MxMIndia

Tag: Tata Nano

  • The second season of 'Drive with MTV', which will begin soon, is a social streaming show, which will showcase the journey of four teams travelling in different regions of the country and sharing their experiences

    MTV India banks on digital wave

    By Ananya Saha

     

    Aditya Swamy

    Tata Nano and MTV have announced the second season of ‘Drive With MTV’, which is set to begin from June 1. The pure social streaming show will showcase the journey of four teams travelling in different regions of the country and sharing their experiences. The 21-day road trip would have 84 webisodes, which will also be aired on MTV, in half-hour weekly six episodes. Last year, the show registered 15,000 tweets, a million likes across photos, videos and text updates.

     

     

    Ekalavya Bhattacharya

    Ekalavya Bhattacharya, Head – Digital, MTV India explained, “It is the future of content. MTV is tapping screenagers.” The social show will depend highly on digital platform. Aditya Swamy, EVP and Business Head – MTV India said, “We realised that we have a wide social and digital footprint. 800,000 people follow us on Twitter. Our Facebook reach is almost 16 million people. Drive with MTV has got over 2500 tweets athe day they did the crowd-souring contest. All of this content will be out on social media and on our website on real-time basis.” Last year, Drive with MTV registered 141,000 tweets.

     

    The contestants will be continuously blogging, tagging videos, tweeting live. “It’s a difficult production. Each team has a dedicated production team, and co-ordination from four different locations is challenging. And it has to be done in real-time.” According to Mr Bhattacharya, what will be shot today, will go live tomorrow. Each team will have a dedicated production team to make this possible.

     

    The travel show is being promoted across MTV, website homepage, Twitter hashtags, and mostly promoting the digital show on digital platform. This year, it has also been extended to Pinterest and Instagram to make the show more audience-inclusive.

     

    Is it difficult ot monetize digital show? “Yes,” feels Mr Bhattacharya. He said, “The total number of people who consume advertisements online, is something I am not convinced about completely. On YouTube, the most used button is ‘Skip the Ad’ button, primarily because people know it is advertising. The kind of audience, which we are catering through this show is an evolved audience. If I show them an ad on their smartphone, they are not going to be consuming it. Hence, on digital platform, MTV over the last two years has entered the branded content space. Here, Nano will be a part of every web episode and also on six episodes that go on-air on MTV. Yes, it is difficult to monetise it to an extent since not many people are capitalising on it. We will also have a telecom partner, and two more as sponsors. The main reason why it is difficult is that digital is very ROI-oriented, you can track everything that when you tell people to step out of ROI and think about the brand and content, and engaging the consumer of your fanpage. Webshows are reaching there with title and associate sponsors like a television programme.”

     

    Mr Bhattacharya insisted that since the point of content consumption is not limited to TV anymore, “MTV is launching a web show every month. The videos are 6-7 minutes long since nobody is going to watch 45 minutes of our show on their tablets and smartphones.” To reach the demography, over the last three years, MTV has been capitalising on its digital properties. And not only digital properties, MTV is doing everything to reach to its TG. “We have lot of music shows. But what we are also doing is other kind of content, music, reality, digital. Whatever young people enjoy, we are going to do that. To be able to connect with youth with one single genre of content – those days are gone. They want a multitude of options. We want to surround sound our audience,” concluded Mr Swami.

     

  • Dr A L Sharada, Director, Population First, tells MxMIndia that we need more ads with girls shown in a capable light

    Jaldi 5 with Dr A L Sharada: More ads must say: Yes, she can

    Population First has been at the forefront of the initiative on the way the girl child has been projected in the media. Dr A L Sharada, Director, Population First, spoke to MxMIndia on the girl child and the media and how we can prevent the celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child from being mere tokenism.

    01.  It’s good to see that the first ever International Day of the Girl Child is being celebrated. How do we prevent it from being mere tokenism?

     

    I welcome the UN, as a global body declaring October11, as the International Day of the Girl Child. This gives us an opportunity to take stock of the work that we have done so far, look further into what needs to be done and how we could take the issue at hand, forward. However the fear that it may turn out to be yet another gesture of tokenism is a valid one. The only way we can stop it from becoming yet another international day celebrated as a formality every year, is through concerted efforts to work on some of the major issues regarding the girl child.

     

    There are many issues concerning girls such as child marriages, low enrolment in schools and neglect of their health and nutrition needs. We need to advocate and lobby for more focused policies and programmes to improve the status of the girl child. We need to use the opportunity provided by the International Day of the Girl Child, every year to reflect upon achievements, fine tune our policies and redesign our programme, if required.

     

    Do you see that Population First’s efforts have had an impact on the media?

     

    I see lot of positivity and openness from the media towards these issues and a willingness to approach them differently. In the current media scenario, many of these issues are being addressed but more need attention. We, at Population First believe that we have to start a dialogue with all stakeholders, media being a primary stakeholder. We, as a nation have internalised, and have deeply ingrained patriarchal values to an extent that unless someone points it out, at times we are unaware of a possible patriarchal tone in our public communications. We need to initiate dialogues with all groups of society, so that together we can build a more gender-sensitive society.

     

    02, In your experience interacting with marketers and advertising agency professionals, do you think they are sincere in their attempts to appreciate the responsibility towards the girl child in a society like ours?

     

    Our experience with the advertising professionals has been very positive. We found them to be open-minded, willing to look at our standpoints and revise their current approach. From the time we began interacting with professionals in the advertising industry in 2008 up to today, we find a much greater presence of girls in advertising and many advertisements that are now projecting positive and non-stereotypical images of girls.

    03.  Do you think self-regulation bodies like ASCI, Advertising Club and AAAI should also take it upon themselves to promote the cause?

     

    Yes, definitely. It is important that activists working on gender issues and the regulatory bodies of media and advertising work together to ensure that the media does not project demeaning and negative images of girls. It is also imperative that  media does not consciously or otherwise, support or promote negative social attitudes and practices such as eve-teasing, commodification, objectification of women and violence.

    04.  What are your views on gender biases in today’s advertising?

     

    In 2008, during our analysis of advertisements showing girl children, we found that girls had a lesser presence and were often presented in a stereotypical fashion, for example mostly endorsing products that have been promoted by their mothers too. It was also observed that an ideal family is always shown as mother-father with one daughter and one son, or two sons. Rarely did we find ads showing two daughters. While a lot has changed in the last few years, in terms of projection of girls in advertisements, it is still rare to find an advertisement where two daughters are shown in a family setting. This, I believe, promotes the perception that a son is a must in the family. In a context where the country’s sex ratio is declining, this is a very disturbing trend.

     

    Television serials, television and print media content also further aggravate this image of women. What are your views here?

     

    Yes, it is true that the portrayal of women in print and electronic media is regressive and voyeuristic in flavour and we have to work on changing this. This is why we have instituted Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity. We have received 1500 entries this year and the quality of the content is improving. There is a lot of potential for change. The most pertinent example here is that of the popular show, Satyamev Jayate, which has suddenly got numerous issues into our drawing rooms. It shows the effect of one strong programme with a potent combination of Aamir Khan, an industry giant like Reliance and a media tool like Star TV. This shows that there is potential to bring social change. New media and its various options are also democratizing the way news now reaches out and has gained momentum with youth across the country as tools for creating public opinion. It is an exciting time to be, in terms of working with media on social issues

    05.  One view of marketers is that they need to sell to consumers, given the prevailing behavioural patterns, and that they are not in a position to correct these attitudes. How do we bring about a change in this view?

    I would like to highlight two ads here. For instance, an HDFC investment plan ad shows a father investing for his daughter’s education instead of a more common notion, such as saving for her marriage. This is a positive and refreshing approach to the product and in no way undermines the value of the product. The other ad I would like to mention is the Tata Nano ad where a small girl hugs the car, and the father gives her the car keys. This shows that the father is proud of his daughter. Giving visibility to girls in ads, is by itself crucial. We need to see more such instances where girls have to be shown in a capable light and in diverse concepts while selling a product. After all, communication is all about conveying the message effectively, is it not?

    (Interviewed by Fatema Rajkotwala)

     

  • Tata Nano will leverage the online medium to treat travel enthusiasts to a 20-day, over 2000 km drive

    Tata Nano partners with MTV India for India’s first Social Road Trip

    By A Correspondent

     

    To celebrate its over 1 million fan base on Facebook, Tata Nano announced the launch ofIndia’s first Social Road Trip called, Nano Drivewith MTV, where the digital world will meet the real world. Tata Nano has partnered with MTV India to create a unique driving experience and will leverage the online medium to treat travel enthusiasts to a 20-day, over 2000 km drive.

     

    Commenting on this unique property, Delna Avari, Head – Nano Product Group, Tata Motors said: “Tata Nano is a personal mobility option for everyone. We are increasingly becoming the popular choice of mobility amongst youth – about 42 per cent of Nano owners are in the 18 to 34 age group. TheNano Drivewith MTV will enable our customers to further understand and experience the brand.”

     

    Tata Motors, MTV and Nano fans will select 4 teams for this drive. Each team will comprise 4 members and these teams will be allocated 4 different routes to be covered in 20 days. The teams will need to overcome obstacles, tasks and move up the ladder. Social media will play a vital role in this unique road trip as viewers will get a chance to vote for their favourite teams online. While the winning team will be awarded with 4 Tata Nanos, the most ardent fan also gets a chance to win a Tata Nano.

     

    In November 2011, Tata Motors introduced the Nano 2012, with a bouquet of features, further improving on its record asIndia’s most fuel efficient petrol car.

     

    With the launch of this drive, over 1 million Facebook Nano fans can look forward to a thrilling social road trip.