MxMIndia

Tag: Virat Kohli

  • The industry is high performance-led. There is subjectivity, appreciation, rejection and dejection, notes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Mental Health & A&M

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Sanjeev KotnalaAt the end of May 2021, women’s tennis star Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open to preserve her mental health. As if taking a cue, many athletes in recent times have been vocal on the subject. Fortunately, now it is receiving the desired focus. We, at least for the celebrity and sports personalities, are now agreeing, ‘It is OK to be not OK.’ And celebrating their courage to be open about it.

     

    In the Indian context, we have read about the mental health issues of Deepika Padukone, Virat Kohli, Abhinav Bindra, Tiger Shroff, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Shah Rukh Khan and many others. Many may say that it is easier for them to be open about mental health than an average person.

     

    Mental illness, also called mental health disorders, refers to a wide range of mental health conditions – disorders that can affect your mood, thinking and behaviour in personal and professional life. Mental illness includes depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviours.

     

    Reports suggest elite athletes experience mental ill-health at a rate comparable to the general population in anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress and sleep disorders. We now acknowledge these superhumans – high-performance humans are also vulnerable to mental health issues.

     

    Which makes me look inwards in the Marketing Advertising community. Just like #MeToo opened up flood gates. People shared their experiences.

     

    Are we going to see people from Marketing and advertising now coming out with their experiences and issues? Personally, I doubt.

     

    The industry has all the environment that could lead to mental health issues. It is high performance led. There is subjectivity. There is a swinging of fortunes in approval, appreciation, rejection and dejection. There are creative blocks that make people question their abilities. Then some push confidently even when they are way behind their benchmarks. Loss of business, shifting fortunes, impossibility to predict and control outcomes. The growth. The layoffs. The repeating iterations. The questions about capabilities, abilities and capacity of someone understanding the problem. Long working hours, no control on timelines and expected to be working beyond office hours add to the problem.

     

    Like me, many of you must have seen cases of people that we never rightly labelled as mental health issues. Because no one wanted to accept such a problem. Theek ho jayega. You will overcome it. Let’s drink to it. ‘Come on. Burn out. Recharge. Are some of the stock solutions offered by colleagues.

     

    I am not a doctor but, like every advertising marketing professional, an observer of life. And that makes me sure that sooner or later, we will be able to question behaviour and have a place for the proper counselling. Maybe the HR and the stakeholders in the industry could initiate a debate on it and think of possible policies to address it.

     

    Campaign did a research survey on the subject. Which told us 71% feel that their organisations haven’t taken any concrete steps towards actively reducing workplace stress. Employees claim they haven’t been receiving considerate timelines and are even unable to sign off for the day post 6 or 7 PM. Additionally, they are dealing with the pressures of coming to the office and are expected to be available over weekends.  Exchange4media did a story that told us that as an industry, we are opening up to it. Times Network-initiated #ActNow to spread awareness, normalise conversations around the issue and sensitise people to be responsive to the mental health needs of others. The business insider did a story on World Mental Health Day: How to address the challenges of overworking in an ad agency. Not enough. And we know the reality.

     

    I may have spoken about the Marketing and Advertising Industry as I am a part of it. But I will not be surprised that it is an omnipresent problem. Police, sales, Manufacturing, Bureaucracy, and students are included in the list.

     

    We need an ecosystem that does not treat it as a taboo subject. Time we are a lot more open and inclusive in our reaction and acceptance of the possibilities. Remember, It is OK, Not to be OK.

     

     

  • Ranjona Banerji writes on the attitude to sport from media managements and owners. On how sponsorship and advertising determine the bulk of the coverage

    Does Media Care about Sports, Beyond Virat & Anushka?

     

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Ranjona BanerjiAll year, India’s sports sections across all media focus on personalities and on cricket. Yes, we have learnt a bit about other sports, including international events in which India has no game like Premier League football and so on. We cover tennis is small measure. Exactly what’s happening in India at the lower levels –district, states – is too expensive and time-consuming for most newsrooms to bother with.

     

    This is not about sports journalists so much as the attitude to sport from media managements and owners. In the same pattern as other areas of coverage, sponsorship and advertising determine the bulk of coverage. For decades now, columns are not just sponsored but columnists are instructed to organise their own sponsorship.

     

    This is not just disheartening for a vast group of very talented, knowledgeable and committed sports journalists in India but also a total cheat when it comes to your “consumers”. And this lack of match practice is evident when it comes to events like the Olympics.

     

    First of all, all these sports carry on through the year. They do not pop up once in four years. All these athletes go through their paces. For Track and Field – and to me as to many others, athletics is the crowning glory of gatherings such as the Olympics – there are several competitions in which you have to shine before you reach qualifying. How often do we cover the World Championships or the Diamond League? Same athletes, tougher records to break sometimes. Remember, I’m not even talking about consistent coverage for National Games, Asian Games, under19, under 16 and the rest.

     

    I give you just one example of one sport.

     

    Having ignored these athletes for most of four years, enormous burden is now put on them to perform to our halfbaked expectations. The heartwarming, inspiring story about Olympian Rani Rampal, captain of India’s women’s hockey team that is doing the rounds appeared only after the Olympics began. But it is not new to Rampal’s life or career.

    https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/rani-rampal-women-hockey-team-captain-inspiring-journey-7426514/

     

    This the extent to which we have no place for sport.

     

    Apart from what Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma said or did or did not and said not.

     

    I know, I know. I am being grossly unfair.

     

    But it is still frustrating.

     

    The sad thing is that sports journalists know all this. But they are helpless. Sports in the news is about sports that sells. And that is also why the incredible problems with cricket associations across the nation are largely ignored, except perhaps locally. Between the current BCCI and the Lodha Commission and the Supreme Court, cricket is in one of its worst ever messes.

     

    I know. I know. Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma.

     

    Funnily enough though big tantrums after losing at the Olympics from big stars like Novak Djokovic and Mary Kom don’t get the same coverage as something Anushka Sharma should not have done when Virat Kohli was playing or something equally pointlessly clickbaitily banal and possibly sexist. And of course, some of our journalist community remember to thank the BJP for every victory in Tokyo.

     

    But happily, we’re now avidly following hockey and track and field and BMX cycling and windsurfing and handball and whatever else. At least once in four years, we remember that we have a hockey team and a host of other athletes. We still have unreal expectations and are still very judgmental. But that’s sport.

     

    And best of all, our vast talent in sports journalism also gets to shine.

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She is also Consulting Editor, MxMIndia. Her views here are personal

     

     

  • Has been an integral part of Audi India’s marketing and social campaigns over the years

    Virat continues alliance with Audi

    By Our Staff

     

    Virat Kohli continues his association with Audi India. Virat has been associated as a friend of Audi India since 2015 but has been driving an Audi since 2012 when he first bought his car.

     

    Said Kohli: “Whether it’s behind the steering wheel or on the pitch with a bat in the hand, performance, consistency and technique are what define perfection. I have been an Audi fan even before I was formally associated with the brand. Audi cars reflect elegance and sportiness, which resonate perfectly with my personality. I am extremely delighted to continue my association with Audi India and be a part of the brand family. It is safe to say that my relationship with Audi India is more of a test match than just a T20.”

     

    Commenting on the occasion, Balbir Singh Dhillon, Head of Audi India, said, “Audi India has been associated with Indian cricketers for many years. We are extremely happy to continue our association with Virat Kohli as he perfectly embodies the progressive premium image of brand Audi. He has been a part of the Audi India family for more than half a decade and is clearly a great fit for the brand, as both exemplify brilliant innovation in their performance. With this continued association, we look forward to an even more exciting journey going forward.”

     

  • Will be brand ambassador for another 3 years

    Viral Kohli extends deal with Amaze Batteries

    By Our Staff

     

    Amaze, the inverter and inverter battery brand, has extended its endorsement deal with Virat Kohli for another three years. Kohli has been associated with the company since its inception in 2018 and has been the face of Amaze. As part of the deal, Virat Kohli will feature in all print and electronic media advertisements for the brand.

     

    Talking about the contract extension, Rajesh Kalra, Head of Sales, Amaze said: “We are delighted to extend our collaboration with one of the greatest batsmen in the world, Virat Kohli. He has always brought a deeper consumer connect to the brand and we hope to seek exemplary success together”.

     

    Added Vipul Sabharwal, Managing Director: “At Amaze, our commitment towards delivering the best, resonates with Virat’s superb performance on the cricket field. As we celebrate more than 3 years of our association with the Captain of Indian Cricket Team, we are proud to continue our journey with him and hope to grow rapidly.”

     

  • Ranveer Singh and MS Dhoni are most recalled brand ambassadors in the Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB) study on advertising recall in IPL 2021. Shah Rukh Khan topped the report in 2019 and MS Dhoni was at No 1 in 2020

    Ranveer Singh & Dhoni top IPL recall rankings

    By Our Staff

     

    Both actor Ranveer Singh and cricketer MS Dhoni have have done equally well in the annual IPL ad recall research of the Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB) conducted 10 days after the start of the league this year. The research polled 879 respondents in the age-group of 18-35 years (M=481, F=398) across India. The interviews were conducted telephonically.

     

    Dream 11 was the most spontaneously recalled brand in this year’s survey, which possibly also helped enhance both the brand equity and recall of Dhoni who anchored the 12-ad series for the brand as its ambassador and protagonist. Jio Fiber, with multiple IPL teams featured with an effervescent Ranveer Singh gyrating with a sing-song brand message, came in second on recall in the research, also helping the celebrity endorser to considerably strengthen his personal recall. Byju’s was the most spontaneously recalled brand on the IPL last year; though its celebrity endorser Shah Rukh Khan trailed behind other celebrities.

     

    Expectedly, Virat Kohli did well on recall too and came third in the recall rankings. Salman Khan did surprisingly well in this year’s survey and came in at No. 4, ahead of Rishabh Pant, Rahul Dravid, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and Saurav Ganguly who followed in that sequence. Ajay Devgn, Sachin Tendulkar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shah Rukh Khan, Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Ayushmann Khurrana and Akshay Kumar, on the other hand, had very few mentions and scored very poorly on respondent recall. There were sporadic mentions of Virender Sehwag and Priyanka Chopra too. In the last survey conducted in October 2020, MS Dhoni had the highest spontaneous recall as a celebrity endorser. Virat Kohli was a not-so-close second. Akshay Kumar was at rank 3; Ayushmann Khurrana at rank 4.

     

    Said Dr Sandeep Goyal, Chief Mentor of IIHB: “MS Dhoni and Ranveer Singh had a disproportionate share of visibility and recall in the IPL research we just conducted. This was in synch with the ultra-high recall of the brands they respectively endorse. It is interesting nevertheless to note that brands without celebrities like Phone Pe, Byju’s and others too have done well wherever media investments are heavy”.

     

    IIHB team used its proprietorial Celebar tool based on Celebrity Brand Association & Recognition to assign a metric score to each celebrity and associated brand. The tool takes into account:

    • Spontaneous recall of the brand

    • Spontaneous recall of the celebrity

    • Association between brand & celebrity together

    • Recency of communication

    • Media weight behind campaign

    • Solus versus multiple brands using the celebrity

     

    MS Dhoni had a Celebar score of 87, up from 82 at the last IPL. His spontaneous recall was an unusually high 82%. His association with Dream 11 was also very constant at 79% from the last edition. He got 9% association with IPL/Star TV, 8% brand association with Indigo Paints, 6% with Orient Fans for Orient Fans and Livfast Solar. 2% recall came from SunFeast Yippee. So, most of Dhoni’s brand goodness got hijacked by Dream 11, much like last year. If Dhoni had only been endorsing Dream 11, his Celebar score would have been near 100, given his strong association with that one brand, to almost the relative exclusion of the other brands he endorses.

     

    Ranveer achieved a Celebar score of 86, empirically almost equal to that of MS Dhoni. But his association was more democratically spread with Jio Fiber at 56%, JD mart at 48%, My11Circle at 22% and Bingo at 18%. Names of some other brands were mentioned by respondents but these were filtered out as they were not part of the IPL broadcast.

     

    Both MS Dhoni and Ranveer gained massively also on account of their main brands spending disproportionately large amounts of media monies which made them exponentially more visible than other competing celebrities.

     

    Virat Kohli trailed behind the Top 2. His score of 45 on Celebar is mostly derived by his 94% association with MRF tyres. Bluestar is in low single digits on association.

     

    Salman Khan at a Celebar of 38, owes 82% recall to Rajshree elaichi and the balance to Pepsi. Rishabh Pant climbed up interestingly to No. 5 on the strength of his JSW appearances. Varun Dhawan had 76% of his recall from Lux Cozi and much lower from Frooti. Alia owed most her recall also to Frooti with scattered mentions of Dark Fantasy.

     

    Interestingly, the IPL seems to be running no/few ads with Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, and even with cricketers Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul or Hardik Pandya, or the media weightages behind those ads were too insignificant to be noticed by viewers.

     

    The Cred ad for Rahul Dravid was spontaneously recalled by 17% respondents but only 2% remembered Jackie Shroff and only 1% mentioned Kumar Sanu for the same brand.

     

    Mutual Funds (AMFI) ads had 22% recall but most respondents got the protagonists mixed up, with the most attributing the messaging to Dhoni and Kohli.

     

    Dream 11’s association with multiple cricketers was mentioned by many respondents but most were not sure if they remembered current creatives. Only the connect with MS Dhoni was unambiguous.

     

    Despite heavy media weights, Vimal Elaichi ad featuring Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan had only an 8% recall. Netmeds with Kareena Kapoor and Renuka Shahane had a good 9% recall. Priyanka Chopra’s Appy Fizz and Katrina’s Slice were almost not recalled. Hema Malini managed 3% recall on Kent RO. Randhir Kapoor’s Asian Paints managed 4% while Kareena Kapoor’s and Pankaj Tripathi’s Berger creatives both got below 1%. Ayushmann was remembered by less than 1% in Urban Company. Gajaraj Rao was mentioned in less than 1% for Voltas. Unacademy featuring Sunil Gavaskar and Harsha Bhogle too scored poorly at 2%. Gamezy featuring KL Rahul got less than 1% recall.

     

    On the ads without celebrities, the most remembered were Phone Pe (32%), Byju’s (31%), Vivo (22%), One Plus (21%), Groww (20%), Upstox (20%), Kia (19%), MPL (18%), Bisleri (11%), PharmEasy (11%), Thums Up(9%), Coca Cola (6%), Renault Kiger (6%), Tata Safari (6%), Skoda (3%), Ajio (3%), Dark Fantasy (2%), LikedIn (2%), Raymond (2%) and Tuborg (1%).

     

    As more gets added to the broadcast as the IPL progresses, both standings of celebrities and recall of brands may change, a communique added.

     

  • To increase awareness for insurance and recall for Digit Insurance

    Virat Kohli joins Digit Insurance as brand ambassador

    By Our Staff

    Digit Insurance has announced that Virat Kohli has joined them brand ambassador. The baseline of the campaign is ‘Digit, the almost five-star customer-rated insurance.’ Made by Stirred Creative, the campaign #SwitchToDigit with this 30 second ad comes ahead of the start of the IPL season.

    Said Vivek Chaturvedi, Chief Marketing Officer, Digit Insurance: “Insurance in India is highly underpenetrated. Therefore, our marketing objective was to increase the awareness for insurance and recall for Digit Insurance. And who better than the very passionate youth icon, Virat Kohli, for the same, who is loved by every age group of Indians. Plus, at Digit, we believe that insurance can be simple and fun. Therefore, we wanted to keep that fun element in our campaign, too. From a brand perspective, we wanted to highlight that Digit has earned the trust of 1.5 crore Indians for their car, bike, health and travel insurance, and that reflects in our almost 5-star customer rating on Google and Facebook.”

    Added Edward Anthony, Founding Partner, Stirred Creative: “Our brief was straightforward. We had Virat, a 5-Star rated player and Digit, an almost 5-Star rated insurance. All we needed to do was to marry these two in a fun way. And with IPL around the corner, #SwitchToDigit was conceptualised with a twist that would leave people with a smile at the end.”

     

     

  • Launches a new TVC to urge learners to upskill

    Virat Kohli films for Great Learning

    By Our Staff

    Edtech company Great Learning has released a new TVC featuring their brand ambassador Virat Kohli. The ad film is the third in the series of the multi-film campaign titled Power Ahead – Jo Seekhta Hai Wahi Aage Badhta Hai. It showcases how upskilling is a necessary step for students and professionals. The ad film will air across 40+ national channels of varied genres starting mid-April. The campaign has been conceptualized by Sideways and directed by Cornerstone.

    Said Aparna Mahesh, Chief Marketing Officer, Great Learning: “In today’s volatile world, constant learning and upskilling will increasingly be the main source of stability for professionals. Great Learning has always been focused on providing professionals with access to top-notch programs from the world’s best academic institutions. Virat embodies Great Learning’s philosophy of lifelong learning and disciplined effort in his game. His ethos of pursuing excellence is exactly what we follow at Great Learning while delivering our programs across domains to our learners.  We believe his passion to stay at the top of his game will inspire our learners and audience to uplift their careers through mentored learning.”

    Added Abhijit Avasthi, Co-founder, Sideways: “Great Learning’s stance of ‘Jo seekhta hai, wahi aagey badhta hai’ is true of any sphere of life or career. Virat is an embodiment of this philosophy. And the results are there for all to see. We have seen a lot of traction ever since we launched this thought last August. We hope to continue and build on the momentum.”

     

  • Since there are enough and more new ads around IPL 2021, Vikas Mehta comes up with a bonus add-on to his weekly column

    AdsOnIPL21: Akal Badi ki Ads?

     

    Since there are enough and more new ads around IPL 2021, Vikas Mehta comes up with a bonus add-on to his weekly column

     

    By Vikas Mehta

    Vikas MehtaTrust my Gen Z single sample to ask me a pointed question during the IPL. How do the Indian  cricketers get to shoot ads? Aren’t they in some bubble and get transferred from one bubble to another? We hear them moaning about the mental agony of the bubble, but every few months, they do manage to somehow augment their incomes with new ad campaigns. Bubbles notwithstanding.

    This re-view is dedicated to the new ads during the IPL featuring our cricketers. Past and present.  Last weekend the match between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings was touted as the match between guru and shishya. Dhoni vs Pant. I carried this imaginary rivalry into the ad world while watching the ad for Indigo Paint with Dhoni and then the one with JSW Steel bars (boring, uninvolved, irrelevant category) with neither me nor my Gen Z sample being the intended target. Frankly, the brand decision in both categories, paints and steel bars, is heavily dependent on the middle men and of course our budget, but paints has come a long way and why can’t steel bars hope to go the paint way. Specially when JSW is one of the main sponsors of DC.

    For me, this battle was won by the shishya. The two JSW ads have managed to not only exploit Pant’s personality but have also communicated the brand benefit woven into an involved storyline. The guruji’s ad unfortunately was a damp squib which was content with the typical celebrity formula. Show Dhoni in the ad and the rest will follow. And this in an ad for floor paints. Usually all paint ads are about walls. I think so much more could have been done with Dhoni and floor paint. My Gen Z sample  made another pertinent comment. So many Dhoni ads, he is an old man now (I guess I am vintage for her) shouldn’t the brand make his ads about his experience or his knowledge. Clearly the Gen Z sample is totally influenced by the Gen Z shishya.

    I did re-view Dream 11 last time but as has been the case always, I am now swamped with more fantasy team ads. So, I turned to my Gen Z sample for help. Let it be known that she is an expert on fantasy team contests having participated and won in some EPL contests. For her Dream 11 was the Indian cricket team, My Circle 11 was Dada, MPL was Virat Kohli and Howzatt.com was Yuvraj. Phew! Some clarity.

    MPL though have not used Kohli this time. They have done a literal interpretation of the Hindi proverb “Akal badi ki bhains” (is the brain better or a buffalo! No disrespect to both, please!) and it seems that currently the bhains is winning. I liked the ad because it clearly implies that making your fantasy team is so easy that you do not need to use your brains  to make the team. And it in its own way does take a dig at those short ads for Dream 11 which have Dhoni asking people to use their brains not on buttering your boss or your father but on choosing a fantasy team on Dream 11. Nicely done. My Gen Z sample though did not agree with me. Because she had never heard of the Hindi proverb. You cannot win them all, I say.

    My Circle 11 has roped in Ranveer Kapoor. Maybe Dada did not have enough time with his health issues, so Ranveer is now the co-anchor. And I do think I saw Rahane in one ad too. And me thinks that the ads have been done in a rush. Looked tacky and depended on Ranveer to announce a new promotion. But I do think that in the next few weeks we shall have more ads from My circle 11. I do hope so. Cannot re-view the current ones. What a waste of Ranveer, is the only comment from my Gen Z sample.

    The Yuvraj led Howzatt.com ads sounded familiar. Trust Gen Z sample to come to my rescue. She gently reminded me that the promotion was similar to My Circle 11 ads of beating the teams chosen by Dada, Watson, Rashid etc to win more money. Guess somebody has got me in plumb. Howzatt?

    And before I sign off I thought I saw another fantasy team ad for a new brand which was being endorsed by K Rahul. My head is now totally spinning with so many fantasy team ads, all around cricket. All using cricketers, ex and present. But my Gen Z sample had the last word, better than watching phone ads or ecommerce ads or those perpetually smiling Dhoni ads.

  • To launch new smartphone devices in their V series soon

    Vivo onboards Virat Kohli as brand ambassador

    By Our Staff

    Vivo has announced Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador. A 360-degree marketing approach will characterise Civo’s association with Virat Kohli. Virat will be seen spreading awareness and promoting the launch of Vivo’s upcoming products series in the pipeline.

    Said Nipun Marya, Director-Brand Strategy, Vivo India: “We are thrilled to have Virat Kohli on board. At vivo, our focus is always on our consumer needs and preferences, and we are committed to bringing joy to our consumers’ lives. Collaborating with someone as effervescent as Virat is a great way to better connect with our young consumers. Along with Aamir Khan and Sara Ali Khan, we wish to widen our brand reach, and we are confident that associating with a sports figure will help us in reaching a wider audience.”

    Added Kohli: “I am really looking forward to this association. As a sportsperson, I understand the importance of consistency and commitment in the game. vivo, as a brand, has established itself as one of the leading players in the Indian smartphone market with its consistency towards delivering innovative technology. The way vivo has brought joy to its customers’ lives through simplified technology, and advancements in mobile photography are gamewinning. Associating with such a brand that understands and delivers to the audience is quite exciting.”

     

     

  • Brand ambassador is Virat Kohli

    Great Learning launches new logo

    By Our Staff

    Great Learning launched its new logo which reinforces the brand’s ‘Power Ahead’ positioning.  As a part of the logo launch, the brand also released a short video highlighting the brand’s philosophy of mentored learning.

    Said Mohan Lakhamraju, CEO Great Learning: “Our experience has shown that mentorship and guidance are pivotal to the success of an individual’s learning journey. It is this personalized attention and mentorship that has differentiated Great Learning and helped establish it as the most trusted edtech company in our space and enabled us to positively impact the careers and lives of our learners. Our new logo represents our continued commitment to helping our learners power ahead in their careers through our guided learning approach.”

     

     

  • Akshay Kumar is No 2, followed by Ranveer Singh, Shah Rukh Khan & Deepika Padukone, as per the Duff & Phelps study

    Virat stays India’s No 1 Celeb

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Consulting firm Duff & Phelps, the world’s premier provider of governance, risk and transparency solutions, has  released key findings from the sixth edition of its Celebrity Brand Valuation Study 2020: “Embracing the New Normal.” The study provides a ranking of India’s most powerful celebrity brands based on brand values derived from their product endorsement portfolio and relative social media presence. It examines the impact of the pandemic on both brand value rankings and the celebrity endorsement space.

     

     

    Said Aviral Jain, Managing Director, Duff & Phelps: “While established celebrities continue to dominate our rankings, notable millennials with a strong social media presence continue to climb the ladder. Ayushmann Khurrana, Tiger Shroff and Rohit Sharma all jumped a few spots to grab the No. 6, No. 15 and No. 17 spots, respectively. Further, Kartik Aaryan debuts on our list at No. 20. These rising millennial celebrities were in greater demand during the pandemic owing to their popularity among the youth,” adding: “This year, the media and entertainment (“M&E”) sector took a hit and witnessed significant slowdown in advertising spends as traditional media and outdoor entertainment were severely impacted by the pandemic. Digital marginally overtook print to become the second largest segment in the advertisement space, and it continues to witness traction among brands. The pandemic has also reinforced the fact that a strong social media presence is no longer a ‘good to have,’ but rather a ‘must have’ for celebrity endorsers. With celebrity-brand engagements becoming more digitally oriented, brands and celebrity endorsers are discussing innovative ways of collaboration,” Jain added.

     

    Commenting on how the pandemic redefined the M&E sector, Varun Gupta, Managing Director and Asia Pacific Leader for Valuation Services at Duff & Phelps, added: “2020 saw a boost in digital advertising, with celebrities leveraging their authentic and personal experiences for endorsements. In fact, many OTT stars and influencers are currently sharing the spotlight for digital ads, which is a new trend observed this year.”

  • The series for Virat Kohli’s Team India happening after a gap of almost nine months comprises three ODIs, three T2OIs and four Tests

    Sony Sports to air Ind-Aus series from Nov 27

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN) is all set to broadcast Team India’s first cricket series under the new normal as the tour of Australia will commence November 27, 2020 and will be aired live on Sony Ten 1 channels in English, Sony Ten 3 channels in Hindi and Sony Six channels in English, Tamil and Telugu commentary. The tour will be the first international cricket series for Virat Kohli’s team India after a gap of almost nine months and comprises three ODIs, three T2OIs and four Tests.

     

    As per schedule released by Cricket Australia, Sydney and Canberra will host the opening ODIs and T20Is at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Canberra’s Manuka Oval. The much-awaited battle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will begin with a day-night encounter at the Adelaide Oval on December 17, followed by Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26, the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 7 and the Gabba on January 15. The Adelaide fixture will be the first day-night Test played between the Australian and Indian men’s teams.