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  • 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.

     

  • Remember these tips and stay Cool, says Anup Chandrasekharan.

    The Anchor: The 6 Cs of the TV business in South India

    By Anup Chandrasekharan

     

    Consumer: The consumers in South India are probably the most complex lot to understand. Each state in South has more than 20 districts and each district is a state on its own. Hence one can imagine the varied preferences of these consumers, and one has to find a path that will cater to and appease this varied audience.

     

    Connectivity: CNS penetration is more than 90 percent in all the four states put together in the South including TN, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. In fact, in states like Tamil Nadu it is said that they have more TV homes than toilets!

     

    Content: Content is the key to success for anyone in the business. In the South, audiences like to watch content which is good for family viewing. In terms of difference in content, in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh the general rule is that audiences like to watch content that is loud whereas in Kerala and Karnataka content that is subtle is preferred.

     

    Cost and Earnings: It is possible to invest prudently in content while keeping the cost of operations on a tight leash, thereby ensuring that ROI is high. The mantra is to invest in smart content and keep running and operations cost minimum, which is possible among the Southern channels.

     

    Capability: It’s a sad truth but the talent pool is scarce as there are hardly any good institutes which can impart basic training for a foundation to enter the TV industry. Hence most of the learning comes while being on the job.

     

    Competition: There are 17 channels put together in Kerala and Karnataka and 35 in total in AP and TN. Therefore, there is no space for being smug and content if one enjoys a leadership position. The tables can turn any time and the heat is forever on, as competition intensifies among the existing players.

     

    Anup Chandrasekharan is the Business Head, Suvarna Channel.

     

  • 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

     

  • Which are the most popular FM stations among women? MxMIndia shifts focus on women listenership trends in the four RAM (Radio Audience Measurement) – Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

    RAMcheck: What women listen to…

    By A Correspondent

     

    Which are the most popular FM stations among women? MxMIndia shifts focus on women listenership trends in the four RAM (Radio Audience Measurement) – Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata. The data consists of women who are 12 years of age and above, all places of listening from WK 47, 2011 to WK 6, 2012. The most popular FM stations among women in the four metros are Radio Mirchi, Radio City, Big FM, Red FM and Fever FM.

     

    Delhi:

    Fever FM is the most popular FM station among Delhi women listeners, followed by Radio Mirchi, AIR FM2 Gold, Red FM and Radio City – the top five FM stations for women in Delhi. The listenership share of Fever FM has in fact moved slightly higher on Wk 3 to Wk 6 as compared to Wk 47 to Wk 50. The top five FM stations in the city have managed to sustain their listenership rankings from wk 47 to 50, 2011 to Wk 3 to 6, 2012. The other FM stations in the city are Big FM, Radio One, Oye! FM, Hit FM, AIR FM1 Rainbow, Vividh Bharati and Akashvani.

     

    Mumbai:

    For the women listeners in the commercial capital, Radio Mirchi is the numero uno FM station, at least in terms of station share. Radio City is the second most popular FM station among the women listeners of Mumbai followed by AIR FM2 Gold which is ranked three. The other two FM stations in the top five category are Fever FM and Big FM, which are ranked four and five respectively. While these top five radio stations have received a double digit listenership share, the other FM stations in the city are Red FM, Radio One, Oye! FM, Vividh Bharati, AIR FM1 Rainbow and Akashvani.

     

    Bengaluru:

    The Bengaluru women listen to Radio City the most. Radio City has maintained its leadership position among women listeners from Wk 47 to Wk 50, 2011 to Wk 3 to Wk 6, 2012. Ranked second is Radio Mirchi followed by Big FM, the third most popular FM station of the city. Ranked four and five are Red FM and AIR FM1 Rainbow. The top four FM stations have infact witnessed their share per cent in double digits. The other FM stations in the Bengaluru market are Radio One, Fever FM, Radio Indigo, AIR FM1 Vividh Bharati, Akashvani and Gyan Vani.

     

    Kolkata:

    Radio Mirchi is clearly the most popular FM station for Kolkata women. The FM station has maintained a significant lead in the city with 25 per cent of the market share as on Wk 3 to Wk6, 2012. Its nearest rival in Kolkata is Big FM with a share of 17.2 per cent followed by Friends FM with 13.5 per cent of the share. Aamar FM and Red FM are ranked four and five with a share of 10 per cent and 9.5 per cent respectively. The other FM stations in the city are Fever FM, Oye! FM, Radio One, Power FM, AIR FM2 Gold, AIR FM1 Rainbow, Vividh Bharati, and Akashvani.

     

  • 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 Awards Governing Council of the Abby Awards at Goafest has announced its team of Jury Chairpersons for the Creative Abbies this year. This year, Goafest has received more than 4,250 entries for the Creative Abby awards. The judging process will commence in Mumbai from Saturday, March 24, 2012.

    Goafest 2012: Jury chairpersons announced for Creative Abby and Media Abby shortlists

    The Awards Governing Council of the Abby Awards at Goafest has announced its team of Jury Chairpersons for the Creative Abbies this year. This year, Goafest has received more than 4,250 entries for the Creative Abby awards. The judging process will commence in Mumbai from Saturday, March 24, 2012.

     

    The jury chairpersons for various categories include Agnello Dias, Chairman & Co-Founder TapRoot India for Integrated Advertising, Ravi Deshpande, National Creative Director, Contract Advertising for Films, KV Sridhar (Pops) National Creative Director, Leo Burnett for Print, Sonal Dabral, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, DDB Mudra for Outdoor Advertising, Abhjit Avasthi, National Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather for Radio Advertising, KS Chakravarthy (Chax), National Creative Director, Draft FCB Ulka for Digital Advertising, Senthil Kumar, Executive Creative Director, JWT India and Chairman, JWT India Creative Council for Film Craft, Alok Nanda, Director Alok Nanda Communications for Design and Ashish Khazanchi, National Creative Director, Publicis Worldwide for Direct Advertising.

     

    Commenting on the Jury, Shashi Sinha, Chairman of the Awards Governing Council, said, “We are delighted to have such a remarkable line-up of Jury Chairpersons this year. All of them are creative stalwarts and I am pleased that they will be judging the Creative Abbies this year. The judging process will be transparent and fair. KPMG will be monitoring the judging procedure again this time.”

     

    This year, for the first time, Goafest is introducing Grand Prix Abbies for nine verticals.

     

    The shortlists for Media Abbies has also been announced. Goafest 2012 will be held at the Zuri White Sands in South Goa on April 20-21, 2012.

     

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    Click here to view all Goafest 2012 stories

     

  • One really hopes Kahaani's success at the box office will make movie makers introspect and go back to making the script the hero, writes Anil Thakraney

    Is ‘Kahaani’ the gamechanger?

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I watched Vidya Balan’s ‘Kahaani’ following all the brouhaha in the social media. As am sure many people did. It is also becoming increasingly clear that at least in the urban areas, Twitter and Facebook can, to a large extent, determine the fate of a film. This is the new word of mouth.

     

    On the subject of the movie itself, while I did yawn a couple of times and found that the climax lacked gravitas, I walked out of the multiplex with a good feeling. Because, at last, here was a Hindi film that had a real hero (and no, that’s not Balan… any actress with reasonably good acting skills could have pulled this off). And that hero is: Story.

     

    It is certainly refreshing to watch a desi film which doesn’t suffer from the Big Star disease that has infected Bollywood for a couple of decades now. Where movies are made and marketed solely on the basis of huge names like SRK, Salman, Aamir, Bachchan, Hrithik, etc. Where weak and often embarrassing stories are written with these demi-gods in mind. Where the audiences are expected to digest any drivel as long as the charismatic hero is in the frame. In fact, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan have taken this nonsense to a ridiculous level… they not only act themselves in every film, they even gloat about it!

     

    This does not happen in world cinema, not in any other nation. In Hollywood, big stars like Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Jack Nicholson sink into the roles they enact, they seldom play themselves. This trap which Bollywood has dug for itself has resulted in standards of cinema plummeting to new depths of mediocrity. It has also resulted in film writers being paid poorly and treated like ‘extras’. Bollywood is the only movie industry in the world where producers FIRST sign the male hero and THEN think about the story. This is unheard of anywhere else.

     

    In that ridiculous scenario, ‘Kahaani’ comes as a breath of fresh air. One really hopes its success at the box office will make movie makers introspect and re-haul the current system. And go back to making the script the hero. Only when this happens will the rest of the world take Bollywood a bit more seriously. And we could dream of winning the elusive Oscar some day.

     

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t1_L7D7ZRg[/youtube]

    Yes, ‘Kahaani’ gives me hope.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Here’s a, well, interesting ad from The Singapore Tourism Board. I find the choice of words, ‘Get Lost’, quite offensive. Unless I am missing something out here, and the Aussies, to whom this ad is directed, like being abused. Methinks the advertiser has screwed up on this one.

     

  • 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.