MxMIndia

Blog

  • Retailers say early signs are encouraging than the same season last year, although these are early days and total actual sales numbers cannot be predicted yet

    Good news! End-season sales lure shoppers back to malls & high streets

    By Rasul Bailay, Sarah Jacob & Sagar Malviya

     

    After a lull of more than two months, Indian shoppers are thronging malls and high streets once again, lured by the end-of-season discount sales, and bringing some relief to nervous retailers.

     

    Retailers say early signs are encouraging than the same season last year, although these are early days and total actual sales numbers cannot be predicted yet. “So far it has shaped better than last year,” said Kailash Bhatia, chief executive of Pantaloons department chain.

     

    Dipak Agarwal, chief executive of DLF Brands, that markets products of brands including Mothercare, Mango, DKNY, Alcott among others, said the average sales at the brands under the company’s portfolio doubled in the first week of July compared to the same period in June when the discount sales had not started.

     

    Retailers have been nervous about whether shoppers would open their wallets amid a slew of negative news on the economic front such as increasing fears of below-normal monsoon rains, slowest GDP growth rate in nine years, US President Barack Obama expressing concerns about India’s investment climate, increasing food prices and prevailing high interest rates.

     

    After lukewarm sales in May, many brands including Arrow, French Connection and Puma advanced the start of their end-of-season sales to the last week of June instead of the traditional July.

     

    Now, with a whole host of other retailers joining in with discounts, consumers are back in the street in large numbers, causing traffic jams in main shopping areas this weekend.

     

    At the Noida Sector 18 market near Delhi, for example, hundreds of shoppers were driving up and down this weekend looking for a parking space.

     

    “It seemed I was shopping in the US. The sale looked genuine. I bought two Lee and two Wrangler T-shirts, two pairs of Albatross leather shoes and five pairs of sandals for my six-year old from Lifestyle and I paid just Rs7,500,” beamed a shopper holding a clutch of shopping bags at The Great India Place, the largest mall in Noida.

     

    DLF Brands’ Mr Agarwal says many retailers were apprehensive of the slowdown and through early sales they were trying to avoid an inventory build-up. And he expects consumer spending to remain high in the coming months.

     

    Jitendranath Patri, head of marketing at Central, a department chain owned by Future Group, shared Mr Agarwal’s optimism. “There is a long festival season starting from August and consumers will have something to celebrate each month during Ramzan and Diwali,” he said.

     

    Others such as Arvind Lifestyle Brands CEO J Suresh and Indus League Clothing CEO Rachna Aggarwal, however, warn that the positive response to discount sales need not necessarily mean that the good run will continue post August when most of the sales are over. “End-of-season sales never gives the true picture,” said Mr Suresh. “It is more important to see if sales will stabilize after the discount sales period or if a slowdown will continue,” he added.

     

    Mr Bhatia of Pantaloons said more and more customers now wait to shop during the sales seasons. Almost 30 per cent of Pantaloons’ revenues are generated during the discount seasons for the last four-five years.

     

    While the footfall has grown this discount season, Mr Patri of Central said the average ticket size of a Central customer too has increased to 2,500 this from 2,300 last year, making it a double whammy.

     

    A spokesperson for German sportswear brand Adidas AG said the company was expecting double-digit growth at its like-to-like stores during the sales season and it has achieved that target.

     

    Lavina Rodrigues, marketing manager at Metro Shoes Ltd, which sells multi-brand footwear through 175 outlets across the country, said the company is yet to gauge the sales records for the two-day flat 50 per cent sale this year, but indications are it is same as July last year. She says Metro is generally able to sell almost 60 per cent of the old stocks during the sales periods. In some cities like Rajkot, where consumers are more receptive of the discount season, the company would get rid of almost 85 per cent of the old stuff.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

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

     

  • Localization of content has helped channels and networks to know and capture their TG well

    Strategy to use TV & radio simultaneously for max impact: Anand Chakravarthy

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    That regional channels are not a new phenomenon is evident when one surfs through various channels available today. And the available channels don’t seem to be enough as networks have launched, or are planning to launch, regional channels to tap specific target audience.

     

    So, when Reliance Broadcast Network launched Spark Punjabi, a regional channel for the PHCHP (Punjab, Haryana,Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh) region, earlier this year, there was no surprise or shock.s.

     

    Anand Chakravarthy

    Speaking on the role regional channel play for a network, Anand Chakravarthy, executive vice president, Marketing, RBNL and business head, Big Magic said: “India is not one country, but is formed of various countries. And in the past five-six years, there has been an increase in number of regional channels. Traditionally, only southern states had separate channels, but today the markets have opened up in other states too. And this is because of availability of better quality content.”

     

    Localization of content has helped channels and networks to know and capture their TG well. Mr Chakravarthy states that it’s not only regional channels which are going local, but also national Hindi GECs too. “Take a look at any primetime show on a GEC – you’ll be seeing the differences – right from costumes to language used by the characters is localized as well as the story of the show. This is because even GECs know that if they do so, it becomes more relevant to a certain set of audience.”

     

    The network wants to give its audiences a very local feel and want to be seen as part of the region. “We show dubbed international shows, along with specially created programming because it helps us reach our audience better. It’s our USP. And we’ll continue to make shows which are very regional in their approach.”

     

    However, what is unique about the Reliance Broadcast Network is its strategy to use radio and TV simultaneously to strengthen the hold in a region. “We do a lot of marketing on our radio stations which helps a show’s launch on television, as it is able to create a lot of buzz. We plan to strengthen our regional footprint and our strategy is to launch in regions where we have very stronghold as it will help us and also form a unique advertising  offering which will get us advertisers and help us grow as well,” pointed out Mr Chakravarthy.

     

    And this is why the channel – Spark Punjabi – along with 92.7 BIG FM, came together to conceptualize BIG Boli Star - a talent hunt contest aimed at promoting Punjabi Boliyaan (a traditional Punjabi form of art). “Punjab has a very rich traditional art forms and Boliyaan have been passed down from generation to generation. Spark Punjabi and 92.7 BIG FM are ensuring that this traditional art continues to flourish, both in the rural and urban areas of the Punjab region. The BIG Boli Star talent hunt is creating a new wave of enthusiasm for traditional Punjabi culture as well as bringing new talent to the forefront.” The show is currently the no 1 reality show in Punjab and was able to deliver a 0.77 TVR in the CS4+ category (week 27).

     

    The network also plans to launch more regional specific shows as well as two more regional channels in the coming few weeks.

     

     

  • The study by The Economic Times in partnership with Great Place To Work throws up a diverse line-up of companies as favourites to work for

    Google, HT Media, Vodafone bag ‘Best Companies to Work for’ accolade

    By A Correspondent

     

    A Google Maps-inspire Mural in the Hyderabad office. Photograph courtesy: Google.com

    It may not be the best of times to release a report like ‘The Best Companies to Work for’, given the low morale on the economy front and crunch in job opportunities prevailing in the marketplace. But there are companies that prefer to stand aloof from the depressing lot and would like to be counted as being amongst the best places to work for.

     

    The Economic Times in partnership withGreat PlaceTo Work have released ‘India’s Best Companies to Work for 2012′. The study throws up a diverse line-up of companies as favourites to work for.  Emerging the number one employer is Google India followed by Intel and NTPC at third. Further, five out of the top 10 companies are multinationals, pointing at the role played by global HR practices in stimulating employee satisfaction across workplaces in India.

     

    The study has been divided into the Top 50 and Top 25 best workplaces. When analysed further, only two out of the Top 25 Best Workplaces are companies which are new to the list of Best Workplaces, the rest having featured in the list in previous years. However, similar consistency is not seen in the Top 50 list in which there are 14 companies which have never featured in the list in India before.

     

    As for the standings, Gurgaon-based Makemytrip occupies the fourth spot, a drop from last year’s third rank. Amongst the media companies, HT Media Ltd is the only player to figure in the Top 25 list and is ranked 16th.

     

    Reacting to the win, Rajiv Verma, CEO, HT Media Limited, said: “This recognition is a testament to the strength and integrity of HT Media’s corporate culture. A few years ago, when we crafted a set of long-term goals for our company, we embraced the vision of being an ’employer of choice’. The recognition that we received from the study is a compelling sign that we have been moving in the right direction.”

     

    Other nominees include Cactus Communications that has been placed at number 20, Cleartrip Travel that is placed at 29th spot, Music Broadcast (operates radio channel Radio City) at number 41, Viacom18 placed at number 48 and Vodafone at number 49.

     

    In the category of Best in Class, Outdoor Advertising Professionals India Pvt. Ltd. achieves the top spot under Advertising & Marketing; Vodafone India Ltd. is number 2 under Telecommunications; Godrej Consumer Products Ltd., Procter & Gamble, Mars International India Pvt Ltd. and Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt. Ltd. are selected under FMCG; and Google India under IT.

     

    Some prominent companies that came up trumps across 22 sectors include: Vodafone India in Best Company in Large Organisations (more than 10,000 employees); Makemytrip, Cactus Communications & Cleartrip Travel Services under Professional Services, and HT Media Ltd and Viacom18 Media under Media.

     

    The study

    TheGreat Placeto Work® framework is based on over 27 years of research of the best workplaces across the globe from employees’ point of view. Some key trends spotted include: overall employee perception of their workplace culture has not changed significantly from 2011 – this is true for all companies, the Top 50, and Top 25 best workplaces in the Study. Thus, while individual companies may have done well or poorly in building trust with their employees, the workplace culture in India Inc., as perceived by their people, remains the same.

     

    Positive perceptions about their workplace culture continues to be high for senior management category compared to supervisory staff, with 7 per cent less supervisory staff giving positive feedback about their workplace culture. The study further reveals that 75 per cent of employees are below 35 years of age. While they are the majority in most organisations, their views about the workplace culture are significantly less positive than employees over 45 years in age. Only 20 per cent of employees, on an average, have worked in the same organisation for more than five years. There is a slow but gradual improvement in employee perception as one stays longer in an organisation, the study notes.

     

    As in the previous years, the Top 50 best workplaces are concentrated in Mumbai, NCR and Bangalore, but also have representation from Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. 35 of the Top 50 have more than 1,000 employees, with 14 out of 50 having more than 5,000 employees. Only 7 of the Top 50 Best Workplaces saw employee increases of more than 30 per cent in the previous year, and 6 actually reduced their workforce.

     

    Also, the percentage of women continued to be low with only 5 of the Top 50 employing more than 40 per cent women employees. Women constitute less than 10 per cent of employees in seven of the top 50. Only three of the Top 50 have more than 30 per cent of their senior management as women. While 15 out of Top 50 best workplaces have employee attrition of over 20 per cent, however, in all major industries, attrition for the Top 50, on an average, is less by one-third to two-third of the industry average.

     

  • Waku Doki adds no value whatsoever to the communication, and to think it’s the central idea! Worse, they are using it for multiple brands

    Debrief:Toyota: Yeh Waku Doki kya hai, bhaiyya?

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    It took me a lot of time to figure what in hell Waku Doki means. It sounded like Japanese to me, so I called a Jap pal for help. And he said it roughly means: ‘Excitedly waiting for something cool to happen’. Toyota has unleashed this Japanese colloquial phrase as the umbrella positioning for two of its brands: Fortuner and Etios. And the other common factor is cricketer Virat Kohli.

     

    In the ad for Fortuner, Kohli says Waku Doki to a kid who’s bored of playing video games. In the ad for Etios, the young cricket sensation plays the same trick on a heart-broken gal. And no prizes for guessing that in these ads Waku Doki means hitting the road in a Toyota. And once the car comes into the picture, it’s back to the usual shots of interiors and exteriors. And speed and dirt tracks, etc, etc.

     

    This is dicey stuff. Indians aren’t going to run around looking for a Jap-English dictionary to figure what Waku Doki means. And without that knowledge, the phrase means nothing, it’s pure nonsense. Which means Waku Doki adds no value whatsoever to the communication, and to think it’s the central idea! Worse, they are using it for multiple brands, so each individual brand story gets lost as we are left scratching our heads over Waku Doki.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWSrRYJHwl0[/youtube]

    I suspect Toyota opted for a Jap phrase to highlight the Japanese association of the mother brand. Where was the need for that? Bachcha bachcha in India already knows Toyota is a Jap car maker. They would have been better served by coining a desi expression, something like ‘Jhingalala’. So that at the very least the communication doesn’t go over the head. Though frankly, these gimmicky phrases are suitable for low-involvement products like wafers and candies. And not for vehicles which will set you back by lakhs of rupees.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 1. Incomprehensible and irrelevant.

     

  • In her new role, Ms Jatana will oversee legal operations and regulatory matters for all group businesses and joint ventures

    Network18 elevates Kshipra Jatana as group general counsel

    By A Correspondent

     

    Network18 Group has elevated Kshipra Jatana, EVP & Head Legal, News Networks to Group General Counsel. In her new role, Ms Jatana will oversee legal operations and regulatory matters for all group businesses and joint ventures including A+E Networks | TV18, Viacom18, HomeShop18 and India cast.

     

    Earlier, Ms Jatana was the General Counsel at Capital18, the group’s investment arm where she was responsible for deal structuring, legal and compliance for its portfolio investments.

     

    Commenting on this development, Raghav Bahl, Founder & Editor, Network18 said: “Kshipra has been instrumental in managing legal and structuring matters for us, across the group. While, our growth has been led by strong management teams at each of our businesses, the role played by group level talent in driving ‘Network’ synergies cannot be overemphasised.”

     

    Speaking on this, B Sai Kumar, Group CEO, Network18 said: “Apart from managing legal matters, Kshipra has played a critical role in structuring key ventures and transactions in the recent past. Her unique ability to work across businesses and address a range of challenges, positions her well for the task ahead, as the group moves into a new phase of growth.”

     

    Ms Jatana added: “It’s been a great journey and has been full of exciting milestones and the opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in the industry. As a group we are well poised with a strong foot print across all segments of the industry.  The challenge is to enable a strong defensive framework that allows all our businesses to grow while meeting high standards of legal compliance.”

     

    She brings with her 17 years of work experience in the legal advisory and corporate law space. Prior to joining Network18, she was the General Counsel/Head of M&A at MIH India and has also worked with Star TV and AZB & Partners in the past.

     

     

  • Even in the virtual world genuineness is appreciated, especially if the response is prompt and correction faster, says Saurabh Parmar

    The Anchor: 5 ways you can never get into a jam in the digital world

    By Saurabh Parmar

     

    1. Be a good listener:

    Digital is a two way communication medium, so before you start talking, start listening to what your customers are talking.

     

    2. Now understand:

    Get market research experts and your brand custodians to work on all this data and channel the insights to both your online and offline marketing.

     

    3. Get together:

    Don’t treat digital in a silo, integrate your touch points both in offline to digital banner campaigns, website, mobile, social media with each other. Integration is not just about giving links but really ‘getting together’ mediums to create a cohesive campaign.

     

    4. Be useful, fun or informative:

    It’s a crowded world out there with millions of brands and products talking. To connect with your customer make sure your message is either useful (What he is looking for), fun (what he will enjoy reading or sharing) or informative (makes him aware and interested)…just a higher media spend does not guarantee you more customers.

     

    5. Be real, say sorry:

    We all fu ** up, it’s better to admit it and rectify it rather than your customers creating a petition about you or criticizing you on blogs. Even in the virtual world genuineness is appreciated, especially if the response is prompt and correction faster.

     

    And the sureshot way…hire a better agency: Well the shortest and the easiest way of course is to hire a better agency

     

    Saurabh Parmar is Founder & CEO, Brandlogist

     

  • A lot of the credit for creating this culture goes to Google's hiring policy. The company is not always looking for the smartest candidates; it wants people who fit in

    What makes Google top ‘best companies’ list

    By Devina Sengupta

     

    It is difficult to pinpoint what exactly gives a giant corporation like Google its famous startup culture. Perhaps it’s the independence people enjoy, the absence of red tape or the freedom to disagree.

     

    Or it could be that the search giant has managed to pick the right lot of people – those who can come up with next big idea, or better still, help a colleague come up with it. And this becomes glaringly obvious to those for whom Google was not their first employer. Ramesh Ravishankar had worked with other firms before he joined Google Hyderabad and realised that this was a wholly different workplace.

     

    “Bosses work closely with you and you are never penalised for your failures,” he said. This is starkly different from most other companies where numbers and targets are paramount and there is no excuse for not achieving them. “We are in the business of selling ideas,” said Rashi Tyagi, who works for Google’s online sales team.

     

    A lot of the credit for creating this culture goes to Google’s hiring policy. The company is not always looking for the smartest candidates; it wants people who fit in and that gets gauged by the peers, juniors and bosses in an interview. When Jayashri Ramamurti, currently head of people operations, first walked in for an interview, she was interviewed by her (future) juniors before being accepted at Google.

     

    “They wanted to know my views on the compensation structure,” she recalled. While this was an unusual experience for Ms Ramamurti, she eventually realised why it was necessary. Google wants people who seamlessly fit into its culture. That’s why it pushes its employees to ask their friends to join them. It takes time for new people to settle into any organisation but if they’re known to employees, the transition becomes easier.

     

    Newcomers are given six months to watch and absorb Google’s ways of working before being put on a team. Mit Koradia said this led to a smooth transition for him, “Despite being surrounded by IIT and IIM graduates, I wasn’t uncomfortable with the transition at all. On the contrary, I was made to feel comfortable from day one.”

     

    Teams play a central role in the professional and personal lives of Google’s staff. Whether it’s a query on income tax or a piece of code, all one has to do is create a discussion thread online and the solutions come pouring in. Ms Ramamurti just returned from the US with medicines for an employee she had never met, after seeing a request on one such thread.

     

    Similarly, when Rashi Tyagi and her US-based colleague faced a roadblock in their project, they needed some clarifications from their Tel Aviv team. Within a few hours, they were patched on to a video conference with the team from Israel.

     

    At Google, roles are defined but not rigid. The company likes to whet the risk appetite of its employees by challenging them. Ayesha Chauhan was accepted as an account planner and within a few months, was moved to a specialist role, despite being relatively new at the firm.

     

    During appraisals, metrics are clearly defined and regular one-on-one sessions are arranged so that there is no haziness at the end of the year. The firm is making its reward system more frequent, flexible and fast so that employees will be rewarded for good work immediately. Every business decision has the HR as business partner to ensure that it remains about the people and not merely markets.

     

    Even the washrooms echo the entrepreneurial spirit of the company with zero per cent attrition. A poster featuring a Google employee talking about his working style is slapped behind the restroom doors. He says: “Keep doing your own thing. Till they fire you”. And firing someone for an idea, no matter how bizarre, is simply not Google’s style.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

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

     

  • Beleaguered English news channel NewsX has finally found a suitor in the Piccadily Group

    NewsX finds a benefactor in owners of India News & Aaj Samaj [updated]

    By A Correspondent [updated]

     

    The ITV Group promoted by Kartikeya Sharma and its associates have acquired control of INX News Pvt. Ltd. which owns and operates the English news channel NewsX.

     

    Speaking on the occasion Mr. Sharma, Managing Director, ITV said, “This is a logical market expansion for us and enables us to enter the English news domain while strengthening our presence in the broadcast and digital media space.  NewsX has emerged as a quality news provider with great growth potential and making it part of our group’s network of seven regional news channels will bolster news gathering abilities and create multiple synergies all around.”

     

    In 2009, Mr. Vinay Chhajlani and Mr. Jehangir S. Pocha had joined hands to run NewsX.  In a joint statement Chhajlani and Pocha said, “We are happy to hand over the channel to the ITV Group and acknowledge the contribution of the team that has earned NewsX much recognition.  Being part of the ITV Group will help NewsX transcend the limitations of being a stand-alone channel and give new thrust to the channel’s editorial and commercial development.”

     

    Our earlier report:

    Indi Media Network-owned English news channel, NewsX has finally found a suitor in ITV Media (Information TV). The details of the financial transaction are not known yet, though sources close to the development have confirmed the news to MxMIndia.

     

    ITV Media is the parent electronic media company which broadcasts 24/7 Hindi news channel, India News. ITV Media is part of the Piccadilly Group which also runs a print division that publishes a daily Hindi Newspaper, Aaj Samaj as well as a weekly Hindi magazine, India News. Headed by Mr Kartikeya Sharma, the company also has two regional news satellite channels, India News Haryana and India News Bihar. Mr Sharma is son of leading Haryana Congress leader Venod Sharma and the brother of Manu Sharma, a convict in the Jessical Lal murder case.

     

    NewsX which was earlier owned by INX News, was launched with much fanfare in March 2008. Later in January 2009, it was bought over by Indi Media Network, a partnership between the then Nai Dunia CEO Vinay Chhajlani and Businessworld Editor Jehangir S Pocha.

     

    Mr Pocha is currently CEO and Editor-in-chief of NewsX. An official announcement was made by Mr Pocha to the existing staff about the transaction in the afternoon and the new management is likely to speak to the team later today. MxMIndia learns that Mr Pocha reassured the team that he will continue as Editor-in-Chief. There were indicators that some resource sharing may happen with IndiaNews. A press communiqué is also to be issued.

     

     

     

     

  • Had the story not been shown on TV, would there have been such an uproar? But then did the journalists incite the violence as has been alleged?

    Ranjona Banerji: Media was hero & villain of Guwahati horror

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    The media turned out to be the villain and the hero last week. The case was the same – the shameful and horrific molestation of a young girl on a busy street in Guwahati last Monday night. The girl was apparently coming out of a bar where she had gone to celebrate a birthday party. She was then attacked by a mob which beat her and stripped her for about half an hour till the police arrived. The reason for the attack seems unclear as yet but it is enough to say that no reason is justification enough. What increases the shame is that there were several bystanders – it was about 9 in the evening and the area was crowded – who did nothing but watch.

     

    A local TV channel, Newslive caught the incident on camera. One version is that a passing reporter from the channel alerted his office. Another is that the channel “got to hear” and came rushing out. Editors of the channel claim that its employees called the police. The DGP says the call came from a neighbouring hotel. The editors of the channel also claimed that they debated for a whole day about whether to show the footage or not and decided that it was in best journalistic interests to show it, if only to help catch the perpetrators. The incident was televised on Tuesday. By Thursday it was picked up by the national media and went viral on the internet as well.

     

    By Friday, it was the news of the day everywhere. Most news channels showed it, blurring the victim’s face. She appeared to be a young girl being brutalised by this mob of men. The men’s faces were seen clearly. Most channels also interacted with viewers who were obviously outraged.

     

    In the early evening on Friday, Times Now put its own spin on the story and decided that it was not going to show the footage because it would only lead to the victim being further traumatised. The channel said it would only show the faces of the attackers. It then asked its viewers to call in and discuss whether the channel was right or not.
    The media itself was now an integral part of the story. The first question is one that journalists regularly face when covering such events – should they do their job and observe, collect information or should they have a human reaction and help. It is a difficult problem and probably has to be answered on a case by case basis by the individuals involved. But it is fair to ask whether the journalists on this case needed to watch for half an hour without stepping in. This was not a war, this was a street fight. One journalist appeared on TV saying he was too frightened by the mob. Headlines Today interviewed the girl, face blurred, who said she was begging for help which did not come.

     

    Rajdeep Sardesai, editor-in-chief of CNN-IBN, tried to grill Assam DGP Jayanta Narayan Chaudhury on why so few arrests had been made and why the police took half an hour to arrive but only got anodyne answers.

     

    Then there is the issue of whether showing the footage served any purpose. The sad fact is that had Newslive not shown the story, no one would have known about it nor seen, in all its horror, what such an attack looks like. The anger which was felt across the country was precisely because people saw what happened. Just reading or hearing about it is not quite so moving. The helplessness of the girl, the glee on the men’s faces – the brutish nature of the human condition was laid bare for all to see. Was Times Now therefore being too squeamish or even self-righteous?

     

    Also, by showing the incident, the faces of the men were clearly seen and some were even identified. (It is another matter that the main culprit, Amar Jyoti Kalita, also identified by his Facebook page, is still absconding.) Many viewers pointed this out to Times Now.

     

    However, the involvement of the media has now become murkier. An India Against Corruption activist from Assam, Akhil Gogoi, has handed over footage to the police which shows Gaurav Jyoti Neog, a journalist with Newslive, inciting the mob to molest the girl. Gogoi showed the footage at the Guwahati Press Club. Neog has resigned his job and said he is “cooperating” with the investigation.

     

    If indeed Gogoi’s allegations are correct, then the shame on the media is incalculable. Sadly this is not the first time that TV journalists have been accused of inciting people to horrific acts just to get a story. But some attempts need to be made to ensure that this is the last. The Indian media has enough problems without walking down the News of the World road to get a scoop.

     

  • Taking into account the growing popularity of the digital medium, ITC's Vivel FaceWash, along with Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and musician Shankar Mahadevan has launched 'India's first digital talent hunt' – MOBisur

    Hungama launches digital talent hunt MOBIsur

    By A Correspondent

     

    The mobile medium in the last many years have grown significantly, especially with 3G and now 4G coming in, there is great expectations from this medium. As wireless subscriptions continue to grow, billions of apps continue to be downloaded worldwide andIndiasaid to have the second largest mobile subscribers in the world.

     

    Taking into account the growing popularity of the digital medium, ITC’s Vivel FaceWash, along with Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and musician Shankar Mahadevan has launched ‘India’s first digital talent hunt’ – MOBisur.

     

    Mr Neeraj Roy, MD and CEO, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. said: “The reach of Internet andMobiletechnology has grown tremendously in the past few years. The aim of MOBisur is to create a talent-scouting engine in spaces that haven’t been explored in the past, via an entry ticket that is their everyday communication device.”

     

    This unique mobile- and internet-based talent hunt promises to give every Indian an opportunity to prove their singing talent. The property was launched by Shankar Mahadevan, Nilanjan Mukherjee, Head of Marketing, Personal Care Products Business, ITC Ltd; Bhushan Kumar, MD, T-Series and Neeraj Roy, MD and CEO Hungama Digital Media Entertainment in Mumbai on July 13. T-Series is the official music partner for the property, which elevates the talent hunt to an even higher platform.

     

    Mr Bhushan Kumar, MD, T-Series, said: “It gives us immense pleasure to be able to bring new talent in to the industry. As a music label, we are always looking for fresh talent and with a truly digital talent hunt; we have access to talent across the country. We are looking forward to releasing an album composed by Shankar Mahadevan for the winner of the hunt”.

     

    The entries for the digital talent hunt, MOBIsur is said to continue for the next 45 days and the duration of the property will be for three months. The marketing budget is pegged at Rs3-4 crore.

     

    Mr Nilanjan Mukherjee, Head of Marketing, Personal Care Products Business, ITC, said: “Vivel FaceWashis delighted to present Mobisur, an exciting and innovative platform to discover hidden musical talent. Vivel Face Wash MOBisur, in line with this brand philosophy provides a unique opportunity to aspirants to live their musical dreams.”

     

    5,000 talented female participants selected from entries submitted on the Vivel Facebook page www.facebook.com/itcvivel will make it to the second round.

     

    The contestants who clear the first stage of the auditions will be given specific tasks by Shankar Mahadevan, who said: “When I conceptualised this property with Hungama, the thought was to give every Indian an opportunity to participate in a unique contest to try and reach the pinnacle of musical genius. Music is a powerful medium that can come from the most unexpected places.”

     

    Based on their performance in the tasks and the votes secured for each task, they will be chosen for the next round. There are three tasks in all and after clearing all three tasks the contestants make it to the final round, which is the On-Stage Performance. Ten finalists will be chosen to perform in front of Shankar Mahadevan and two other prominent personalities, where the final two winners will be announced.

     

  • Reviewers pan 40-plus Saif Ali Khan for umpteenth cool, flirty dude role in the regressive 'Cocktail', writes Deepa Gahlot

    Reviewing the Reviews: Reluctant praise for ‘Cocktail’

    Cocktail

    Directed by Homi Adajania

    Produced by Saif Ali Khan, Dinesh Vijan

    Written by Imtiaz Ali, Sajid Ali

    Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Diana Penty

     

    Saif Ali Khan playing his umpteeth cool, flirty dude role, can’t carry it off now, at 40 plus. Which is one of the things Homi Adajania’s Cocktail got panned for, the other being its regressive stance towards women, while posing as a youth flick. The cheerful first half is absolutely at odds with the embarrassingly melodramatic and cliched second half.  What’s really sad is that in an urban story, set in London, the subservient girl gets the lechy guy, the wild girl was not thought worthy of even a jerk.

     

    The film got 2 to 3.5 stars, and a good opening, but reluctant praise, mainly for it’s breezy first half.

     

    Shubhra Gupta of the Indian Express wrote: “There’s this guy, he’s too cool, ya. Lives and works in London, chases girls, gets em, beds em, moves on. There’s this girl, she’s wild. Has this nice pad in a tony part of London, which she uses as a stop-over to change clothes in between all the partying. And, of course, there’s this other girl, who’s the ‘seedhi-saadhi’ type, you know, covered from top to toe, sweet, shy. Place these characters in a shiny glass jar, shake with a swizzle stick, and you get ‘Cocktail’. Which is just another name to call a one guy-two girls shtick, which is, as you and I know, one of the oldest in the book. ‘Cocktail’ starts off headily enough, and bubbles along till half time; post that, the sips get diluted, and the swallows take much longer.”

     

    Rajeev Masand of IBN Live cribbed: “Alas, Cocktail, directed by Homi Adajania, is no saucy menage a trois, although it does involve three friends living together in London, a little too close for comfort. No, Cocktail falls firmly in the rom-com space. But even as the tone shifts uncomfortably from breezy, light-hearted fun, to heavy drama in the second half, you’re never in danger of actually caring for the cardboard characters in this empty souffle of a film.”

     

    Raja Sen of rediff.com commented how spectacularly the film crashed and burned. “Adajania starts off breezily enough, all effortless-flirting and shotglasses and dramatically teary mascara, but the threadbare and increasingly inane plot unspools halfway through, leaving us with a shoddy, frustratingly random sequence of events. The last one-third of the film features the kind of emotional melee that can only be rightfully resolved by handing one of the girls a samurai sword. Alas, no such bloody respite is offered.”

     

    Karan Anshuman of Mumbai Mirror was disappointed by the writer Imtiaz Ali’s cop  out: “(He) goes on to self-censor, Indianize, romanticize, emotionalize, ergo commercialize the experience and give us a 1 part alcohol and 10 part water cocktail, an exercise in pointlessness. We now have abla nari, the Indian mother pushing marriage, and a… you get the point. All of this is well disguised of course with cutting edge club eveningwear on Deepika Padukone and luscious London.”

     

    Saibal Chatterjee was generous: “The heart has its reasons, the mind its methods. When the two are sought to be yoked together on Bollywood’s big romcom canvas, the result can be touch-and-go. One misstep either way could mean a hopeless nosedive either into mushy drivel or pretentious claptrap.  But no such worries here. For the most part, Cocktail, directed by Homi Adajania and scripted by Imtiaz Ali (a sort of high priest of the genre), steers clear of the pitfalls and delivers an eminently watchable love story that breaks the mould.”

     

    Taran Adarsh wrote: “On the whole, Cocktail has a fascinating first half, charismatic performances, harmonious music and the trendy look and styling as its aces, but the second half is not as tempting or intoxicating as the first hour. It pales when compared to the attention-grabbing first hour. Yet, all said and done, this one’s primarily targeted at the Gen Next, especially those in metros, who might identify with the on-screen characters.”

     

  • Many big marketers are looking at a more focused communication for their consumers across markets and this can very well be addressed by the regional music television channels, says Sandeep Bansal

    The Anchor: 5 reasons language music channels are the way to go

    By Sandeep Bansal

     

    1. Regional music channels are registering increased viewership. The regional music channels have provided a good television platform for local music which was earlier not there.

     

    2. There is a steady revenue growth @15 per cent for the regional television channels.

     

    3. More focused targeting for advertisers and hence less wastage. Many big marketers are looking at a more focused communication for their consumers across markets and this can very well be addressed by the regional music television channels.

     

    4. Capitalization costs are lower compared to national music channels as one does not invest in national deals for distribution, content, and so on. The lower capitalization costs bring down the turnaround period for the regional music channel.

     

    5. Since regional music is not mainstream, the music content is available at a much reasonable rate compared to Bollywood music content. Also the regional content is created with smaller budgets making it cheaper for the broadcaster to source the same.

     

    Sandeep Bansal is Managing Director 9X Tashan