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  • Ajay Garkal, Principal Associate of PR Grid, received the 'Most Effective Media Communication' award at the Global Awards for Brand Excellence during the recently concluded World Brand Congress 2011 in Mumbai.

    PR Grid wins global ‘effective communication’ award

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ajay Garkal, Principal Associate of PR Grid received the ‘Most Effective Media Communication’ award at the Global Awards for Brand Excellence, known for their global recognition and celebration of leading marketers, who have shown innovative leadership in their fields, during the recently concluded World Brand Congress 2011 in Mumbai.

     

    The World Brand Congress, which was held at Taj Land’s End in November, is the single largest rendezvous of the best brains behind some of the world’s most successful and sought after brands. The focus of the two-day Congress in Mumbai was to discuss and influence the issues for innovation and change. The event was attended by over 1000 CMOs, brand custodians, marketing heads and other top echelons of brand experts across the world.

     

    Commenting on the achievement, Mr Garkal said, “Our endeavour is to consistently communicate in a credible and concise manner with the media and as a firm we are proud of the sound communication channels and understanding that we have been able to create and sustain between our clients and the media that covers their respective segments and industries.”

     

    The speakers for this year included Rohit Deshpande, Professor of Marketing, Harvard Business School; Shane Gibson, author of Guerrilla Social Media Marketing; Sandipan Ghosh, Global Head, Marketing, Tiffany Foods Limited; Magnus Aspegren, Director-Singapore Studio, BMW Group (Designworks USA); Chris Aubrey, VP Global Retail Marketing Sport Performance, Adidas AG; Prodipta Sen, Executive Director, Alpha G:Corp; and. Jonathan Kopp, Global Digital Director and Partner, Ketchum; among others.

     

    The World Brand Congress 2011 was supported and sponsored by Godfrey Phillips, Mahindra Rise, ESSAR, Reliance, Alpha G:Corp, Century Ply, HP, Nokia, LG, Servo, TATA Housing, LIC, Canon, Aircel, IBM, Max New York Life, Intel and Ericsson among others.

  • Indian parents in general do not bother to teach good manners to their kids, and this is amply demonstrated by the little ones at public places.

    Debrief: Thank you for the lesson

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Tata AIG Life Insurance has released a new TVC to hawk their children’s ‘Gyankosh’ insurance plan, and I totally like this one. Instead of promising that our children’s future will be safe with Tata AIG Life, and that they’ll grow up to become doctors and engineers, the focus is on inculcating the right values in the kids.

     

    The commercial features a young family at the dining table. When the servant arrives to serve food to the kid, the dad demands that he must say thank you to the house help. The spoilt lad refuses, but the dad puts his foot down. Finally, after much prodding, the kid says thanks to the servant and learns a lesson he’ll hopefully never forget in his life. The VO explains that parents must focus on the right upbringing of their children and Tata AIG Life will worry about their future.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”250″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Hc7JcNLuc[/youtube]

    Good one. Very refreshing and unexpected communication. And very relevant for our times. Because Indian parents in general do not bother to teach good manners to their kids, and this is amply demonstrated by the little ones at public places.

     

    In addition the message emphasises the company’s core brand values. I also like the thoughtful execution… specially the part where the mother does not interfere when the dad is teaching his son a lesson. Wonder if all moms would do that in desi households.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 4. Also works nicely as a public service advert.

  • Digital mandate to benefit the industry and the consumer: Media Partners Asia

    Digitization will boost TV industry: MPA report

    By Rishi Vora

     

    The government mandate to digitise cable networks across India will bring a significant transformation to the US $7 billion television industry with a positive impact on the nascent broadband market, says a report published by Media Partners Asia (MPA).

     

    Executive Director of Media Partners Asia, Mr Vivek Couto said, “India’s broadcasting and pay TV market is on the cusp of a high growth value phase, similar to North America between 1998 and 2003, Korea during 2003-2007, and Taiwan during 2005-2010. Valuations of the domestic companies in these markets during the high-growth value stage typically skyrocketed, as networks were upgraded and services to consumers expanded. In India, domestic players and foreign investors will both do well, to the benefit of consumers, when the government’s policies take shape.”

     

    The report, entitled ‘Investing in Digital India: The Dynamics of Mandatory Addressable Digitization’, underlines benefits across the value chain.

     

    A boost for the government and the economy
    If the current analog cable distribution model remains in place and digital penetration is limited, the cumulative value of the tax receipts lost by the government would reach US $11 billion over the next decade or more than US $1 billion per year. The government therefore has sufficient incentives to push digitisation and can also accelerate the process by offering tax incentives to a potential multi-billion-dollar industry. Digitisation will also help the government pursue India’s broadband goals and thereby help to boost economic growth. Potentially, a 10 percent increase in broadband penetration would increase India’s GDP by 1.5 percent. As of September 2011, broadband per capita penetration in India was only 1 percent. In its National Broadband Plan, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India sees a pivotal role for cable operators with digital network upgrades paving the way for broadband growth.

     

    Consumer will have the choice
    Digital cable television will improve the consumer experience and resolve legacy issues from analog cable services. Consumers will gain access to more channels; attractive tiering options with differentiated content across local, regional and niche genres. It will provide a better viewing experience; and improved quality of service. Digital cable television will also be affordable for the consumer. As per international benchmarks, spending on pay TV typically accounts for 5 percent of GDP per capita. In this context, digital cable television in India will be affordable given heavy subsidies on STBs (currently subsidised at 60-70 percent by MSOs), which will ensure that consumer spends fall within the 5 percent benchmark. Consumers will also benefit from new competition as digitisation in metros ensures that seven DTH satellite platforms (including free service DD Direct) compete for customers with digital cable operators.

     

    Cable transformation almost certain
    MPA expects a six-fold increase in subscriber revenues for cable MSOs, though not without at least a 20 percent churn in the cable subscriber base to DTH. Subscriber declaration levels will increase from 15 percent currently to 100 percent, while the retained ARPU will increase by six times after assuming a 30 percent base case revenue share with the local cable operator (LCO) will reduce the payback period on digitisation. Under a bundled model, the payback period could be reduced by a year to 24 months, as opposed to 36 months under a standalone digital proposition.

     

    The main challenges, apart from managing subscriber churn to DTH are one, the drop in carriage fees by about 20-50 percent; and second – incentivising revenue-sharing agreements that need to be struck with local cable operators to drive digital into homes.

     

    Opportunity for DTH players
    Phase I digitisation in the four key metros offers a good opportunity for DTH operators to grab high-ARPU customers and increase the platform’s reach in larger TAM markets. MSOs envisage about 15-20 percent churn in cable subs to DTH, though some suspect this could grow to 30 percent in the early stages of Phase I deployment. Subsidised HD offerings will also act as a key differentiator for DTH players as few cable operators have rolled out HD services.

     

    Benefit to broadcasters
    Digitisation will help boost subscription revenues and reduce dependence on advertising. Improved economics will also help broadcasters launch niche channels with a premium focus while carriage and placement fees will fall in certain markets and moderate in others. At the same time, consumer adoption of certain programming tiers and specific channels (over others) will ensure healthy competition while broadcasters will also be under pressure to produce content with differentiation, premium quality (potentially advertising-free) and with local relevance.

     

    Benefit to investors
    Upon successful implementation of the digital mandate, gradual consolidation of LCOs will become inevitable. This will shift industry profits and value to centralised distribution platforms and broadcasters. Valuations for cable/ pay TV operators in the USA, Korea and Taiwan during their high-growth value stage typically averaged 12-16x one year forward EBITDA, versus the current trading average of 9-10x for India’s listed cable/pay TV entities. MPA assumes similar or higher valuations for companies in India subject to successful execution. Most investors, especially strategic companies, will adopt a wait-and-watch approach, potentially making their bets after Phase I is completed.

  • Gouri Dange on how to eat canapes and other etiquette tips for journos and non-journos at book launches by non-page3 writers.

    Gouri Dange: Rules for book launch attendees

     

    By Gouri Dange

     

    Rules of Engagement – a small checklist, mainly for journos attending book launches of the non-page3 kind.

     

    First, when we send you the invitation, don’t immediately mail back querulously questioning a) the venue that we have chosen/ are stuck with b) the date that we have arrived at after much intricate planning c) the choice of personality who has agreed to read from and release the book. Of course it could have been at a better place, better time, better season, with a celeb you particularly like… and we’re sorry for disappointing you on all scores, but we don’t conjure up book launches by twirling a tinsel wand, we put them together after mental, physical, social and financial contortions of the most fantastic kind.

     

    We writers, forced to be our own marketers and PR persons, are constantly trying to find the fine line between sending you the invite well in advance (so that you can plan to come or send an underling), but not sending it so early that you will forget about it. So do not expect us to play secretary to you. Do have the grace to mark the day on your own, in your own calendar/similar device.

     

    Another constant see-saw that we are trying to work is this: We writers-in-launch-mode realise that your Blackberry gags at attachments, so our anxiously designed elaborate e-invitations end up irritating you. This is why we put the gist – place, date, time – in the body copy of the text. Surely that is considerate enough? So desist from writing to us in an offhand way from your wretched devices instructing us to put it all on SMS format for you. Wish we could pander to your every whim about what format you would like the invitation in, but deal with it, whatever format we send you.

     

    If you really do intend coming to the event, stop groaning about traffic and distances. Keep the address with you – either on your phone or scribbled on your palm (the body part or the device), or on paper or in your head. Do not, and this bears repetition, do not call the writer half an hour before (or five minutes, even) the event itself, and ask for directions. And really, this is just not the time to provide a fresh insight into how the venue and day is all wrong and that parking is such a b***h in your city, and all that jazz. We writers do not personally arrange for your city roads to be so lousy.

     

    Once the event begins, it would be nice if you would switch off your phone, and also not keep a fake engaged look on your face while you jab SMSes on your keypad. Really, we don’t want just your bodies there, we want your minds, such as they are, present and participating.

     

    Some of you also tend to ask questions in the interactive part of the reading/launch, that are only a verbal vehicle to tell people who you are and how you’re so good at what you do. Stop. Just stop. Go do it somewhere else.

     

    Remember, it’s about the book. So questions about finances, advances, and other intricacies of the book business can perhaps be asked of us on our email ids, but certainly not at the book launch. You are more than welcome to ask and tell about what you liked or didn’t like about the book. But asking after the health of my wealth? No.

     

    When it is time to buy your copy and get it signed from the writer, do not leak out of the door empty-handed. Maybe you don’t want to wait in line for a signed copy and that’s fine. But do buy a copy. Oh well…what am I thinking…you’re the Press, you don’t buy.

     

    At launches where there are canapés served, please do not eat the nice part and leave the toast behind on the platter. (This is a well-documented occurrence.) This causes the waiters to walk about with just the dry toast pieces on a platter, and less canny guests end up having to eat those; they then become moody and sulky and tend to leave without buying any books.

     

    And this one is for non-journo attendees: Do not walk up to us writers after the launch and ask things like “But where’s the media? No media?” This may come as a shock to you, but a) journos don’t show up for most launches – their story is usually that ‘evenings are hellish at the office’ b) you may have not read them, but we do have reviews and interviews out there; it’s just that you may not see a real live journalist at our readings/launches c) it really is more important for a book to have actual readers present than the media, whatever anyone tells you.

     

    Lastly, journos, non-journos, listen up: If you did not attend our reading/launch, do not appear on Gmail chat or SMS two days after the event saying ‘How did your thing go? It was when?’ The answer doesn’t really matter to you, and we both know it. Our fingers can tap out only that many things in one lifetime, and telling you ‘the launch was awesome’ or ‘missed you there’ or some such thing is a waste of taps, which we want to save for our actual writing.

     

    Naming no Names is the mid-week column where novelist, columnist and counsellor Gouri Dange presents her tongue-in-cheek view of our world.

  • Leo Burnett gets three nominations for Young Gun Advertising awards, Ogilvy & Mather has one.

    4 Indian names on Young Guns shortlists for 2011 awards

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    The shortlists for Young Guns 2011 have been announced and this year India has four nominations on the shortlist; Leo Burnett with three and Ogilvy with one.
    Leo Burnett’s Amod Dani and Ganesh Nayak have three nominations. Two for Tide Fold A Stain in the Art direction and Print Crafts category and one for Heinz Sketchup in the Consumer magazine campaigns category.

     

    Ogilvy & Mather’s Anupama Sirsalewal has received one for Unbearably Sour, Gun, Snake, Gullotine in the Illustration Campaigns category.

     

    Speaking on the shortlists, Arvind Sharma, Chairman Leo Burnett said, “We always believe in giving responsibilities to young and upcoming talent. We shall continue to do the same. We are happy that Amod and Ganesh are shortlisted in three categories and glad that the world is also recognising their talent”.

     

    On being nominated Amod Dani, ECD, Leo Burnett India, said, “The Young Guns award is a very prestigious international award. It is an extreme honour to be shortlisted for our efforts. We hope to convert this into a metal and continue to pursue creative excellence. Leo Burnett has always been at the forefront of promoting young talent, and this honour speaks a lot about the same”.

     

    Anupama Sirsalewal, Copywriter, Ogilvy & Mather, on her nomination said, “It’s a great feeling to be nominated. Piyush Pandey is God for me and I have grown up watching his ads, and now working in Ogilvy is anyway an award for me. This year has been great for me, be it Cannes Lions or Abby’s. Hope this one falls into my kitty too but there is still a long way to go.”

     

    Young Guns International Advertising Award is the world’s first and only award forum that is specifically for 18-30 year olds.

     

    To be named “Young Gun of the Year” is to be named the best young creative under 30 in the world.

     

    The “Young Gun of the Year” gets invited to join next year’s Young Guns jury.

  • Tibrewal is set to join as Business Head, South & West and Ramakrishnan has joined as the Head of Marketing

    Pankaj Tibrewal and Rajesh Ramakrishnan join HT

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mr Pankaj Tibrewal is set to take over from Mr Salil Sadanandan as Business Head, South & West, HT Media Group. Mr Sadanandan joined HT Media in May 2008, and led from the front. Today the Mumbai edition, in a highly competitive market, is a strong and clear No 2 in readership as well as in advertising volumes.

     

    Rajiv Verma, Group CEO, HT Media Group, said: “It’s never easy to let go of such passionate leaders but it’s only fair that a leader who has contributed so much to our enterprise must be enabled with this opportunity.”

     

    Mr Tibrewal comes to HT Media from the Future Group where he was the COO and Business Head for Pantaloons. At Pantaloons, Mr Tibrewal established global best practices in retail and implemented a new customer-first strategy, and, under his leadership, Pantaloons achieved an annual growth of 30-35%. Prior to the Future Group, Mr Tibrewal worked with McKinsey and Company in their Chicago office. Previous to this, he was an entrepreneur.

     

    Mr Tibrewal holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at the Northwestern University and an MS in manufacturing systems from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr Tibrewal’s wife, Pallavi, also an MBA from Kellogg, works for Disney, heading heir accessories & footwear licensing.

     

    Mr Tibrewal will be reporting to the Rajiv Verma in his new endeavour.

     

    Mr Rajesh Ramakrishnan has also joined Hindustan Times as the Head of Marketing. Mr Ramakrishnan will initially be responsible for the marketing of the Hindustan Times brand in the North and the East.

     

    Mr Ramakrishnan is an alumnus of BITS Pilani and XLRI Jamshedpur, and has over 17 years of experience in Sales and Marketing across companies like Reckitt Benckiser, Marico and Pepsico. He has worked on a diverse set of brands including Cherry Blossom, Kurkure and Quaker. His last assignment was Head, Global Marketing with Apollo Tyres.

     

    Commenting on his joining, Shantanu Bhanja, VP Marketing, HT Media, said: “Mr Ramakrishnan combines a strong sense of result-orientation with an ability to bring the best out of people. He will bring exceptional Marketing depth to our biggest Brand and key markets”

     

    Apart from being a marketeer, Mr Ramakrishnan is also a passionate photographer whose work has been exhibited, as also published in several magazines and newspapers. He also conceptualized and shot two calendars over the last two years, with prominent celebrities, in support of NGOs.

     

    Mr Ramakrishnan’s wife Nirupama Subramanian is a Corporate Trainer and also the author of the best selling novel Keep the Change.

     

    Mr Ramakrishnan will report to Shantanu Bhanja, and consequent to this, Diptakirti Chaudhuri, Marketing Head, HT Delhi.

     

     

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on primetime news and the morning papers

    Social media hits back at Sibal

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

     The might of social media came straight down on Union minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday after he tried to control, contain and coerce the internet into submission. Not only did the websites he spoke to refuse to screen content before it goes online, internet users also spewed venom at him. Those who tried to defend the minister’s position also felt the wrath of the people – former minister Shashi Tharoor and cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle for instance.

     

    Sibal said that after “offensive” comments and pictures on the net were brought to his notice, he got in touch with some websites and asked them to screen such content before it goes online. He pointed out that the cultural sensitivities of India had to be protected.

     

    Does the minister have a point? The problem for him though is that the internet is notoriously (and gloriously) indifferent to regulation. Its users guard their freedom very effectively and the effort to control them would be time-consuming, expensive and largely futile.

     

    TV on Tuesday night was bristling with rage – though I should clarify that. Times Now and CNNIBN bristled, NDTV was bothered about surrogacy (more publicity for Aamir Khan) and after that, showed We The People Again.

     

    For the first time since I have seen Suhel Seth on television (I confess here that he and I went to the same school for some years in Calcutta, at the same time), he did a commendable job yesterday. As Chandan Mitra was extolling the virtues of a tolerant India and the importance of freedom of speech, at the same time likening the Congress Party to the devil, Seth reminded Mitra that December 6 was the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, which does not say much for Indian tolerance. He also asked Mitra to reveal what he felt about freedom of speech and expression in the context of MF Husain and the controversy over the late artist’s depiction of Hindu deities. Mitra promptly changed his tune and was not quite so much in favour of freedom of expression. This is fact brought him closer to the song which Sibal is singing? Goswami, to his credit, pointed out to Mitra that he had changed his position. Anyway, Seth and Mitra got into spat and that ended what anyone else had to say.

     

    As a result, like all TV debates, there was more bombast that substance. It took today’s newspapers to tell us that the government is considering fines for offensive material and is formulating a code of conduct.

     

    Twitter and Facebook however continued their anger into Wednesday. India was likened to China (which is infamously terrified of freedom), the Emergency was harked back to, Sibal was compared to a Taliban cleric and the defining word – used in defiance of course – for Sibal was “idiot”.

     

    Not a nice day in the office for the minister!

     

    **

     

    The amount of publicity given to Aamir Khan’s baby via IVF and surrogacy has raised this cynic’s suspicions. Is there some sort of a publicity campaign going on for IVF clinics? Having done a number of stories on the procedure in my youth, I am surprised to see that the downside of IVF – high cost and low success rate to name two – is hardly being discussed.

     

    Surrogacy however has had some discussion on it.

     

    **

     

    V Gangadhar’s satirical piece on the edit page of The Hindustan Times is worth a read for a chuckle. He’s had a little gentle fun with the tributes to the late actor Dev Anand, which have been written by the unlikeliest of people.

     

  • Emerging markets like China and India will drive growth for the $464-billion global advertising market in 2012, according to a ZenithOptimedia report

    China, India to drive growth of global advertising market

    By Samidha Sharma

     

    Emerging markets like China and India will drive growth for the $464-billion global advertising market in 2012, according to Publicis Groupe, the third-largest communications group in the world.

     

    India (the 16th biggest ad market in the world), along with China, Russia and Brazil , over next three years, will account for 33% of the global ad expenditure growth, said a report by Publicis’ media agency ZenithOptimedia, released on Monday.

     

    Buoyed by this growth the French advertising conglomerate , owner of agencies like Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi, is on course to triple its business in India over the next three years, said Jean-Yves Naouri, COO & Executive Chairman of Publicis Worldwide. “In the next five years, India is expected to be among the top ten ad markets in the world,” Naouri, told TOI. Naouri is tipped to take over from Maurice Levy who has been at the helm of the Paris-based group for over two decades now.

     

    “For us growth will come organically, and also through acquisitions if we do not have the scale and capability in some areas. But so far we are progressing very well as far as closing the gap with WPP goes,” Naouri added. Publicis Groupe took over Gomye, a Chinese full-service digital agency, last week and has made several acquisitions in the local market there but has not replicated the model in India . China is already a top five market for the group.

     

    In Mumbai, for the annual board meeting, he said the importance of India is growing as now many of its agency heads in India are directly reporting into the headquarters . “We are not talking of Asia-Pacific as a region, now India and China are reporting directly to the group. It’s a sign that these are the markets for the future. I am spending most of my time in these countries be it Mexico, China , Brazil or India,” he said.

     

    With the growing focus on India, the group may also look to increase its digital offerings here, through the introduction of Razorfish, which it acquired from Microsoft for around $530 million in 2009. Revenue from the digital stream for the group globally touched 30% this year while developing markets contributed as much as 25% to the overall revenue. “We have been pretty much ahead of the curve in the digital space with Digitas already present here, we may look to expand our portfolio but it is not a necessity,” he added.

     

    Referring to the forecast made for 2012 by its media agency, he said the slowdown in the Western markets had not impacted ad spends like it did in 2008. ZenithOptimedia said the global ad expenditure will grow 4.7% in 2012 up from 3.5% in 2011 accelerated by the Olympics, the European Football Championships and the US Presidential election.

     

    “Businesses are cautious as the debt crisis has hit us hard but the impact is pretty moderate. In India, the inflation rate has been high and the growth has slowed but so far our agencies have performed pretty well with a double digit growth,” Naori said.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2011, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • Brands like Red Bull, Levi's, Pepsi targeting young urban audience during live gigs

    Red Bull, Levi’s, Pepsi etc target young urbans via gigs

    By Rahul Sachitanand

     

    If the celebrated Woodstock music festival of 1969 was to be held in India today, its billing of “Three Days of Peace and Music” would have to be tweaked to “Three Days of Pepsi and Music.” Live gigs are indeed the flavour with a young nation, and a host of lifestyle and consumer brands from Red Bull to Levi’s and Pepsi are pulling out every trick from the marketing manual to get their attention. The festive season is when live acts crank up the volume. In mid-November the second edition of the Bacardi-led NH7 Weekender in Pune spread over three days and six stages gave audiences a rare dose of multi-genre music, prompting international writers to compare it with the UK’s legendary Glastonbury Festival.

     

    The pace quickens by the year-end when the Sunburn extravaganza gets going on the beaches of south Goa, with brands like Lenovo and Colgate riding on the electronic dance music festival. “Live music is a great way to build our engagement with our customers,” says Bacardi India’s marketing head Arvind Krishnan. “We today have people willing to listen to new sounds and try new formats, helping the growth of live music. We want to ride this change.” Besides leading the NH7 event and bringing top acts such as electronics artiste Prodigy to India, Bacardi has also supported another event called Together Mix, which looks to push live music into the hinterland.

     

    Krishnan says, “Live music allows us to give our consumers a holistic brand experience.” Pepsi, for its part, believes it needs to be in every youth destination – live music is one of them. “We believe in constantly encouraging Youngistaan to follow their passions, live their dreams and change the game,” said Sandeep Singh Arora, EVP – marketing, cola, PepsiCo India in a statement.

     

    Across India, the live music event revolution is gathering steam. NH7 had over 25,000 people attending the festival, double the number a year ago, according to event organisers. There were more bands and larger stages too in keeping with an exponentially larger audience turnout.

     

    At Sunburn Goa the number of artistes is expected to double to 90 this year, while attendance too is expected to go from around 45,000 to around 100,000. In Bangalore, the cult live music event called Strawberry Fields, which focuses on independent and upcoming performers (it charges a minimal charge to bands and has no entry fee for attendees), is adding 500 to 1,000 people to its audience every year. And at the second edition of the Mahindra Blues Festival to be held in February 2012, thousands are expected to turn up in Mumbai to listen to five top international artistes, attend music workshops, eat blues brunches and browse through thematic displays.

     

    The world’s largest denim vendor Levi’s is one of the many brands eager to ride the explosive growth of live music in India. Recently it had indie (independent) folk fusion band Swarathma play for a group of blind children, as part of its “Go Forth” initiative to support meaningful causes.

     

    “We are hoping to raise awareness and support for a diverse range of pioneers around the globe. Swarathma performs free concerts for those who do not have access to live music, using music to raise social consciousness and bring hope to underprivileged people in India,” says a spokesperson for Levi’s in India. Another firm that is allying with live music is energy drink maker Red Bull, which engages with the music scene in two ways.

     

    All events are properties that are developed, planned and executed by in-house teams. For instance, there is the Red Bull Bedroom Jam, a platform for amateur bands to have a video shot by Red Bull and be a part of a live stage tour. The firm also works with festivals such as NH7 and Sunburn to reach out to its consumer base. “Red Bull strongly believes in working in playgrounds where talent needs support,” says a company representative. “India has a huge pool of live acts. Giving these bands platforms like Red Bull Bedroom Jam, Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp allows these artists to truly expand their wings.” Red Bull takes pains to point out that these events are owned and operated by internal teams and are not just sponsored events.

     

    In contrast to the energy of Red Bull, brands are finding new avenues of growth in much more sedate confines. Across the dozens of halls or sabhas that host top Indian (mainly carnatic) music and dance shows during December and January, an increasing number of brands are looking to make their mark. While Chennai-based public sector banks such as Indian Bank and Indian Overseas Bank and the likes of Nallis Silks have been sponsors of events for years, if not decades, newer names such as Axis Bank, Hyundai, Airtel, Aircel and Vodafone have either established their presence-or plan to – during this month long season.

     

    The growth of live (and independent) music has compelled Sony Music to launch a label called Day 1, which hopes to be a broad platform for independent music in India. Under Day 1, there are two sub-brands, Folktronic (music with Indian influences) and Zomba (urban lifestyle music). “Independent music has reached an inflection point in India,” says Sridhar Subramanium, president, India and Middle East, Sony Music. “The internet and social networks have helped build a pool of talent and make it easy to build a community of listeners for them, in the absence of TV channels and radio stations which would traditionally play their music.” This growth in independent, live music has also made it more appealing to a broader section of brands, beyond the traditional staple of liquor and beverage makers these acts traditionally rely on.

     

    V G Jairam, a partner with Oranjuice Entertainment, a live music production house in Mumbai, says there has been a sharp growth in independent live music acts across India. “I think the indie space is booming. There is a sense of pride in the consumer to see homegrown bands and this is adding to the growth,” he explains. With growing awareness of emerging live music, music bands are also able to use the web to popularise their music at low or no cost. For instance, a recent show at Mumbai’s Mehboob Studio was almost entirely crowd-sourced. “Music is a powerful tool to connect emotionally with your consumers and get embedded in their minds,” he adds.

     

    Branding expert Harish Bijoor, who runs an eponymous consulting outfit in Bengaluru, says that any event that is youth-centric will have an umbilical connect with brands. While the mobile phones and services are perhaps the most ubiquitous of these items, several other categories including apparel, accessories, consumer goods and even real estate could leverage live music to make this connect, he says. As live music goes mainstream, brands should consider making select long-term and strategic investments in some of these properties, says Joji George, CEO of Percept Sports and Entertainment, organisers of Sunburn. “These associations are no longer a few hoardings and banners; they need to think beyond and invest in building destination events,” he says. George points to marquee events such as the Glastonbury festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Canada as models of live music development.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2011, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • Out-of-home offers the advantage of tailoring the ad to the customer, writes Ishan Raina

    The Anchor: 5 reasons you know your OOH campaign is working

    By Ishan Raina

     

    #1 Flexicreation:

    The medium offers an advantage of Flexicreation i.e. creating customized ads and content according to the medium. This can be done by customizing the existing ad for the medium or digitizing an existing ad / leaflet and making it an audio visual ad. Flexicreation for the same medium is impossible in any other audio visual medium. The future will be and has to be the contextualization of the content and advertising messages. For Colgate, we customized the ad for the medium by highlighting the important messages to make it more impactful.

     

    Example – Colgate Pro-Sensitive Relief:

    Ad Recall: Of the people who had seen the ad 39 % have linked it correctly to Colgate Sensitive Pro – Relief.

    Reach Builder: 32% of the respondents (in the exposed set) were exposed to the ad for the first time through OOH MEDIA screens.

     

    #2 Flexicasting:

    OOH Media has been the most flexible medium today and gives a chance to slice and dice the message of the campaign as per the kind of audience an advertiser would like to reach. The client can select the locations, cities, frequency and language as per their requirements. Flexicasting provides an advantage of getting as local as possible just like an outdoor but with the power and capability of Audio-Visual. Other mediums are struggling with it and it comes naturally to Digital OOH. For Maruti, we used Flexicasting to advertise different brands in different locations to reach the correct audience.

     

    Example – Maruti

    Screen Recall: More than 90% of the respondents recall seeing OOH Media screens

    Ad Recall: 65% unaided recall of the ads on OOH Media.

    Reach Builder: 45% of the respondents were exposed to the ad for the first time on OOH Media

     

    #3 Content Integration:

    Content Integration helps in creating a contextual connect for the brands. The role of content is thus becoming very important in this medium and OOH Media continuously experiments with content to make it more relevant for the audiences and thus attracting more eyeballs. We have always been creating many on-screen properties which are topical, social or based on current happenings. Content Integration is another important area with a huge scope of dynamism and properties like travelogue, home-sweet-home, calorimeter, Green horns etc creating L-Band, Aston Band with the brands which helps them build a perception rather than direct selling. OOH Media customizes in-house content as per the client’s requirement and offering to make it contextual. For GSK- Horlicks Foodles we had created an L-Band on the Content Property called Caloriemeter which was the calorie consumed in the food and Foodles was talking about healthy and tasty eating habits on the LBand.

     

    Example: GSK Horlicks Foodles:

    Screen Recall: More than 100% recall for OOH Media screens

    Ad Recall: 69% of the respondents recall seeing the Horlicks Foodles ad at a Spontaneous Level

    Reach Builder: More than 24% of the respondents at work and play were exposed to the ad for the first time on OOH Media

     

    #4 Static Fabrication:

    Static Fabrication is one of the important aspects developed lately. Any brand offering is fabricated around the screens in the static format to create a better impact and creates the visibility for the brand 24 X 7. While the campaign runs on the screens, the static fabrication around the screens adds to the visibility. For Samsung, had advertised for Galaxy Tab in selected screens to reach the target audience and had done static fabrication on these screens to create hype for the brand.

     

    Example: Samsung Galaxy Tab Campaign:

    Screen Recall: More than 100% recall for OOH Media screens

    Ad Recall: 43% of the respondents recall seeing the Samsung Galaxy Tab ad at an unaided level.

    Reach Builder: More than 26% of the respondents at work and play were exposed to the ad for the first time on OOH Media

     

    #5 Vicinity Marketing:

    Vicinity Marketing is something that can be used very well by clients in this medium and is ideal for retail. This helps in creating awareness about the brand or the offer in the vicinity to drive footfalls. We have a lot of case studies where the use of vicinity marketing has resulted in the increase of footfalls. Citibank, did Vicinity Marketing for high net worth individuals by selecting limited screens with a very high exposure in Mumbai, Delhi NCR.

     

    Example – Citibank Reward Points:

    Screen recall: 100% of the respondents recall seeing the OOH Media screens

    Ad recall: 80% recall amongst 157 people who were interviewed of which 52% recall it at a TOM level and 93% recall it at an unaided level

     

    Reach Builder: OOH MEDIA Reaches Out To MEDIA LIGHT/MEDIA DARK/HIGHLY MEDIA FRAGMENTED AUDIENCES : 35% Respondents Were Exposed To The Ad For The First Time On OOH Media

     

    Ishan Raina is MD and CEO, OOH Media (I) Pvt. Ltd.

  • Tata AIG Life's new campaign underlines the importance of traditional value systems and getting the basics right.

    Tata AIG focuses on building strong foundation

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIG Life) has released the first in its series of a new communication campaign envisaged by Bates, that restates the importance of indoctrinate strong values and foundations by parents amongst their children. The crux of the communication leverages a strong insight that when the foundations are right, the future is protected.

     

    Tata AIG Life has a long-term brand-building programme, which commenced in 2004 and is supported each year.

     

    Tata AIG always emphasises on creating a future by nurturing a strong foundation. Whether it’s the way Tata AIG life runs its business, the way it equips its employees or the way it looks at its customers, it makes sure that every relationship stands on solid foundations. For Tata AIG, when the Foundations are right, the Future is protected.

     

    Vikrant Ramachandra, Vice President, Brand Marketing, Tata AIG Life Insurance Company Limited said, “At Tata AIG Life, we have always believed in creating a future by nurturing a strong foundation. The principle that a strong foundation means a protected future is at the core of the new brand strategy. Our focus on Protection is reflected in the slew of products launched in the recent times, like Tata AIG Life Gyan Kosh, Tata AIG Life InvestAssure Maximizer and the new products about to be launched. The brand communication strategy will reflect this. One of the critical initiatives recently launched by Tata-AIG Life is the launch of the Premier agency. This will foster skills development with a view to creating a professional and productive agency force through mandatory and structured training targeted at ensuring they focus on the customer need.”

     

    There is a huge and latent need for financial instruments for long-term savings and protection in India. A Swiss Re report on ‘Mortality Protection Gap’ in Asia Pacific indicates a sizeable mortality protection gap in India. The gap which was to the tune of US $ 2045 billion in 2000 had more than tripled to US$ 6676 Billion in the year 2010. This is the third highest amongst countries in Asia Pacific after China and Japan. Tata AIG believes that right now India needs long-term savings and protection products and so their offerings will emphasize these two aspects driving alignment with customer’s needs.

     

    For their ongoing campaigns, Protection of Life and Health will form the backbone of the Marketing Program. Mass Media Advertising will be extensively supported by intensive Training Program for its Premier Agents at Tata AIG Life. Additionally, Ground Events like Healthy Living Program, which raise awareness on healthy living amongst school students, will make the strategy vivid.

     

    Its creative mandates are handled by Bates and media mandates by Madison.

     

    Vijay Sinha, Senior Vice President & Head of Marketing of Tata AIG Life said, “Our core competence is in the area of managing an individual’s financial risks by developing relevant, compelling and differentiated protection-centric products to meet this staggering Protection Gap in India. In line with our core competence, we at Tata AIG Life have always prominently echoed the need to create a sound and steady future by building and nurturing a strong financial foundation. This very principle is at the heart of our latest communication.”

     

    Commenting on the creative idea, Sonal Dabral, Regional Executive Creative Director & Chairman (India), Bates, said, “If we look at the world around us today, with its rampant consumerism, the thought of the fundamental values passed on to us by our parents getting eroded in the near future is quite scary. The ‘Thank you’ film is relevant in such times not only from a brand point of view but also from a social point of view. Inculcating the right values in our children in today’s fickle times is what will help our nation achieve her true potential. The idea of imparting the right fundamental values, along with the opportunity of engaging the consumers in a relevant manner is what is most exciting about this campaign.”

  • The lifestyle channel will honour veterans and achievers from the food industry.

    NDTV Good Times Food Awards on Dec 17

    By A Correspondent

     

    Premium lifestyle channel NDTV Good Times is presenting the second edition of the NDTV Good Times Food Awards, honouring veterans and achievers from the food industry, at a gala night at The Westin, Gurgaon on December 17.

     

    NDTV Good Times is India’s top-ranked English-language lifestyle television channel and the KAFF NDTV Good Times Food Awards are considered to be the definitive guide to the best in the industry. The awards are selected by an expert jury of renowned names such as Vinod Dua, Ritu Dalmia, Marut Sikka, Aditya Bal, Vicky Ratnani, and Rocky and Mayur. The awards will be hosted once again by the witty and charming Rocky and Mayur.

     

    This year the awards consist of two categories – the jury’s choice and the viewer’s choice award which is a single award category where the viewers will decide ‘The Best Foodie City’ through their votes. The city that gets the maximum votes gets crowned The Foodie City of India.

     

    Announcing the second NDTV Good Times Food Awards, Smeeta Chakrabarti, Chief Executive Officer, NDTV Lifestyle, said: “After the overwhelming response we received last year, we are really looking forward to present the second NDTV Good Times Food Awards. This year we’re pulling out all stops to make the awards bigger. With the introduction of the viewers’ choice award category, we hope to involve our loyal viewers in the process of choosing their favourite foodie city.”

     

    There, winners are chosen by on-ground, SMS and online voting on goodtimes.ndtv.com. For selection through on-ground voting, 10 cities have been short-listed, where 100 ballot boxes have been kept in popular restaurants for a period of 3-4 weeks from November 10 onwards.

     

    Votes from these ballot boxes are tabulated by Ernst & Young and, along with the SMS and online figures, will decide the winning city. One lucky person and the restaurant that gets the maximum number of votes from the winning city gets the chance to attend the gala night in Delhi.

     

    The jury has already shortlisted the top five restaurants on the basis of the research conducted by Ernst & Young. Final scoring will be reviewed one more time closer to the awards for a final seal of approval from the jury and winners will be announced on the night of the awards.

     

    All awards are based on achievements during the preceding 12 months.