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Category: iWorld

  • Mobile broadband revenue expected to grow at an 11.8% CAGR from 2013 to 2018: Infonetics Research.

    Mobile broadband revenue expected to grow at an 11.8% CAGR from 2013 to 2018: Infonetics Research.

    NEW DELHI: The largest growth in mobile broadband between 2012 and 2013 was in the Asia Pacific region, while it fell in Europe.

     

    According to a study by Infonetics Research, the growth in the Asia Pacific region came close to $300 billion last year.

     

    The study said Mobile broadband revenue will grow at an 11.8 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2013 to 2018.

     

    Growth in Asia Pacific was 5 per cent, the Caribbean and Latin America 4 per cent, and North America 3 per cent, while there was a high single-digit decline in Europe.

     

    While mobile broadband in Europe fell further from around $ 250 billion but is still just above $200 billion, it rose marginally in North America and but remains lower than $225 billion.

     

    Mobile services revenues were just above $100 billion in 2012 and showed only a marginal increase, last year.

     

    LTE services are expected to account for half of total mobile broadband service revenue in 2018, with North America making up the majority.

     

    Mobile broadband has helped overall mobile service revenue growth in 2013, offsetting year-over-year decreases in voice and SMS revenue.

     

    Despite the rise of mobile data, blended ARPU continues to fall or stay flat in every region except developing Asia Pacific, where it rose slightly in China.

     

    Mobile broadband subscribers will pass postpaid voice subscribers by the end of 2014, said Infonetics. Voice services are expected to stay above 50 percent of total mobile service revenue through 2016.

     

    Telecom operators’ 2013 revenue rose 1 per cent to $800 billion — from mobile services including mobile voice, SMS/MMS, and broadband.

     

    Europe dragged global mobile service revenue in 2013, mainly due to mobile saturation and weak consumer spending. The research said price-based competition in markets including Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and The Netherlands had also contributed to the decline.

     

    Infonetics Research principal analyst for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics Stephane Teral said: “CEOs of European telecoms Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefonica and Vodafone are pushing the European Commission for more consolidation to reduce the number of operators in each country, from four or five to just three.”

  • Facebook provides facilities for watching and sharing FIFA details

    Facebook provides facilities for watching and sharing FIFA details

    NEW DELHI: Even as millions of soccer fans from around the world will be glued to their television sets to watch the 2014 FIFA World Cup, many will join the conversation about the Cup on Facebook.

     

    People come to Facebook during sporting events to connect and engage with friends who are following the action, to cheer their favourite teams and players, and to find out the latest scores and highlights.

     

    For this year’s World Cup, Facebook is giving users one great place to experience the action in real time.

     

    The social networking site has launched Trending World Cup, a dedicated hub for fans to follow the tournament as it unfolds. This includes the latest scores and highlights from the matches, a special feed with real-time posts from friends and updates from relevant players and teams, and an interactive map that shows where fans of some of the top players are located around the world.

     

    In addition, users can share the specific matches they are watching during the World Cup — by simply tapping the smiley icon before sharing a post and selecting “watching.”

     

    Over the course of the tournament, Trending World Cup can be found on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/worldcup. One can also get there by clicking on “World Cup” in the Trending section on the right-hand side of the news feed. If friends share that they are watching a specific match, a user can also get to Trending World Cup by clicking on their post.

  • Blogmint launches India’s first Football Bloggers World Cup

    Blogmint launches India’s first Football Bloggers World Cup

    MUMBAI: Blogmint, a networked community of bloggers managed by Tangerine Digital, today announced the launch of the first Football Bloggers World Cup in India. The championship will take place between 32 football bloggers, divided into 8 groups, and top 2 from each group after the league stage will qualify to the knockout stages.

     

    The teams will compete against each other on the basis of their quality of blogs, impressions made per blog and reach. These are top 32 football bloggers from the country and they have crazy football loving fans and readers as their followers. Regular articles by these bloggers on Football World Cup will enkindle the football passion in digital and social media savvy youth of India. The tournament format ensures best performance from every blogger which results in more engaging and entertaining content.

     

    “One of a kind initiative that will get all the bloggers buzzing, adding more zing and hype to the biggest sporting event of the year,” exclaimed an enthusiastic Akhilesh Gannavarapu, Author, Sportskeeda.

     

    Each round will be evaluated by a jury of selected media persons who will screen all articles written by the bloggers about football. The entire duration of the tournament will be a month and on 16th August, 2014, the winners be felicitated at a grand event in Delhi. Blogmint will award top 3 bloggers and also award Golden Boot and Golden Ball as special prizes.

     

    Commenting on behalf of Blogmint, Seeraj Katoch, Chief Operating Officer, Tangerine Digital stated, “As a company, we’ve always loved sports. Since we work so closely with bloggers, this idea of Bloggers Football World Cup was seeded to further enhance the exhilaration of football fans. We wanted to get something thrilling to our audience and the world cup is a great amplifier.  We have also empanelled an esteemed jury of media persons to evaluate all teams for a fair final.”

     

    It will definitely be a tough competition both on the field and in the bloggers arena.

  • KRDS social media agency launches the world cup of hashtags with “second world cup”!

    KRDS social media agency launches the world cup of hashtags with “second world cup”!

    MUMBAI: While the World Cup starts in Brazil’s football stadiums, another competition has already kickstarted on social networks: the one that opposes players and participating countries through hashtags, followers and Twitter mentions.

     

    On this occasion, Social Media Agency KRDS launches, “Second World Cup”, an immersive website available both on desktop and mobile, allowing users to discover what players and teams are the most talked about on Twitter during the event.

     

    Users are invited to take part in the “Second World Cup” by participating to virtual confrontations which oppose teams on the social network. Which means, participants have to tweet to help their team win and improve its position in the final ranking of the Hashtags’ World Cup.

     

    “Second World Cup” does not just reveal the number of tweets which are related to the event on Twitter, but also gives users the opportunity to follow the evolution of tweets mentioning a team or a player in real time. The more the team / player are mentioned on the social network, the bigger the bubble which represents them becomes, as the number of sent tweets directly affects the size of the picture, and thus the final ranking.

     

    A “battle” section contains a calendar of each of the games and will allow users to take part to tweet matches happening between two teams in real time. The winner of the virtual game (the one who will have received the most mentions on Twitter) will be unveiled after each “battle”.

     

    Finally, the website also gives access to the teams’ and the players’ cloakrooms. This includes a social hub showcasing mentions on all social networks, along with the Twitter stats of the day, a ranking of the top 40 Twitter users who are the most assiduous for each team, a detailed information sheet on each player/participating country as well as the most important historical World Cup facts.

  • Times Internet partners with Say Media to launch digital magazines

    Times Internet partners with Say Media to launch digital magazines

    MUMBAI: Times Internet has partnered with Say Media, a digital publishing company, to launch the India Chapters of two of their digital magazines Remodelista, a home design website, and ReadWrite, a tech new site.

     

    The strategic partnership between Say Media and Times Internet will fall under its initiative – Times Local Partners (TLP) Group.  Both Remodelista and ReadWrite join the growing TLP portfolio, which has already rolled out the Indian editions of Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Techradar, Business Insider and IGN.

     

    Times Local Partners business head Puneet Singhvi said, “We are looking forward to expanding the horizons for Remodelista and ReadWrite.com in India. The Indian art of interior designing combined with the global design trends laid out by Remodelista India would make for an exciting read for the audience.  The India version of ReadWrite will further augment the fledgling TLP Tech network and deliver latest from Indian and global tech news and analysis for its audience. The websites will complement our leadership in design and technology content offerings giving new avenues to our users as well as advertisers.”

     

    Under the partnership, Times Internet will roll out and grow Remodelista and ReadWrite locally in India. TIL will also have exclusive rights to the two brands and their content in India. The Indian version of Remodelista would marry its coverage of global home design trends with Indian interior designing while ReadWrite  India coverage will include the latest from local tech circles which will augment the global tech news stories.

     

    Say Media publisher Josh Groves said “We are delighted to find a proven partner in The Times of India Group to extend the global reach of ReadWrite.com and Remodelista.com into the Indian market. Technology news and home design inspiration are of great interest to Indian readers, and our partnership with Times Internet Partners enables Say Media to deliver our award-winning content directly to this market. We look forward to working with The Times of India Group for years to come.”

  • Networkplay Unveils VideoPlay

    Networkplay Unveils VideoPlay

    MUMBAI: Networkplay, Indian subsidiary of Gruner+Jahr takes video advertising to a whole new level with the launch of VideoPlay, a revolutionary byproduct of its recent acquisition – Vxchange. Further enhanced with multiple features, added benefits, VideoPlay is a digital video ecosystem that offers an open marketplace platform for video content and ad inventory to content providers, publishers and advertisers.

     

    An easy-to-use marketplace platform, VideoPlay enables trading of video content and advertisements. The platform provides syndication opportunities to content providers while enabling publishers to add value to their existing content by picking videos from the platform and hosting it on their websites. Advertisers will also be able to leverage this scheme by delivering ads on various genres of video content. The platform offers both custom flash-based video players as well as HTML5 compatible video player to deliver video through embed codes, thus ensuring that it supports all devices including mobiles and tablets.

     

    Advertisers will get to choose from ad formats such as pre-roll, post-roll, mid-roll and overlay image ads. Depending on the type of user (content provider, publisher, advertiser) VideoPlay provides customised user interfaces and functionality features.  

     

    Commenting on this launch, Mr. Kuldip Singh, CEO Gruner + Jahr, India says, “G+J’s strategy for Networkplay focuses on further growth of the existing business and expansion of the product portfolio. With India as Asia’s 3rd largest online video market after China and Japan, and online video consumption has grown to more than 3.7 bn videos as against 1.8 bn in 2011, the market is witnessing shifts in ad budgets inclined heavily towards video advertising. The launch of VideoPlay brings to fore, Networkplay’s focus on building strong technological competence in the video space, thus differentiating itself from other players and helping it pave the way for a long-term position in this segment.”

     

    According to Ampreet Singh, CEO Networkplay, “The company is taking myriad initiatives to establish itself as a large media firm. The core continues to remain digital and due diligence by our team in the market with several content providers, publishers and advertisers, further reinforces our product offering as of  immense value to all. Our successful campaigns delivered in a couple of months for clients like Visa, KFC, Mitsubishi Electric & Virgin Atlantic have made us very visible in the market. The performance on these campaigns has been above industry standards and we expect it to be even better in the coming months.”

     

    The launch of VideoPlay, marks the beginning of a series of exciting novel schemes. Networkplay has already tied up with various content providers and publishers for this proposal and is expecting more traction in the coming months.

  • GoDaddy initiates IPO

    GoDaddy initiates IPO

    MUMBAI: GoDaddy, the Scottsdale internet domain registration company, has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed initial public offering.

     

    According to a press statement issued by the company, the number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering has still not been determined. The company announced the filing in a tweet.

     

    International news websites have stated that GoDaddy has notified the Securities and Exchange Commission that it could raise about $100 million in an IPO.

     

    Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup are leading the offering. Among the list of underwriters is KKR’s capital markets arm. He will remain as executive board chairman.

     

    In another recent development, the company also announced that its founder, Bob Parsons, will step down as executive chairman. GoDaddy was founded in 1997 and was bought in 2011 by a group of private-equity firms, led by KKR and Silver Lake, for $2.3 billion including debt.

     

    There have been reports that GoDaddy has reported a loss of $200 million or 79 cents a share on revenue of $1.13 billion in 2013. As of 31 March 2014, it reported assets of $3.25 billion against liabilities of $2.42 billion, including $1.09 billion in long-term debt.

     

    It was in the year 2005 that GoDaddy caught the attention of the world with its racy ads splashed during Super Bowl. Though the brand is known for its outrageous and funny ads in the last couple of years it has toned down its marketing. 

     

    It will be interesting to see how GoDaddy will reposition itself post IPO.

  • Content marketing most tightly integrated with Search Engine Optimisation: Study

    Content marketing most tightly integrated with Search Engine Optimisation: Study

    NEW DELHI: The year 2013 was marked by updates that have altered search marketing irreversibly.

     

    Post-hummingbird, marketers are forced to think of organic search in a whole new light – with practice such as link-building taking a back-seat and SEO becoming more content-centric than ever before. Social signals are being taken seriously by brands.

     

    According to a study by Regalix, 56 per cent marketers integrate content marketing with search engine optimisation while 61 per cent marketers use responsive web design as a part of their mobile SEO.

     

    A total of 76 per cent marketers use social media to support and boost SEO, and 71 per cent marketers use broad-based information keywords to capture leads at the top of the purchase funnel. Around 47 per cent of B2B marketers believe that growth of mobile ads and mobile content is not significant to them.

     

    Interestingly, 96 per cent marketers use search engine marketing to provide informational/educational content and 68 per cent marketers use paid search to accelerate lead generation.

     

    Regalix senior vice president Nimish Vohra said, “Search is a foundational channel within the marketing mix and it plays a crucial role in making purchase decisions. For any marketer, it is obviously profitable to adopt a cost-effective marketing strategy.” He added, “Marketers today are forced to re-think and re-invent strategies for paid search, with the increased usage of mobile devices and hence mobile ad formats.”

     

    Detailed findings of the report include an analysis of marketers’ goals for using organic and paid search and various tactics used to effectively attain those goals.

     

    The survey found that paid search marketing is being used at the top of the purchase funnel, majorly for enhancing lead generation. Around 68 per cent marketers use paid search to accelerate lead generation; while 63 per cent marketers use it to sell products and services online.

     

     Marketers use a variety of tactics for lead generation as a part of paid search marketing. The majority, around 71 per cent marketers, use broad-based information keywords to capture prospects at the top of the funnel.

     

    A total of 61 per cent of marketers reported using “exact match” and “negative keywords” to avoid appropriate/irrelevant clicks.

     

    The survey found that the top three goals for search engine marketing are providing educational/informative content (96 per cent), getting established as thought leaders (86 per cent), and enhancing brand reputation and awareness reported by 83 per cent marketers surveyed. As many as 95 per cent marketers were found using search engine marketing for promoting satisfaction and inducing loyalty among their existing customers.

     

    It was demonstrated in the survey that Search Engine Optimisation is used by marketers to advance prospects and buyers through the purchase cycle and is not directed to any one stage in the purchase funnel. However, different keywords are used to target prospects/buyers at different stages.

     

    The survey found that 76 per cent marketers use generic informational keywords to enhance awareness around brands, products and services and direct prospects to their site.

     

    A total of 52 per cent marketers use keywords directing prospects to comparison pages on site to help prospects compare their solution with their competitors, and 43 per cent marketers also use keywords illustrating specific features such as cost, benefits etc.

     

    Only 15 per cent marketers use special offers or discounts to provide them with the necessary push to make a purchasing decision, while 46 per cent marketers use the same keywords directing prospects to comparison sites.

     

    The survey demonstrated that 50 per cent of marketers use keywords indicating discounts or special offers to induce purchase.

     

     It was found that only 9 per cent marketers make use of keywords that direct prospects to blog posts easing the consumption process.

     

    A total of 19 per cent marketers surveyed use keywords that direct buyers to blog posts that create a positive impression in the minds of their customers, hence leaving them content and satisfied with their purchase.

     

    Around 53 per cent marketers use keywords that direct to blogs where buyers can engage with the brand directly.

     

    A total of 25 per cent marketers use keywords with special discounts and offers to existing customers to make them purchase more and keep returning to the brand.

     

    Content marketing was found to be most tightly integrated with search engine optimisation. With SEO becoming more content-centric, it was found that 42 per cent marketers apportion 20 to 40 per cent of their budgets towards content marketing. Less than 20 per cent of budgets are apportioned towards display, paid and organic search.

     

    The survey also found that organic search marketing will see increased investment this year, while at the same time paid search will see reduced investment. Thus, 48 per cent marketers reported that they will increase investment in search engine marketing by 10 to 30 per cent in 2014 while 80 per cent marketers indicated a reduction in paid spends by 10 per cent. 

     

    The survey found that the top three metrics for gauging PPC campaigns’ performance are directly related to conversion rates. A total of 84 per cent marketers were found using conversion rates to measure the success of PPC campaigns, 72 per cent were using the number of leads and 50 per cent marketers cost per click metrics to determine the return on PPC investments.

     

    When it comes to organic search marketing, 92 per cent marketers were found using site traffic metrics to determine the success or failure of Search Engine Optimisation efforts. Since SEO is used to target prospects/buyers during each stage of the buying cycle, marketers also use conversion metrics to determine its performance.

     

    The survey was conducted by Regalix and respondents included CMOs and mid-level marketing professionals from leading B2B companies. The State of Search Marketing 2014 was compiled using the survey results and covers the latest search marketing trends, tactics, metrics and challenges faced by B2B marketers in today’s dynamic market environment.

     

    Regalix is an award-winning Global Innovation company that leverages technology and marketing to help companies grow.

  • Use social media as a tool for participative governance: Pranab Mukherjee

    Use social media as a tool for participative governance: Pranab Mukherjee

    NEW DELHI: Social media will be used as a tool for participative governance, directly engaging people in policy making and administration and “fully realizing our softpower potential,” said President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday, 9 June.

     

    He also acknowledged the fact that there is a need to integrate emerging technologies like social media into “external interchange, with particular emphasis on the country’s rich spiritual, cultural and philosophical heritage.” According to Mukherjee, the government will revive ‘Brand India’ riding on the strengths of 5T’s: Tradition, Talent, Tourism, Trade and Technology.

     

    He added that e-governance brings empowerment, equity and efficiency and has the power to transform peoples’ lives.

     

    In his first address to the joint sitting of the 16th Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, he said: “The backbone of my government’s new ways of working will be a Digital India. IT will be used to drive re-engineering of government processes to improve service delivery and programme implementation. We will strive to provide Wi-Fi zones in critical public areas in the next five years.”

     

    He added: “My government will rollout broad band highway to reach every village and make all schools e-enabled in a phased manner. Technology will be used to prepare our children for a knowledge society. The National e-governance plan will be expanded to cover every government office from the centre to the Panchayat; to provide a wide variety of services to citizens.”

     

    He noted: “Our rich cultural heritage is the very foundation on which rests the unity of our diverse nation. Indian languages are repositories of our rich literature, history, culture, art and other achievements. My government will launch a national mission ‘e-Bhasha’ that will develop digital vernacular content and disseminate our classic literature in different languages. My government will also provide the required resources for the maintenance and restoration of national heritage sites.” 

     

    FICCI president Siddharth Birla has welcomed the announcements relating to national e-governance plans and usage of social media for participative governance, as that “would help restore the credibility of institutions, improve investor confidence and reignite investment inflow in the country,” he said.  

  • Nokia MixRadio broadens the horizon for music lovers in India

    Nokia MixRadio broadens the horizon for music lovers in India

    MUMBAI: Nokia MixRadio, the popular global music streaming service today announced its collaboration with talented musician and popular artiste, Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Ustad Khan joins a long list of celebrated artistes such as Lady Gaga and India’s very own Priyanka Chopra to collaborate with the popular music app – Nokia MixRadio.

     

    Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will also be exclusively curating playlists for Nokia MixRadio giving music lovers across 31 countries exclusive access and insight to the singer’s renditions and musical tastes. This service will be available across popular ranges such as the Nokia Lumia and the Nokia X family.

     

    Mr. Viral Oza, Director Marketing, Nokia India Sales, a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobile Oy says, “As Nokia MixRadio expands into the emerging market of digital global music streaming in developing markets, it is slated to see an upswing of growth resulting in one in every fifteen users coming from India. To cater to this rising user demographic we are slated to position Nokia MixRadio as the ultimate gateway to not only offer diversely curated domestic music but also the best of international music. Through our collaboration with an iconic artiste like Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan we look to give our consumers across different platforms the best music experience at their fingertips”

     

    Speaking ahead of the occasion, Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan said, “It is great to experience what Mix Radio is all about and being part of such a project is overwhelming. I want my album “Back 2 Love” to reach out to the masses and global audience. Mix Radio is surely the best way forward for this. The producer of this album, Salman Ahmed and MD of UMI, Devraj Sanyal both have been instrumental in making this happen. There are two amazing videos as well which I am sure will be loved by all my music lovers”.

     

    Devraj  Sanyal, Managing Director, Universal Music/EMI Music, South Asia said; “The long awaited new album ‘Back 2 Love’ from the legend Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is a collection of ten stunning new soulful songs and is easily his best work to date. Being his first new album in seven years, it needed a launch platform that will do justice on a global scale and we believe that there is no better place than to launch on MixRadio.”

     

    “Nokia has been and continues to be one of our most valued partners. After just launching Priyanka Chopra’s new International single globally on MixRadio, we are now ready to take our partnership with MixRadio further with the launch of Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s new album ‘Back 2 Love’ to a worldwide audience”, concluded Sanyal.

     

    MixRadio is also equipped with a unique PlayMe feature allowing users to discover 30 million tracks and at the touch of a button, taking playlists offline. When data connection is not available, the feature offers users the opportunity to enjoy music anytime anywhere, by taking hours of music and mixes offline, perfect for commuting and avoiding data costs.

     

    As digital revenues show an increase of 43% in 2013 globally and are set to top $5.9 billion in 2014, MixRadio will deliver its personalized, unique listening experience, allowing listeners across the globe to access the most popular playlists created by musical experts and celebrities that are free of adverts, sign ups or subscriptions.