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  • HTC has come up with some really silly stuff for their new handset called 'Explorer'

    Debrief: HTC: Fingering around

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Quite understandably, desperation has set into the advertising for mobile phones. After all, every single route and trick has been exhausted in this highly cluttered category. HTC has come up with some really silly stuff for their new handset called ‘Explorer’. They have used the ‘finger’ as the creative device.

     

    In the various TVCs, a man’s fingers literally walk and reach the lady he’s trying to patao. In her bedroom, her bath tub, wherever she goes. And yes, since this is advertising, she gets pataoed. In real life, the lady would file charges for stalking. The concept is this: Win her heart by hectically running your fingers on the smart phone.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”250″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy3j3jM7FOE[/youtube]

    Not only is the finger idea not original (remember Small B’s ‘ungli cricket’?), the way they’ve used it here is ugly and off-putting. Almost creepy, what with fingers relentlessly chasing a woman around. Worse, the situation of wooing a woman… how new is that? The least they should have done was to make sure the ugly unglis do something new.

     

    Bottom-line: Advertising that’s tired, tasteless, boring and repulsive. I understand some amount of advertising fatigue has set into this product category, but fingering with the creative? That’s so not on.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 0. The middle finger, anyone?

  • Monica Nayyar Patnaik's end-of-year wish list for FM – players and listeners too.

    The Anchor: 6 wishes for Santa Claus from the radio industry

    By Monica Nayyar Patnaik

     

    #1 No ambiguity in FM Phase III:

    There has to be absolute clarity on phase III, and it must happen soon because every time there has been a delay for some or the other reason. I also hope the number of bidders is high and that it is easy for everyone in the industry to pitch in.

     

    #2 Music and copyright issue resolved:

    There is still a question mark on music royalty and copyright issues. It must be sorted out soon, not just with one or two major players, but with other players as well, big and small.

     

    #3 Ad pie of radio should increase:

    Radio is a mass medium, we are reaching out to a lot many people and now with mobile phones the FM radio penetration has only grown further.

     

    #4 Better technology:

    We need to be very clear on the technical aspect in terms of frequencies; it would be helpful for the listeners in getting a variety of niche programming and so on.

     

    #5 Improved listenership survey:

    It is very important for the entire radio industry. RAM is present in only four metros today, it must be extended to other cities as well.

     

    #6 More talent:

    Better training, their awareness running on air, behind the scenes in production. We need to give more opportunities to the production and technical talent pool as there is a lot of scope with more channels and frequencies coming in.

     

    Monica Nayyar Patnaik is Joint Managing Director, Eastern Media Limited.

  • Bachchan won the Best Actor in Social role for Aarakshan, a first of its kind and another award for being a complete performer

    Big B tweets about his BIG Star wins

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sunday night saw the entire entertainment industry heading to Bhavan’s College grounds in Mumbai to usher the first awards of the New Year with the 2nd Big Star Entertainment Awards.

     

    A constellation of stars stepped out in their finery to cheer, applaud and appreciate some of the most memorable and remarkable performers of the year.

     

    The biggest and brightest of them all, Amitabh Bachchan came, saw and won two awards.

     

    After he left the venue….he tweeted about the newest singer from south, Dhanush, who sang live from the audience, a Kolaveri Di number but words to suit the occasion: T 594 -‘And … when complete Entertainer announced, Dhanush sings live

     

    from audience, a Kolaveri Di number but words to suit the occasion !!’

     

    Big B was also praise for the actor’s impromptu lyrics: T 594 -Dhanush words were ‘Why this Kolaveri, Kolaveri, Kolaveri ..B, .. big B … TRP .. brilliant absolutely ..!! So lovable and so good !’

     

    Bachchan won the Best Actor in Social role for Aarakshan in a new category, first of its kind, in any awards so far and another award for being a complete performer.

    He humbly and graciously accepted the award as can be seen when he tweeted: T 594 ‘…. 2 awards .. best Actor in social role for ‘Aarakshan’ and the second for the Complete Entertainer of year .. I am blessed ..!!’

     

    But this is not all, Big B has also promised his fans: ‘…some rather glorious pictures of the 2 events tonight – the BigStar Awards and the Sunday fans .. but will take a while to post.’

  • Will now handle the media sales function for KBS World, the international TV channel from South Korea

    Aidem Ventures to handle advertising sales for KBS World (South Korea)

    By A Correspondent

     

    Aidem Ventures,India’s leading independent media consulting, marketing and advertising sales company, will now handle the media sales function for KBS World, the international TV channel fromSouth Korea.  The channel is being distributed and broadcast via pay TV operators around the world, including Reliance Big TV inIndia.

     

    Announcing the appointment, Tae-Ho Sung, Senior Manager, Channel & Content Business – KBS said: “KBS is very happy to sign a deal with Aidem Ventures for media sales of the KBS World channel inIndia. In the years to come, we will be steadily developing the local advertising business into a significant revenue source by jointly teaming up with Aidem Ventures and Coast Road Media.”

     

    KBS World was represented in this transaction by Stuart Tenzer of Coast Road Media LLC. Neena Dasgupta, Head – International and Digital Businesses, Aidem Ventures said in a statement: “We are pleased to include KBS World in our steadily increasing bouquet of international offerings. The presence of KBS World shall further enhance our sales bouquet to advertisers and agencies. Besides, the association will also help KBS effectively leverage our robust media sales revenue management, broad base of relationships and our extensive domain knowledge and expertise, thus making it a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

     

    The India-South Korea relationship has grown in almost all dimensions – political, cultural and economic. With the establishment of the Free Trade Agreement between the two counties, Korean companies such as LG, Hyundai and Samsung have established manufacturing and service facilities inIndia, and several Korean construction companies are involved in the many infrastructural building plans inIndia, such as the National Highways Development Project. This has resulted in the development of a small but significant community of Korean professionals and their families’ who now work and live inIndia.

     

    As both countries have identified a convergence of interests, the seeping in of South Korean media into our country is bound to strengthen the foundation for deeper cultural ties.

     

    KBS World forms a part ofSouth Korea’s broadcasting major Korean Broadcasting System (KBS). KBS World’s programming mix comprises of the best of dramas, documentaries and entertainment programs. The channel enjoys a leader’s position in terms of prime time news with an average 20% rating or higher while the total network achieves around 60% rating. Annually, the company produces 19,000 hours of content, including mainly drama, but also documentaries, music programs, animation for kids, reality and entertainment formats, which distributes worldwide.

  • In the new world, where lines between traditional and social media are blurred, censorship as proposed by the Information Technology Minister is simply not feasible, finds forum.

    Curb online voices? No way, Mr Sibal

    By Akash Raha

     

    Telecom and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal stirred up a hornets’ nest when he recommended censorship of online content. Both freedom of expression and the new world of social media came into focus, with several organizations hosting forums on the issue, such as the Foundation for Media Professionals’ panel discussion on December 19 in New Delhi, titled ‘The new puppeteers: Curbing Social Media’.

     

    The media has come down heavily on Mr Sibal’s suggestion that pre-screening or pre-censorship should be carried out to keep a check on the content of social media platforms. Anuradha Raman, Associate Editor, Outlook said that the government is still following the age-old programme codes set for Doordarshan and All India Radio which were formulated in 1982, and which are constantly used to rattle today’s media. She said that if the government wants to wall up websites and dot.com, why not bring it under a code through legislative sanctions rather than arbitrary discrimination? She said that the current system of censorship of media lacks accountability and there is a need for parliamentary representation to spell out these codes properly.

     

    Lawrence Liang, a lawyer from Centre for Internet and Society, said it is important that the freedom of speech and expression has to be extended to the terrain of internet rights. The issue of National Security has been brought out repeatedly and it is fine to keep it in mind but not at the cost of free speech and freedom of expression. The government is hereby performing a quasi-judicial role. Moreover, there is lack of transparency in the internet censorship proposal, and today, the work of censorship is being outsourced. He pointed out that the only place where pre-censorship exists is in the case of cinema.

     

    Saikat Dutta, Delhi Bureau Chief, DNA, said, “In the name of national security the government is increasing its surveillance footprint.” This has led to the growth of what he called the business of surveillance, which is today a multi-billion-dollar industry. The more the government wants to spread its ambit on surveillance, the more companies selling surveillance services will benefit. He went on to say that these days the government is coming down upon several sites and blocking them and if a site is blocked, no one will ever know what happened. There is no information on why something is blocked.

     

    Narayan Madhavan, a senior columnist from Hindustan Times said, “The right of free speech is a constitutional right and not a government-given one. Freedom should be a rule and not an exception. The government is not the state, it is only an arm of the state temporarily given the right by the people.” He added that National Security has become a more fashionable word to use for censorship and that while it is essential, but it should not be used to curb freedom. In a tweet earlier he had written, “Twitter is the new parliament and Facebook is the new café.” He observed that social media is an interactive media and pre-censorship sounds like an act of desperation or lack of technological knowledge.

     

    Government has the right to monitor social media just as we can monitor the government by RTI, but there has to be accountability involved. He added that we are culturally an open society and the government cannot put a lid on this. The rights vested by the constitution should not be blocked by a few in the government. This attempted curb should not be seen as a curb only on social media but on media as a whole. It is important to understand when we talk about censorship on social media that the content owners are those who post. Facebook therefore acts as a printer and not as a publisher.

     

    Sheela Bhatt from Rediff.com noted that there are still a lot of taboos against the digital medium and the online world, which needs to change quickly. The cause is lack of knowledge about the online space. She started off by condemning the censorship which Mr Sibal talks about, and dwelt on the issue of social media, its powers and nuances. She gave the example of the India Against Corruption page on Facebook and how it became a powerful tool to stand against corruption. She said that the government does not appreciate the form of media which is the internet, and such a mindset is regressive and hampers growth.

     

    Nikhil Pahwa of Medianama said that the censorship that we are discussing is already prevalent. The problem is that we don’t know why a certain site is blocked. National Security is a “nice and easy” way to serve political agendas. He said, “For example, if my site is blocked, I don’t know why it is blocked, who blocked it or how to unblock it… all it says at times is, this site is being blocked on request from DoT… We don’t know who gives the order for blocking and unblocking and there is no transparency.” He said that IT and surveillance rules under the garb of National Security needs to be fought as it threatens democracy.

     

    Prabir Purkayastha from Delhi Science Forum observed that there are serious problems for any new technology and the same is the case with the internet and social media. “For example, the boundaries of private speech and broadcast are diminishing in the world of social media. What earlier used to be broadcast, now with the internet has become multi-cast. Private censorship is what the government wants right now and it’s not like the one China practices. For China they have a hammer and for them everything else is a nail. But the Indian government is being clever here. It’s like the government is providing safe harbour to those who accept everything that the government is saying and for everyone else, it’s a lost battle. And it’s not social media versus traditional media any more, as what is traditional media is already on social media. The power of surveillance is more pervasive than ever before. The issue is that the government is checking you 24 hours a day, where you are and what you are doing and snooping into your conversations in the name of national security. Today, the new and the old media have to understand that they are not different, and work together to protect themselves.”

     

    Mishi Choudhary, Executive Director, SFLC.in, observed, “Taking offence on other people’s behalf has never been as fashionable as it is today,” and censorship has become the new name to protect this. The positive aspects of social media are ignored when there was a tsunami and an earthquake. What really bothered the government is the Arab spring and the revolution in Iran and the Anna Hazare movement.”

     

    Shubham Vij of Kafila.org said that pre-censorship of information is not feasible and possible in the current scheme of things and it is only a matter of time before the government realizes this too.

  • India’s most prestigious food platform honours the finest in the culinary world, Delhi NCR voted as the 'Best Foodie City' of the country

    NDTV Good Times Food Awards celebrate the best in the food industry

    By A Correspondent

     

    NDTV Good Times,India’s first premium lifestyle channel, hosted the second edition of the NDTV Good Times Food Awards at The Westin, Gurgaon on Saturday. The channel honoured top restaurants, restaurateurs and chefs from across the nation in a gala awards ceremony. The venue resonated with the presence of celebrated faces, food enthusiasts, restaurant owners, chefs and other noted guests.

     

    Within a year the NDTV Good Times Food Awards have become the definitive standard to the best in the industry. With an unmatched expert panel that is unbiased and uncompromising when it comes to food, the awards have become the last word in the food and beverage space.

     

    Among the many highlights of the event, was a Sufi jugalbandi by The Mekaal Hasan Band and Harshdeep Kaur. The Highway on My Plate duo, Rocky & Mayur kept the audience in splits with their humour and charm.

     

    An addition to this year’s award categories was the Viewer’s Choice Award. This was a single award category where the viewers got an opportunity to decide theBestFoodieCitythrough their votes and Delhi NCR was unanimously selected by the viewers.

     

    The winners were selected by a highly qualified jury comprising of NDTV award winning anchor Vinod Dua, celebrity chef Ritu Dalmia, food critic Marut Sikka, popular anchor and chef Aditya Bal, restaurateur and chef Vicky Ratnani and Highway Stars Rocky & Mayur.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Smeeta Chakrabarti, CEO, NDTV Lifestyle said: “We are delighted with the overwhelming response to the second edition of NDTV Good Times Food Awards. We are happy to see not only the industry, but also viewers from across the country voted for their favourite nominees. I would like to congratulate all the winners on behalf of the entire team of NDTV Good Times.”

     

    The list of NDTV Good Times Food Awards winners:

    Best North Indian Restaurant: Karim’s Hotel, Old Delhi

    Best Coastal Indian Restaurant: Gajalee, Mumbai

    Best Regional Restaurant: Ponuswamy, Chennai

    Best Asian Restaurant: Bomra’s,Goa

    Best Dessert & Coffee Menu: L’Opera,New Delhi

    Best Bar: The Blue Fog, Mumbai

    Best European Restaurant: Indigo, Mumbai

    Most Sensational Debut: Smoke House Room,New Delhi

    All time favourite Restaurant: Flury’s, Kolkata

    Best Dhaba: Fadtare Misal Pao,Kolhapur

    BestFoodieCity:DelhiNCR

  • From 3D glasses to bobbleheads and a shooter game, Don 2 makers deploy a 360-deg plan to draw people to watch the SRK starrer

    Don 2 marketing on overdrive

     

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    It’s another SRK release on December 23 and the marketing team for Don 2 is on its feet to get the maximum audience thronging the cinemas to watch the magic of King Khan. The December 19 edition of Bombay, Delhi and Bangalore Times carried a front-page invitation from Farhan Akhtar for the 3D music premiere of the movie on Google +Hangout – with a pair of 3D glasses encouraging people to watch Don 2’s videos in 3D on YouTube. The strategy is to attract audiences as the movie is being released in 2D as well as 3D.

     

    Priti Shahani, Chief Strategy Officer, Reliance Entertainment, said, “The TOI innovation is a tactical move. For us the strategy for Don 2 has been to partner with marketers and media that reach out to large numbers. We have looked at all platforms that would give us visibility so while our partnership might not be as grand as RaOne, it should reach a large platform.” Don 2 has associated with platform partners and media partners including Sakal, Lokmat and Amar Ujala to reach beyond metros.

     

    The Don 2 marketing may not be ubiquitous as the blitzkrieg for RaOne, but as Vishal Ramchandani, the Marketing Manager of Excel Entertainment puts it, it has been consistent and concentrated, and peaking at the right time with the movie release slated for this week.

     

    The marketing effort has been 360-degree including even a comic launch published by Om Books. The comic is on the origin of Don and fills in details on the making of Don, thus acting as a prequel to the sequel. Mr Ramchandani also said that on December 23, two sets of games will be launched, made in collaboration with Gameshastra. These games are compatible on PS3, iPad and Android platforms and are basically shooter games where the player gets to be the Don. The social media presence is taken care of with the Facebook game.

     

    Mr Ramchandani said, “We have looked at various innovative and interactive ways to connect with the audience. While SRK is a big name, these marketing bursts ensure in keeping the excitement alive. When tickets today are priced around Rs 300-350 in the first week of the launch, there is a need to create urgency to get people to the theatre and these activities help in doing that.”

     

    Besides the comic and games, there is also a tie-up with Microsoft India where the contest promotes ‘Meet the Don in Berlin’ on various platforms. There is a spin to the Don on the city tours where the hunt is for a Don from each city. This is a positive take on the search for Don. Last week eight cities were toured and more city tours are slated.

     

    The makers are also relying on the highly popular Don ‘sayings’ and marketing it in a big way. ‘The Don says…’ have been popularized on the 360-degree platform.  These dialogues have also been showcased at cinemas halls and even washrooms, thus trying to catch more eyeballs.

     

    In terms of merchandise, one can see T-shirts, bobbleheads and Think Tank board games. There are also a few brands present in the movie, though Mr Ramchandani vouches that these associations are not just for the sake of it but is in sync with flow of the story or, as he puts it, “requirement of the script”. Though a number could not be put on the marketing spend, it is estimated to be running into single-digit crores.  Trade pundits suggest that any big ticket movie spends at least Rs 7-8 crore on advertising and marketing.

     

    Explaining the reason behind marketing even an SRK release, who is a big brand himself, and the need to be promoted aggressively, Ms Shahani said, “Today, the reality is that the shelf life of a movie at best is around 8 weeks and the audience window is even shorter and shrinking. To capture the mind, a brand like SRK helps where like in this movie he stepped out 10 days ago to promote and the impact has been instantaneous. Owning the minds of the audience is impossible today and that’s where marketing and SRK helps.”

  • Ranjona Banerji presents her take on nightly news and the fare in the morning papers

    When Indian TV woke up late

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    What is news? What has happened or what you think your viewers/readers want to know about. All the news that’s fit to print is the motto of The New York Tines but does that make any sense to our TV channels? As news broke of the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il – first on Al Jazeera on Monday morning. As BBC and CNN interrupted their regular bulletins, Al Jazeera had already put together a package. In India however news was divided between Anna Hazare’s latest plans, the whereabouts of Pakistani something-or-the-other Veena Malik and something about Rahul Dravid which I did not waste time on. It took at least half an hour for Indian TV to wake up to “breaking news”.

     

    “Dumbing down” as a concept is most insulting to those it is aimed at – readers and viewers of the news. It implies that they are too stupid to understand events and can only digest a tasty amalgam of entertainment news and whatever can be dramatised and sensationalised. Yet, one would assume that a change of diet with truly “breaking news” should occasionally be alternated with pap, so that the system does not become incapable of dealing with change.

     

    **

     

    Meanwhile, Anna Hazare and his antics continue to keep the media busy. As he hops all over the country, the camera follow. We understand that the biggest showdown of all is about to take place in Mumbai on December 27 when more people than were at Ramlila Maidan will apparate themselves in solidarity. Sorry to use Harry Potter jargon, but it sounds a bit like that to me.

     

    My maths teachers convinced me long ago that I had little understanding of this magical subject and it has largely remained a mystery to me. But even I can extrapolate that 100,000 people is a mere drop in the ocean when compared to India’s population of 1.2 billion. However, TV and newspapers continue to assure us that Anna Hazare represents all the people of India and when we express doubt, they bring on Kiran Bedi who can shout it at us till we retire hurt.

     

    **

     

    Time Magazine’s award of the ‘Person of the Year’ to ‘The Protestor’ was a masterful stroke. Indeed it has been, from Tunisia, Egypt, Yeman, Libya and Syria right up to the Occupy Wall Street movement. In a sense, India Against Corruption activists also fall into this category, but CNN-IBN, showing a slight shortfall of imagination, gave their award to Anna Hazare. Is this stating the obvious or acknowledging the Indian propensity to create icons and god-like figures out of thin air? Or even worse, an example of TV’s need to legitimise its own news choices?

     

    **

     

    In happier news, Sunday supplements were full of ways to celebrate the party season, what to eat, what to buy and what to gift. Gingerbread houses and other such delights took the mind away from the hurly-burly right to where it matters – the stomach. Or was it the wallet?

  • Switzerland-based international hotel chain Movenpick Hotels & Resorts has just made its entry into India with its first property in Bengaluru. The chain however plans to expand its presence in India and is looking at having 10 properties in the next three years

    Movenpick Hotels looking to expand in Indian market

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, the international chain of hotels with its Swiss roots, has just made its entry in to India with its first property in Bengaluru. The chain however plans to expand its presence in India and is looking at having 10 properties in the next three years. The plan to expand includes building new hotels as well as rebranding some of the already existing properties of other brands into Movenpick.

     

    Talking about their plans, Gary Moran, GM, Movenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore said, “It clearly makes sense to have a pan-Indian presence. This can be only achieved if we have more properties here thus helping us in having a significant brand presence. We have big plans forIndiaand in fact we are constructing a resort hotel in Dharamsala which should be done by 2013. It’s a new build so it will take time but before that we will have many hotels inIndiaand we are looking at rebranding. We are very close to signing a deal in Chennai and looking at two hotels in Rajasthan one of which is an existing brand and one is a new build. So it’s a combination of two. Rebranding definitely is a quicker way to grow.”

     

    On the Indian hospitality sector today, Mr Moran said, “The market is becoming fragmented as more hotels open up. There is an increase in both supply and demand, but right now it looks like supply is outdoing the demand. This trend is healthy for consumers and even will make hotels raise their game. In a monopolistic market the opportunity to improve is not a priority whereas with competition this becomes imperative.”

     

    Movenpick positions itself on the old values of hospitality which is stressing on the basics and being a very good quality upscale four and five-star hotels. It doesn’t profess to be super super luxury hotel and doesn’t compete with this category, but competes with the best of 5-star hotels. The company has in all 71 hotels and is planning 30 more, one of them inBalito be finalized soon. The company is focusing onAsiain a big way.

     

    Movenpick has come up with its first property in Bengaluru primarily because the management contract came into fruition first here, but they are constantly in talks with prospective owners in Mumbai,Hyderabad, Rajasthan and Chennai among others. The property in Bengaluru is called Movenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore, and is positioned as a business hotel.

     

    The company is clear that the only way to build the brand is to bring in more properties with the Movenpick brand name. Also, in terms of marketing, since they just have currently one property they have planned hordes of activities like its grand launch, Christmas special and art exhibition to get more people to experience the hotel. Besides a geographical presence, the plan is also to build an India-specific team which will look after sales and other activities of the company.

     

    Movenpick Hotels & Resorts is represented in 25 countries with 71 hotels and resorts currently in operation. A further 30 properties are planned or already under construction inAnkara, (Turkey),Dubai(four projects -United Arab Emirates);Abu Dhabi(three projects -United Arab Emirates),Shanghai(China), Dharamshala (India) among others. The hotel company is owned by Movenpick Holding (66.7%) and Kingdom Group (33.3%).

     

     

  • NDTV 24×7 is Asia's first news channel to be a part of Virgin's base pack along with other leading international news channels

    NDTV 24×7 now available in UK on Virgin

    By Akash Raha

     

    NDTV Group’s premier English news channel NDTV 24×7 is now also available on Virgin Media in the UK. With this, NDTV 24×7 becomes Asia’s first and only news channel to be a part of Virgin’s base pack along with other leading international news channels. NDTV 24×7 will now be reaching out to an additional 3 million plus households.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, NDTV’s Head – Network Distribution and Affiliate Sales, Rahul Sood, said, “With this launch on Virgin, NDTV 24×7 is now available across a large majority of TV viewing homes across the UK. It helps us further penetrate the UK market and reach out to all those viewers who have a deeper commercial and cultural interest in the news and stories from the sub-continent.”

     

    NDTV 24×7 is available on channel # 621 on Virgin Media’s base. It is also available on Sky and is the only news channel fromIndia which is now being beamed into 75 countries across the world.

     

    Cindy Rose, Executive Director, Digital Entertainment, Virgin Media, said, “We have been working extremely hard this year to deliver a sterling line-up of channels, and adding NDTV 24×7 is one of those initiatives. We are very pleased to have them on board and 2012 promises to be an even more exciting year as we will be launching revolutionary new products and services, reinforcing Virgin Media as the most innovative and pioneering digital home entertainment provider in the market.”

     

    What they think

     

    Reacting to the development, Surbhi C Murthy, Associate Vice President, Allied Media, said, “I am sure this move is likely to get NDTV more viewership and also more Indian and international advertisers who want to be seen in UK market.UK has a lot of Indian population and reaching out to them certainly makes sense, both for Indian and international advertisers.”

     

    There is also the question whether the content will be specifically be curated for the UK market or will the same content being shown inIndia, be telecast in UK. And if it is, will the UK audience of Indian origin be interested?

     

    Dinesh Vyas, Business Head, MEC, said advertising would not be significantly bolstered with the move. “Certainly they will like to have viewers across the world. The US and UK has a substantial populations of NRI and immigrants. But as far as media planners and buyers are concerned, I don’t think this will make much difference. They will not be necessarily excited about this expansion. If they want reach in the UK market, I am sure they will look across the length and breadth of all the media vehicles that are available. That said, expansion in all forms is good and it’s going to pay off for the NDTV group in the long run.”

     

     

  • Avinash Kaul will now be Chief Executive Officer ET Now and Zoom, and Ajay Trigunayat will be Chief Executive Officer, English entertainment channels

    Times TV boost for Ajay Trigunayat, Avinash Kaul

    By A Correspondent

     

    Times Television Network has enhanced the responsibilities of two of its senior personnel: Avinash Kaul, who will now be Chief Executive Officer ET Now and Zoom, and Ajay Trigunayat, who will be Chief Executive Officer, English entertainment channels.

     

    Mr Kaul and Mr Trigunayat will continue to report to Sunil Lulla, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO), Times Television Network.

     

    Announcing the new organizational focus, Mr Lulla said, “2011 has been a significant year of growth for Times Television Network (TTN). As the channels consolidate positions, it offers opportunities for talent to develop. Mr Kaul and Mr Trigunayat will bring new ideas, energy and passion for the network’s ambitious growth agenda. We wish them great success.”

     

    During the course of 2011, TTN’s revenue has grown by over 50 per cent, its reach has spread to 26 countries besidesIndiaand its channels are in leadership positions.

     

    Speaking on his appointment, Mr Kaul said, “‘Bollywood’ and ‘Stocks’ are deep passions ofIndia. I’m delighted to have a blend of entertainment and information as part of my mandate. I look forward to ensuring that ET NOW continues to consolidate its position asIndia’s premier stock market channel.”

     

    Mr Kaul was previously the CEO of Zoom and prior to that has worked with Fulcrum (Group M), Discovery Communications, Star, NDTV Media and Sahara One in strategic and management roles.

     

    Mr Trigunayat, commenting on his new role, said, “Movies Now has just about completed one year of stellar performance and I am looking forward to consolidating and growing the franchise of Hollywood entertainment for Times Television Network”.

     

    Mr Trigunayat was earlier Channel Head of Movies Now. Prior to joining Times Television Network, he has been in theMiddle Eastin an entrepreneurial capacity. He has also held the position of Business Head of the Zee English Channels bouquet, built brands and strategies for Lintas, Contract and Rediffusion and was in Sales at Pepsi.

  • Behind every great commercial is super strategy. Every week, MxMIndia brings for you the brief and the strat as given by the client and whatever else that went into creating a winning ad. AdStrat is compiled by Shubhangi Mehta

    Ad Strat: Max Weekends – chillout time

    Priya Pardiwalla, Vice president and senior creative director and Steven Mathais, Associate vice-president and senior creative director, JWT.

     

    Name of the Campaign/Ad: Max Weekends

     

    The Brief: Showcase that Set Max has the best collection of Bollywood blockbusters and the best way to spend weekends is, at home watching Max

     

    Research insights:

    A sizeable chunk of the Indian public is so tired after work that by the time the weekend arrives, they would rather stay at home and enjoy the weekends with family than venture out to crowded malls and other public spaces.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”250″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiP5h7-awpE[/youtube]

    Thought process behind the creative:

    Tap into popular perceptions that certain people like policemen, cricketers and models have a very cushy life and their jobs are rather ‘easy’ or ‘glamorous’ to perform. And then demonstrate how things are not as they appear. And the way to recharge and bounce back is by chilling over the weekend and watching Max Weekends.

     

    Media vehicles chosen:

    TV and limited outdoor in upcountry markets.

     

    Key issues kept in mind while executing the ad:

    While the situations are based on real insights and experiences, the treatment is humorous and over the top.

     

    Does the treatment do justice to the brief:

    Max is an entertainment channel for the whole family so the commercials too need to be as engaging and entertaining as the movies showcased and should appeal to all concerned.

     

    What is the differentiating factor about the ad:

    The fresh factor is that ads show professions generally perceived to be very easy, glamorous and cushy and the irony and truth behind them. The spin on this insight is what creates the differentiation!