MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • Jaisurya Das and Shailesh Amonkar are set to return to the Sakal group as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer respectively

    Jaisurya Das and Shailesh Amonkar to return to Sakal group as COO & CMO

    By A Correspondent

     

    The winds of change are blowing across the media. MxMIndia learns that senior industrypersons Jaisurya Das and Shailesh Amonkar are returning to the Sakal group from next week. The news was confirmed by a spokesperson of the group.

     

    While Mr Das, who has earlier been a consultant to the Pune-based Sakal group, will be Chief Operating Officer, Mr Amonkar will be Chief Marketing Officer and head the sales and marketing functions. Mr Amonkar was with Sakal from 2003-06 and held the portfolio of Director-Sales. He moved on to be an entrepreneur and set up Kemistry Media in Pune.

     

    Mr Das, who has had a successful run with The Times of India group having launched the edition in Pune, also turned entrepreneur and set up Xanadu Consulting, a media and human resources advisory firm (Disclosure: Mr Jaisurya Das is also Contributing Editor, MxMIndia and writes the very popular ‘Dear MxM’ column).

     

  • Last month, it was also announced that CEO Mr Maheshwer Peri had turned into a mentor passing on the baton to Mr Indranil Roy

    Vinod Mehta turns mentor @ Outlook group, Krishna Prasad to head newsmag as Ed

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Outlook group’s editor-in-chief Vinod Mehta is moving on from his executive role to that of a mentor. This was confirmed to MxMIndia by a spokesperson of the group who added that Mr Krishna Prasad will be Editor of the flagship Outlook magazine.

     

    When asked specifically if Mr Prasad will also be overseeing editorial affairs for other group publications as suggested by a PTI reported relayed by many publications, MxMIndia was told that he will be Editor, Outlook.

     

    Mr Mehta, who has worked with the Outlook group since 17 years, has been editor of The Pioneer, The Independent, The Indian Post, The Sunday Observer and Debonair. He was unavailable for comment when reached on Wednesday evening.

     

    Last month, it was also announced that CEO Mr Maheshwer Peri had turned into a mentor passing on the baton to Mr Indranil Roy.

     

  • Viewership numbers by TAM Media Research for the first two weeks of January show Sun News had been relegated to the No 3 slot

    Kalanithi Maran’s Sun News battles to retain lost crown

    By Sangeetha Kandavel

     

    After 11 years of leadership among Tamil TV news channels, Kalanithi Maran’s Sun News is suddenly on shaky territory. Viewership numbers by TAM Media Research for the first two weeks of January show Sun News had been relegated to the No 3 slot.

     

    In the third week, it was tied for the second spot, and it was only last week when it was a decisive No 2. It was in late October last year that newbie Puthiya Thalaimurai beat Sun News, the first time ever the latter has shed the top slot even for a week. Since then, it has been a see-saw battle for leadership.

     

    Now, while Puthiya Thalaimurai is No 1, what could have shocked Sun News for most of January is even the No 2 slot was taken away from it by Jaya Plus, which belongs to long-time rival Jaya TV. Never until now has any of the Jaya TV channels come even close to Sun TV’s channels in viewership.

     

    One of the reasons for the change of fortunes for Sun News is the initiative of the state government to start its own cable service, called Arasu, to counter the on-ground cable distribution strength that Mr Maran has with the Sumangali cable distributions service.

     

    Arasu claims membership of almost all cable operators in all areas of Tamil Nadu where it launched.

     

    The Sun slew of channels isn’t yet part of Arasu.

     

    But while the eponymous general entertainment channel Sun TV is being shown on the sly by cable operators, as it enjoys a two-thirds share, the rest of its channels might not enjoy similar visibility in Arasu’s areas. Jaya Plus might also enjoy more visibility than the pre-Arasu days.

     

    “With Arasu cable coming in there has been a tremendous distribution correction in the last two months,” said a Chennai-based media industry official, on the condition of anonymity. GV Vijayakumar, associate vice-president, Lintas Media Group-Chennai, pointed out programming as one of the other reasons.

     

     

    “In the last few months, Puthiya Thalaimurai has shown good numbers because of their news format and variety. Sun News is still following its traditional roots.” Sun’s fortunes in other genres such as general entertainment and music, where it is still the leader, depends on the fate of its negotiations with Arasu.

     

    A media planner said the spike in interest in Jaya Plus could also be a result of the viewer interest surging after Jayalalithaa expelled her close confidante Sasikala. Jaya TV, of which Jaya Plus is a part, is seen as a mouthpiece of the AIADMK party. Sun TV and Jaya TV officials couldn’t be reached for comments. As far as media buying interest goes, the battle is still only between Puthiya Thalaimurai and Sun TV, said a media planner.

     

    Punitha Arumugam, Group CEO, Madison Media Group, however, pointed to the relative insignificance of news channels in Tamil Nadu. “People who want to watch news watch it on Sun TV or Jaya TV (general entertainment channels). These channels telecast news thrice a day. News as a genre is not significant and not successful. The fluctuations for channels losing grip could be the cable war that happening in the State,” she said.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

     

  • It's all in 'The Mindshare Indian Media Forecast 2012' presented by UTV Bindass, published by MxM India

    Exclusive: Mindshare forecasts 12% media spends growth in 2012; it was 13% in 2011

    By Johnson Napier

     

    For all the doleful talk of the economy heading south and brands slamming their ad-spend doors on media, sceptics are in for disappointment as the industry managed a commendable growth story for Calendar Year (CY) 2011, clocking a growth rate of 13 percent. Further, with net revenues totalling Rs 33,388 crore, the media confirmed its status as being ‘unstoppable’ and guaranteeing advertisers a good bang for their buck. The results were the finding of a study put together by GroupM, led specifically by the team at Mindshare. Titled ‘This Year, Next Year: Indian Media Forecast’, the study highlights the positive growth story that was witnessed by the industry, especially in the first half of CY 2011.

     

    Continuing with its strong projections and putting aside fears of a financial downturn, the study hints at 2012 to deliver growth numbers in the range of 12 percent and net revenue to the tune of Rs 37,397 crore. This will be driven largely by the advertisers’ willingness to deploy budgets around the media of television, print, radio and digital, the study notes.

     

    Throwing light on the report and its findings, Ravi Rao, Leader, South Asia, Mindshare commented, “The economic outlook is something that one can never get the handle right, with most studies not agreeing on one number. But this is what makes it exciting to look and estimate the Adex growth in India. GroupM does yeoman’s service of providing some startling numbers based on science than the gut, even though India tends to buck the trend away from global predictions.”

     

    The detailed forecast and sector-wise spend analysis are part of ‘The Mindshare Indian Media Forecast 2012’ report published by MxMIndia and presented by UTV Bindass (Details on how you can get your copy at the end of this report)

     

    On the growth pattern to be expected by the industry in 2012, Mr Rao affirmed that since October of 2011, the moment the Eurozone market failure triggered a downslide the thoughts are very much soft where advertising budgets are concerned. “But if you look at the growth driver – every media is expected to grow in double digits with the exception of print and out of home. Every broadcaster and publisher is trying ways and means to cut down input costs while trying to extract the maximum. The first four months of this year will show the trend for the year, but the challenges are aplenty for media,” he asserts.

     

    On the performance of several domains in 2011, Jai Lala, Principal Partner – Exchange, Mindshare said that in terms of Adex, one of the media that stole the thunder last year was television. “In the first half of the Calendar Year (CY) 2011, the medium of television grew as high as 26 percent, which then slowed down to a rate of 16 percent in the second half. So while the average growth for 2011 for television hovers around 20 per cent, 2012 is anticipated to put up numbers in the range of 16 percent. But unlike last year, we expect the first half of CY 2012 to show a slow growth while the second half will manage to show a sudden spurt in growth numbers.”

     

    According to Mr Lala, the properties that will be churning out the numbers for television in 2012 includes cricket – led largely by IPL, reality shows, regionalisation and digitisation. They will be backed by increasing advertiser interest particularly from the sectors of auto, FMCG, finance, IT & ITES, retail, etc.

     

    As for the performance of the other big contributor to Adex – Print, the study envisages a growth of 8-9 percent for 2012. “This is due to the fact that there is going to be a certain amount of demand through elections and the possible bounce-back of certain sectors like auto, real estate, etc who will continue to look at print as a viable advertising option,” states Amin Lakhani, Principal Partner – Exchange, Mindshare. Another factor that will drive the fortunes for Print will be speciality magazines. “Being subscription-based and catering to niche audiences, these magazines will continue to attract the attention of the advertisers as well,” states Mr Lakhani.

     

    Continuing with its solid growth story in 2012 as well, digital is pegged to achieve a growth rate of 30 percent. Apart from servicing the many needs of the online and mobile worlds, marketers are expected to increase their focus on people during the ongoing year. Affirms Mr Ashok Lalla, Leader – Digital, South Asia, Mindshare, “In 2012, the most important media channel that smart marketers will increasingly focus on will not be specific Social websites, TV channels, print publications or radio stations, but it will be People. All the rest of the media mix will be oriented around activating a brand’s audience (People) to be the key driver and proponent of a brand’s communications.”

     

    As for radio, the biggest event that will change the fortunes of the radio industry in 2012 will be Phase 3. According to the study, Phase 3 will help radio owners to drive some incremental revenues. The only stumbling block, the study notes, would be measurement that will have to pan itself to include other cities and towns as well. A growth rate of 11 percent is what is expected out of the medium for 2012, the study notes.

     

    With Out-of-Home, the study notes that the formation of the IOA would lead to standardisation of rates and other operational modalities that will help push for more research into the medium. This effort by the industry would be recognised by clients who will go all out and invest in the medium, it states. “Marketers want to use outdoor as they provide good imagery and high visibility. It has even allowed for newer and better innovations to help advance the sector. Also, outdoor panels, screens, LEDs are now shaping up a new revenue stream which is now getting separately classified as retail. So the medium has come into its own and will continue to grow at a healthy rate in 2012 as well,” notes Mr Lakhani.

     

    Contributing silently but significantly, Cinema will continue to put up good numbers in 2012. The growth projections for this medium would be in the range of 14-15 percent for 2012, the study notes. Sector wise, a large range of advertisers would continue to pursue the medium as an effective advertising option.

     

    ‘The Mindshare Indian Media Forecast 2012’ report is presented by UTV Bindass and being distributed to select marketing and media professionals across the country starting today. If you want to make sure you get a copy, please write to us at editor@mxmindia.com writing MIMF2012 in the subject line. And, yes, while we are sure you’ll find it priceless, it’s not a priced report.

     

  • Disney to acquire controlling interest in UTV Software Communications Limited (UTV) in India

    Ronnie Screwvala to be Disney India MD as Disney, UTV ops to integrate

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) announced on Wednesday that it will acquire, through a subsidiary, a controlling interest in UTV, one of India’s premier media and entertainment companies. The acquisition will be completed through a successful delisting offer and will enable Disney to integrate UTV’s current operations. In addition, UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala has been named Managing Director, The Walt Disney Company India. Mr Screwvala will be reporting to Andy Bird, Chairman, Walt Disney International.

     

    “Increasing our brand presence and reach in key international markets is a cornerstone of our growth strategy. This acquisition expands our footprint significantly and allows us to more effectively build, monetize and brand multi-platform franchises, and deliver a rich library of content to the world’s second largest population,” said Mr. Bird. “We couldn’t be more pleased that Ronnie, with his vast experience and proven track record, will now run our operations in India. Under his leadership, we will be able to deliver more programming on more platforms to this considerable audience.”

     

    As a result of this acquisition and building on UTV’s success in the market, Disney will be India’s leading film studio and will produce both UTV and Disney-branded local films.

     

    UTV is the leading TV producer in India with distribution in 20 countries in seven languages and across 27 channels. Its six owned channels have emerged as the fastest growing cable and satellite network in India. In three years UTV has also become a leading broadcast network in the country. After the transaction, Disney will be one of the leading broadcasters reaching more than 100 million viewers weekly in households across India. Disney will also gain a significant presence in digital media with the addition of UTV’s Indiagames, the country’s number one mobile gaming company, to its portfolio.

     

    “In combining the creative capabilities of each company we will integrate a large stable of vibrant brands and franchises in the branded entertainment space,” said Mr. Screwvala. “With the middle class expected to grow from 50 million to more than 500 million people by 2025, this market offers huge potential for us to deliver quality branded entertainment to consumers,” he said.

     

    Disney currently owns India’s leading kids’ television networks – Disney Channel, Disney XD and Hungama and is the largest retail character licensor in the country.

     

    UTV is a leading media and entertainment company in India reaching more than 247 million consumers with a presence in motion pictures, television and interactive media.

     

  • Last year's cricket World Cup impacted the IPL adversely, but advertisers are hopeful of a better showing this season.

    Better innings for IPL 5?

     

    By Rishi Vora

     

    At a time when India’s economy is slowing down and the advertising-media industry is facing a bit of a setback, the Indian Premier League readies itself for a mega show which, experts believe, will come as a relief to all stakeholders – the broadcaster (Multi Screen Media Pvt Ltd in this case), advertisers, sponsors and of course, the franchise owners and the otherwise cash-rich BCCI.

     

    There is a great deal at stake as far as the actual delivery of the event is concerned, with crores of rupees spent by brands on sponsorships and advertising, and the question doing the rounds within the media fraternity is whether IPL season 5 will deliver well on the ratings front.

     

    As Sundeep Nagpal, Director, Stratagem Media, said, “All else notwithstanding, we could do well to consider that Indians are emotional about IPL. It’s almost like it’s a contest for the Indians, by the Indians, even if it’s not of Indians only. So this is good enough to get over any overdose. Secondly, memories of test cricket losses, or Sachin not getting his 100th ton, no matter how sordid, would by then be two months old and have faded by the time the IPL gets under way. Besides that, clever marketing has always propped up the IPL. And if some of our heroes click during the tournament, that would bolster the popularity ratings even further, because let’s not forget, success tastes even sweeter after failure.”

     

    The general sense is that even if it doesn’t match the success of the first two seasons, the event will put up a better showing than last year, where it delivered an average rating of 3.91 across 74 matches, the lowest ever in four years.

     

    The primary reason cited by media planners and observers was that the ICC World Cup and India’s win that contributed to the slump in IPL viewership. It may be recalled that a few advertisers had stayed away from the event last year, having chosen to advertise with the World Cup which had preceded the IPL.

     

    But this year, it’s going to be very different, says Rohit Gupta, President, MSM: “IPL is the single biggest property. So I don’t see any reason for it to not deliver as per expectations. The cricket fatigue or India not doing well does not impact IPL in a big way. It’s a different format altogether. Viewers look forward to IPL every year, for it promises live entertainment.”

     

    Punitha Arumugam, CEO, Madison Media, says, “India’s recent losses and a slowdown in ad spends, especially in the non FMCG segment will impact the advertiser’s sentiment on IPL. However, given the prime time of IPL for over six weeks day after day, we expect the viewership to be sustained.”

     

    Divya Gupta, CEO, Dentsu Media, is even more upbeat: “IPL viewership will not be affected, at all. Consider this – the IPL game and format is completely different. Team performance and outcome can change with every game. And IPL is beyond just India Team performance. It is live entertainment, at its best!”

     

    MSM will be heavily promoting the event, which is scheduled to begin on April 4. Mr Gupta added, “We have marginally increased the ad rates (about 10 per cent). We hope to sell out our inventory well before the tournament begins.”

     

    Though Mr Gupta refused to divulge names of advertisers, industry sources have said that TV screens will be buzzing mainly with players from the telecom sector. Brands like Vodafone, Idea, Tata Photon and Pepsi have agreed to be a part of IPL this year.

     

    Rema Harish, Co-Founder, DoMore Communications, says, “Advertisers may lose out a bit as far as ROI is concerned because cricket seems to have lost its charm among fans in India. There is a sense of fatigue and also the fact that the Indian team has not performed well in the recent past. While advertisers are aware of the risk, they’re betting on IPL because it is the only event in that size, promising greater reach and visibility.”

     

  • Interface creates a goes ahead and creates a slightly 'bold' campaign for Mahindra SUV.

    New campaign dares to highlight Mahindra SUV ‘masculinity’

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Mahindra’s new SUV Campaign, ‘Stories’ created by Interface Communications focuses on the ‘masculinity’ of Mahindra with an extreme but engaging story.

     

    The campaign actively seeks out new experiences that become a global trend. People today aren’t just happy with accumulating riches and assets. Living a rich life is as important, if not more, is what the campaign focuses on.

     

    The media vehicles chosen for the same are TV, as of now, and going forward the campaign will also focus on press, digital and outdoor.

     

    On being asked about the ‘bold’ avatar of the campaign, Mr Robby Mathew, NCD, Interface said: “Here is a vehicle that doesn’t look like any other SUV in the country. It is truly a global vehicle. Its design and technology rivals the very best in its category, anywhere in the world. Hence the edgy idea and the British humour. The ad, with it’s over the top plot, different narrative style, and lastly the action and setting tries to reflect this”.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJue4VKbWUk[/youtube]

    The creative idea revolves around ‘interesting people’ who have stories to share.

    People who have travelled lot, seen different places, done different things, in short are interesting people and they have interesting stories to tell. They are the life of any party or get together. Everyone wants to listen to them. They take us out of our mundane existence and promise us a life that we could live if we only we had the courage and desire to. Hence the creative idea of stories.

     

    In fact, the tag line of the brand is not just a tagline but a wish/blessing which says “may your life be full of stories”. It is a wish that you live a very rich, very fulfilling life. And that is the life the brand wishes for you.

     

    Mr Matthew added: “International production values, exotic locations, never seen before car shots – unlike other car ads where the car shots are smooth and romance the car slowly – here the shots resemble the action scene in a Hollywood film: ‘edge of the seat’ treatment is how I will describe this campaign and this is what makes it different from others”.

     

  • Amazon will not sell or buy anything in the country for now. Instead, it will direct customers to both online and offline vendors listed on Junglee

    Amazon enters India via Junglee.com

    By Correspondent

     

    The world’s largest online retailer is tiptoeing into India, using cover from a comparison shopping site Junglee.com it acquired 13 years ago.

     

    Amazon, whose moves have been closely watched for any sign of an imminent entry into the Indian retail market, will not sell or buy anything in the country for now. Instead, it will direct customers to both online and offline vendors listed on Junglee.

     

    Amit Agarwal, vice-president of Amazon, would only say Junglee would “help customers discover products from online and offline retailers in India and from Amazon.com”. He declined to say more about the company’s plans.

     

    Conspicuously missing from the list of vendors on the Junglee site is Flipkart.com, India’s biggest online retailer founded by two former Amazon executives. Flipkart expects to post sales of Rs 500 crore by March 2012. Amazon ended 2011 with revenues of $48 billion (about Rs 2.5 lakh crore).

     

    “Its recent moves to set up a fulfillment centre (in Mumbai) and now the Junglee launch certainly look like precursors to a retail launch whenever the government allows FDI in multi-brand retail,” said Devangshu Dutta, CEO of retail consultancy Third Eyesight. A legal expert at one of the country’s largest law firms said Amazon was making a ‘clever entry’.

     

    Agarwal said Junglee will display over 1.2 crore products and 14,000 brands for Indian consumers. The company has also launched Amazon seller services in India where vendors can hook up to Amazon’s portal to acquire customers.

     

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

     

  • AIMIA has started managing Taj Group's customer relationships and will soon include other consumer firms of the group to create a unified CRM programme

    Tata group firms to launch common loyalty plan

    By Sagar Malviya

     

    Tata Group’s consumer-centric firms including Taj Hotels, Croma and Westside will soon initiate cross-marketing activities such as promotions and campaigns by sharing customer database and insights.

     

    “What we plan to do is leverage different databases and provide more value to the customers,” says Akash Sahai, managing director, AIMIA India, a joint venture between Tata Capital and Canadian firm AIMIA (formerly Groupe Aeroplan) that will launch a common loyalty card for clients within and outside Tata Group.

     

    “For instance, we are using the database of Taj Hotels to give its customers additional promotions at Tata’s department store Westside,” he says. “Similarly, consumers could use Tata Capital card at Westside and Croma for added benefits and finance schemes.” Most Tata Group companies have been working together in legal, real estate sourcing and IT services among other administrative work, but the conglomerate so far did not have a common customer relationship management (CRM) programme for its half a dozen consumer-centric companies spanning retail, consumer goods, hospitality, financial services and telecom segments.

     

    AIMIA has started managing Taj Group’s customer relationships and will soon include other consumer firms of the group to create a unified CRM programme.

     

    Customer service is clearly emerging as a differentiator for consumer-centric companies as competition increases and consumers become more empowered.

     

    Several global multi-partner loyalty operators have set their sights on the Indian market, valued roughly around $1 billion.

     

    While Tatas roped in AIMIA last year, another Canadian firm, LoyaltyOne, has acquired a stake in local firm Directions. Kishore Biyani’s Future Group, the country’s largest retailer, is partnering German loyalty management firm Payback.

     

    Penetration of loyalty cards in India is just 42% of organized retail consumers with an average of 2.8 cards for each person compared to 74% penetration at an average of 3.8 cards for each consumer in the US.

     

    LoyaltyOne Chief Marketing Officer Rathin Lahiri says loyalty programmes will help marketers leverage consumer insights for developing customised programs. “That will not just impact the way that consumers respond to their brands, but also in the long term will shape their buying patterns,” he says.

     

    AIMIA will launch its multi-party loyalty card later this year. Apart from Tata Group firms, it is in talks with several non-competing brands in the aviation, petrol retailing and financial services space to launch a loyalty card to be used across companies.

     

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

  • Some feel that a new trend might start with homes taking in three newspapers, with both Hindu and TOI having their share of readers.

    It’s wait ‘n watch for TOI-Matrubhoomi alliance

    By A Correspondent

     

    After much speculation, The Times of India has finally made its foray into the Kerala market, forging a strategic alliance with Mathrubhumi to make inroads into this market. While for readers this alliance might be the best deal as just for Rs2 extra they get a copy of Mathrubhumi and the TOI with its many supplements, as a reader quipped: “This is not a bad deal for 2 bucks”.

     

    This exactly is the sentiment that TOI wants to ride upon – the bundling with a regional newspaper which the readers are familiar with and allow them to test something new definitely is a great way to enter a new market dominated by regional players.

     

    Kerala, in that sense, is a unique market with high literacy rates and people who are proud of their culture, willing to try something new but not at the cost of old. Hence, it is primarily seen as a two newspaper-market where one paper is regional, which appeals to the older generation and is more of a habit, and the other is an English newspaper appealing to the younger population.

     

    It is this younger population that TOI is trying to appeal to. The English newspaper market is primarily dominated by The Hindu, The New Indian Express and more recently Deccan Chronicle. The Hindu too has become aggressive and gone all out to protect its turf.

     

    Recently, on January 29, just two days ahead of the TOI launch, The Hindu and The Hindu Business Line launched its Kozhikode edition. This shows that The Hindu understands the might of TOI and has gone aggressive with its 360 degree campaign to reiterate its hold over this market. In fact, it has also taken around 30-35 hoardings to make itself visible while sources inform that TOI has taken up around 80 hoardings across to announce its presence in Kerala.

     

    The divide in Kerala, according to reading preference, is: South to Cochin (till Trivandrum) is where readers prefer Malayala Manorama whereas the area from Cochin to Kasaragoda is dominated by Mathrubhumi. This liking is also based on the political inclination too. Currently, TOI has come out with editions fromKochi, Thiruvananthapuram,Kozhikode, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, Alappuzha and Kollam, thus being seen all over Kerala.

     

    However, it is learnt that the paper is having teething troubles: The newspaper is not available at many places; the hawkers union’s in Kerala raising ruckus over the availability of the newspapers in some pockets.

     

    Giving his view, Kiron Kurian, Group Manager, MudraMax said: “For TOI the real competition is The Hindu in this market. Their current strategy of tying up with Mathrubhumi, as I see, suggests that as the former caters to Sec A and B audience it will be easier to convert this TG to also adopt TOI as a second newspaper.”

     

    Swarup BR, Founder Stark Group, a Kerala-based 360-degree communication agency feels: “I think largely the TOI offering in Kerala market is nothing phenomenal from what has been seen in the other markets. There would be many people who would want to try out the newspaper and along with their aggressive marketing strategy, it should work out well for them.”

     

    However, for all, it’s ‘wait and watch’ to see how the market evolves. Some feel that a new trend might start with homes having three newspapers, with both Hindu and TOI having their share of readers. Also there could be revised rates to capture more audience.

     

    This TOI- Mathrubhumi alliance, while is advantageous for the former, will also be good for the latter as it might give it the much needed push that it requires to lessen the gap with the leader Malayala Manorama.

     

    Vidya Nandakumar, Business Director, LMG based in Cochin is doubtful that TOI will find it easy to break the monopoly of The Hindu. She said: “In Kerala people are die-hard loyalist and if they like a brand, it is difficult to make them switch. So it would be interesting to see how TOI gets them to convert.” She is of the opinion that probably it would be some pockets where TOI might succeed.

     

    But Mr Swarup countered: “Kerala is a ‘rurban’ economy; hence there is no clear divide between rural and urban. The brand proliferation too is across the market hence it is one big market. The opportunity for a TOI to reach across is immense. The entire state is a captive market, not just few pockets of interests. Yes, The Hindu is a formidable power and people would not be willing to give the newspaper so easily for TOI. So in that sense it would be interesting to see how the market plays itself out. It is possible that a whole new audience will evolve who will be readers of TOI.”

     

  • After calling for a pitch in October last year, Colorplus has decided to partner with Lowe Bangalore.

    Lowe Lintas Bangalore to handle ColorPlus creative

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    The creative mandates for Colorplus, casual wear offering from the Raymond Brand, have been awarded to Lowe Bangalore and industry sources close to the development confirmed the news to MxM India.

     

    The incumbent on the account was Rubecon. The creative agencies on Raymond’s roster include RK Swamy BBDO and TBWA. RK Swamy has worked on this account for around a decade whereas TBWA Mumbai was added to the roster in January 2011.

     

    The media agency on the Raymond account is the RK Swamy Media Group. In December 2010, Raymond had consolidated its media planning and buying with the RK Swamy Media Group, comprising Media Direction, Digital Direction, Hansa Media Services, and Hansa Outdoor.

     

    It may be recalled that in December last year, Raymond released an ad campaign aimed at popularising its lesser known product offerings, one of which was ColorPlus. The campaign was rolled out with the objective of informing customers that The Raymond Shop is a one-stop shopping destination for men, complete with all Raymond’s brands under one roof. The ad marked a digression from the parent brand’s age old positioning – The Complete Man.

     

    ColorPlus is a complete lifestyle brand that was launched in 1993, and stands for luxury and style.

     

  • Indian cricket may be busy scrambling for another sponsor, but Sahara India has a plan chalked out for life without BCCI.

    Be-Sahara BCCI | What next for cricket? Laxminarayan, Bijoor comment. Also: the Sahara communique in full

    By A Correspondent

     

    The news that Sahara was ending its association with Indian cricket was greeted with shock and disbelief by cricket fans and media professionals alike. Apart from the monetary implications, many found it hard to imagine the Indian team without the Sahara branding on their jerseys. But some also thought native resilience will tide the team over the crisis.

     

    Harish Bijoor, brand expert and CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults, said, “Sahara and Indian cricket have been associated for 11 years and it has been a long-standing association of deep commitment. It has helped Sahara gain ubiquity through a mass game for its many offerings.

     

    “I don’t think Sahara’s backing out would dent its image. Sahara will be missed on the Indian cricket team’s tee shirt, but take it from me, there will be another name out there, faster than we think. How about the Tata blue on the Indian blue?

     

    “Some keys to remember when going for an association for any new brand – and even for Indian cricket when considering the tie-up – would be that Indian cricket is a long term investment. Cricket is a forever game in India. Yes, we are currently going through what I would call the bathos-period. But we will come out of it. Brands that invest today will gain in the medium and long term.”

     

    Karthik Lakshminarayan, COO, Crest, Madison Media, said, “It was a symbiotic association and both parties gained infinitely well and have grown in size and stature over the last decade plus. Sahara is a well established name and while it will definitely be affected to a certain extent, the extent of damage would be minimal for Sahara.

     

    “One hopes that there are takers for the same given the way cricket is worshipped in our country. Am sure people will still recall WILLS association with the cricket team which is over two decades and hence this kind of association and mileage can only be offered by a platform of this size and magnitude. Whichever brand takes up the same will definitely be remembered for a while. The only thing one needs to watch out for would be ensuring that there is newness and innovation with the association as the next few years will mark a sea change in the way media is consumed by the audience.”

     

    For Brand Sahara, life without cricket seems to be something it is well prepared for. A company release said that Sahara is putting the cricket money into welfare work – all Rs 1,000 crore worth.

     

    A statement from Sushanto Roy, Managing Director, Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, said:

    “We are declaring to put immediately Rs 500 crore in Sahara Welfare Foundation, which will be run with the association of eminent persons of our country. For the programme as mentioned below, Sahara declares to put around Rs 500 crore more in the next 1-2 years as per the need of all the programmes.

     

    We are working on various programmes including financial implications etc since we have taken this decision after continuous persuasion with the BCCI failed, meaning on the 2nd of February, 2012. But we waited upto the auction day, ie 4th of February, that our request to BCCI would be accepted. But again, there was no natural justice.”

     

    Our programmes in brief are as follows:

    Rural/semi urban young sports person promotional centers

     

    • We would develop 20 Rural/Semi Urban Sports Promotional Centers including Rural/Semi Urban Cricket promotional Centers.
    • Each shall have 7 to 10 Acres of land which will be developed into sports person promotional centers with hostels having 50-100 rooms
    • Everyone shall get minimum 5 years.
    • Scientific selection youngsters shall be done throughout the country in remotest villages also to unearth genuine talents.
    • Every year, thousands of youngsters will be selected throughout the country from will be put in these sports centres with all cost of Sahara Welfare Foundation including their education also.
    • Local sports teachers shall be appointed and high class Domestic/International teachers shall also be appointed who shall visit these centers regularly in turns throughout the year for special training to local teachers and students.
    • Centres will have diversified sports disciplines viz. cricket, hockey, soccer, formula1, tennis, golf, wrestling, boxing etc.
    • One international standard sports academy shall immediately be developed at one point in India.
    • All best selected students shall ultimately come to this International Class Sports Academy.
    • Any of the students who secure a position at the National Level shall be appointed in company.
    • We shall definitely have minimum one center in every state barring very few highly disturbed states.
    • After a certain level of achievement on State/National/International level these people will be rewarded suitably.
    • They will stand to receive permanent jobs, houses, marriages (particularly girls), old age facilities etc. etc. Deserving student shall be given regular opportunities to go abroad for further improvements/ developments.
    • All regular students shall be given high coverage of insurance which may go into crores.

     

    Support fund

    There are many old (retired) and present players who, at times, face up to miserable days regarding medical bills, girls marriage, shelter etc. Every year minimum 10 crore will be distributed –

    – 3 crore for cricketers

    – 7 crore for all other disciplines

     

    Increase of sponsorship amount

     

    • We shall discuss with other federations where we are sponsoring different disciplines of sports and as per the genuine need for better promotion, we shall enhance the sponsorship amount.

     

    Medical vans

    On all India basis 300 fully equipped medical vans shall be introduced which shall only go to remote villages (at the moment we are running around 50 such vehicles) where there is no medical facilities exist. Our van shall have good doctors, check-up facilities and free medicines and also supporting cases for going to hospitals.

     

    So, we shall introduce around 300 medical vans in the country to start with which shall increase gradually.

     

    Safe drinking water

    We shall introduce for Rural and Semi Urban areas 100 tankers who shall distribute to even remote areas safe drinking water free/or maximum 50 paise to 1/- per liters (to poors it will be free). Some money could be charged so that gradually the areas covered would increase, meaning if charged, it shall be done to increase area of safe drinking water only.

     

    Important note:

    Safe drinking water is one of the most essential needs of our country. As an example for bad quality of drinking water every summer in Uttar Pradesh, people and government send around Rs. 6000 crores towards few kind of tablets and liquid drips since millions are very seriously critically effected with blood dysentery and all sorts of worst gastric problems.

    With safe drinking water this problem can be reduced to maximum extent.

     

    Education

    10,000 T.V Screens in villages and semi-urban areas with Dish Antenna etc.

    For free education/support of various types of adult literacy, child care, child education, hygiene, cultivation/agriculture, Hindi/English education, Education of high morality, education of good life, information of mandis on regular basis through our centres. Large studio will be made for this purpose.

     

    Important Note

    In India, today may be around 3 per cent population knows English well. The entire administration (IAS/IPS etc.) is in English medium; entire judiciary, medical science, engineering, corporate world are all in English medium. Even ministers mainly in Delhi should be English speaking. Meaning entire administration of our country is always governed by 3 per cent population only. It is unfortunate, sad & very bad for the country. Sad, we don’t have Hindi as one language of the country like all developed countries have. Well, English will never go. This is the time English should reach gradually go to all villages.”

     

    Sahara’s statement on the BCCI issue

    “Our association with Team India was primarily emotional and all along, the journey was indeed, a privileged one for the entire Sahara India Pariwar. In 2001, cricket was not as rich but had become a religion in our country. We had requested the then BCCI President, Shri Jagmohan Dalmia to go for an open auction, for the Indian team’s sponsorship inviting only interested Indian Corporates, since it was not right that it should go to some MNC. But for obvious, unavoidable reasons, BCCI did not accept that.

     

    “After 03 months, one fine morning, our Hon’ble Chairman was told that the sponsorship had gone to an MNC. Immediately, our Chairman called Shri Dalmiaji and expressed his desire to take up the sponsorship. He responded quite positively and requested for a 10 per cent increase in the price, which our Hon’ble Chairman immediately accepted.

     

    “Now after a 11-year journey as sponsors, we can say with surety that cricket has become very rich. Many rich people are there to support cricket with a strong will to do so. So, with absolute peace of mind we can exit from cricket under BCCI and are now exiting with a heavy heart. It was an emotional decision for us to start this sponsorship but our emotions were never appreciated and many genuine situations, were not given due consideration at all.

     

    “Our first entry into IPL was thwarted in 2008 when we were disqualified, owing to a small technicality on the whims and fancies of BCCI. Yet our Bid was not opened.

     

    “Last year, Sahara entered the IPL on the basis of information in the media and everywhere else that 94 matches will be played among 10 teams. The bid price was accordingly calculated, but only 74 matches were played. We are still pursuing continuously with the BCCI to refund the extra bid money proportionately. It has been denied on the basis of strict rules.

     

    “In the interest of the tournament, we repeatedly tried our best to pursue the BCCI for open auction of all players so that we achieve level playing field and all teams are equally balanced from the quality players’ point of view. Again, as per BCCI’s strict rules it was denied and again, we were deprived of natural justice. 12 of the best players were retained by the existing teams then.

     

    “The two new teams then requested for allowing us at least one extra foreign player but that too was denied, quoting rules.

     

    “Once during a World Cup tournament, Sahara’s name was not allowed because there was a clash of our Airline with a South African airline. In two major tournaments, the team had to play without the ‘SAHARA’ logo. It was ICC’s decision so we could realize that it was for no fault of BCCI and we also did not want the players to suffer. As per the rules, we were not supposed to pay sponsorship money for those matches but we still paid the players share of the amount in entirety. Sadly, we never found BCCI believing in genuine give and take.

     

    “Furthermore, Shri Yuvraj Singh, who is truly like one of our family members, is, quite unfortunately, passing through a bad phase health wise, undergoing treatment for critical illness, overseas. Out of enthusiasm, he may like to come out on the ground after a few months. But any well-wisher who truly loves him, would never desire that he be allowed to play for the oncoming months. Our duty is to take care of him, so Sahara has decided to pay him his full fee this year with condition as a Guardian that his priority should be health care and he should not play till he has fully recovered.

     

    “We requested the BCCI on the basis of the fact that we have only one Indian marquee player, that we be allowed to add price of Shri Yuvraj Singh in our auction purse, during the 4th February auction because we had later taken Shri Sourav Ganguly at 0.4 million. Again, we have been denied on the basis of the rule book. Yet again, a case of being denied natural justice.

     

    “We think this peculiar situation of Shri Yuvraj Singh is silent in the rule book because it probably talks only about players who are temporarily injured.

     

    “Incidentally, once during the Champion’s League tournament, one of the Indian IPL teams had a lot of injured players so they were rightly, out of natural justice, allowed to break the rules and take one extra foreign player. We appreciated this natural justice.

     

    “We really feel such one-sided emotional relationship cannot be dragged any further. We are withdrawing from all cricket under BCCI/ However, we don’t want to give any problem to the BCCI and we also feel that the players should not suffer. BCCI will definitely take 2-4 months to get a new sponsor and we will continue paying the sponsorship money till then. All other IPL team players, coaches and other such associates will definitely get their due this year, in case they do not get a chance to play.*

     

    “For this, our humble request once again to the BCCI is that through the right process and with strict rules/regulations, they should pass on our team to some other interested party immediately. We expect at least this much of our humble request will kindly be accepted after 12 years of our productive relationship with the BCCI.”

     

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