Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL), the company behind Radio Mirchi and Gaana, has appointed Sumit Aggarwal as the Chief Strategy and Growth Officer.
In his new role, Aggarwal will lead the strategic vision and growth initiatives across all ENIL platforms, including radio, digital, and the company’s extensive events portfolio. With a focus on innovation, expanding audiences, and digital transformation, Sumit’s leadership will be key to strengthening ENIL’s position in the rapidly evolving media landscape.
Said Yatish Mehrishi, CEO at ENIL: “We are thrilled to welcome Sumit back to the ENIL family. His strategic mindset and extensive experience in the media sector will be invaluable as we continue to navigate the changing dynamics of the industry and explore new growth opportunities.”
Sony Sports Network has acquired the media rights to live broadcast the Hero Asian Champions Trophy 2024, set to take place in Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia, People’s Republic of China, from September 8 to 17, 2024.
Rajesh Kaul
Said Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer – Distribution & International Business and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India: “As the official broadcaster of the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024, we are thrilled to bring this prestigious tournament to hockey fans across the region. Audiences will get to watch Team India, the defending champions and Olympic Bronze medal winners playing for the first time since the Olympics Games Paris 2024. We are committed to serving hockey fans and delivering high-quality coverage that showcases the talent and competitive spirit of the best teams in Asia on Sony Sports Network. ”
Added Fumio Ogura, President, Asian Hockey Federation: “We are pleased to announce that the Hero Asian Champions Trophy 2024, a prestigious tournament showcasing the finest talent in Asian hockey, will be broadcast live on Sony Sports Network, one of the biggest broadcasters in the region. This partnership reflects our dedication to bringing the sport of hockey to a broader audience and ensuring that fans can witness some of the best hockey teams and athletes in action. Working together with Sony Sports Network, we aim to elevate the profile of hockey and inspire the next generation of athletes.”
Digitek has announces a collaboration with actors Janhvi Kapoor and Rohit Suresh Saraf. With this partnership Digitek will continue to expand its footprint in the realm of content creation and professional photography and videography equipment.
“We are delighted to welcome Janhvi and Rohit to the Digitek family,” said Amit Kumar Saraff, Managing Director of Digitek. “Their dynamic energy and widespread influence perfectly align with our brand’s vision. This association underscores our commitment to innovation and engaging meaningfully with our audience.”
Added Rajesh Joshi, Director of Chariot Productions Media Pvt Ltd, the agency facilitating this collaboration: “As the media partner for Digitek, we recognise the dynamic presence and widespread appeal that Janhvi and Rohit bring. Their alignment with Digitek’s brand values and vision will enhance our efforts to merge cutting-edge technology with the vibrant world of entertainment. We eagerly anticipate blending these elements to create something truly remarkable.”
Young creatives in India looking to break into the industry or find a new job can now get tickets for The One Club for Creativity’s global Portfolio Night 2024, hosted once again in person and virtually by BBDO India, DDB Mudra Group, and TBWA\India. This is close on the heels of Portfolio Evening hosted by Miami Ad School last week.
Established in 2003, Portfolio Night 2024 will be held virtually on October 10, followed by an in-person version in Mumbai on October 11.
Notes a commuPortfolio Night has also become a crucial tool for agencies in recruiting top young talent, providing a platform for recognition from local industry peers, and giving agencies a place on the global stage as the ad world tunes in to this one-of-a-kind event.
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) appointed Partha Sinha, President and Chief Brand Officer of Bennett Coleman & Company Limited, as Chairman of the ASCI Board of Governors for 2024-25. Sudhanshu Vats, Deputy Managing Director, Pidilite Industries Limited, was appointed Vice-Chairman, and S Subramanyeswar, Group CEO & Chief Strategy Officer-APAC, Lintas India Private Limited was appointed Treasurer.
Sinha expressed a compelling vision for ASCI. “Being the chairperson of ASCI is both an honour and a profound responsibility, especially as our industry is under greater scrutiny by our stakeholders. With rapid changes in the digital environment and the emergence of new challenges. ASCI is committed to not just keeping up but to staying ahead. Deploying technology and AI to monitor errant advertising as well as putting our might behind preventive measures will be our focus in the days to come. This will ensure that creativity and responsibility coexist, creating an ecosystem that values consumers and encourages innovation.”
Reflecting on his term, outgoing Chairman Saugata Gupta said: “Leading ASCI through a period that witnessed significant development and change has been a privilege. This year has been marked by historic milestones, including the formation of the ASCI Academy, which has become a cornerstone in promoting responsible and progressive advertising. Our commitment to training and capacity building, creating new direction via our thought leadership work, reflects a culture of responsibility from the ground up.”
You usually do not go and tell the supply chain team which model they should use for forecasting. Or the CFO what type of accounting she or he should do.
Or question a tech guy on why python and not, say, C++.
Or a management consultant why this framework?
Because intuitively we tend to take whatever they say as the truth, cast in stone.
Cometh marketing meetings on brand and media, everybody including the one whose job is to only ship couriers in office seem to have a view.
They tend to tell you what should happen in your ad, where you should play the ad and why you should use the giant-sized billboard on some highway because you pass through it daily.
In my experience on promoting a commercial on IPL, the common question in the office is, “is it worth promoting in the IPL.”
“There’s so much of clutter.”
“Will people notice us?”
And so on. Yet, when you go ahead and promote, the questions changes, “I saw the ad, but not sure if it will register.”
Why? Because there’s clutter. And how much can we remember?
This persists within the marketing and advertising teams as well.
Many are non-believers in going for big-ticket items to promote your advertising. If it is a question of lack of funds, then fine. But if you can stretch the budget, then clutter SHOULD NOT be the reason to AVOID.
Lack of Research Usage
The whole point of my grouse was this- we do not use enough research in advertising and media from let us say psychologists or neuroscientists.
Why? Because we tend to dismiss it as ‘subjective.’ FYI, when Bill Bernbach says it took a million years for man’s instincts to develop. It is fashionable to talk about the changing man, but we must be concerned with unchanging man.
Let us explore that.
The Traditional Advertising View
That an ad must make the person take notice, command attention and then, land the message about the most brilliant features of your product.
Assumption: Lack of attention = No Impact. So, the one who watches the ad, should be conscious.
Does the human brain work like that?
Yes. Only if you believe our brains, all the time, make conscious decisions.
That is not true. Only 5-10% of decisions the brain makes are conscious. The rest without our conscious brains realising that.
Come to IPL. Please.
#1 Yes, a moment. Dr Robert Heath study and research says advertisement, unlike the popular opinion, is a LOW INVOLVEMENT PROCESSING.
Watching an advertisement, with our attention elsewhere, can still lead to us absorbing the advertisement. So, an ad playing in the background can bypass our conscious mind and be sub-consciously taken inside without you knowing.
How? By associations. A neuroscientist’s definition of branding would be something like advertisement is an exercise in designing associations.
If you are a Coke–Happiness
If you are a Nike–Athletic Motivation
If you are Rebill–Thrill & Adventure
#2 Research by Ipsos in the Brand Immortality Study assessed 97K subjects with 512 commercials from 47 companies, the results were interesting.
7.3 % brand uplift in people who were attentive to ads.
2.7% brand uplift in people who could only recall the ad when described.
1.2% brand uplift who could not recall the ad.
So even with low recall, there is a brand uplift of 1.2%.
#3 What if people Skip or Fast Forward the ad?
Research by Innerscope assessed people who watched the advertisement live, who fast forwarded and people who didn’t.
Result? The fast-forwarded group recalled and recognized twice as many as the group who had not seen. Obvious, is not it. The point is despite fast-forwarding, they saw the ad.
Why? Because our brain captures, connects and stores visual information in eighty milli-seconds!
Showing the advertisement, even in a cluttered environment, can make your brand recognize (during the buying process or buying situation. You will end up feeling familiar).
Finally, why does that happen?
A famous experiment uncovered a phenomenon called Blindsight. A blind person with pupils unharmed was put in a room full of obstacles and asked to go to the other end of the room. He did so without touching the obstacles. And the experiment was repeated.
When asked how, he said he had no idea. That is because the eyes picked up the stimuli and navigated without making his rational side of the brain recognise.
These visual cues are linked to amygdala that processes fear and emotions. Now can you connect RedBull with thrill and adventure, Coke with happiness?
The connection will happen even if we do not see the entire ad of Coke. Our brain subconsciously picks up a family sitting around, laughing faces, food on the table, and bottle of coke in hand. That is all.
The onus is on us. How good can we associate the things that will make the brand quickly noticeable and store information in the brain?
It is not the media clutter in IPL. It is how good are you at hacking the subconscious part of the brain!
Brand Street Integrated (BSI), the marketing agency, has expanded to Pune with the appointment of Krishna Mugatkar as a Business Director.
Said Surendra Singh, CEO of Brand Street Integrated: “Krishna’s extensive industry experience, combined with his innovative approach and strategic mindset, makes him an excellent addition to our leadership team. His appointment underscores our commitment to expanding our operations in Pune and enhancing our service offerings in the region. We look forward to achieving new milestones under his leadership.”
Nordgreen, the Danish watch brand, has unveiled its latest ad campaign titled “In moments of togetherness, time becomes a gift.”
Said Sana Khan, Co-founder of Riveram, the distributors in India: “We are excited to launch a campaign that deeply resonates with our core values of connection and timeless elegance.This film is a homage to all those moments that build enduring relationships and celebrate the joy of togetherness.”
2023 saw the release of 383 streaming originals in India, across languages and formats (fiction series, direct-to-OTT films, unscripted, etc), across all major OTT platforms (excluding YouTube and social media) put together. That’s more than one launch a day. The equivalent number in 2024 so far is a lot more modest. On a pro rata basis, the year can be expected to just about touch the 300 originals mark, a good 20% below last year.
Clearly, streaming platforms are commissioning less content than before. The number of originals were significantly higher than 300 in both 2021 and 2022 (337 and 368 respectively). Effectively, we are back to the pre-pandemic levels in terms of supply of Indian OTT originals. Like the US, our peak TV phase (which we never really celebrated last year) is also over.
One can call it a slowdown or a correction, depending on how one looks at things in general. But semantics apart, the signs are there for us to see. Streaming originals may not be the next big story anymore. The OTT category is still growing, with immense headroom for growth, given that only 38% of Indians watch digital videos at least once a month. But this growth will come via sports, YouTube, social media videos, news, comedy, catch-up television, etc., all of which are ‘free’ content forms on OTT in India today. On the paid side, new theatrical films were already a strong force, and are going to be get increasingly stronger compared to originals in the coming times.
A huge creators economy has flourished in India on the back of the demand for OTT originals, and one can already sense the impact the supply slowdown is having on this economy. It doesn’t help that the film (theatrical) industry is not producing a lot of content either, especially in Hindi.
In all this, traditional linear television, the punching bag of many, could emerge as an unlikely saviour. The TV industry has been on perception and business decline, but it’s nowhere close to losing relevance, and a bounce back is not entirely ruled out. But even there, free-to-air platforms, more than the pay ones, seem to be better positioned to drive some growth in the future.
Has the pay-for-content endeavour in India died a premature death? The top platforms like Netflix and Prime Video would choose to differ. And indeed, “death” may not be the accurate term. But pay TV or pay OTT are going to go through their toughest challenge yet, in the coming year or two. And all eyes will be on the big players in the category to shape the trajectory ahead.
India TV has launched India TV Speed News, a 24-hour fast news channel in the HD segment, designed specifically for the linear audience.
Said Ritu Dhawan, Managing Director of India TV: “With the launch of India TV Speed News Channel in HD, we are setting a new benchmark in the news broadcasting industry by delivering the fastest, most reliable news in a format that meets the needs of our modern audience. Our mission is to offer timely and accurate information while upholding the highest standards of journalistic integrity.”
Cheil India has appointed Sudhir Das as senior Executive Creative Director (ECD). He will be responsible for overseeing the creative output of a segment of Samsung mobile business and Samsung exclusive stores.
Das will report to Vikash Chemjong, CCO, Cheil India and will be based out of agency’s Gurugram office.
Said Chemjong: “Sudhir when you meet him, seems alike a misfit in advertising. He doesn’t drink! Is not trying to run off to the hills/beach every chance he gets because he hates travelling! And he is a little anti-social, preferring the company of his cats more than the company of most people [but seeing the type of people surrounding us most days, I have begun to see the wisdom in it.”
Added Sanjeev Jasani, Group COO, Cheil SWA: “I am happy to welcome Sudhir to Cheil India. He has a much-deserved reputation for being a creative maestro with a penchant for everything that is tech. His repertoire of work is amazing and eclectic in equal measures. I look forward to the unique perspective and ideas that Sudhir brings to the table, which will positively inform our campaigns.”
Mythology major Swastik Productions has announces the expansion of its digital leadership team with the appointment of Jitendra Joshi as Head of Digital Monetisation and Brand Partnerships and Smita Roy as Head – Digital Operations. While Joshi will oversee content monetization through strategic partnerships and ad revenue initiatives to drive the company’s digital growth, Roy will be responsible for driving the focus on expanding digital presence across medium and content absorption in order to deliver exceptional content to a broader audience.
Jitendra Joshi
Jitendra Joshi and Smita Roy’s appointments are with immediate effect. They both are based out of Mumbai and will report into Siddharth Kumar Tewary.
Said Siddharth Kumar Tewary, Founder and Chief Creative, Swastik: “We welcome Smita and Jitendra to our Swastik family, I believe both of them will drive our journey towards telling stories to newer audiences through the digital medium. With our experience and understanding of Indian history and culture for over a decade now, we are really excited about this journey as it enables us to tell stories of our past to our future.”
Digitek has announces a collaboration with actors Janhvi Kapoor and Rohit Suresh Saraf. With this partnership Digitek will continue to expand its footprint in the realm of content creation and professional photography and videography equipment.
2023 saw the release of 383 streaming originals in India, across languages and formats (fiction series, direct-to-OTT films, unscripted, etc), across all major OTT platforms (excluding YouTube and social media) put together. That’s more than one launch a day. The equivalent number in 2024 so far is a lot more modest. On a pro rata basis, the year can be expected to just about touch the 300 originals mark, a good 20% below last year.
India TV has launched India TV Speed News, a 24-hour fast news channel in the HD segment, designed specifically for the linear audience.
