MxMIndia

Tag: Microsoft India

  • The film celebrates India’s spirit of being unstoppable

    Microsoft unveils film on #BuildingResilience

    By A Correspondent

     

    Microsoft India has released its first ever holiday ad film, Hum Rukna Nahi Jaante, celebrating the resilience of the human spirit. The film bids adieu to 2020, putting a spotlight on how people across the country have shown everyday resilience in meeting the challenges that this year has brought, and how technology has played a role in enabling diverse experiences. The film is part of Microsoft India’s #BuildingResilience campaign, launched in September this year to share inspirational stories of transformation across industries, organisations and individuals, driving a conversation around what it takes to thrive in this environment.

     

    Speaking about the film, Hitu Chawla, Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft India, said: “The last few months have shown us the possibility of extremes. On one side are the challenges brought on by the pandemic, and on the other are the inspirational stories of fighting back and transformation. It’s extraordinary how people and organizations across the country have met the challenge with resilience and innovation, using technology to respond, rebound, and reimagine a new world order. Our brand film celebrates this spirit of everyday resilience and the role our technology plays in empowering every person and every organization to achieve more.”

     

    Added Sainath Saraban, Co-Founder and Creative Head, Studio Simple: “We had a clear brief and that was to communicate how Microsoft recognizes and empowers the resilient spirit that exists in every corner of the country, with its products and services. We created a simple yet powerful film that captures the resilient attitude of an unstoppable India. And we are also proud of the campaign line – ‘Hum Rukna Nahin Jaante’ which we are confident will resonate with people strongly and bring about a strong pride of association with Microsoft.”

     

     

  • This is a unique association for Microsoft in India in the online video space

    Eros Now collaborates with Microsoft to develop online video platform

    By A Correspondent

     

    Eros Now announced a collaboration with Microsoft  to build a next generation online video platform on Microsoft Azure targeted at its consumers across the globe.

     

    Commenting on the announcement, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO- Eros Digital, said: “The Online Video market has brought a paradigm shift in the way technology is used and will be used to enhance the customer journey and user experience. We at Eros Now have been the earliest movers in the adoption of technology which is a core strength of the brand. The objective and the goal of this collaboration is to ensure we become the primary innovators for the video business and a gold standard for the others to follow. We have immense respect for Microsoft as a company to help us innovate and pave the path for the next generation of online video.”

     

    Added Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President, Microsoft, Corp: “As an innovator in on-demand video, Eros Now has been transforming the way millions of people access and consume content. By using our combined expertise across technology and media, we have an opportunity to build on that foundation and re-imagine entertainment for the rapidly growing audience of digitally-connected consumers in India.”

     

    Said Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India: “India is one of the fastest-growing digital entertainment and media markets worldwide, driven by the growth in online video content.  AI and intelligent cloud tools will be the next drivers of the media business and will impact everything from content creation to consumer experience.  We are very excited to work with Eros Now to redefine the online video watching experience for consumers.”

     

     

  • The BMA awards honour and felicitate eminent leaders for their contribution to the management movement in the industry

    BMA felicitates Subhash Chandra & AM Naik

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Bombay Management Association felicitated eminent management champions including A. M. Naik, Group Chairman, Larsen & Toubro and Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Essel Group and Member of Parliament.

     

    The BMA awards, selected by a panel of eminent juries after detailed studies, are conferred in seven categories – Entrepreneur of the Year, Management Woman Achiever of the Year, Management Man of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Decade, Lifetime Achievement Award, Start-up Man of the year and Jury Special Mention of the Year.

     

    The awardees for 2016-17 were selected by a panel of eminent juries comprising S. Ramadorai, former Vice Chairman, TCS (Chairman of the Jury), Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman & MD, Haribhakti Group and P. R. Ramesh, Chairman, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP. The jury conducted a detailed study of the P&L (profit and loss statement) and balance sheet of the companies helmed by the awardees, the governance quality and its contribution to the society, community and environment.

     

    Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Bank of Baroda, Former MD, Microsoft India presided over the awards function as a Chief Guest. Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman & MD, Haribhakti Group and P. R. Ramesh, Chairman, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP were the Guests of honour. Dr Karuna Jain, Director, NITIE announced the Academia awards for Best Management Institute in four categories, Best Management Faculty and Best Management Student.

     

    The recipients of the 39th BMA Awards for the year 2016-17 are as follows:

     

    Entrepreneur of the Decade Subhash Chandra
    Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
    Lifetime Achievement A.M. Naik
    Group Chairman, Larsen & Toubro Limited
    Management Man of the Year Bhaskar Bhat
    MD & CEO, Titan Company Limited.
    Management Woman Achiever of the Year Usha Ananthasubramanian
    MD & CEO, Allahabad Bank
    Entrepreneur of the Year Dr Anand Deshpande
    Founder, Chairman & MD, Persistent Systems Limited
    Start-Up Man of the Year Shashikanth Suryanarayanan
    Founder & Chairman, Sedemac Mechatronics
    Jury Special Mention Sabyasachi Mukherjee
    Director General & Secretary-Board of Trustees, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya

     

  • The session on ‘Monetization Opportunities in the Multiscreen World’ sought to throw light on how the ecosystem was witnessing an interesting shift in revenue-sharing models and how companies could monetize effectively during these challenging times

    #FF14 Day 2: Need to monetize big in a multi-platform era

    By A Correspondent

     

    There’s a lot that is being said on how the advent of technology has revolutionized the M&E ecosystem. With the emergence of newer technologies and players offering these services, it becomes a challenge to find a balance in providing technology with creativity and content. The session on ‘Monetization Opportunities in the Multiscreen World’ sought to throw light on how the ecosystem was witnessing an interesting shift in revenue-sharing models and how companies could monetize effectively during these challenging times.

     

    The panelists included Sam Balsara, Chairman & MD, Madison World; Satyan Gajwani, CEO, Times Internet Panel; Chakrapani Gollapali, General Manager, Consumer Channels Group, Microsoft India; Neeraj Roy, MD & CEO, Hungama Digital Media; Rishi Jaitly, India Market Director, Twitter; Nikhil Naik, Head – Director, Global Content and Distribution, Vuclip; Karan Bedi, Founder & CEO, Tutorific! and Ramki Sankaranarayanan, CEO, Prime Focus who moderated the session.

     

    Presenting an insightful outlook, Sam Balsara highlighted how the television and mobile will be the only two mediums that will continue to be dominant in the future and how the interplay between the two would result in positive growth of the industry. Balsara said that while television continued to find favour with advertisers, they were gradually waking up to the medium of digital as well. “But advertisers need to be flexible about how the viewer’s see their ads; not just on television but across multiple screens.”

     

    Cautioning the audience, Balsara expressed discontent on how the older norm of doing business was seeing a shift that was not healthy. “The older model of doing advertising was 50-50; half from subscription and half from advertisers. But that has changed of late with more revenues coming from advertisers allowing them to have a greater say in content. It is important that we move back to the old model of 50-50 so that equilibrium is maintained and focus around content remains intact.”

     

    According to Neeraj Roy, it is not true that monetization in India is not up to the mark. “Around Rs 1500-2000 crore is still being directed towards content and that was a very positive sign. But he expressed worry as he said that the monetization exercise was being limited to certain mediums only. The way out is to have a balance in the advertising-transaction ratio, said Roy. With the shift to 4G being imminent, Roy urged content providers to focus on providing content that is high on value as consumers will be willing to pay more provided they get quality content.

     

    Providing a synopsis of his company, Rishi Jaitly said that more than 25 million users use twitter to discover content. Jaitly said that if companies concentrated on investing in value then the monetization will actually go up. “The world today is becoming mobile-first, so content providers needs to work on providing content that is of context and relevant. As a network, our focus would continue to be on fueling public conversation across multiple platforms,” affirmed Jaitly.

     

    Highlighting the scope and challenges faced by his company, Satyan Gajwani said that it was great to see the digital ecosystem in India thriving but the challenge is in delivering content that is high-quality because at the end the customer is going to pay for it. Talking about the issue of piracy facing his portal gaana.com, Gajwani said that the only way to overcome that was by offering such high-value and widespread offering that the user will be forced to come back for anything and everything got to do with music. This will indirectly bring down the number of users going to pirated websites to seek such services.

     

  • This new arrangement comes into effect from July and will leverage global expertise from across the many markets where Reprisemedia handles Microsoft's Search business

    Microsoft moves digital biz to Reprisemedia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reprisemedia India will now handle the Digital Media AOR for Microsoft India across Display and Search. The business has been transitioned from WPP-owned Quasar and Publicis’s Performics.  Reprisemedia India will now work as an extension of Lodestar UM who has been the lead media AOR for Microsoft India for the past 10 years.

     

    “This shift aligns India with Microsoft’s global move to consolidate digital media buying and search with UM. 2012 will be a game-changing year for Microsoft with the impending launch of Windows 8, coupled with exciting developments across our entire product portfolio. We look forward to working with Reprisemedia and deepening our partnership with UM,” said Shafalika Saxena, CMO of Microsoft India.

     

    Anjali Hegde, CEO Reprisemedia India, added: “This is the most significant thing that has happened to Reprisemedia and we are really excited about the opportunity to work with Microsoft. It considers digital as a core and mainstream medium and that mindset allows a digital agency to push its boundaries of innovation and creativity – in short, a dream client to work for.”

     

    This new arrangement comes into effect from July and will leverage global expertise from across the many markets where Reprisemedia handles Microsoft’s Search business.

     

    “However, Reprisemedia India comes with an added advantage,” added Anamika Mehta, COO Lodestar UM. ” As a full-service digital agency, its offering extends far beyond Search, into the realm of Digital Display, Content and Application.  Reprisemedia will complement the unique strength of Lodestar UM within the Content space.”