MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • Amagi uses cloud-based technologies to launch new TV channels

    Konnichiwa! Amagi sets up office in Japan

    By A Correspondent

     

    Amagi, the leader in cloud-based TV broadcast platforms has announced the opening of its sales and support office in Tokyo, Japan. The office will oversee Amagi’s progression into the Japanese TV broadcasting industry, giving TV networks in the region improved access to its path-breaking channel playout and monetization solutions.

     

    The office in Tokyo will be managed by Shunsuke Matsuda, former Executive Technology Officer for Future Strategies at Panasonic. Matsuda commented “The office creates a range of opportunities for Amagi Japan and has great potential to further deepen our engagements with the Japanese broadcasting industry.”

     

    Amagi uses cloud-based technologies to launch new TV channels, manage the entire channel playout, localize content and targeted advertisements on traditional as well as OTT platforms. Amagi’s platforms deliver 99.99 per cent broadcast SLAs at nearly half the costs over a traditional set up whilst being reliable, flexible and cost effective.

     

    Matsuda commented, “TV networks in Japan are looking for cost-effective solutions for OTT and traditional playout, and are seeking partners who can provide both playout and ad monetization capabilities. Amagi’s advanced cloud-based infrastructure enables OTT and traditional broadcasters to manage their playout over the cloud as well as monetize mid-roll advertising in their content.”

     

    “Japan is a key market for us and our expansion into the region is a testament to the growing confidence of TV networks in our platforms and technology. It presents us with a tremendous opportunity to work with local broadcasters to positively impact their operational efficiencies and create more avenues for channel monetization,” said Baskar Subramanian, co-founder, Amagi.

     

    The company works with both large and niche TV networks globally, with over 1,000 installations in 10 countries.

     

  • The company aims to generate a high buzz across all the mediums through its 360 degree brand campaign

    Irrfan Khan to be the face of IndiaMART in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Online marketplace for businesses IndiaMART has appointed Irrfan Khan as the new face for its upcoming mega brand campaign, which is set to be rolled out soon. Popularly known for playing dynamic roles as an actor, Irrfan Khan will be the luminary pull in IndiaMART’s 360 degree brand campaign which would drive the brand philosophy ahead in the times to come. The campaign would seek to highlight the fact that IndiaMART is the gateway to fulfilling all the key requirements of buyers across the globe.

     

    Speaking on the association with Irrfan Khan, Dinesh Gulati, Director, IndiaMART, says, “IndiaMART has always stood apart for its deep commitment towards its clients, along with displaying responsibility, integrity and passion. Irrfan’s persona speaks a lot in line with these principles, and he also brings with him a certain sense of familiarity that a common man is able to connect with. Getting him on board was a natural and popular choice towards elevating the company’s corporate identity. We welcome him to the IndiaMART family, and sincerely hope to create a strong impact in the minds of our SMEs and people at large.”

     

    The company aims to generate a high buzz across all the mediums through its 360 degree brand campaign and seeks to connect with millions of buyers and sellers across the country.

     

  • Along with the name change, dCell was also instrumental in creating a new logo for Aakriti Group

    dCell unveils new brand identity for Aakriti Group

    By A Correspondent

     

    dCell, the strategic design consultancy division of Lowe Lintas + Partners, has successfully executed the re-branding of the AG8 Group back to its original name, Aakriti Group. Along with the name change, dCell was also instrumental in creating a new logo for Aakriti Group that resonates with the company’s belief of being future-ready.

     

    Aakriti Group is one of the fastest growing realty groups in India. The brief given to dCell was to create an identity that best represents Aakriti’s aspirations and work philosophy of always being there for its customers along their every step.

     

    Hemant Kumar

    Commenting on the brief given to dCell, Hemant Kumar, CMD, Aakriti Group said, “Though we had migrated to a new name just a few years back, there existed a strong residual emotional connect between our customers and the Aakriti name. Hence, it was only logical to go back to future. Furthermore, we needed an identity that best represents the group aspirations and work philosophy of always being there for our customers in every step.”

     

    Adding further Kumar said, “We were happy to partner with dCell who helped us in this re-branding project in a very strategic, logical and creative way delivering on all objectives set.”

     

    In the new logo unit, one of the ‘a’s in the wordmark has been crafted to create a brand shorthand. This represents the relationship Aakriti shares with its stakeholders/customers, a strong inseparable bond. This is metaphorically expressed via a shadow to the letter ‘a’. A round lowercase typeface is used to create a wordmark that is warm, approachable and welcoming.

     

    Arun Ahuja

    The colour system uses orange to lend vibrancy and represents optimism while grey symbolizes reliability, solidity, intelligence and innovation. Having the shorthand integrated within the logotype creates a unique, personalised logo with a strong personality that beautifully captures Aakriti’s work philosophy.

     

    Arun Ahuja, VP at dCell commented, “We have created a logo and a visual grammar that captures the people-centric philosophy that is at the very core of Aakriti’s ethos.”

     

  • Maheshwari has over a decade's experience across the Banking and Financial Services space

    Amol Maheshwari appointed National Sales Head at Bloomberg TV India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Amol Maheshwari

    Bloomberg TV India has appointed Amol Maheshwari as National Sales Head. As a part of his new portfolio, Maheshwari will be responsible to drive the business development for the premium business news channel across India. He will be leading a team of young Regional Heads and Account Directors who service a mix of corporates across PSUs, private companies, MNC segments and government business.

     

    Maheshwari has over a decade’s experience across the Banking and Financial Services space. Prior to joining Bloomberg, Maheshwari was handling Corporate Sales and Worksite Marketing for Bajaj Allianz Life, with an overall experience of ten years across Banking and Financial Services Space.

     

     

    Lavneesh Gupta

    Commenting on Maheshwari’s appointment, Lavneesh Gupta, COO – Bloomberg TV India said, “Amol, with his experience and deep understanding of the television business, will surely add tremendous value to the channel. I am confident that he will be a prodigious asset to the organisation and will help us reach the next level through his keen understanding of the business.”

     

    His key focus areas at Bloomberg TV India would be to nurture a strong Business Team and to significantly enhance sales revenue for the channel in FY 15, while improving Bloomberg TV’s penetration of client’s coverage across industries and dominate in Business News Space.

     

  • – CE0, Publicis South Asia & Vice President of The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) will be the Chairman of Goafest 2015

    Dates for Goafest 2015 announced

    By A Correspondent

     

    Nakul Chopra
    Pratap Bose

    The Organizing Committee of Goafest 2015 have announced the dates of the event.Goafest 2015 will be held on April 9th, 10th and 11th. The venue will be Grand Hyatt, Bambolim and the event will be open for all the delegates on all the three days. The ABBYs will also be held on all the three days.

     

    The Committee also announced that Nakul Chopra- CE0, Publicis South Asia & Vice President of The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) will be the Chairman of Goafest 2015 and Pratap Bose- President of The Advertising Club will be the Chairman of the Awards Governing Council.

     

    Goafest 2015 will be in its 10th edition and this is the 8th year that AAAI and The Advertising Club will come together to deliver ABBYs, India’s definitive awards that celebrate creativity.

     

  • Veteran mediaperson Ramesh Narayan was part of the Indian delegation at Digi Asia 2014 held in Taiwan from November 11-14. His report on the takeaways for India from the event

    Ramesh Narayan: Takeaways from DigiAsia 2014

    By Ramesh Narayan

     

    Taiwan has always been at the cutting edge of technology, and Stan Shih the founder and Chairman of Acer is someone who can claim to be the father of the now-humble calculator and the desktop PC. The venerable icon of the computing era was a great choice to kick off Digi Asia, the new title curated by the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) in Taipei on November 12, 2014.

     

    So what were the key takeaways from this conference?

     

    While technology is something that has heralded awesome change in our lives, we seem to have arrived at a stage where we are no more limited by it. If at all we are only limited by our own imagination. The era of hi-tech is giving way to the era of hi-touch. It’s more about the user. What she does, what she wants, where she wants it and how she likes it. Yes, even the logo of Digi Asia used the words ‘technology” and “humanity” in it signaling the complete shift from tech to decoding the user.

     

    The smartphone is where the future wars for marketshare and mindshare will be fought. And the terrifying thing is that the future is today. Gone are the days of predicting trends. These are days of digital tracking and exhaustive analytics in real time. Research, as we know it. is being comprehensively re-defined. Large corporates already have war-rooms with multiple screens tracking online chatter, analysing it and feeding it to relevant stakeholders for immediate action. The brave young world populated by younger Asians, and definitely younger Indians are a whole new breed and legacy managers couldn’t even begin understanding their minds. The best they can do is set up ecosystems that encourage the younger team members to think freely, experiment and come up with solutions that would resonate with their own age groups in the market.

     

    Life as we know it, even in India will really change once less expensive smartphones flood the market and more efficient data platforms are put into place. Both these are not wistful propositions but very real possibilities in the next 12-18 months. Then it will be time to apply every digital learning to tap into the enormous changes that will be felt all across the Indian market. And that means the savvy marketer is already putting in place her strategy to cope with all this disruption.

     

    There will be dramatic consumer shifts both from PC to Mobile, or in our case, straight onto mobile. There will also be a move from TV to Online Videos. Advertisers would need to move from Display to Native and Online video content along with cross-format, cross-device offerings. And Data-Driven Programmatic Buying could well be the order of the day. And of course what India’s Neeraj Roy said about planning for the transactional economy was well appreciated.

     

    And finally, while content will rule, the enabler of content will necessarily be the power behind the throne. Yes, creativity will be more in demand that ever before. Creative thinking that creates content fine-tuned for the digital medium, not adapted from traditional media. And this creativity cannot stop with creating ideas that garner awareness and induce sales in the immediate term. It must dare to innovate in a manner that keeps the customer excited and engaged while carefully eliminating complexity out of the innovative matrix.

     

    So let’s look forward to a breed of mavericks who discard old rules with the disdain they deserve. Who become the choreographers of the narrative spaces for brands and who are given the time to indulge in personal social responsibility (PSR) that create ideas that are genuinely useful to their consumers.

     

    Veteran mediaperson Ramesh Narayan was part of the Indian delegation at Digi Asia 2014 held in Taiwan from November 11-14.  This report appeared in ‘dna of brands’ issue dated November 17, 2014.

     

  • The DMA Echo awards are ranked among the oldest and most revered effectiveness awards on the international marketing calendar

    OgilvyOne shines for India at DMA Echo Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    At a gala ceremony held in San Diego on October 28, India’s OgilvyOneheld its head high as it bagged 4 DMA Echo awards (1 silver, 3 bronze) of the 9 metals that came India’s way. The DMA Echo awards are ranked among the oldest and most revered effectiveness awards on the international marketing calendar.

     

    An elated Vikram Menon, President and Country head, OgilvyOne India said, “This is wonderful not only for OgilvyOne but for India. What’s most delightful is that the wins have come for exciting work on some of our biggest clients – DuPont, Vodafone, Unilever and American Express. And we owe a large part of these wins to them.”

     

    Burzin Mehta, Sr Creative Director, OgilvyOne, Mumbai said, “An Echo win is extra special because of the rigorous nature of judging and the caliber of its international jury comprising marketing experts, clients and creative gurus. Few things are as rewarding as recognition from clients and peers alike.”

     

  • In the kitchenware segment in India, Borosil is a generic term for microwavable glassware

    Integrated e-commerce platform MyBorosil.com launched

    By A Correspondent

     

    Borosil Glass Works Ltd. has launched an integrated ecommerce platform – ‘MyBorosil.com’, which offers its entire range of consumer products. In the kitchenware segment in India, Borosil is a generic term for microwavable glassware. Borosil products are synonymous with elegance, dependability, safety and ease of use. Borosil has recently launched a range of 100 per cent pure melamine dinner-sets and servingware, and has also entered the small electronic home appliances space. These include products such as mixer grinders, induction cookers, digital cookers, toasters, sandwich makers, electric kettles, among others.

     

    “As our product range grew, there was no one store where you could see the entire product range under one roof. It was then that we decided that it was time to go online and launched MyBorosil.com,” shared Priyanka Kheruka, a third generation member and marketing consultant at the company.

     

    There is also a recipe section on the website that collates the best recipes and presents them in an easy to view format where one can save their favourite recipes in a recipe book for quick reference or share some recipes with the Borosil family!

     

    “Borosil was the first glassware brand to be sold online in India. When we decided to go online, many players refused to ship our products as it was too fragile. But we were so confident of our packaging that we decided to take on the liability in case of any breakages. And our breakage rate has been less than 1 per cent much lower than industry average. It is only after we proved that you can ship glass without a problem, that other ecommerce sites introduced that category too,” added Priyanka Kheruka.

     

    The company is betting big on its own e-commerce platform as well as other marketplaces for its consumer products.The Consumer Products division sells its microwavable and flameproof kitchenware and glass tumblers through over 5000 retailoutlets.

     

  • Proceeds from a panel discussion on Content Marketing held at MICA, Ahmedabad with Sanjay Tripathy, Kunal Jeswani and Sanjay Mehta

    Welcome, Content Marketing

     

    By Tanushree Bhatia

     

    It’s one of the biggest buzzwords in the media these days: content marketing. Advertising agencies are being forced to look beyond traditional ads to also include this new form of messaging in their offerings. And marketers have had to rejig their teams to be able to manage the new challenges thrown up by this new form of outreach. These and other issues were touch upon at a panel discussion at premier marketing and communications school MICA last Friday. The discussion was part of MICA’s annual marketing management festival Micanvas at its campus in Ahmedabad. The panellists were: Sanjay Tripathy, Senior EVP-Marketing, Product, Digital and e-Commerce, HDFC Life,  Kunal Jeswani, Chief Digital Officer, Ogilvy India, and Sanjay Mehta, Joint CEO, Social Wavelength and the proceeds were moderated by Pradyuman Maheshwari, Editor-in-Chief and CEO, MxMIndia and Consulting Editor, dna of brands.

     

    Sanjay Tripathy, Senior EVP-Marketing, Product, Digital and e-Commerce, HDFC Life

    Content was always a one-way communication. We then moved to blogs, social media and now there are multiple channels. It has increased manifold. It is very important to understand how the generation is changing. The readership of blogs has diminished over time. It is a checklist generation for example: 5 things to do, 10 things to do. It is all about instant gratification. Nowadays, constant monitoring and responding to user-generated content is more important than content creation.

     

    You can allocate 5 percent of the spends pie on digital and that can do a great job. I feel our social space is like personal space. Our social spaces are very segregated. You have to have a strategy as to what this strategy is best suited for.

     

    It’s not easy – but the age-old principle holds true: know your audience. For many companies, that audience is the always-on generation, which represents both their current (and future) customers, so smart marketing with them now can yield invaluable loyalty later on. If one is able to accurately target a few words or phrases that resonate with them, they will conjure a positive memory around your company, and, hopefully your product – so stay ahead of their game.

     

    Kunal Jeswani, Chief Digital Officer, Ogilvy India

    It’s about push/pull communication. Communication strategy focuses on push whereas content is around pull. It thus need not be created but can be sponsored. The content is designed to be either entertaining or add some value to the consumer. In the process of consuming the content, the consumer makes a brand association.

     

    My job didn’t exist five years ago. Things are changing and capabilities are being built. The digital medium plays a very important and large role in telecom, finance and auto sector.

     

    We have started to see things differently and the British Airways ad is the best example. The producer of the ad is not an ad filmmaker in fact he used to make expensive wedding videos. But the characters are real and none of the interactions are scripted. When you start capturing that kind of stuff is what I mean by content and not advertising.

     

    Consumers are very intelligent that way. No one can be fooled into it. Everything is usually branded example the Google ad. It’s clearly a Google film and no one is misleading you. But you still watch it like a piece of entertainment. What digital does is that it lets you do visuals. The only issue is how interesting you can make each element with a push.

     

    Sanjay Mehta, Joint CEO, Social Wavelength

    Today every company is a media company and they have a huge onus of creating tens of thousands of pages of content. A dilemma that is often faced by companies is the short attention span of a consumer. Gone are the days when there used to be long stories. We have shifted from emails to Whatsapp from SMS. And now there’s the Yo app. First the companies need to create content and then create content of interest. And who is the competitor? Everyone is a potentially great content producer. The world is rich with the quantity of content that gets created each day. Content has to align the agendas of both the brand and the user.

     

    There are question marks on user-generated content, but there are enough genuine reviews on the sites. There is a rating of the reviewer also for example in when I go to a Zomato, I see reviews by my connections first.

     

    This report first appeared in the dna of brands issued dated November 17, 2014

     

  • ZenithOptimedia has bagged the media mandate for Foodpanda.in

    ZenithOptimedia wins media mandate for Foodpanda

    By A Correspondent

     

    ZenithOptimedia has won the media mandate for Foodpanda.in after a selection process that involved a multi-agency pitch. This mandate covers all aspects of the company’s media planning & buying, and will include digital duties as well. Foodpanda.in is an online food ordering platform has launched a new TV ad campaign. The two TVCs, created by Cheil India, highlight the core value proposition of foodpanda, that of ensuring customer delight at every point in the food delivery process. The key message, “If foodpanda likes it, you will love it!” spells out the fact that anything one orders through the portal has already been screened through stringent yardsticks of quality to ensure maximum satisfaction.

     

    Hari Krishnan
    Anupriya Acharya

    Commenting on the win Hari Krishnan, MD, ZenithOptimedia said, “We are happy to bring on board a client like Foodpanda and look forward to doing some really exciting work with them.”   Rohit Chadda, MD and Co- Founder of Foodpanda.in added, “We needed a partner who has a deep understanding of consumers and their ever-evolving relationship with media. ZenithOptimedia impressed us with their strategic framework and ability to execute with speed and accuracy.”

     

    Anupriya Acharya, Group CEO, ZenithOptimedia says, “Over time we have expanded our presence in this sector where the ROI can be tracked 24X7. Also, this further consolidates our relationship with Rocket Internet, beyond Jabong and FabFurnish.”

  • A special team from Korea was assigned to develop the M-commerce website of the company

    Star CJ unveils new m-Commerce website

    By A Correspondent

     

    Home shopping network Star CJ has launched its m-Commerce website, bringing its products and services closer to its consumers. This move has been taken to take advantage of the growing number of mobile internet users in India, which presently is estimated to be 120 million, much more than the users using internet on their computers (estimated at 100 million). The other major reason behind this step is the overwhelming success experienced by the company for their mobile DM service, which was launched as a pre-requisite to this m-commerce website in June this year. The mobile DM service has been growing at an average month-on-month rate of 250 per cent fetching the company 55 per cent of the total sales through internet as compared to 45 per cent achieved from the e-commerce front. The company informed that a special team from Korea was assigned to develop the M-commerce website of the company, which is going live on 19th November 2014.

     

    The biggest differentiating factor for Star CJ’s m-Commerce website is the live access provided to the consumers buying products from distinct sellers on the platform to view Star CJ alive on their mobile phones. This will also allow the consumers to view live demonstrations of the products, over and above their images and specifications.

     

    Commenting on the launch of the new website, Kenny Shin, CEO Star CJ Network says, “M-commerce has grown phenomenally in India due to rapid growth in the smartphone sector. Star CJ looks at this platform as one of the greatest opportunities to penetrate further into the Indian market. The team has done an impressive job with the design, making it extremely easy for consumers to access and navigate through the website.”

     

    The website has been specifically designed for easy access and navigation on all types of mobile phones with internet. A direct link would be provided to the users, which will connect them to the Star CJ call centre on a simple click. This will smoothen and simplify the purchase, freeing the consumers from the tedious online payment process. Special discounts would be offered to the early birds, celebrating company’s presence on the m-commerce platform.

     

  • Sahil and Shalini will report to Lavneesh Gupta, COO, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd

    Big Magic announces induction of senior talent across functions

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sahil Kangotra

    BIG Magic has announced the appointments of Sahil Kangotra as Business Head and Shalini Gupta as Chief Marketing Officer for the television networks as BIG Magic, BIG Magic Ganga, BIG Thrill & BIG Magic International. In their respective functions, Sahil and Shalini will report to Lavneesh Gupta, COO, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd. and will be the torchbearers, leading the television team through its next level of growth.

     

    An IIM Lucknow alumnus, Sahil Kangotra joins Reliance Broadcast Network from ICICI Lombard GIC Ltd., where the last position held was in the capacity of Vice President – Corporate Solutions Group. With over 12 years of work experience Sahil’s expertise lies in building growth through effective trouble shooting and leading through people management. With an astute business sense and high resourcefulness, Sahil will be responsible for growing revenues and the P&L of the television business.

     

    Shalini Gupta

    Shalini Gupta, an MBA in Marketing, with her extensive experience of over 15 years, will be responsible for driving market share and viewership along with creating brand saliency and buzz for the television network. Shalini has been associated with brands/organizations as Bharti Airtel, Loop (BPL) Mobile, Parle Agro and Grey Worldwide across roles as Corporate Communications, Brand Communications and Marketing. With diverse expertise, Shalini comes across as an innovator, team player and motivator and will be responsible for creating a distinct perception for the television network.

     

     

    Lavneesh Gupta

    Commenting on the key recent appointments, Lavneesh Gupta, COO, Reliance Broadcast Network said, “Shalini and Sahil each bring on board extensive and diverse experience which will further augment our brand’s growth and performance. It is our immense pleasure to announce their association with our television business, and we are confident that their proficiency will enable us to lead us to our next level of growth.”