MxMIndia

Tag: Sony Entertainment Television

  • Ching's new campaign titled 'Ranveer Ching Returns' is a mini-Bollywood film around the brand

    Filmy Tadka to Desi Chinese

     

    The poster of ‘RanveerChing Returns’ must have caught your eyes, since it is all over social media. If not, we are here to update you. When the first poster was released many confused it for a new film of Ranveer Singh, directed by Rohit Shetty. No, it is not a Bollywood film but a filmy new campaign for the Capital Foods brand Ching’s.

     

    The film has unique content innovations and promises to be a game changer in terms of how brand integrations are done in the category. It had a premiere in Mumbai’s Chandan Cinema where in several fans watched the first screening along with the entire cast and crew including Singh, Tamannaah Bhatia and Shetty. And within a week, it will premiere exclusively on Sony Entertainment Television.

     

    The content and treatment of this film goes on to show how Ching’s has evolved as a brand. We spoke to Ajay Gupta, Managing Director, Capital Foods to know more about the brand’s journey and the new campaign.

     

    How has the marketing strategy evolved over the years?

    Since 1996, we have been focusing on a cuisine block called Desi Chinese. As the consumer kept evolving with experimenting with food outside in restaurants, we have been evolving the categories within the cuisine. Started with the most basic of sauces and hakka noodles and at some point we said the woman is ready to now experiment by cooking manchurian and paneer chilly at home. That is when the masalas came in. Then we saw an opportunity in soups. While there was soup in the market, it was at the premium end of the market. We ended up creating a single serve pack and going to the large mass consumers, creating a completely new consumer base for soups. And, somewhere down the line we also bought in noodles. Noodles came very late in fact. That is how we evolved our entire portfolio.

     

    Talk us through how the tagline – I love Desi Chinese – come about and how has it done for you?

    We all love Desi Chinese. The cuisine that connects this country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, is Desi Chinese. You go to districts in Tamil Nadu and they may not have heard of tandoori but ask them about fried rice and chowmein, they know. Go up to Kashmir, you do an idli-vada, probably the idli will break your head, it is so tough but the chowmein is fabulous. And, that is a cuisine that has linked the country. People have called it with different names- Indo Chinese, Indie Chinese, we sat back and said we need to give it respectability now. That is where the line ‘Desi Chinese’ came up. ‘I love Desi Chinese’- it has connected with the consumers.

     

    What was the idea behind this new campaign?

    We went to Ranveer (Singh) and he agreed with us is because Ranveer and the brand marry each other perfectly. ‘I love Desi Chinese’ is what we want to own. This country loves Desi Chinese, not only in urban cities but in Tier I and II cities. How do you reach the masses? Through Bollywood. Go out and create a blockbuster. Who will make a blockbuster? Rohit Shetty.

     

    You came in at a time when there were other big players in the market. How easy or difficult was it for you?

    There were people who were doing sauces, there were people who were doing noodles but nobody was doing Desi Chinese. So, we have struck to a strategy, single-mindedly focused on everything that we do is around the cuisine Desi Chinese. We are a specialist when it comes to sauce and soup. I do not do all kinds of soups like others in the market do, we are doing Desi Chinese soups, sauces are Desi Chinese sauces, masalas are Desi Chinese masala and noodles are also Desi Chinese. So, I do not compete. I compliment them in the market.

     

    Ching’s has now moved on to sponsoring events and shows in a big way. So, what other plans do you have in store?

    You just saw a blockbuster (referring to the release of the Ranveer Ching Returns film). Give us a little time to sleep over this and enjoy what we have done and yes we will come back to you with something bigger and better. We are a hat ke brand. We do things differently and that is what you saw.

     

    When it comes to advertising, you have always been quirky and minimalistic in nature in terms of the scale and spend. Has it changed or still the same?

    The stereotype Ma-baccha is done to death. We keep saying we are a young country, so we need to talk to the young and the language they speak is the language we speak. We are a young brand, our core consumers are between 18 and 36 years, and we stick to the language they speak. We are quirky, fun and we are tadka. It is not about how much you spend. Good ideas and bad ideas is not about money. We create ideas; we spend the money and then bag those ideas. So, it is not really about how much money, you may get all the money and do stupid things, so, we spend enough.

     

    You were one of the firsts to explore the digital platform. How did you come up with the idea of experimenting in the digital space when others were still loyal to more traditional ways?

    As I said earlier, we are talking to the youth and if you are talking to the youth, where is the youth? Social media, all kinds of social media. We were the first who created one million fans on Facebook. We are very active on social media and we will continue doing that. If you look at this film, everybody has been talking in the last two years about these two or three minute films, then they celebrate when 50 thousand people watch it, they celebrate it on 100 thousand views. The trailer of our film has reached four million. Our strategy is very clear, we are there across. Where you spend money is not important, it is important what you are telling the consumer and how you are connecting it. We think we are connecting it right.

     

  • The beleaguered Hindi Channel is going in for a content revamp and will be up for a relaunch

    Sony Pal not shutting yet, set for a revamp

    By A Correspondent

     

    There have been many rumours about the status of Multi Screen Media’s second Hindi general entertainment channel Sony Pal over the last few weeks, months possibly. The channel hasn’t fared too well in terms of television audience ratings ever since it launched on September 1.

     

    Despite boasting of shows from well-known production houses, the channel ratings were even lesser than some of the re-run channels of the established networks. Yesterday, as there was buzz that the channel is going in for re-runs of old Sony Entertainment Television properties, MSM issued a statement:

     

    Sony PAL was launched five months ago subsequent to which the channel carried out extensive research. Basis the research channel is in the process of realigning its content strategy. Sony PAL has achieved extensive distribution as a pay channel and will continue to be an important asset for the MSM Network.”

     

    A media agency veteran who MxMIndia spoke to was unimpressed and felt that the going is going to be tough for Pal if the changes initiated are not dramatic. “Remember, Zee is launching &TV from March, and all the other GECs are not sitting pretty in the meantime.”

     

    Indeed. But, then, like in the various soaps and tele-dramas, one can always expect a twist somewhere. Let’s wait for the revamp.

     

  • Ajay Bhalwankar, who had quit Zee recently, will be joining Sony Entertainment Television (SET) as Chief Creative Director wef April 7

    Zee-Sony-Zee & now Sony again. Ajay Bhalwankar is back at Zee, er, Sony, to be Chief Creative Dir, SET

    By A Correspondent

     

    If you thought Zee-Sony-Zee-Sony was part of the lyrics of a new Yo Yo Honey Singh chartbuster, pause for a minute. It’s the story of our own Ajay Bhalwankar. Mr Bhalwankar, who had quit Zee recently, will be joining Sony Entertainment Television (SET) as Chief Creative Director. He is expected to join on April 7 and will report to Nachiket Pantvaidya, Senior Executive Vice-President & Business Head of MSM’s flagship channel. In this role, Mr AB will provide creative leadership and direction for the channel. He will lead the Programming and OAP teams.

     

    With over two decades of experience first in journalism and then at Zee for a long period (1994-2009), for a bit with Sony (SET, 2009-2011) and then again with Zee as Content Head-Hindi GECs.

     

    Announcing the appointment, Senior EVP and Business Head, SET, Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “Ajay is an extremely experienced individual with a rich experience of over 20 years in Journalism and Television, spanning various roles of creating, writing, programming, producing and directing entertainment content. Under Ajay’s leadership I am confident that we will make the right strides towards our vision of best in class content for SET.”

     

    Said Mr Bhalwankar: “I’m delighted to join SET again and hope to provide valuable programming inputs across content on the channel. It is an extremely challenging role and I am looking forward to this exciting journey.”

     

  • Instead of the regular Indian Idol reality show launch after an IPL, Sony Entertainment Television is bringing in a kiddie version this year

    Kids bring more emotions & cuteness to Indian Idol format: Gaurav Seth

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Gaurav Seth

    The IPL season is over and the GECs are going all out to bring back the eyeballs to their channels. Sony which is the part of the Multi Screen Media network of which Max is also part of, has over the years launched Indian Idol after the cricketing event finishes. However, this year the channel will be launching the first season of Indian idol Junior.

     

    “Our aim always has been to gather eyeballs on a certain platform and them move the same to another. Hence, from the last five years after IPL gets over we try to shift the same set of viewers to Indian Idol. And this year, with the launch of Indian Idol Junior we aim to generate even more viewers as kids will bring more emotions and cuteness to the format,” says Gaurav Seth, Senior Vice President, Head-Marketing at Sony Entertainment Television.

     

    When asked about the expectations from the new version of the format he added, “We thought why can’t we showcase the same talent which adults have in the children? Apart from bringing freshness it will also get more attractions as children bring with them the whole family.”

     

    A look at the promos explains this year’s theme “Gaano Ka Wahi Jaadu, Ab Bachon Ki Aawaaz Mein”, wherein participants between the ages of 5 – 15 will lend their voice to just not one but, many tunes. The channel along with the agency (Leo Burnett) went through a lot of ideas before locking in on it.

     

    “The idea was brilliant but without proper execution it would have failed. After choosing the four landmark song, we had to decide how to put children into the theme. But the responses we have got so far has told us that the execution has been good,” says Mr Seth.

     

    However, when asked about the pressure and expectations such shows put on children and how does the channel plan to tackle it, Mr Seth clarifies, “We have set timings for children – when to do rehearse, study or relax. Parents too will be staying with them throughout the process. We don’t want to compromise the health of the kids as well as their day-to-day life. We will do our best to make sure there is no exploitation.”

     

    Apart from television, the channel will be using a 360-degree marketing mix for the show. A lot of radio activations wherein a junior idol will be chosen from various housing societies, mainstream print launch will be done on the launch of the show and hoardings across Mumbai and other 29 cities have been launched.

     

    The show has already got six main sponsors on board – Nissan Micra, Horlicks, Kelloggs Oats, Alpenliebe, 99 acres and Real. The channel aims to garner a premium spot rate from the show.

     

  • The NRI and PIO convention held in Kochi was an opportunity for the broadcaster to interact with the Indian diaspora as well as government bodies dealing with overseas Indians

    SET Asia participates in Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

    By A Correspondent

     

    The 13th Annual Pravasi Bharitiya Divas (PBD) recently concluded in Kochi. The three-day event, held on January 9, commemorates the day that Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa.

     

    The PBD conventions are held with an aim to provide the overseas Indian diaspora with a platform to engage with the Indian government. Various seminars on topics like Tourism, Pure Sciences, Growth opportunities in India, Heritage and Diaspora and investment opportunities in different states were held across the three days.

     

    The event was inaugurated by Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi and Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pranab Mukherjee were also present at the event.

     

    In conjunction with the event, an exhibition was also organized which gave companies interested in targeting NRIs and PIOs an opportunity to interact with each other, as well as the delegates who were attending the event.

     

    Among the various banking, real estate, state boards and media companies, Sony Entertainment Television Asia was a key exhibitor. Sony Network’s vast global presence especially catering to NRIs and PIOs made it an automatic fit for the exhibition. Sony showcased their programming and distribution strength in the international markets and received many enquiries for the same.

     

  • This is Mr Dhanda's second stint with the Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd

    Manav Dhanda to head programming @ Big FM

    Manav Dhanda

    By A Correspondent

     

    Manav Dhanda has been appointed as Network Programming Head for 92.7 Big FM. In this second stint with Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd (RBNL), he will be taking care of the programming strategy of the Stations across the country. His first stint was in 2006-08. He will be reporting to Tarun Katial, CEO, Big FM.

     

    A media professional for over 15 years, Mr Dhanda began his career with directing serials and working as a freelance writer. He has worked with Sony Entertainment Television, Radio Mirchi and Miditech.

     

    Before returning to RBNL, Mr Dhanda was associated with World Band Media – a Canadian company with operations in the multicultural, multiplatform media market in the United States – as the Chief Operating Officer.

     

    While RBNL sources have confirmed that Mr Dhanda joined the organization in early September, there is no official communication on the development.

     

  • Kareena Kapoor's 'Heroine' is being promoted on the sets of the long-running police detective serial CID, in an episode which will be aired on September 21.

    Kareena Kapoor calls CID for help!

    By A Correspondent

     

    Today Bollywood stars are a common sight on the small screen as they make “appearances” on other shows. The latest to join the bandwagon is Kareena Kapoor.

     

    The gorgeous heroine has shot for a special episode of CID on Sony Entertainment Television, where she will play herself, an actress. The plot revolves around an obsessed fan, who threatens Kareena to the extent that she considers leaving her career in films and actually marrying him. In the episode, while promoting one of her films, she discovers that her life is in danger and she solicits help from the CID bureau headed by ACP Pradyuman.

     

    When asked about her experience working with ACP Pradyuman (Shivaji Satam) and his team, she said, “CID is one of the biggest shows running on Indian television. I am happy and delighted to work with such talented people who are running the show successfully for over 15 years. I thoroughly enjoyed myself while acting with the CID team and wish them all the very best as they continue to entertain their viewers.“

     

    The special episode airs this Friday, September 21, coinciding with the release date of the actor’s new film Heroine as well as her birthday. It was shot at Fun Republic Cinemas in Andheri West.

     

  • The latest season of KBC is expected to commence by the end of August or beginning September with nearly 52 episodes and duration of 1.5 hours

    Sony rolls out 360-deg campaign for KBC’s Sept launch

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kaun Banega Crorepati is back, and with the tagline – ‘Sirf Gyaan Hi Aapko Aapka Haq Dilata Hai’. This year’s theme revolves around the power of knowledge. The campaign which has been conceptualized by Leo Burnett will have four TVCs, each of which have a different story to tell. Two of the commercials are already on air, the second TVC was aired on July 26, the third TVC will be aired by next week and the fourth TVC will be aired around August 10.

     

    This year’s campaign is said to be an extension of KBC’s previous two seasons, namely, ‘Koi Bhi Sawaal Chhota Nahi Hota’ and ‘Koi Bhi Insaan Chhota Nahin Hota’. The idea is about giving the audience a hope irrespective of their circumstances and the discrimination they faced, and that through KBC they will be able to get their due.

     

    A 360 degree campaign will be rolled out wherein nearly 40 per cent of the marketing budget would be skewed towards cinema and television; 30 per cent will be spent on Out-of-Home and Print campaigns and the remaining 30 per cent will be spent on Digital, Radio and other BTL activities.

     

    Following the television commercials, by mid-August, digital and other media campaigns will also be aired. The details of the campaigns were not known at the time of filing the report; however it is learnt that Sony wants to create a different user experience for the online users through its digital campaigns.

     

    While the execution of the digital campaign is said to be completely different from television commercials, the story and the theme of the campaign will continue to be the same across media vehicles. OOH campaign for KBC also promises to be highly innovative and engaging to the audience. WhileMedia Circleis the OOH creative agency, Leo Burnett is the creative agency and OMD is the media agency for Sony Entertainment Television.

     

    The latest season of KBC is expected to commence by the end of August or beginning September with nearly 52 episodes and duration of 1.5 hours. In addition to this, KBC 2012 is said to have witnessed a record 1.5 crore registration in the phase I of the campaign as compared to 46 lakh registrations last year. In fact, last season KBC is said to have received an average TVR of 4.8 per cent. Cadbury is the presenting sponsor of KBC 2012, powered by Idea.

     

    Danish Khan, Senior Vice President and Marketing Head, SET said: “This year’s KBC campaign celebrates the power of knowledge. Our brief to Leo Burnett was to bring this thought alive with real people in real context. The campaign’s philosophy is a common man’s philosophy and is relevant to today’sIndia. The campaign thought captures the value of the show. We aim to reach out to a larger set of audience and provide common man a unique chance to change his destiny.”

     

    Nitesh Tiwari, National Creative Resource, Leo Burnett, Mumbai said: “Having done two successful campaigns in the past – ‘Koi Bhi Sawaal Chhota Nahi Hota’ and ‘Koi Bhi Insaan Chhota Nahin Hota’, it wasn’t an easy task for me and my team to come up with something equally interesting, if not better.  The thought is delivered in its characteristic style, will pan out with four films each with a distinct story talking about the biases of gender, lineage and language, showcasing different characters and their situations in life that will engage, entertain and bring alive the core thought of this season.”

     

    Mr Anup Vishwanathan, Executive Vice President, Leo Burnett, Mumbai said: “The KBC campaign identifies with the hope that people have in them. And that’s the factor we wanted to leverage in our campaign. This also in sync with brand SET that is all about positive emotions.”

     

     

  • One of the seniormost programming executives in the business, Mr Bahl has had short stints at Mahuaa, Turner, Network 18 after moving on from Star India in April 2011

    Vivek Bahl hops to Sony as Chief Creative Director

    By A Correspondent

     

    In 18 months, this is his fifth place of work… surely, the man’s on the move. Yes, Vivek Bahl is set to join Sony Entertainment Television (SET) as Chief Creative Director after short stints at Mahuaa, Turner and Network 18.

     

    One of the seniormost programming executives in the business, Mr Bahl, joined Zee TV a few months before it was launched way back in 1992. His last port of call has been the Viacom18 Network which he had joined in May this year as network advisor (content).

     

    In the new role, Mr Bahl will be responsible for the overall programming of the flagship channel. Speaking on his appointment, he said, via a communique: “I’m delighted to join SET and hope to provide valuable programming inputs in all genres of shows. This is an exciting and challenging role and I’m honoured that trust has been reposed in my abilities.”

     

    Mr Bahl will report to Sneha Rajani, Senior Executive Vice President & Business Head – Channel SET.  While announcing the appointment, NP Singh, COO, MSM, said: “Vivek’s entertainment experience and a cross-functional strategic perspective will enhance the growth of SET. On behalf of Sony Entertainment Network, we look forward to a long and fruitful working association with him.”

     

    Prior to joining Viacom18, Mr Bahl was with Turner International where he was the Chief Content Officer. And before that he was with the Mahuaa Network where he moved from Star India.

     

  • Presenting the second part of our half-yearly reviews where we asked industry captains to tell us how the first six months of 2012 have been

    The Half-Year That Was-II

    By Team MxM

     

    Continuing with the feature we carried on July 2 (Link: http://www.mxmindia.com/2012/07/the-half-year-that-was/), we bring in more views from the industry on the six months gone by. This half-yearly report card is again a mixed bag – while some have had an excellent run, others had few hitches on the way. Here’s bringing views from some leading players of the industry.

     

    Broadcasting:

    Rohit Gupta

    Rohit Gupta, President, Sony Entertainment Television

    So far, it’s been an excellent year for Sony network. And I’m sure it’s been same for the industry, at large. The industry is still growing and there have been no cuts in spends. People are still putting their money in the medium. I’m sure there is no gloom surrounding this industry. Even the 2008 slowdown didn’t affect us. So, there is nothing to worry about too.

     

     

    Sunil Lulla

    Sunil Lulla, MD and CEO, Times Television Network

    I would say, it has been testing six months for the broadcast industry. The biggest set-back has been the extension of the digitization implementation. The IBF ran a very good campaign for it but since MSOs couldn’t fulfill the requirements, unfortunately it has to be postponed. My advice to the ministry now would be to take strict actions and make sure the new deadline is met. It is important for the industry since it will shape the industry and help us understand it better too.

     

    By and large, important events in the broadcast industry like IPL, Indian Idol did well and a new show like Satyamev Jayate was launched. However, there is still a gap between how a show performs and what the viewers really want. Hence, I think TAM needs to be more clear and needs to increase its sample size too.

     

    But what really shocked the industry was the new adult timings and ‘A’ restrictions on television. What happened with Dirty Picture’s telecast was regrettable. Nevertheless, after the self regulation imposed by various channels – news and GECs – the quality of content has improved.

     

    As from the business point of view, from January till April, it was good; but May onwards the marketers have had a watchful attitude. It might not impact the industry at large, but a certain sections might get affected. Also, given the current economic climate, one will have to keep a very watchful eye for the near future.

     

    Prasana Krishnan

    Prasana Krishnan, COO, Neo Sports Broadcasting Pvt. Ltd

    The last six months have been eventful for the broadcast industry. First it was the whole discussion regarding digitization – from notifications to it finally getting delayed. Hopefully, the new deadline will be met as it is positive for the broadcast industry. Also, the new advertising guidelines set by TRAI will make sure that the market doesn’t get diluted.  Such moves will only benefit the industry and help it grow.

     

    However, there has been a slowdown in ad sales and revenue generation. Everyone knows what happened during an event like IPL. It is a slow phase right now, but the costs of purchasing rights are still high. So, it won’t be wrong to say that testing times are ahead.

     

    K Sriram

    K Sriram, GM, Vijay TV

    The last 6 months in the Tamil GEC space has seen a dramatic change in programming. KBC travelled into Tamil Nadu and with actor Suriya donning the role of anchor. The barrier between the big screen and television was truly breached for the first time. KBC Tamil ensured that prime time television in TN was redefined, as it not only cut across audiences, but also surged ahead of the power cuts and the IPL fever and eroded into SUN TV’s prime time shares. Vijay TV saw a growth of 41 per cent in the year in a market which was otherwise declining. Content came to the fore.

     

    Tamil television also saw the movie acquisition game being taken to another level with Nanban, the hit Tamil adaptation of 3 idiots, being screened within 100 Days on Vijay TV. Another path breaker given that A+ titles before were insulated for a year. Loud and clear in the Tamil GE space – the game just got bigger and in the last 6 months there was only one player playing the game. Competition is sure playing catch up.

     

    Marketers:

    Harkirat Singh

    Harkirat Singh, MD, Woodland

    The overall market in the branded retail segment has been seeing growth. The biggest change that one sees in this segment is that now the growth comes from smaller towns. In the earlier phase, the growth came from metros; and if one ventured into smaller towns in branded retail say a decade back, most likely, things would not fall in place. Now the risk factor in venturing into the smaller towns is much less and there are many players in branded retail who are turning towards these cities knowing that growth opportunity lies there.

     

    For Woodland, last six months have seen steady growth and we intend to open 60 stores this year, though the rider is to expand but be selective. The market, I would say, has been slow. But that is the trend I would say during a particular time of the year where each year business is slow and picks up only later. As for retail, I think the market is vibrant and the sector has been seeing activity and is slated to see increased activity with FDI in retail being relaxed.

     

    Vikas Jain

    Vikas Jain, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Micromax

    For the mobile phone industry there has been no concern about consumption, as the demand for new sets continues to be on rise. The change being that now the customers are well-educated on the mobile sets they want to buy and with change in technology there have been change in the preference on the type of mobile sets. The key, therefore, is to recognize and anticipate the product in demand and meet the needs of consumers. The players need to create a roadmap of the products to be launched rather than get carried away by technological changes. Keep an eye on the changing trends and tweak the launches accordingly.

     

    On the flip side, the devaluation of rupee has put pressure on the margins and Micromax being a player that vouches for being cost effective will not yield to increasing prices of the phone sets. As for following any trend on cost cutting on the marketing and communications front, we have not done any. We continue to be associated with Bollywood and Cricket and would associate if any good opportunity came to us.

     

    Media Agencies:

     

    PM Balakrishna

    PM Balakrishna, COO – Allied Media

    I think the months of April-May were on par but June was not so great. The feeling is that of a slowdown for sure. But an advertising perspective there is cause for worry. It’s a reflection of the economy not looking good in the past few months with petrol prices seeing a hike, inflation seeing a rise and other such factors. These factors play a part in the way media spends pan out.

     

    Where television is concerned there were some properties that did well like the Euro Cup recently and also the IPL before that, but then there are signs of slowdown with advertisers not being too keen to be associated with properties and also with the rates coming down. With Print, which sees ads from sectors like Real Estate and so on, there was a sudden upsurge that was seen in June with most property dealers advertising a lot in dailies and magazines. But that may be a sheer sign of desperation because transactions are not really happening or consumers are not really picking up stocks. There has not been a surge from other sectors as well and they are treading cautiously. So if one were to do a quarter to quarter analysis, one would see that there has been a decline in April-June this year compared to the same quarter last year.

     

    As for the revival, what I have observed recently is that clients have been drawing up plans which they might want to unveil soon, probably around the festival season. But I think overall, the growth will meander along in the next quarter also. Probably the last four months of this year may turn out to be good but whether it is enough to offset the slow-burn over the first six months – I am not too sure.

     

    Anamika Mehta

    Anamika Mehta, COO – Lodestar Universal

    Although we are six months into the year, I do not think the industry will record the original projections that were forecasted. We are just into the first quarter and therefore we cannot conclude much but overall some categories are seeing a slowdown. Sectors like real estate and finance have seen a slowdown in the spends but FMCG companies are yet to go slow. They are playing a cautious game though.

     

    Also, much of the growth is also the result of the current economic conditions which do not look good at the moment. But it will not be all gloom and doom as is being witnessed in Europe but it will also not be a great story as was being propounded forIndia. Also, one cannot predict the exact figure beyond a point but the approach is going to be that of caution.

     

    Sundeep Nagpal

    Sundeep Nagpal, MD, Stratagem Media

    I would say the media industry in India is already feeling the effects of the economic gloom that has been in the works for some time now. From what I have been given to understand the first quarter of this fiscal has been reasonably difficult. In fact nothing can be said about the trend that will emerge in the next six months as there is some amount of scepticism in the industry. Unfortunately, in our industry fluctuations are happening faster than what we have witnessed before – whether up or down. It takes a lot of deeper understanding and attention to details if one has to figure out what the current media scenario correlates to. Frankly, even I do not have an answer to that. It’s very easy to say that it is dependent on the overall global or Indian outlook but that is too macro a view to attribute to. If I was a media planner, I would be looking at ways to look out for the early signals and accordingly find out the relevant methods to adopt. Overall, the industry may just about see a decline in its growth numbers for 2012 than what was originally anticipated.

     

    Advertising:

     

    Arvind Sharma

    Arvind Sharma, Chairman, Indian Subcontinent, Leo Burnett

    As the GDP numbers have been showing a slowdown, one can see that it is getting reflected in the advertising spends too. While at peak the advertising industry was showing a growth of 25 per cent, it would be somewhere around 7 per cent in the first half of 2012. At individual agency level, while we have seen a growth on 40 per cent in 2010 and 25 per cent in 2011, in the first half of 2012 we would see a growth of around 15 per cent. But I think at an individual agency level we still can manage fairly good growth as India has close to Rs35,000 crore advertising expenditure hence the need of the hour is to get aggressive and lay claim to the bigger pie from that budget. This will happen from organic growth from current clients to acquiring new businesses. This growth will also come from making our offering robust.

     

    If one were to look at growth, then in our case, I would say that we have seen growth from our existing clients but growth from new clients or from new major initiatives have been significantly less. However, I would say that the mood currently is to be cautious.

     

    PR:

     

    NS Rajan

    NS Rajan, Managing Director, Ketchum Sampark

    While we have grown by about 20 per cent in the first half, we are witnessing headwinds gathering across various sectors which can in turn affect growth in these segments and consequently the PR business in the second half.

     

    Also margins could be under pressure in the coming months as the increased cost of servicing may not be compensated by incremental revenues unless the economic environment changes significantly which can lift up sentiment.

     

    [To be Concluded]

     

  • Most experts feel is that both the incumbent SAB and challenger Life OK will have to work harder if they want to reach the top slots.

    Life OK and SAB: The see-saw continues…

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    In India there is no dearth of television channels. The competition is only growing and the race to lead in the TRP race is heating up. In the past few weeks, the two channels which seen an increase in their TRPs are Life OK and SAB TV which have been fighting for the fifth spot in the TRPs race.

     

    Life OK, the newest entrance in the GEC genre from the Star India stable, was launched in December last year. The network renamed and re-launched their youth-oriented channel Star One with new tagline ‘cherishing what you have’.

     

    On the contrary, SAB TV has been around for over a decade now but has gone through various transformations. In March 2005, SAB TV was acquired by Sony Entertainment Television and was transformed into a youth-centric channel. In June 2008, the channel announced that it would return to its roots by being repositioned as a comedy-centric channel.

     

    So what does the race for TRPs mean for the two channels and do they pose a threat to other GECs? MxMIndia spoke to a few media planners to see what is the future of the GECs and what shape will this ‘war’ take.

     

    According to the latest TAM data, in week 24, SAB TV has toppled Life OK and regained No 5 position. Whereas, last week (week 23), Life OK was the fifth most watched GEC.

     

    Sundeep Nagpal

    Sundeep Nagpal, founder director, Stratagem Media feels that these are momentary fluctuations and cannot be contributed to anything per se. “These channels have a small base; therefore, even a single factor can affect the ratings of the show – positively or negatively – depending on how it did on a particular week. Hence, I don’t think we should be alarmed by such fluctuations. And they won’t be able to impact the top 4 slots.”

     

    The two channels have positioned themselves differently, too. SAB TV is a comedy-centric channel which portrays itself has a family channel, whereas Life OK has shows full of melodrama like other GECs.

     

    Janardhan Pandey, associate vice-president, DDB Mudra Max feels that the two cannot impact each other drastically. “SAB has its own set of audience which won’t get influenced by other GECs and vice-versa. They will continue to do well in their own categories; the fluctuation between the two is possible but they don’t have the same hold as other GECs do. They still have a long way to go.”

     

    Jai Lala

    On the other hand, Priti Murthy, national director – Insights, Maxus, feels that though these channels might be still small fish, they cannot be ignored entirely. “Like these two channels, even number two and three slots have been fluctuating for a while now. So, slot five and six can create an impact too. One cannot rule out the possibility of them gaining to higher positions in the future if they come up with new and better content.”

     

    On the channels growth, Mindshare’s principal partner, Jai Lala feels that the two channels have grown since Imagine TV, a Turner International India Pvt Ltd entity, was shut down earlier this year. “The shutdown of Imagine TV has benefited these two who are now turning out to be competitors. However, they still have a small base compared to others and unless and until they cross the 200+ threshold, I don’t think that they can or will affect the channels like Star or Zee or Sony which have been ruling the top slots in the TRP race for a long period of time.”

     

    Uday Mohan

    “While these channels are doing well they have a long way to go in terms of reaching the numbers of the mainline GECs. They still don’t have the kind of appointment viewing that the mainline GECs generate….they might eat into the shares of other frequency channels but will not threaten GECs, at least not immediately,” added Uday Mohan, executive director – North, MPG.

     

    Most experts believe that there is nothing to be alarmed about the two channels see-sawing. What they do feel is that both the incumbent SAB and challenger Life OK will have to work harder if they want to reach the top slots.

     

  • Jhalak Dikhla Ja, the celebrity dance show in its fifth season, premiered on July 16 on Colors

    Colors jumps to No 2, thanks to JDJ

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reality shows are the flavour of the season; and the latest entry to the bandwagon is Colors’ Jhalak Dikhla Ja.  The celebrity dance show in its fifth season premiered on July 16 on Colors and thanks to the show, the channel saw its highest growth this week. Colors has jumped to No. 2 again.

     

    According to the latest data for week 24, Star Plus is on number 1 position with 268 GRPs this week (last week 269). Zee TV has slipped to No. 3 with 212 GRPs (last week 203). Sony Entertainment Television went below the 200 mark, at No. 4, the channel has recorded 187 GRPs (last week 201).

     

    DID Little Masters on Zee has been doing well for the channel, but saw a drop in TVR ratings (2.8)  as Jhalak Dikhla Ja  got a 3.13 TVR. Both are dance shows, but whereas one deals with children, the other has celebrities like Madhuri Dixit and Karan Johar to its credit.

     

    So what worked for the show as well as the channel? Dinesh Rathore, vice president, India- West, MediaVest Worldwide, feels that though celebrities do arouse curiosity and makes them switch to a particular channel, there is no dearth of celebrities on television today as most reality shows feature them. “I think the show has done well on its opening weekend because of the initial curiosity. It would be difficult to say if it will continue to do so for the channel. We’ll just have to wait and watch.”

     

    Monaz Todywalla, general manager, Madison Media, said: “From the content point of view, the show is well packaged and promoted. Hence, it was bound to get such ratings on the opening weekend. However, the channel cannot rest on the shows shoulders alone. If it wants to remain on the slot or even reach the numero uno position, it will have to do a lot more, especially content wise.”

     

    Meanwhile, Zee TV’s DID Li’L Masters which earned a launch rating of 5.8 is adding a Bollywood flavour to its show on the coming Sunday with a tribute to the iconic dancing stars of Indian cinema.

     

    Surely what we have seen is a mere ‘jhalak’ of the two warring dance shows.