MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • Crazeal enters cinemas for experiential marketing

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ankur Warikoo

    Crazeal.com ( India unit of Groupon Inc.US), a daily deals website has partnered with multiple cinema houses across India. The aim and objective is to offer a unique movie watching experience to Crazeal customers. The deal offered 50 per cent discount on the tickets along with a private screening to showcase Crazeal’s ‘Who Can Resist?’ campaign.

     

    Crazeal has rolled out a nationwide experiential marketing campaign to connect with consumers. The daily deals website partnered with multiple cinemas across nine cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Pune) for a special screening of the movie Batman – The Dark Knight Rises. Over 3,500 tickets were said to have been sold in just under 30 hours.

     

    To buy this deal, Crazeal subscribers had to log on to the site, buy the deal and the tickets were delivered at their doorstep. Besides the screening, the Crazeal team were said to have interacted with the consumers. Each individual who came for the screening is said to have received a memento. Multiple on-ground touch-points were also created to increase brand presence and engage with customers.

     

    Launched in April 2011, Crazeal.com was formerly called SoSasta.com. On November 2011, SoSasta was rebranded to Crazeal.com because the name SoSasta did not have a positive connotation with their high quality merchants.

     

    In conversation with MxMIndia, Mr Ankur Warikoo, CEO, Crazeal said: “During the month of November 2011, we went into a rebranding exercise very early into our lifecycle and we called ourselves Crazeal.com which is short for crazy deal. We wanted to position ourselves as a great site which had fantastic discounts and crazy deals, but at the same time never compromising on the quality of the deals.”

     

    The business model of Crazeal is purely based on transaction wherein it first provides free of cost visibility to its merchants on the Crazeal website for one day. In return Crazeal asks the company (or merchant) to create a good package for its customers. For instance, it could be a five star hotel offering a certain amount of discount for a buffet, which the daily deals website then displays on its website as ‘deal of the day’.

     

    Once the deal is up and live, it is followed up by sending newsletters and SMSes to all Crazeal subscribers. Thus only after a customer buys a deal online is Crazeal paid its marketing monies. “We don’t make any money before the merchant makes money, but at the same time we are putting our entire resources right from creation of the deal, to imaging, and how it is marketed and so on. We, therefore, make our money only once our deal is sold,” he explained.

     

    By the end of December, Crazeal is expected to launch its mobile app for consumption, according to Mr Warikoo, the time is right for India to experience mobile transaction. “Time is right for India to experience mobile. By the end of December, India should see the GroupOn Crazeal mobile apps being launched for consumption. In the US, for instance, mobile already accounts to almost 20 per cent of transactions a month. In India already without a mobile application or without a mobile friendly site, 5 per cent of our transactions are already happening through our mobile phones. India is seeing 3G users increasing day by day, so it is just a matter of time before we have that app which is already in our radar and we are working towards it.”

     

    Crazeal is said to be a business which is currently focused on three categories, namely local services, product categories and travel. The local services include the best hotels and restaurants in the city, the best spa, and so on. Within the local services, food and beverages category dominate and accounts for nearly 55 per cent to 60 per cent of the overall revenue generated. Local services therefore account for almost 40 per cent of its business; product category accounts for similar share and the rest is taken by travel.

     

  • Mr Dey will be based at Ignitee’s Gurgaon office – managing the business across the offices of Ignitee in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai

    Ignitee appoints Ranjoy Dey as Chief Operating Officer

    Ranjoy Dey

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ignitee Digital Services, the digital marketing & media agencies, appointed Ranjoy Dey as Chief Operating Officer. Mr Dey will be based at Ignitee’s Gurgaon office – managing the business across the offices of Ignitee in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

     

    Mr Dey will be responsible for leading all aspects of marketing and operations for Ignitee, aligning the marketing strategy and brand positioning for the company’s growth in the fast evolving digital advertising industry. He will report to Atul Hegde, CEO, Ignitee.

     

    Mr Dey is a Sales & Marketing professional with 18+ years of experience; as Operations & Business Head in Agencies, he has handled & led large-scale Marketing campaign operations & project management – while managing large & diverse teams across the country. He had also taken up roles to set-up and lead e-Marketing & CRM functions from scratch in several IT & eLearning companies.

     

    Commenting on this development, Atul Hegde said: “Ranjoy joins Ignitee as we continue to expand, and offer our best practices to customers. We are very focused on bringing great value across our digital products and solutions, and Ranjoy’s appointment is central in helping us to achieve this. With his vast experience in successfully creating & delivering interactive marketing solutions and effectively managing diverse resources, he is the ideal person to help us achieve our growth goals and country-wide consolidation.”

     

    Mr Dey said: “I am excited to take up this role as the growth driver for Ignitee. Ignitee has been doing some amazing work for their clients and the time is right to expand the business when clients are looking at differentiated marketing solutions while enhancing their digital footprint.”

     

     

  • He will be responsible for managing Indigo Consulting's relationships and scaling up the digital business in the region

    Nitin Singh joins Indigo Consulting as biz head

    Nitin Singh

    By A Correspondent

     

    Digital agency Indigo Consulting has roped in Nitin Singh as Business Head, Delhi NCR. He will be responsible for managing Indigo Consulting’s relationships and scaling up the digital business in the region. Prior to this, Mr Singh was with Media2win, where he was responsible for Digital execution and New Business Development in North India.

     

    Speaking on the appointment, Vikas Tandon, MD, Indigo Consulting said: “While we have been present in the Delhi region for a while, we were missing strong leadership to drive our aggressive growth plans. Nitin’s valuable experience and relationship with customers will help us provide superlative digital marketing solutions to clients in the Delhi region.”

     

    Commenting on his decision to join Indio Consulting, Mr Singh said: “I have always admired Indigo Consulting’s work in the digital space, especially when it comes to their creative and technology capabilities. I hope to learn more about these and their integration with digital strategy while leveraging my experience to create new practices at Indigo Consulting.”

     

    Mr Singh is a post graduate in business administration from the School of Management Studies, New Delhi and has more than 9 years experience in sales and marketing. Besides Media2win, he has worked with Quasar Media, QAI India and Compare Infobase where his responsibilities ranged from new business development to sales to online digital media planning.

     

  • The consumer goods companies said the next few quarters could be challenging if the monsoon is weak and the rupee continues to fall

    HUL, Dabur & Colgate Q1 sales up 20%, next few Qs challenging

    By A Correspondent

     

    Consumer goods companies Hindustan Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive and Dabur said the next few quarters could be challenging if the monsoon is weak and the rupee continues to fall after reporting about 20 per cent jump in their first quarter sales.

     

    Hindustan Unilever, the country’s largest consumer goods company, whose presence in a range of daily consumption items such as soaps, shampoos and food makes its performance a good proxy for consumer sentiment, said it has not seen any evidence yet of customers trading down for cheaper products but delayed monsoon, weak rupee and volatile raw-material prices remain a concern.

     

    “When we look into the medium term, we believe that the growth drivers for FMCG are really positive,” said R Sridhar, chief financial officer at Hindustan Unilever. “But when we look at the next 2-3 quarters, clearly there are few challenges-the final shape of how monsoon distribution happens, rupee has depreciated quite significantly and inflation continues to be at a very high level,” he said.

     

    Dabur CEO Sunil Duggal too said: “As of now, we have not witnessed any slowdown in rural consumption, but there could be some amount of demand contraction this (July-September) quarter.”

     

    HUL’s total income rose 20 per cent to Rs6,378.7 crore in the April-June quarter from Rs5,323.6 crore in the year-ago period, outperforming the broader FMCG industry that grew 16 per cent during the quarter. Profit after tax before exceptional items at the Indian unit of Anglo-Dutch Unilever rose 48 per cent to Rs855 crore in the three months to June. Exceptional items included sale of properties worth Rs607 crore.

     

    The company said it was able to increase its operating profit margins by 180 basis points. Its cost of goods sold during the period was 200 basis points lower than in the year-ago period.

     

    During the quarter, HUL’s sales of soaps and detergents-its largest business segment-rose 24 per cent to Rs3,163.05 crore, helped mainly by price increases. Double-digit volume growth drove up sales of personal care products by 17per cent  to Rs1,847.08 crore, while beverages sales were 7per cent  higher at Rs654.07 crore. New launches in brands such as Kwality Walls helped its packaged foods business grow 17 per cent to Rs436.98 crore.

     

    What pleased analysts the most about the results was the companies’ sustainable volume growth. HUL, Dabur and Colgate-Palmolive grew their volumes between 9-12 per cent as the makers of daily household products sold more goods despite increasing prices. “Across companies, margins have expanded and ad spends increased too. With sales of premium products growing, there isn’t even first signs of slowdown yet,” said Anand Mour of Ambit Capital. Colgate-Palmolive reported a 17 per cent jump in first quarter profit at Rs117 crore, while its sales grew 20 per cent at Rs736 crore. “In an inflationary environment, the company’s continuing efforts and focussed programs to enhance efficiencies and reduce costs continue to yield strong, positive results, helping to maintain margin and fund investments in building and strengthening brand equity and the business,” Colgate said in a statement. The company said prudent price increases and cost management helped it maintain its strong gross margin.

     

    Dabur reported 21 per cent jump in April-June sales at Rs1,461.9 crore, while net profit increased 17 per cent year-on-year to Rs149.4 crore, riding on categories like health supplements, shampoos and food. Faster network expansion in rural markets too helped the firm drive sales. Dabur CEO Duggal said the company was forecasting double-digit growth over the next two quarters although there could be some slowdown in demand.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Clients attend festivals like the Cannes Lions to spot inspiring ideas, particularly in the digital, social and mobile and media worlds

    Why CMOs needn’t feel guilty about going for Cannes Lions

    By Delshad Irani

     

    What does a chief marketing officer of a very large global company do when he wants to be proficient in Twitter? He asks the CEO of Twitter, Dick Costolo to provide the best resource they possess for an intensive reverse mentoring session. According to Antonio Lucio, global chief marketing, strategy and development officer, Visa, it is critically important for him as the head of a global marketing organisation to be an expert on social media and be able to build the Visa brand on platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

     

    Interestingly, he has been a marketer for over 30 years and it is his first time at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the first time Visa has attended the festival as a company. The question then is why now? For starters, digital media has changed the rules of engagement. However, the cases of truly successful integration and application of digital media are few and generally set on loop. “The fact is that when people talk about social they keep using the same concepts and best cases, for instance, the Old Spice campaign. This means that there really isn’t a clearly articulated model,” said Mr Lucio.

     

    So clients like him attend festivals like the Cannes Lions to spot inspiring ideas, particularly in the digital, social and mobile and media worlds. Reasonable grounds for marketers to attend with teams of 5 to 15 senior management level employees.

     

    But, it wasn’t too long ago when if you were a client and you said you want to go to Cannes for the ad festival you might not have got permission from management to do so. However, it is due to the efforts of a few that has led to the institutionalisation of the client’s side of Cannes. Marketers like Mr Lucio can come with midsize teams and it’s no longer considered an indulgence. P&G, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Heineken, Kraft, GM, McDonald’s and Mars, among others are just a few of the big global marketers who were present at the 2012 Cannes Lions.

     

    Some have been attending longer than others. Like Joseph Tripodi, executive vice president and chief marketing and commercial officer, The Coca-Cola Company, who is particularly impressed with the attention the festival is receiving from media owners like Time Warner, in addition to growing participation numbers from clients as well as delegates from agencies. Keith Weed of Unilever, who has come to Cannes three years in a row and has been CMO for as many years said: “We have 15 people here this year and we do a combination of workshops, meeting our agency partners and recognising and acknowledging that creativity is great. In a cluttered media world, we need creativity to cut through.”

     

    So apart from networking and opportunities to meet all their concerned parties, old and some new, in the same place, at the same time, these marketers are on the look out for inspiring work from across the world. And set creative benchmarks wherever possible. According to Cyril Charzat, senior global brand director, Heineken: “It’s very much about stimulating our marketing people to be stronger when they evaluate work from creative agencies; to define what is progressive and inventive. Our key message is to stimulate inventiveness and that’s what we try to do.” And Cannes is a part of that story.

     

    On the Indian front, however, it is not yet a vital chapter. And Cannes remains the exclusive domain of adwallahs, with a light sprinkling of some regular clients like Mr Kakar of Aditya Birla Group, who has been attending the festival for over half a decade. Then there are first-timers like Mahindra & Mahindra. The company wanted to test French waters and therefore Vivek Nayer the company’s VP-marketing for the auto division attended the festival. But he left a tad disappointed and overwhelmed by the creative clutter. Other Indian marketers in attendance were Parle Agro (with Nadia Chauhan also a jury member), Dabur and Flipkart. Clearly, Indian marketers are grappling with the big question – to attend or not to attend? Meanwhile, clients from markets on our left and right, up and down, are strategising on ways to find the best creative result during the seven days spent in the Cote d’Azur.

     

    However, the challenge for most is to put all that inspiring work to actual use. And here’s how some intend to do it. “We are not going to come in like the advertising people who get inspiration and go back home to figure it out. We will have a very structured approach with sessions of inspiration followed by sessions of perspiration, daily.

     

    It’s my responsibility during the week to ensure that Cannes becomes a truly business building program for us,” said Mr Lucio of Visa. In other words, for marketers to take Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity seriously there must be “enough perspiration to pay for the inspiration.”

     

    Fair enough.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • The report shares finds from the perspective of the world’s leading mobile ad platform

    Opera’s m-advertising report reveals monetization trends

    By A Correspondent

     

    Opera Software launched its first State ofMobile Advertisingreport, which highlights key data and trends in mobile advertising worldwide. The report shares finds from the perspective of the world’s leading mobile ad platform, using data mined from the global network of 35 billion+ ad impressions and driving over $240 million in revenue to mobile publishers in 2011.

     

    The findings of the report were unveiled by Mahi de Silva, EVP of Consumer Mobile for Opera at his opening keynote atMobile+ Web DevCon inSan Francisco, with a presentation on “The State of Mobile Advertising.”

     

    Some of the key findings that Mr de Silva presented are:

    • iOS rules the roost. The average eCPM (effective cost per thousand impressions) on iPhone is $2.85, followed by Android at $2.10; Windows phone is last at $0.20 eCPM.
    • Rich media ads, especially those that leverage the capabilities of more sophisticated mobile devices, drive CTR (click-through rates) and better customer engagement.
    • Business & Finance is the top revenue category. It generates more revenue per impression than any other category.
    • Using just one ad network won’t cut it. Performance varies significantly over very short periods of time, so publishers and advertisers that don’t use a strategic mix of networks won’t maximize their profit and reach.

     

    In addition to the special focus on monetization patterns and trends, the report also includes key insights for advertisers, such as:

    • How device adoption among demographic groups impacts media buying strategy
    • Why mobile landing pages could soon be obsolete
    • 5 traits to look for when choosing a mobile ad network

     

     

  • The TV Today networks' news channels and radio stations have been under severe pressures thanks to a weak market and competition

    No successor to Joy Chakraborthy named, testing times ahead for TV Today network

    By A Correspondent

     

    On the face of things, it’s meant to be a simple parting of ways. Although outgoing TV Today Network CEO Joy Chakraborthy has quoted personal reasons and being away from the family based in Mumbai as his reasons for moving on, the industry has been abuzz with stories about the sudden departure.

     

    Joy Chakraborthy
    Joy Chakraborthy

    India Today group Group CEO Ashish Bagga confirmed the departure of TV Today CEO Joy Chakraborthy to MxMIndia on Tuesday evening adding that no replacement had been announced it.

     

    Mr Chakraborthy had joined TV Today on December 1, having quit Zee Entertainment as executive director (revenue and niche channels) in October 2011. In September, G Krishnan had announced his departure from the Network. In the new organization realignment, Mr Chakraborthy reported to Mr Bagga.

     

    The news channels and radio station that come under the TV Today umbrella have been under severe pressures thanks to a weak market and competition from other networks. While India TV has been a clear trendsetter in popular Hindi news, ABP News (eka Star News) has been galloping ahead. Sadly, for Aaj Tak, the name change has not adversely impacted the MCCS-owned Hindi channel.

     

    In fact flagship Aaj Tak has been going through an identity crisis for a while. Should it be a serious news channel and be recognised for the journalistic values that the India Today group stands for? Or should it be populist with dumbed down news and toe the line of the Rajat Sharma-run India TV? Sibling Headlines Today, the English news channel from the group, has also made little headway. Save a few spikes since it was set up, it’s just not caught the attention of the viewing public and continues to lag in ratings and revenues. Ditto with Oye 104.8 which is low on the RAM roster. The rechristening from Meow to Oye may have helped shore up some numbers, but it’s not been good enough.

     

    With an investment from the Aditya Birla group helping improve its financial muscle, the TV Today was poised to grow much in the next two years. Regional channels, digitization, acquisitions, Phase 3 of FM radio were some of the plans that required nurturing. Mr Chakraborthy, who is a seasoned media professional, was to lead this effort.

     

    But now it will mean the collective efforts of Mr Bagga, chairman and editor-in-chief Aroon Purie and his daughter Kalli Purie who heads the group’s digital operations and looks at synergies within the businesses and is also Chief Creative Officer to take TV Today to the leadership position it once occupied.

     

  • Individuals often opt for these programmes on their own, but companies too nominate and shortlist candidates

    Big Boys go to B-school for betterment

    By Anumeha Chaturvedi

     

    Liane Cabral Ghosh was working as a senior manager and strategist at Dell’s research and development centre in Bangalore, when she decided to enroll for an INSEAD leadership programme for senior Indian executives last August.

     

    “I was growing well in technical functions, but did not have management skillsets. I wanted a programme that could provide a career jump for senior leadership positions,” said Ms Ghosh. The programme concluded last month, and it seems that Ms Ghosh has been taught well. She will now join Canadian IT company Innovatia this month as country manager.

     

    Senior-level professionals across functions, profiles and industries are going back to school for short-term and long-term executive education programmes in order to reskill themselves. Ms Ghosh’s batchmates at INSEAD included Rajshree Naik, the marketing head of Forevermark, De Beers; and Manesh Nair, former director of business relationship consulting, India and Thailand, at American Express, and after the course, global director for partnership development posted at American Express, New York.

     

    “We are witnessing a growth of 25 per cent when it comes to participation in ‘open enrollment’ executive education programmes every year,” said Deepak Chandra, deputy dean at the Indian School of Business (ISB).

     

    Open enrollment programmes are meant for professionals from all fields looking at a specialisation in functions like marketing, finance or sales strategies. ISB will host 5,000 such students this year. It currently offers 45-50 such programmes, up from 5-6 a decade ago. The courses at ISB last anywhere from a week to a month.

     

    “Reskilling assumes greater importance in challenging times,” said Chaitanya

    Kalipatnapu, co-founder and director of Eruditus, a firm promoted by the alumni of INSEAD and Harvard Business School (HBS) to deliver executive education programmes. “Business schools witness a spike in activity during a slowdown, as candidates consider it safe to turn to education and feel the slowdown would be over and done with by the time they pass out.”

     

    Among the IIMs, Kozhikode is the only one to offer a two-year executive post-graduate programme in management for professionals. The batch size for this programme accredited by the London-based Association of MBAs (AMBA) has increased from 220 in 2010-12 to 333 for 2012-14. “We have increased the batch size owing to a significant demand for this course among professionals,” said C Raju, professor, quantitative methods and operations management, at IIM Kozhikode. The institute will also have two new one-year executive education programmes on human resource management and IT this year.

     

    “The number of requests and applications for customised and open enrolment programmes have more than doubled this year,” said Mr Kalipatnapu. It offers executive education programmes from INSEAD (one-year), Wharton (both short-term and long-term), and Tuck School of Business in India. While Wharton has introduced open enrollment executive education programmes in the country this year, Tuck School of Business entered into a first-of-its-kind by-invitation consortium with a few companies like TCS, Mahindra & Mahindra and HSBC this year, wherein the companies nominated their senior managers for a programme on innovation and leadership. The Tuck programme is spread over nine months.

     

    Individuals often opt for these programmes on their own, but companies too nominate and shortlist candidates and even work with universities on customised case studies to address their business needs. “Companies are realising that education is a good motivating tool to attract and retain talent,” added Mr Chandra.

     

    “Companies realise that the economic challenges demand a more targeted approach to talent management,” said Mr Kalipatnapu. Firms like Bharat Petroleum, Accenture and IBM work with these top schools for programmes tailor-made to suit their needs.

     

    Harvard Business School India Research Center, which handles executive education programmes in India, has diversified its portfolio of executive education programmes this year. “We had three executive education programmes last year, and we plan to have around 10 this year,” said Amrita Chowdhury, associate director, education, at HBS India Research Center. It has introduced new programmes on leadership and corporate accountability and innovation. “As senior professionals move up the leader, they realise they need specialised skills in general management and leadership,” said Ms Chowdhury.

     

    She said that while the majority of candidates in a programme would comprise large private companies and PSUs, 30-40 per cent of the candidates are senior management professionals or owners of SMEs. “These are companies with a turnover of around Rs 100 crore, have gained a lot of scale, and are now looking at skilling their top management for the next phase of growth.”

     

    Companies like Genpact and Aon Hewitt also have tie-ups with the HBS Research Center for shortlisting candidates for their programmes. “Our managers run large teams across the world and they learn about leadership and understand how cultures operate through these programmes,” said Amit Aggarwal, senior vice-president, global leadership development and training, at Genpact.

     

    While Genpact sends around 3-5 professionals for such programmes every year, Aon Hewitt shortlists its partners and even sent one of the directors for the programme this year. “The programme touched upon all elements of leading businesses and people, and was insightful, as managing people is one of the most crucial aspects of our business,” said Ryan Lowe, director at Aon Hewitt, who attended the HBS programme on managing professional services firms in January this year.

     

  • The software is targeted for mainly advertisers, media planners and celebrities firms to help them which attribute of a celeb suits a brand/product the most

    Ormax to help brands pick right face with Celebritix

    By A Correspondent

     

    How many times you have watched an advertisement and wondered ‘how is this celeb relevant for the brand?’ And if you are from other side, ‘which celeb will suit my brand?’

     

    Now you can stop worrying and wondering, Ormax Media has come up with a new product, Celebritix – a celebrity evaluation software – which will make it all simple.

     

    The celebrity evaluation software allows brands to evaluate and select the best celebrities for endorsements and film tie-ups, based on the fit between the brand and the celebrity.

     

    According to the study done by the organisation, almost 16 per cent of the television advertisements feature celebrities. “It is important to know who the ‘right’ celebrity for a brand is and what he/she can do for it. A correct candidate not only helps to differentiate the brand but also builds visibility and drives sales,” said Shailesh Kapoor, CEO, Ormax Media while launching Celebritix.

     

    The software is targeted for mainly advertisers, media planners and celebrities firms to help them which attribute of a celeb suits a brand/product the most. As per the research done by Ormax, there are 20 most common attributes which can help in the process of finding the right face for a brand. Some of the attributes in the Celebritix list are vivacious, adventurous, bold, righteous and youthful.

     

    The software will allow the users to create a brand profile by assigning weights to different attributes that best describe the desired personality of the brand. Based on the brand profile, the software will recommend celebrities that best fit the brand, using a proprietary metric called the OCX (Ormax Celebritix) Score.

     

    The OCX Score can also be used for selection of films for associations, based on the fit between the star cast and the brand. Additionally, subscribers will have access to two other modules – Stars India Loves (SIL) and Box Office Forecast – that will allow them to take informed decisions on film tie-ups.

     

    SIL is Ormax Media’s monthly star popularity research product running since November 2010. In Box Office Forecast, the users will get an indicative estimate of the likely opening day performance of the film at the domestic box office, based on campaign tracking, category trends and normative data. The forecast will be available up to 12 months before the release of the film.

     

    Celebritix currently features a total of 36 celebrities from Bollywood and cricket. Every quarter, up to 10 new celebrities will be added to the tracking, based on market trends, box office and cricket performance. The research covers 4,000 respondents every quarter, across 20 attributes, in the target group of 18-44 yrs., SEC ABC, across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Lucknow.

     

  • The deal negotiated with MP& Silva, a leading international sports rights agency, will allow Ten Network to offer 232 matches Live and Exclusive

    Ten acquires French Football League till ’15

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sports content provider, Ten Network, has announced that it has secured Live and exclusive rights to broadcast the French Football League for till 201415 on multiple distribution platforms forSouth Asiamarket.

     

    The deal negotiated with MP& Silva, a leading international sports rights agency, will allow Ten Network to offer 232 matches Live and Exclusive, showcasing 2 of French football’s most prestigious title competitions: Ligue 1 – Top Football Division in France and one of Top 5 Leagues in Europe and Coupe De La Ligue – The French League Cup.

     

    Together with the broadcast of UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Ten Network has now reinforced its position as the ‘Home of Football’ for fans in the Indian subcontinent. The fans can continue to look forward to a comprehensive, engaging coverage of French Football across all platforms through its broadcast channels, TEN Action and TEN HD.

     

    Atul Pande, CEO, Sports Business, ZEE said: “Acquisition of the French League, one of the most competitive football leagues in Europe, underlines our commitment to football fans in the region, as we continue providing the most entertaining content to our viewers, and an excellent promotional platform for our advertisers. We have established a strong tradition in building and strengthening top-class football properties on our channels with the reach of our networks, multiple media platforms and world-class match presentation.”

     

    Andrea Radrizzani, MP & Silva Group CEO, commented: “We are delighted to facilitate the growth of French football in India. European football TV audiences in India are rapidly growing, attracting more interest from leagues, competitions, sponsors and players to satisfy this appetite.”

     

    The 2012/13 season represents the 80th anniversary of professional football in France and Ligue 1 is celebrating in style with new kick-off times, a new football – and newly renovated stadia in preparation of EURO 2016.

     

  • ID8Labs has hired key senior executives in a bid to build its leadership team and focus on new business opportunities

    ID8Labs embellishes top deck to grow

    By A Correspondent

     

    ID8Labs, a full service digital strategy, marketing & technology services company has hired key senior executives in a bid to build its leadership team and focus on new business opportunities across diverse industry segments.

     

    The company has appointed Jaitrali Jhanjariya as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), who will be responsible for managing all client mandates and lead teams of client servicing & media (display, search & social) including business development.

     

    This is her second stint at ID8Labs. She has over 15years of experience and has worked with companies such as Pinstorm, & Brand portrait – Digital, Geodesic & LBi.

     

    Ms Jhanjariya said: “I am delighted to return to ID8Labs, a team of highly passionate digital natives who have a sound understanding of the medium. The marketing landscape now is shifting focus from traditional to the digital medium and with experience in this space, we will take this company to the next level.”

     

    ID8Labs has brought Abhishek Verma on board as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO). He has 14 years of marketing, communication, digital & start-up experience. At Star TV, he was AVP-Affiliate Marketing, and he was responsible driving marketing for HD, Analog & DTH platforms including new initiatives such as ASL HD activation & partnerships. He has worked in strategic marketing roles at Discovery channel & Sony SAB.

     

    Mr Verma said: “The digital business has now matured from the heady days of the dotcom boom and consumer trends are largely dictated by online channels. ID8Labs is poised to demystify this changing digital universe and with experience in strategic marketing using consumer insights across brands and start-ups, I am excited to help our clients navigate this new world.”

     

    Amit Tripathi, Founder & Managing Director, ID8Labs said: “With Abhishek and Jaitrali’s appointments, ID8Labs is building a sound leadership pipeline that will drive the future growth of the company. With Abhishek’s experience in the client side, we will build excellence in client engagement and strategy and Jaitrali is a veteran in the digital agency space across client categories, she will help us create robust delivery platform across clients and opportunities to grow existing and new businesses.”

     

  • Sussanne Roshan launches first 'magical space' at Palladium with a unique interior exhibit

    Architectural Digest creates AD Magical Spaces

    By A Correspondent

     

    Architectural Digest India, published by the Conde Nast Group, has launched a special design concept called ‘AD Magical Spaces’.  Through this initiative, AD India in association with an eminent interior designer will dress up unexpected places in the city with exquisite art and interior design exhibits.

     

    To kick-start the initiative, AD has teamed up with the chic Mumbai home store, The Charcoal Project by Sussanne Roshan to unveil the first of AD Magical Spaces at Palladium. The exhibit was inaugurated by Sussanne Roshan and Editor of AD, Manju Sara Rajan. With the theme ‘Burgundy Sorbet’, the exhibit is a collection from The Charcoal Project inspired by the romance of the Mumbai Monsoon. It is a plush, inviting lounge with furniture to cosy up on.

     

    The exhibit will be on display in the Atrium, Palladium for public viewing till July 30.

     

    Commenting on the occasion, Manju Sara Rajan, Editor of AD, said: “In line with our promise to showcase the most beautiful homes in the world, ‘Magical Spaces’ will bring to life the various elements essential to creating an inspired living space.”

     

    With warm, blushing hues mixed with earthy tones, the setting is perfect for a couple in love watching the rain outside their window. This collection has products  handpicked by Sussanne Roshan.

     

    Sussanne Roshan, proprietor of Charcoal Factory, said: “Architectural Digest is one of the most trusted guides on design, architecture and living. It’s been great working together to launch ‘AD Magical Spaces’- something that is inspirational as well as practical. We have created a furniture installation, which is a replica of a home living room. The ambience created is warm and inviting, created in an eclectic fusion of colours.”