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Category: iWorld

  • Indians consume 76% mobile content on Android device: Outbrain

    Indians consume 76% mobile content on Android device: Outbrain

    MUMBAI: As new technology and platforms come in, digital content consumption witnesses a wave of change. In a scenario like this, highlighting the key digital content consumption trend in India, an Outbrain research titled ‘Content Consumption Trends’ shows that the Indian mobile market is clearly dominated by the Android user, where a staggering 76 per cent of the overall content consumed on smart phones is consumed on an Android device – second only to Malaysia.

    According to the report, in Southeast Asia, Android is now in a truly dominant and almost unchallengeable position, probably due to its more affordable price-point and its availability on a much wider range of models. On the other hand, in a number of key markets such as Australia, Japan, the UK and the US, Apple’s iPhone still enjoys its best engagement rates, according to the report.

    Additionally, the report also shows that India is the most engaged market when it comes to consumption through mobile devices like tablets and smart phones and is overtaking the US market.

    The report is the first in its kind in the region and compares India to other mature markets: Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, UK and the US.

    Data reveals a powerful connection between the growth in mobile technology and the increase in content consumption on smart phones and tablets. For example, in Singapore, Japan and the UK, people consume more than half of their content on a smart phone or tablet.

    On the other hand, when it comes to content preferences, factors like cultural differences and seasonality play an important role. For example, for the period analysed (October to 31 December, 2014), of the overall health-related content consumed in Australia, a stunning 39 per cent was about nutrition. That could be due to the upcoming summer season in the Southern Hemisphere, when people try to get in shape and lose some extra pounds.

    As per Outbrain’s study, effectively measured content marketing is not easy, but those who measure and optimise the right metrics will be the ones who ultimately see the greatest return on investment.

    In the next chart, the company has measured engagement on PC, smart phone and tablet by looking at a combination of Page views per Session and Minutes per Session.

    Outbrain GM India and SEA Gulshan Verma said, “The Content Consumption Trends report aims to highlight some of the key facts, figures and trends on how people are reading and watching online content. It’s fascinating to see both the similarities and differences in terms of how and when content is consumed in India compared to other major markets globally. The report not only delivers analyses of consumption trends, but also helps to provide marketers with insights to help them better understand how to develop and place their content.”

  • Vodafone invests Rs 1000+ crore in Maharashtra and Goa circles

    Vodafone invests Rs 1000+ crore in Maharashtra and Goa circles

    NEW DELHI: Vodafone India has invested over Rs 1050 crore on ramping its network and distribution and retail presence in Maharashtra and Goa circle over the past 12 months (April 2014-March 2015) in line with its policy of ‘Customer First’ approach.

     

    According to an announcement made in Pune today, Vodafone has been focusing on closer engagement and enhancing customer experience in an endeavour to be future ready, claiming to be one of the preferred mobile services providers in terms of subscriber base, revenue, market share and retail touch points.

     

    Pursuing an accelerated growth strategy since April 2014, Vodafone has expanded its network footprint by adding over 3000 new 3G and 2G sites across Maharashtra in the last financial year. During this period, Vodafone also increased its exclusive retail footprint by rolling out 17 Vodafone Stores and 200 Vodafone Mini Stores.

     

    Vodafone India business head – Maharashtra and Goa Ashish Chandra said, “Gaining the trust of our customers and winning the distinction of being one of the most preferred mobile services provider in Maharashtra and Goa circle is not incidental. We have won the hearts of our customers by pursuing a continued and consistent customer centric strategy to bring the best connectivity solutions to our valued customers. It is their trust and support that has enabled us to further strengthen our position in Maharashtra and Goa across key parameters – Network, Subscriber base, Retail footprint and Revenue Market Share. We remain committed to continue investing in bringing the best in class, innovative, relevant products and services to win customer delight in the years to come.”

     

    Having set up one of the largest networks in the circle, Vodafone claims to have has 5000+ 3G sites in Maharashtra and Goa. Specifically to spread awareness and increase adoption of mobile internet, Vodafone has been hand holding customers through on ground engagement and education initiatives. 3G has shown tremendous uptake and has been growing at 100 per cent YoY. Overall data contribution to circle service revenues is 18 per cent.

     

    Presently, Vodafone has more than 900 retail outlets (largest and exclusive) in Maharashtra and Goa. Over the past 12 months, Vodafone has launched 22 Global Design Stores in Maharashtra and Goa.

     

    Vodafone M-Pesa, which was launched in October 2013 in Maharashtra and Goa, currently has 7115 + agents in these states, and a customer base of over 2.96 lakh. 

  • Ofcom to auction more 4G spectrum; outlines next steps

    Ofcom to auction more 4G spectrum; outlines next steps

    MUMBAI: Ofcom plans to release valuable new airwaves that will improve 4G coverage and be used to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband services in the UK.

     

    Decisions announced today will help Ofcom set the groundwork for the spectrum award, including how these frequencies will be licenced and the mechanics of the auction.

     

    Potential bidders are also being asked for their views on how to best proceed with the auction.

     

    While no specific uses for this spectrum have been prescribed, it is likely to interest the mobile industry, which relies on spectrum to offer internet services to consumers’ smartphones and tablets.

     

    The 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz spectrum bands are being released for civil use and could be suitable for providing very high data capacity.

     

    Since Ofcom’s last consultation on the auction, BT has announced plans to buy EE, while Hutchison Whampoa – the owner of Three – has reached agreement to acquire O2 from its current owner Telefonica. If the latter merger goes ahead it would reduce the UK wholesale mobile market from four major operators to three.

     

    Ofcom’s objective is to award the frequencies in a way that will allow consumers to enjoy greater access to high-capacity mobile internet without undue delay.

     

    The consultation invites potential bidders to comment on an option where Ofcom would award most of the newly available spectrum later this year, or early in 2016. The remaining frequencies would be held back for award at a later date.

     

    This approach may be preferable to the alternatives of either awarding all of the spectrum, or delaying the award – although both those options remain open. Ofcom will determine later in the year the best approach to making the spectrum available, following stakeholder responses and the condition of the market.

     

    Under decisions announced today, Ofcom would issue licences for the 2.3 and 3.4 GHz bands for an indefinite period, but with an initial term of 20 years after which licence fees may be payable.

     

    There will be no coverage obligations placed on this spectrum. This is because the frequencies being auctioned are better suited for high capacity and faster speeds, rather than achieving wide geographical coverage.

     

    The closing date for this consultation is 26 June.

  • Mr. Homecare strengthens brand; partners with Uber

    Mr. Homecare strengthens brand; partners with Uber

    MUMBAI: With on-demand services being extensively used by consumers, new ventures are rushing in to get the best possible professional services from on demand cabs to housekeeping to baby-sitting, or even having plumbers, electricians, carpenters on call.

     

    The last few years have seen start-ups working towards brining convenient services to the consumer. One such start-up is Mr. Homecare, a platform for users to book professional on-demand services such as deep cleaning, pest control, car care, AC maintenance, plumbing, electrical support and many more.

     

    Promoted by the Vora brothers, Rushabh and Sahil, Mr. Homecare began operations in February 2015. Their experience with their facility management business, SILA, which has over 1500 employees and manages over five million sqft of real estate, has helped them start operations in Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore within a few months.

     

    In order to meet the need of the on-demand economy, Mr. Homecare and Uber have forged a partnership.

     

    Through this association, any Uber consumer, on showing his Uber receipt and promo code to Mr. Homecare will get a 15 per cent discount on Mr. Homecare services. Additionally, Mr. Homecare customers who are new Uber users will get their first Uber ride up to Rs 300 for free.

     

    Mr. Homecare co-founder Sahil Vora said, “It’s been about three months since we launched our services and we have received very positive responses from consumers, which for us is great validation of the idea. Our partnership with Uber aims to give the best of both on-demand services, and we look forward to more such associations.”

     

    “It is exciting to have partnered with a brand like Uber. On-demand services is going to be a big thing in India in the coming years and we are glad we are one of the pioneers in the industry,” Mr. Homecare co-founder Rushabh Vora added.

     

    “Uber has always been at the forefront of the on-demand economy and is excited to partner with and support start-ups with the same aim – one that brings convenience to the Indian consumer at the press of a button. Mr. Homecare is bringing cutting edge services to Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune that has, until now has not been available in these cities. Uber and Mr. Homecare have entered into a partnership that aims to bring the best of both platforms to the discerning consumer,” said a spokesperson from Uber.

  • OTT player HOOQ makes India debut; prices subscription at Rs 199

    OTT player HOOQ makes India debut; prices subscription at Rs 199

    MUMBAI: Competing with over the top (OTT) players such as Star India’s Hotstar, BoxTV and Big Flix, Asian video-streaming service Hooq has made its Indian debut.

     

    As reported by last month by Indiantelevision.com, the OTT video service from Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Television was looking at expanding in the Asian region by launching in countries like India, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.

     

    While Hooq will officially go live in India in June, beta access will be available to select users beginning 27 May.

     

    Hooq’s one-month subscription will cost Rs 199 and consumers will be able to pay using credit card, debit card, cash card, internet banking as well as PayTM.

     

    “We are very excited to bring to Indian consumers the ultimate ad-free video-on-demand service at an amazingly low price.  HOOQ will offer India the largest and best catalogue of Hollywood and Indian content of any service available today,” said Hooq CEO Peter Bithos.

     

    Hooq will offer over 15,000 international and local titles to consumers in the country including the likes of Harry Potter, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Pulp Fiction, Nikita, Shield, Friends, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Chennai Express, Vishwaroopam, and Andaz Apna Apna.

     

    For the local content, the company has partnered with movie studios like Yash raj Films, Sun TV, UTV Disney, Rajshri, Reliance, Shemaroo, and Sri Balaji AP International amongst others. At launch, Hooq plans to offer over 10,000 videos including Bollywood, Tollywood and Kollywood movies along with TV shows.

     

    Hooq users will be able to access their account on five devices at any given point of time and stream content on two devices simultaneously. The ad free Hooq also offers download support for offline viewing. Movies can be streamed for an unlimited amount of time anytime and anywhere.

     

    Hooq is accessible over the web at hooq.tv as well as via official Android and iOS applications.

  • Snapdeal strengthens m-commerce biz with MartMobi acquisition

    Snapdeal strengthens m-commerce biz with MartMobi acquisition

    MUMBAI: E-commerce venture Snapdeal is on an acquisition spree. After acquiring mobile transactions platform FreeCharge, earlier this year, the company has now acquired Hyderabad based mobile e-commerce platform MartMobi.

     

    With this, Snapdeal has augmented its mobile commerce capabilities by bringing onboard the MartMobi team that has created mobile specific platform and solutions for small and medium sized businesses in India and globally.

     

    MartMobi, which was founded by Pramod Nair and Satya Krishna Ganni, has core strengths in mobile technologies and has created instant mobile and tablet presence through mobile sites and native apps for e-commerce stores, small and medium sized businesses.

     

    The company enables seamless connectivity with the customers’ existing backend systems in addition to a real time analytics engine to improve conversions and user engagement.

     

    With its inclusion in the Snapdeal family, the MartMobi team will now focus on creating interfaces that enhance customer and seller experience on its mobile platforms. Realizing that the next wave of e-commerce customers are coming from mobile, Snapdeal is making substantial investments to strengthen this arm of business. The company already gets over 75 per cent of its sales via mobile-based transactions.

     

    Snapdeal was also the first company in the Indian e-commerce space to introduce a mobile application for its sellers. Around 70% of Snapdeal sellers now actively use this application to list products, manage inventory and effortlessly sell on the marketplace.

     

    Snapdeal co-founder Rohit Bansal said, “At Snapdeal, we are always on the lookout for talented people who come with special skill sets that will further enhance our capabilities. Being passionate about creating and building technology that solves real problems is another quality we look for in people. Mobile has been a key focus area for us and we have built technology capabilities to create a great experience for our buyers and sellers on this platform. The MartMobi team has built world-class products for mobile commerce, which will give a fillip to our existing mobile capabilities and we are confident that the team will further boost our mobile capabilities. We welcome them into the Snapdeal family.”

     

    MartMobi founder and former CEO Satya Krishna Ganni added, “We are very excited to become a part of the Snapdeal family. We strongly believe that new age technology innovations will happen here. The company has grown at a phenomenal pace in the last few years. With technology as the backbone, Snapdeal is solving the real challenges – of access faced by consumers and of reach faced by large and small retailers in India. Mobile is the way forward and all our efforts will be directed towards creating world class mobile technology at Snapdeal.” 

  • Blogmint, DMAi join hands for influencer marketing programme

    Blogmint, DMAi join hands for influencer marketing programme

    MUMBAI: India’s first automated marketplace Blogmint, which connects brands and bloggers, has joined hands with DMAi to launch a first-of-its-kind executive session on the adoption of influencer marketing in India.

     

    It will be an informative and interactive platform for businesses of all sizes to learn and unlearn about influencer marketing, which is the fastest growing channel for online customer acquisition. This will help brands generate returns on social media.

     

    With a view to spread the message of influencer marketing, Blogmint and DMAi conducted the first session at the Radisson Hotel in Delhi earlier this month and plan to continue this exercise in various parts of the country. A session is scheduled on 27 May in Mumbai.

     

    Blogmint CEO Irfan Khan said, “As influencer marketing empowers brands to leverage the power of word of mouth through influential bloggers and content producers with significant number of fans and followers on social media, it is increasingly becoming an integral part of brand’s marketing mix. However, there’s a big gap between brands and social influencers on how to collaborate successfully and responsibly. Through this initiative, we wish to bridge this gap between businesses and influencers.”

     

    “We remain committed to advancing the practice of response driven marketing through such initiatives. There is a library of rich content for our CXO (chief experience officer) roundtables that the industry can benefit from. We are thankful to Blogmint, who have partnered in curating the sessions for the influencer marketing roundtables,” added DMAi director and COO Shelly Singh.

     

    The first event witnessed more than 50 CXOs from leading companies like Reebok, SAP and HCL among others.

  • Amazon spends Rs 100+ crore to build local connect via ad campaign

    Amazon spends Rs 100+ crore to build local connect via ad campaign

    MUMBAI: In a competitive world where every brand is armed with a killer instinct, connecting and making an impact on the minds of the target audience can be an arduous job.

    In such a scenario, unperturbed by competition, e-tailer Amazon India was all out blazing guns this Indian Premier League (IPL) and invested as much as Rs 100 crore in its latest ad campaign ‘Aur Dikhao,’ which was conceptualized by Leo Burnett India. It may be recalled that before the start of the IPL, Amazon India upped itself as the presenting sponsor of the tourney. The e-tailer was second only to Vodafone in terms of number of slots per match.

    Research depicts that 35 per cent of the ad spend in 2015 will come from e-commerce ventures. What’s more, the IPL has always been one of the major targets for brands to garner huge reach every season and that’s exactly what Amazon India latched on to in order to gain visibility and traction amongst the audience.

    According to an analysis by Television Audience Measurement (TAM), five out of the top ten brands (on the basis of number of ads during live matches) are from the e-commerce segment. However, besides spending money and buying slots, creative execution is the other aspect that plays a vital role in pulling in customers.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the ideation for the campaign, Leo Burnett chief creative officer Rajdeepak Das says, “Amazon is already big; bigger than any of its competitors. So while others were trying to establish themselves, we had to take the other route. The task with Amazon was to build a local connect and go ‘desi,’ this is why we went with the ‘Aur Dikhao’ campaign.”

    The ‘Aur Dikhao’ campaign had numerous ad films directed by Chak De! India director Shimit Amin, which illustrated the widely versatile range of products in Amazon’s catalogue. After the wide range message was conveyed and the campaign managed to create a buzz, another sub-campaign #Whattasale was launched.

    “With ‘Aur Dikhao,’ we conveyed the message to consumers about our wide range of products. Now it was time to get them to act and hence we launched whattasale, with the message that Amazon had the range and that they needn’t wait any longer to go ahead and shop. As Indians are always price conscious, we announced the three-day sale where attractive discounts were given. That step was taken to gather some action,” informs Das.

    In a bid to gain some traction on its mobile app, Amazon also shot out a clear-cut message that app user would get added benefits and hence urged people to download its app. With every TVC, multiple messages were delivered to gather action from consumers.

    Not taking the route of celebrity endorsements unlike its competitor Snapdeal.com, who has on board actor Aamir Khan, Amazon’s ads were shot in Indian localities to ensure connect and familiarity amongst consumers. The props used in the TVCs were also very ordinary. While every ad had a television in it, none of them were modern day LEDs or smart TVs. A foot-tapping soundtrack composed by Bollywood music director Ram Sampat complemented the TVCs.

    IPL is a blockbuster event where every second is premium. When asked if it was difficult to create a campaign for an event where the ad rates were paramount, Das opines, “I think it’s easier. Yes, the pressure is there because the event has enormous reach and if you don’t execute the plan properly, it may leave a negative impact for the brand. However, if you successfully execute the plan, your creative piece can spread via word of mouth.”

    Additionally, the placement of an ad also plays a pivotal role in ensuring good reach and interaction. Commenting on the planning and buying, a media expert asserts, “Just making a creative ad or putting huge sum of money does not seal the deal. You have to ensure good placements too. I saw Amazon TVCs at crucial stages of the match. They also increased the frequencies during the ‘whatasale’ campaign, which boomed their sale up. So overall in my opinion, Amazon made worthy use of the money they put in courtesy to their all round efforts.”

    Complementing the campaign, creative veteran and Monozygotic co-founder Rajiv Laxman says, “The entire concept and execution of ‘Aur Dikhao’ was really nice and I like concepts with propounding insights. It’s something all of us know but never thought about. A brand like Amazon, which is always considered as global brand, traditionally struggles to create a local connect and ‘Aur Dikhao’ was a brilliant idea to build local connect because of its simplicity. The execution was also nice. There was no glamour or any celebrity… everyone watching the ad could connect and relate. We go to buy a saree and we say ‘Aur Dikhao.’ We use this term everywhere we go to shop and hence it was a great concept for a brand like Amazon, which lacked local connect.”

    Amazon India integrated marketing director Manish Kalra had earlier said, “Offering customers a wide choice and a destination where they can find, discover and buy anything that they desire to online has been one of our key strategic pillars. Our selection growth in India over the last 22 plus months of launching our India operation has been phenomenal and today we are able to offer customers a wide choice over 22 million products across hundreds of categories to choose from. We have taken this as an inspiration and used it to show the unending selection of products that Amazon India has to offer through the new campaign. We believe that the term ‘Aur Dikhao’ will resonate with shoppers in India who love to have more choice.”

    “Great clients have played a vital role behind every good work that I have done so far and I must say Amazon is a great client. There are many more TVCs coming up and soon we will also explore new territories. Overall, I am happy with the campaign and the responses that we got so far,” Das concludes.

  • President asks for concerted steps to be taken for India’s Internet growth

    President asks for concerted steps to be taken for India’s Internet growth

    NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee called upon concerned authorities to ensure availability of infrastructure for Internet and ICT-enabled services across the country and use it in a systematic manner.

     

    Noting that India is at the 89th position in Network Readiness Index with countries like Singapore, Finland and Sweden having become leaders, he said Wi-Fi services could be rolled out in public places across the country both in urban and rural India. 

     

    The President was speaking after inaugurating 24 Hot Spots with 30 Wi-Fi access points in the President’s Estate by which the Estate became 100 per cent Wi-Fi.

     

    The President said India, with 244 million, ranks third after China and USA in terms of number of internet users. “However, the penetration of internet use as a percentage of the population is only twenty, indicating not only a huge gap but significant potential for future growth as well. With 960 million mobile phones today, India stands second in the world behind China and soon it is expected to become one billion mobile phones. We have more than 77 mobile phone connections per 100 citizens, which is commendable in terms of the penetration achieved by us in mobile telephony,” he said. 

     

    Mukherjee said that the idea of bringing information to the doorsteps of citizens through network is a revolutionary step to transform India to a Digital India.  

     

    Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Electronics & IT Secretary R S Sharma, National Informatics Centre DDG Ms Shefali Sushil Dash, officers and staff of Rashtrapati Bhavan and their family members were present on the occasion.