MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • NDTV channels 24×7 and Good Times are now available on Dish Network in the US, bringing the channels to 74 countries and 18 million households outside India.

    NDTV expands global reach in US

    By Akash Raha

     

    NDTV 24×7 and NDTV Good Times is now available on Dish Network in the US, bringing the channels to 74 countries and 18 million households outside India.

     

    Both channels are now a part of Dish Network’s South Asian Mega pack along with other channels from India. In addition, NDTV 24×7 also becomes the first Indian channel to also be available in their international base pack as well.

     

    Commenting on the launch, Vikram Chandra, Executive Director and Group CEO, NDTV Limited said, “NDTV is delighted to be partnering with Dish Network to bring its content to an even wider audience in the US. We recognize that Dish dominates the South Asian market in the US, but we are also delighted that NDTV 24×7 will also be available to a wider audience through their International base pack. We hope our association helps both companies reach new heights.”

     

    The launch of NDTV 24×7 in Dish Network’s international base pack comes close on the heels of the launch on Virgin in the UK, where it also became the only Indian channel to be launched in their basic pack.

     

    NDTV’s channels are now available in the leading platforms across the US, UK, Canada, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Australia-New Zealand and the Indian sub-continent, among others, and reach more households than General Entertainment Channels (GECs) in the international market.

     

    In addition, NDTV Good Times, India’s very own lifestyle channel, has also done well in the international market, allowing the Indian Diaspora to enjoy the range of offerings that it brings, and giving them a taste of the New India. Within four years of its launch NDTV Good Times is available in key international markets, including the US and Canada, with a launch in the UK already in the pipeline.

     

  • Stung by jibes that it is boring, The Hindu has hit back at what it terms "the news equivalent of junk food"

    Hindu hits back with a tough punch

     

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    The Times of India fired the first salvo with its hints at a “boring” newspaper. The Hindu has countered with its ‘Stay ahead of the times’ campaign. A bit of a revelation coming from the house of the newspaper which is perceived as traditional and old-fashioned, the 360-degree pan-Indian advertising campaign seeks to bring the core values of journalism to the fore. At the same time it shows how the ‘popular’ read has trivialised the kind of news being dished out to the readers, with the result that they are more clued in about Aishwarya’s baby and Hrithik Roshan’s pet name than knowing the name of the Vice President of India.

     

    What is more surprising is that in the campaign, even though it’s bleeped out, one knows that people who have been featured say that they read The Times of India, thus clearly acknowledging at one go that TOI is a force to reckon with but at the same time responsible for this trivialization of news. The tagline leaves no room for doubt as it states, “Stay ahead of the times.”

     

    This kind of aggressive marketing could be the answer to the campaign that The Times of India had come out with a few months ago in the Tamil Nadu market which targeted The Hindu for being boring. The Times of India campaign says, “Stuck with the news that puts you to sleep? Wake up to The Times of India.” In fact, it is learnt that the TOI had even printed a dummy newspaper, circulated within the industry, with The Hindu masthead and “zzzzz” printed all over, to underline its message that reading the newspaper put people to sleep.

     

    Mr Suresh Srinivasan, Vice President (Advt), The Hindu Group of Publications insists that the campaign is not a reaction to the earlier TOI salvo. He said, “We have been on a path of transformation and change where we have not only undergone organizational changes but also been contemporising our product in order to connect better with our reader. The changes have been in content, layout and packaging based on the research we had commissioned, and their suggestions.”

     

    He added, “We are the country’s most respected English daily and the number 1 English daily in the South, with a growing footprint in the North. While we build on our strengths there is also a need to protect our turf. The Times of India is definitely our single largest competitor down South.”

     

    The Times of India, meanwhile, has been watching the recent development with a  touch of amusement. Mr Rahul Kansal, Chief Marketing Officer at Bennett Coleman & Company Limited, said: “It is good fun to watch it from the sidelines. TOI is an all-India brand and has redefined the news and newspapers altogether. In fact, this doesn’t really damage our brand in any way. On the contrary, it reiterates the fact that we are a very strong contender for the leadership position in the Chennai market. Remember, the Coke and Pepsi war? It didn’t hamper Coke in any way but it did establish Pepsi as a worthy young brand.”

     

    One of The Hindu TVCs
    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmXPBp7DpQw[/youtube]
    The Times of India TVC
    http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/Wake-up-Chennai/videoshow/10557020.cms

    “While advertising, one does exaggerate and that’s what we had done when we said in our earlier campaign that The Hindu is a staid brand. One takes extreme positions in advertising to bring out the humour, so even now when the ad says we give only Page 3 news that just to bring out humour. Everybody knows that the TOI is a complete newspaper,” added Mr Kansal.

     

    Despite the impressive numbers of The Hindu, there definitely seems some concern about the might of the TOI which led to this kind of aggressive marketing. Mr Narendra Kumar Alambara, Vice President at Starcom Worldwide, who has been observing the Chennai market, explained: “The TOI has made inroads into the Chennai English newspaper market and there is no denying that. While the gap between the leader and TOI is still huge, but the latter has become a strong competitor. Youngsters and migrant population have been picking up this newspaper, especially, because of the kind of news reporting that TOI has been doing. While earlier there was no option, but now there is an alternative read. In terms of readership, I think that for The Hindu it has remained stagnant while TOI has grown the category itself. However, one should remember that in the Chennai market retail advertisers lead and for them The Hindu is still a priority.”

     

    On the campaign, Mr Srinivasan said: “The Hindu believes that, more than ever in a globalising, knowledge-driven economy, it is vital that readers are well-informed about the world at large. And yet, over the last few years, the news and media industry in India has become increasingly focused on serving up a steady diet of trivia, shying away from the national and international issues that really matter. This may help sell more newspapers or get more viewership in the short term, but it is the news equivalent of junk food. And the long-term result is a steady dumbing-down of readers who end up knowing more about Aishwarya’s baby than the Arab Spring.”

     

    The campaign shows how one may be creating a country that is fully conversant with gossip and Page 3 culture but clueless about current affairs and world events.

     

    Mr Srinivasan says, “The campaign is aimed at triggering conversation and if we succeed in provoking thought and debate that would be the measure of our success. It is intended as an eye-opener to get people to re-evaluate their media choices, to demand a smarter newspaper.”

     

    The campaign will be on TV, radio, cinema, print, outdoor and digital. It will be supported by on-ground activities in malls, cafes and other locations.

     

  • Though rural markets have seen a drastic increase in the standard of living and purchasing power, it is very fragmented with little or no transparency

    Rural market is the new siren call for OOH

    By Robin Thomas

     

    According to industry estimates, ruralIndiais growing at a faster pace than its urban counterparts, atleast in certain product categories. The overall Indian rural market size is believed to be Rs800 crore, with a total advertising pie of Rs12,000 Crore in rural markets. FMCG products, consumer durables, agro manufacturers, banking and insurance, telecom companies are some of the big spenders in rural markets.

     

    A survey reveals that FMCG products account for nearly 53 per cent of the market share in ruralIndiawhereas consumer durables account for the rest.

     

    The last few years have seen a drastic increase in the standard of living and purchasing power in ruralIndiaand many marketers heading for the lucrative rural markets. Also people in rural areas tend to spend a lot of time outdoors, which makes the rural market an ideal target for OOH media. As a result, almost every OOH industry player believes that the next phase of growth for the out-of-home media will come from rural markets.

     

    In interactions with MxMIndia, Mr Nabendu Bhattacharyya, Managing Director, Milestone Brandcom – who had shared his plans to launch Milestone Rural – and Mr Rohit Samarth, Business Head – Rural, Percept- Out of Home, were of the opinion that out-of-home media is seeing a tremendous growth in rural markets as consumption power in smaller towns and villages is increasing.

     

    Mr Anirban Ghosh, Senior Vice President, Adz Edge opined that an increase in purchasing power of rural masses in recent past has fuelled lot of interest amongst clients across all categories in ruralIndia. “Once considered a market only for low end products, today companies are seeing rural market as the new growth avenue. Comprising more than 70 per cent of the total consumers in India and annual market potential in excess of Rs12,30,00 crore, rural India is being charmed in novel ways. Naturally, out-of-home has also taken an upswing in rural market. More and more clients have shown interest in tapping this market which has got tremendous potential and increasing buying power” he said.

     

    The main revenue stream in rural market will come through a media integration and activation approach such as van activations, road shows, wall paintings, melas or village fairs.

     

    Mr. Ashish Pherwani, Associate Director, Advisory Services, Ernst & Young is very optimistic about rural out-of-home media. He believes that it can reach 25-30 per cent of the OOH advertising share in 5 years and that as consumptions shifts from metros to the 35 to 100 of the largest towns, OOH spends will also follow.

     

    Although OOH in rural areas is on the growth curve, it still has a long way to go and in order to continue growing in the long run; industry players believe that there are certain challenges and concerns that need to be overcome.

     

    One of the biggest concerns is the fact that the rural market is very fragmented and there is neither a credible measurement system nor a clear census data that can provide a clear definition of ruralIndiaand the socio-economic classification, among other relevant details.

     

    Mr Samarth observed: “While advertising in ruralIndiais growing, fragmentation of the market is a big challenge; there is no distribution network and there is no credible measurement system either. Another set of challenge is about living up to the promise of delivery in the rural markets. However, on the positive side, the biggest change in the rural is the fact that there is much less central control because today a lot of large companies are decentralizing their budgets.”

     

    Mr Pherwani said: “The rural market is extremely fragmented and there is little or no transparency to provide confidence to advertisers. Therefore, transparency needs to improve with better demonstration of proof of delivery. There are also few national players who can support large campaigns.”

     

    But Mr Ghosh believes that the biggest challenge for OOH is the lack of quality properties in rural market and also the fact that it is even more unorganized as compared to its urban counterpart. As a result, execution and proper monitoring is another core challenge. “To overcome these problems, we need to understand the rural market in a better way. Major players from OOH media owning houses should take initiative to open up their operations close to these locations for better control. They should collaborate with the local authorities to implement uniform regulations and open up more quality properties in rural market” he suggested.

     

    Innovations are the need of the hour to attract the rural masses and the OOH approach needs to be more interactive and integrated with brand activation for high recall value. As product consumptions increase, OOH media spends will also increase.

     

  • Future Group, Lifestyle and Woodland clock record sales as Republic Day discounts help retailers bounce back

    R-Day discounts see shoppers flock to malls

    By Sarah Jacob & Ratna Bhushan

     

    Indian shoppers are back in malls, buying everything from food and furnishings to crockery and winter wear to make the most of the Republic Day discounts and end-of-season sales, raising hopes among retailers that demand will pick up over the next six months.

     

    India’s largest retailer Future Group posted its highest weekly sales last week while others such as department store chain Lifestyle and footwear maker Woodland reported high sales growth as heavy discounts helped retailers bounce back after a sales slump in the past two months.

     

    “This has been the biggest week ever,” Future Group Chairman Mr Kishore Biyani said. “It has set the pace for the rest of the year and we are changing our outlook for the year to positive,” he added.

     

    Future Group reported national combined retail sales of Rs 650 crore between Monday and Sunday (January 23-29), 25-30% higher than last year, as its 210 Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar outlets ran the ‘Sabse Saste 5 Din’ promotion offer and apparel and home products chain Central offered a flat 50% discount on 100 brands. Mr Kabir Lumba, MD of Lifestyle International, which operates Lifestyle and Max department chains, said sales have grown both year-on-year and sequentially.

     

    “A large chunk of sales in the second half (of the financial year) has come from discounted merchandise because of the depressed trading conditions in November,” he said. Lifestyle increased discounts to 50% on the Republic Day weekend from 40% end-of-season sales.

     

    But analysts warn the jump in sales does not necessarily indicate a revival in consumer sentiment because it is driven by discounts. “The increase in sales is not yet an indicator of whether consumer sentiment is back. The right picture would emerge after the Budget and state elections,” Mr Purnendu Kumar, senior VP (retail) at management consultancy Technopak Advisors, said.

     

    He, however, added that retailers can continue to offer discounts as long as there is high demand. “Markdowns in margins are budgeted by retailers as they expect to balance it out with higher volumes,” Mr Kumar said. Retailers such as Future Group, Reliance Retail and Shoppers Stop have seen a slump of up to 30% in November and December.

     

    Retailers Ride on Discounts

     

    Slowing economic growth, high inflation of more than 9% until December and consistent increase in interest rates for almost two years have affected consumer sentiment.

     

    Republic Day sales are part of the end-of-season sales, and usually extend across four weekends starting from mid-January. This year, several retailers, including Lifestyle and Spencer’s Retail, advanced the sale to liquidate stocks.

     

    Food Bazaar and Big Bazaar stores contributed the largest chunk of 65% to the record sales of Future Group during the Republic Day week, whose clothing store Pantaloon and furniture and home furnishings chain Home Town too ran regular price-off schemes during the week. “Food sales exceeded our expectations; followed by sales of crockery, furnishings and luggage. Sales of durables were marginally lower than our expectations,” Mr Biyani said.

     

    He attributed the sales to aggressive prices and promotional offers by the retailer. While Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar did not extend the discount period compared to the previous years, Central, Home Town and Pantaloon have been running promotions for a week extra compared to last year. Footwear and adventure gear maker Woodland posted 22-25% growth in the end-of-season sales period.

     

    “Although winter started later, the cold got more severe this year, resulting in even high-value jackets and sweaters flying off shelves in the discount period,” Woodland VP (strategy & planning) Mr Amol Dhillon said. The company intends to derisk from seasonal changes next fiscal by breaking down its autumn winter range with lighter sweaters in November and heavy-duty jackets in January, he said. Organised retail accounts for close to 5% of the overall $450-billion market.

     

    Tough times

     

    Mr Thomas Varghese, MD and CEO of Aditya Birla Retail and chairman of the CII National Committee on Retail, last week told reporters that the retail sector was facing challenging times and the past two months had been very bad for the industry.

     

    He attributed the slowdown to inadequate funding, lack of sufficient space for expansion and talent crunch. The sector grew 25-30% last year. “If we are to look at the current trend, we are in a challenging situation and 2012-13 also does not look like a great period as of now. It is going to be a period of cautious optimism,” he had said. With the economy slowing down, several companies are expected to temper hiring and lower increment handouts, which could add to the caution.

     

    While sales of packaged consumer goods have not been hit, food and grocery retailers said sales had slowed around 5-10% since November. One such retailer, who did not wish to be named, said consumers had even started substituting pulses with vegetables, which have become cheaper. Also, several food and grocery chains broke off ties with meal coupon companies such as Sodexo, which hit sales as several companies offer their employees meal coupons as part of salaries.

     

    Better days ahead?

     

    The sector is banking on foreign investment in multi-brand retail and private equity funding to fuel growth. Ratings agency Fitch, meanwhile, has assigned a stable outlook to the retail sector for this year, riding on sales growth-driven expansion and efficient working capital management.

     

    “Retailers could be exposed to economic headwinds, leading to a decline in consumers’ discretionary spending because of higher inflation and interest rates… However, sales growth, stable margins, efficient working capital management and flexibility to defer or tone down expansion plans are expected to result in a stable credit profile for Fitchrated retail companies,” it said.

     

    Fitch said margin pressures created by extended discounting periods to push volumes growth could be mitigated by price hikes and lower prices of raw materials such as cotton.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Starbucks in equal jv joint venture with Tata Global; to open cafe in India soon

    Soon you’ll be able to get your favourite Starbucks Espresso in India

    Starbucks Corp, the world’s largest coffee shop company, will open its first cafe in India in August through an equal joint venture with Tata Global Beverages, the two partners said on Monday.

     

    The venture, Tata Starbucks Ltd, will spend 400 crore initially and open 50 Starbucks cafe across the country by the end of the calendar year. The initial stores planned in Delhi and Mumbai in August. The move is part of the $10-billion-plus US firm’s strategy to focus on emerging markets such as India and China to drive future growth rates.

     

    “India is a unique market and we have gone through big transformation since the last four years,” said Mr John Culver, president at Starbucks China and Asia Pacific.

     

    While the core deal would be between Starbucks and Tata Global Beverages, it will work with other Tata Group firms such as Tata Coffee and Taj Catering. For instance, Tata plans to sell its mineral water brand Himalayan at Starbucks outlets in markets outside India. And the venture will leverage group firms’ properties for setting up Starbucks outlets.

    The deal comes a year after the Seattle-based firm signed an deal to buy green coffee beans from Tata Coffee’s Coorg facility and explore opening retail shops in the country. Starbucks manages over 17,000 stores in more than 57 countries and sells a wide variety of coffee and tea products along with food items, primarily through retail stores.

    The coffee cafe industry is on an expansion spree, led by market leader Cafe Coffee Day, to cash in on their increasing popularity among young consumers who have more disposable income than their previous generations.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • 'We are thrilled to welcome a truly exceptional talent, an excellent creative leader and a wonderful person like Sonal to the DDB Mudra Group,' said Group CEO and MD Madhukar Kamath.

    DDB Mudra confirms Sonal Dabral entry as Chairman & CCO; will also be on global & regional creative councils

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madhukar Kamath, the Group CEO and MD of the DDB Mudra Group, has announced the appointment of Sonal Dabral as the Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of the DDB Mudra Group. On Mr Dabral’s appointment, Mr Kamath said, “Coming on the back of an excellent 2011, both in terms of business and recognition, the DDB Mudra Group is poised for explosive growth. As the most awarded Indian agency at Cannes, Spikes, Abbys etc, to name a few, we are thrilled to welcome a truly exceptional talent, an excellent creative leader and a wonderful person like Sonal to the DDB Mudra Group. His mandate will encompass the entire spectrum of agencies that work across what is certainly the most integrated marketing and communications services network in the country. Agencies like DDB Mudra, Mudra, DDB Mudra Max (OOH, Media, Experiential and Retail), Rapp, Tribal DDB, DDB Health & Lifestyle, Water, Maatra etc. which constitute the DDB Mudra Group will now have their creative teams reporting in to Sonal.”

     

    He added, “I am personally thrilled to welcome Sonal Dabral. I have known him for two decades now. We worked together in Delhi years ago, on the iconic ‘Humko Binnies Mangta’ campaign. He will partner me on the exciting agenda that we have ahead of us for the DDB Mudra Group. The legendary Bernbach legacy, the much admired creative business solutions of the DDB Worldwide network, the Social Creativity agenda, the entrepreneurial zeal and track record of building several successful national brands that Mudra brings to the table, the extensive and certainly unique multi-faceted offerings in the DDB Mudra Group will all form an excellent platform for Sonal.”

     

    Mr Dabral has over two exciting decades of experience on brands like Audi, Fiat, Tata Safari, Dove, Le Sancy, Unilever Foods, Ponds, Lakme, Panadol, Cadburys, Asian Paints, Fevicol, Virgin Mobile, Tata AIG, Prudential, GE, Nestle’s Maggi and Milo, DBS, Remy Martin, Colgate, Pizza Hut, Sony, Coca Cola and DHL.

     

    A graduate of the National School of Design (NID), Mr Dabral began his career in Lintas, Delhi. After a brief stint in Mudra Delhi, he went on to have an extremely successful stint at  Ogilvy Mumbai before moving to Kuala Lumpur to head Ogilvy in Malaysia and make it one of the top creative offices in the region. Next, as the Chairman and ECD of Ogilvy Singapore, he led the agency to become not just the hottest agency in the region and the No 1 creative office in the whole of Ogilvy Worldwide but also in the entire WPP global network. His last assignment was in a dual role, as the Regional Creative Head and Chairman-India of Bates operating out of Singapore and Mumbai.

    Apart from being a prolific winner in most of the Regional and International Award shows like Cannes, Clio, D & AD, One Show, LIA, Andy Awards, AdFest, Spikes etc., Sonal has served on most of the juries globally.

    Said Mr Kamath, “Apart from partnering me in India, Sonal Dabral has also been invited by Amir Kassei, the Global Chief Creative Officer of DDB WW, to serve on the Global Creative Council of DDB. In the Asia-Pacific region, he will Co-Chair the Regional Creative Council with Amir Kassei. With the vast array of clients, brands, services and offerings in the DDB Mudra Group, an exciting ‘Growth Agenda’, an unparalleled creative manifesto in the Bernbach legacy, I eagerly await Sonal’s arrival.”

  • Ecselis will complement Havas Media's existing brands MPG, Media Contacts, Mobext and HS&E by providing specialised services

    Havas expands Ecselis in APAC with Rajeev Bala at helm

    By A Correspondent

     

    Havas Media announces the expansion of its specialist Performance and Quantitative marketing arm, Ecselis to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Sydney.

     

    Launched in India in 2009, Ecselis currently has a team of 55 performance experts based in the country with clients across SEA, India, Europe and Australia. Ecselis will complement Havas Media’s existing brands MPG, Media Contacts, Mobext and HS&E by providing specialised services including Conversion Rate Optimisation, Attribution Modelling, Quality Score Management in addition to data, search and analytics.

     

    To be headquartered in Singapore, Ecselis will be led by Rajeev Bala, who takes charge as Managing Director for Asia Pacific, reporting in to Vishnu Mohan, CEO of Havas Media Asia Pacific. Rajeev joined Media Contacts in 2008 to lead the Singapore operations and was subsequently promoted to the role of Regional Director of Media Contacts for Southeast Asia. In the last four years, Rajeev has been credited with infusing exceptional talent at the agency along with building an impressive client roster.

     

    Commenting on the expansion, Vishnu Mohan, said: “The need for advanced quantitative and performance orientated skill sets is growing rapidly. Rajeev has done a great job of building Media Contacts in the region, and has the deep domain and consultative expertise to grow Ecselis, as we expand our digital footprint across the region.”

     

    On his new role, Rajeev Bala, Regional Director of Media Contacts said “Ecselis is already an established organisation with very niche skills. I am excited by the opportunities and see Ecselis evolving into a deeply specialized company. We have aggressive plans for growing this across APAC over the next four quarters.”

     

    The agency is in the process of hiring senior executives for Kuala Lumpur and Sydney offices. The offices are likely to be fully functional by the end of second quarter.

     

  • His key responsibility will be to strengthen and grow existing client businesses and look to grow Orchard Bangalore in the South market says Kaushik Mitra, Sr Vice President, Orchard India

    Orchard ropes in Anish Daryani as VP

    By A Correspondent

     

    Anish Daryani, who was General Manager at Ogilvy Africa, has joined Orchard Advertising as Vice President and Branch Head at the agency’s headquarters in Bangalore.

     

    Commenting on his appointment, Mr Daryani said: “I have always admired the Leo Burnett Group, since I started my advertising career, for the thinking agency they’ve been. So when I got an opportunity to join Orchard, one of the three agency brands from Leo Burnett’s stable, taking it came very naturally to me.”

     

    “I see myself as someone who brings fresh thinking within the agency, and on our brands. Moreover, we look forward to extend our services to many other brands in diverse categories in Bengaluru, and the rest of southern India,” he added.

     

    Kaushik Mitra, Sr Vice President, Orchard India, said: “Anish is very driven, hungry and passionate about the business. His key responsibility will be to strengthen and grow existing client businesses, cement relationships and look to grow Orchard Bangalore in the South market. Having diverse experience in categories such as FMCG, telecom, durables, Automotive, healthcare, rural, will strengthen Orchard’s position in the market.”

     

    Mr Daryani has a decade’s experience in advertising and has done two stints each with Ogilvy and the Rediffusion-Y&R Group. His work spans diverse categories ranging from automobiles, aviation, telecom, fashion and lifestyle, beverages and media. Some of the brands he’s worked on include TATA Motors, TATA Nano, TATA Steel, Hutch (now Vodafone), Airtel, Kingfisher Airlines, Danone, Brooke Bond Red Label, The Economic Times, The Times of India, Colors, Linc Pens and The Statesman, among others.

     

  • 100 days of MxM in the words of senior copy editor-cum-correspondent Akash Raha.

    Akash Raha: From Coming Soon to making it big

    By Akash Raha

     

    My journey in MxMIndia so far has been very entertaining and exciting. Starting off with a launch team and developing content from the beginning is always an exhilarating feeling. The feeling then is not of working ‘with’ a company, but rather that of building a company.

     

    I still remember the day when I got my first MxMIndia visiting card delivered, my name embossed on it in bold black. Behind the card, it read “MxMIndia– Coming Soon”. From ‘Coming Soon’ to making it big in the space of 100 days has been a short, yet fruitful journey.

     

    We have carved a special niche for ourselves in the media, marketing and advertising space amongst existing clutter. Completion of 100 days is a big and special milestone for the MxM family and yet there are ‘miles to go before we sleep’.

     

    Over the past few months, covering the print media and news broadcast beats, I was lucky to have been given the opportunity of interviewing and reporting on big developments.

     

    The journey began with two mega events – World Magazine Congress and AdAsia which our team covered comprehensively. Moreover, it gave the opportunity to interact with the big names in the industry.

     

    The print industry at the World Magazine Congress and INMA seem to be preparing for the coming digital revolution and seem to be appropriating the technology of the future. The times ahead seems to be exciting and adventurous for the print industry and for us, who report on all these developments.

  • With brands benefiting much from the buzz created digitally, social media is now part of almost every seller's toolkit

    How (and why) marketers love social media

     

    By Rishi Vora

     

    There is sooooo much happening in Social Media. Every brand – no matter how big or small, every media and entertainment company, especially film and television content (where YouTube has become such a rage!), even a local mall or a retail outlet owner in a small district is looking to be on Social Media, where he feels he should be before his neighbourhood rival is, and win more customers.

     

    Although this might sound as if Social Media is a disparate measure for brands, the fact is that the market is responding to the rise of a new medium which is a just about a three-year-old phenomenon; one which promises to change the game as far as marketing is concerned.

     

    There are many cases of brands benefiting from the social space, be the whacky Old Spice videos that did the trick in 2010 – yes, they were a set of videos, but became most popular on Social Media or Kolaveri Di, which became an online sensation. Or whether it is the case of Megan Fox meeting Rose Boy back in 2009, thanks to Kodak that took the initiative of taking it to the masses, through Social Media of course, offering the winner a handsome $5,000. There are many more stories where brands have recognised the opportunity and made the most of it. Celebrities have now become a key asset to the marketing strategies for many online brands.

     

    Traditional Media:

    Even the radio channels and newspapers danced to the tune of Social Media, a rare case of digital beating traditional media hands down. But the TV Channels and content companies are the ones taking the most advantage of the new medium.

     

    Akash Chawla, Marketing Head – National Channels, Zee is of the opinion that the percentage spends on digital has seen an increase and social media is one direction where most channels are putting their focus on. “We’re not the only ones to have entered the social space. It’s important to be there. But, the fact is that being on social media is also a fad. It is stylish and fashionable. The medium is highly measurable, and you get real time responses from consumers.”

     

    Even participants of Zee TV’s flagship reality show Dance India Dance Season 3 claim that watching videos on YouTube has encouraged participation in the show.

     

    Star Network too has been fairly active in the space, promoting all of its entertainment channels on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. And so as Viacom 18, MSM Group.

     

    Social Commerce:

    Yet another aspect of the social media – social commerce- as a trend started last year, and as experts believe that 2012 is going to be a year when Social Commerce will take off in a big way. Three of the most upcoming and prominent social commerce platforms are: Facebook (f-commerce), Twitter (t-commerce) and GuruLike.

     

    F-commerce or f-comm refers to the buying and selling of goods or services through Facebook, either directly or through the Facebook Open Graph. Experts forecast that F-commerce transactions on Facebook will overcome Amazon’s annual sales ($34 Billion) over the next five years.

     

    The emergence of social media has resulted into a sea change as far as the marketer’s psyche is concerned; who a couple of years back was unsure how the medium fare for the brands. He has now realised the true potential and as a result has started to appoint specialists for the job. This has resulted in the rise of specialist social media agencies- people who evangelised the medium three to four years back and who’re now well-equipped to handle marketing problems, using the power of social media.

     

    Social Wavelength and Windchimes are the two most popular pure play social media agencies, while there are other digital agencies that offer 360 degree digital solutions (where social becomes one part of the offering). And then there are PR agencies that have now expanded into offering social media services to existing clients. Hanmer & MSL Group, Ketchum Sampark, AdFactors and many others. Though these agencies pitch for social media businesses separately, they have the added advantage of an existing PR clientele.

     

    Sanjay Mehta
    Sandhya Sadananda

    Social media and creativity:

    Though different agencies follow different processes, there is a misconception which plays in the minds of many that Social Media does not need creativity; there is not much of strategy involved, as against other forms of advertising.

     

    Sanjay Mehta, Jt. CEO, Social Wavelength clarified: “Executing a good social media strategy is a mix of two disparate skill sets: One is creativity, like that of an ad agency, to differentiate the social media activity of the brand, and second: processes, of the kind that one usually associates with KPOs, as social media is not a campaign, but virtually a day-to-day, minute-to-minute business process.”

     

    Sandhya Sadananda, who prior to launching Windchimes, was a PR professional, explains how Social Media is not an extension of PR. “Unlike the US and the UK, PR in India is still a media-led activity. When you are in Social Media, you need to rethink the way you look at communication. Social Media cannot be seen as an extension of PR. Unlike PR, here you have the direct control in terms of the content you want to put up. At the end of the day, it is about adding value to the brand. And that could be in terms of content, the creativity, the number of fans and so on.”

     

    The nuts and bolts:

    So how do Social Media campaigns run? How different the approach needs to be? What are the systems and procedures that need to be followed? How does a social media agency scale the operations?

     

    Mr Mehta explains: “The starting point is to create a ‘character’ for the brand on social media. All communication, tonality and so on has to be in sync with the brand positioning and the brand’s character. For a TV channel, a social media campaign will typically have one set of conversations centred around the brand, and the other additional set of conversations to go closer to the interests of the target group.”

     

    From the standpoint of the marketer, however, the question which most often arises is: ‘Does social media help clients improve bottom lines’. This is also one reason why spends on social media are way too less in comparison to other media. Yes, these are early days, but pure play social media agencies have to grow and that is seen as a big challenge.

     

    Ms Sadananda affirms: “One needs to look at social media, not from a bottom line perspective, but from the point of view of qualitative engagement. The ROI in this business is so much number driven (number of fans, interactions) that people started to equate that with the bottom line. If you’re expecting increase in sales after a social media campaign – that’s not going to happen. One needs to have a different sort of mindset when it comes to social media.”

     

    She adds: “It’s very easy for marketers to make this just another medium. Agencies need to step in and help them understand the true nature of the medium.”

     

    Challenges:

    On the challenge for agencies to scale up their businesses, Mehta reckons that one needs to visualise the scale, in terms of the opportunity. And then investigate into various ways of creating an organisation, bringing in leadership levels and correcting/ tweaking the model as business grows to ensure smooth sailing.

     

    But, broadly, it is content that will decide the fate of specialist agencies. And, that in experts’ mind, is a bigger challenge. Adaptation will be the key as platforms evolve, users evolve. It is an age of e-commerce, and Social Commerce is not far behind.

     

  • The auction will witness 147 players going under the hammer. The size of every DLF IPL team squad will be 33 instead of 30 players in the previous season. Team owners are each to be given a purse of $2 million to buy these players.

    It’s auction time at IPL season 5

    By A Correspondent

     

    On February 4, 2012, Sony Max will show the DLF IPL Player Auction, which is taking place in Bangalore where franchise owners will select additional players who may be crucial for the success of the respective teams.

     

    The auction will commence at 10.45 am on February 4 with Max’s anchor Archana Vijaya and Arun Lal bringing all the behind the scene excitement and then moves onto intense live coverage of the auction that’ll take place at ITC Royal Gardenia Hotel in Bangalore. The anchors will engage the audiences before, after and during the auction to take them through the bidding procedure as well to analyse the day’s activity.

     

    The auction will witness 147 players going under the hammer. The size of every DLF IPL team squad will be 33 instead of 30 players in the previous season. Team owners are to each be given a purse of $2 million to buy these players. The auction will give a deeper insight and glimpse of the strategy each team is scheduled to follow.

     

    Commenting on the DLF IPL Player Auction, Neeraj Vyas, EVP and Business Head, MAX, said “DLF IPL Player Auction 2012 will set the stage for what promises to be an absorbing fifth season of the DLF IPL which will set the nation roaring. Alternating between the studio and the auction venue, Max will bring an up close and personal perspective of the event which will keep the audience enthralled.”

     

  • Since MxMIndia launched on Sept 9, much may have changed. But not our resolve to adhere to our Code of Ethics.

    Pradyuman Maheshwari: 100 Days of not compromising on ethics

     

     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    So how’s MxMIndia different from the others, I am often asked. There are various, and because a publication necessarily mirrors the personality of its editor, I think the basic difference that MxM has that the only thing you can expect from it is the unexpected. It’s got spontaneity, energy and integrity.

     

    In fact, to those of you who are in the know, it’s the last of these attributes (well, the loss of it) that possibly led to the birth of MxMIndia.

     

    The other important differentiator of MxMIndia is that the editorial team is not dependent on just one person. We have a number of people who have got a great amount of experience in relevant media.

     

    Our copy team is not into the nitty-gritty of media agencies and marketing… and hence you get copy that’s English. Yes, there may be booboos, but hey, the hygiene levels are high. At least we strive to keep them that way.

     

    We don’t intrude into your inboxes with breaking news. With always-on smartphones et al, innumerable mails a day is an emeffing pain. There have been several news breaks that we have had in our first 100 days… but we’ve only tweeted them or added them in our Facebook statuses.

     

    And the last differentiator is that for us our allegiance is to you, dear reader. It’s indeed challenging when the reader is also the one we are writing about and who is advertising on the site. It of course helps in having a Code of Ethics and having all my colleagues as signatories on that.

     

    As we complete our 100 days, we rededicate ourselves to the Code, which we reproduce here….

     

    Thank you for keeping the faith,

     

    Best wishes,

     

    Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Coordinates: pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, BBM @ 23050B5D

    Whatsapp/Gtalk pradyumanm[at]gmail.com

    Twitter @pmahesh, Tel 98338 76278

     

    The MxMIndia Code of Ethics

     

    This code of ethics is not meant to be a treatise in ethics. We believe all MxMers are mature professionals, of sound character and have values we agree with.

     

    However, since a Code of Ethics is not really followed in organizations that some of our employees may have worked with in the past, we have a formulated an easy-to-follow set of Dos and Don’ts that each and every employee has agreed to follow. Also, there’s a general belief that many media companies (business-to-business and mainstream) follow unethical practices. It’s hence critical to put the record straight on why MxMIndia isn’t like the ‘many’ others.

     

    1. While the objective of MxMIndia is to be a profitable enterprise, our revenues will not come from compromising editorial standards. Excellence is what we are setting out to achieve, Ethically and with Integrity.

     

    2. We will not be influenced in any way by advertisers – past, present or future, and will write or comment on an individual, service or organisation regardless of whether or not it advertises with MxMIndia.

     

    3. We will not sell our editorial content. Content includes text, photographs or any visuals.

     

    4. Accuracy in presenting facts is of utmost importance and facts must be correctly presented.

     

    5. We will not present any bias in our news sections. If, however, MxM India does undertake a campaign, it will clearly state its editorial policy

     

    6. If there’s any advertisement that could be confused with editorial content in appearance, it will be clearly tagged as an Advertisement and be displayed in a style that is different from normal editorial content.

     

    7. Our reports and features will always attribute sources to people. In case, the source does not want to be named for fear of loss of employment or due to some sensitivity, every attempt must be made to look for an alternate source who could be named. If that fails, every attempt should be made to make the reader rest assured that our source is authentic and this may be done by describing who the source is.

     

    8. We have a no tolerance policy towards plagiarism. Employees may be given a warning if found plagiarizing, but in most cases, the services of any employee found plagiarizing – regardless of his/her seniority or utility to the organization – would be terminated within 24 hours of the Editor-in-Chief conducting his/her investigation on the act of plagiarism.

     

    9. If any attempt is made to influence us by way of a threat to withdraw advertisements, we reserve the right to expose such individuals and/or their organisations.

     

    10. We will not publish photographs off the internet. If a picture is be taken from the internet, it will be done only after written permission of the source. Else, we will own the rights for the picture which may be procured by buying rights for appropriate usage. Ditto for text. If we do carry syndicated content, the source needs to clearly be stated at the end of the article.

     

    11. Our journalists will take the permission of the interviewee to record his/her comments, especially when the meeting is not face-to-face.

     

    12. Unless approved by the Editor, we do not part with the transcript of any interview. A journalist may however play back a few quotes attributed to an individual.

     

    13. We will allow individuals or organisations adequate time to revert with their response to a question. In most case the adequate time would mean four to six hours. If it’s a non-critical story, then we would recommend holding the story for at most a day.

     

    14. We will not accept any gifts that attempt to influence us. These should be returned immediately. Gifts in the form of chocolates, mithai, flowers or basic promotional material that is of reasonable value (of up to Rs 500-750) is fine. Mementos or promotional material of nominal value may be accepted. No gifts must be solicited. If there’s a doubt, please consult the Editor-in-Chief/CEO. If an organisation is found to influence an MxM India journalist, under extreme cases, MxM India may even blacklist the organisation and/or its products and services.

     

    15. We will not solicit any outstation trips. If however there is an invitation for a junket, we will accept it only if the Editor believes there is a news value in the event. In such a case, MxM India will mention that the journalist concerned has visited an outstation venue at the invitation of the company which must be named. For local travel, all our employees are defrayed expenses towards local travel, and hence we discourage taxi pick-ups or drops, as is the norm in some sections of the media.

     

    16. We will not solicit any invitations for a meal or a drink. We discourage MxM India employees to drink beyond their limits at events, dinners, press conferences etc where they represent the Company. We will also not solicit free books, software, movie tickets etc.

     

    17. MxM India employees are discouraged from moonlighting. If, however, employees do receive requests to write an occasion article for a non-competing publication, the employee could do it after seeking permission via email.

     

    18. Unlike some media houses, we are happy to see our employees – regardless of their seniority levels – to be interviewed and featured in other media. However, prior permission is desired for every appearance on television. Employees must ensure that their work at MxMIndia doesn’t suffer due to their appearances on TV, radio etc. While tweeting, participation in social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn are encouraged, every attempt must be taken to ensure that the values and interests of the organization are not compromised.

     

    19. We will ensure that our ethical standards are followed in all that we do – events, conferences and awards. We will ensure our integrity is not compromised.

     

    20. We discourage the use of pirated products and services for official use. We advise our employees to only use legally procured software. Employees using their personal computer equipment for work are encouraged to switch to legal software.

     

    21. MxMIndia has a no tolerance policy on sexual harassment.

     

    22. Our employees are not allowed to deal in stocks related to the media and entertainment sector. If they hold shares before joining the organisation, they must disclose their holdings in writing to their immediate boss. They could, however, invest in mutual funds related to the M&E sector.

     

    23. While this Code is only applicable towards conduct as an employee, we advise all MxMers to ensure that they are ambassadors of MxMIndia and all that it stands for even outside of work hours.

     

    24. Over the last few years, there have been question marks raised about the ethical standards adopted by journalists and media organisations. While a lot of it may be untrue, we believe that journalists and others working in various media organisations are also responsible for this perception. At MxMIndia, our attempt will be to reverse this.

     

    25. This Code is applicable for all employees of MxMIndia. Associates, retainers, columnists, regular contributors are also required to adhere to the above Code.

     

    We encourage all our constituents and advertisers to read the above document and cooperate with us and enable us to abide by it. If you wish to report a dishonest act, write directly to pradyumanm [at] mxmindia.com.