MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • dgMatix's proprietary technology is capable of tracking click frauds, measuring campaign performance on various parameters

    DGM India launches dgMatix ad network

    By A Correspondent

     

    DGM India announced the launch of its premium brand ad network – dgMatix, which will utilize DGM’s proprietary technology to deliver impactful and transparent campaigns. dgMatix’s proprietary technology is capable of tracking click frauds, measuring campaign performance on various parameters like creative-wise performance, publisher-wise performance, and so on.

     

    Anurag Gupta, MD, DGM India said: “dgMatix Ad Platform is significantly different from the other platforms available in the Indian market for the advertisers. It uses proprietary JavaScript injection technology to put an ad on the publisher’s website without interfering with the existing ad units or existing design of the website. Additionally, there are no costs for publishers for serving dgMatix ads. The ad units created by dgMatix are additional high impact units on the publisher’s website that is interoperable with multiple platforms like Flash, HTML5. Our technology optimizes the publisher’s inventory and provides maximum eCPM and eCPC”.

     

    dgMatix’s proprietary technology is hosted on the cloud to generate faster response time. The ad server resides on Amazon and the delivery system works from Amazon Cloud Front which allows to automatically route end users to the closest available location, thus ensuring the fastest delivery of ads without any drop outs.

     

    dgMatix is capable of delivering high impact, disruptive units on identified websites along with detailed reporting including IP addresses. dgMatix offers two kinds of solutions to Brand advertisers: Impact & Reach.

     

    dgMatix delivers the following Impact solutions on identified selected tier 1 and tier 2 websites:

    • Brand Box: A high impact slider unit that can play rich media ads to static images. The slider unit delivers phenomenally high CTRs.
    • Brand Bar: dgMatix uses intelligent technology to serve ads in the margin/free space on the left & right side of the website content.
    • Brand Bang: dgMatix offers the highest impact ad options for advertisers viz. site captures/take-overs and high impact flash/HTML5 ad units.

     

    dgMatix delivers the following Reach solutions:

    • dgMatix has a reach of over 30 million Internet users on a monthly basis
    • The exclusive pricing strategy includes charging advertisers on authenticated & verified deliveries as per client’s analytics reports
    • The Pricing models include Cost per visitor, Cost per click, Cost per thousand impressions etc. Detailed during and post-campaign reporting, including IP addresses etc.

     

    DGM India works with over 15,000 websites across India and has delivered measurable results to over 300 blue-chip Indian brands over the past 5 years on a pay-for-performance basis.

     

     

  • He will oversee the implementation of national marketing campaigns that will drive growth for the brand

    Calvin John joins CaratLane VP-Marketing

    By A Correspondent

     

    CaratLane.com, the online jewellery retailer has announced the appointment of Calvin John as Vice President – Marketing. Mr John will be responsible primarily for defining marketing strategy and positioning for CaratLane.com. He will oversee the implementation of national marketing campaigns that will drive growth for the brand.

     

    Mr John brings in international experience in consumer-driven sectors like food and beverage and lifestyle retail, having worked in the GCC, SAARC, ASEAN, and Indian markets, he has an in-depth understanding of what drives a customer to make that final purchase.

     

    Before joining CaratLane.com, Mr John worked with leading brands like Titan, UB Group, Hindustan Unilever and Bisleri.

     

    Commenting on his appointment, Mr John said: “I am very excited to join CaratLane.com as it brings clarity and information-driven empowerment to customers to help them make informed choices. This is crucial for a high-value industry like ours where customers, owing to lack of knowledge, are hesitant to go beyond their trusted family jeweller. The strategy going forward will be to increase the credibility and further establish the identity of CaratLane.com as India’s leading online jeweller.”

     

    Speaking on Mr John’s appointment, Mithun Sacheti, Founder and CEO of CaratLane.com said: “Calvin’s varied experience across different sectors will benefit CaratLane.com both from a category and function perspective. His understanding of the Indian jewellery market, coupled with his experience in setting up the entire e-commerce channel for a leading national brand gives him an ‘intra-preneurial’ perspective which is very important for a business model like ours. We are confident that he will take CaratLane.com to newer heights.”

     

     

  • Till now City Bhaskar inGujaratwas available with Divya Bhaskar in Ahmedabad only

    Divya Bhaskar launches City Bhaskar in Surat & Vadodara

    By A Correspondent

     

    City Bhaskar, the broadsheet magazine from Dainik Bhaskar Group addressing the youth segment with news and activities within city has now entered Suratand Vadodara. It addresses the need of positive content presenting the ‘Good Life of the City’ with special focus on city happenings and leisure reading. It provides for the positive outlook and in a way proves to be motivational and aspirational product.

     

    Till now City Bhaskar in Gujarat was available with Divya Bhaskar in Ahmedabad only. The need for such a product in Surat and Vadodara has been felt for some time.

     

    Speaking on the City Bhaskar launch in Surat and Vadodara, Saras Sethi, State Head Gujarat said: “Surat and Vadodara, with their own unique population mix, professional outlook and inclination were considered ripe for a product like City Bhaskar. It takes into account the city highlights, cultural and social milieu, the youth segment needs and is crafted specially for the city.”

     

    Divya Bhaskar, the Gujarati Newspaper of Dainik Bhaskar Group with 11.44 lakh readers (IRS Q1 2012) is the only Gujarati newspaper with more than a million readers in a city.

     

     

  • Just four years in the business, Vispy Doctor and Shailesh Kapoor's Ormax Media has become a key ally of Indian media and brands

    Fourtifying media & brands with research

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    In today’s world where there are plenty of brands for consumers to choose from, an in-depth knowledge about the target audience is as much as a necessity as breathing for any brand to become successful. Research now plays an increasingly important role in a brand’s lifeline.

     

    Entertainment industry today is growing at a fast pace and with number of options available to the TG, the brands need to know what will make the TG choose them over others.

     

    Ormax Media, a media & entertainment research and consulting firm, entered the industry four years ago (July 28, 2008) with a motto of helping brands understand and retain not only their target groups, but also help them grow in their respective fields.

     

    Clients Speak
    Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors

    Raj Nayak

    Ormax Media has opted for a very focused media research approach, which was a definite need gap for the industry, especially TV. Ormax has managed to capitalise on this opportunity with their innovative and robust tools specifically designed to cater to these needs. At Colors we have always had a research-oriented approach towards content development. In that context, we have been working with Ormax Media since the very beginning (interestingly both Colors and Ormax Media came into existence around the same time!).

     

    It has been a fruitful association so far, and I would believe this to be true for both the parties. While working on some really interesting projects together, there has been a lot of learning that has enabled us to know our viewers even better. An effective promo creative measurement tool, which builds in the crazy timelines of the creative getting ready and it hitting on-air, is something which I feel is still a need gap at this point of time. Keeping in line with their record for building research tools which have catered to the needs of the industry, this is one area where we see tremendous potential for Ormax.

    ____________________________________

     

    Chandramohan Puppala, business head, Saam TV

    Earlier, most of the companies used to rely on gut feelings or follow TAM to get an idea about what their audience wants. However, one couldn’t predict the change in trends or know their TG’s mindsets. It was a big challenge for channels, especially regional channels, to know their viewers. It was an even bigger challenge for regional channels, where Hindi was also the majority language. For instance, in Maharashtra, Hindi is also spoken by people. Also, in smaller markets, no matter how the sampling is done, choices differ from region to region. Hence, when research entered the entertainment industry, it helped channels to have a direct connect with the audience and guided them on how they can change their course to gain the most.

     

    Ormax Media adapts very quickly to what the clients’ want and provide a customized research which enhances their role among their TG.

    ____________________________________

     

    Ashit Kukian, COO and president, Radio City

    Ashit Kukian

    For any industry today, research is an important element. However, it is important for an organization to be very clear about what they want as an end result. The brief we gave to Ormax and their own learnings have made it a win-win situation for both. The inputs we get from research are visible in the results. So, as the industry gets more mature, there is going to be a robust growth in the field of research as well.

    ____________________________________

     

    Jai Lala, principal partner, Mindshare

    Jai Lala

    Since there is no syndicated data available, there can be a lot of fangs to it, especially in the television industry. Take sports broadcasting for instance, there are a lot of ground partners, so it is a complicated process. Hence, research helps us to understand the market and how to maximize from an event. Last year, for IPL we had done a joint research with Ormax Media and it was quite fruitful for us.

    ____________________________________

     

    Atul Phadnis, founder and CEO, What’s On India

    Atul Phadnis

    Ormax Media is spearheaded by people like Shailesh Kapoor who have practical knowledge about channels. So, it gives the organization an uncanny ability to know what the key questions are which need to be answered. This helps them to not only know what a channel wants, but also how the research must be conducted. Also, the organization offers customized and structural services which have helped the industry grow.

     

    As the firm celebrates its four years of existence, MxMIndia spoke to the founders to get an insight on how research has evolved over the years and how the journey has been for Ormax Media so far…

     

    Vispy Doctor

    “Till a few years ago, the phrase ‘consumer knowledge’, which is our prime derivable, wasn’t a common phenomenon. When we went to media clients in the entertainment space, for many of them research was a new thought.  So, we had to explain how it could help them create better products which will help them grow,” recalled Vispy Doctor, founder and managing director, Ormax Media.

     

    Over four years, Ormax Media has worked with 76 leading media and entertainment brands as business partners. In the first year, it focused on television, and GECs in particular. In the second year, the focus was expanded to other television genres as well as radio. In the third year, Bollywood became the priority. And now, at the end of the fourth year, the organization is set to offer unique and relevant offerings.

     

    Shailesh Kapoor

    Elaborating on Ormax’s four years, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO said: “The first four years of Ormax Media have been very eventful and successful. We have received great support from the media & entertainment industry, especially in our endeavour to create unique research products and approach entertainment research in ways that are unconventional and challenging, but also result oriented.”

     

    Growth matters

    The entertainment industry has its pros and cons and one of the biggest ‘cons’ of the industry is that it comes with a fairly low success rate – as low as 15 per cent. Therefore, the organization hopes to help the industry increase its success rate, even if by a small percentage.

     

    “Since we have been able to explain it to our clients, they have appreciated and accepted the concept of research. Hence, our growth has been fairly steep, and I can say that we are growing at a fairly high rate of 75-80 per cent, as we add more and more partners in our kitty,” said Mr Doctor.

     

    According to Mr Kapoor, the television industry has its cyclical changes, but is in a fairly stable state, vis-a-vis what it would have been 5-6 years ago. However, he does add that the definition of “stable” in television is very different from that in packaged goods and other sectors.

     

    As for the film industry, it is in an evolution stage, much like what the TV industry was in the late 90s and early 2000s. And one can see exciting times ahead for Bollywood, especially in research, where it has seen growing acceptance year-on-year.

     

    As far as Radio is concerned, it hinges a lot on the Phase 3 licenses. “Media & entertainment is a growing business, and research will continue to become more and more important as the market matures. We are all set for the challenges ahead,” Mr Kapoor added.

     

    Procedure: Easy or difficult?

    The organization offers a number of research products for various sectors of the entertainment industry. The list includes broadcast television networks, radio networks, film studios, newspapers, media agencies, DTH service providers, digital entertainment companies and production houses.

     

    So, when asked how difficult or easy the research procedure is for each variant, Mr Kapoor explained: “The larger GECs are the easier ones, as they are far more professional and they understand the value of research. Whereas in the more touchy-feely areas like films and creative companies, it becomes a little difficult as it is more about sentiments. However, it is difficult to rate them as it might be easier to work for a GEC, it might be more interesting for a film.”

     

    He added: “As a good service company, it becomes our job to orient ourselves to the client’s needs, but without compromising on the research rigor and correctness. That’s the balance that may be easy or tough. But it’s a part of our job.”

     

    A correct sample size plays is essential for any research to become successful and come out with results which will benefit the researcher. So how does the organization choose its sample?

     

    “For every client, the TG might different so we have to be careful about what attributes are they looking for in a sample size. For example, for a serial, it might be cultural overtones. So, how that serial is perceived in a city like Mumbai will be very different from how it is perceived in a small town like Indore. And if we are able to find this difference and collate preferences, it will help the channels,” explained Mr Doctor.

     

    Expansion plans

    The organization’s focus is to consolidate through new clients and repeat business. It now has 21 products for various sectors and plans to entirely focus on these products and getting them to become bigger and better in their own right. Also, it plans to target media agencies and advertisers through products like Celebritix, which was launched on July 25.

     

    “I’m often told that whichever channel you go to, Ormax gets mentioned in conversations consistently. We have a young team which made this happen. Four years ago, I would have bargained for much lesser. But again, this is only the start, and we know that we can achieve a lot more than what we have so far…” said Mr Kapoor.

     

  • Marketing campaigns for 48 global brands make the shortlist

    India wins 4 gold and 3 silvers at Appies 2012

    By A Correspondent

     

    India has done extremely well at the recently concluded Appies, winning four gold medals out of 10, 3 silver out of 5 and 2 Best Presenter Awards – Dhiren Amin, Group Planning Director, McCann Worldgroup India and Yousuf Rangoonwala, Brand Partner (Planning), BBH India Pvt Ltd win the Best Presenter Awards. (The complete list of winners is given at the end)

     

    APPIES 2012 announced the 10 Gold Medals and 5 Silver Medals winners as the two-day festival of the best marketing ideas in Asia-Pacific concluded in Singapore. The judges and assessors’ panel comprising top marketers in the region selected the winners from 100 shortlisted entries showcasing 48 global brands submitted this year. APPIES 2012 also handed out 5 Best Presenter Awards for the most compelling presentations and coherence of content.

     

    Leanne Cutts, VP, Marketing for Kraft Foods Asia who presided as the Chief Judge at the APPIES said: “We were delighted by the representation of the different agencies from different places at the APPIES this year. The campaigns made us laugh and made us cry… We had a lot of fun. However, the ideas that really impressed us were those that spoke to both the head and the heart.”

     

    “APPIES 2012 has been an extremely pleasant experience due to the diversity of thinking, of ideas and the ways they are brought to life. For me, the APPIES is all about connections – not only to the campaigns that speak to you but also meeting up with peers from across the region. I loved seeing all the liquid and linked ideas that were presented over the two days and it was eye-opening to see how multiple platforms were used effectively,” said Jaideep Kibe, Coca-Cola Sparkling Category Director, The Cola-Cola Export Corporation, Philippines, who also won the the Gold Medal for the OFW Project Campaign and the Best Presenter Award.

     

    Organised by the Institute of Advertising Singapore (IAS), APPIES 2012 is supported by SingTel, MEC, Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). Top regional marketers attended the two-day event which also featured special keynote sessions, panel discussions and exclusive talks.

     

    The list of gold medal winners are:

    1. Campaign: Pass it on

    Category: Pro-Bono/Government/Cultural

    Advertiser: Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society

    Country: Sri Lanka

    Agency: Leo Burnett Solutions Inc., Sri Lanka

     

    2. Campaign: Saffola Oats, ‘Do More with Oats’

    Category: Food & Beverage

    Advertiser: Marico India

    Country: India

    Agency: McCann Worldgroup, India

     

    3. Campaign: Student Suicide Prevention Drive

    Category: Pro-Bono/Government/Cultural

    Advertiser: Maitri Foundation, Mumbai,

    Country: India

    Agency: McCann Worldgroup, India

     

    4. Campaign: The Web Is What You Make Of It

    Category: Consumer Services

    Advertiser: Google

    Country: Singapore

    Agency: BBH Asia Pacific, Singapore

     

    5. Campaign: Curious Holiday Inn-cidents

    Category: Consumer Services

    Advertiser: IHG (Holiday Inn)

    Country: China

    Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai, China

     

    6. Campaign: Idea 3G

    Category: Consumer Services

    Advertiser: Idea Telecom

    Country: India

    Agency: Lowe Lintas & Partners, India

     

    7. Campaign: Ong & Raj

    Category: Pro-Bono/Government/Cultural

    Advertiser: Health Promotion Board

    Country: Singapore

    Agency: DDB Worldgroup, Singapore

     

    8. Campaign: The OFW Project

    Category: Food & Beverage

    Advertiser: The Coca-Cola Export Corporation

    Country: Philippines

    Agency: The Coca-Cola Export Corporation

     

    9. Campaign: Shave Sutra – Or, How To Turn A Mundane Solitary Chore Into Pleasurable Duet

    Category: Non-Food FMCG

    Advertiser: P&G India

    Country: India

    Agency: BBDO India

     

    10. Campaign: The Royal Project

    Category: Consumer Services

    Advertiser: Sizzler (Minor Food Group)

    Country: Thailand

    Agency: Y&R Thailand

     

    The 5 Silver Medals went to the following campaigns:

    1. Campaign: Parachute Ajurvedic – Recommended by Sufferers

    Advertiser: Marico India

    Country: India

    Agency: BBH India

     

    2. Campaign: Tiger Blue Xmas

    Category: Food & Beverage

    Advertiser: Vietnam Brewery Limited

    Country: Vietnam

    Agency: Leo Burnett Vietnam

     

    3. Campaign:  Tide Collars

    Category: Non-Food FMCG

    Advertiser: P&G International Operations Pte. Ltd., Singapore

    Country: India

    Agency: Leo Burnett, Mumbai, India

     

    4. Campaign: New House? Or New Furniture?

    Category: Consumer Services

    Advertiser: DFI Home Furnishings Taiwan Limited

    Country: Taipei

    Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, Taipei, Taiwan

     

    5. Campaign: Meetha at home!

    Category: Food & Beverage

    Advertiser: Cadbury India

    Country: India

    Agency: Presenter: Ogilvy & Mather, India

     

    The 5 presenters clinching the Best Presenter Awards were:

    1. Kittipong Veerataecha: Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Y&R Thailand

    2. Jaideep Kibe: Coca-Cola Sparkling Category Director, The Coca-Cola Export Corporation, Philippines

    3. Luke Nathans: Regional Development Director, APAC, iris Worldwide, Singapore

    4. Dhiren Amin: Group Planning Director, McCann Worldgroup India

    5. Yousuf Rangoonwala: Brand Partner (Planning), BBH India Pvt Ltd

     

  • Janet Lee, a veteran in the advertising and professional training industries, will conduct the intensive five-day residential programme

    AFAA’s programme to turn young talent into achievers

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) is launching its first-ever Fast Track Professional Excellence Programme, which aims to re-orient young professionals build on their basic skills in marketing and advertising.

     

    The Advertising Council of India (ACI), whose members include Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), Advertising Club Bombay, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), Indian Broadcasters Foundation (IBF), India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) and Standing Committee on Advertising (STACA), will be sponsoring four young professionals on an all-expenses-paid trip to Malaysia where the inaugural programme will take place between September 3 and 7, 2012.

     

    Janet Lee, a veteran in the advertising and professional training industries, will conduct the intensive five-day residential programme.

     

    “This holistic training programme is aimed at identifying young talent and converting them into potential leaders. I believe they would emerge from this program far more productive and happier. They will receive a truly international experience with exposure to industry leaders.” explained AFAA Chairman Pradeep Guha.

     

    To participate, young professionals (below 35 years of age) with a valid passport, and at least five years’ experience need to send a brief note, not more than 75 words on what they feel is wrong with their industry and more important what they could do to solve it, along with particulars of themselves to acifastrack@gmail.com.

     

    Short-listed candidates would be interviewed by an ACI panel and four professional will be chosen.

     

     

  • Happy gets appointed creative agency for Maiya's Foods & Amante lingerie

    Happy, a ‘hot’ choice for two brands

    By A Correspondent

     

    Happy recently bagged the Maiya’s foods account. Maiya’s, based inBangalore, is a processed foods initiative owned Sadananda Maiya – the powerhouse behind the now Norwegian-owned MTR Enterprise. Mr Maiya’s reputation in the Indian food sector and his knowledge of food sciences precedes him.

     

    Taking forth the founder’s passion for preserving traditional Indian recipes and the need to make them available to suit today’s living conditions, Maiya’s plans to launch ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook packaged foods spanning a variety of 100 snacks and dishes in the country.

     

    “While we are about preserving traditional foods, we are also about innovation in the way we make sure that it stays in all its purity after being packaged. In that way, we are a cross between the past and the future. We chose Happy because we wanted a young agency would could understand and communicate the same,” said Mr Maiya.

     

    “It’s great to be working with Mr Maiya again. Some of us at Happy have had the opportunity to work with him in our previous jobs. He is a very inspiring person and an unconventional thinker himself. It’s an honour to be chosen to launch his own personal brand,” said Kartik Iyer, CEO, Happy.

     

    “I am a self-confessed foodie. And it’s our first food category account at Happy. Time to get the right kind to juices flowing,” quipped Praveen Das, Chief Creative Officer, Happy.

     

    Happy has also been chosen as the creative partner for the lingerie brand, Amante. The MAS Holdings Group based in Sri Lanka, which is among the preferred manufacturers for the best lingerie brands in the world, owns the Amante brand.

     

    Amante  has been in India for the last 4 years and has steadily seen growth since their entry into the Indian market.

     

    “Happy Creative Services have been appointed as our advertising agency because we believe they have the ability to inject unshakable awareness and loyalty for Amante into the Indian fine lingerie consumer’s mind, benefitting both,” said John Chiramel, CEO, Amante.

     

    “We were awarded the Amante business on the basis of our experience in the fashion-apparel space, our flair for media-agnostic innovative thinking and our expertise in building brands ground-up. That’s what makes this win extra special for us,” said Siddhartha Roy, COO of Happy.

     

    Both businesses were won without a formal pitch process.

     

  • However, whilst the social network offers direct interaction between users, almost half of world leaders don’t follow any of their peers

    BM study finds almost two-thirds of world leaders are on Twitter

    By A Correspondent

     

    Burson-Marsteller, the global public relations and communications firm, released “Twiplomacy” – the first-ever global study of world leaders on Twitter. The study shows that almost two-thirds of world leaders have a Twitter account. However, whilst the social network offers direct interaction between users, almost half of world leaders don’t follow any of their peers.

     

    “Twiplomacy” is the first research of its kind, aimed at identifying to what extent world leaders use Twitter. Burson-Marsteller analyzed 264 government accounts in 125 countries.

     

    Data used was taken in July 2012 from the accounts of 264 heads of state and government and their institutions in 125 countries world-wide looking at over 30 variables using Twitonomy. Burson-Marsteller used Doesfollow to analyze Twitter relations between world leaders and MyFirstTweet to identify the first tweet of each world leader.

     

    The findings indicate that over a quarter (76) of all world leaders and governments are following Barack Obama. However @BarackObama mutually follows only Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg and Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev but hasn’t established mutual Twitter relations with other world leaders. European Union president Herman van Rompuy (@euHvR) is the best connected world leader, mutually following 11 other peers. Australian prime minister @JuliaGillard is the second best connected leader.

     

    Russian President Putin, Rwandan President Kagame, Singapore Prime Minister Lee, Dutch Prime Minister Rutte and 35 other accounts do not follow any other Twitter user; effectively cutting themselves out of the conversation.

     

    On the other hand Ugandan Prime Minister Mbabazi and Rwandan President Kagame are the most conversational world leaders on Twitter with 96 per cent and 93 per cent of their tweets being @replies.

     

    “This study illustrates how Twitter is closing the communication gap between us and our world leaders. On the one hand, it allows heads of state and government to broadcast their daily activities and government news to an ever growing audience. On the other hand it allows citizens direct access to their leaders. Consequently, it is now, more than ever, critical for these leaders to get it right on the social network”, said Jeremy Galbraith, CEO of Burson-Marsteller Europe, Middle East and Africa.

     

    The study found that politicians often discover Twitter during election campaigns but once elected, these accounts tend to go silent, such as the accounts of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff @DilmaBR and French president Francois Hollande @FHollande who have abandoned their followers since taking office. There are 120 personal accounts, however only 30 world leaders tweet personally and then only occasionally.

     

    “16 of the G20 leaders have are actively using Twitter for public diplomacy, but it is sad to see that the heads of state and government in China, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Italy still do not have joined the Twitterverse”, said Matthias Lufkens, Burson-Marsteller’s Digital Practice Leader in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

     

    Twitter is also used by small nations to put them on the world map and tweet eye-to-eye with their peers. The president of the Dominican Republic unilaterally follows 71 other world leaders. The president of Portugaland the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobagoboth unilaterally follow over 50 other peers in the hope that they will return the favour and the young Republic of South Sudan hopes to gain international Twitter recognition by following 16 peers.

     

    Twitter is most popular in North and South America with 80 per cent of governments active. Barack Obama is the most followed world leader with 17,115,077 followers, globally in 5th place just behind Britney Spears. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is in second place with 3,152,608 followers, followed by the White House, Queen Rania of Jordan and10 Downing Street, all having over two million followers.

     

    Other key findings include

    • Out of the 264 accounts of heads of state and government, 90 have never ever sent a retweet and 99 have never sent @reply
    • US President Barack Obama was the first world leader to sign up to Twitter on March 5, 2007 followed the same month by @EPN, the account now used by Mexico’s president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto.
    • Most popular tweet: “Same-sex couples should be able to get married.” – President Obama”, retweeted 62,047 times on May 9, 2012
    • World leaders tweet in 43 different languages. English is used by 34 per cent followed by Spanish (15 per cent). However Spanish and Latin American leaders tweet three times as much as their English counterparts
  • But there is a cautious optimism among industry players as far as ad spends in the medium is concerned

    Industry welcomes DAVP plans to embrace digital with cautious optimism

    By A Correspondent

     

    Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), the multi-media advertising agency of the Government of India, in its Annual Report 2011-2012 stated that out of the total value of advertisements released by DAVP, 15 per cent goes to small newspapers, 35 per cent to medium newspapers and 50 per cent goes to big category of newspapers. DAVP also has an audio visual wing which undertakes various advertising or publicity campaigns through various other multimedia vehicles like the television, radio, out of home and now even the internet and mobile.

     

    In what could be a shot in the arm for the digital industry, DAVP has been conducting pilot projects on websites and through SMSes. According to DAVP’s Annual Report 2011- 2012, 33 of India’s top websites were empanelled for releasing advertisements. In addition to this, more than 110 advertisements via SMSes were also sent.

     

    Rajan Anandan

    According to Mr Rajan Anandan, VP and Managing Director, Google India: “This is a welcome development for the entire digital advertising industry. With over 120 million Internet users in the country, digital is already the third largest advertising medium in terms of revenue in the country. It’s too early to talk about the impact, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction as the overall marketing/advertising approach is making a shift to being more accountable and measurable.”

     

    In fact on July 26, The Sectoral Innovation Council by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting submitted a list of recommendations to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Ms Ambika Soni. One of these recommendations stated: ‘New Media should be utilised for media campaigns by the government’. In addition to this, it also recommended that ‘E-mode transactions should be a priority for the functions of DAVP, RNI, CBFC and licensing activities of the Government for ensuring transparency’.

     

    Arpan Chatterjee

    Mr Arpan Chatterjee, online media professional and consultant with webdunia.com noted: “This is a logical extension by DAVP to focus on digital media, which is generating a critical mass in the country. It is to be noted that DAVP started digitization of its own system of issuing release order and payments to media companies over a year back and the fact that it is now looking at digital media more seriously was only a matter of time. DAVP’s move to enter the digital media will only add to the importance of the digital medium, but how it uses the medium is something one has to wait and watch. DAVP ads can also help create certain guidelines for internet advertising in India, which currently is self-regulated.”

     

    Even before these recommendations were made by the Sectoral Council, the IAMAI (Internet & Mobile Association of India) is said to have lobbied hard to bring a shift in the government’s approach towards digital media. The IAMAI is also said to have played a key role in getting the mobile SMS aggregators empanelled.

     

    Dr Subho Ray

    Dr Subho Ray, President – Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) explained: “Today with 100 million internet users and growing every day, digital is the most cost effective way to reach out to youth and, through them, their parents. The engagement with internet and mobile of the youth is very deep and the relevance of the message too gets transmitted on this medium. Young urban voters aged between 18 and 35 are a major constituency today for all political parties. And the internet, whether through mobile or PC, has surfaced as the best medium to reach this group.”

     

    DAVP recently revamped its website with an aim to make it user-friendly, it has also adopted digitization by issuing release orders and payments to media companies online. In fact the Ministry of Tourism is said to have been one of the early adapters and a large advertiser online. While these developments also show the government’s willingness to use digital, nevertheless what remains to be seen is how effectively the medium is used by the government in the long run.

     

    Mr Gyan Gupta, CEO, Dainik Bhaskar Digital Division pointed out that although these are good recommendations and a welcome step, it all depends on how much DAVP is willing to spend on digital. Just like any other medium, digital too needs a sizable ad spend: “DAVP has started this process last year and the trial is still on. Although this is a fantastic move, the question really boils down to how much is the government willing to spend on digital? What will be the ad spend from DAVP on digital? Digital today has become the third largest medium with increasing reach – it has become a medium which cannot be ignored. But, if the government is not willing to spend a sizeable amount or if each publisher does not get a decent money or ad revenue then it is not worth it, it will be irrelevant.”

     

    Mr Gupta too had a set of recommendations for the DAVP, which is said to have had a consensus among the other local language publishers: “First, they have to look at the categorization of the website very clearly and second, DAVP must also ensure that enough volume of advertisement is pumped into digital.”

     

    Now that more and more people are gaining access to the internet and spending more time online, not just in urban but also in rural India, perhaps the government has realized that it is a medium it can no longer ignore. With the 2014 general elections fast approaching, the government is expected to increase its advertising spends in order to showcase its achievements and with the Council’s recommendations to use digital, the government could well use digital extensively to reach out to the youth.

     

    Mr Upen Rai, Director, Times Internet Ltd, observed: “By bringing digital publishers into the DAVP fold, the signals are very clear from I&B ministry that it is digital all the way. With e-filing of taxes and other e-govt frays including Passport Kendras, it was a matter of time! Next stop would ideally be its relevance to general elections, yes this time around social, and digital will play a large part… Watch out for this space…”

     

    The 2009 Lok Sabha elections or general elections saw political parties advertising online and the next general elections could well see political parties further increasing their spends online.

     

    BG Mahesh

    Mr BG Mahesh, Founder and MD, Oneindia.in said: “Considering the contribution of Government ads in Print and TV channels, if the similar importance is given to the digital medium, it will be a very good sign for the Digital industry. It will not only fuel the higher growth rate for the digital industry, but will also provide the government a better connect with youth of country who spend a lot of time on Internet. Furthermore, if DAVP also extend the digital spends to mobile internet, the reach would be much broader as today phones with internet connections, or smart phone, start from as low as Rs5,000 and their dependence on electricity is very less as compare to desktop/laptops.”

     

    So, how would the youth of today react to government advertisements? Will it have any positive impact on them? Ms Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer, CEO and MD, BCWebWise said: “Awareness will increase, and we can pave the way for a betterIndia. We will see more open forums, debates and discussions. There are perils of uncensored content, at the same time, and this is something India needs today.”

     

    Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer

    So, while the industry has welcomed the Sectoral Innovation Council’s recommendation that the Government must utilise the new age media for its media campaigns, there is a cautious optimism among industry players as far as ad spends in the medium is concerned.

     

    Mr Anurag Gupta, MD, DGM India stated: “Government spending should be seen in the same light as spending by any brand. A marketer spends his monies where the users are, and if users are online then the best way to reach them is by advertising online! Any online media consumer whether it is youth or the older people will react to online advertising by the Government in pretty much the same manner as they would seeing the same ad in print or on TV.”

     

    Anurag Gupta

    Nonetheless if the government approves of these recommendations and does increase its digital ad spends, it would be a major boost for the entire digital industry particularly for increasing the digital advertising revenue. Currently, DAVP ad spends seem majorly skewed towards print and, to an extent, even television. However as the government increasingly uses the new age medium, what kind of implications digital advertising may have on DAVP ad spends only remains to be seen.

     

  • If the customer does not get his/her size and if it's available in any other store, then Metro will procure and send it to the customer’s home with no delivery charge

    Now. get your Metro shoes home delivered

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Metro Shoes has come up with a unique initiative to give an enhanced experience to its customers – that of getting their shoes delivered to their doorsteps. The service, in a nutshell, is that if the customer does not get his/her size and if it’s available in any other store across India, then Metro will procure it and send it to the customer’s home with no delivery charge for a hassle-free shopping experience.

     

    Talking about the initiative, Lavina Rodrigues Pinto, Marketing Manager, Metro Shoes, said: “At Metro Shoes, we believe in making a customer, and not a sale. The idea of initiating this unique service was to enhance the ‘customer delight’ by giving him/her what they needed without them having to worry about logistical and delivery hassles.”

     

    Ms Pinto added: “Being in the business of selling shoes for more than eight decades, we have fine-tuned and learnt from our customers; hence the service was started to provide them the much needed comfortable experience. With the growing number of brands in the market and lesser time spent by customers on singular labels, we have tried to think one step ahead in terms of loyalty marketing and creating patrons.”

     

    On their expansion plans, Ms Pinto shared that Metro Shoes aims to be Rs1,000 crore company by 2015. There is also plan to open 43 new outlets in 2012-13 with an investment of Rs44 crores. The expansion is also aimed at Tier II markets which have great potential. Currently Metro Shoes covers 20 states inIndiaand are also the largest fashion footwear brand in the country. The plan is also to add more standalone accessories stores and value format stores like MSL (More shoes for Less) in the coming years.

     

    The company also launched their e-commerce portal eight years back. Ms Pinto said: “The response has been very encouraging and we are seeing a growing category of shoppers inIndiawho prefer the click to walk.”

     

    She added: “At Metro Shoes, we have a philosophy of combining traditional ethos with contemporary means. To enhance customer experience, we have a well integrated loyalty programme. We also have a growing market of NRIs and wedding shoppers for whom we customize shoes and match the trousseau or attire. Another interesting feature is our product mix – we customize our mix regionally. For example, stores in Kerala have more flats where asChandigarhsees more of heels’ sales.Bangalorehas more colours, whereas Kolkata prefers earthy tones! With the launch of our e-commerce portal, it has helped us break geographic barriers and we have seen a healthy growth in this arena too.”

     

  • In the first edition of our MxM Mondays, a cross-section of the media on the ownership of our news media. Should there be entry barriers?

    Is news media ownership a cause for worry?

     

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Hardly had the news of the acquisition of English news channel NewsX by ITV Media Group and Hindi news channel Live India by Prosperity Agro filterd in, there were murmurs on whether it was vital for the government to impose entry barriers for the news media. ITV of course has been in the news for around five years and Live India already had a sizeable stake by a property developer HDIL.

     

    As part of MxM Mondays, we spoke to a cross-section of news media practitioners to offer their views on the issue.

     

    This issue of media ownership has been debated on in the past, and more so recently, because of the entry of corporate groups into the news media. Earlier this year we saw two big corporates enter the media domain, when Reliance Industries bought a stake in Raghav Behl-led Network18 and Aditya Birla Group invested in the Aroon Purie-led Living Media India.

     

    While big business owning media is not a new phenomenon, there are numerous instance of politicians owning and controlling sections of the media, especially in Southern India.

     

    Hence the question arises: Is it a cause for worry when people with non-media interests start owning the mass news media?

     

    Here are a cross-section of views from captains of the industry (in alphabetical order of their last names):

     

    Tariq Ansari, Chairman and Managing Director, Next Mediaworks Ltd

    Tariq Ansari

    The worry is not around who owns the media but whether they act in a way that is consistent with journalistic standards of integrity and fair play. We seem to have forgotten simple journalistic conventions like a declaration of interest from the owner of the publication/channel on stories in which there is a substantial commercial interest.

     

    Media, much like steel or fertilisers or communications, will eventually belong to those who have the means and desire to invest in it. The point about it being the preserve of a few is inexplicable. Nobody is stopping anyone from raising the capital to start a newspaper/magazine/TV station/radio station/website. We live in a free country. Anyone who has the ability to own media should be able to do so, without limitation. Clearly my preference would be that criminals or those with clear vested interest should not own media, but I am not sure if the law of the land can prevent this from happening.

     

    Vinod Mehta

    Vinod Mehta, Former Editor-in-Chief, Outlook magazine

    I am worried. Media diversity is very important for freedom of the press. I don’t want Media in the hands of a few owners. It should be open to all.

     

     

     

    And here’s what MxMIndia’s regular columnists say:
     

    Ranjona Banerji, senior journalist, columnist and Contributing Editor, MxMIndia

    Media ownership is a worry to the extent that journalists are not able to withstand corporate pressure. For instance, the Birlas started Hindustan Times and the Tatas has a stake in The Statesman (to name just two) and the battle between marketing and editorial is as old as the profession. The problem comes when senior editors capitulate and reader interest is surrendered or sacrificed. I would turn the spotlight back on journalists: are we fighting the good fight?

    _______________________________

     

    Mediaah/Pradyuman Maheshwari, editor-in-chief, MxMIndia:

    Many years back when I asked a leading industrialist why he was keen on starting a news channel he replied with the famed Deewar dialogue (some alcohol in the system did the trick): Aaj mere paas buildingey hai, gaadi hai, bank balance hai, but even then these guys owning newspapers and channels are ruling the world. We were in the late 1990s, and journalists and news media owners were indeed much sought after. That may have waned over the years, but the desire to own news media stays. What hasn’t changed is that the intent of owning the news media goes far beyond returns on investments.

     

    When the British ruled India, it was the desire to mobilize public opinion that led to several national leaders and even businessmen to embrace news. Post-Independence, with the birth of a new economy, it was a mix of nationalistic sentiment and also to use it as an ally in a tightly controlled business environment. The ’60s and ’70s saw the media taking off with magazines like the Illustrated Weekly of India, later India Today and several others in regional languages. The imposition of the Emergency got people to realize the importance of the news media as the liberalization of the economy and and the airwaves ensured that there is no looking back.

     

    Being a democracy, there are no entry barriers to the media. And rightly so. However, when a few years back a few real estate and assorted players jumped into news television there were representations to the information and broadcasting ministry that there ought to be tighter controls.

     

    The current murmurs are being heard because NewsX has been acquired by businessman Kartikeya Sharma. ITV, his media company, also runs the newspaper Aaj Samaj and regional and Hindi news network India News. And the reason for the concern: it was feared that being the brother of Manu Sharma who has been convicted in the Jessica Lallmurder case, he could misuse his position to influence the executive and the judiciary. Well, the Supreme Court upheld its sentence of life imprisonment in 2010, so evidently he didn’t achieve much. To be fair to Sharma, a senior editorial and business executive who has worked with him, told me that he saw no interference on content, especially on the Manu Sharma front.

     

    Clearly, the money power of rich businessmen and politicians cannot bring in readers or viewers, as the case may be or make a success of the media enterprise. In the late’80s, the Ambanis acquired Commerce Weekly and converted it into a business daily. They also acquired The Sunday Observer that was once edited by Vinod Mehta and was exceedingly popular.  The Ambani indulgence in the media failed despite hiring top journalists and publishing executives. They could only use the papers to fight a few minor battles, and even those without much success.

     

    Mehta worked and fell out with industrialists Vijaypat Singhani and L M Thapar as both found news too hot to handle and counter-productive to their primary businesses (and revenues). One had assumed he would meet the same fate when Rajan Raheja, a then-emerging industrialist with some interests in real estate, set up the Outlook magazine group. Mehta has led many battles with the mighty and powerful in his magazine and both Raheja and Mehta have survived each other.

     

    Save the Outlook example which is a good indicator of business interests and independent journalism co-existing, clearly big money is not enough to drive consumption of news media. My worry though lies elsewhere:

    1. Lack of transparency in the ownership of media.

    2. Creation of a monopolistic scenario with business groups investing in multiple and similar vehicles

    3. Level playing field for competition in case of vertical and/or horizontal cross-ownership, and

    4. Diversification of media companies  into entities beyond news

     

    1 & 2. Transparency requirements in media ownership are critical. When the government announced recently that a certain conglomerate doesn’t not have interests in the media, is it really the case, or is that what is on paper and hence deemed correct? While doubts have been raised about how the acquisition of a sizeable chunk of Network 18 via an independent trust would impact the editorial independence of the group, the real worry is the rumoured interests of the group in other media ventures too.

     

    Could we have a situation that a genre of channels or newspapers or the media entities in particular region of the country be owned – directly or indirectly – by one group? How do we tackle a monopolistic scenario such as this?

     

    3. The PR head of a radio station in Delhi once complained that she could never hope to get her press release into the two main English dailies in the city because both had their own FM stations. So, while the most inane event from the group’s radio station gets covered, the lady’s FM frequency never got a mention even for a big activity. So rampant is this blacking out of a rival group’s activities that it’s now considered standard practice. In many countries there are strict rules for horizontal and vertical cross-ownership. While the TRAI has suggested restrictions in vertical ownership (a TV channel can’t fully own a DTH or cable platform etc), horizontal ownership is fine (so a TV channel can also run a newspaper, radio station etc).

     

    4. The last of my worry areas can be a bigger concern, and, if misused, even graver than big business or a political party getting into the media. Many news media groups have invested in sectors outside of news and doubts have been expressed if there is any connect between the relationships with governments via the news media and the winning of such contracts.

     

    Even though the government at the Centre is weak, and we can be sure it will flex its muscles often enough in the run-up to various elections until 2014, I don’t see any immediate solution to the problem. But what can play a deterrent for those who abuse the media will be public opinion via social media.

     

    Sevanti Ninan, Editor, thehoot.org and Columnist, Mint

    Sevanti Ninan

    Yes, it is a cause for worry when people with vested interests start owning the mass media because political ownership of the media is increasing, and there are no transparency requirements on media ownership.

     

    Readers and viewers are unable to discern ownership-related biases. There is also a renewed trend of corporate investment in media increasing. Media companies are supposed to file ownership details with the registrar of companies, but one, it is not properly done, and two it is very difficult for lay people to access the correct and latest data.

     

    On the issue of media being a preserve of only a certain groups, even now it is fairly widely owned.

     

    Maheshwar Peri, Chairman, Pathfinder Publishing India Pvt ltd

    Maheshwar Peri

    In my opinion there is no cause for worry. I think, increasingly, the cause for worry comes from a few industrialists who’ve gotten into media. But if you go back to the flag bearers of Indian journalism in the 1980s, Indian Express was owned by RNG, an industrial group. So, to say that ownership by industrialists would hurt media is a slightly wrong way of looking at it.

     

    There is definitely a cause for worry when people get into media for reasons other than running it as a professional empire. If you look at some of the politicians who’ve come into media or political parties that are launching their own channels, that’s a cause for worry because they have a reason to dish out news which suit their needs and opinions.

     

    So there is a problem when people in public office get into media, but it’s not so much of a problem if industrialists or venture capitalists or any others moneybag get into it because they want to make it a commercially viable operation. And they know they can make it commercially viable only when the reader/viewer respects them. In case of politicians, they are not interested in making it commercially viable; they just want to ensure that their point of view finds a space in the public domain.

     

    I think unless a reader or consumer respects you, you won’t be able to sell beyond a point. So all of us, whether or not owned by corporates, are always trying to ensure that we give unbiased and credible information so that the reader continues to respect us as well as the advertiser continues to invest in us.

     

    And what makes one think that they have a better opinion about media than a fruit vendor? I don’t think there can be a classification of who has a better opinion about certain things in this country – we are a democracy. So the worse thing is to say that ‘these’ kind of people can get into media and ‘those’ kind cannot.

     

    Tarun Tejpal, Editor-in-Chief, Tehelka magazine

    Tarun Tejpal

    To some extent, there is cause to worry about media ownership. We have to air, discuss and examine issues of monopolies, cross media ownerships, and of cross business ownerships. And to try and build in some structural safeguards that both help ensure the financial viability of honest, robust media, and deter media owners from using their media instruments for unfair advantage in their other businesses.

     

    Theoretically, it (media) should be open to all. But we must build in safeguards that minimize the misuse of public discourse and public instruments of media. This is not easy, but a discussion must start on this issue at all levels.

     

    Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Senior Journalist

    Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

    The growing corporatization of the Indian media is manifest in the manner in which large industrial conglomerates are acquiring direct and indirect interest in media groups. There is also a growing convergence between creators/producers of media content and those who distribute/disseminate the content.

     

    In India’s unique ‘mediascape’, it is often contended that the proliferation of publications, radio stations, television channels, and internet websites is a sure-fire guarantor for plurality, diversity, and consumer choice. There were over 82,000 publications registered with the Registrar of Newspapers. There are over 250 FM radio stations in the country. Despite these impressive numbers of publications, radio stations and television channels, the mass media in India is possibly dominated by less than a hundred large groups or conglomerates, which exercise considerable influence on what is read, heard, and watched.

     

    One example will illustrate this contention. Delhi is the only urban area in the world with 16 English daily newspapers; the top three publications, the Times of India, the Hindustan Times, and the Economic Times, would account for over three-fourths of the total market for all English dailies.

     

    However, what is unacceptable is media barons using news outlets as tools to further their business interests. In this country, as in the world over, large media corporations are clearly playing a bigger role in the political economy that they report on. Though a free media is fundamental to the existence of a liberal democracy, concerns about the accountability and transparency of media companies remain. For instance, the RIL deal has enabled Network 18, Eenadu, and the merged group to expand its offerings to benefit its stakeholders and its advertising target audiences. What remains to be seen is whether clear boundaries can be etched between the boardroom and the newsroom.

     

    There’s absolutely no doubt about the fact that if it’s truly going to be a responsive media, then the media should reflect the views, the interests, the aspirations of a larger section of population as possible. The problem with much of our media is that they are too busy trying to ‘reach’ consumers to potential advertisers than providing information to citizens.

     

    Next Week:

    Why do we all like to damn TAM?

    The Sectoral Innovation Council recommendations last week said that there was need for an alternative to TAM, short for the media research company formed by a jv of two international research biggies: Nielsen and Kantar. This is a view that has been expressed several times over the years.

     

    One of the main peeves against TAM is the number of Peoplemeter boxes present to collect data. Can 8000+ boxes effectively poll a populace of 1.2 billion, is what many broadcasters keep asking in public. In private though, not many are ready to pay up by increasing their subscription fee to enable the installation of more boxes across the country.

     

    Also, what’s happening to BARC, the joint industry body that was to provide an alternative?

     

    MxMIndia will speak to a cross-section of the industry to get answers. Meanwhile, if you have a view, email it to us at editor@mxmindia.com with the subject ‘MxM Mondays #2’

     
  • Divya Bhaskar launched Rajkaaj to address this heightened reader need for political news

    Divya Bhaskar launches Rajkaaj in Ahmedabad

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ahmedabad is the commercial and the political capital of Gujarat. As per internal research and readers feedback, it was evident to the Dainik Bhaskar Group that the readers in Ahmedabad are deeply interested in the political and bureaucratic activities of state. Power corridors of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar were of prime interest to the readers.

     

    Keeping this interest in mind, Divya Bhaskar launched a special page – Rajkaaj -in its main issue in Ahmedabad to address this heightened reader need for political news.
    Mr Saras Sethi, State CEO Gujarat said: ‘Divya Bhaskar has always been a newspaper that has remained above the curve; and we use reader’s feedback and formal research for keeping a tab on the changing environment. RAJKAAJ aimed at providing focused political news is a perfect example of this philosophy. We understand that this will further strengthen the strong reader connect that Divya Bhaskar enjoys with its readers and will help then remaining updated on the political and bureaucratic scenario and the power struggle or equations.”

     

    Divya Bhaskar, the Gujarati newspaper from Dainik Bhaskar group with 11.44 lakh readers (IRS Q1 2012) is the only Gujarati newspaper with more than a million readers in a city.