MxMIndia

Tag: Benoy Roychowdhury

  • Out of 21 cases received till date, FSSAI disposed 06 cases and remaining cases are in different stages of scrutiny/disposal

    FSSAI & ASCI partner to curb menace of misleading ads

    By A Correspondent

     

    With the momentum shifting towards supporting co-regulation in advertising, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has signed an MoU partnering with the Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI). Addressing the cases of misleading advertisements in the Food and Beverage sector (F&B), ASCI will comprehensively monitor these advertisements across various media. ASCI has been given a suo moto monitoring mandate by FSSAI to process complaints against misleading F&B advertisements. MoU also requires ASCI to report to FSSAI non-compliance of ASCI’s decisions for further action as required per provisions of FSSAI Act. FSSAI received cases of misleading advertisement through Gama Portal. Out of 21 cases received till date, FSSAI disposed 06 cases and remaining cases are in different stages of scrutiny/disposal.

     

    FSSAI will also redirect complaints against misleading F&B advertisements to ASCI, which will be reviewed using ASCI’s code and guidelines. The review will include violation of the FSSAct and Regulations related to advertisements making misleading, unsubstantiated or false claims.

     

    This partnership will put in place a mechanism to monitor misleading advertisements and will lead towards streamlining advertisements effectively through structured guidelines and appropriate action.

     

    Sh. Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI added “FSSAI has taken a serious view of misleading advertisements related to Food and to effectively handle the same have entered into MoU with ASCI which shall provide paradigm shift towards handling such scenario and shall also bring transparency and accountability with stakeholders participation”.

     

    Benoy Roychowdhury, ASCI Chairman added, “We are delighted that ASCI’s self -regulatory process on advertising content is getting recognition from various government bodies and the partnership with FSSAI will augment our efforts in curtailing misleading advertisements. F&B products are consumed on a daily basis impacting the health and well-being of millions of consumers. Reining in misleading advertisements for this important sector would be a key priority for ASCI.”

     

  • The consumer contact has almost doubled due to this new medium available to consumers to register their complaint

    ASCI sees 30% increase in complaints with introduction of WhatsApp contact

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Advertising Standards Council of India which had introduced a WhatsApp number (+91 77100 12345) to facilitate consumer reach has seen a significant rise in complaints received. (See Disclosure). According to ASCI, the consumer contact has almost doubled due to this new medium available to consumers to register their complaint. WhatsApp is now contributing to more than 12 per cent of the total advertisements complained against and deliberated upon by the Consumer Complaints Council. With the increased awareness levels, it has also had an incremental effect on the overall number of complaints received directly by other means such as Mobile App and Website. This has resulted in more than 30 per cent increase in the overall number of advertisements complained against. (Disclosure: MxMIndia Editor-in-Chief Pradyuman Maheshwari is a member of ASCI’s CCC).

     

    Speaking on this, ASCI chairman Benoy Roychowdhury, said: “We launched ASCI WhatsApp number with an objective to provide an “on-the-go” and easy “where-ever, when-ever” access for consumers to lodge complaints against objectionable advertisements and to increase ASCI’s reach across India trickling down to smaller towns. This initiative has, indeed, exceeded our expectations proving to be successful within three months of launch. Our WhatsApp number was welcomed not only by consumers but also taken note of, by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, Prasar Bharati, etc. It was called out as a proactive step to be emulated by other similar agencies. Indeed, we are happy and proud that ASCI is in the forefront of “Transforming India”, leveraging technology for consumer meaningful tools.”

     

  • Srinivasan K. Swamy, Chairman and Managing Director, R.K. Swamy BBDO Pvt. Ltd., was elected Vice-Chairman; and Shashidhar Sinha, CEO, Media Brands Pvt. Ltd. was re-appointed the Honorary Treasurer

    Benoy Roychowdhury elected ASCI chairman

    By A Correspondent

     

    Benoy Roychowdhury

    At the Board Meeting of The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), Benoy Roychowdhury, Executive Director at HT Media Ltd. and Whole time Director of Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd., was unanimously elected Chairman of the Board of ASCI. As a member of the Board of Governors for four years, he has represented print media and provided active support to Self-Regulation.

     

    Srinivasan K. Swamy, Chairman and Managing Director, R.K. Swamy BBDO Pvt. Ltd., was elected Vice-Chairman; and Shashidhar Sinha, CEO, Media Brands Pvt. Ltd. was re-appointed the Honorary Treasurer.

     

    Other members of the Board of Governors are Abanti Sankanarayan (Vice President, CIABC), Al Rajwani (Managing Director & Chief Executive, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Healthcare Ltd), Arunab Das Sharma (President, Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd), D. Shivakumar (Chairman & CEO, Pepsico India), I Venkat ( Director, Eanadu), Narendra Ambwani (Director, Agrotech Foods Ltd), Paritosh Joshi (Director, Provacateur), Prema Sagar (Vice Chair, Burson-Marsteller, Asia Pacific & Principal/Founder, Genesis Burson-Marsteller), Rajan Anandan (Managing Director, Google India Pvt Ltd), Sameer Singh (Executive Director Personal Care, Hindustan Unilever Ltd), SK Palekar (Management Educationist, S.P. Jain Institute), Subhash Kamath (Managing Partner, BBH Comms India Pvt Ltd) and Sunil Lulla (Chairman & Managing Director, Grey Group).

     

    Narendra Ambwani, the outgoing chairman of ASCI said “It has been quite an eventful year for ASCI. We had set four key priorities for the year i.e. Collaboration with the regulators, easier consumer access to ASCI services, inculcate self-discipline among creators of advertising and be seen as fair adjudicator by all stakeholders. Not only were we able to deliver on all four priorities; but we also received recognition for all the good work ASCI has been doing. The Department of Consumer Affair (DCA) engaged ASCI as their “Executive Arm” to curb misleading advertisements and has entrusted ASCI to process complaints received on DCA’s portal “Grievances Against Misleading Advertisements (gama.gov.in)”. Recent launch of our mobile app ASCIonline is a major milestone and an example of how technology is helping bridge the gap between ASCI and consumers. The app brought home The Maddies Mobile Bronze Award in the “Social / Not for Profit Mobile App” category.  Launch of E-Learning Program to educate the creators of advertisements and our Mega Event titled “Creativity for Goodness’ Sake” have been our other significant accomplishments.

     

    The incoming Chairman, Benoy Roychowdhury said, “There has been a remarkable transition in the last couple of years of how newer sectors like e-commerce and media such as digital advertising have changed the game. Over 90% of consumers send in their complaints to ASCI online or via e: mail versus letters or phone calls. ASCI has also evolved to match the pace by significantly improving the efficiency and speed in ASCI’s consumer redressal process. These continuous efforts are now being backed by regulatory agencies such as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as well as the DCA, and more and more Government organizations are approaching ASCI to seek help in adjudicating on various complaints related to advertisements. Responsibility for the success of self-regulation rests with every player – Advertisers should advertise with a conscience, media which carry the ads should be more responsible and regulators should back self-regulation by lending their support.”

     

    During the year 2014-15, the CCC met 47 times and deliberated on complaints against a total of 1877 advertisements. Of these, complaints against 1389 ads were upheld, while 486 were not upheld and 2 were outside ASCI’s purview.   ASCI has been able to achieve close to 90% compliance, which is certainly a healthy figure for a Self-Regulatory Organization.

     

  • OneIndia, available by invitation to select display advertisers only, offers the unique benefit of a single-platform reach comparable and incremental to television

    HT, Hindu & ABP groups get together to offer single-platform reach to advertisers

    By A Correspondent

     

    Six leading publications of the country – Hindustan Times, Hindustan, The Hindu, The Hindu Tamil, The Telegraph and Ananda Bazar Patrika have come together and formed the OneIndia group as a platform to facilitate reach to the largest print audience with a single advertisement.

     

    OneIndia, available by invitation to select display advertisers only, offers the unique benefit of a single-platform reach comparable and incremental to television, along with the many clear benefits of print, such as immediacy, impact, comprehension, credibility, and a clutter-free environment, to name a few.

     

    Talking about the key idea behind this alliance, Benoy Roychowdhury, Executive Director, HT Media Ltd., said, “The idea behind OneIndia is to provide an unduplicated reach like never before, along with a single-window service, in order to invite non-print and infrequent print advertisers to experience and profit from the significant benefits of print advertising.”

     

    Apart from the fact that print media readership is significantly more upmarket than television, several research studies globally have also demonstrated that print plus TV has driven more than 20 per cent incremental push-through in brand equity compared to TV alone. Further, some recent media multiplier research studies by leading international research agencies have demonstrated that print advertising in Asia-Pacific indexes three times more than TV on RoI, and five times more on brand impact.

     

     

  • It is now printed from 18 centres across the states of UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and Delhi

    With Moradabad launch, Hindustan now pan UP and Uttarakhand

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hindustan Media Ventures Limited (HMVL) recently launched its 10th edition in the state of UP from Moradabad. With this, Hindustan completes its footprint across the two states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand. It is now printed from 18 centres across the states of UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and Delhi.

     

    Commenting on the launch, Benoy Roychowdhury, ED, HMVL said: “Moradabad is a unique region of Uttar Pradesh that has placed India on the global map through its exports of over Rs2,200 crore of brass artifacts annually. Through the launch of our Moradabad edition, Hindustan now serves the entire footprint of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand – two progressive and prosperous states with a rich, cultural heritage.”

     

    Sharing his views on the launch, Amit Chopra, CEO, HMVL said: “With our launch in Moradabad, we mark the completion of our journey of expansion that began in 2005. We now serve this economically powerful and culturally rich zone. As in our other markets, Hindustan will work to create reader delight through a high-quality newspaper and continuous engagement. We will become partners in progress for the citizens of the region. I am confident that Hindustan will emerge as the preferred newspaper for the people in this region.”

     

    Rajan Bhalla, (Head-Marketing, Strategic Businesses – HT Media) said: “The core proposition of Hindustan is ‘Tarakki ko chahiye naya nazariya’ – central to our brand and activation campaigns. We approached Moradabad with this very distinct perspective. Our Election Campaign “Aao Rajneeti Karein” reflects our commitment towards the state of UP and creating positive social impact.”

     

    Hindustan’s Moradabad edition has started with a strong 1.1 lakh circulation, a number that is unsurpassed in that zone. Moradabad launch comes on the back of the recent Aligarh edition launch which continues to progress by leaps and bounds; setting new benchmarks of journalism and reader connect.

     

    Hindustan Media Ventures Limited (HMVL) is the publisher of the leading Hindi newspaper – Hindustan, Hindi magazines Nandan and Kadambini and the news website livehindustan.com. Hindustan, which is the fastest growing daily in the country has presence in the states of UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand & Delhi, with a Total Readership of 3.75 crore.

     

    The company is a subsidiary of the HT Media Group – a diversified media group with interests in Radio, print & online media.