MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • The growth will be primarily driven by MNCs investing inIndiaand stronger MCG sector, and there could be upward revisions made in the second half of 2012

    Indian adspends to see +8.7% growth in 2012: MPA study

    By A Correspondent

     

    Media ad sales will grow by 8.7 per cent in net terms this year, against the background of a slowing economy (~7 per cent real GDP growth versus historical range of 8-9 per cent) and the high first half of 2011 base last year resulting from the Cricket World Cup (which happens once in four years) plus an extended IPL season according to Media Partners Asia.

     

    The growth will be primarily driven by MNCs investing inIndiaand stronger MCG sector, and there could be upward revisions made in the second half of 2012. The outlook for advertising growth across key categories is mixed.

     

    Some of the highlights are:

    • FMCG 

    Media buyers expect robust growth from the FMCG sector, which is the largest advertising category, contributing 30-35 per cent to total ad spend. MNCs are expected to report robust numbers, while a few large MNC accounts (with annual ad budgets in the region of Rs2-3 billion) are looking to increase spends by 50-70 per cent for the coming year. Domestic FMCG companies are expected to see only marginal growth as the profits of these companies have deteriorated due to rising input costs.

     

    • Auto 

    Traditional companies such as Maruti and Hyundai have reduced their spends; but global car manufacturers investing inIndiaare driving the overall growth for the sector. As suggested in the recently held Auto Expo 2012, the sector will benefit this year from new launches in the two-wheeler and utility vehicle segments in subsequent quarters.

     

    • Life insurance

    The forecast is for a steady growth, a prevailing trend seen in this category since 2008. A reversal of interest rates will be the underlying factor influencing consumption and ad spend across sectors. The rising interest rate cycle seems to have peaked out. After raising interest rates by 13 times since March 2010, RBI (Reserve Bank ofIndia) may shift its approach towards the country’s monetary policy. Inflation is likely to fall considering the high base last year, and in order to bring the country’s economic growth back on track, the RBI is likely to reduce interest rates gradually in 2012. This will encourage investments and spending, in turn benefiting the ad market.

    Consumption demand has held up reasonably well though rural demand may be a concern, highlighted by a recent slowdown in sales of two wheelers and durables.

     

    Other key factors that will have an impact on the ad marker include:

    • Competition in Hindi GEC

    Competitive intensity in the Hindi GEC space is nothing new, though new competition is accelerating amongst second-tier channels. There has been a change in the pecking order of top three Hindi GECs, with Sony climbing up to the No. 2 spot while incumbent Zee TV has now slipped to No 4. Based on discussions with some of the major media buyers, the genre currently has limited supply of inventory, which should keep ad rates healthy.

     

    • Digitalization to create new niches

    Before the first phase of digitalization is implemented in June 2012 (it may be delayed to December 2012), broadcasters are already rolling out new niche channels in various genres like action and comedy. This will attract advertisers who are willing to target and segment their audience, not just from demographic but also psychographic parameters.

     

    • FDI in single-brand retail

    Opening up of FDI in single-brand retail (precursor to opening up multi-brand retail) will benefit regional print companies.

     

    • State elections

    In the near to medium term, print media will benefit from the upcoming closely contested elections to be held in five states: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab,Goaand Manipur.

     

  • Chinese mobile ad network Madhouse enters India to offer comprehensive mobile marketing solutions

    Chinese Madhouse looks to wow India

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    Countless comparisons could be drawn on how two of the biggest and most admired economies are driving brands from all across the world to be a part of a growth story that is unparelled. Or how the APAC region is all about just these two economies today, putting the other developed nations in the region in a state of oblivion. Having wowed the world with growth stories that defy market odds, China and India today command attention from business stalwarts and entrepreneurs like no other, especially entrepreneurs from emerging mediums like Digital and Mobile that are shaping the way the world goes about doing its business. But despite the huge buzz around these two economies, there is very little that transpires when it comes to the two economies trying to venture into each other’s territory to gain mileage and expand base – especially in the digital space.

     

    But all that could change with the advent of the largest mobile solutions and advertising network firm from China- Madhouse. Launched in 2006, the company enjoys the reputation of being tagged as the most intellectual and largest mobile ad solutions company in China. In India, Madhouse will work towards providing brands, advertising and media agencies and marketers with a host of comprehensive mobile marketing solutions. It has already tied up with a host of strategic partners including WPP, Vivaki, Omnicom, Aegis and so on from the media agency side of the business and would work towards providing them holistic mobile marketing and advertising network solutions.

     

    The Madhouse India team would be headed by Vinod Thadani, who until now was handling mobile responsibilities for Group M India andSouth Asia. Given that the two countries share market complexities that are similar in nature and have a population base that is very high, it seemed like a natural extension for Madhouse to step in to India, making it the first such venture into foreign territory in APAC.

     

    Throwing light on how the APAC market compares to the other regions and reacting on his choice of targeting India as the hub for launching the venture, Joshua Maa, Founder & CEO, Madhouse Inc. said: “Today APAC occupies ad spends growth to the tune of 32 per cent, making it the largest in the world. These are led by the economies of China , India and Indonesia that are the key drivers of this growth in APAC. To gain success in a market like India requires the ability to manage complexity, and this is an area where we excel.”

     

    Hoping to leverage the opportunity of using mobile as a mass media device, Maa went on to elaborate the business module by stating: “If you compare the mobile markets of India and China, they are almost identical. While China has a mobile user base of 960 million, India’s number stands at 894 million. But where mobile internet users are concerned, China has 356 million users while India’s number stands at 150 million. Therefore, we foresee a huge growth in India and decided to make this our first market to launch in APAC.”

     

    In India, the agency’s focus would be centred around disciplines of mobile ad serving, mobile ad network and mobile marketing solutions. Having wowed clients in China like HP, KFC, Unilever, Intel, Coke, and others, Maa hopes to emulate a similar example here by getting important brands to align with the network: “Being the only full-service provider in the market and having a skilled and experienced team in place, we hope to attract a lot of clients in the days to come.”

     

    Emphasising on the partnership, Vinod Thadani, COO, Madhouse said: “Madhouse will offer mobile marketing solutions created and carried out for advertisers by a team of experienced media professionals that understand this medium. On a technical level, mobile advertising can now achieve accurate intelligent targeting and provide real-time reporting – a very convincing proposition for advertisers.” According to Thadani, the need of the hour is to unlock the potential of the mobile medium and they are therefore determined to grow the Indian Digital Media market from Rs125 crores to Rs1,000 crores in the next 3 years. “The need of the hour is to understand the medium thoroughly and this would be possible by partnering with the right partners and going back with the right solutions to clients.”

     

    Perhaps the best reason for elation among mobile clients in India was provided by Ranjan Kapur, Country Manager, WPP, who began by discussing how India, as an advertising market, was highly undervalued. “Despite India boasting such a good growth in economy, the advertising spends in China stand at US $55 billion while for India it is at US $6 billion, this shows that we are still an under-advertised and under-branded market.” Citing the reason for China leapfrogging ahead of India, Kapur said that the single biggest factor for India’s dismal record in getting more ad spends was because it jumped on to the services bandwagon and chose to ignore the manufacturing sector. “While the Services sector contributes about 55 per cent to the GDP growth, it is still very shy on spending on marketing and promotional activities. And this is an area where Manufacturing excels. But all that is changing and the Services industry is opening up and spending more.”

     

    On the ad spends growth in India, Kapur said that while there is a 15-20 per cent growth, it is digital that is intriguing the advertisers the most. “Digital ad spends recorded a growth of 30 per cent.Mobile, specifically, is a Rs125 crore industry today and given that there are 300 million internet users predicted by 2015, mobile advertising is expected to account for about one-fourth of conventional traditional advertising. So it can be said that a revolution in digital in India is beginning to happen now.” This growth will be boosted further by the Government’s efforts to spread mobile and internet usage in rural areas for which it has promised 2,50,000 nodes for broadband in the next four years. “So mobile marketing in the rural areas will be a mass phenomenon, once this plan gains momentum.”

     

    Another interesting addition to the venture would be Rovio Entertainment that is more popular for its Angry Birds concept around the world. “Madhouse is a valuable partner for us in China , and we are excited about the opportunity to extend our collaboration to India as well,” said Bijay Gurung, Key Account Director, Rovio Entertainment Ltd. “With India being the second largest Facebook market, it opens the door for us to entertain even more fans as we are aiming for one billion downloads by the end of the year.” The current number stands at 700 million. Apart from that, Rovio would also focus on pushing itself as a publishing firm, a large-scale animations firm and further look to enhance its merchandise business.

     

    In an era where it is becoming difficult to lead lives without smartphones, iPads and other such mobile gizmos and with a lot left to be accomplished in the Data, Voice and Text domain and lack of established tools and systems that makes it difficult to answer the question of how this medium can be leveraged by advertisers to reach out to their consumers, probably an established Chinese mobile dragon could well show Indian mobile companies the way this medium could be harnessed to its full potential.

     

  • The transaction will involve transfer of all key assets, including intellectual property rights, supply agreements and third-party manufacturing agreements

    Marico picks up Paras personal care brands from Reckitt Benckiser

    By A Correspondent

     

    Marico has bought the personal care business of Paras Pharmaceuticals from UK consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser, edging out Emami. While announcing the deal, both Marico and Reckitt Benckiser declined to disclose the financial details.

     

    But two industry officials familiar with the negotiations said the maker of Parachute Hair Oil has paid Rs600-650 crore for the privately-held Paras Pharma’s personal care brands such as Zatak deodorant, Set Wet hair gel and Livon hair serum. This is much lower than Reckitt Benckiser’s original demand of Rs900 crore, they said.

     

    Morgan Stanley was the exclusive financial advisor to Reckitt Benckiser on the deal.

     

    Marico CMD Harsh Mariwala said the deal will help the company target the youth who now drives demand in the country’s consumer space. “All these brands are youth-oriented, fast growing and have low penetration,” said Mr Mariwala

     

    The transaction will involve demerging the personal care business of Paras Pharma into a separate company, Halite Personal Care India, in which Marico will acquire 100 per cent stake. This will involve transfer of all key assets, including intellectual property rights, supply agreements and third-party manufacturing agreements.

     

    Marico will fund the acquisition through a mix of internal accruals, equity and debt.

     

    Reckitt Benckiser acquired Paras Pharma in December 2010 for Rs3,260 crore, in one of the biggest acquisitions in the Indian consumer goods sector.

     

    The maker of Dettol Anti-septic and Disprin pain killer was more interested in Paras’ healthcare products such as Moov pain-relief ointment and Krack heel care lotion, and decided to sell the personal care business. Financial analysts say it is a good buy for Marico.

     

    “The acquisition will help Marico to move from a dominant hair-care portfolio to skin-care and personal care, which is a bigger opportunity,” said Shirish Pardeshi, executive director and research co-head at Anand Rathi Securities. Marico’s key products in India include hair oil Parachute and edible oil Saffola.

     

    With the new deal, it will get six brands – Set Wet, Livon, Zatak, Eclipse, Recova and Dr Lips – expected to have a turnover of more than Rs 150 crore in FY12. Paras brands are among the top three in the hair gel, male deodorant and hair serum categories.

     

    According to industry estimates, the deodorant category is growing at a rate of 40 per cent a year, hair styling gel at 25 per cent and hair serum at 30 per cent.

     

    Marico CEO (consumer products business) Saugata Gupta said the integration will be easy since the company has domain knowledge in the acquired categories through its operations in Vietnam and the Middle East.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

  • In this role she will lead Team Unilever overseeing India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lankaat Mindshare Fulcrum

    Anupriya Acharya to head Unilever biz @ Mindshare

    Anupriya Acharya
    Ravi Rao

    By A Correspondent

     

    After the elevation of Mr Ravi Rao to lead Mindshare India, the media agency has appointed Ms Anupriya Acharya Leader – Team Unilever:South Asia, a position held by Mr Rao until he took over the agency’s reins (from Mr Gowthaman Ragothaman). She takes charge today.

    Ms Acharya has relocated from Singapore where she was CEO, Aegis Media.Her responsibility at Mindshare requires her to oversee business in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

     

    Announcing the appointment, Ravi Rao, Leader, South Asia, Mindshare, said: “Anupriya moves into this role fromSingapore where she was CEO, Aegis Media Singapore and is credited with doubling the operation in just over two years. Prior to Aegis Media, she was President TME (The Media Edge) from 2005-2008. She is also no newbie at Group M. She set up mConsult under Vikram Sakhuja in 2004 and has been an integral part of Fulcrum from 2000-2003. So we welcome her back. ”

     

    Commenting on her new role in Mindshare, Ms Acharya said: “I am most excited about this role. I have always had very fond memories of Fulcrum. Aegis Media Singapore position helped me gain an international and regional perspective and honed my intercultural management skills, while TME taught me handling extremely diverse set of clients and their different requirements. CP, Parle AOR, Indian Oil, Viacom 18’s Colors and Citibank were some of the key clients then. Now I was looking to get back to scale and lo! this assignment was so timely and perfect.”

     

    “I look forward to working closely with Ravi, Roy Sudipto, who heads the team Unilever for APAC and David Pullan, Global Head of Team Unilever at Mindshare London, and to drive the aggressive Unilever agenda forward acrossSouth Asia. The scale is truly exciting and humbling at the same time. I am raring to go!,” she added.

     

    Ms Acharya has also worked at McCann Erickson and Ogilvy in her earlier years. A Post Graduate in Analytical Chemistry from IIT-Roorkee, she has over 16 years of experience in Communication solutions. Her interests are adventure sports, photography and travelling for leisure.

     

     

  • Gaurav Mishra-led team develops proprietary tools to scale the SM space and help businesses embrace innovations

    MSL Group on overdrive with social media

     

    By Rishi Vora

     

    MSL Group, the Publicis Groupe’s flagship speciality communications and engagement network, is upbeat about its foray into the growing world of social media. Afer it acquired communications major Hanmer & Partners and later PR and social media firms 20:20 Media and 20:20 Social respecitively, it has now clubbed the social media practices of Hanmer and 20:20 Social under the umbrella of MSL Group India Social.

     

    The group has adopted a unique approach towards tapping the social space for clients in India and abroad – it has created three key capabilities: Plan, Build and Engage. Of the two, Plan and Build are the revenue-drivers, wherein a lot of work goes into providing insights, strategy planning and developing web, mobile and social applications; creating content, communities and conversations.

     

    The company recently launched its proprietary tool – The People’s Lab, a global crowdsourcing platform and approach designed to help businesses embrace innovations. It is a platform which works across multiple application areas; provides end-to-end support, including custom design and content creation.

     

    In 2010, Dell India used an early version of People’s Lab platform to create the Dell Go Green challenge for design students and others to share ideas on how to redesign, reuse and recycle gadgets to make them go green. The idea to create Dell Go Green challenge came from the fact that the client owned a recycling programme, besides having conducted several other CSR programmes.

     

    A mini site was created using the People’s Lab and the result was quite pleasing: About 650 ideas got shared, 25,000 members on Facebook and 8,000 votes.

     

    As is known, Gaurav Mishra launched 20:20 Social and now heads the group’s social media business in India. He is Asia Director – Social Media, MSL Group. Mr Mishra told MxMIndia that the company now plans to launch many more tools that will offer clients comprehensive social media solutions. “Our core differentiation in the social media space is in offering tools; we are in the business to create platforms which bring people together and programmes which energise people. We want to create more tools, more frameworks, so that we can go to clients and offer them solutions that’ll contribute in solving much bigger problems.”

     

    Parveez Modak

    People’s Lab was created in India, led by Parveez Modak and is now sold to clients in Singapore and Italy. “We’re discussing with clients in US, Poland, Taiwan, and in India,” informed Mr Mishra.

     

    He added: “Once we have developed enough tools and capabilities in India, we will look to educate whole of our network and make efforts to spread awareness to our group companies in different parts of the world.”

     

    MSL Group India Social is now working towards creating a corporate citizenship offering globally. As Mr Mishra explained, it is a network of 150 senior members of the group spread across regions – board members, global board members, regional presidents and others. The idea is to bring forward a thought leadership team that can provide insights, views and opinions on various topics ranging from “How clients are looking at Change Management Differently” to Employee Engagement, Corporate Citizenship, Innovation, business opportunities and so on.

     

    How will the Social space evolve in India? Where is it headed? What kind of solutions are clients seeking from specialists? According to Mr Mishra, the market for social media services will pick up dramatically now, and clients will be on the lookout for companies that possess the talent to develop in-house capabilities, and solve greater and much complex marketing solutions within the social space.

     

    Globally, MSL Group has about 200 professionals dedicated to social media; about 60 of them in Asia and, for now, 30 in India. Mr Modak, who other than social media also leads the integration function at Hanmer and Mr Narendra Nag at 20-20 Social constitute Mr Mishra’s core team for MSL Group India Social.

    “Revenue-wise, India is still fairly small, China is becoming increasingly big in terms of size of the market, but there is ample opportunity in India,” concluded Mr Mishra.

  • The Times of India Group launched TWeek, first of its kind digital magazine at the INMA platform.

    TOI launches TWeek at INMA

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    The Times of India Group launched TWeek, first of its kind digital magazine at the INMA platform. The weekly will be released every Friday and can be accessed from iPhone, iPad or any Android tablet device.

     

    Elaborating on the product, Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet Ltd, said, “The idea to launch this came seven days ago and digital provides the platform where content can be put together at such a short time. TWeek is largely sourced from content that is available on our blog verticals that we put together. Its content that has long shelf life and brings out the flavor of a week.”

     

    He added, “Its content that is repackaged in a format that works on iphone, ipad and whatever other android tablet devices available. It allows interactivity associated with the medium but at the same time is low on cost of production.”

     

    Mr Khiani calls TWeek the first digital magazine that doesn’t have print counterpart in India. However, he did add that the print version of the magazine could be planned in future. The magazine will cater to the youth. Apart from content that is available in form of blogs, it will also have original content like its cover story to attract more consumers to access it.

     

  • is the No. 1 channel in the region with leading prime time shows like Jerry Di Adaalat, Veer Hawaii De, Amreeka Di Top Model and international movies

    Spark Punjabi emerges winner for BIG-CBS

    By A Correspondent

     

    Spark Punjabi, the innovative international Punjabi channel launched by BIG-CBS, the Reliance Broadcast Network and CBS  jv, has reported excellent ratings by TAM. The channel has been rated as the leader during primetime of 7pm-12am, according to TAM reports, week 3-6 2012 (TAM India: CS4+ Males, Punjab 1 Mn+)

    With its endeavour to offer hand-picked world class content, dubbed in Punjabi to the audiences, the channel offers advertisers the best possible platform that they could seek, to reach out to audiences with minimal spill-over. The region is one of the richest regions and boasts of a strong base of affluent consumers. The market offers a good business opportunity for this channel format as it has excellent TV and C&S penetration, coupled with limited local language entertainment options.

     

    The channel is being supported by an integrated marketing plan leveraging multi-media platforms. With RBNL’s existing radio brand 92.7 BIG FM reaching 22 cities in the region and its OOH arm BIG Street’s 3,000+ ambient media options across the markets, BIG CBS Spark Punjabi offers marketers an integrated media opportunity.

     

    Speaking on the rating, Vishal Rally, Business Head, BIG CBS Networks said: “The strategy of taking world class content, tailoring it to meet local sensibilities and catering to the entertainment requirements of the people of Punjab has worked! Audiences have lapped up the channel, while advertisers are seeing excellent value for their brands.”

     

    The channel is available across Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh (PHCHP) region and distributed on digital and analog platforms, with an extensive reach of over 6mn+ C&S households in the region.

  • The account was previously handled by MPG and is estimated to be at Rs25 crores

    Madison World’s Platinum Media wins Dixcy media AOR

    By A Correspondent

     

    Platinum Media, a unit of Madison Media Group has just announced that it has won the media planning and buying account of Dixcy Textiles. The account was previously handled by MPG and is estimated to be at Rs25 crores.

     

    Tirupur-based hosiery giant, Dixcy Textiles markets its products under the names Dixcy and Dixcy Scott. Within a short span, the company has been able to garner a healthy market share because of high customer satisfaction of all products offered by the company. The company is into inner wear, thermal wear and casual wear and has aggressive growth plans.

     

    “We are delighted that Dixcy has appointed us as their Media AOR and are confident that we will be able to add a lot of value to their business and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership,” said Basabdutta Chowdhury, CEO, Platinum Media.

     

    “Talks were on for almost two years about this shift and also new product launches and the expertise of the agency to handle the same has made us take this decision,” said Rahul Sikka, Director, Dixcy Textiles.

     

    Madison Media Group comprising Madison Media and Platinum Media is a part of Madison World, which also has specialist units in Advertising, Business Analytics, Out-of-Home, PR,Mobile, Rural, Retail, Sports and Entertainment employing over 1,000 communication professionals acrossIndia,Sri LankaandThailand. It is India’s foremost media agency group handling media planning and buying for blue-chip clients including Airtel, Godrej, Cadbury/Kraft, ITC, General Motors, Marico, McDonald’s TVS, Britannia, Procter & Gamble, Asian Paints, Tata Tea, Levis, SpiceJet, Axis Bank, Domino’s, Bharti Axa, MaxNewYork Life Insurance, Tata Salt, Acer, Dish TV, Imagine TV, Indian Oil and many others. The gross billing of Madison Media is Rs3,000 crores.

     

  • Contribution of premium items is growing in most FMCG categories, giving a breather to marketers fighting rising input costs and slowing overall demand

    Young urban users and modern trade boost demand for premium FMCG products

    By A Correspondent

     

    Makers of packaged food and personal care products are increasingly focusing on premium products as rising aspirations of young urban consumers and widening reach of modern trade help boost demand for high-value, high-margin products.

    Contribution of premium items is growing in most FMCG categories, giving a breather to marketers fighting rising input costs and slowing overall demand, particularly in rural areas.

    “Consumers are moving from value-added products to products that offer value benefits,” said Shirish Pardeshi, executive director and co-head, research, at Anand Rathi Securities.

    Big retailers play a key role in increasing demand for premium products within a category, by helping companies directly engage with consumers.

    Future Group, the country’s largest retailer, has reported premiumisation in the last several quarters. “Consumers are upgrading and there is not much impact of the external economic scenario,” said Devendra Chawla, president, Future group food and FMCG businesses.

    Mr Chawla said the trend of premiumisation is high in categories like soaps – the premium variants (priced above Rs 35 per soap bar) accounts for 40 per cent of sales at Big Bazaar – biscuits and detergents.

    Premium cream biscuits and cookies are growing 20-25 per cent a year, double the pace of mass variety Glucose and Marie biscuits, according to Parle Products, the country’s largest biscuit maker.

    Contribution of Glucose and Marie to the biscuit market has slipped to around 55 per cent from 65 per cent in the past one year, according to B Krishna Rao, group product manager of Parle Products.

     

    SUPERMARKET DRIVE

    Modern retail has been the saving grace for FMCG companies that had warned of slower growth this fiscal, more so after they had to resort to multiple price hikes of up to 15 per cent due to increases in commodity costs and pressures on margins.

    Retailers such as Future Group and Spencer’s Retail have reported rise in average purchase size of most product segments, confirming the premium drive.

    Anand Mour and Shariq Merchant, analysts with financial services firm Ambit Capital, wrote in a report in January that growth is moderating in rural India, but aspirational consumption of young urbanites is driving premiumisation. Expansion of modern retail, which accounts for less than 10 per cent of the country’s Rs2 lakh crore retail market, will facilitate this premium drive.

    A recent Nielsen study expects Indian shoppers to increase spending on FMCG at modern retail to $5 billion, or about Rs24,700 crore, by 2015 from $1.8 billion, or Rs8,900, in 2011.

     

    NEW PRODUCTS

    “Absolute price is no longer the only consideration, the price benefit equation is what needs to be managed,” says Jayant Kapre, president of McVitie’s India, a subsidiary of British confectionery firm United Biscuits. The firm has rolled out a premium range of McVitie’s Hob Nobs biscuits.

    Now Nestle is expected to launch a chocolate dessert called Fudge priced at Rs200, according to industry insiders. GSK has launched Horlicks Gold at a 30 per cent premium and within six months it has generated sales equal to 3 per cent of the more than Rs1,500-crore flagship brand. Marico, Dabur and ITC are all gung-ho about such products.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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

     

  • Xtra is the first ever 24-hour news channel geared towards movie buffs in Andhra Pradesh

    AP viewers to get Xtra dose of Bollywood

    By Rishi Vora

     

    Monica Broadcasting Pvt Ltd, a Hyderabad-based broadcast company has launched Xtra, tthe first ever 24-hour Telugu news channel geared towards movie buffs in the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP).

     

    Launched on January 13, it caters to young audiences in the age bracket of 15-30 in all regions of the state. The content includes news centred around Bollywood, Hollywoodand Tollywood; comprising of celebrity interviews, gossip, events/page 3 news, lifestyle and so on.

     

    Mr. Nagesh Nagi, one of the promoters of the channel said that a unique part of the channel is its hi-fi graphics and presentation, which is a huge audience puller for the industry which produces 200-300 movies a year.

     

    Commenting on the how the channel has progressed in a month’s time, Mr Nagi said: “The channel has a mass appeal, though it caters primarily to the youth. So far we have got a very good response. Our interesting line up of content and the on-going marketing campaign will help us cover a fair amount of ground in a few days from now.”

     

    He further informed that Xtra is the first channel in the genre of filmy news in AP and that they expect competition in form of new channel launches in the near future. The channel has tied up with all cable operators in the region. And, by the end of this month, it expects to cover every TV household in the state.

     

    When asked on the response from advertisers, Mr Nagi said: “We expect advertisers to come in and advertise with us, as we are targeting the youth. We’ve already got a few advertisers on board – Santoor is one such advertiser. We’re expecting to close a few more deals in the near future.”

     

    As for the channel’s marketing efforts, the broadcast company has undertaken an extensive outdoor campaign in Hyderabad and other key locations in AP. It has also tied up with Big FM for promotion on radio. The channel’s tagline, 100% Filmy, is based on the passion that people of AP have for movies.

     

    Monica Broadcasting, founded in 2008, airs Telugu news channel – Mahaa news – in AP.

     

  • E-shopping could get a major boost as familiar & friendly grocery stores come online

    Networking the neighbourhood kirana @ AaramShop

     

     

    Aaramshop, a venture that makes shopping for essentials in FMCG and CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) easy with just a click of the mouse, may be just about seven months old but has been making steady progress. As the name suggests, it is about shopping aaram se, the difference being that it has brought the local kiranas/ banias/ mom-n-pop store on its platform thus making possible for consumers to purchase their daily needs online and what better than it is delivered by your trusted neighbourhood shop that you have been visiting all this while. Aaramshop.com has partnered with1400 independent retailers across the country and plans to grow this number significantly by the end of the year.

    A concept that has not been tried before especially in the e-commerce where its largely dominated by players catering to travel, gifts and apparels and even when there are few who have ventured into selling grocery, fruits and vegetables, the AaramShop model is different as it is bringing into its fold the existing local shops into its domain. Vijay Singh, CEO & Managing Director, AaramShop, talks to MxMIndia’s Tuhina Anand in an exclusive interview and explains the concept behind his venture and the dynamics behind the ever-changing face of e-commerce in India.

     

    In the last few months that you have been running AaramShop, what has been some of the key learnings?

    It is always fantastic to see raw thoughts and ideas turning into reality – and that’s what being happening at AaramShop over the last 7 months. We launched the site in mid-June last year and it was the one of its kind of venture, anywhere in the world, so we did not really have clear benchmarks to follow.

     

    So far, almost all our thoughts and ideas have been reinforced and we are very positive about the future of what we have created. Every member of the brand marketing & retailing eco-system has embraced the idea of AaramShop with enthusiasm.

     

    How do you see the venture going further?

    Today, we are the commerce partner to over 1,400 independent retailers across the country and we will grow this number multi-fold by the end of the year to ensure that every household in the top 10 cities can order their preferred FMCG brands via their trusted independent neighbourhood retailer (AaramShops as we call them) and get it at their doorstep in a matter of a few hours. We intend to scale to approx 20,000 AaramShops.

     

    We are starting to see brands integrating the advantages of the AaramShop platform within their digital marketing assets. This will extend the integration to all marketing initiatives by brands, including print ads, social media, campaign sites, and so on, as it will enable to them to ensure a critical last mile connect.

     

    In a move to make the online shopping experience exciting, AaramShop has introduced its unique product listing option that envelops the shopper in a complete brand experience. The innovation would enable marketers across FMCG / CPG categories to take advantage of the proliferation of online videos and all other digital content and consumers’ increasing engagement with that content.

     

    You have said that AaramShop is just a platform and your revenue model is not dependent on it. Can you elaborate on the revenue model?

    We don’t believe that the typical e-commerce models would work for the FMCG/CPG brands, predominantly on account of absence of deep discounting by brands and the fact that FMCG brands are extremely well distributed across the country and widely available across 12 million plus stores across the country.

     

    At AaramShop, we believe there is no need for more shops (on-ground or online) – the opportunity, however, is in making the existing shops available on the web so that the consumers can do their shopping with added ease, without needing to trudge down to the market.

     

    AaramShop, therefore, has been created as a hybrid retail platform for sales and marketing of FMCG/CPG brands to busy urban consumers. The platform offers the consumers the convenience of selecting from thousands of FMCG brands and then leverages the strengths of neighbourhood retailers to ensure last mile fulfillment of the orders.

     

    AaramShop is a free-to-use platform, not just for the consumers, but also for the retailers and, therefore, it does not disrupt the financial arrangements that the brands have already put in place.

     

    We have created a number of premium opt-in services for brands to use to connect in a more meaningful manner with consumers. These premium services are predominantly built around analytics-driven marketing, advertising options online and offline, AaramShop centric opportunities, and so on. Our revenue model is centred on premium services and brands have started to use some of these services.

     

    Buying grocery online, what are some of the logistics nightmare that you have faced in the last few months?

    Since the last mile of our model is completely managed by independent retailer partners who undertake the warehousing and the fulfillment of orders within their stores’ normal footprint – we do not face any logistics related nightmares. This is the core strength of the retailers within their geographical footprint.

     

    How open have the local kiranas been of joining this platform?

    The ‘kirana’ (independent retailers) are extremely keen to join the platform. They see it as an opportunity to become more relevant to the modern consumers. AaramShop, as a free to use platform, is open not only to ‘kiranawalas’ but also to neighbourhood “pharmacies” as they tend to stock and sell a lot of personal & beauty products.

     

    The independent retailers realize that they are unable to ensure a great “shopper experience” within their small stores and hence tend to lose out on larger orders. However, when they merge the online convenience of AaramShop with its access to thousands of brands with the local distribution and delivery capabilities that they already have, they realize that the combo could be a possible winner.

     

    The digital readiness of a lot of these retailers is still low, but I believe these are quite easily addressable with some technology innovations – and that is when the number of partner retailers would shoot up.

     

    You have been venturing into new and innovative arenas. So what is it that an entrepreneur should keep in mind when going alone especially looking at long term sustainability solutions?

    I don’t believe there is any fun in trending a path that is well-walked.

     

    The environment around us has changed completely in the last five years and consumer behaviour has transformed, however we tend to keep throwing the same set of solutions for the marketing challenges that the brands face. It is important to reboot.

     

    My religion is still marketing; it is the rituals that have changed. This change is dictated by what I see as incredible changes that are happening all around us and, to stay relevant, one needs to change.

     

    We have created a solution which integrates Local + Social +Mobiletrends of the days and it enables the interlinking of the Zero Moment of Truth of brands with their First Moment of Truth.

     

    So long as we can continue to provide an important connect for the brands, consumers and retailers and creating value across the eco-system, we believe that our premium services would be much sort after.

     

    How have you been promoting AaramShop?

    We have not aggressively started to promote AaramShop yet, as the focus is still on building the channel and ensuring we get the technology right. However, in the past and also going forward, our promotion strategies are based on:

    • Extensive use of social media – for example we were the first grocery store on Facebook.
    • Micro-geographic marketing, using the excellent footprint of AaramShops.
    • High quality CRM – grocery buying is a done 20 times a year by an average household, and we want to reach out in a meaningful manner and based on past purchase behaviour to ensure repeat usage.

     

    What are two key goals for your venture this year?

    While we have already released our mobile apps for all platforms, our focus would stay on making AaramShop more easy to use on mobile devices. We believe that mobile is the future and we will release a number of apps that will address different needs of different users in the year ahead.

     

    The other big focus area is going to be the BrandEngagementCenter. The BEC (www.brandengagementcenter.com) enables brand owners and their agencies to seamlessly manage and monitor their brand/products performance on the AaramShop platform. It is also our ad & analytical centre and we would like to ensure more users to start trying their hands on it.

     

    Having said that, I think the list of priorities is very long and we will be fighting on a number of fronts.

     

  • Happy days are here again for the Indian cricket board. The Board of Control for Cricket in Indian and Sahara India Pariwar have concluded their discussions and, as they say, kissed and made up

    All’s well as BCCI gets back its Sahara

    By A Correspondent

     

    Happy days are here again for the Indian cricket board. The Board of Control for Cricket in Indian and Sahara India Pariwar have concluded their discussions and, as they say, kissed and made up. Here are the terms of endearment… specifically, the BCCI “took note” of the various requests put up by Sahara and has agreed to the following:

     

    1. To extend the trading window, which was due to close on Friday, February 17, until Wednesday February 29 to give Pune Warriors India the opportunity to have successful negotiations with other franchises as it looks to strengthen its squad.

     

    2. Reactivation of the Auction Purse of Pune Warriors India so that it can take a number of players, subject to the squad composition regulations.

     

    3. BCCI and Sahara have agreed to start the arbitration proceedings initiated by Sahara through appointment of an arbitrator to address Sahara’s claim for a reduction in franchise fee for 74 matches.

     

    4. BCCI does not have any issues with Sahara seeking a strategic partner in the Pune Warriors India franchise, subject to terms of the Franchise Agreement.

     

    5. In respect of their request to sign overseas players who were not included in the Auction Register, subject to the relevant player regulations, BCCI agrees to the request subject to the views of all other franchises.

     

    6. Sahara has requested for one of the play off matches scheduled to be played in Bengaluru to be played in Pune. The right to host the Play Off matches is awarded to the finalists from previous edition, in this case Royal Challengers Bangalore. BCCI, in principle, is agreeable to hold one of the Play Offs in the new Pune stadium, subject to the consent of RCB.

     

    7. Sahara has requested to furnish the Bank Guarantee against the Franchisee fee in two instalments; BCCI will consider it at the next available opportunity.

     

    8. Notwithstanding the recent working committee’s decision of rejecting five foreign players in the playing eleven, in consideration of the exceptional circumstance and the non-availability of Yuvraj Singh, Sahara has offered to obtain the consent of all the franchises for the submission to the BCCI.

     

    The joint statement signed by Messrs N Srinivasan, BCCI President and Subrata Roy Sahara, Managing Worker and Chairman of the Sahara India Pariwar adds that Sahara confirms that it will continue sponsorship of the Indian team adding Sahara may want to exercise its right to assign the sponsorship as per the agreement.