MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • Court orders Outlook group to ensure settlement of dues before services are terminated

    Labour Court halts termination of People India edition staff

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Labour Court in Bandra, Mumbai has stayed the Outlook magazine group’s decision to terminate the employment of 17 staffers of the Indian edition of People magazine. The Editor of the magazine, Saira Menezes, and 16 other editorial employees moved the Labour Court since they felt that the employers were not forthcoming about their settlement (read: dues).

     

    From what MxMIndia learns, there is no termination notice served on the employees, and only a verbal communication was made by Outlook group President Indranil Roy that their services would stand terminated from the evening of July 31. The communication was made only a day after the news was made public with the Outlook group’s statement appearing in sections of the media.

     

    While the employees have questioned the decision of the management to close People magazine’s Indian edition, all that they appealed to the Labour Court was that proper procedures of law be followed if their services are terminated. The employees felt that Outlook Publications was indulging in unfair labour practice by terminating their services without due legal procedure.

     

    Saira Menezes and 16 others were complainants, Mr Vinod Mehta, Editorial Chairman, and Mr Roy were the respondents.

     

  • Zee Entertainment pays Rs 40 crore plus for satellite rights of Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chennai Express for its upcoming channel '& Pictures'

    Zee pays Rs 40+ cr for Chennai Express for its upcoming channel ‘& Pictures’

    By Nandini Raghavendra

     

    Zee Entertainment has secured the satellite rights of soon-to-be-released Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chennai Express for a new movie channel it is launching next month under the bouquet ‘&’. The movie, which also stars Deepika Padukone, will be aired on ‘& Pictures’, the first channel to be launched in the new bouquet.

     

    “The price is Rs 40 crore plus for seven years, with a link to box-office performance of the film but it is a win-win situation for both the channel and the producer,” said Jayantilal Gada, who does all the buying of film rights for the Zee group.

     

    While the Zee network already runs four Hindi film channels – Zee Cinema, Zee Premier, Zee Action and Zee Classic – and holds the rights to over 4,000 Hindi films, ‘& Pictures’ will primarily run on a premiere model with big new release titles, according to people close to the development.

     

    ‘&Pictures’ launch will be a precursor to the Rs 4,000-crore media conglomerate’s plans to add multi-genres to the network through different bouquets. For now, the Subhash Chandra-owned Zee has a huge bouquet with channels across genres as well as regional plus a sports bouquet under the Ten brand name.

     

    Zee’s new strategy follows Star Network, which launched its second general entertainment channel (GEC) ‘Life OK’ around two years ago, followed by ‘Movies OK’. It is said to be looking to extend the brand to other genres. Viacom, which runs the GEC Colors, is also looking to launch a second GEC, which it currently runs in the UK under the name ‘Rishtey’.

     

    The satellite rights of Chennai Express had seen a lot of buzz with industry sources saying deals had fallen through with other networks on price issues.

     

    The deal links the film’s satellite price to the box office collections. If Chennai Express crosses the cut-off amount, which is said to be around Rs 130 crore, then for every Rs 10 crore net collection after that, the producers get an additional Rs 2 crore. The producers of the film – Shah Rukh Khan and Siddharth Roy Kapur of UTV Motion Pictures – declined to comment.

     

    Satellite rights form a crucial component of a film’s revenue, contributing 30-35% of its total recovery. For broadcasters, movies generate critical gross rating points (GRPs). With almost all broadcasters vying to acquire rights of the top stars, price wars are not unheard of in the industry, with rights of films still on the production floors being signed up. Almost all films starring top stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan have fetched satellite rights between Rs 40 and 45 crore.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The Starcom MediaVest Group digital marketing consulting arm is certified to be a Google Analytics Certified Partner (GACP)

    SMG Convonix is now a Google Analytics Certified Partner

    By A Correspondent

     

    SMG Convonix has been certified by Google to become a Google Analytics Certified Partner (GACP) becoming one of the few companies in India to receive this accreditation. Consequently, SMG Convonix will be granted certain exclusive privileges by Google which include access to a trusted and verifiable Certified badge, insight into the product roadmap and beta features and contact with the Analytics Product Management and Marketing team.

     

    SMG Convonix was founded in 2003 and has since evolved from being the first pure-play SEO Company in the country to offering the full range of digital marketing and advertising solutions for clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small and medium enterprises in India, the US and Europe. The strategic alignment with Starcom MediaVest Group as their Digital Marketing consulting arm took place earlier this year.

     

    “SMG Convonix has been working on complex projects using Google Analytics for quite some time,” said Sarfaraz Khimani, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at SMG Convonix, “We are excited to be selected as part of the programme. We’ve been working on web analytics projects with varying degrees of complexity since the conception of our company, but with Google Analytics and its continuously evolving measurement and reporting capabilities, we have been able to take analytics consulting to a different level.”

     

  • The first ever online campaign with CRY teaches kids into the art of giving

    Worldoo gets kids into giving with CRY

    By A Correspondent

     

    From L to R Harsh wardhan Dave, Tanaaz Ghatalia, Puja Marwaha, Rahool Talukdar

    Kiddie online ecosystem worldoo.com has in association with leading NGO Child Rights and You (CRY) launched a unique initiative today called worldoo Tara. This will be the first online campaign where kids can donate to fellow kids in need.

     

    This is Worldoo.com’s first social initiative where citizens (users of the site) can ‘gift’ stars (Worldoo currency) from the earnings they make by browsing Worldoo.com, to less privileged children. Based on the number of stars accumulated on ‘Gift a Tara’, as it’s called on the platform, Worldoo will donate Rs 1 Lakh for the empowerment of these children. In the first phase of the initiative, Wordoo hopes to hit a mark of 5 lakhs stars for the initiatives ‘Gifting Asmina an education’ and ‘Gifting Karsan clean drinking water’.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Taanaz Ghatalia, Director, Focus Kids said, “Most kids in today’s age are so used to getting that the idea of giving is rarely inculcated in them. We are really excited and believe in the nobility of the idea where a kid is helping another kid in need by his own means. We thank CRY for giving this its desired shape.”

     

    Said Harsh Wardhan Dave, Head, Experience and Brand: “This is just the beginning as we intend to take this to a whole new level by going to schools across India. We also want many more organisations who believe in the thought to partner us in the future.”

     

    Commenting on the initiative, Puja Marwaha, CEO, CRY – Child Rights and You said: “We believe that children are a reservoir of energy, and have the power to influence others. Together with Worldoo, we endeavour to sensitize children on the issues of child rights, by explaining the rights and their importance to them and how they can contribute to ensure a lasting change in the lives of other children.”

     

  • Star India plans Independence Day fund-raiser event with film stars

    Star joins hands with Bollywood, all fund-raiser event ad rev for Uttarakhand relief

    By A Correspondent

     

    Star India has pledged all revenues from an Independence Day seven-hour marathon fund-raiser for strengthening relief efforts in Uttarakhand. Leading film stars will join Star’s fund-raiser and all advertising revenues generated through the event on August 15 will be channelled to not-for-profit bodies working for the cause.

     

    Uday Shankar

    “The tragedy in Uttarakhand is a solemn opportunity for every Indian to lend a helping hand,” Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India, said. Early confirmation of stars supporting the initiative include Indian cinema’s icons Amitabh Bachchan, Lata Mangeshkar, Ajay Devgn, Kajol, Anil Kapoor, AR Rahman, Boman Irani,  Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Pritam, Prasoon Joshi, Mukesh Bhatt, Ayushmann Khurana and celebrities from top television shows of the Star network such as ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum’, ‘Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara’, ‘Saraswatichandra’, ‘Savdhaan India’, ‘Devon Ke Dev Mahadev’ and ‘India’s Dancing Superstars’ among others.

     

    Ad agency Ogilvy & Mather will be the creative agency for the on-ground event that’ll be managed by Wizcraft. The Film Producers Guild, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), TV Artists Forum, Corporate Charity Trusts and several independent industrialists and donors will partner the fund-raiser that will be attended by senior leaders from the state and central governments.

     

    The event will be telecast live on many channels of the Star India network including flagship Star Plus, Life OK, Star Jalsha, Star Pravah, Star Utsav and Channel V.

     

  • Leading marketing effectiveness award will now have an APAC version

    Effie Asia-Pacific launched with C4As

    As part of Effie’s global expansion, Mary Lee Keane, President of Effie Worldwide, announced the launch of the Effie Asia-Pacific programme, in partnership with the Confederation of Asian Advertising Agencies Association (C4As).

     

    Effie Worldwide’s signature initiative, the Effie Awards, is recognized throughout the industry as the global standard of marketing effectiveness excellence. With the addition  of the regional Asia-Pacific Effie programme, Effie Worldwide’s international network now expands to 40 programmes and four regional programmes.

     

    “Given rate of changes in media, technology, consumer behaviour, and even business models, there’s never been a more demanding or exciting time to be focused on delivering effectiveness in marketing,” said Carl Johnson, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Effie Worldwide and Co-Founder of Anomaly.

     

    The Effie APAC programme, organized by the C4As and managed by Tenasia Group, will recognize effective work that has run in the Asia-Pacific region.  The C4As is a non-profit organization dedicated to the marketing communications industry and has experience collaborating with organizations in many different countries throughout the region, including North, South and Southeast Asia.

     

    “The Effie Awards is the world’s most established and recognized award competition for marketing effectiveness and we are certainly delighted to partner Effie Worldwide in organizing the Asia-Pacific program,” said Anthony Kang, Chair of C4As. A pilot APAC Effies was previously awarded in 2008 in partnership with Effie Singapore partner, IAS.

     

    Finalists and winners in all Effie programs in the Asia-Pacific region will be included in the Effie Effectiveness Index (http://www.effieindex.com), which identifies and ranks the marketing communication industry’s most effective agencies, marketers and brands by analyzing finalist and winner data from worldwide Effie competitions.

     

    “Asia-Pacific is a key subject on every global marketer’s mind, along with the ever-important subject of effectiveness,” said Daryl Lee, Global Chief Executive Officer, UM and member of the Board of Directors, Effie Worldwide. “Effie is now more than ever, the global authority on marketing effectiveness.”

     

    Srinivasan K Swamy is the Immediate Past Chairman of the C4As and representing the AAAI, Nagesh Alai is Treasurer of the association.

     

  • The channel will exclusively air more than 500 hours of wrestling content across key Asian markets

    Sony Six acquires rights to TNA Wrestling

    If wrestling is what excites consumers after cricket and tennis and soccer and F1 and whatever else, here’s news: Sony Six has acquired exclusive broadcasting rights to Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling for the Indian sub-continent.

     

    The channel will hence air TNA Wrestling programming every week including Impact Wrtestling, Xplosion, Greatest Matches and Unfinished Business, along with four episodic Pay Per View programmes and eight One Night Only specials throughout the year.

     

    To those not in the know: TNA is home of ‘The Immortal’ Hulk Hogan, ‘The Icon’ Sting, ‘The Charismatic Enigma’ Jeff Hardy, Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Bully Ray, Magnus, AJ Styles, Gail Kim, TNA Knockouts Champion Mickie James and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Chris Sabin. Phew!

     

    Man Jit Singh
    NP Singh

    On acquiring the rights, both Man Jit Singh CEO, MSM and N P Singh, COO, MSM were ecstatic. And TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter was quoted in  a press release saying: “The Indian sub-continent is home to some of the most passionate and dedicated wrestling fans on the planet – and they now have more than 500 hours of the very best in professional wrestling to enjoy. We can’t wait to debut!”

     

  • Ends four-year stint, last as Business Head, Jack in the Box Worldwide & Executive Vice President (Digital), 120 Media Collective

    Prashanth Challapalli exits Jack in the Box

    By A Correspondent

     

    Prashanth Challapalli

    Jack in the Box has announced the quitting of Prashanth Challapalli, Business Head, Jack in the Box Worldwide & Executive Vice President (Digital), 120 Media Collective.

     

    Mr Challapalli was instrumental in setting up Jack in the Box as the content-for-brands arm of Bang Bang Films, which evolved into the digital agency brand of The 120 Media Collective. Adds a communique: “As the Founding Employee of Jack in the Box, Challapalli led its growth from startup to one of South Asia’s most respected and heavily awarded digital agency brands. Additionally, he oversaw the development and setup of video content production capabilities; fashion media brand, STRUT120 and other digitally rooted initiatives at The 120 Media Collective.”

     

    Roopak Saluja

    Roopak Saluja, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, The 120 Media Collective says, “Jack in the Box is what it is today thanks to Prashanth and the passion he put into building the brand. Our trajectory from hereon will be a testament to the foundation he built since 2009. That aside, his support and partnership to me has been of paramount importance in transforming what was just a commercials production company into a multi-platform content creator strongly rooted in film and digital capabilities. His next company has no idea how lucky they’ve gotten in getting him to join them. I wish him unlimited success ahead.”

     

    On his move, Mr Challapalli said, “It has been a fantastic experience building Jack in the Box and the other verticals within The 120 Media Collective. The people, the awards, the brands are some of the best in the industry.”

     

    Prior to joining Jack in the Box, he was Associate Vice President, Publicis Ambience. In earlier assignments, Mr Challapalli has been with Dentsu, Bates, Rediffusion Y&R, Lowe and Ogilvy.

     

    According to the company release, announcements on next steps at Jack in the Box Worldwide and The 120 Media Collective will be made public over the next few days. In the interim, Abhishek Razdan, Head of Business Management, will run things at JITB reporting directly to Mr Saluja.

     

  • Creates campaign to educate consumers on olive variants and their uses

    Mudra Ahmedabad on hard facts of olive oil

    By A Correspondent

     

    When N K Proteins  launched  a new brand of olive oil called Viva across parts of Gujarat,  Mudra Ahmedabad got on to the act of creating awareness of the brand and also differentiate it in the market.

     

    The campaign created by the Ahmedabad team of the DDB Mudra group was based on a simple observation gleaned through research that though people had an idea about the goodness of Olive oil, they were largely unaware about the variants and the exclusivity of these variants in terms of their usage.

     

    What was shocking to note, adds a communiqué, was the fact that many brands were communicating wrong information to the consumers just to increase the acceptability of olive oil… they were promoting ‘Pomace’ variant (usable for Indian style of cooking)  of olive oil by communicating the health benefits which are exclusive only to  ‘Extra Virgin’ variant.

     

    Nilesh Patel

    This led to the creative team to not just create ads that not just created an awareness about the brand but also educate consumers about olive oil.

     

    Said Nilesh Patel, Managing Director, N K Proteins Ltd: “While consumers are enthusiastic about olive oil, most of them are not aware about the usage of each variant of olive oil. So our plan was to educate them without putting them to sleep.”

     

    Ronak Shah

    Ronak Shah, AVP, Mudra Ahmedabad added: “We had an interesting challenge before us. While almost every brand tried to occupy the lifestyle space, no one bothered about educating the consumer about different variants of olive oils and what kind of cuisines they’re meant for. The idea was to show things which people would normally not do and then draw parallels with our core communication message.”

     

  • The movie channel space is set to hot up with &pictures buying rights for Besharam, Ghanchakkar & Zanjeer along with Chennai Express

    &pictures also acquires Besharam, Ghanchakkar & Zanjeer!

    By A Correspondent

     

    Soon after the report on MxMIndia that Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd has acquired the much-awaited Shah Rukh Khan film ‘Chennai Express’ for its proposed channel &pictures, ZEEL has now announced some more new films for the soon-to-be-launched channel.

     

    It has got the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer ‘Besharam’ produced by Reliance Entertainment, the Priyanka Chopra- and Ram Charan-starrer ‘Zanjeer’ and UTV’s Vidya Balan–Emraan Hashmi-starrer ‘Ghanchakkar’, &pictures is being billed as India’s first interactive movie channel

     

  • Saath 7 is the new tagline of the show as promos on for Salman Khan-hosted reality show

    Colors gets act together for Bigg Boss Season 7 with Salman Khan as host

    By A Correspondent

     

    Over the last six years, Bigg Boss has earned the reputation of being Indian television’s biggest reality show. It’s the most controversial and creates a buzz like no other TV programme, is huge in terms of scale and resources deployed and there is an effort made to raise the bar every year.

     

    Leading general entertainment channel Colors has announced Season 7 of Bigg Boss, unveiling a glimpse of what is in store with Salman Khan as host yet again.

     

    The concept planned is of ‘Heaven or Hell’ with the megastar seen in the guise of an angel personifying the pleasures of heaven, as well as in the garb of a devil, representing the negative world of hell.

     

    Speaking on the promos, Rajesh Iyer, Marketing Head, Colors said: “The message is simple – pleasure or pain, both are inevitable and there is nothing to be taken for granted this season.”

     

    The television campaign has been created by Orchard Advertising in association with Prashant Issar of Tubelight Films. It comprises a series of creatives with fun stories enacted by Salman on the theme of the show this season.  Said Hemant Kumar Sivan, Executive Creative Director, Orchard Advertising on the effort: “We worked with the simple truth of life that, Heaven and Hell are of man’s own making. It all depends on how one deals with what life has to offer.”

     

    To add to the fun element, the promo lines have been improvised by Salman himself as he says ‘By God’ in his inimitable style

     

    There have been rumours of the actor being paid Rs 5 crore per episode, but sources close to the channel say that the actual amount is not even close to that figure. Industry sources suggest the amount is more in the region of a crore and each episode will be shot live on Friday. But what if Salman is indicted in the 2002 Mumbai car accident case (popularly referred to as the hit-and-run case, but Salman and his family strongly contest the reference saying he did not run away)? The actor’s camp is hopeful that he will not be indicted.

     

    The format stays the same with 14 strangers in the house over 90 days and captured by 70 cameras in the Bigg Boss house.

     

  • Star Pravah launches monthly airing on TV versions of new and original short stories

    Marathi telefilms on Star Pravah Premiere

    By A Correspondent

     

    Marathi GEC Star Pravah announced the launch of ‘Star Pravah Premiere’ last week with televised versions of new and original short stories with feature film-like production quality. The first of these was aired last night (Sunday, August 4).

     

    Said Shrabani Deodhar, Creative Director – Star Pravah, on the occasion: “Short stories is a new format for us and we are looking at working with subjects that are not easily adaptable to a serial format. We will try and present a fresh and new aspect to relationships in every story that will be showcased under the Star Pravah Premiere initiative.”