MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • Pepsi, Coca Cola and other soft drink makers struggle as early rains dampen peak sales season

    Early rains knock off fizz for Pepsi, Coke & other ‘thandas’

    By Ratna Bhushan

     

    Early and heavy rains flooding almost the entire country have hit soft drink sales in June, the most critical month for the Rs 14,000-crore industry.

     

    “June has been a bad month with sales down across the country because of early rains,” a leading bottler said. “Typically, if the month of June does robust sales, it sets the momentum for the rest of the year. But this year, that’s not been the case,” the person added.

     

    With growth slowing to single digits, soft drink giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are stepping up consumer promotions and trade discounts to push sales. “The firms are discounting heavily to trade and buying volume,” said an executive at a retail chain.

     

    The April-June quarter marks the highest spurt in soft drink sales in a year, contributing close to 40% of annual sales. A spokesman of PepsiCo India, which makes Pepsi Cola, 7Up lime drink and Aquafina water, however, said August could make up for the slowdown in June.

     

    For the beverages industry, the five-month period from April-August should be considered as the critical season instead of looking at just one month, he said in response to a query.

     

    “If monsoon arrives early in some years (say in June), the industry usually witnesses better than average August sales, as monsoon also recedes early in those years,” he said.

     

    To counter the impact of early monsoon, PepsiCo is focusing on providing better value to consumers through pricing in traditional trade and driving distribution, especially in rural areas. “We also have ongoing consumer promotions in modern trade to drive planned purchases of multi-serve packs for in-home consumption,” the PepsiCo spokesman said.

     

    A Coca-Cola India spokesperson maintained that the seasonality curve for beverages industry was ‘tapering off’ and that the firm was continuing to offer products in different packs at varying price points.

     

    Besides trade incentives, Coca-Cola has been pushing 200-ml glass bottles of brand Coke priced at Rs 8 in smaller markets at the cost of profitability, hoping to make up in volumes. In bigger markets, the firm is selling multi-serve packs such as 300-ml, 400-ml and 500-ml bottles.

     

    The world’s biggest soft drinks firm, which makes Coke, Sprite and Fanta aerated drinks, had posted a robust volume growth of 20% in India, the highest among BRIC countries in the April-June 2012 quarter.

     

    An industry veteran said the growth would not touch the levels of last year in the June quarter. “Market conditions are very different now and consumption is down. The unseasonal rains have added to the tough times,” the person said.

     

    During January-March, Coca-Cola had posted 8% volume growth in India. PepsiCo does not declare volume sales of its India division.

     

    According to India meteorological department, the country received its heaviest rainfall in 12 years in the month of June, and the monsoon season is expected to last through September. The department also said that the south-west monsoon has advanced the fastest this year over a period of 50 years, a month earlier than expected.

     

    Last month, rains and flash floods wreaked havoc in Uttarakhand, a sizeable tourism market for beverages, especially in peak season.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • In Loud & Clear, Ritu Midha laments the lag in mobile marketing, which has not evolved in tune with the promises it heralded.

    Ritu Midha: The second screen… or is it the first?

    By Ritu Midha

     

    Three screens – television, computer and mobile put together devour Indian urban populace’s maximum waking hours. And, then of course, there are tablets and cinema screens.

     

    Television, of course, continues to create maximum engagement – and hence the centrepiece of most marketing strategies. In spite of its measurement currency being marred in controversy at the moment – it would continue to be the key medium to reach us.

     

    Computer as a medium of advertising communication is on the upswing – innovations, interactivity and measurement system all working for it. To add to it, there are learnings from other markets.

     

    Interestingly, it is the third screen – mobile – that is not delivering on the expectations it has raised as far marketing is concerned. Mobile, in my view, is the first or the second screen for many of us – I would define this target group as SEC A B, male skewed, 18+ populace, studying or working. Though they spend considerable time in front of a computer, they are not really glued to it when out of home, and are hardly home.

     

    One has been hearing for more than half a decade that mobile would change how the brands engage with consumers. And how mobile marketing would be the ‘in’ thing shortly. However, one daresay there is not much evolution in mobile marketing. Leave aside marketing, it has not even emerged as a powerful advertising medium.

     

    It is still ‘good morning, I am calling from xyz and your number has been selected for XYZ’. And 99 percent of the time the cold call gets a cold shoulder. In the best of scenarios, mobile advertising is a clone job of television and computer advertising.

     

    And this despite mobile consumption increasing by the day. As per TRAI data for February 2013, there are 861.66 million mobile connections. Add to it the numbers thrown by Nokia Siemens Networks’ MBit Index study, and the picture becomes all the more interesting.mobile data traffic generated by 3G services increased by 196 percent between December 2011 and December 2012, while mobile data traffic generated by 2G services increased by 66 percent over the same period.

     

    On to the smartphone users. As per the recent ‘2013 Internet trends’ report by Mary Meeker, partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), India ranks the fifth with 67 million subscribers. The four above it are China, the US, Japan and Brazil. However, when it comes to smartphone penetration it is just 6 percent, pushing it to number 30. Whatever be the case 67million is not a small number – specially if you take into consideration 52 per cent yoy growth rate.

     

    Despite the staggering numbers mobile fails to be a unique medium – and can be personalized like none other. Do we believe mobile, after all, is not the right marketing medium? Has it got something to do with the screen size, or lack of efficiencies with the agencies and marketers alike? Or, are we reluctant to experiment?

     

    One of the youngest countries in the world, with more mobile phones than television sets, can definitely do better than agar aapka answer A hae to ekka button dabaen – though one must admit that media owners are doing a far better job of using mobile as the medium of engaging people than others including FMCG behemoths and telecom operators themselves.

     

    Ritu Midha is a senior journalist and web strategist based in Mumbai. She is also Consulting Editor and Editor – Special Projects, MxMIndia.

     

  • In Loud & Clear, Ritu Midha visualizes life without TAM, and sees a murky picture.

    Ritu Midha: If no TAM TAMming, then what?

    By Ritu Midha

     

    Flashback to October 2012. DAS was rolled out in the metros. TAM organised workshops – made quite a few modifications in its universe size and otherwise, so that it could keep pace with the changes brought in by DAS.

     

    LV Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research, explained that there could be quite a few changes in television viewing pattern – fall could be seen in the numbers, mainly of big channels. After the initial turmoil – set patterns were expected to emerge again.

     

    We spoke to many a media professionals – everyone was happy about DAS, and in sync with TAM’s readiness for the new universe. Interestingly, a handful of media professionals pointed out the difficulties faced by them due to the number dark period of 30 days – when TAM chose not to release data for certain markets as DAS was settling in. In a world where television is bought and sold based on TAM ratings – it indeed was a difficult scenario to work in.

     

    And now suddenly the media space is abuzz with ‘news’ (newsy gossip) that Sony Entertainment television, Times television and NDTV have bid adieu to TAM, while Star, Zee, Viacom18 and Network18 are all set to do so in the next few days. And if everyone does quit, these biggies will not return to the TAM fold in a hurry. As I understand it, they will not subscribe to TAM data, but TAM will continue to measure them!

     

    To put it in a nutshell, the carpet is all set to be swept from under TAM’s feet this week. The biggest soap opera of the television industry is heading towards a climax.

     

    One might remember there was TAM and there was INTAM. They ran parallel for nearly eight years (throwing different data sets) before they merged. And as for measurement system, It took quite some time for the industry to see the virtues of people meter, complete roll over from diary system to people meter! And now while BARC is asking for a tender for the new television measurement system globally, the new system will not be in place in a hurry. Considering the sheer size of the country, even if it does not require seeding of people meters in every home and for every television set – it still will take substantial time to capture the width TAM is capturing now.

     

    Jumping again to early DAS days, all the constituents – channels, media agencies and marketers found it difficult to manage life with 30 data dark days – how will they then manage till BARC gets the new system in place? While every agency has its own optimising and predicting models – the key currency continues to be the data provided by TAM – and television continues to be the backbone of most media plans.

     

    I distinctly remember seeing ads of competing channels – both claiming to be No 1. And they would be both correct too! TG, markets or some other parameter would be different. Important thing, I assumed (and rightfully) was to prove oneself to be No 1 based on TAM numbers.

     

    Moving to now, whether the channels are right or not – is not under the purview of this piece (and neither do I, by no stretch of imagination, understand the numbers game better than the media professionals on either side of the fence). My concern is how will television be sold? Do the channels have a Plan B? Or, will the channels sell only on qualitative – which will not mean much, unless and until these are syndicated studies encompassing all channels of a specific genre.

     

    Digressing a little, on one side we have print – where quarterly research is considered to be a good option – and till it happens, half yearly numbers too are good enough. Collecting this data is a cumbersome process despite the recent changes – and print really does not change that frequently in content- and one does not have the luxury of changing newspaper by pressing a remote button.

     

    Web, meanwhile, spins numbers real time – and one can track data till previous day on most web tracking systems.

     

    Television, of course, releases weekly data. And with digitization – possibilities of more accurate, micro, and higher frequency measurement are unlimited – out of these frequency, obviously, does not really need to be enhanced. Transparency, cited everyone, was one of the key advantages of Digital Access System – which also implied more transparent and accurate measurement. And it is the same accuracy of data that is being questioned now – culprit, of course, is said to be the methodology or one can say data slicing.

     

    Back to my concern: how will the channels sell in the period between the TAM era and BARC system era:

    1. Projections based on historical numbers: What about the ‘coming up’ and ‘upcoming’ shows? Will the new shows be sold based on the previous shows in that slot?

    2. IRS data: Till the time the new system comes in – dependence on IRS data for television viewing pattern – it is a different issue many a show might have ended by the time the data comes out, or an event be long over – changing the entire paradigm

    3. Yearly deals are already closed – so less worry – only thing is the clients would never be convinced they are getting the value committed till they see numbers in their mailbox at regular intervals

    4. Or, they are just hitting TAM – where it hurts the most. Commercially! As media agencies and marketers will continue to subscribe to TAM – there is no need to worry. And continue they will till the time a better system is in place, and it manages to convince everyone that it is a better system

    5. Ironically, convincing agencies and marketers that TAM numbers do not project the complete picture might be the hardest battle channels would need to fight – unless they have a more plausible proof of their pudding being better than others.

     

    As a parting shot: I believe the most interesting will be the battle of news channels in a GRP-, TRP-, CPRP-free world – the year ahead is going to be the year of news channels courtesy the elections, flip-flopping economy, unfolding mysteries of IPL, and of course the gore! What will it be: my anchor was better than his… or Narendra Modi was on my channel for 30 seconds longer than his channel?!

     

    Ritu Midha is a senior journalist and web strategist based in Mumbai. She is also Consulting Editor and Editor – Special Projects, MxMIndia.

     

  • In Week 3 of her new column, Loud & Clear, Ritu Midha makes a case for truly surprising newspaper advertising – which does not include the now-ubiquitous false covers.

    Ritu Midha: Off with the false covers!

    By Ritu Midha

     

    To begin with a digression, even as I have print on my mind I mentally think ‘Facebook’ alongside. Facebook has succeeded in conditioning many a mind by the simple questions it asks in its status update field. The new kid on the block – changing consumer behaviour with tiny masterstrokes! But this is just an off-the-cuff observation. On my mind at the moment – really – is print.

     

    What is with the false covers on newspapers! Frankly, now if a newspaper lands on your doorsteps without a false cover – it, err, in a weird sense of way appears nude! Now tell me – if you are 30+, and if I ask you which was the last false newspaper cover that made you take note, and your answer is still Indya.com – Well I already rest my case!

     

    I am sure there must be plenty of customized research proving that noticeability of products promoted on false covers is higher than that on inside pages… and more! But is RoI (whatever be the measurement) directly in proportion to the monies spent on it? Does noticeability mean higher brand recall? Is yes, then what is all this noise about contextual advertising?

     

    One, of course, remembers a few print innovations that had nothing to do with false covers, but worked extremely well. Be it product sampling, a car promotion, first creative innovation for a soap with bubbles on the page (it has become mundane now), or experimentation with aroma!

     

    However, these innovations are increasingly taking a back seat as the false cover syndrome takes over. So much so that on occasion, a newspaper is endowed with not one, but two false covers! If I might add, I would love to understand what spiel do sales guys give for the second false cover to be sold. As effective as the first false cover – but at 50 percent rate? Some research to prove the same would be a big help, please!

     

    Print, at the moment, is in the danger zone. However much we shout from the rooftop, the fact remains. There is an effort on increasing reach and distribution – focus on smaller towns, and one does hope it works well for the newspaper industry.

     

    But does it imply that run-of-the-mill advertising in newspapers (including false covers) will become far more effective? At the risk of sounding risque – one needs to check out fake ads to realize what print advertising can be all about!

     

    It is time print woke up and smelled the coffee! And strove towards creating advertising that is far more effective!! The wow factor has to come back! Indya.com has to cease being the benchmark. The clients have to give right brief, ask right questions and push for right solutions. Let go of the false covers – return to me my newspaper, where the headlines that shocked and surprised stared at me when I picked it up. And I promise to take note of ‘noticeable’ ads in my morning newspaper and all the supplements it comes with.

     

    Ritu Midha is a senior journalist and web strategist based in Mumbai. She is also Consulting Editor and Editor – Special Projects, MxMIndia.

     

  • PepsiCo finally decides to fight back the slew of Kurkure-lookalike brands

    Pepsi takes on ‘localikes’: It’s crunchy, it’s munchy, but it’s not Kurkure

    By Rajiv Singh

     

    Chutkure, Hurhure, Chulhule, Karkare, Taktake – all may be crunchy, but not Kurkure.

     

    Feeling the heat from a sea of lookalike local and regional brands that have been munching on the popularity of Kurkure over the last few years, beverages and snacks major PepsiCo has finally decided to fight back.

     

    Tedha’s Straight Journey

     

    Launched in 1999, Kurkure is not only the first made-for-India salty snack brand from PepsiCo but also among the eight Rs 1,000-crore plus brands in PepsiCo India’s portfolio.

     

    Over the last few years, the brand has been adding regional flavours. In 2010, Kurkure rolled out an ingredient innovation with the launch of Kurkure made with Rajma. Next year, ‘Ingredients of India’ range rolled out regional flavours like Mumbai Chatpata Usal, Bengali Jhaal and South Spice Mix. Earlier this year, it introduced three new flavour combinations, based on popular international cuisines but with a desi twist-Punjabi Pizza, Andhra Bangkok Curry and Rajasthani Manchurian.

     

    Last December, the brand went for a makeover. It dropped its long-time mascot Juhi Chawla and roped in five new brand ambassadors-Parineeti Chopra, Kunal Kapoor, Boman Irani, Farida Jalal and Ramya Krishnan-to widen its appeal.

     

    The latest TV commercial of PepsiCo’s flagship salty snack brand Kurkure asks viewers: Kuch bhi crunchy milega toh khaoge kya? (Will you eat anything that is crunchy?). The advertisement, pushing Rs 5 pack of Kurkure, ends by saying ‘5 Rupaye mein koi khaane waali cheez khao.’

     

    However, PepsiCo says desi brands are an irritant, but definitely not a headache. “There are over 140 lookalikes of Kurkure,” says Nalin Sood, category director, India Snacks, PepsiCo India Foods, “and over 2,500 local players in this segment.” But we are not feeling the heat from them, he avers.

     

    The Rs 5 price point is an impulse category where consumers are not emotionally attached to the brand, points out Sood. “Our latest advertisement not only hits at local brands but also tries to inculcate brand loyalty among consumers for this low price point,” he says, explaining the trigger for the latest commercial.

     

    But marketing and branding experts disagree. The fact that PepsiCo for the first time is urging consumers to make an informed choice while buying snacks says it all.

     

    “Unarguably, Kurkure is feeling the heat from local brands that are near lookalikes,” says Smitha Sarma Ranganathan, a brand communication specialist who teaches marketing management at IBS Bangalore.

     

    Instead of targeting some unknown brand in the commercial, the company should have continued with its focus on creating a family-driven context for connecting with Kurkure wherein the brand becomes the snacky content of choice, she adds. “Consumers look for value-for-money and not loyalty at Rs 5 price point.”

     

    The Head is On

    PepsiCo’s Kurkure and Lay’s, which dominate the Rs 9,500-crore Indian snacks market, have been steadily losing market share to a slew of regional players such as Gujarat-based Balaji, Indore’s Yellow Diamond and DFM Foods’ Crax that have cracked the local market as well as matched global players on pricing, quality and regionalization.

     

    While the market share of both the brands slipped 2-3% in the April-September period last year, Balaji, Parle, Yellow Diamond and ITC’s Bingo gained, according to Nielsen data. However, PepsiCo’s Sood says the market share of Kurkure is intact.

     

    Recently, PepsiCo has been facing headwinds not only in the snacks sector but also in the beverages segment, as it reaped less-than-expected returns from Rs 160 crore spent on the sixth edition of IPL.

     

    While its market share in April this year fell to 29.7% from 32.1% over the same month last year, rival Coca-Cola increased its share to 48.3% from 45.8%. Moreover, PepsiCo’s region president for India and South Asia Manu Anand quit late last month.

     

    Desi Tadka Rules!

    Desi brands, say FMCG analysts, not only have their finger on the pulse of regional flavor and taste, they also pip global biggies in giving more margin to the local retailers.

     

    “Local brands know PepsiCo can’t match them in terms of offering high margin to distributors,” says an analyst, requesting anonymity. So the retailers keep pushing desi brands, he says, adding that Rs 5 price point has become highly competitive. “And PepsiCo is feeling the heat because Rs 5 is the single-largest selling pack for Kurkure.” So, they are left with no choice but to react, he says.

     

    But if PepsiCo indeed is hitting at the local brands, the message that its TVC conveys is tedha (twisted), point out experts.

     

    They need to make it clear who they are fighting against, says KV Sridhar, chief creative officer of Leo Burnett, Indian subcontinent. “If they are targeting look-alikes, then the advertisement doesn’t talk about it.”

     

    The TVC shows a chic pack of a 5-rupee snack in the hands of Kunal Kapoor, which supposedly attempts a direct hit at local 5 brands only to that it turns out to be a googly, says Ranganathan of IBS Bangalore.

     

    A closer look at the pack visual translates into ‘oh-so-familiar looking’ feeling of deja-vu, only to get the consumer relate it to Lay’s, also belonging to the PepsiCo snacks stable, perhaps risking a cannibalisation, she adds.

     

    Agrees Sridhar. If indeed they are hitting at local brands, then they could have used transparent packs to show that, he says. “In their eagerness to push sales, they have missed out the details.”

     

    PepsiCo says it carried out intensive pre-tests with consumers before the launch of the TVC. “During the research conducted both prior and post the campaign, an overwhelming majority associated the pack with the unorganised/unbranded snacking options available and not to any branded large national player,” counters PepsiCo’s Sood.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

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  • The former head of Bates CHI & Partners for Delhi and Mumbai will be based in Creativeland Asia's Gurgaon office

    Creativeland appoints Srijib Mallik as COO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Srijib Mallik

    Creativeland Asia, India’s leading communications community, has announced the appointment of Srijib Mallik as COO of the company. Mr Mallik will initially set up and front expansion plans in the Delhi NCR region before driving the growth agenda internationally.

     

    Said Sajan RaJ Kurup, Founder and Creative Chairman, Creativeland Asia on the announcement: “It is wonderful to have Srijib as a part of the Creativeland community. His passion for creativity, sound business acumen coupled with an equal ease in both national and international sensibilities made us choose him after a vast search. There are exciting times ahead.”

     

    Sajan Raj Kurup

    Added Mr Mallik: “I am thrilled to be a part of Creativeland. The work is outstanding. And the culture, brilliant. My agenda will be to leverage the Creativeland equity, nurture our culture of ‘Good Creative Upbringing’ and drive our business across markets.”

     

    Mr Malik comes in with more than 15 years of advertising and marketing communications experience across W+K, London & India, Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis, Singapore & India, and JWT, India, among others. His most recent title was as head of Bates CHI & Partners for Delhi and Mumbai. He has worked on brands including Pepsi, Nokia, HP, Cisco,  Pizza Hut, Royal Enfield, General Motors, to name a few. He is a Sloan fellow from the London Business School who dabbles in Vedic astrology and start up consulting.

     

  • The channel will have its dual feed on Dish TV's DTH platform

    Big RTL Thrill now on Dish TV

    By A Correspondent

     

    Big RTL Thrill has inked a distribution deal with Dish TV ensuring that the dual feed action entertainment channel will be available on the DTH platform (Channel No 488).

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Vijay Koshy, Vice President of the channel, said: “By signing on Dish TV, the reach of the channel will increase exponentially and we are certain that it will live up to the expectation of the viewers.”

     

  • The last date for receiving entries for the fifth edition of the Printweek India Awards is July 15

    Awards for excellence in printing announced

    By A Correspondent

     

    Buoyed by the success of the PrintWeek India Awards from 2009 to 2012, Haymarket Media India, has announced the PrintWeek India Awards 2013 to recognise excellence in the Indian print industry.

     

    This edition of PrintWeek India Awards 2013 is supported by industry majors including AGS, Bobst, Canon, Dupont, EFL, Epson, Galaxy Propac, Henkel, ITC PSPD, Kala Jyothi, QuadTech, Roland, Skyscreen, Sona Commercial, TechNova, Vinsak and Welbound Worldwide.

     

    There are two types of Awards: the ‘Quality Awards’ which judge the quality of output from different sectors, such as labels, magazines, catalogues and posters and the ‘Performance Awards’, which are judged on financial performance, strategy, capital investment and training programmes. Within those Awards types, there are 25 categories in all with the choice of multiple entries.

     

    The jury for judging the entries and samples will be drawn from a wide spectrum of print buyers, print specialists, professionals, designers and technologists. Last year it consisted of professionals from Aditya Birla Group, Olive Design, Max Mueller, Grey Barclays, HUL, JWT, Leo Burnett and others.

     

    Speaking about the Awards, Suresh Ramakrishnan, publishing director, Haymarket Media India says, “Rather than piling the jury members with all the work, print firms were selective. They showcased the best and most relevant print jobs. I expect PrintWeek India Awards for 2013 to be bigger and better than those from 2009 till 2012.”

     

    Last year, the PrintWeek India Awards saw 334 entries from 116 companies -which were judged by a 30-member jury.  The final date for sending in entries for the fifth edition of PrintWeek India Awards is July 15, 2013.

     

  • The agency bagged the Piramal Healthcare account in a multi-agency pitch

    Madison Sigma wins Piramal Healthcare media AOR

    By A Correspondent

    Madison Media Sigma has announced the win of Piramal Healthcare’s media AOR. The account was won in a multi-agency pitch where OMD and MPG also reportedly participated in the pitch. The account was previously handled by Lodestar and the estimated size of the account is Rs 70 crore.

    Piramal Healthcare has aggressive plans for OTC category and has recently launched skin creams under its Lacto Calamine brand name. The company has plans to launch several other brands as well in the healthcare space.

    Says Kedar Rajadnye, COO – Consumer Products, Piramal Healthcare Ltd, “Given our ambitious plans, we wanted to enhance our current capabilities in media strategy and buying front and hence looked out for partners who could create a higher value on this aspect. Madison Media fitted very well in the requirement & our scheme of things as we were very happy to see their approach being very similar to our mindset.“

    Added Vanita Keswani, COO, Madison Media Sigma: “We are delighted with this new win and are looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.“

     

  • The Reliance Industries Ltd chief has joined hands with the Mahindra & Mahindra boss to back the genre-specific channel

    Mukesh Ambani joins Anand Mahindra to back ‘Epic TV’

    By Arijit Barman & Nandini Raghavendra

     

    Anand Mahindra

    After Anand Mahindra, it’s the turn of India’s richest billionaire Mukesh Ambani to once again turn a venture capitalist and back a new media venture that is due to go on air mid-August.

     

    “Epic TV” – a niche entertainment pay channel will be India’s first to showcase genre specific content related to history, folklore and mythology. Set up in October 2012, Epic Television Network is being led by Mahesh Samat, former managing director of Walt Disney Company who left the multi-national last year after a four year stint.

     

    Mukesh Ambani

    But interestingly, through this investment Mr Mahindra and Mr Ambani each have a 25.8% stake in the company and together have financial control. Even though the quantum of their investments and other financial details are not yet disclosed, according to industry sources there is an initial commitment of Rs 100 crore from the group of  “angel investors.” The amount can increase going forward depending on the business and expansion plans. Mr Samat himself has a 48.5% stake in the venture, as per the company’s filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

     

    A Reliance spokesperson confirmed the development but said the investment by Mr Ambani is “in his personal capacity.” The investment in Epic TV is routed through Reliance Ports and Terminal Ltd, one of Mr Ambani’s personal companies. Mr Mahesh Samat, Managing Director, Epic Television Network refused to comment about his investors.

     

    Mr Samat in an earlier interaction had said a group of four investors has been instrumental in propping up his unique start-up but refused to divulge specific details. Only the name of Mr Mahindra became public last month. Even though Mr Mahindra or Mr Ambani are neither present in Epic’s board, senior M&M executives Rohit Khattar and Zhooben Bhiwandiwala are going to be the representatives.

     

    The focus on niche content to be a clutter breaker is what attracted Mahindra at first who subsequently roped in his close friend Mr Ambani to support Epic, said people closely following the developments.  While Mahindra is known for his passion for the liberal arts and had studied film-making at Harvard, Mr Ambani himself is also a movie and entertainment buff. “This is a lucrative investment. Epic will create a new genre altogether and  post-digitization, the scope of pay TV will also grow exponentially, ” said an RIL executive.

     

    “The idea is to be entertaining. Be episodic and build characters, actually investigate our past, create characters set in history to help us understand our history better and yet be entertaining,” explained Mr Samat. He however is clear that Epic will not be a general entertainment channel (GEC) like Star Plus or Colors. Industry sources add that around six shows have already been commissioned and one of the period shows is based on a Sherlock Holmes like sleuth set in the backdrop of Mughal India.

     

    Currently Mr Samat’s focus is on creating intellectual property for Epic and then leveraging the IP into verticals like publishing, live events, theatre as well as syndication. While the channel is the first offering, the investors are open to adding other channels, though not in the areas of news, music or youth.

     

    Analysts see this move as part of a larger trend of primetime corporate newsmakers bankrolling media ventures – news and entertainment – themselves. “Corporate India is actually no stranger to owning media, especially news organisations. That history may have been chequered but their aborted experiments is hardly desisting anybody anymore. Smart CEOs and savvy industrial houses think this is the opportune time to tweak their strategies to relook at the sector either through personal investments or strategic corporate diversifications. In a growing economy with rising discretionary spending, the evolving media and entertainment sector is grabbing unprecedented business eyeballs,” quipped an investment banker, specialising in M&As in this space, on condition of anonymity.

     

    The road to profitability will come only from clearly segmenting the industry and in finding a niche. Thus Mr Mahindra’s existing venture Mumbai Mantra is scouting for opportunities to create niche content and also at infrastructure that will be like an intersection between media and lifestyle. Mr Mahindra’s family is also involved in several publishing ventures.

     

    Just like his younger brother Anil, Mukesh Ambani too via several of his promoter group entities has made several media investments, like Rajya Sabha MP of the Congress and a junior minister with the planning and parliamentary affairs portfolios, Rajeev Shukla and his wife Anurradha Prasad’s BAG Group companies. In the past his name had also cropped up as a potential investor behind Peter Mukerjea’s entertainment venture INX News and INX Media. But last year, Ambani’s flagship Reliance Industries hit the headlines after agreeing to fund a transaction that resulted in a sizeable stake for itself in a company controlling two of the industry’s largest businesses, the Network 18 Group and the Hyderabad-based Eenadu Group of Ramoji Rao.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The newly set up PR and public affairs agency Metigon Enterprises has started its Pune operations with Suman Sharma as Branch Head.

    Suman Sharma to head Metigon’s Pune ops

    By A Correspondent

     

    The newly set up PR and public affairs agency Metigon Enterprises has started its Pune operations with Suman Sharma as Branch Head.

     

    At Ketchum Sampark where she was employed until recently and the MSL group, she has devised communications strategy for companies across sectors including Kirloskar Brothers Limited, Airtel, Bajaj Auto, H&R Block, Hindustan UniLever, Philips, Amway, Swatch Group, HCC, Courtyard by Marriott, Royal Orchid amongst others.

     

    Says Nikhil Gerard, Managing Director, Metigon Enterprises, “Metigon is seeing a dynamic growth in a competitive market of India and we’re sure that Suman’s expertise and insights in PR will help Metigon develop the Pune market.”

     

  • HT Media acquires social media agency Webitude to focus on fast-evolving spaces of Mobile and Social Media

    HT Media gets more ‘social’ with Webitude

    By A Correspondent

     

    HT Mobile Solutions, the mobile solutions organization from HT Media Ltd. has announced the acquisition of Webitude, a social media organization based in Gurgaon. With this, the company has announced its intention to offer strong digital solutions that leverage the combined power of mobile and social media, under an umbrella brand Digital Quotient that will operate with the mantra ‘Go Mobile, Get Social.’

     

    As per Vinish Kathuria, COO, HT Mobile Solutions, ‘The Indian digital marketing landscape can be summarized by 3 megatrends – explosive growth in mobile usage, social media and videos consumption. As Digital Quotient, we’re going to be able to offer our clients a rich array of solutions across mobile and social media, and leverage the power of multimedia to help establish a strong, meaningful connect with consumers.’

     

    Santosh Kumar, Co-founder, Webitude said ‘We are looking forward to leveraging the scale and the mobile acumen of the HT group to take our offerings to the next level. While we will retain our identity as Webitude and continue to operate our agency business, we will now also operate as part of the larger group Digital Quotient – where social and mobile will together drive exponentially higher value.’

     

    Girish Mahajan, Co-founder, Webitude said: “For our existing team, who have made Webitude the recognizable name it is, this opens a whole new world of possibilities. It also means growth on a personal level, just as the business grows.”