MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • According to sources at the Paris-hqed conglomerate, all energies to be on Sapient play

    No Perfect Relations for Publicis. Focus on Sapient for now

     

    By Sandeep Puraname

     

    So is the Paris-based marketing services conglomerate Publicis Groupe gobbling up Perfect Relations? Oui or Non, we asked our source, and were subjected to a loud No. And is it a ‘No’ or a ‘Not yet’, we asked? Short of expletives, we were told “Bilkul Nahin, Kabhi Nahin”.

     

    Now that was something we weren’t willing to put on our headlines yesterday after we read a front-page highlighted reported in premier business daily The Economic Times. We decided to dig further, spoke to our friends at the MSLGroup who said they weren’t authorised to speak and could neither confirm or deny.

     

    Surely there can be no smoke without fire?

     

    Then on some probing over long-distance chatter within India and overseas, we got the inside story. Apparently there have rumours ever since a PR industry website flashed the news. While there may have been discussions with the MSL management, the suitor is clearly not MSL or parent Publicis.  Dentsu, Ominicom and WPP may be looking at buying up the agency, we are told.

     

    But why not MSL? After all Perfect Relations is well-pedigreed, has some interesting clients including Coca-Cola and is well-networked across the country? Because, the Publicis Groupe wants to concentrate on the Sapient buy.

     

    With Sapient, Publicis wants to up its 40 percent revenues from digital to 50 percent and it may be remembered that Sapient has nearly half its staff in India.

     

    It’s likely that all or at least most of the digital activity of the group(e) may be converged to Sapient making it a digital superpower in India and the rest of the world.

     

    While it didn’t need an industry forecast to do it, but with a Forrester research report saying that digital adspends will overtake those on television in two years in the US, most global media service corporations are getting their act together on the digital play. After all it’s no small reason that Publicis paid a 40 percent premium for Sapient at USD 25 a share.  According to reports, Publicis chairman Maurice Levy is reportedly looking at Sapient also being able to counter business going away to consultancies like Accenture.

     

    In India, Sapient has been strong on acquiring talent and turning into a well-rounded creative tech firm.

     

    Given this, it’s likely that some of the existing digital plays of the group – including in those like the MSLGroup – may not get zoned into one robust offering.  This bit is unverified, but that’s the thinking on in sections of the group. But then large networks like Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide have made their acquisitions so these issues need to be sorted.

     

    So, bottomline: for the now, MSLGroup is not making any new PR buys. The bosses are content with Hanmer & Partners, 2020 PR and 2020 Social.  There’s enough and more happening more.

     

    But aren’t the MSL bosses in town next week? We thought Olivier Fleurot will make the big announcement. Non, we were told.

     

    Now what if we have egg on our face if all of this is proved wrong, the boss asked this writer.

     

    We’ll know that soon.

     

    PS: Time to compose the resignation letter? Or await that long-awaited raise?

     

  • The number of visits on the virtual mela as well as time spent surpasses any offline brand activation initiative organised during the festival in India

    GroupM’s Grand Diwali Mela draws huge response

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Grand Diwali Mela organised by GroupM in association with Google, Amazon.in, LINE, Games2Win and Hungama.com met with a huge response with over 55 lakh visitors patronising the event. The ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ saw very high engagement with users, who spent time getting product samples @ Re.1, enjoying movies and videos, playing games and greeting each other via the LINE messenger. The number of visits on the virtual mela as well as time spent surpasses any offline brand activation initiative organised during the festival in India.

     

    The event received an overwhelming response with over 55 lakh visitors, the majority of which came from mobile phones with over 45 per cent women visitors. On October 24th, Diwali day, the mela received over 4.6 lakh visitors. In all mela visitors spent over 125,000 hours browsing various brand and entertainment stalls in the mela besides which many more hours were spent on partner sites – Amazon.in, Games2win and Hungama.com.

     

    The ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ emerged as the largest online sampling platform for brands. Over 150,000 samples were shipped across India, with 70 per cent samples going to Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. The samples ranged from skincare and household products relevant to both men and women. To celebrate the partnership LINE Messenger came out with a set of special edition stickers for the ‘Grand Diwali Mela’.

     

    CVL Srinivas
    Rajan Anandan

    On the success of the Grand Diwali Mela, CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia said, “We are excited about the success of the first Grand Diwali Mela. We were able to create a great platform for consumers to come and sample products and interact with brands. It is also heartening to see the reach of the virtual mela was not restricted to the metros but filtered down to smaller towns where the digital penetration is growing exponentially. We also have seen a distinct spike in access via mobile phones, a clear indicator that India is opening up readily to mobile data and communication.”

     

    Rajan Anandan, VP & Managing Director of Google India, said “I would like to congratulate GroupM and all the participating partners for the success of the first Grand Diwali Mela. The fact that majority of the users experienced the mela from their mobile phones goes onto show the growing importance of mobile devices in India. With over 150,000 samples being tested on the platform, the initiative is likely to open up newer ways of engaging buyers online for brands and marketers on the mobile phones. Online brand activation during festivals is a brand new territory and I am confident that we will be able to scale this further next year.”

     

  • Sanchit takes on the role after two years as Digital leader for South Asia & South East Asia

    Sanchit Sanga promoted to Head of Digital Services, APAC at Mindshare

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sanchit Sanga

    Mindshare APAC, the global media agency network part of WPP has appointed Sanchit Sanga to the role of Head of Digital Services for Asia Pacific to be based in Singapore.

     

    Sanchit takes on the role after two years as Digital leader for South Asia & South East Asia. In his new role as Head of Digital APAC, Sanchit will focus on the continued development and delivery of Mindshare’s digital services to marketers, working closely with the regional in-market digital leads and global teams.

     

    Mindshare continues to focus on expanding their digital services from digital performance product integration, to working with GroupM partners like Vocanic to offer innovative Social solutions, to building an in-house Mobile Marketing practice – partnering with innovative start ups like Footmarks. As part of the drive to continually raise the quality of the digital product, Mindshare has increasingly focused on aspects such as precise audience targeting and multi-screen planning, working with partners like Crayon Data, Xaxis and the Mindshare Trading hubs.

     

    Ashutosh Srivastava, Chairman, Asia Pacific & CEO, Global Growth Markets, Mindshare Worldwide, commented on the appointment: “We are privileged to have highly talented people like Sanchit in the Mindshare family. Over the years, Sanchit has developed trusted relationships with our clients, which continually assists us to lead the industry in digital thinking. It is an exciting time to be in our business, where our understanding of media, technology and effective data usage is becoming more and more central to brand success.”

     

  • Based in Mumbai, she will lead the Content Team and will report directly to the Cluster Head, Vivek Srivastava

    Sonal Khanduja joins Times TV as VP – Programming, Eng Ent Cluster

    By A Correspondent

     

    Times Television Network (TTN) announced the appointment of Sonal Khanduja as Vice President – Programming of the English Entertainment Cluster which includes channels such as Movies Now and Romedy Now. Based in Mumbai, she will lead the Content Team and will report directly to the Cluster Head, Vivek Srivastava.

     

    Speaking on the announcement, Vivek Srivastava, Senior Vice-President and Head – English Entertainment Cluster, TTN said, “Sonal is a great addition to the team at TTN with a formidable base in the English Entertainment segment. With Sonal spearheading our Content team, we are confident that our premium English Entertainment channels – MOVIES NOW and Romedy NOW, will scale new heights.”

     

    Sonal moves to Times Television Network after a successful stint at Zee Entertainment Enterprises as the Head of Programming & Acquisition for Zee Studio and Zee Café. With over a decade of experience in the broadcast domain, her skills lie in Programming Strategy, Content Research, Acquisition and Production.

     

  • Candidates can either participate individually or as a two-member team

    Zivame.com to host its first Hackathon

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a bid to attract the attention of top notch engineering talent in the country, Zivame.com is conducting its first ever Hackathon on November 14th at its office premises in Bangalore. The all night Hackathon will start at 10am on November 14 and will go on till noon on November 15, when the results will be declared. The applicants can click here to register online for participation. Candidates can either participate individually or as a two-member team.

     

    Shyam Krishnamurthy, CTO, Zivame said, “While Zivame is a lingerie company, what sets us apart is our tech expertise. The entire consumer experience is driven by tech – from the website to the delivery to feedback.  Our technology makes the organization future ready, data driven & poised for scale. Therefore, we are always looking for exceptional engineering talent to be a part of our team. A hackathon helps replicate real life coding problems that we want to test our applicants on, in a fun and engaging, yet professional atmosphere.”

     

    Zivame is looking for both front end and back end developers to be a part of the hackathon. For front end, a team should have PHP, JavaScript, CSS3, HTML5, MySQL, Postgres, Mongo DB, HBase, Cassandra, Linux Operating System, Git, SVN and Magento as part of their stack. For back end, a team should have Python/Java, Scala, API Integration, MySQL/Postgres, MongoDB, Redis, Linux Operating System, Git, and SVNas part of their stack.

     

    The challenge for the hackathon will be announced on the spot. Emphasis of the hackathon will be on a candidate’s coding practices – reusable and maintainable code. Once a candidate applies, the Zivame team will send them relevant material to help them to start preparing for the event. The participants will be Zivame’s guests and will be offered lunch and dinner on November 14. Since the event will require candidates to work the entire night, they are requested to bring their own linen while basic sleeping facilities will be provided by the company.

     

  • India's largest online retailer, Flipkart, could begin another round of mega fund-raising as it expands its product range catering to a widening base of customers.

    Flipkart set to raise $1.5 billion in another round of mega fund-raising

    By Radhika P Nair

     

    India’s largest online retailer, Flipkart, could begin another round of mega fund-raising as it expands its product range catering to a widening base of customers. The Bengaluru-based firm will seek funding of about $1.5 billion and has begun shortlisting potential investors, according to two people with direct knowledge of the developments. “Talks haven’t begun yet and Flipkart is looking to target only a few investors that they want on board,” said one of the two persons directly involved in the process. “The fund-raising process is expected to begin in January 2015.”

     

    Flipkart, when contacted, declined comment on its fund-raising and investment plans. The company has raised a total of $1.2 billion this year and has just completed a round of festival sales marked by steep discounts. “At the pace at which it is making investments, Flipkart will deploy most of the funds it has raised by around mid-next year,” said the source.

     

    Discounting still accounts for a chunk of Flipkart’s monthly costs, with promotions costing it at least Rs 70 crore each month, according to a person who works with Flipkart at a strategic level.

     

    The company has also identified very specific areas to pump in money to ensure its goal of doubling in size by next year.

     

    Post the blockbuster festive season sales of October, when the company shipped around 80 lakh items versus 50 lakh on average, the company has revised its internal targets to reach sales of $4 billion by the end of the current fiscal, according to sources.

     

    A major area of focus is increasing the categories in which they have leadership. “It has built a lead in fashion with the Myntra acquisition. The same push needs to happen across categories,” said Manish Saigal, managing director at advisory firm Alvarez and Marsal.

     

    “Furniture and packaged food will be launched very soon,” said a person directly involved in the process. The teams are being built for these product categories.

     

    Rival Amazon India recently launched its gourmet and specialty foods category with over 155 Indian and imported brands. Amazon is yet to launch furniture. Snapdeal, on the other hand, already has a presence in these segments.

     

    “There are aggressive existing competitors and large offline players could come in very soon. It makes sense to extend its leadership now,” said Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail advisory Technopak.

     

    The seven-year-old company will launch a wider range of lifestyle products and consumer durables. It already has its range of tablets and digital accessories (Digiflip), apparel (Flippd) and home appliances and personal healthcare products such as sandwich makers and hair dryers (Citron).

     

    According to a person directly involved with the process, Flipkart will put more marketing muscle behind in-house brands.

     

    “We have seen how Myntra’s inhouse brands have performed and scaled. That is what will be done with the new brands.”

     

    For Myntra, its portfolio of about 10 in-house brands accounts for about 20% of overall sales. Its biker brand Roadster is already a Rs 100-crore brand.

     

    Flipkart’s stake acquisition in consumer appliances service provider Jeeves Consumer Services should be seen in this light. “When they have their own brand of appliances, they will have to handle servicing, warranties and other such issues.

     

    They can’t do this all on their own,” said one of the persons who spoke on this matter. A Flipkart spokesperson said through this (strategic) partnership, Jeeves will provide exclusive value-added services in ecommerce to Flipkart customers across India.

     

    “Flipkart and other marketplaces will have to invest humungous amounts into logistics and fulfilment if they want to cover even rural areas,” said Technopak’s Singhal. Flipkart has a delivery network of about 300 locations and is intending to expand its reach to even small towns.

     

    In each of these areas, Flipkart is also looking at acquisitions.

     

    When Flipkart appointed former Canaan Partners associate Nishant Verman as its M&A head earlier this year, its HR head Mekin Maheshwari said inorganic growth is a strong component of the vision to make Flipkart a $100-billion company. Snapdeal and Amazon have also made their intentions clear to acquire companies in areas ranging from mobile technology to payments.

     

    “The over-arching theme will be acquisitions as they try to bridge existing gaps and scale up faster,” said Alvarez and Marsal’s Saigal.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • A quick chat with Stratagem Media founder and director Sundeep Nagpal on the fifth edition of the Media Rhythm training programme scheduled for November 28 and 29 in Mumbai

    Stratagem Media announces 2-day training for ad sales and media/mktng pros

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading Mumbai-based media advisory Stratagem Media has announced a two-day open training programme for media practitioners as well as marketers and advertisers.

     

    The fifth in the series of intensive learning sessions under the Media Rhythm banner, under the Media Rhythm series. “I’ve always believed that the media business is a combination of both, knowledge and a skill,” said Sundeep Nagpal, founder-director of Stratagem while unveiling details of the sessions scheduled for November 28 and 29 in Mumbai.  “Once a year, we organise this programme where our endeavour is to contribute to the development of this knowledge and skill and bring participants up-to-date with the latest practices being adopted in the business, as much as make them a bit future-ready, if possible,” he said.

     

    We asked Mr Nagpal a few questions, and rather than let the finer details get lost in the paraphrasing, we present his responses as is:

     

    What will this year’s session offer:

    Sundeep Nagpal : Over the last five years, we have stayed relevant with the Media Rhythm series of programs. The topics have kept pace with the current needs of the industry.  So, this time we felt it would be relevant to combine the understanding of digital media with that of traditional media. I have observed that hitherto, these were quite compartmentalized. So, this program is titled – The Big Fat Media Wedding – Digital weds Traditional Media

     

    Firstly, more than 50 % of the program is devoted to Digital marketing – it breaks up into separate modules on Search, Social, Mobile and Display.

     

    Then there are separate modules on Media measurement, Creativity in Media and even one on ‘How to integrate multi-media for a given campaign’.

     

    Is a two-day programme sufficient for all the topics you have planned?

    SN: We have conceived this more like a workshop. And hence, it’s a two-day programme, so, I think, we will have the bandwidth to deep dive into the concepts, metrics and practices.  And given the variety of topics, we have chosen to have 4 specialist trainers for this programme.  Participants will get a chance to think and do. They will be put through a few exercises – on creativity and strategy development as well as some hands-on analytics.

     

    Who are the trainers?

    SN:  It would not be incorrect to say that all trainers are highly experienced specialists in different areas of the media business.

     

    Mr  R P Singh: who will handle the digital module, has been in the digital space for as long as it has existed in this country. He was with Group M and McCann (APAC for Commonwealth), and now is the CEO of a Delhi-based digital company called Sirez.

     

    Mr  Bharat Kapadia : is the man of ideas and has more than 35 years, mostly as a publisher, with 4 prestigious media houses in this country.

     

    Mr  Suresh Balakrishna: who has spent more than 28 years and has had considerable experience on both sides of the media business – planning/ buying as well as selling. And now heads BPN, part of IPG Mediabrands

     

    And myself:: For most of my professional career of 28 years,  I’ve inter-acted intensely, with media sellers and advertisers, and I feel there’s a lot of scope to bridge the gap.

     

    Ideally  who would you target/ like to see as participants?

    SN:  Well, as such anyone who has anything to do with the business of media or who is in the field of marketing  would stand to benefit from this program.  Also, I’d like to draw special attention to the scope that this programme offers to media planners and sellers of traditional media – I think this would be an ideal opportunity for them to understand how to apply and add the learnings of digital media and marketing in their job profiles.

     

    So, all in all, professionals from media agencies, marketing companies as well as media houses, would stand in good stead with this program.

     

    To register:

    http://www.marketingbelly.com/digitalmarketing/program/The-Big-Fat-Media-Wedding-%3A-Digital-weds-Traditional/events/sucess/2   

     

  • The report is an effort to form the basis of an effective collaboration between the two ends of the Talent Supply Chain

    India Skills report highlights unique facets of the youth

    By A Correspondent

     

    With the PM Modi’s vision on youth and focus on skill development, the second India Skills Report 2015 echoes a similar sentiment where about 72 per cent employers preferring to hire candidates in the age 30 years and below. This preference for the young workforce is good news wherein 60 per cent of population is going to belong to the working age by 2020. This is one of the major findings of the India Skills Report 2015 launched at the CII – 6th Global Summit on Skill Development. India Skills Report is a joint initiative by Wheebox, Global Talent Assessment Company, PeopleStrong, India’s leading platform based multi-process HR Outsourcing and Recruitment Company and LinkedIn. The report is an effort to form the basis of an effective collaboration between the two ends of the Talent Supply Chain.

     

    The 2nd India Skills Report shows an upward trend in hiring spread across 29 states & 7 UTs. The top states with employable skill pool include Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala & Karnataka which have held their positions from last year, and U.P, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal & Orissa are the new entrants. An overall increase of about 23 per cent expected in the hiring numbers per month, the job outlook confirms with the expectation of a growing market in the coming year for India.

     

    Out of about 11 sectors surveyed, Hospitality and travel lead the way followed by BFSI and Core sectors which will see major increase in hiring with more than 25 per cent hiring to be expected and other manufacturing  (excluding Auto, Consumer goods & durables,), Pharma & Healthcare and Telecom and allied , there is an increase of more than 10 per cent in monthly hiring.

     

    The report also brings out a general trend amongst the employers while looking for candidate prefer Internal Referrals followed by Job portal and social media. The trend of choosing candidate with the use of social media has increased from 6% last year to 12% this year.
    Assessing over 3,00,000 students amongst 29 states & 7 UT’s across the length and breadth of country using Wheebox Workforce Skills Test, India Skills Report has helped to create an agenda that can function to solve the talent supply-demand challenge the country is facing.

     

    Nirmal Singh, Founder and CEO of Wheebox said, “We are delighted to yet again bring the supply and demand sides of talent on the same platform. It was heartening to receive such support from both sides for this study. It also resonates with Wheebox’s vision to bring talent demand and supply together using validated assessments and impact economic development of the country and with recent steps that are being taken by the Government, we are confident that all this information would help in transforming the skill landscape of India.”

     

    Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry said” With India metamorphosing into one of the fastest growing economies, job creation and skilling seem to be natural tools to ensure sustainable growth. Realising the urgent need to provide accurate analysis, we have partnered with Wheebox, PeopleStrong and LinkedIn to bring out the India Skills Report which is a conscious one of a kind effort to provide an insight into the hiring trends of the market well understanding the needs of the job seeker and organizations. I am confident that this initiative will give a clear understanding and enable bridging of the talent demand and supply in the country.”

     

  • Musicians can send in their entries from 3rdNovember 2014 to 17th November 2014

    2nd Edition of Radio City Freedom Awards announced

    By A Correspondent

     

    After the positive response and support received in the inaugural year, Radio City 91.1 FM has announced the 2nd Edition of Radio City Freedom Awards. Entries are now open & Radio City invites all the independent artists to submit their compositions.

     

    Radio City Freedom Awards invites entries from Indian artists across the globe in 8 categories viz. Best Hip-Hop Rap Artist, Best Folk Fusion Artist, Best Pop Artist, Best Rock, Best Metal, Best Electronica Artist, Best Video, Best Album Art. The 2nd Edition of Radio City Freedom Awards goes a step forward in encouraging fresh talent across diverse music genres by adding 3 new categories! The new categories that have been added are, ‘Best Young Indie Artist/Band’, ‘Best Indie Collaboration of the year’ and ‘Indie Genius- Person of the year’.

     

    Musicians can send in their entries from 3rdNovember 2014 to 17th November 2014. Aspirants can upload their entries on www.planetradiocity.com/rcfa or alternatively submit CDs of their compositions at any of the touch points across the eight cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

     

    Shortlisted entries will be judged by the esteemed panel of judges comprising of Atul Churamani, Yotam Agam, Luke Kenny, Nandini Srikar, Subir Malikand Suneeta Rao. The winners will be felicitated on the RCFA award night in December.

     

    Apurva Purohit

    Speaking on the 2nd Edition of Radio City Freedom Awards, Apurva Purohit, CEO, Radio City 91.1 FM says, “Radio City Freedom Awards were instituted to celebrate the immense talent of independent music composers.The awards epitomize the consistent integrated effort to unveil the hidden talent that forms an important part of the Indian music diaspora. Post the immensely successful debut last year, we are sure that the 2nd Edition will see a much larger participation.Radio City Freedom Awards is the breakthrough that independent musicians have deserved for longand we hope that this initiative encourages tons of aspiring indie musicians to come out and showcase their skills.”

     

    Radio City Freedom Awards is a pioneering effort to applaud the independent singers & musicians, who have pushed the boundaries to create musical breakthroughs in the independent music diaspora.

     

  • The TVC marks itself as the first ever tennis super league commercial to be aired on national television

    Inaugural campaign for Champions Tennis League launched

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sony SIX has unveiled its first TVC for their marquee tennis property, The Champions Tennis League. The TVC marks itself as the first ever tennis super league commercial to be aired on national television.

     

    Conceptualized by Havas Worldwide, the commercial is targeted towards sports fans and general audiences alike by igniting the passion for tennis that has been evoked with the element of the tennis ball. Capturing a series of montages of the tennis ball in action, the commercial culminates into the announcement of India’s most exciting all-star tennis league, the Champions Tennis League. Through the commercial, the channel aims to engage with a large spectrum of audience by driving the relevance of the tennis ball in one’s everyday life.

     

    The commercial opens with a quick montage of clips being shown on the tennis ball being put to use. The scenes are supplement with a voiceover narrative of how the tennis ball is being used in India for a wide variety of activities. From being used as an object for amusement in the hands of a juggler in a circus, to being a ball of terror against batsmen playing “gully cricket’ or from being an item of décor used for rickshaws to a vessel for communicating hidden messages of love amongst the youth in the country. The advertisement catches the various aspects of the florescent sphere and how it has made its way into the daily lives of the people. The commercial goes on to depict further instances of the tennis ball in use with a catchy tune that syncs with the jovial feel of the commercial. The commercial ends on a unique note where the ball flies into a house causing disturbance in the house of an elderly man. The man comes out onto his balcony with a presumable rage, blaming the neighbourhood kids for playing cricket all day. At that point the commercial takes an unconventional twist where much to the aged man’s surprise; the kids playing down are holding tennis racquets and are sporting an impish smile. This sync in with the concluding shot of the commercial where the narrative voice over prepares audiences to get ready to witness the best of international tennis superstars compete in India at the Champions Tennis League.

     

    Prasana Krishnan

    Commenting on the launch of the TVC, Prasana Krishnan, Business Head, Sony SIX, said, ‘‘Through the years, the tennis ball has come to be synonymous with a host of activities like cricket, lagori and juggling amongst many other outdoor activities. It presents an autonomous manifestation of sportiness. What we have tried to do through this TVC is not only show the versatility of the ball but connect it to its fundamental use, which lies in the game of tennis, highlighting the first ever international tennis league to be hosted in India.”

     

    Vivek Rao, Executive Creative Director, said, ‘The team came up with a script that had a simple, wonderful insight. In India a Tennis Ball has been omnipresent in our lives since our childhood for reasons other than the game of tennis. Finally here’s a reason to see it for what it’s really meant for – Tennis! And the Champions Tennis League has the right pros to make it a must watch tennis league. The “extreme slow motion” treatment recommended by director Nitesh Tiwari was to ensure that the hero very clearly was the Tennis Ball.”

     

    The TVC will be aired across various English, Hindi and regional news, movies and entertainment channels and will be promoted on various digital spaces.

     

  • This year the event will have three experts presenting for 30 minutes each followed by a QnA session with the audience

    Ad Club’s Media Review sets its date with members

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Advertising Club’s Media Review has been a hit with the members over the years. It started out with a solo speaker presenting his perspective and the luminaries that did the event as sole presenters included Sam Balsara, Sameer Nair and Subhash Chandraji.

     

    Later the format was tweaked and presented as a panel discussion. Some of the luminaries who were panelists included Nandini Dias, Pratap Bose, Punitha Arumugam, R. Gowthaman, Farokh Balsara etc. This year the event will have three experts presenting for 30 minutes each followed by a QnA session with the audience.

     

    Discovery Communications India has come on board as Presenting Sponsor whereas PepsiCo India Holdings Private Limited will be the Associate Sponsor.

     

  • Devendra Chawla, CEO, Food Bazaar, chronicles the many shifts in consumer behaviour and attitude over the last decade

    Now & then: Here’s how contemporary consumers behaved a decade ago

     

    By Devendra Chawla

     

    Consumers of today have evolved into a hyper active multi-taskers, constantly squeezing the 25th hour out of a regular day. Here are some of the most radical changes between contemporary consumers and how they behaved as recently as a decade ago.

     

    In this article, Devendra Chawla, CEO, Food Bazaar, chronicles the many shifts in consumer behaviour and attitude over the last decade.

     

    The star of a movie called ‘me.’

    Indian consumers are a liberated lot. It’s not hard to spot a 40-plus man in a colourful ensemble; green or red trousers, if you please. Women no more need male or peer endorsement as approval of what they wear or how they look. They expresses beauty in their own way – via choice of apparel and personal grooming.

     

    There’s friction building between conformity on one side and self identity on the other, as consumers see themselves as stars of their own movie. They want to play multiple roles and make many appearances.

     

    Hair streaking, frowned upon once, is now a style statement. So are male grooming products. Consumers can now choose facial structure, shape of nose, and skin type thanks to contact lenses, plastic surgery, botox jabs, etc.

     

    Yes, people do look up to trendsetters, but instead of aping them, prefer to create their own sense of style. Brands can no longer feed on the fear, insecurity, or preaching. This generation of consumers will make allies of brands that allow self-expression.

     

    They are a product of abundance unlike yesterday’s consumer, who was born in scarcity. And yes, today’s consumer may reject brands that claim to help one find a groom or a job based on the colour of skin.

     

    Zero to best in 2 seconds

    Upgrading sequentially from good to better and better to best stands disrupted. Now consumers parachute into the best of one category while at same time making a trade off in other categories for value deals. This approach sees many youth opting for a top of the line smartphone at the start of their careers, while eating at budget restaurants.

     

    Unlike the past, where category upgrades coincided with a change in income, now they make a trade off, choosing most premium in the category where they want the best and settling for good or better than average in others.

     

    What else can your product do?

    From a mere mode of communication, the mobile phone is a life supporting system including a music player, a portable gaming console, weight loss monitor, camera and most recently a shopping basket given the mania for e-tailing.

     

    An unlikely category like food is starting to take a few cues. While consumers sweat it out in gyms and perform yoga, food brands have been stretching from the role of satiating hunger to manage and support functions like weight management, stress and hypertension management, brain, muscle and bone development, height gain, etc via ingredients like Omega-3, vitamin and mineral premixes, co-enzyme Q10, etc.

     

    Products that provide convenience and perform with speed are much in demand. A case in point is the emergence of multigrain, multivitamin, multimineral food across the spectrum. Expect food to multitask more and provide more benefits.

     

    Back of the pack

    In a world where “you are what you eat”, consumers want to know what are they eating. The attention has shifted from the front to the back of the pack, an uncommon phenomenon 10 years ago. They are checking for ingredients, potential allergic reactions, gluten as well as carb, protein and energy values. Expect back of pack to become more engaging than just being statutory information.

     

    Even home food gets ‘outsourced’

    Banks have outsourced many functions, opting for a tight focus on the core. And so, even if a consumer calls a BPO, they are still dealing with the bank brand. The same applies for telecom operators and many other industries. As more women step out to realise their ambitions, they’ve kept the flag flying for home cooked meals.

     

    What has been outsourced here is preparatory functions like cutting vegetables; either left to the maid or the supermarkets which stock precut veggies. This has also given rise to fruit platters, ready batters, pastes, mixes, powders, etc.

     

    The last mile is where the lady of the house has her hands and eyes, converting all these first stage conveniences to home cooked food, thus serving as the gateway for customised meals. The kitchen is a food factory with multiple gadgets and ingredients allowing even the time pressed lady to convert the dining table into a “food court at home on demand.”

     

    Again an uncommon phenomenon 10 years ago. Here each family member can have different cuisine sitting next to each other, yet with the final touch of it all being home cooked food.

     

    Cooking is the new golf

    From provider to a nurturer – the role of the man is undergoing a radical change. The kitchen is his new golf course, even if occasionally, these activities compete with each other. As more women step out, men find themselves taking care of the house, children and the kitchen.

     

    Punishments works better than complaints

    Reactions to brands have never been so quick, personal and unique. The old cliché about a happy customer telling three people and an unhappy one telling ten has been unimaginably amplified in a world powered by social media where consumers routinely pour out their emotions to hundreds or maybe even thousands of friends and followers. The power of an organisation or brand is all but equal to one consumer’s tweet or Facebook or YouTube post.

     

    Remember, “United breaks guitars”, by Canadian country band Sons of Maxwell? A complaint song about a broken guitar on a United Airlines flight has grossed 14,299,132 views on YouTube at last count.

     

    Brands must prepare to listen to consumers 24/7 specially when it comes to grievances. As consumers do things they never imagined they could and experimentation is order of the day, they are moving from transactions to experiences. While consumers have been upgrading, its time for marketers to upgrade more often.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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