TV
    9 Mahadev Life OK
    10 Dharam Patni Imagine TV

     

    In the non-fiction list, Sony has three shows in the top 10, including KBC at the top spot. Bigg Boss Season 5 (Colors) is a close competitor to KBC, in terms of their launch impact. Listed below are the top 10 non-fiction launches of 2011:

    Rank Program Channel
    1 Kaun Banega Crorepati Sony
    2 Bigg Boss Colors
    3 Zor Ka Jhatka Imagine TV
    4 Sach Ka Saamna Life OK
    5 X-Factor India Sony
    6 Khatron Ke Khiladi Colors
    7 Ratan Ka Rishta Imagine TV
    8 Just Dance Star Plus
    9 Maa Exchange Sony
    10 Wife Bina Life Star Plus

     

    Research and consulting firm Ormax Media (www.ormaxmedia.com) specializes in the media and entertainment industry, working with India’s leading broadcasters, film producers, radio networks, print publications, media agencies and DTH service providers in the areas of qualitative research, quantitative research and consulting.

     

    Ormax Media is also the owner of 19 proprietary research products that are being used widely across the media industry. Set up in 2008 by Vispy Doctor and Shailesh Kapoor, the company partners with 81 leading media brands.

     

  • It is the first ever Indian shopping portal to deliver mobile devices directly from manufacturers to users.

    Nokia, Indiatimes join to launch NokiaShop

    By A Correspondent

     

    Nokia India in association with Indiatimes Shopping announced the launch of Nokia’s online store- NokiaShop, the first online shopping portal in India to deliver mobile devices directly from the manufacturer to the users.

     

    Nokia Shop will offer the entire portfolio of Nokia devices as well as accessories to the consumers at the convenience of online shopping.

     

    The association between the two leading organizations will serve as a game-changer in the growing Indian e-commerce space as users can now buy handsets directly from the manufacturer, without needing any dealer or reseller in between. For the online space this is an unprecedented initiative and will bring about a major shift in consumer behaviour in the mobile phone category.

     

    According to Viral Oza, Director- Marketing, Nokia India: “At Nokia, we have always invested ahead of the curve in setting up a formidable retail network. Today, as online shopping gains momentum, we are the first mobile handset company to set up a branded online store. Through our association with Indiatimes Shopping, we are confident that we will be able to offer a superior online shopping experience to our consumer by giving them an opportunity to buy directly from Nokia.”

     

    “This partnership is a step further in our aim to bring more offline brands to the online space. With our brand strength, resources, knowledge and credibility in the e-commerce space, we are confident of providing Nokia the right platform to connect with its users,” says Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet Ltd.

     

    Regarding the tie up, Gautam Sinha, Director Technology & e-commerce head, Times Internet Ltd said: “We are pleased to partner with a top brand like Nokia and help them reach their online customers. We hope to witness strong synergistic growth capturing majority of online mobile handset market in the next few months.”

     

    Consumers can make purchases from Nokia.indiatimes.com, and payment options are through credit card or cash on delivery. Customers can also convert their payment amount into interest-free EMIs.

     

    The Nokia Shop offers the entire range of Nokia devices, including smartphones, dual SIM phones, touch and type, Qwerty, touchphones and value phones. The prices offered on the online store are Best Buy prices.

     

    A recent report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) revealed that India’s e-commerce market is growing at an average rate of 70 per cent annually, and has grown over 500 per cent in the past three years alone. Given the potential of e-commerce industry, Indiatimes and Nokia are confident of high growth in the mobile phone category within the next two quarters.

     

  • For this project, Big Digital has brought together different verticals of the RBNL network for an effective and widespread promotion and visibility.

    Big Digital to handle digital promotions for Sadda Adda

    By A Correspondent

     

    Big Digital, the digital arm of Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd, has been promoting the Ramesh B Agarwal’s multi-starrer Sadda Adda, across various mediums. The youth-centric movie, which released on January 13, has attracted eyeballs due to its promotions on popular youth destinations on the digital space.

     

    Big Digital has embarked on various activities including Facebook and Twitter page management. The Facebook page is constantly kept updated with interesting insights about the movie, cast and constant interactions and discussions. The page is also kept updated with PR activities of the team and exciting contests. Big Digital is also promoting the songs on mobile via SMS push and WAP promotion.

     

    The YouTube channel’s promotional videos and songs of Sadda Adda have received over 87,000 video views so far (http://www.youtube.com/user/SaddaAdda). Popular websites like Yahoo! and Rediff have also been promoting the film and songs.

     

    For this project, Big Digital has brought together different verticals of RBNL network for an effective and widespread promotion and visibility. The partners include radio partner 92.7 BIG FM, TV partners BIG MAGIC and BIG CBS along with BIG Street for the OOH promotions.

     

    A spokesman for Big Digital said, “Sadda Adda’s widespread promotion on the digital platform has helped the film gain tremendous buzz and popularity. The film is for the youth and hence digital marketing has played a huge role in gaining eye balls. We hope to build many such properties for our clients.”

     

  • The most-read business daily launches applications for all mobile and tablet formats.

    Economic Times, now on mobile and tablet

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Economic Times,India’s most-read business newspaper and most-visited business and finance site, has now launched mobile applications for the iPad, iPhone, Android phone, BlackBerry, Nokia and Windows Phone.

     

    The apps combine ET’s cutting edge business news and market analysis with the best browsing experience, thanks to the simple navigation and clutter-free layout.

     

    The applications have been designed keeping in mind the audiences’ preference for live coverage of the business news and markets. All the apps provide in-depth and analytical coverage of the stock markets, with live stock quotes from BSE and NSE.  The sleek user-friendly apps feature the latest and most important news as it happens, along with the choicest of analysis and features from ET’s print editions.

     

    These apps also provide forex rates, commodities updates and news about the global markets. Stock recommendations and experts’ views from ET Now are featured through the market hours. Users can also track the stocks on their watch-list and monitor live gainers, losers and movers.

     

    Announcing the launch of these applications, Rishi Khiani, CEO of Times Internet Ltd, said: “This stack of ET Mobile apps fill an important need for ET readers. Within a short time of launch, ET’s iPad & iPhone apps topped the most popular charts on the Apple website. We have received a phenomenal response to our Android app as well. The latest entrants to our portfolio are apps for both Nokia Symbian/Anna smartphones and also for Windows. All the apps will be constantly upgraded and more features added in the weeks to come.”

     

    All Economic Times applications let users share articles or photos on Facebook and Twitter, and also via e-mail.

     

     

  • Within two days of launch, the new HFZ videos garnered over 1.5 lakh views and tremendous positive word-of-mouth on social networks.

    Airtel’s HFZ online campaign enters next phase

    By A Correspondent

     

    The youthful rendition of Airtel’s ‘Har Friend Zaroori Hai, Yaar'(HFZ) campaign and its accompanying foot-tapping friendship anthem resonated well with people of all age groups and backgrounds.

     

    On January 4, the company further extended this brand idea with the launch of its new online viral campaign on www.youtube.com/airtel and released seven entertaining videos depicting “friend types”: ‘Status Update Friend, Activist Friend and Filmi Friend and others, sourced from the online audience through an initiative on Facebook.

     

    Within two days of launch, these new HFZ videos garnered over 1.5 lakh views and tremendous positive word-of-mouth on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

     

    As part of the next phase of this campaign, Airtel, on Tuesday, released the next leg of these in videos – which viewers will be able to access, unlock (using the concept of ‘Gamification’) and share with others on social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Upon doing so, viewers will be able to gain points on the leaderboard and stand a chance to win exciting prizes daily as well as the grand prize of a trip to Ibiza.

     

    Airtel will periodically release a total of 20 videos on the web through the month of January.

     

  • The plane is branded entirely with the Nokia Lumia colours, and also features the names of Nokia employees responsible for the marketing initiative.

    Jet Airways unveils innovative airplane wrap for Nokia Lumia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Jet Airways and Nokia unveiled their ‘The Amazing Everyday’ campaign for Nokia Lumia on January 10. The Jet Airways Boeing 737-800 will carry the Nokia Lumia brand name on the aircraft. The jet will be branded entirely with the Nokia Lumia colours. The aircraft will also features the names of Nokia employees responsible for this marketing initiative.

     

    The campaign will continue till January 31, 2012. At present, the branding has been done only on one Jet Airways aeroplane. But plans are on to have this innovative wrap on other planes too as more and more brands may want to be advertised on airplanes.

     

    It is hoped that the ad will grab more eyeballs for Jet Airways as well as Nokia Lumia. This marketing initiative is also likely to open up new revenue streams for the airline.

     

    Besides the airplane wrap, Nokia has also announced a consumer competition, ‘Spot the Lumia’ where lucky winners will get an opportunity to make it to the ‘Sky Party’ on the aircraft on January 20.

     

    In a prepared statement Manish Dureja, Vice President, Marketing, Jet Airways said, “The aircraft wrap is a virtual advertising billboard that allows you to take your brand to the skies quite literally. We are certain that Nokia will reach out to its target customers through this unique branding opportunity. We are confident that this unique media vehicle will leverage the power of innovative brand communication to a focused group of prospects and will deliver value for money to brand managers acrossIndiathat opt to take their brands to the skies in the months ahead.”

     

    Prashanth Mani, General Manager, Nokia West India said, “We have created some amazing moments for our consumers since the launch of the Nokia Lumia range through the Lumia Taxi, flashmobs, flash cricket and luxury helicopter. Now the Lumia aircraft will take the ‘amazing quotient’ of this campaign a little higher.”