MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • Veteran radioman Anil Srivatsa, impressed by the speed of spread on social media, talks about his internet-based radio company, and the special-interest internet radio service Radiowalla.

    [MxM Radio] The viral effect is baffling: Anil Srivatsa

    By Robin Thomas

     

    Entrepreneuring is said to be in his blood, considering his first job straight out of college was his own business. He has been a veteran of the media field since the past 20 years. He had launched a radio show called ‘Anil Ki Awaaz’, in New Jersey, USA and ‘between the sheets’ in India. He also launched an internet radio channel for Asian Americans. Anil Srivatsa is the Co-Founder, CEO Venturenet Partners Pvt. Ltd. (promoters of Spot Radio and Radiowalla). Prior to launching Venturenet Partners, Mr Srivatsa was the CEO of Kings XI Punjab and before that he was the COO Radio Today Broadcasting.

     

    In conversation with MxMIndia, Mr Srivatsa spoke at length about his Bengaluru-based internet radio company, Venturenet Partners and its soon-to-launch Radiowalla, a service that offers a variety of special interest internet radio channels. He also spoke about Spot Radio, a b2b digital in-store radio entertainment, the break-even plans, and much more.

     

    Q. We are already in the middle of March 2012, and Radiowalla is scheduled to launch in April 2012… Is the schedule on?

    Yes, we are on schedule to launch in April. However, there are different stages of launch and the beta launch will happen where a close group of people with get to use the service. This will take place within the next few weeks.

     

    Q. Are you seeing an increase in the curiosity level among people? What’s the kind of reaction you are receiving?

    Well, the curiosity level seems to be increasing but the one phenomenon I am unable to figure out is the fact that three weeks ago we had only 260 ‘Likes’ on the Radiowalla Facebook page and today we have over 5000 ‘Likes’ despite us not doing anything to move the needle. It’s probably the viral effect. So, going by all the viral activity we are receiving on the Facebook page, it seems like people are waiting in anticipation.

     

    Q.What about Spot Radio? It’s been a while since launch… What’s the team size?

    Spot Radio is doing extremely well; we are best- in-class. We have competitors but, I don’t think there are any companies that have more clients than we do. However it is just notabout numbers but our product, our service, our pricing and our timing. Everything speaks for itself. Our team has been working well. We’ve got a small team putting out 30 radio stations today. We have 30+ clients which meanswe are actually churning out 30+ radio stations with five (Creative) people. We have a total strength of about nineteen world class professionals. I keep saying world class because our talent and product is world class, and it just goes to prove that you don’t need 30 people to run one radio station.Infact, I need 20 people to run 30+ radio stations.

     

    Q. You are currently headquartered in Bangalore… Are you looking at setting up studios in other parts of the country too?

    We will set up a studio in Delhi. Ithas a lot to do with the kind of content we want to generate out of there and tap into some great talent available there. We have an outfit in Chennai. Mumbai will be the last, not because it is the least important but, because it is the most expensive to set up an office. So, we are trying to do all what we can everywhere else before we come to Mumbai. Our presence in Mumbai will be felt soon but for now I travel to Mumbai and take care of business development out of there. We may forge a partnership with a strategic partner in Mumbai (Once we find the right partner).

     

    Q. What is your view on content innovation on radio and tell us what led you to start Radiowalla?

    I think we have been speaking about innovation in radio for the last five years since I have been involved with the business in India. I think the problem here is that the industry seems to be confusing innovation for differentiation. There is plenty of innovation happening, there is no lack of innovation in radio today. There is infact a lack of differentiation and unless an industry captain takes a personal professional risk this will not change for some time now. Nobody wants to take a risk aseveryone is worried about their next job. I have spoken to many of my peers who secretly harbor ambitions to be able to do something different but none is willing to bell this cat. Great ideas exist among the radio professionals.

     

    I took a risk to a point that I lost my job over it. Radio needs patience. There is no collective will to do something different. If one of them is following one format let them follow that format, there is always a space for another format. This will actually create more advertising spread. Advertisers will be forced to buy advertising on all radio formats to reach a broader section of people with diverse interest had radio organized by format. Now what is happening is that all radio is alike so the advertisers pick the top 3 and leave out the rest as they are reaching the same audience. I believe format differentiation will increase the ad pie and as a result force a more equal distribution of the ad money. This approach would have been better for the Industry in general. Rising tides will raise all ships.

     

    Q. And this was one of the reasons for Radiowalla…

    Yes, Radiowalla is about content differentiation and on the internet because distribution is the least of my problems. The internet allows me to create a hundred channels if I want to. This is what Radiowalla is about. It is a platform of audio content which is differentiated in each of its channels, giving a choice to the audience i.e. whoever wants to listen to whatever content, and at any time. We are a linear radio format. What the music industry calls a non-interactive format of delivery. So, it is not just the idea but, technology that supports the idea and the execution of it that makes an innovative product happen.

     

     

    Q. You had said that you would initially launch only audio channels. Why? 

    Audio has so much depth. I am not even thinking beyond audio because there is so much to do in audio! It is a non- invasive media. I can do ten things and still engage with audio, unlike any other where it is a one dimensional engagement. Audio is more effective in thought change. I equate Audio to guided Meditation. It is difficult to meditate with your eyes open. Audio has no visuals and therefore more engaging to the mind -Less distracting.

     

    Q.So, you will launch 30 radio channels… Will news be one of them?

    Atleast 30 radio channels as of now and yes news will be one of those channels. There is enough to do with non music content. There is only so much music you can do. You count all the genre of any music in English and Indian languages. You can’t find more than thirty. We are trying to cater to the long tail. The focus is on non-music production to add to the magic of music.

     

    Q. Do you think in the long run internet radio in India is a feasible one?

    Of course it is feasible. I draw the analogy from terrestrial TV, cable TV and DTH TV. What Doordarshan started was terrestrial television,now is cable television not television? Is DTH not television? Is TV on the internet not Television? Are they all not viable/feasible? What you are seeing now is radio on FM terrestrial frequencies, it doesn’t mean that what happens on internet is not radio. It is the same but, the distribution medium is different. Terrestrial television was different from cable television which is different from DTH which is different from television on the internet but all still Television. Similarly FM is one way of delivering radio, and not the only way.

     

    Q. Should the traditional radio stations in India start worrying about the advent of internet radio?

    Well they should worry as anyone would with a competing platform growing…Traditional terrestrial radio has their limitations. There can only be so many frequencies. Traditional radio will never die, all I am saying is that internet radio just offers an extremely different canvas, where you can paint different pictures, it’s affordable and yet has a business model around it.

     

    Q. What is the business model you follow? Is it advertising led or do you have alternative source of revenues?

     

    The business models are traditional. We have a combination of Ad support and subscriptions.To use jargon, the freemium and premium models. There are certain channels that will be available as subscription only and commercial free, while some channels would be available for free but, supported with advertising.

     

    Q. And what about Spot Radio? It is a b2b arm of Venturenet… How does it function?

    We create radio for specific brand identities in the retail and corporate space. So the business model is very simple, they pay us for the service to manage their network and some of them allow us to sell third party advertising… so we generate revenue which we share back with our client.

     

    Q. You are building infrastructure, recruiting experts, setting up studios etc. How else are you utilizing the Series A funding? What will the next round of funding focus on?

    Our progress on infrastructure building is very public. I have pictures up on our facebook page at every stage. We now have about 19 people and will grow to a few more. The funding has helped us get to this point as it was intended to. As far as the next round of funding is concerned that is a matter of strategy as it is based on a certain milestones that we reach and if we reach those milestones quicker we get to that funding quicker.

     

    Q. And what are those milestones…?  

    Well, they are revenue milestones and there are business expansion milestones. I believe that if we stay with our current business planit will take us about 18 months to reach a certain milestone but, if we are accelerating that and achieving it sooner, then clearly we need more funding quicker. Thus it is just a matter of which stage we are in now.

     

    Q. When do you plan to achieve break-even?

    Break-even should happen in 18 months but, if we had another ten clients in Spot Radio we should have operationally broken-even. I hope to get to this stage inside 18 months.

     

    Q. How would you measure the success of Spot Radio or Radiowalla? What is the benchmark for success?

    For Spot Radio, the benchmark for success is very simple.It is as many clients as we have who are paying us and if we start meeting our advertising revenue targets then this is a measure as well. As far as Radiowalla is concerned, the quality of content is the benchmark to success because that will automatically start giving me customer acquisitions. Eventually the number of customers we have will ultimately determine how successful Radiowalla is.So, it’s all in the numbers but, what leads to the numbers are where I am focusing and it the quality of content that will help me retain my customers. I focus on quality of content.

     

    Q. Any specific plans for 2012 thatyou would like to share with us? What can we expect from Venturenet this year?

    All I can say is that it is going to be an exciting growth phase for us in 2012. We are looking at further consolidating ourselves, and grow more clients.We are looking at related areas that have not been exploited yet and which are perhaps under the radar as of now. So yes lot of action plans this year.

     

    Q. Do you see the internet radio market further growing? Do you see more internet radio players in India?

    Internet radio is a great opportunity! In terms of a global listenership it is a bigger business than an FM station in one city. We are only the beginning of it. There are plenty of those ideas going around and I am sure there will be many who fail and many who will succeed.

     

    Content is still King, distribution can be King Kong but, it will still be a monkey without content. Radiowalla is a content company agnostic to technology. We are adaptive to new emerging distribution technology and we will keep one eye on it. We are focusing on good content and that’s where we are meeting the needs. When you can have your own phoolwalla, doodhwallah, chaiwallah,sweetwalla then now it’s time to get your own Radiowalla.

     

    Q. On a lighter note, how has life changed after becoming an entrepreneur?

    I have always been an entrepreneur. So, life has not changed because I like this life and that is why I am in it. In fact my first job out of college was my own business, at 21 I was running my own City magazine for Bangalore. So to me being an entrepreneur is in my blood and every job I have had since then have been in a startup environment, for someone else in their founding team and as a senior member in their founding team. The difference now is just that I am doing it for me and I am the only one I can blame if I don’t do well. With all the ups and downs I have seen in life as an entrepreneur, the one good thing that has happened is that my life is now recession proof. My greatest achievement so far!

     

  • The General Body of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) has unanimously elected Pradeep Guha, representing the Advertising Council of India, as the Chairman of its newly mandated Executive Committee for a period of four years.

    Pradeep Guha is Chairman of AFAA

    By A Correspondent

     

    The General Body of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) has unanimously elected Pradeep Guha, representing the Advertising Council of India, as the Chairman of its newly mandated Executive Committee for a period of four years.

     

    Talking to MxM India on the agenda for AFAA, Mr Guha said, “We will have a steering committee meeting in Bali in May this year where we will take a decision on the way ahead. However, I do feel that there is a need for some joint action across Asia on issues concerning the changing media environment particularly with regard to self regulation and advertising.”

     

    He continued, “There is a real need for an umbrella body like AFAA which represents the interests of marketers, agencies and the media to play a more proactive role in the Asian subcontinent.”

     

    Raymond So who represents Taipei Association of Advertising Agencies was elected Deputy Chairman. The new four-person committee consists of Bharat Avalani, Anthony Kang (representing Association of Accredited Advertising Agents, Singapore), Soon Dong Lee (representing Korea Federation of Advertising Associations) and Ramesh Narayan (representing the Advertising Council of India ).

     

    Founded in 1978, AFAA has representations in 15 Asian nations including Japan, Korea, Taipei, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and UAE. Its primary objectives are to unify all Asian associations involved in the various aspects of advertising and upgrade the standards, ethics, and practices of advertising and to bring about a meaningful contribution from advertising activities to both regional and national socio-economic development. Under its aegis, AdAsia, Adfest and the Asia Pacific Media Forum is held.

     

  • Cleartrip has appointed Samyukth Sridharan as President and Chief Operating Officer.

    Samyukth Sridharan joins Cleartrip as President and Chief Operating Officer

    By A Correspondent

     

    Cleartrip announced the appointment of Samyukth Sridharan as President and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he will be responsible for providing leadership across the businesses.

     

    Mr Sridharan has a vast amount of experience in scaling businesses in a way that brings considerable value to the customer, the company release said, adding, “Having Samyukth join the team is a further endorsement of Cleartrip’s committed goal of making travel simple. We are optimistic that despite the considerable challenges that exist in the travel space today, Samyukth along with rest of the Cleartrip team, is equipped to provide the most innovative and useful travel experiences to all of our customers and partners.”

     

    Prior to Cleartrip, Mr Sridharan was at the helm of Sales and Marketing for over 18 years across a diverse range of industries spanning FMCG, Insurance, Advertising and Aviation.  Most recently, he served as Chief Commercial Officer at Spicejet, where he led the business expansion, making it one of the leading low-cost airlines in the country.

     

    An IIT Madras graduate with a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM Bangalore, Mr Sridharan is a Marketing Major.

     

  • DNA made a splash by innovating with a 5th colour, promoting Tupperware's newly-launched water bottles.

    Water bottle for the front page of DNA

    By A Correspondent

     

    DNA initiates a path breaking front page innovation on the occasion of World Water Day DNA is known for its revolutionary approach towards almost everything it does and along with the daily news analysis; this English daily is impeccably marching ahead in making a change in the traditional newspaper industry.

     

    On the 22nd of March, when people grabbed their copy of DNA they experienced a refreshing change with a brand new colour on the front page. On the occasion of World Water Day, DNA and Tupperware had teamed up to showcase a new product by this well known high quality smart kitchen solutions company.

     

    Every newspaper, until today was getting printed in a four colour system through an offset printing machine, whose colours namely are CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) and occasionally various newspapers experimented with Gold or Silver. But the first time ever, in the history of Indian newsprint industry, a broadsheet has a shade of blue as a part of their printing colour palate and a live edit to make believe the trueness of the Tupperware bottle and making people comprehend a fresh and pure colour of blue on the well deserved occasion of the World Water Day.

     

    “Tupperware was launching their aqua fresh water bottles and we chose World Water day, March 22nd, as it was a perfect fit for the announcement. We wanted to do something exciting for Tupperware and this is when DNA came up with the concept of innovating it in a three-dimensional way. It’s the first campaign of the year for Tupperware and stands as a clear communication for all readers to drink fresh and healthy water”. – Surbhi C. Murthy, AVP, Allied Media This was done to launch the Tupperware bottle that is so pure and perpetual that it could be used for life. There could be no better gift for the readers than this, on the occasion, isn’t it!

     

    “Tupperware’s Aquasafe Bottles provide a quick, sustainable solution to safe, healthy water for consumers. Towards this, we have embarked upon an advertising campaign which is based on clutter-breaking innovation to generate buzz amongst the consumer. Committed to make the world a better place to live in, Tupperware endorses the idea and cause of effective water storage solutions and lends its whole-hearted support to the World Water Day.”  Anshu Bagai, Director- Marketing, Tupperware “Water bottles are a significant part of Tupperware’s range of products. The ‘Sip of Bliss’ campaign was created to celebrate water. What we wanted was to have an innovative kick-start for the campaign. And there could not have been a better way and a better day than the World Water Day, on March 22nd,   to launch it with a special innovation using a special colour to make it memorable and effective”  Jyotsna Chauhan, COO,  IBD India Pvt. Ltd.

     

    “Tupperware’s summer campaign is all about the romance and the sheer bliss of water.  The DNA innovation provided a refreshing twist in taking the idea further.” Jai Singh, Senior Creative Director, IBD Brands, Gurgaon. Explains Mr. Nirmal Kanthode, the DNA Production Head “The printing process had to be altered to create the depth of the Tupperware colour. After the normal 4 stage process, a 5th printing round with a special ink had to be done to create the magical effect. While this sounds easy, doing it for a full run of 6 lakh copies with high speed machines meant meticulous calculations & calibrations to ensure no delay & perfect output. Any shade change would be disastrous & we would have no way to stop it either.”

     

  • Pune Warriors India will dazzle on the ground in new turquoise blue and silver jerseys.

    Sourav Ganguly to lead Pune Warriors in IPL5

    By A Correspondent

     

    Pune Warriors India, the IPL franchise of Sahara India Pariwar, has announced that all-rounder and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly will lead the side of Pune Warriors India as Captain and Mentor in the fifth season of the IPL, to be played from 4th April, 2012 till 27th May, 2012.

     

    Pune Warriors India team in IPL 5 will don new turquoise blue and silver jerseys. Turquoise blue color stands for zeal, confidence and victory, the very attributes and motto of a Warrior.

     

    The Pune Warriors India’s bowling coach is Allan Donald while Praveen Amre is the batting coach. Paddy Upton is the mental conditioning and high performance coach of the team.

     

  • The fourth Mirchi Music Awards honoured music talent across 24 categories as Radio Mirchi paid its tribute to music with much extravaganza and fanfare. Royal Stag was the title sponsor.

    Rockstar wins album of the year at Radio Mirchi Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The fourth Mirchi Music Awards honoured music talent across 24 categories as Radio Mirchi paid its tribute to music with much extravaganza and fanfare. Royal Stag was the title sponsor of Mirchi Music Awards. The awards were held on Wednesday, March 21, 2012.

     

    Bollywood personalities like Saif Ali Khan, Shreya Ghoshal and Bappi Lahiri, Mika, Sonu Nigam, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Lalit Pandit, Salim-Suleiman, Ram Sampath, Sajid Wajid and Leslie Lewis were also among those personalities that performed during the awards night. Ash King, Harshdeep Kaur, Neha Bhasin, Anushka Manchanda, Tochi Raina, Shweta Pandit, Dominique and Clinton Cerejo, Kamal Khan, Suman Shridhar, Shefali Alvares, Benny Dayal and Ritu Pathak were among other celebrities at the Awards.

     

    There were 24 categories of awards at the fourth Mirchi Music Awards. The winners were decided by a jury that consists of notable personalities from the Indian film and music industry – Javed Akhtar, Ramesh Sippy, Ashutosh Gowariker, Sooraj Barjatya, Prasoon Joshi, Sameer, Shankar Mahadevan, Anu Malik, Aadesh Srivastava, Lalit Pandit, Kailash Kher, Louis Banks, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik, Sadhna Sargam, Suresh Wadkar, Talat Aziz and Ila Arun.

     

    The Mirchi Music Awards – Winners List is as follows:

    1. Best Programmer & Arranger – Abhijeet Nalani & Giorgio Tuinfort for Chammak Challo from RA One

    2. Best Song Representing Sufi Tradition – Kun Faya Kun from Rockstar – A.R. Rahman, Javed Ali, Mohit Chauhan and Irshad Kamil

    3. Best Raag Inspired Song – Khoya Kya from Kashmakash – Hariharan, Sanjoy Das, Raja Narayan Deb

    4. Special Recognition to Pandit Channulal Misra

    5. Best Upcoming Singer of the year Male – Kamal Khan for Ishq Sufiyana from The Dirty Picture

    6. Best Upcoming Singer of the year Female – Tia Bajpai for Sheet Leher from Lanka

    7. Best Upcoming Music Director of the year – Harshit Saxena for Hale Dil from Murder 2

    8. Best Upcoming Lyricist of the Year – Seema Saini for Sheet Leher from Lanka

    9. Best Song Recording – Vijay Dayal and Mark ‘Exit’ Goodchild for Chammak Challo from Ra One

    10. Best Background Score – Ram Sampath for Delhi Belly

    11. Best Item Number Song – Ooh La La from The Dirty Picture – Bappi Lahiri, Shreya Ghoshal, Rajat Arora and Vishal-Shekhar

    12. Best Album of the Golden Era – Awaara (Shankar Jaikishen and Raj Kapoor)

    13. Royal Stag Make it Large Award – Dhanush and Anirudh – Special Award

    14. Jury Award for Outstanding Contribution to Hind Film Music – Babla Shah

    15. Best Indipop song – Mera Kya Hain Sab Hain Tera – Dil Ki Baatein – Javed Ali, Alaap Dudul Saikia & Ravi Basnet

    16. Best Song of the Year Mirchi Listeners Choice – Nadaan Parinde from Rockstar – A.R. Rahman, Mohit Chauhan and Irshad Kamil

    17. Best Album of the Year – Mirchi Listeners Choice – Rockstar

    18. Best Lyricist – Javed Akhtar for Khaabon Ke Parinde from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

    19. Best Music Director – A.R. Rahman for Nadaan Parindey from Rockstar

    20. Best Female vocalist – Sunidhi Chauhan for Ishq Sufiyana from The Dirty Picture

    21. Best Male Vocalist – Kamal Khan for Ishq Sufiyana from The Dirty Picture

    22. Best Song of the year – Senorita by Shankar Ehsaan Loy

    23. Best Album of the Year – Rockstar

    24. Lifetime Achievement Award – Khayyam

     

  • FICCI and I&B ministry to hold a seminar on 'India going Digital: An Industry Interaction with Stakeholders'.

    FICCI-MIB discussion on digitization on March 27

    By A Correspondent

     

    Digitization in TV distribution system is going to be a reality soon. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India has come up with a detailed roadmap to digitize the TV distribution system by 31st December 2014. And the four metros, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are to be digitized by 30th June which is just 100 days away.

     

    For digitization to happen successfully by the notified date, several steps have to be taken and one of them is to make the consumer aware of the benefits of digitization. A step in this direction of creating public awareness on digitization is being undertaken by FICCI in partnership with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. FICCI jointly with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is organizing a seminar on ‘India going Digital: An Industry Interaction with Stakeholders’ on the 27th of March, 2012 at 10:30am at FICCI Auditorium in New Delhi.

     

    The seminar will start with a presentation on Digitization by Supriya Sahu, Joint Secretary (Broadcast & Poilcy), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. The presentation will be followed by a keynote address by Uday K Varma, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Following the keynote by the Secretary of I&B, will be an interactive session and the seminar will finally end with a concluding address by Rajiv Takru, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

     

    The event is being supported by MxMIndia.

     

  • At the release of his book titled, 'Anna: 13 Days That Awakened India', journalist Ashutosh said his book was written in anger at the 'elitist' section of society for having failed to understand the anti-corruption movement, and he chose to write in English as he wanted them to read the book.

    Ashutosh: Anna book is written in anger

    Video and Text by Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Launching his book titled, ‘Anna: 13 Days That Awakened India’, in New Delhi, Ashutosh, well-known Hindi journalist and Managing Editor of IBN 7 noted that the book was not about Anna Hazare but about the larger people’s movement. Addressing a gathering of journalists, social activists, politics, family and friends at the book launch, he said, “People think that the book is about Anna Hazare, it is not about Anna Hazare. It traces the movement, from where it started, the principal actors of the movement, their confrontation with the government and the politics of the day. Basically it encapsulates the entire movement from beginning to end.”

     

    The 74-year-old activist, Anna Hazare released the book written by TV journalist Ashutosh on the agitation in Ramlila Maidan last August, at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

     

    In the book, Ashutosh weaves together the story of the thirteen days of Anna’s hunger strike. He had a ringside view of the developments, stationed as he was at the Ramlila grounds in New Delhi, the venue of the fast, and had intimate access to the two warring parties, the Congress government and Team Anna. Lauding the book, Mr Hazare said that it would be a great source of inspiration for the youth for whom this book will serve as a historic account of those thirteen days.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i96hzMWcMY[/youtube]

    Ashutosh told the audiences that he’d written this book in anger at the so-called ‘elitist’ section of society who, he feels, have failed to understand the anti-corruption movement led by Anna. He also said that despite being a Hindi journalist, he chose to write the book in English because he wanted this group of people to read the book. He said, “This book is written in anger. Anger because through the movement I realized there is a section of English intelligentsia which is refusing to understand the movement and they are unnecessarily trying to find faults and trying to project it as anti-democracy. These people I thought, had no understanding of reality, they had never been to the Ram Lila Maidan, so I thought if I wrote in Hindi these people won’t read it. I wanted them to read and realize that there is a section of society which is very angry with their stand. That’s why I decided to write this book. I wanted to take my battle to their turf to understand how wrong they are. I wanted to take the battle to those who claim to be the guardians of history but actually know nothing about it.”

     

    The book release was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Editor-in-Chief, IBN 18 Network, Rajdeep Sardesai. The panelists included social activist Arvind Kejriwal, BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy, and Anna Hazare. Talking about the Anna movement, Arvind Kejriwal, member of Team Anna said that three factors had led to the success of the movement. One was Hazare’s leadership, second anger of people against corruption and third was the fact that Team Anna provided an alternative to fight the menace.

     

    Responding to whether the movement had lost its steam, Anna Hazare said that we will come to know by 2014 whether the movement still has the steam. He said, “There are questions about the movement. Some people doubt that the movement has lost the steam. Whether the movement still has the steam, we will know in 2014 when the country goes to general elections.” He added that he will wait till mid-May to see whether Parliament passes a strong Lokpal law during the ongoing budget session and then embark on a nation-wide tour to awaken people about the issue.

     

    Mr Hazare also said that one law cannot end corruption and therefore what we need is a change in the system. BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “What we need is a change in the system. Bureaucrats are supposed to construct roads and MLAs and MPs make laws. However, in India bureaucrats make laws and lawmakers construct roads.” Mr Rudy asked how one could call India a functional democracy when a former Chief Minister, who was jailed for a multi-crore scam, gets elected to the Lok Sabha. Mr Rudy extended full support to Mr Hazare’s movement and appealed to Mr Hazare to urge good people to join politics.

     

    Rajdeep Sardesai expressed his reservations about the movement but he accepted that somebody has to take the lead in the fight against corruption.

     

  • Only 100 days to go for digitization and the ground reality does not look too promising at this point. MxM India spoke to a cross-section of stakeholders in distribution to get a clearer picture of the ground reality from the cable operators' end.

    100 Days to D-Day…but where are the Set-Top Boxes?

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Only 100 days to go for Digitization Day and the ground reality does not look too promising at this point. There is a mammoth requirement of set top boxes, Digital Addressable System (DAS) licences have not yet been issued to operators and several other issues remain unresolved as of now.

     

    To get a clearer picture of the ground reality from the cable operators’ end, MxM India spoke to Roop Sharma, President, Cable Operators Federation of India. Speaking of the ground level scenario, Ms Sharma said, “No DAS licences have been issued to the operators still. Until and unless the operator has the license, he can’t get a bank loan and unless the operator has the license, he will not want to order equipment which is worth no less than 1 crore. And more importantly there is no consumer demand for digital. This is only government’s demand because they want to curry favour to the broadcaster. There isn’t any incentive from the government either. They are only forcing a technology on consumers by mandating it.”

     

    But more than anything, the biggest problem as pointed out by Ms Sharma is the sheer unavailability of Set Top Boxes (STBs) in the market. She told MxM India, “You need a Set Top Box to go digital and where are the STBs? First there was talk of importing them from China but that will also take atleast four to five months. Now there are some vendors in India but for that too, the chip has to be imported from outside. There is a requirement of 30 lakh STBs for Delhi alone and this is counting only one TV per household. Also, where is the manpower to deploy all these STBs?”

     

    Another industry source told MxM India, “As per the declared number, there is a requirement of 10 to 12 million STBs but my experience says that the actual total count will be no less than 20 to 22 million, because they have only counted 1 TV per household. The boxes are just not there.”

     

    Ms Sharma feels that the government is pressurizing the smallest guy in the entire value chain, which is the cable operator. Talking of other unresolved issues, she said, “Even if the cable operator gets the STBs and gets the license, the government has not assured that every operator who gets the license will get the content. How can the operator make such a huge investment when there is no assurance of content? The government is only pressurizing the smallest guy in the value chain, they can’t pressurize the broadcaster, not even the MSO.”

     

    MxM India also spoke to Mr Neeraj Sanan, EVP- Marketing and Distribution, MCCS to learn of the state of readiness of channels and industry as a whole. Mr Sanan said, “In principle, the entire fraternity of MSOs, LCOs and DTH friends are united in supporting the lead taken by TRAI. In my view, Delhi and Mumbai are slightly ahead of Kolkata in digitization. Being a country where examinations to appraisals to income tax, everything happens at the last minute I see two things:  a huge last minute rush (that too provided TRAI holds it grounds) which will put operational pressure in implementation. I still hope that, in the larger interest of the community, that we see the sunrise of Digitization. Already we have taken a lead in creating consumer pull through tickers which have been running on MCCS’ three channels for a month now and if all players in the value chain do the same I am sure we can see a successful June 30 sunrise.”

     

    But as per another industry source June 30th seems quite unachievable, “There is a lot of resistance from LCOs and cable operators’ end. Their business is fragmented, that’s how they make their revenues, and digitization will put a stop to that. And moreover, none of the MSOs are really prepared because this requires a capital investment of 30 to 35 crore and they don’t have that kind of funding. The sheer size and the volume of the business is so large that you cannot do it even by December 31st. One thing is certain, it will create unforeseen situation on ground.”

     

    Ms Sharma feels that the deadline might seem possible only if STBs are made available. Listing out all issues that need to be addressed before June 30th, she said, “First and foremost, tariff needs to be in place. DAS licenses have to be issued. Interconnection agreements have to be in place. Revenue share has to be specified. STBs have to be made available in the market. And there have to be fiscal incentives given to the operators. Also, we need to have many consumer awareness programmes. All these problems have to be addressed if the deadline has to be achieved by the notified date.”

     

    She also added that the TRAI had only done one open house recently in Delhi but since the June 30th deadline applies to all the four metros, TRAI should have done an open house in each of these cities.

     

    What’s your view on Digitization? Do you think the four metros can meet the deadline? Email us at shrutip@mxmindia.com and editor@mxmindia.com.

     

  • Far from being a casual youth-centric online hangout place, Facebook is increasingly becoming the focal point for all things digital, including businesses, writes Hareesh Tibrewala.

    Comment: Is Facebook the new centre of the digi universe?

    By Hareesh Tibrewala

     

    Legend has it that the digital universe, as we know of it today, evolved from ARPANeT. And a lot of websites, portals, directory sites and search engines lay claim to the ownership of this digital universe in its early days, until Google came along and put a method to the madness. It became the de-facto gate-keeper of this world. If Google did not know of you, for all practical purposes, you were just some digital litter in some corner of this universe!

     

    For the past few years, Facebook is challenging Google’s role as the gate-keeper of this universe. Already the total number of minutes spent on Facebook by netizens equals the number of minutes spent on Google. And Facebook’s understanding of relationships, and of likes and dislikes in the cyberworld is by far deeper than what Google can ever achieve.

     

    And now, with the launch of “Timeline” feature for brand pages, Facebook is signalling perhaps its strongest intent to move to the centre of this digital universe. Here are some interesting features that implementation of timeline gives to brands:

     

    Brand pages on Facebook are now no longer pages, they actually become a brand website anchored in Facebook.

     

    The new timeline feature gives huge real estate on the brand Facebook page, for a brand to communicate its message. Once upon the time, the only real estate that the brand had was a very small display picture (DP) and a small left hand aligned banner. Pretty much all Facebook pages looked the same!

     

    But now there is a complete masthead that stands out and fills almost 1/3rd of the screen, all of it screaming ‘brand’. We will see very creative uses of this real estate, in time to come, which will enable brands to communicate their differentiation to the audience.

     

    Brands can pin a story of their choice to the top of the fan page, thereby ensuring that page visitors definitely view that story. Again some more opportunity for brand communication Fans always had the facility to communicate with the brand using the wall. But this was a one-to-all kind of communication. Now a fan can send a message to the page and do a one-on-one communication, almost like a “contact us” kind of communication.

     

    With the entire tab navigation now moving prominently to the masthead, and with a compressed drop-down list, a brand can create a complete website with these tabs (with individual tabs for about us, products, services, testimonials etc).

     

    So now a brand can have its complete digital presence as well as its community… both at one place. And as more and more of us depend on ‘referral’ based inputs for our decision making process, rather than ‘information’ driven inputs (that Google offers), we might see both consumers and brands finding the Facebook eco-system more conducive than the current Google dominated ecosystem.

     

    So is www.mybusiness.com now passe and www.facebook.com/mybusiness the new norm? And is Facebook now going to be the new centre of the digital universe? What is your opinion?

     

    Hareesh Tibrewala is Joint CeO, Social Wavelength.

     

  • E Raghavan, the Editor of Vijaya Karnataka, the Kannada daily from TOI and the weekly Vijaya Next passed away on March 24 of cardiac arrest at the age of 61.

    E Raghavan, Editor, Vijaya Karnataka and Vijaya Next is no more

    By A Correspondent

     

    E Raghavan, the Editor of Vijaya Karnataka, the Kannada daily from TOI and the weekly Vijaya Next passed away on March 24 of cardiac arrest at the age of 61. He had also been the Editor of The Times of India Bangalore and The Editor of The Economic Times, Southern Editions.

     

    Mr Raghavan had been a TOI veteran and been with the company for long holding various positions both at TOI and The Economic Times. He had started his career with The Indian Express later to move to TOI. He had also been an Editorial Consultant to DNA Bangalore.

     

  • First anniversary of Femina Tamil sees celebration of a glittering response to the magazine; WWM CEO Tarun Rai says more South editions are possible as it is a vast and exciting market.

    A Golden year for Femina Tamil

    By Archita Wagle

     

    The 1st anniversary special issue of Femina Tamil was unveiled by actress Amy Jackson, cover girl for the issue, and Tarun Rai, CEO, WWM, at a party held at Taj Coromandel, Chennai. Leading city jeweller GRT Jewellers partnered with Femina Tamil for this event, providing select pieces of jewellery from their newest collection for the anniversary issue.

     

    Femina Tamil was launched in April 2011, taking off from the parent brand with content customised to suit the modern, progressive Tamil reader.

     

    The anniversary issue is a special 200-page issue with the focus on Tamil Nadu. It includes a tete-a-tete with 10 most gorgeous women of South India, the fun side of Chennai explored in 24 hours, and scoops on the biggest scandals to hit Tamil Nadu in recent years.

     

    Additionally, there is a gold pendant that is the special cover mount for the issue. There is also a contest where readers can win jewellery vouchers, sarees, holidays and other gifts.

     

    The marketing campaign for the anniversary issue spans radio, print, Facebook and on-ground visibility through display, POS and inserts.

     

    Tarun Rai, CEO, Worldwide Media said, “We are very happy at the response that Femina Tamil has got, both from readers as well as advertisers. It has only been twelve months and Femina Tamil has already established itself as the magazine-of-choice of the discerning and progressive Tamil woman.”

     

    Commenting on the 1st Anniversary Issue, Tanya Chaitanya, Editor of Femina & Femina Tamil said, “It has been a year of remarkable grit, inspiring stories and women power. It has been a year of Femina Tamil. A huge thank-you to all our readers who have helped us gain an insight into their lives and who have given us a thumbs up. Here’s to a great first anniversary and many more to come.”

     

    ‘The perfect magazine for the modern, progressive woman’

    On the occasion of the first anniversary, MxMIndia talked to Tarun Rai, CEO, Worldwide Media, about Femina Tamil, the magazine industry, and whether there will be more Feminas in South India.

     

    Q: With 2011 witnessing a decline in the readership figures of dailies, monthlies and fortnightlies, how comfortable were you launching a new magazine in such a scenario?

    We launched Femina Tamil last April. For us, this was an entry into a new market where we tapped a whole new set of readers. The Tamil market is a large one, with multiple magazines being present in the Top 10 list of most popular magazines in the country.

    We have targeted the 20-29year old SEC A Tamil-speaking woman who is modern, progressive and forward thinking. Based on previous IRS figures, there was no Tamil magazine that was popular with this segment and it provided us with a perfect opportunity to enter the market.

    The increase in sales figures month-on-month has been promising and we are very happy to have been accepted by the readers.

     

    Q: What was the different approach you took… positioning and branding?

    Femina Tamil was positioned in line with the popular English magazines that are available in the market. The monthly magazine is a 140+ page glossy with production values and quality same as that of the parent brand Femina (English). The content is a mix of stories written specifically for the Tamil reader and popular features from the parent magazine.

    The magazine was targeted towards the progressive, modern, Tamil-speaking woman in the age group of 20-29 years from SEC A.

    All communication and branding was customised to speak to this woman – showcasing different aspects of her life and how Femina is the perfect magazine to suit her needs as she tackles different roles in her life. The campaign embodied the tagline of the magazine “for all the women you are”.

     

    Q:What was the revenue model you adopted? How has it helped?

    As in the case of all print media, this magazine also relies heavily on ad sales. The advertisers are a mix of local and national clients who have used this vehicle to reach out to their TG in this market. Additionally, we have relied on magazine sales through new channels like format bookstores like Landmark and Crossword. We have also worked aggressively to get subscriptions for the magazine. Tamil magazine market is primarily a sales driven market. We have rolled out several attractive schemes to bring in subscriptions both from ground activations as well as online channels through our subscription website www.timesmags.com and promotions on Facebook.

    Femina Tamil is also available on Magzter, the popular online magazine portal where it is receiving a good response from the readers in terms of downloads and online subscriptions.

     

    Q:There have been a lot of specials in the magazine. Was it a deliberate move? Has it helped?

    Femina Tamil has had a special theme in all its issues – this has ranged from Akshay Tritiya special in May to Ddiwali, Pongal and Valentine’s Day specials. We have also had ‘shopping’ and ‘bridal’ special issues. The aim has been to give readers something interesting to look forward to in every issue.

    Being a new entrant in the market competing against multiple old and established magazines, we have used our fresh and novel edit content to attract readers.

    The special articles, along with other edit initiatives have helped us gain a dedicated reader base in the market in a very short space.

     

    Some key changes we have introduced:

    The cover girl is always a woman who is a celebrity in Tamil Nadu. In the past, we have featured Trisha, Asin, Shriya Saran, Shruti Hassan and Kajal Aggarwal and Deepika Pallikal on our covers.

    The cover story is always an original story, covering topics that are relevant to t he reader.

    We have introduced a special column called ‘I want’, where our readers meet experts and learn a new skill like make up or baking – anything that they want!

     

    Q: Do you have the readership figures for Femina Tamil for the past year?

    We have not participated in IRS in the launch year. However, we have seen a steady growth in our numbers both from Trade sales as well as Subscriptions from the launch issue onwards. This is a positive indicator that the magazine has been well accepted by the readers. We plan to become even more visible and active in the market in the coming months to capitalise on the buzz created by our recent marketing activities and consolidate our position in the hearts and minds of readers.

     

    Our print run is 85,000 copies across South – 80 percent circulation is in TN, rest in main cities (Bangalore, Hyderabad and Cochin). While we have no IRS/NRS figs, however even if we take two readers per issue, we have 1,70,000 readers.

     

    Q: What plans for the future? Are you planning to launch in other South Indian markets too?

    South India is a vast market and is extremely exciting in terms of the scope it provides us to reach out to new readers. Yes, we are looking to launch in other South markets too.