MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • NDTV 24×7 is Asia's first news channel to be a part of Virgin's base pack along with other leading international news channels

    NDTV 24×7 now available in UK on Virgin

    By Akash Raha

     

    NDTV Group’s premier English news channel NDTV 24×7 is now also available on Virgin Media in the UK. With this, NDTV 24×7 becomes Asia’s first and only news channel to be a part of Virgin’s base pack along with other leading international news channels. NDTV 24×7 will now be reaching out to an additional 3 million plus households.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, NDTV’s Head – Network Distribution and Affiliate Sales, Rahul Sood, said, “With this launch on Virgin, NDTV 24×7 is now available across a large majority of TV viewing homes across the UK. It helps us further penetrate the UK market and reach out to all those viewers who have a deeper commercial and cultural interest in the news and stories from the sub-continent.”

     

    NDTV 24×7 is available on channel # 621 on Virgin Media’s base. It is also available on Sky and is the only news channel fromIndia which is now being beamed into 75 countries across the world.

     

    Cindy Rose, Executive Director, Digital Entertainment, Virgin Media, said, “We have been working extremely hard this year to deliver a sterling line-up of channels, and adding NDTV 24×7 is one of those initiatives. We are very pleased to have them on board and 2012 promises to be an even more exciting year as we will be launching revolutionary new products and services, reinforcing Virgin Media as the most innovative and pioneering digital home entertainment provider in the market.”

     

    What they think

     

    Reacting to the development, Surbhi C Murthy, Associate Vice President, Allied Media, said, “I am sure this move is likely to get NDTV more viewership and also more Indian and international advertisers who want to be seen in UK market.UK has a lot of Indian population and reaching out to them certainly makes sense, both for Indian and international advertisers.”

     

    There is also the question whether the content will be specifically be curated for the UK market or will the same content being shown inIndia, be telecast in UK. And if it is, will the UK audience of Indian origin be interested?

     

    Dinesh Vyas, Business Head, MEC, said advertising would not be significantly bolstered with the move. “Certainly they will like to have viewers across the world. The US and UK has a substantial populations of NRI and immigrants. But as far as media planners and buyers are concerned, I don’t think this will make much difference. They will not be necessarily excited about this expansion. If they want reach in the UK market, I am sure they will look across the length and breadth of all the media vehicles that are available. That said, expansion in all forms is good and it’s going to pay off for the NDTV group in the long run.”

     

     

  • From 3D glasses to bobbleheads and a shooter game, Don 2 makers deploy a 360-deg plan to draw people to watch the SRK starrer

    Don 2 marketing on overdrive

     

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    It’s another SRK release on December 23 and the marketing team for Don 2 is on its feet to get the maximum audience thronging the cinemas to watch the magic of King Khan. The December 19 edition of Bombay, Delhi and Bangalore Times carried a front-page invitation from Farhan Akhtar for the 3D music premiere of the movie on Google +Hangout – with a pair of 3D glasses encouraging people to watch Don 2’s videos in 3D on YouTube. The strategy is to attract audiences as the movie is being released in 2D as well as 3D.

     

    Priti Shahani, Chief Strategy Officer, Reliance Entertainment, said, “The TOI innovation is a tactical move. For us the strategy for Don 2 has been to partner with marketers and media that reach out to large numbers. We have looked at all platforms that would give us visibility so while our partnership might not be as grand as RaOne, it should reach a large platform.” Don 2 has associated with platform partners and media partners including Sakal, Lokmat and Amar Ujala to reach beyond metros.

     

    The Don 2 marketing may not be ubiquitous as the blitzkrieg for RaOne, but as Vishal Ramchandani, the Marketing Manager of Excel Entertainment puts it, it has been consistent and concentrated, and peaking at the right time with the movie release slated for this week.

     

    The marketing effort has been 360-degree including even a comic launch published by Om Books. The comic is on the origin of Don and fills in details on the making of Don, thus acting as a prequel to the sequel. Mr Ramchandani also said that on December 23, two sets of games will be launched, made in collaboration with Gameshastra. These games are compatible on PS3, iPad and Android platforms and are basically shooter games where the player gets to be the Don. The social media presence is taken care of with the Facebook game.

     

    Mr Ramchandani said, “We have looked at various innovative and interactive ways to connect with the audience. While SRK is a big name, these marketing bursts ensure in keeping the excitement alive. When tickets today are priced around Rs 300-350 in the first week of the launch, there is a need to create urgency to get people to the theatre and these activities help in doing that.”

     

    Besides the comic and games, there is also a tie-up with Microsoft India where the contest promotes ‘Meet the Don in Berlin’ on various platforms. There is a spin to the Don on the city tours where the hunt is for a Don from each city. This is a positive take on the search for Don. Last week eight cities were toured and more city tours are slated.

     

    The makers are also relying on the highly popular Don ‘sayings’ and marketing it in a big way. ‘The Don says…’ have been popularized on the 360-degree platform.  These dialogues have also been showcased at cinemas halls and even washrooms, thus trying to catch more eyeballs.

     

    In terms of merchandise, one can see T-shirts, bobbleheads and Think Tank board games. There are also a few brands present in the movie, though Mr Ramchandani vouches that these associations are not just for the sake of it but is in sync with flow of the story or, as he puts it, “requirement of the script”. Though a number could not be put on the marketing spend, it is estimated to be running into single-digit crores.  Trade pundits suggest that any big ticket movie spends at least Rs 7-8 crore on advertising and marketing.

     

    Explaining the reason behind marketing even an SRK release, who is a big brand himself, and the need to be promoted aggressively, Ms Shahani said, “Today, the reality is that the shelf life of a movie at best is around 8 weeks and the audience window is even shorter and shrinking. To capture the mind, a brand like SRK helps where like in this movie he stepped out 10 days ago to promote and the impact has been instantaneous. Owning the minds of the audience is impossible today and that’s where marketing and SRK helps.”

  • The slowdown chill notwithstanding, vc firm Accel Partners has announcement an investment in Trivone Digital Services

    Accel Partners invests in digital media firm Trivone

    By Biswarup Gooptu

     

    Marquee venture capital firm Accel Partners, announced on Wednesday that it has invested an undisclosed amount in a round of Series A funding in Bangalore-based digital media and content firm Trivone Digital Services.

     

    The investment will be used to fund Trivone’s working capital requirements as well as pushing growth through the inorganic route in the months ahead, according to a press statement released by the VC firm.

     

    “Trivone, given the media and Content expertise of the team, is well set to build a best in class Digital Media Company”, Mahendran Balachandran, partner, Accel India, said.

     

    Trivone, which has been looking to grow through the acquisition route, had acquired the management rights for the three information technology portals – Techtree.com, ChannelTimes.com and CXOToday.com – from media conglomerate UTV in May earlier in the year.

     

    “We are delighted to have Accel Partners on board and look forward to working closely with them as we chart out a growth path for ourselves,” Subu Subramanyan, chief executive, Trivone, said.

     

    The Trivone investment is the second such investment for Accel Partners in December, following its $1 million (Rs 5 crore) investment in SaaS-based social customer support start-up Freshdesk.

     

    The VC firm, which has also backed global Internet majors such as Facebook and Groupon, announced in November that it had raised a $155 million fund focused on seed and early-stage investments in India  Its investments in India include, Kaatizone, Babyoye.com (Nest Childcare Services Private Limited), Exclusively.in, Flipkart, Probe Equity Research Pvt Ltd, LetsBuy.com, among others.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2011, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • The Wall Street Journal reports that the Reliance Industries chairman is in talk to buy Network 18

    Mukesh Ambani in talks to buy Network 18: WSJ

    Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, India’s biggest conglomerate, is in talks to buy Network 18, the television and internet company, the Wall Street Journal said quoting people familiar with the situation.

     

    Ambani, the paper said, has been in talks with Network 18 founder and controlling shareholder Raghav Bahl on the issue.

     

    “The talks may yet lead to nothing. It also isn’t clear what the value of Ambani’s investment would be and whether he is operating on behalf of Reliance Industries or whether he would put his own cash into a deal. Network18 Media and Investments, the holding company for the conglomerate, has annual revenue of about $300 million but isn’t profitable,” said the paper.

     

    A spokesperson for Reliance Industries told ET that the report is not true. Speculation has been growing in recent weeks about possible takeovers and consolidation in the Indian television and media space as ad industry revenue shrinks due to the slowdown and costs remain stubbornly high.

     

    Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries have been linked to several transactions not just in media and entertainment but also in other industries after RIL surprised everybody by buying a small stake in EIH, the hotel company that runs the Oberoi group of hotels last year.

     

    RIL has more than Rs 60,000 crore in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet and it is widely expected to buy some assets in its core businesses and outside.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2011, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi is touted as the biggest ever TV property in Tamil

    Star’s Vijay TV hopes to win big with Tamil KBC, nets superstar Suriya as host

     

     

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Star India’s Vijay TV is looking at its next leap with its biggest property Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi or Kaun Banega Crorepati in Tamil, to be hosted by superstar Suriya. In fact, this is touted as the biggest property ever not just for Vijay TV but for the Tamil television industry too. The channel is pinning its hope on the show to weave its magic and catapult Vijay TV to garner good numbers. If one looks at the channel share, the scenario among Tamil entertainment channel is that Sun TV leads and relies mainly on its fiction whereas KTV, the movie channel from the Sun TV network is clearly at number two though at times on really rare occasion may be toppled by Vijay TV. Then there is Sun Music and Kalaignar TV which again was positioned as rival to Sun TV placed somewhere in between. However, in this entire number game one thing to keep in mind is that the gap between the leader and the second channel is huge and not easy to bridge.

     

    For Vijay TV to come up with KBC which is a popular game show and has been played across 116 countries in 83 languages in the past 13 years is definitely a big move. Six years ago, Sun TV had introduced a show with a format similar to KBC, with Sarath Kumar, which had not fared well and could not go beyond its first season. However, much has changed in the Tamil GEC since then and Vijay TV has been the one that has experimented with talent-based reality shows earlier and given audience a taste of non-fiction shows. Now this time with Suriya who makes his television debut and is much revered by the Tamil audience, they definitely have an ace. Also the show is being produced by Big Synergy, the producers of KBC in Hindi, thus ensuring the same high quality in production, sound and sets.

     

    Bridging the gap

    K Sriram, General Manager, Vijay TV said, “This by far is the biggest investment by any South Indian channel as we have bought the rights from the original to bring out KBC in Tamil. We are looking at bridging the gap with the leader with this property. The treatment of the show is fantastic and it’s a superior product offering to the Tamil audience. We have also tied up with ITC’s Sunfeast as the presenting sponsor.” This year KBC 5 saw all the big brands riding on it and Sriram says that even though the format has its limitations when it comes to getting brands on board, but they along with Synergy are working out ways to provide greater value to brands on the show.”

     

    The show will be launched in February 2012 and Vijay TV is leaving no stone unturned to capture the minds of its audience. It is breaking a high-decibel campaign starting today (December 21) inviting people to participate in the show which will then be followed by a highly visible 360-degree campaign that will continue till the show debuts on TV. The show will air Monday to Thursday from 8-9.30 pm. The tone of the show will be similar to what Sony has done this year to give voice to unsung heroes and bring out stories from people who have financial constraints but emerge winners on the show, thus the prize money of Rs 1 crore gives wings to their dreams. Sairam however adds that the participants will be a careful mix, thus providing equal opportunity to all.

     

    The launch of KBC will also see simultaneous launch of the two biggest fiction shows on Vijay TV to ensure audience stickiness post-KBC.

     

    Vijay TV’s tryst with reality

    Narendra Alambara, Vice President, Starcom Chennai is of the opinion that KBC being a knowledge based show will pull in Tamil audience initially but the real task for Vijay TV will be to sustain viewers once the novelty value of popular host, new show and winners fades. Giving his take on why Vijay TV is probably the best channel to showcase KBC, he said, “The channel has had winners in the past in its talent based reality shows so in that sense it’s in the DNA of Vijay TV as Sun is seen more tuned to fiction.” He added, “Within trade circles KBC has been received well. I think interest will pick up among viewers once the promotion starts. Vijay TV has invested in producing superior quality shows and the quality of KBC will determine the channel’s position as an option for quality programming.”

     

    John Britto, Business Manager, Mindshare, explained, “The buzz on KBC is positive and this should have a positive impact on Vijay TV. As it is the biggest property and will be marketed well, the brands will be keen to get on it.”

     

    Giving an insight on why KBC should work this time even though in its earlier avatar it didn’t in TN, he said, “The awareness level this time is much more and the anchor Suriya has a great following. Even earlier, Vijay TV has adapted Koffee with Karan, Laughter Challenge and Talent competition with success.”

     

    KBC in other regional languages

    It’s not just Vijay TV which is gearing up for KBC in Tamil but there is also Suvarna which is readying for launch of KBC in Kannada with superstar Puneet Rajkumar. KBC had made its debut in Bhojpuri on Mahuaa TV as Ke Bani Crorepati with Shatrughan Sinha as its host and in Bengali as Ke Hobey Banglar Kotipoti hosted by Sourav Ganguly on Mahuaa Bangla. While the Bangla KBC averaged TVR of 2.29 (period June 6 to August 12, 2011), the Bhojpuri version saw an average TVR of just 0.45 (period June 6 to August 12, 2011). (Data source TAM).

    With Suriya as host and Big Synergy ensuring that production and programming standards are standards, Sriram is hopeful of the Tamil KBC delivering rich dividends: not just for the programme, but for the channel too.

  • Fetise.com raises $5 million from SeedFund on ET Now's Super Angels

    Online retailer Fetise nets $5mn live on ET Now show

    By Sudhir Syal

     

    In a deal that was sealed on television, early-stage investment firm SeedFund has committed to taking a minority stake in online men’s apparel retailer Fetise.com

     

    The fund has committed to invest $5 million in the Mumbai-based company after a pitch made on Super Angels, a television series on the ‘Starting Up’ show broadcast by ET Now. (ET Now is part of the Times Group, which also publishes The Economic Times).

     

    The show provides a platform for start-ups to make pitches to Angel Investors. And even before the show’s finale scheduled for March 2012, it has seen a start-up already raise capital on the show. Mahesh Murthy, one of the Super Angels on the show, is a co-founder of Seed Fund.

     

    Fetise.com was also one of the shortlisted start-ups at the Proto. in, an industry event for startups that took place at Chennai in July this year.

     

    The startup was founded in March 2011 by Chetan Bafna, Abhishek Shah, Somya Tambi and Subir Ghosh, college-mates who met at the ICFAI Business School in Gurgaon. In nine months, the start-up is clocking over 500 transactions per day at a revenue run-rate of Rs 2-2.5 crore per month.

     

    Mr Mahesh Murthy, Managing Partner of the Seed Fund, said: “What attracted us to Fetise was a clear focus on Men’s Apparel, very often we see start-ups in the e-commerce space who want to sell everything, but here they’ve picked a category and built a large product line.”

     

    Fetise.com’s product line includes men’s apparel, footwear and accessories, which has helped the company rack up average billing amount of Rs 1,500. Mr Anand Lunia, Executive Director of the Seed-Fund, who worked closely on the deal said, “Men’s fashion is a large category and the margins in this business also makes this vertical of e-commerce far more profitable than some of the others, we are looking closely at other private labels start-up within the space.”

     

    Fetise.com has two warehouses and is planning to open more over the next 6-12 months. Mr Chetan Bafna of Fetise.com said, “Our fundraising process started six months ago on Super Angels, and we’re overjoyed that the fundraising has closed on the TV platform too.”

     

    The next phase of Super Angels will be beginning in January 2012 with 10 start-ups making a bid to follow Fetise and raise funds successfully on the platform. Super Angels is a part of Starting Up which plays out every Tuesday at 11 pm, Saturday at 9 pm and Sunday at 10 am.

     

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2011, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • The capital's symposium on media and new technology eventually found itself discussing freedom of speech and the current bugbear of Indian new media – censorship.

    Video Report: Chaining the modem, gagging the router

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    The second annual symposium on ‘Media and New Technology – New Technologies, New Challenges: Indian Media Issues in Global Perspective’ hosted by Star India in New Delhi, on December 19th and 20th, set the ground for exploring international and comparative perspectives on the current media regulation debate and the role of information in the society in the times to come.

     

    The symposium, an initiative of Oxford University’s Programme in Comparative Media Law & Policy (PCMLP), in cooperation with its academic partners – the National Law University-Delhi, the National University of Juridical Sciences-Kolkata, and the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, brought together the diverse views of academics, bureaucrats, policymakers, industry leaders, civil society and legal experts to discuss such issues as law and responsibilities of self-regulation of media entities, regulation of the Internet, and emerging technologies in the context of freedom of information, privacy, and freedom of expression.

     

    Setting the tone of the two-day seminar, in his opening address, Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting announced the government’s roadmap both for digitization and content regulation.

     

    Some of the other key speakers who addressed the participants at this symposium included Mark Stephens, Former Legal Advisor for Wikileaks; Osama Abu-Dehays, Head of Legal Affairs, Al Jazeera; Arvind Rajagopal, Professor of Media, Culture and Communication, NYU; Blair Levin, Communications & Society Fellow, Aspen Institute; Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor at The Hindu; Siddharth Narrain, Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore; Manoj Mitta, Senior Editor at The Times of India; Sevanti Ninan, Founder of TheHoot.com; and Monroe Price, Director, Center for Global Communication Studies, University of Pennsylvania.

     

    From trends in media regulation over the past year to the changing role of regulators, to the number of new challenges posed by evolving technology to media companies and the lawyers who represent them, a flurry of viewpoints were exchanged in the extensive debates.

     

    Deepak Jacob, EVP & General Counsel – Legal & Regulatory Affairs, Star India said, “I think this debate keeps the entire discussion and controversy around media regulation, it keeps it on the boil. You get different viewpoints, you get the contra viewpoint, you get the ‘for regulation’ viewpoint. So I think it’s healthy to keep this debate alive.”

     

    Panelists from different disciplines added to the flavour and scope of discussions. Nicole Stremlau, Coordinator, Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy, University of Oxford said, “We tried to bring together the different research streams that are active here in India. So we brought together academics from universities, researchers from think tanks, as well as others working in the industry. So we very much tried to have a discussion across disciplines and across institutions. On the one hand, we had anthropologists, sociologists talking about the vast changes in the media policy and media regulation in India and on the other hand we also had a legal stream. So we had emerging lawyers discussing some of the pressing legal issues here and how they do research on these issues.”

     

    Is self-regulation possible?

    Following the recent controversy on content regulation sparked by Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal, interesting points on self-regulation of the media came up during the course of discussions. While Blair Levin, Communications & Society Fellow, Aspen Institute thought that it’s important to look at the particular issue to determine whether there is a need for the govt to step in or whether the industry can regulate itself, Deepak Jacob, EVP & General Counsel – Legal & Regulatory Affairs, Star India felt that the implementation of the self-regulatory mechanism is the biggest challenge. He said, “That’s always going to be a challenge, to educate, to make people aware of how self-regulation is the best way forward. I think that’s going to be the biggest challenge because people really intuitively don’t believe in self-regulation. They always believe that the govt has a huge role to play and should be censoring content.” Deepak Jacob also added that people are reading too much into Kapil Sibal’s move.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOJ_EOHawOI[/youtube]

    Deepak Jacob of Star India on challenges of self-regulation

     

    ‘Informal censorship is happening’

    Another interesting point was made by Chinmayi Arun, Assistant Professor, National University of Jurisdical Sciences, Kolkata who feels that there is state-driven censorship taking place at an informal level. She said, “When we discuss censorship or interception of data, basically govt influence of information online, we tend to think of it in formal terms, that has the government officially asked for a certain amount of information, has the government officially asked certain sites to block a certain kind of information. But there’s actually a vast amount of blocking and interception that may possibly be done through informal mechanisms. And I think that perhaps this is one of those informal mechanisms surfacing.”

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmNH3tZgPJc[/youtube]

    Prof Chinmayi Arun on state-driven censorship

     

    Speed, affordability… and freedom?

    Talking of broadband access and the debate around filtering content, Blair Levin, Communications & Society Fellow, Aspen Institute agreed that the issue does get trickier with the nature of broadband but particularly in India, he said, “The debate is in a very early stage, in part because there is so little broadband, and in part frankly because the wireless technology, that’s going to be the necessary tool to bring broadband to most people in India, really is very early on in the game. It is only now that we have the kind of technology that can deliver real broadband speeds over wireless platforms. And really only now that the costs of the devices have come down to a level where a number of people can afford them.”

     

    Citing his personal experience with working on the National Broadband Plan in the US, Mr Levin stated that the situation and the challenges in India are very different from that in the US. He said, “In India, the great challenge is how do you get, first the underlying infrastructure in a number of places. Though I would say that infrastructure ought to be much more wireless than wired but then there is really the challenge of how do you make sure it’s a productive infrastructure? It’s a similar challenge in the US but the details are quite different.”

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdQDkQQaU2E[/youtube]

    The debate on whether the govt can filter or block content in both broadcast and broadband mediums, Mr Levin feels, will continue, as it has for the past so many decades, but he hopes that “the government here, as well as elsewhere, can get the balance right”.

     

    Dr Blair Levin on the debate in India on filtering content

  • He was the jury president for Film some years ago at ADFEST and now he will oversee the Press Lotus jury panel

    Prasoon Joshi is Jury Prez of Press Lotus @ Adfest 2012

    By A Correspondent

     

    Prasoon Joshi, executive chairman and CEO, McCann WorldgroupIndiais joining ADFEST’s all star line-up of jury presidents in 2012, overseeing the Press Lotus jury panel.

     

    As Regional ECD for McCann Erickson (Asia Pacific), Mr Joshi is one of the region’s most powerful advertising creatives. He was recently mandated with the leadership of McCann Erickson’s worldwide Creative Council, making him the most influential creative executive in the network.

     

    “I was jury president for Film some years ago at ADFEST, and today the quest for excellence remains intact. ADFEST is one of the oldest advertising communication festivals, which understands and appreciates the unique cultural fabric of Asia. It has experimented and has tried to reinvent itself and stay relevant in these changing times,” said Mr Joshi.

     

    Winner of more than 400 national and international awards, Mr Joshi also won the prestigious National Award by the President of India for his socially impactful work in 2009.

     

    “It is an honour to have Mr Joshi oversee the Press Lotus juries at ADFEST 2012. He is not just a phenomenal talent – he’s one of India’s most powerful creative executives, and we are humbled to have him accept our invitation to attend next year’s Festival,” said Jimmy Lam, president, ADFEST.

     

    The Times of India recently cited Mr Joshi amongst the nation’s Top 60 icons; while Business Today named him as one of the Top 21 Business Leaders who will shape India in the 21st century.

     

    With a postgraduate in Physics, Mr Joshi is also a prolific poet, feature film song and scriptwriter.

  • The agency has come out with a compelling campaign for Mumbai Mirror which showcases the newspaper on a crusade giving voice to the unheard stories

    Taproot India gives voice to the Mumbaikars

    By A Correspondent

     

    TaprootIndiahas come out with its campaign for Mumbai Mirror. The newspaper had first come out with a campaign in the year 2005 during its launch. This is the paper’s first campaign after that initial launch campaign.

     

    The focus of the campaign is to showcase the newspaper as the voice of the Mumbaikars and brings to its readers umpteen, untold stories.

     

    Talking about the campaign, Rahul Kansal, Chief Marketing Officer, Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd, said: “Mumbai Mirror is a strong newspaper that looks out for its readers. In a city where the ordinary guy can feel rather helpless as he is always at the receiving end of an insensitive system, the paper empowers the reader and gives him a voice.”

     

    The campaign which is out in print, television, cinema, digital and outdoor takes four real stories from Mumbai: burning of Rohinton Mistry’s book, the milk adulteration scam, the case of remand home for children and political posters and then creates fictionalized accounts of how these affected the Mumbaikars.

     

    The objective of the campaign is to underline the fact that every citizen, rich or poor, oppressed or cheated has a voice that reaches the city every morning.

     

    Mumbai Mirror has been bringing to the forefront its readers’ unheard voices through a relentless series of exposes.

     

    Talking about what it is with TOI that has made Agnello Dias and his team come up with the countless powerful campaigns, he said: “Its trust that TOI has in us and I am scared to let them down.”

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Mr Dias said: “Mumbai has many faces. Some that evoke, others provoke. But if we were to look every one of them in the eye, we will find that all of them are the face of Mumbai. Many stories make this city and some need to be told.”

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVb01vfbVEw[/youtube]

    Credits:

    Agency: TaprootIndia

    Client: Bennet & Coleman

    Brand Team: Rahul Kansal/Priya Gupta

    Creative Directors: Santosh Padhi/Agnello Dias

    Media Agency: Lodestar UM

    Copy: Agnello Dias

    Account Management: Mandar Sawant

    Production House: RDP

    Director: Abhinay Deo

    Music: Ram Sampath

    Executive Producer: Apurba Sengupta

     

    Mumbai Mirror – I am Mumbai

  • Companies like Logitech offer incentive tours to the cricket-crazy

    Performance incentives? Try a trip down under for the cricket-crazy

    By Meenakshi Verma Ambwani

     

    Incentives are hard to come by in difficult times such as these. So when computer accessories firm Logitech announced to a set of top performers and about 100 channel partners that they had been chosen for a holiday trip Down Under to watch the Indian-Australia cricket matches, it came as a pleasant surprise.

     

    For one, nobody was expecting a year-end incentive such as this. Two, no one had in their wildest imagination thought a cricket match could be on a holiday package. “Incentive tours are part of our regular corporate interactions. The challenge, however, is to find an exciting destination every year. This time, we got to know about travel packages that included the India-Australia cricket tour, and we decided to go ahead,” says Mr Subratah Biswas, country manager for India and South-west Asia at Logitech.

     

    As the Indian team pads up for another battle with archrivals Australia in their own backyard, a few companies are using this opportunity to reward high performing employees, clients and distribution partners. Sports tourism is starting to find its feet with Indians, both at the corporate and the individual levels.

     

    A Jaipur-based tour operator Ashoka Holidays has designed a unique package for aspiring cricketers and their coaches or parents for a trip to South Africa. They are offering a stay and training to aspiring cricketers. The tour would cover places like Cape Town, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth and Oudshroom and passes or participation in five cricket matches against local teams.

     

    Even big travel firms like Kuoni are now offering packages for cricket, badminton, F1, etc. Tourism Australia says it is expecting a lot of Indians during the upcoming Australian Open tennis in Melbourne. This year, an estimated 30-35% of Indian footfalls are expected in the first three months of 2012 primarily due to the two sporting events. In 2011, an estimated 1,50,000 Indians visited Australia, says Tourism Australia’s country manager Mr Nishant Kashikar.

     

    Travel firms have been quick to gauge the mood. Executives say sports-related travel packages have been in vogue since the Indian Premier League in South Africa in 2009. Today, companies like SOTC Sports, Cutting Edge Events, Makemytrip and Cox & Kings are offering a range of itineraries and packages from just about 2 night-3 days to 6 nights-7 days for Australia.

     

    Packages start at about Rs 1-1.3 lakh per person and go up to over Rs 2 lakh per person, which includes airfares, hotel stays, match tickets and visits to stadiums, museums, etc. Industry players estimate that of the 11-12 million travelers who travel abroad every year, nearly 2-2.5% are travelers who design their incentive travel around sports. This segment, though niche, is growing at nearly 15-20% year-on-year depending on the sports calendar in the year.

     

    “Besides cricket, there is a growing demand for incentive tours around sports like soccer, F1, tennis and golf,” says Mr Mayank Khandwala, co-founder of Cutting Edge Events, which specialises in sports tourism. The company expects companies to plan their outbound incentive tours around UEFA Euro Cup, besides tennis championships like Wimbledon and French Open. In fact, Wimbledon has become a major platform for Indian businessmen to network with bankers and companies.

     

    Delhi-based electrical and power distribution equipment manufacturer, Havells is taking a bunch of employees and dealers to Australia for the cricket matches. Mr Vijay Narayanan, vice-president (marketing) at Havells India, says, “Last year we had organised an incentive tour for our employees and channel partners to Bangkok. This time we might head to Australia during the long cricket tour.”

     

    “We are receiving a lot of enquiries for the Indian cricket team’s tour of Australia, especially for the one-day and T20 matches and are in talks with 16-17 companies who are planning incentive tours,” says Mr SD Nandakumar, head, sports incentive tours (outbound division) at Kuoni India. He says there is less demand for the first two test matches as the timing coincides with Christmas and New Year.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2011, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • The channel will be distributed through Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN) (TSX-SAT), Canada’s largest South Asian Broadcaster on Rogers Cable in Ontario and on recently launched Bell Fibe TV in Toronto & Montreal

    ATN launches Aapka Colors in Canada

    By A Correspondent

     

    Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd, an equal joint venture between Viacom Inc (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB) and Network18, one of India’s leading entertainment conglomerates, on Wednesday announced the launch of its flagship channel, Aapka Colors in Canada.

     

    The channel will be distributed through Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN) (TSX-SAT), Canada’s largest South Asian Broadcaster on Rogers Cable in Ontario and on recently launched Bell Fibe TV in Toronto & Montreal.

     

    Starting immediately, ATN subscribers can tune in to Aapka Colors (Channel 690 on Rogers and Channel 790 on Bell Vibe TV), which is among the top two Hindi general entertainment channels in India. Viewers can look forward to captivating drama series, blockbuster Bollywood films, star-studded variety programs and nail-biting reality shows on one of the most-watched channels from India.

     

    Moreover, subscribers will now be able to enjoy popular shows such as Balika Vadhu, Sasural

    Simar Ka, Phulwa, Uttaran and Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi at the same time as the viewers in India.

     

    Dr Shan Chandrasekar, president and CEO, ATN said: “We are delighted to have Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd as a programming partner and to share AAPKA COLORS, with its compelling content, across

    Canada.”

     

    Gaurav Gandhi, Head-Distribution & International Business-Viacom18 & COO Sun18, said: “We are delighted with the launch of Aapka Colors in Canada on the 2 leading platforms – Rogers and Bell Fibe, and fulfilling the demands of the South Asian diaspora with our very distinct and popular content offering.”

     

    With this launch in Canada, Colors is now available in close to 50 countries globally.

     

  • Claims by FMCG, educational institutions and health centres also on CCC radar

    ASCI’s Consumer Complaints Council upholds complaints against 17 out of 25 ads

    By A Correspondent

     

    During July and August 2011, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) of ASCI upheld complaints made against 17 advertisements from various sectors like Education, Health, FMCG and Restricted products. During the same timeframe, the CCC did not uphold complaints against 8 such advertisements.

     

    In a complaint received against the advertisement of Maruti Suzuki – Estilo Magic, the advertisement mentions the mileage of i10 (1.1) Era as “16 kmpl”, which is incorrect.  i10 (1.1) Era ARIA certified mileage is 19.8 kmpl. The CCC concluded that the data stated in the advertisement about the mileage of the competitor did not tally with the ARIA Certification and is false.

     

    There was a complaint relating to the advertisement of “Bata India – Think Weinbrenner, Think Outdoors.” As per the complaint, Bata had carried out a print campaign for Weinbrenner, wherein the copy read, “SMS Bata <space> <your e-mail id> to 58888 to win exclusive gifts”. Acting on the line, the complainant sent SMSes twice, but was never offered or sent any gifts. The CCC concluded that the statement, “SMS BATA…to win exclusive gifts”, was misleading as the advertisement did not state clearly all material conditions to enable the consumer to obtain a true and fair view of his prospects in such activities.

     

    A complaint was received against advertising communication of Hindustan Unilever – Pureit Water Purifier. As per the complaint, the commercials make a claim of “Pureit 1 Crore safety challenge”.  The CCC considered the technical proof provided by the advertiser and the complainant and concluded that whilst Pureit “meets USA’s EPA stringent germ-kill criteria”, it is not the only one to do so.  The claim, “It’s been 2 years and till date no purifier in India has been able to meet Pureit’s Safety challenge”, is misleading as this challenge was only against products launched prior to December 2009. Thus, the communication created a false impression that Pureit is the best water purifier.  This complaint was also upheld.

     

    In the education sector, there was a whole set of advertisement that received complaints. For T.I.M.E. – CAT’ 11/12, the claim “Largest student base: 1,30,000+ students trained for CAT’09 & CAT’10” was  rejected as the claim was not validated  by any third party nor the advertiser  had compared any data of other service providers in the same category. Also, the claim, “Best faculty team in Delhi – NCR”, was not supported by any comparative data. Another claim, “Best Results: 50%+ of students in the IIMs are from T.I.M.E.”, was neither validated nor supported with any independent data, and the claim was based on 2009 and 2010 data as mentioned in the advertisement. The CCC concluded that pending the validation of the data by independent auditors, the claims are misleading and hence upheld the complaint.

     

    Career  Launcher (I)  Ltd in one advertisement mentioned that,”4300+ IIM calls in CAT”10″, “CL scores: 4/8 100 % in CAT’10, FMS’10 & 11 Toppers, JMET’10 Topper”. These claims were not backed and substantiated with data/ evidence.  The CCC concluded that pending the validation of the data by independent auditors, the claims mentioned in the advertisement and cited in the complaint are misleading. The complaint was upheld

     

    The advertisement of Team Satyam claimed that “75+ Students and counting, in National Law Schools”, “95% of call getters from Lucknow are Clat Possible students”,  “5/5 NLU-Delhi call getters from Lucknow are Clat Possible students”, “3 NLSIU, 5 NALSAR, 7 NUJS, 8NLU-D  Students to National Law Schools”,  “40+ Students to National Law Schools”. The CCC concluded that pending the validation of the data by independent auditors, the claims mentioned in the advertisement and cited in the complaint, are misleading.  The advertisement contravened Chapter I.4 of the Code.  The complaint was UPHELD.

    A TVC of Greenply Industries Ltd. Greenlam Laminates showed “an old man going through the Catholic sacrament of baptism, and thereafter his funeral which shows a coffin made with Greenlam Laminates. The TVC is extremely offensive and mocks the Roman Catholic faith, by unnecessarily using sacraments to promote its product.  The CCC concluded that the TVC appeared to trivialize conversion and thus is likely to hurt religious sentiments. This complaint was upheld.

     

    Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s Dove Damage Therapy TVC claimed that Dove is the most recommended shampoo by Indian women”, is qualified by a super stating “Based on a study conducted amongst 400 women”.  It was stated that a base size of 400 is far too small to be used to support this claim and it also did not clarify the parameters for which the Dove shampoo is recommended. Also, the supers in the said advertisement are blurred and illegible. The print advertisement, TVC, and the hoardings contravened Chapter I.4 of the Code and the claims are misleading, hence the complaint was upheld.

     

    Procter & Gamble Home Products  Ltd’s -  New  Ariel  Oxyblu – Deep Clean Technology ad showed the removal of three difficult stains, namely ink, oil and tea by use of Ariel Oxyblu, whereas the claim support data mentioned in the super is for ink stains alone. The super reads “Creative visualization.  Based on technical test by independent laboratory (Prema Labs, 2011) tested on ink stain in three different layers of polyster fabric v/s ordinary powder.  It is clear from the same that the claims about removal of oil and tea stains are completely unsubstantiated. The CCC concluded that the claim read in conjunction with the visual depiction is misleading by implication.

     

    Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd, in its  TVC of Royal  Stag  – Mega  Cricket showed the visuals of the cricketer Harbhajan Singh on his first day in a ball bearing factory. He is shown saying, “Have I made it large?” As per the complaint, the TVC begins with the repeated use of the word “large”, which is normally referred to as a measure of liquor and by associating it with Royal Stag, which is a liquor brand, the TVC is an overt insinuation aimed at conjuring up the image of a liquor brand and therefore an indirect and surrogate advertisement for liquor. Despite having approvals from CBFC for using the slogan, the CCC concluded that the TVC uses the brand name and logo of a liquor product. The advertisement contravened Chapter III.6 (c) (d) of the ASCI Code. Also, as the TVC violated the Rule 7(2) (viii) (A) of The Cable Television Network Rules 1994, the TVC is in breach of the law and contravened Chapter III.4 of the ASCI Code.  The complaint was upheld.

     

    As per McDowell’s No.1 Platinum Soda advertisement which begins with the visuals of a Sikh boy resembling cricketer Harbhajan Singh shown sitting on a large ball and saying, “Have I made it large”.  Then they show the arrival of his father and upbraiding him for making a large ball instead of ball bearings. This is followed by cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s dialogue, which goes on to say, “Zindagi mein kuchh karna hai to large chhodo. Kuchh alag karo, yaar. McDowell’s No.1 Platinum Soda. No.1 Spirit of Leadership”.  The TVC is a clever ploy of capitalizing on the image of a liquor brand sought to be created in the TVC of “Royal Stag – Mega Cricket”, and then extrapolating it with another liquor brand “McDowell”.   The use of the word “Spirit” in its tag line further enhances the image of the liquor brand and therefore the TVC is an indirect and surrogate advertisement for liquor. The complaint was upheld.

     

    One of the Ford Figo advertisements stated that the “Ford Figo leaves its competition far behind”, and has made comparison of Figo Advantage with Hyundai i10 in terms of space and maintenance. The facts used in the advertisement were based on Ford’s internal Benchmarking study, and had no independent support. The advertisement was deemed as misleading the consumers by the CCC which concluded that the claims made in the advertisement were not substantiated on the basis of an independent survey.

     

    General Motors India Pvt. Ltd.’s TVC of Chevrolet Beat Diesel adopted the tagline of “India’s most fuel efficient car”, and have, with a view to mislead the consumers, tried to justify the same by relying upon a stray comment in an article published in ‘Autocar India’ of August 2011 issue, whereby the magazine by its own non-standard method tried to give a general sense to consumers of city driving fuel efficiency of the ‘Beat Diesel’.  The Beat Diesel advertisement uses the tagline which is same as that used by “Indica eV2” in their advertisement of being “India’s most fuel efficient car”.  This fuel efficiency claim is backed by ARAI who have certified ‘Indica eV2″. Apart from plagiarism, the advertisement is disparaging the ‘Indica eV2’. The CCC concluded that the claim was not backed by the data of ARAI. This part of the complaint was upheld.

     

    Titan’s Fast Track Watches advertisement showed a young woman taking off her innerwear (bra) from underneath her T-shirt and holding it out as if to discard it.  The advertisement is promoting a new offer of 20% off on watches. The advertisement is offensive to women, damaging young minds, and totally unrelated to the subject of the advertisement.   The CCC concluded that the depiction of the young woman is likely, in the light of generally prevailing standards of decency and propriety, to cause grave or widespread offence and hence the complaint was upheld.

     

    During these two months, the CCC also received complaints against Samsung ACs, Royal Hygiene Care Pvt Ltd’s She Comfort, Hindustan Unilever’s Pureit Marvella eWater Purifier, IMS  Learning  Resources  Pvt  Ltd, Hardcastle Restaurant’s McDonald’s, L’Oreal India’s Garneir Fructis, Hindustan Unilver’s Clinic All Clear and Tata Indicom amongst others as these advertisements did not contravene ASCI’s codes or guidelines.