MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • Starting Feb 2, the special series will capture the passion of social entrepreneurs who are changing the face of India

    Bloomberg TV India gets ‘Down to Earth’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bloomberg TV India, business news channel, has announced the launch of ‘Down to Earth’, a special series that will highlight cutting edge developments in philanthropy and the social sector in India. It is a series that celebrates the spirit of social entrepreneurship. Strategic philanthropy foundation Dasra is Bloomberg TV India’s ‘Knowledge Partner’ for the series.

     

    The series will be telecast every Saturday at 1.30pm and Sunday at 11.30am on Bloomberg TV India. The first episode of the series will be telecast on Saturday, February 2.

     

    Down to Earth will chronicle the stories of four social entrepreneurs: Inir Pinheiro of Grassroutes, Naveen Krishna of SMV Wheels, Rajesh Shah of Sabras and Shilpi Kapoor of Barrier Break Technologies who are leading organisations that are successfully applying business ideas to create social good, employment and provide access to improved livelihood opportunities for the poor and downtrodden.

     

    Inir Pinheiro, Owner, Grassroutes, said, “The greatest challenge in India is the lack of opportunities, especially livelihood opportunities. With this thought in mind, we explored tourism, which is known to be a good mechanism for economic development. The key to developing any livelihood is sustainability and that is the prime reason I chose social entrepreneurship. In order to preserve this country we need to create sustainable livelihood opportunities and our endeavour is to create a million such opportunities.”

     

    Naveen Krishna, Managing Director, SMV Wheels, said, “I had witnessed the social and economic exploitation of cycle rickshaw pullers since my childhood and wanted to do something to improve their lives. If we support a community that works the hardest, yet amongst the poorest, and bring a small change in their lives it will be the best success story for the other similar communities. The smile and confidence they have after becoming the owner of their cycle rickshaw is my biggest encouragement.”

     

    Rajesh Shah, Chairman and Founder, Sabras, said, “My journey into social entrepreneurship started 35 years ago. After lobbying with the government to provide land to poor agriculture labourers, I realized the need to focus on wealth generation for these farmers by increasing their access to technology, markets and institutional credit. I was driven to find solutions for mainstreaming the marginalized through combining cause and commerce. I believe that in order to achieve inclusive growth one needs to reach out to the poor and help them run their enterprises professionally and achieve wealth generation.”

     

    Shilpi Kapoor, Founder Director, Barrier Break Technologies, said, “I always wanted to work with technology but didn’t want to do the usual things. I realized that it was difficult for the disabled to move around or use infrastructure and the use of web and technology could help solve this problem. I was intrigued by how people with disabilities would be impacted by technology and decided to pursue this as a career. I had always wanted to be an entrepreneur because I believe that a team of passionate and committed people can achieve lot more than what a single person could. I wanted to make a difference and this proved to be the right path for me.”

     

  • The DDB Mudra Group firm sets up shop with a big client in the bag

    With Mahindra in tow, Interbrand begins India ops on a high

    By A Correspondent

     

    This February-end will mark the completion of a year since the unveiling of a new structure and brand identity by creative hotshop DDB Mudra Group in India. As part of the slew of changes that were planned for the network in India, the management had announced that the network would comprise of eight key agencies as under: DDB Mudra, DDB MudraMax, Mudra, DDB Health & Lifestyle, RAPP, Tribal DDB India, Water and Maatra.

     

    While plenty was reported and written about the performance of the creative, out-of-home, experiential and other units within the group in the past one year, one unit that preferred to stay away from the limelight was Water, the brand consultancy specialist that was rebranded Interbrand India at the time of restructuring. But that is until now. Interbrand India seems to have finally found its footing in the country as it announced the take-off of its operations in India.

     

    Formed by the transition of Water, the brand strategy and design consultancy of DDB Mudra Group, to Interbrand, Interbrand India will offer Interbrand’s complete suite of brand consulting services including brand strategy, audit/evaluation, design, brand management and verbal identity. The operation will continue to be located in Mumbai.

     

    A communique issued to media stated the following: “Joining a client roster that includes Tata and Godrej, Interbrand India is pleased to announce that it has begun consulting for the Mahindra Group. Mahindra, one of the more progressive Indian brands, is looking to establish itself as one of the world’s most valuable brands and as part of the journey has engaged Interbrand on an extensive brand valuation project. The Interbrand offices in Mumbai & London will carry out the assignment.”

     

    “India is one of the most exciting markets in the world for brands today, said Jez Frampton, Global CEO of Interbrand. “We are extremely pleased to have Ashish Mishra and his team join the Interbrand family and to mark the occasion with the start of a relationship with Mahindra, one of India’s most prestigious brands.”

     

    Commenting on joining Interbrand, Ashish Mishra, Managing Director, Interbrand India said, “We want Indian companies to realize that brands are not mere logos or slogans but rank among the most important assets a business owns. Mr. Mishra continued, “As the world’s leading brand consulting firm, our task, quite simply, is to help the Best Indian Brands graduate to Best Global Brands.”

     

    Interbrand’s brand valuation methodology – the first of its kind to be ISO certified – analyzes the many ways a brand touches and benefits an organization, from driving bottom-line business results to delivering on customer expectations. The methodology has been leveraged to build value, inform strategic brand management, restructure and create business cases for investments for some of the best global brands.

     

  • Bodhisatwa Dasgupta, Associate Creative Director, Grey Worldwide aspires to bring long copy back in fashion. Of course, where required

    Longhand 2.0: Getting better, and longer

    By Ananya Saha

     

    When short and crisp are the buzzwords, when Twitter creates buzz with 140 characters, not many seem enthused to write long copy. Especially long ad copy. Even when required. Thus was born Longhand. The Longhand competition was a much cherished advertising affair last year. For the uninitiated, the competition, brainchild of Bodhisatwa Dasgupta, Associate Creative Director, Grey Worldwide, celebrates the love for long copy ads. The participants write long copy on 4-5 briefs. A few deadline extensions and many entries later, well-known names from advertising industry judge the copies. Names such as Indra Sinha, Neil French, Swapan Seth, Emmanuel Upputuru, Satbir Singh, Ashish Chakravarty, and Nima DT Namchu judged last year’s competition and Sir Martin Sorrell endorsed the initiative.

     

    Differentiating this year’s competition from the last year, Mr Dasgupta said, “The first year only had judges from the creative field. This year, we have two judges representing the clients’ side as well, Rahul Kansal, Executive President, BCCL and Mohit Hira from JWT who is Sr VP and Regional Business Director – Airtel. The client judges have a role to play too in the resurrection of long copy ads.” Apart from the client judges, there will be known names such as Prasoon Joshi, Executive Chairman & CEO of McCann Erickson Worldgroup India; Agnello Dias who co-founded Taproot and David Shanks – a copy-based Creative Director who runs his own one-man company called Clear Brand Essence from London.

     

    Neil French, former WPP Worldwide Creative Director and founder of World Press Awards, and Luke Sullivan who is now chair of the advertising department at the Savannah College of Art and Design, will act as the Jury Presidents. Guest Judges Ed McCabe, Tony Brignull will give conclusive comments on 10-15 shortlisted entries. For the record, at the D&AD 50th anniversary, advertising legend Tony Brignull was accredited Most Awarded Copywrite with three Black Pencils and 17 Yellow Pencils over 35 years. He currently works freelance. Mr. McCabe is the youngest copywriter to be a part of the One Club Creative Hall of Fame, featuring the likes of David Ogilvy and Leo Burnett. He also co-founded Scali, McCabe, Sloves.

     

    Getting the big guns of advertising to be judges at Longhand must have been a tough job. “Not actually,” said Mr Dasgupta, adding, “You know, big people have big hearts.” Well, the big-hearted judges won’t be soft on the entries though. While last year winners received ‘Sorry for the Lobsters’, a book written by Neil French signed by the Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of O&M and Chairman of its Worldwide Creative Council, Tham Khai Meng, Mr Dasgupta prefers to keep 2.0 awards under wraps for now.

     

    The 2.0 version has a new website (www.longhandawards.com), even as it gains momentum solely through the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Longhand2 and the Mr Dasgupta-led long copy ad reservoir: www.facebook.com/putheadlinehere). This year, apart from Mr Dasgupta, is his art partner Dushyant Chopra. Mr Chopra is the man behind the logo and all the communication that’s released and Kolkata-based Adhiraj Mukherji designed and developed the Longhand 2.0 website. Much like last time, all judging will be done online, with no jury-meets to discuss the shortlists.

     

    The free-to-enter contest opened on January 15 and the deadline has already been extended to March 15 from the earlier March 1, given the huge interest it is generating in the ad industry. The international participation is also expected to rise, given the page views from UK, US, Singapore, Portugal and Netherlands, among many others, concluded Mr Dasgupta.

     

  • The IAA Leadership Awards will recognize outstanding professionals across Marketing, Advertising and Media

    Top marketing & media agency bosses in first nominee list of IAA awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Advertising Association (IAA) India chapter has released the nominees in the first 10 categories for the first edition of the IAA Leadership Awards. The nominees have been shortlisted on account of their outstanding contribution to the fields of Marketing, Advertising and Media.

     

    The IAA Awards will honour the individuals across Marketing, Advertising and Media under the same roof.

     

    The following are the list of nominees revealed from an initial list across 10 categories to win the IAA Leadership Awards:

    Media Agency Head of the Year:
    Name Organization
    Shashi Sinha Lodestar India
    Sam Balsara Madison World
    Rajesh Jain Prachar Advertising
    Vikram Sakhuja Group M
    Jasmin Sohrabji OMD

     

    Marketer of the Year: FMCG – Food & Beverages
    Name Organization
    Deepika Warrier Pepsico
    Chandramouli Venkatesan Cadbury Kraft India
    Krishan Kumar Chutani Dabur
    Anuradha Narasimhan Britannia
    Geetu Varma HUL

     

    Marketer of the Year: FMCG – Personal Care
    Name Organization
    Satyaki Ghosh Loreal
    Arun Srinivas HUL
    Kainaz Gazdar P & G
    Arvind Chintamani Colgate Palmolive
    Devender Garg Dabur

     

    Marketer of the Year: FMCG – Consumer Durables
    Name Organization
    Divya Rao Sony
    Rahul Saighal Samsung appliances
    Nivedita Mandal Whirlpool
    Sunil Tandon Videocon
    Sarthak Seth Panasonic

     

    Marketer of the Year: Household Products
    Name Organization
    Sukhpreet Singh Kansai Nerolac
    Ajay Arora D Decor
    Amit Syngle Asian Paints
    Kumar Pillay Ultratech Cement

     

    Marketer of the Year : Telecom Products
    Name Organization
    Anuradha Aggarwal Vodafone
    Bharat Bhambawle Airtel
    Gurinder Singh Sandu Tata Docomo
    Rahul Saighal Samsung Mobiles
    Rahul Sharma Micromax Mobiles

     

    Marketer of the Year: Auto 2 wheeler
    Name Organization
    Anil Dua Hero Motor Corp
    Mr. Vijay Kaul Yamaha
    Mr. Sanjay Saraswat Bajaj Auto Ltd.
    Yadvinder Singh Guleria Honda
    Atul Gupta Suzuki Motorcycle Company

     

    Marketer of the Year: Travel & Hospitality
    Name Organization
    Deepa Harris Taj
    Manish Kalra Make My  trip
    Gajendra Kumar Incredible India
    Manish Dureja Jet Airways

     

    Marketer of the Year : Banking
    Name Organization
    Manisha Lathgupta Axis Bank
    Sujit Ganguli ICICI Bank
    Karthi Marshan Kotak Mahindra Bank
    Mahendra Kumar Rekhi SBI
    kalyanaraman S. Bank Of Baroda

     

    Marketer of the Year: Insurance
    Name Organization
    Chandramohan Mehra SBI Life Insurance
    Yateesh srivastava Aegon Religare
    Rita Bhattacharya LIC
    Ajay Kakar Birla Sunlife
    Manish Dubey ICICI Prudential Life

     

    Srinivasan K Swamy

    Speaking on the nominees, Srinivasan Swamy, President of the International Advertising Association, said, “The IAA Leadership awards are an attempt to honour the contributions of individuals in the field of Marketing, Advertising and Media. Each of the nominees from across categories have burned the midnight oil to make a positive difference for the brands they work for. May the best professionals win.”

     

    To ensure that the recipients of the many awards are determined in a fair and just manner and to ensure the process is seen as transparent, IAA appointed the experienced marketing research company A C Nielsen to execute the nomination and voting process. Further Ernst & Young has been appointed to conduct audit and validate the entire process. The winners will be decided in a two-stage selection process; the first stage will include nominations and shortlisting by seasoned marketing, media and advertising professionals; and the second stage will be the final selection of winners by a voting process among the shortlisted nominees, by respective senior industry peers.

     

    The first edition of the annual awards is scheduled on February 2 at Grand Hyatt, Mumbai. Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari will be the chief guest.

     

  • The celebrated Ahmedabad-based columnist speaks to MxMIndia on his life and times

    Gujarati writer-journalist Devendra Patel’s journey to the Padma Shri

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    At 68, Devendra Patel reads 4-5 hours daily, which includes 25-30 newspapers. He watches television for two hours  and keeps himself updated with national and international news, ranging from Barack Obama and Manmohan Singh, to Bipasha Basu and Katrina Kaif. Mr Patel, Advisor to the Editor and columnist for Gujarati newspaper Sandesh, was recently awarded Padma Shri in the discipline of Literature & Education.

     

    “I was elated at the announcement. I am not a hypocrite to say that I did not feel good. Naturally, it feels good,” he said. Mr Patel who was born on October 20, 1945 in Gujarat, began his career as a journalist began in June 1967, when he joined Gujarat Samachar as a reporter. It was actually by accident that he chose this career. “I was to join the Intelligence Bureau, and could not go because of some reason. I was desperate to work, and joined this field. It was a dramatic incident,” he shared.

     

    Mr Patel maintains that he does not have any idols or role model in journalism that he followed, but he was impressed by Mahatma Gandhi and his journalistic efforts and launguage. “I was only influenced by Gandhiji indirectly, not as a journalist,” he clarified.

     

    Mr Patel has written “lots of stories”, but he gave prominence to human interest news stories. He recalled, “Some hardcore criminals of Dadva village inBhavnagargang raped one 19-year-old female, the young wife of atemplepujari(priest), burnt their house and shop and ultimately forced them to leave the village. The policed refused to lodge their complaint and the couple came to Ahmedabad to commit suicide in theKankariaLake. Before doing so, they came to Gujarat Samachar and told me the whole story.” Gujarat High Court took note of the story and sent a notice to the Gujarat government suo moto. The government had to act and more than 12 culprits were behind bars within 24 hours.

     

    The woman became the sarpanch of that village later. “Back then, I used the name of the woman and even her picture in the story I filed. The story created quite a stir. In those times, SC had not ordered yet that the victim’s name and identity cannot be revealed,” he said.

     

    Thirty years ago, Mr Patel through his articles alerted parents of girls against fraudulent US green card holders who used to cheat the cultured, educated Gujarati girls through marriage. “More than 50 cases came to me. I wrote every story. The same is happening inPunjabnow. But after I published my stories, the educated girls no longer got excited by the prospect of getting married to a green card holder. Now, parents are also cautious about NRI boys who want to get married to Gujarati girls,” he said.

     

    But the good work comes with various bad experiences as well. Mr Patel recalled, “In 1985, the students of the B.J.Medical College started ‘Anti-reservation movement’. The Madhav Singh Solanki government wanted to crush this movement aggressively. The police started torturing innocent people by baton charge and firing. I started a column ‘Wohi Raftar’ against this torture in Gujarat Samachar, which was the true reflection of the people’s mood in Gujarat. It became ‘the voice of Gujarat’ ultimately. This made some elements furious and irritated and as a result, they set Gujarat Samachar press on fire. However, the daily began again after 15 days and I wrote, ‘We will write from the ashes of Gujarat Samachar’. The Madhav Singh government desperately wanted to put me behind the bars and I had to go hiding with my family for 15 days. However, the Delhi high command had to take serious note of this and ultimately Madhav Singh was forced to resign as the chief minister of Gujarat.”

     

    It was in December 2007 that he joined Sandesh as the advisor to the Editor and column writer and very soon, became an integral part of the ‘Sandesh’ family. In his career spanning 42 years, Mr Patel has penned 40 books apart from two books in Gujarati on America’s war onIraqtitled ‘Gulf War’ and ‘Saddam Hussain’. His book ‘Israel: the land of the Bible’ received the Best Book award by Gujarat State Sahitya Akademi. In 2009, he got the Best Writer award by the Trans Media, Mumbai, for the TV serial ‘Kabhi Kabhi’ on Zee Gujarati.

     

    Mr Patel is confident that the young generation is going to take the cause of journalism more aggressively. He said, “I am really inspired by the new generation. We started the concept of fieldwork 45 years ago, but the new generation is more excited and intelligent. If they get to know of the issue, they take action and do good work. Every new generation is better than the previous generation. I see the youngsters and feel proud about the way they work and research.”

     

  • 'Manager Sahab' has been created to educate the customer on life insurance and help him take correct and informed financial decisions

    Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance launches customer education campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    As part of its commitment to customer centricity, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance announced the launch of the new customer education and awareness campaign, ‘Manager Sahab’, created to educate customers about life insurance and help them take correct and informed financial decisions.

     

    The campaign uses print media – there is a series of advertisements in different languages where basics of life insurance are brought out in an easy-to-understand and simple Q&A format. As the company operates a pure bancassurance model, the character of Manager Sahab was conceptualized around it especially as the bank manager is someone whom customers trust. The campaign addresses questions on suitability, safety, return and liquidity of products.

     

    Vishakha RM, Director – Sales and Marketing, Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance, said, “Customer centricity is a core value for the company. The campaign has been created with the objective of educating the customer and simplifying different life insurance concepts. The campaign focuses on providing the right information to customers so that they can make an informed choice. The concept of Manager Sahab has been developed as the source of information and clarification to build synergy on our core focus on bancassurance. Manager Sahab seeks to builds on the trust, confidence and convenience enjoyed by the banks to help customers understand the need and importance of life insurance.”

     

    Developed by the in-house brand team, the brief in a single line was for Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance to be seen as a friend, philosopher and guide. The intention was to answer basic queries relating to life Insurance in a simple and easy to understand manner and to encourage customers to walk into the banks where they do their banking transactions for their insurance needs. The campaign focuses on providing the right information to customers so that they can make an informed choice. Manager Sahab seeks to builds on the trust, confidence and convenience enjoyed by the banks to help customers understand the need and importance of life insurance.

     

  • New aggregation and distribution company will have a combined bouquet of 35 channels owned by both partners

    IndiaCast, Disney UTV agree to form JV

    By A Correspondent

     

    In what could impact the marketplace in a digitized distribution scenario, Indiacast, the jv between TV18 and Viacom18 which happened in June last year, and UGBL, a Disney UTV group company, have announced a strategic joint venture for the aggregation and wholesale distribution of their respective TV channels.

     

    Anuj Gandhi

    The 74 (IndiaCast) : 26 (Disney UTV) joint venture will become operational after necessary regulatory approvals and will provide 35 channels from the TV18, Viacom18,  Disney UTV & A+E Networks | TV18 to Cable, DTH and HITS platforms in India. IndiaCast CEO Anuj Gandhi will be the Chief Executive Officer of the yet unnamed entity.

     

    Talking about the joint venture, Mr Gandhi said, “This partnership will build a strong distribution company that will offer a broader and more diversified range to platforms giving us a foothold across genres – including in general entertainment, general and business news, movies, youth and kids genres. We have had a great first year for IndiaCast and this JV will give our domestic distribution business scale and wider reach.”

     

    “There are some clear and unique synergies in this partnership. The new bouquet is a more comprehensive offering from the viewer’s perspective that gives the combined entity an edge in the marketplace”, said MK Anand, Managing Director – Media Networks, Disney UTV.

     

    IndiaCast will move its domestic distribution business into this new venture, while continuing to manage its other content monetization businesses which include the international distribution, adsales and content sales business as well as the new media distribution for TV 18, Viacom 18, A+E Networks | TV18 and Eenadu channels. Disney UTV will also move its domestic distribution activities for its bouquet of all nine channels to the new entity.

     

  • Ormax Media's study reveals that Fevicol, Colgate Active Salt and Suzuki Hayate have benefited from their association with Dabangg 2

    How Dabangg is my brand: Ormax study

    By A Correspondent

     

    In an independent study conducted by media and entertainment research firm Ormax Media, Fevicol leads the list of at least 12 brands that tied up with Salman Khan’s blockbuster Dabangg 2. At no. 2 and no. 3 position are Colgate Active Salt and Suzuki Hayate respectively.

     

    However, most other brands that associated with the film have not benefited from the association, with no significant recall in the study conducted in the week after the release of the film. These include brands like Thums Up, Gillette, Dixcy Scott and Fastrack, among others.

     

    Fevicol evidently benefited from the usage of the brand name in the chartbuster Fevicol Se, featuring Kareena Kapoor with Salman Khan. Colgate Active Salt ran a contest called the ‘Colgate Active Salt Dabangg 2 Challenge’, with Sonakshi Sinha featuring in the ad. Suzuki Hayate, a brand endorsed by Salman Khan anyway, almost ran a multimedia contest, with bikes as prizes.

     

    However, despite these associations, Revital emerged as the brand with the strongest association with Salman Khan. Revital didn’t have any co-branded ads for Dabangg 2, but their consistent brand endorsement by the no. 1 star over the last few months has ensured that it benefits from any Salman Khan event, including a film release like Dabangg 2.

     

    Shailesh Kapoor

    Speaking about the research, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO, Ormax Media, said, “Upto 15-20 brands tie up with big films, but only about 3-4 actually derive any real value out of the association. We had conducted a similar study when Ra.One released, and now plan to conduct such researches for big releases at regular intervals. Using such research, brands can benefit from learnings derived from associations of various kinds, and use these learnings as an input into their own film associations.”

     

  • Canon India Pvt Ltd has unveiled Out-of-Home initiative in India, with neon signs at international airports in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai

    Canon India intensifies marketing plans with OOH initiative

    By A Correspondent

     

    Canon India Pvt Ltd has unveiled Out-of-Home initiative in India, with neon signs at international airports in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai.  Designed by advertising giant Dentsu India, the concept lies in the growing popularity and impact of neon signs in the country.

     

    Kazutada Kobayashi, President and CEO, Canon India, said, “Canon is a powerful brand, both in India and worldwide. Today, we have pioneered the ‘Out of Home Media’ initiative by launching the Canon Neon sign at specific locations in three major cities of India becoming the first Japanese Company to create such a major launch in India. This is part of our growth strategy for 2013 to create a powerful brand recall for our customers. This would be the first strategic step to create a positive image for the brand as well as the company. As part of our vision and mission, we want people to be proud of associating themselves with the Canon brand; this initiative would pave the way for creating that association together with our state-of-the-art technology and quality service network.”

     

    He also said that for Canon, India remains an important market, and that smartphones cannot give competition to camera-market since “there will always be people who want high-quality pictures”.

     

    For the record, in 2012, the company rolled out a new marketing campaign by roping in Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, as the brand ambassador for Canon’s cameras. After ‘What Makes Us Click’ campaign, Canon is determined to extend its marketing initiatives to reach out to a niche target audience and retain the exuberance, energy and appearance of the brand. In the past decade, Canon has undertaken several pioneering advertising and marketing campaigns with renowned brand ambassadors from the field of sports and Bollywood.

     

  • Madison Media has just announced the win of the Max India corporate account in Delhi. The agency will handle traditional media planning and buying for the client as well as the entire digital mandate including search, display, social, video and mobile

    Madison Media wins media mandate for Max India’s corporate campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison Media has just announced the win of the Max India corporate account in Delhi. The agency will handle traditional media planning and buying for the client as well as the entire digital mandate including search, display, social, video and mobile. Madison Media has been handling the media business of one of Max India’s subsidiaries, Max Life Insurance since 2008.

     

    Last month Madison Media announced the appointment of Amit Duggal who joined the agency as Digital Director to drive the agency’s digital agenda in the North and East market. Over the years, Madison has strengthened its digital capability and now offers a whole range of Digital services to its clients. Madison Media recently won a Yahoo Big Idea Chair for its campaign on airtel, Har ek Friend Zaroori Hai. At the Emvies Awards held last year, Madison Media also won a Gold for Best Innovation in Digital (Video) for Cadbury Celebrations – Lonely Maa.

     

    Basabdatta Chowdhuri, CEO, Platinum Media, said, “We are delighted to be handling the corporate campaign for Max India and are confident of helping Max achieve its growth objectives”.

     

    Speaking about the campaign released through Madison, Vibha Rishi, Executive Director, Brand & Human Capital, Max India, said, “Max interacts with millions of lives through many million moments of truth. Each interaction results in a memorable and satisfying experience. We literally serve your need for health, wealth and happiness. The brand positioning captures this sentiment with two simple words… ‘For life’. We help our customers in navigating the often confusing complexities of insurance and healthcare.”

     

    Nitin Thakur, Head, Communications, Max India, added, “With this campaign, we set out to consolidate our various service offerings under one umbrella brand, Max. The new communication aims to build trust for the corporate brand by virtue of which people can choose its constituent brands with more confidence. ”

     

  • With the launch of Times Television Network's Times Now and Zoom on Canada's major cable distribution company Cogeco Cable, the network is now directly available in 45 countries

    Times TV Network expands footprint to 45 countries

    By A Correspondent

     

    Times Television Network (TTN) has recently launched its channels, Times Now and Zoom, on Canada’s major cable distribution company Cogeco Cable. With this launch, TTN is now directly available in 45 countries across four continents on leading cable, DTH, IPTV and mobile platforms.

     

    Indians residing abroad form a substantial diaspora that is keen to stay connected with the latest in news and entertainment content from India. With relatively higher per capita income than most other ethnic groups residing abroad, the Indian and South Asian diaspora also displays a higher propensity to pay for premium content and services. TTN channels are already popular brands among the Indian community residing abroad and by using a mix of localized marketing and programming events in respective international markets, TTN has further strengthened its connect with the Indian diaspora there. TTN will be extending its international presence further this year with its impending launch in Europe.

     

    Sunil Lulla

    Commenting on the success of the international business, Sunil Lulla, Managing Director and CEO, TTN, said, “Times Television Network has found great resonance with the viewers from the Indian Diaspora. Despite having launched only quite recently in some of the markets, the brands have gained the same stature and respect as they have here. TIMES NOW is a daily news habit and zoOm the first port of call for Bollywood. We expect to penetrate more geographies shortly. Increasingly, we are able to bring strong solutions to advertisers for their brands in these respective geographies.”

     

    With over 60 advertisers already on board the channel feeds in the USA, Canada, Singapore, UAE, Australia & New Zealand, TTN’s international business is setting a strong pace in growing its advertising revenue stream. Leveraging the network strength further, TTN is also in discussion with other content owners and broadcasters in India and South Asia for alliances that will see TTN taking their content and channels into international markets.

     

  • The IRS numbers for the third quarter of 2012 see print readership up by 0.7%

    Hope even as some biggies degrow in Indian Readership Survey (IRS) Q3 2012

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The third quarter results of 2012 for the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) are out, and going by the topline numbers, the overall print readership has seen a growth of 0.7%… a positive trend after the degrowth in the second quarter findings. The Top 10 Publications maintain positive growth momentum. Dainik Jagran continues its leadership position amongst dailies while Vanitha is the numero uno magazine.

    Even as the Hindi Dailies have shown healthy growth, Amar Ujala, Patrika and Nai Dunia have lost 72,000; 21,000 and 16,000 AIR (Average Issue Readership) respectively. The Top 10 English Dailies have registered decline in the AIR of The Telegraph, The Economic Times and The New Indian Express. The Times of India leads the chart as Hindustan Times and The Hindu follow in second and third position. The Hindu has gained 50,000 AIR this quarter.

    The publications in the Language Dailies category have registered decline in the AIR. Of the 10 publications, seven have lost AIRs including Daily Thanthi, Lokmat, Mathrubhumi, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Gujarat Samachar, Dinakaran, Daily Sakal. Malayala Manorama, Eenadu and Sakshi are the only gainers in the category.

    The magazines, however, have lost readership numbers barring the monthly SamanyaGyan Darpan, Hindi fortnightly Meri Saheli and Bengali weekly Karmakshetra. Vanitha, the Malayalam magazine from the house of Malayala Manorama continues to lead the chart but it has also lost readership.

    In the Top 10 Hindi Magazines category, only Pratiyogita Darpan, SamanyaGyan Darpan, Meri Saheli, Grih Shobha have gained AIRs according to the third quarter of IRS. Saris Salil has lost 197,000 AIRs but still holds on to the third position in the category. CricketSamrat,IndiaToday, Grehlakshmi, Champak and Vanitha have registered decline in the AIRs.

    Apart from Reader’s Digest, The Week, Stardust, all magazines in the Top 10 English Magazine category have shown decline in readership. India Today which leads the category has lost 28,000 AIR followed by General Knowledge Today that has registered a decline of 40,000. Outlook has registered a decline of 10,000 AIR in the third quarter.

    Malayalam magazines Vanitha, Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhumi Thozhil Vartha, Mathrubhumi Arogya Masika have lost numbers in the Top 10 Language Magazine category, except Balarama. Vanitha lost 82,000 AIR. In the second position is Bengali weekly Karmakshetra that has gained 15,000 AIR.

    After looking at the numbers, MxMIndia spoke to some senior media agency professionals for their views on the IRS Q3 2012 trend.

     

    PM Balakrishna

    PM Balakrishna, COO, Allied Media noted, “I am not surprised with the numbers that the magazines have been throwing up over the years. It is a well established fact that content today is being increasingly accessed across multiple platforms and the first victim of this trend will always be the magazines. It’s a fact that their circulation and overall readership base has been declining over the years. As for the dailies showing a growth, that again is on expected lines. The fact is that literacy levels in the country have been growing significantly coupled with the trend where a large number of youth are taking a liking to reading. While we are a predominantly Hindi speaking nation, English has been showing a huge spurt in terms of preference over other languages. This is a trend that can be seen in small towns and cities too. Going forward, I foresee penetration of English as a language of choice picking up in most markets across India. This will therefore lead to a comparative swell in readership of English dailies.”

     

    He further added, “Magazines are not topical unlike the dailies. Dailies are more topical, current, immediate and give a sense of instant gratification whereas magazines are more about features, analysis etc. The audience today wants everything on the go and instantly and that’s where dailies have an upper hand compared to magazines.”

     

    Suresh Balakrishnan

    Suresh Balakrishnan, CEO, BPN said, “Dailies have been showing growth over the past few months given the rise in literacy levels, etc. Also the past few months saw war (of words) break out between dailies especially in Kolkata. This has led them to make their marketing even more aggressive. We can still expect readership to grow in our country in the next 5-6 years.”

     

    Mr Balakrishnan added, “Magazines have been a let-down though I am a believer in magazines. But what is to be noted here that the top 6 or 7 magazines have shown degrowth, which is a trend that has been spotted. It means that readers are losing interest in general interest magazines. It is the niche magazines that are picking up like lifestyle, auto, etc. Though small, their readership base has been growing steadily.”

     

    Peter Suresh, Head- Strategy, DB Corp Ltd put forth his concerns regarding the IRS numbers, “The quarterly figures do not shift by much, especially in a medium that does not shift dramatically unlike TV. It is more important that one considers the annual trends. I have concerns regarding the methodology of the data collection, which does not match the ground realities not only me as a publisher but for a lot of publishers. I am also concerned with the fact that Q3 data was supposed to be out in the first week of January. We are not kept in loop as to when the data will be released.”