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Tag: Hemant Jain

  • The show and the episodes are released on Facebook and YouTube handles of Lokmat Sakhi

    Lokmat launches ‘Influencer Katta’ show

    By Our Staff

     

    Lokmat has launches a new show called ‘Influencer Katta’. The show and the episodes are released on Facebook and YouTube handles of Lokmat Sakhi, a women-centric portal that was started earlier last year by Lokmat.

     

    Said Hemant Jain, Senior EVP & Head of Digital Business at Lokmat: “This is a fantastic opportunity for both the influencer and their followers to learn about and share a portion of their lives that is rarely spoken or heard about. It’s not just about the fame and glam, but also about the amount of effort that goes into it. Plus, a little more about their personal lives outside of social media to encourage their fans to join them on their quest!”

     

  • The collaboration aims to improve health and wellbeing of women

    LokmatSakhi collaborates with FOGSI’s Narikaa

    By Our Staff

     

    LokmatSakhi.com, a Marathi portal for women by Lokmat Media, has collaborated with Narikaa, Federation of Obstetric & Gynaecological Societies of India initiative. The objective of this collaboration is to generate personalised material in Marathi about women’s health and well-being.

     

    Talking about the initiative, Hemant Jain, Senior EVP and Head of Digital Business, said: “We at LokmatSakhi.com are trying to break this barrier and trying to reach women across the globe with scientific information and useful content in Marathi language. The content is created with an objective of making safe, scientific, friendly space for women to seek proper health advice, medication and help them to get rid of taboo and fear. Our aim is to make women aware about their health and add value for the betterment of their lives, making them happy and healthy.”

     

    Added Meenakshi Menon, Co-Founder of WayBeyond Media: “When you help a woman or a girl with the correct information to protect her health and well-being, she becomes a valuable member of the community and society at large. The goal is to influence not just women and families in metropolitan cities, but also on the women in rural India.”

     

  • The Bai Manoos anthem is a powerful message that Lokmat is doing on Facebook and Twitter

    Lokmat salutes womanhood with #BaiManoos

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lokmat has announced a new concept adressed via a  #BaiManoos. The initiative is an invitation for everyone to move beyond stereotypes and see women for what they really are – people.

     

    Said Hemant Jain, Senior Executive VP, Lokmat Media, Business Head, ClickStart: “The evolution of the Bai Manoos concept, its execution, and the response it is already receiving gives me great personal satisfaction. I’m tremendously proud to be spearheading this campaign, which I believe has the power to make a difference in the struggle for women;s empowerment. Women’s issues are after all, human issues, and I hope to see a positive change in our society’s attitudes soon!”

     

    Added Shalini Gupta, Vice President, Brand & Communication, Lokmat Media Group: “This is a clutter-breaking 360-degree concept which goes beyond womanhood to acknowledge mankind and humanity beyond womanhood. This is in line with Lokmat Media Group’s larger brand philosophy that identifies and recognises people across age groups in Maharashtra for unique initiatives and truly believes in making a difference in their lives… through initiatives as these we wish to drive a change in thinking thus striving for a better world beyond stereotypes.”

     

     

  • Lokmat and BhaDiPa, along with the collaborators intend to give Abhanga a new voice that resonates with today's generation

    Lokmat get ‘Santawaani’ back to the forefront with a twist

    By A Correspondent

     

    On the occasion of Ashadi Ekadashi this year (July 4), Lokmat Mediaand BhaDiPa, organised Santawaani – a folk-fusion musical show that re-introduces Abhanga with a contemporary twist. Abhanga is a positive spiritual poetry form which has always been a treat for musicians.“

     

    Hemant Jain

    Said Hemant Jain, Senior Executive Vice President Lokmat Media Pvt. Ltd and  Business Head Clickstart, the digital arm of Lokmat:“In today’s times, when content creates engagement especially on the online platform, Lokmat saw this as an unique opportunity in presenting traditional content creatively with a new age packaging through a noteworthy partnership for its online audience. This and many such unique content which form the core of the Marathi culture will continuously be offered in a differentiated manner by Lokmat keeping in mind the new changing lifestyle of the readers across Maharashtra or Marathi audience globally.”

     

  • Without doubt, India is one of the most exciting markets for mobile adverting, and pushing it forward is the buoyant and increasing base of active mobile internet users, writes Hemant Jain

    Guest Column by Hemant Jain: Opportunity knocks in mobile internet

    By Hemant Jain

     

    A Facebook status update recently by a college graduate student read: I may be able to live without Facebook, but not without WhatsApp. If status messages and typical buzzwords on various social media networks are a thing to go by, then we have the writing on the wall. Mobile internet in India has already shown signs that it is growing and is only going to get bigger and more powerful.

     

    A look around any hangout space and it is evident that mobiles in India have fundamentally altered the lifestyle of today’s consumers across age groups. And it is no more the top executives who find it convenient to do business from their phones. The scope has widened. It is impacting the way we work, play, interact and live.

     

    Even more recently, to tap the growing e-commerce market in India and increase its access to consumers, Coca-Cola floated an online store for home delivery of its products. Coca-Cola’s move is an industry and sector first in the fast moving consumer goods sector in the country to set up a standalone portal. This development coming from a giant like Coca-Cola sends very strong signal for marketers as well as agencies working in the digital – especially in the mobile advertising space.

     

    As the smartphone usage in India rises, the internet consumption, as a direct corollary shows an upward movement. The smartphone consumption brings along with it the platform to introduce differentiated mobile media offerings that offers massive reach, unique ad placement, and impactful ad formats which augurs well for the mobile advertising industry.

     

    India finds itself in a unique space as far as mobile internet opportunity is concerned, all the variables for a successful equation are in place for this to happen. Starting from the cost of network access and handsets is going down, wireless networks are going up, and Indian consumers already display an insatiable appetite for digital services.

     

    Further, bypassing the personal computer experience and moving straight to widespread mobile access-simply makes sense for a large chunk of Indian users. It would sidestep a host of hurdles associated with delivering affordable internet services to a population that is geographically dispersed and relatively poor, in a country where infrastructure development has been an issue and reach of internet a topic thoroughly contested and debated across various forums.

     

    The Indian mobile Internet consumer:

    Numerically speaking:

    With more than 900 million cellphone connections, India is the second largest mobile market in the world after China. A recent report by Boston Consulting Group stated that the total number of internet users in India is expected to increase from 125 million in 2011 to 330 million by 2016. The report noted that, at present, around 45% of online consumers in the nation use only the mobile to access the Internet. This is expected to increase to 60% over the next three years.

     

    Even though typical Indian consumers have limited Internet access, they have a remarkable appetite for digital content. In fact, they consume an average of 4.5 hours of it daily across offline channels such as television, DVDs, and CDs. And what is really remarkable in this growth story is the fact that use of mobile to access internet has been on a constant rise in the country. A whole segment of business has grown around retailers essentially operating as physical iTunes stores, charging fees to load music and other content onto mobile devices. The net result is that while India is a relatively poor country, more than 70 percent of its urban consumers already spend about $1 a month on content and services through offline, unorganized retail channels-a market estimated to be worth more than $4 billion annually (according to various industry reports)

     

    India has taken a giant leap when it comes to the issue of cost and ease of access to Internet services. The country has seen enough development in devices, networks, operating systems, and operator strategies. The average price of smartphones delivering much richer content, including video, has fallen rapidly over the past sometime. This price tag is significantly less than the cost of PCs.

     

    It has also been observed that mobile devices are considered easier to operate than PCs, and the ability to access websites with a single touch or a voice command. Indian operators have also fuelled this upswing as theyare innovatively offering innovative rate plans for mobile data use, addressing criticisms of the prices of data plans and their perceived opaqueness. Operators have played it smart by offering a very low ticket invitation plan to let the consumer taste the ease of mobile advertising.

     

    This is good news for advertising and marketing fraternity that we have a new medium that presents itself as a potent contender to expand and share the ad budget pie. Mobile advertising is becoming an essential component of the media mix with the digital advertising market in India was pegged at USD 300 million for FY 2011-12.

     

    Current Trends in Indian Market

    Without doubt, India is one of the most exciting markets for mobile adverting, and pushing it forward is the buoyant and increasing base of active mobile internet users. This base is growing and growing fast. According to various industry reports, the mobile userbase in India is all set to touch 200 million mark in a short time. But, the more interesting thing is that as much as 40 percent of these mobile internet users have a single access point, that is, their mobile screens. Since, the mobile penetration in the country still remains a bone of contention, apps are playing an important role in improving the numbers of these mobile internet users.

     

    Developers will find out innovative ways to marry in-app purchases and smart advertising:

    Internet access largely based on mobile apps presents a major window of opportunity for smart and non-intrusive monetisation. Developers will have to take urgent action to monetize their app user base by plugging into telecom-billing for transactions and to create better and stronger mobile advertising solutions. Companies need to up the game be it is though better editing, visual merchandising or marketing.

     

    India being a nation of multiplicity, regional content will do a lot of good for the future of mobile internet. It should be presented in new ways: voice and single-touch mobile-Internet access are essential. Language content will be particularly instrumental in overcoming illiteracy and a lack of familiarity with the Internet.

     

    Mapping consumer’s mobile lifestyle and targeting a better reach

    Mobile internet usage will throw up a mine of data that will allow the advertisers and marketers to become even more aware about the personality and choices of these mobile netizens and offer them better apps and bundled advertising and monetisation opportunities.

     

    This would also allow the producers of good and services to leverage the power of m-coupons merged with hyper categorised offers backed by solid data. This will allow the bringing together of advertising, monetary transaction and distribution platforms on a single hand held device.

     

    A more edgy and smarter brand planning

    Coming of the mobile platform into being will eventually force brand custodians to offer more engaging and custom made campaigns on mobile. The message will have to blend seamlessly with that on other media while still maintaining its ability to remain sleek. Agencies can adopt new approaches to developing concepts, pricing, and measurements of effectiveness specific to the medium

     

    Slicing the mobile ad pie finely:

    Coupled with more edgier brand planning and a robust measurement system, the mobile ad pie may be divided more smartly based on language preferences, region – mobile advertising has the opportunity to move beyond just subscription and service based model to a more localised and customised ad selling platform.

     

    Minting the mobile money

    Regulators and service providers will have to find out more acceptable and safer ways for people to carry out monetary transactions on their mobile phones. Things like shopping coupons coupled with apps may be able to deliver the next level of experience and comfort for the shopper on mobile. We can already see that a lot of smart e-commerce players have already redesigned their portals in a mobile friendly way.

     

    The concept of m-wallets really need to take up and offers a lot of space to manoeuvre for both the customer and the seller.

     

    Challenges:

    It is time advertisers moved invested in the medium

    While the hope of a mobile boom is still high, advertisers are still experimenting with the media and this devote a miniscule budget. The revenue from mobile advertising is not keeping pace with the mobile penetration levels in the country and that leads to a crippling effect on the initiatives and innovations that are required for the medium to grow bigger and better. Various industry estimates place the share of mobile advertising at a tenth of the overall digital advertising spend of $400 million (about Rs 2,180 crore ). For the dominant players this is a cause of worry.

     

    Where is the measurement:

    Since, the ad share is low, innovation and dedication of all the stakeholders is also low at present. Advertisers right now cannot figure out how effective a mobile internet campaign is.” Most of the top advertisers in the country devote nearly only 5% of their entire ad budgets for mobile ads.

     

    The pain of absence of any robust measurement in the mobile advertising space is further causing these low budget for the medium. These low budgets stem also from low conversion rates for mobile ads where the percentage of users who go beyond just clicking on an advertisement to completing a transaction is not growing.

     

    New medium demands newer ad formats:

    To make both the customers and brand custodians hooked to the mobile advertising, it is high time that agencies really rake their brains and offer better ad formats that are non-intrusive while being effective at the same time. The newer formats have to be in sync with the mobile browsing experience.

     

    Educate the customer:

    Another major issue is the need to continuously engage and educate the customer about the various possibilities that mobile internet can offer as India has a huge potential in terms of a growing customer experience. E-commerce is expected to be a major driver to further provide pace to Indian mobile internet story. Therefore, the need is to build customer trust. Indian consumers still need a lot of weaning away from cash transactions and need to learn to rely on the reliability of online payment options.

     

    That is the only way how the huge potential residing in the India’s hinterland can meaningfully contribute to the growth of India mobile internet story.

     

    Infrastructure still a challenge:

    Lack of infrastructure has often been touted as one of the major roadblocks in uptake of digital medium in the country and this issue still has been the case running it for digital advertising and advertising on mobile. Though mobile operators have a far better reach compared to the pure play broadband penetration. However, low uptake of 3G hasn’t helped the cause of digital advertising and impedes the growth of mobile advertising in India.

     

    Conclusion:

    With the introduction of low price and durable smartphones in the Indian market, internet access has got a higher penetration and a new meaning especially to the youth of the country. Still, a lot of ground needs to be covered by all the interested parties – the government, the developers, the agencies and the manufacturers of products and services have to constructively work on this opportunity that promises a lot.

     

    Hemant Jain is Senior Vice President and Head, Domestic Business at Hungama

     

  • In a new fortnightly series on industry backgrounders, Hemant Jain takes us through the journey of the current boom in the travel media sector

    Backgrounder | Hemant Jain: What makes online travel so sought after?

    By Hemant Jain

     

    Back in the good’ol days, setting out on a vacation with family was not less than a whirlwind! Not only the options were scant but also the hassles of lack of hotels and commutation modes made it less alluring. But the phenomenon of tourism since 1950 has been remarkable in terms of growth, spread and diversification. The international tourist arrivals since then have grown from mere 25 million to reach 940 million in 2010. The fast growth and spread has not only resulted the globalization of people’s movements as never before but has also contributed in creating a vibrant industry and opportunities for millions of people. Little wonder that almost 20 million people are employed in India’s tourism industry.

     

    So what are the factors that have triggered the era of consumerism in the travel industry?

    Advent of Low Cost airline- Earlier air travel was considered to burn a hole in a traveller’s pocket. But with the emergence of low cost airline in India in 2003, air travel, which was just a dream for a traveller with minimum resources, turned in to a possibility. This also opened up gates for many private players who offered better services to the consumers at competitive prices. This was one of the major revolution from a consumer’s point of view because it all together explored a new avenue of travel besides roads and railways.

     

    Increase in travel agencies: The Indian market was introduced to the concept of planning and booking travels in early 2000. The travel industry had not achieved momentum yet but there were surely some signs of hope. IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) had proven to be a success and had demonstrated that Indians were warming up to booking online and ready to pay a premium for convenience. There were a couple of websites that offered air tickets but none could comprehensively claim to cater to travel needs across categories. But Innovation and differentiation are key drivers of growth today. While OTAs have gone beyond online travel to provide end-to-end travel and holiday planning solutions, innovation is the need of the hour. Cross selling of products is on the rise. Again OTAs have to engage with customers and listen to what they have to say. There is a need to make inroads into the customers’ life, without being intrusive and understand their needs better.

     

    Promotion by Government: The government’s ‘Incredible India campaign’ for boosting India’s image as a global destination has promoted tourism in a big way. It has promoted the destinations in India and abroad in countries like UK, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Russia, Australia and New Zealand. This concerted effort has not only attracted a consumer’s attention at destination in India like Leh, Kerala and Sikkim et al but also towards international destinations. Today, the top International destinations are UK, Pataya, Singapore. Moreover the involvement of state government in projecting their state as a favourable tourist destination has also escalated the inbound tourism. States like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kashmir and Chhattisgarh et al spends millions on their marketing and advertising efforts in a year.

     

    Boom in Online Travel Industry: Initially online travel was marked by several challenges. Low Internet penetration was the major one. Another challenge was habit. The habit of buying an air ticket was through a travel agent and booking a hotel room was always through calling the hotel directly or by showing up. So it was a habit change that OTAs were dealing with and changing a habit obviously takes a long time. Also, there was limited confidence on online transactions. But eventually, online travel industry grew impressively. The travel boom, emergence of low cost carriers, proliferation of Internet and the growing acceptance of e-commerce, are key factors that have contributed to the emergence of this sector. The online travel industry is certainly marked for growth in coming years. The best is yet to come for the sector with broadband penetration just starting to take off. India is all set to become among the top three online travel markets in the world over the next decade.

     

    Increase in the No. of Woman Traveller: A study by Nielsen in 2011 tags women as the key decision makers for around 85% of all consumer purchases including everything from autos to health care and this includes the selection of preferred holiday destination also.  The study also highlighted that around 91% of the female booked trips with their friends and only meagre 8% travelled with their families. Also, shopping as an activity is widely preferred by woman enabling them to travel at far-flung areas.

     

    Change in Travel accessories: It is believed that the travel accessories (be it suitcase, briefcase, bags or pouches et al) a person carries during his travel says a lot about his personality. Gone are the days of bulky, ugly suitcases that threw a major challenge to passengers in terms of its handling. Today on consumers demand there is a host of lightweight travel accessories in different sizes, shapes and colours available to choose from. While female travellers can pick from the range of unusual colour palette in luggage including pink, purple and yellow, the males on the other hand can look out for cleaner and organised travel gear. There’s also a lot of innovation happening on other travel accessories in general beyond luggage. Like a travel Toothbrush that is a toothbrush and toothpaste rolled into one making a minute but simple travel accessory.

     

    Spurt of technological gadgets: Ever wondered what was it like to travel before the age of technology precisely gadgets like cell phones, laptops, e-Books, Music Players? Quite unimaginable, huh! Earlier books were the only tool that was used to pass away the time during long and tedious journey hours. And on top of it, a letter was the only medium to communicate to your near and dear ones about your safety arrival on a foreign land. But today, thanks to technological advancement there is a pool of gadgets that one carries during his travel. Gadgets like cell phones, laptops are not only a great mode of communication but are also used professionally. Besides gadgets like music players, e-books, cameras and all are a great source of entertainment for a person on a trip.

     

    The Social Media Influence: The social media plays a big role in travel. Earlier consumers use to book through travel agents. Now people use travel sites Cleartrip.com, makemytrip.com among many others. Sites like Facebook, Twitter are big influencers for travel. People post comments on travel sites, research on Google about place they visiting. Travelling in groups has been promoted in big way by websites like Thomas Cook. Even when people visit the destination, Google maps play a big role. Even the Internet on mobiles play a big role and people don’t get stuck in midway. Seeing other friends posting pictures on Facebook influences travellers. Travel blogs play a big role in making the decision where to go for a holiday.

     

    New avenues of travel options: This is an emerging sector with consumers moving towards more advanced forms of travel options including a helicopter, yatch or a cruise. Although the primary reason for its access remains cost but with the increasing purchasing power of the consumer’s the newer forms of travelling are gaining momentum in a big way.

     

    Undoubtedly there has been a magnum of changes in the travel industry over the past few years, but there is more to look forward.  According to a travel research firm, Indian travel industry is expected to grow by13% to $23 billion by next year. And by the year 2014, Indian tourism industry will contribute atleast US$16.3 billion.  The $4 billion online business is also expected to grow faster, at 28% to touch $7 billion. Now there are number of factors that can augment this phenomenal growth in coming times. Mobile penetration has increased considerable in the past few years and people are accessing the internet through their phones. Exploiting the mobile platform hence becomes very essential and going forward we can expect an influx of applications for mobiles. Application like Zomato.com, Yatra.com have already paved a way for the increased use of mobile platform for consumers to plan their leisure activities. Be it a dine out with family or planning a vacation abroad, the online travel industry is certainly marked for growth in coming years, especially through mobile platform. The best is yet to come for the sector with broadband penetration just starting to take off.

     

    India is all set to become among the top three online travel markets in the world over the next decade. By 2015, it’s estimated that shoppers from around the world will spend about $119 billion on goods and services bought via mobile phones, according to a study by ABI Research. Also identification of new growth sector like medical tourism is pivotal as the number of medical tourist arrival within few years is expected to cross two millions mark. So pack your bags and set out for your dream destination as the travel industry is witnessing a change that has never happened before and in a good way!

     

    Hemant Jain is Senior Vice President & Head – Domestic Business @ Hungama Mobile