ITV

Category: MAM

  • Synovate announces global media research services expansion

    Synovate announces global media research services expansion

    MUMBAI: Leading global research firm Synovate has announced an expansion of its media research services. The new global group will be based in London and led by Steve Garton, currently director, Media Research for Synovate in Asia Pacific.

    Global CEO for Synovate, Adrian Chedore, said that the move recognised media owners and media specialists need international solutions and best practices. “Many of our media clients are global and, by mirroring their operations, Synovate will be better able to meet and anticipate their needs.

    “Media audiences are changing at a spectacular speed, so this move will keep us across the fundamental shifts that are now occurring across the world, principally due to digitisation and the range of choices consumers now have.”This expansion of our services also reflects the importance Synovate places on media research – we are committed to quality and committed to providing innovative thinking to help meet the needs of our clients,” he said.

    Garton has been in charge of the Synovate PAX media surveys for the past four years. These studies are now running in 19 markets across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, where they have become the currency for upscale audiences in two of the world’s fastest growing regions. In addition, he has introduced a range of syndicated and customised media surveys to meet clients’ requirements, states an official release.

    The media team has been further boosted with the appointment of Craig Harvey in the role of director, Media Research – Asia Pacific. Mr Harvey joined Synovate on 3 July 2006 and is responsible for Synovate PAX in the region, as well as the continued development of the Synovate Media Atlas survey and ad hoc studies, the release adds.

    Reporting to Garton and based in Hong Kong, Harvey was most recently with Publicis Groupe Media as regional director of Consumer Insights. In the past, he has held a variety of media roles with CVSC-Sofres Media, Starcom Media and Granada Media.

  • Pantaloon organises unique Vendor Initiative in Delhi; signs multiple strategic tie ups

    — Initiative enables SME’s and smaller consumer goods manufacturers to access national markets
    — Multiple product categories represented
    — Strategic tie ups with Fun Foods, Chaudhary Group and SR Foils

     

    New Delhi, 22nd July 2006: Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited , a leading retail chain in India ( and a part of the Future Group) has organized a unique business initiative, at Pragati Maidan, Hall No7 ABC, New Delhi from 21st July – 23rd July.

     

    This is a three-day event, where hundreds of small and medium sized enterprises are showcasing and displaying their product lines. The objective of the event is to review, assess and find manufacturers who can meet the Pantaloon standard of quality, category and product parameters with a view to giving those that meet them a national distribution footprint across various formats like Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Pantaloons, e-Zone, Furniture Bazaar, Central, Depot etc…

     

    The categories being showcased at the event include fabrics, apparel, fashion, home furnishings, books, gift and stationery, music & multimedia, furniture, white goods, food, beverages, agro commodities etc..

     

    Pantaloons Retail (India) Limited, as an organization has always sought to innovate in everything that it does. This has led to different initiatives, most of which are designed to project and promote the intrinsic strengths of India in the field of retail.

     

    The event in Delhi is an initiative in keeping with this spirit, as indeed re-emphasising a core value of the group…Indian-ness! This initiative , will, among other things, mean a definite increase in the turnovers of the vendors selected, and consequently, an increase in the employment generating capabilities of the SME’s as well.

     

    Speaking on the scope of this new initiative, Mr Damodar Mall, President, Food Business, Pantaloon Retail, stated, ‘Today, it is very difficult for smaller players to get into the national level markets. But given the entrepreneurial spirit of India, we at Pantaloon believe there is a huge business opportunity to be tapped here. With this initiative we have taken the much-needed first step to explore this potential.’

    Significant new strategic tie ups
    Pantaloon Retail also announced some significant strategic tie ups on the occasion of the vendor meet. These include tie ups with Fun Foods, Chaudhary Group and SR Foils. Details of these initiatives are given in a separate note, being distributed with this release.

     

    About Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited:
    Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited is a leading retailer with a turnover of Rs. 1073 crores for the financial year ending June 2005 . It is expected to cross the Rs 2000 crore in revenues for the financial year ending June 30, 2006.Headquartered in Mumbai, the company operates primarily through the Lifestyle and Value formats through multiple delivery mechanisms and lines of business including Fashion, Food, General Merchandise, Home, Leisure & Entertainment, Financial Services, Communications and Wellness. The company has stores in 30 cities across the country, constituting 3.5 million square feet of retail space. The company caters to the Lifestyle segment through its 21 Pantaloons Stores and 3 Central Malls. In Value Retailing it is present through 30 Big Bazaar hypermarkets, 47 Food Bazaars and 5 Fashion Stations.

  • Google names Richard Kimber as MD Sales & Operations, South East Asia

    BANGALORE: Google Inc. has appointed Richard Kimber as managing director, Sales and Operations, South East Asia. Based in Sydney, Australia, Kimber will manage Google‘s business operations and strategic partnerships across India, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.


    “Richard brings exceptional leadership and management experience to drive Google‘s growth in the South East Asian market,” said Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, vice president, Asia Pacific & Latin America Operations, Google Inc. “We are committed to continuing our international investment, and proven leaders, like Richard, enable us to execute effectively in this developing region.”


    Kimber joins Google from the HSBC Group, having most recently served two years as Chief Executive of FirstDirect Bank in the UK, where he increased the company‘s profitability and drove customer acquisitions. From 2001-2004, Kimber served as global head of e-marketing for HSBC and president of HSBC‘s Internet payment subsidiary.


    In 2000, he was based in Hong Kong as head of e-business Asia-Pacific and also served as an advisor to the government on internet policy. Kimber originally joined the company in 1998 as managing director of HSBC InvestDirect in Australia, where he led the start-up business to profitability in less than 12 months.

  • ION Media Networks & Sony Pictures Television ink TV programming deal

    ION Media Networks & Sony Pictures Television ink TV programming deal

    MUMBAI: US-based ION Media Networks, Inc. and Sony Pictures Television have announced a programming agreement that provides ION with the rights to broadcast dozens of classic television series and a large selection of award-winning feature films from the Sony library on the i television network, reaching over 90 million homes.

    “This agreement reflects our strategy of strengthening our i network’s programming schedule with popular series and theatrical hits with proven audience appeal,” says ION Media Networks CEO Brandon Burgess. “We look forward to working with Sony on developing a compelling entertainment line-up that continues to appeal to our current audience, while attracting new viewers to the network.”

    “The i network and its stations will benefit from a wide variety of titles from our extensive library of television series and feature films, which have proven to deliver audiences,” adds Sony Pictures Television president distribution John Weiser. “We are pleased to be in partnership with ION, helping them grow and making them a destination for great programming.”

    Under the terms of the agreement, ION will have access to many of SPT’s most popular TV series from the last three decades, including Charlie’s Angels, Starsky & Hutch, The Partridge Family, The Monkees and Silver Spoons, among others.

    In addition, titles from Sony’s extensive library of theatrical films will be available to ION, including A River Runs Through It, Oliver!, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Short Circuit and many more.

    “We are pleased to have access to Sony’s diverse collection of movies and classic TV shows,” says ION SVP of programming and strategic planning Stacey Nagel Galper. “We will begin scheduling the Sony movies on the i network this month, with plans to launch the television series in August.”

  • Hughes teams with Oxigen for marketing initiative

    BANGALORE: Hughes, the global player in broadband satellite networks and services, has announced that it has tied-up with Oxigen for offering prepaid recharge and bill payment services across all HughesNet Fusion centers in India.


    As part of this alliance, Oxigen will be made available across all 250 HughesNet Fusion centers in 95 cities in Phase I.


    Oxigen works on the concept of electronic distribution of prepaid airtime and bill payment services in India. The service will extend to over 1000 centres by the end of 2006. This tie-up will help Oxigen increase its points of presence from the existing 14 circles to 21 by the end of the year, states an official release.


    The company offers prepaid recharge and bill payments services for all leading telecom service providers pan India including Airtel, Cell-One, Hutch, Idea, RIM, Spice, Trump, BPL and Tata Indicom.


    “The Indian telecom market is growing at a CAGR of 29 per cent with over 4.5 million new subscribers joining the mobile club every month. A majority of this market, close to 75 percent is predominantly prepaid customers, who are spread across the length and breadth of the country. This tie-up will allow Oxigen services to be available across the country especially the tier B & C cities”, said Pranav Roach, Director Hughes Communications India Ltd.


    Speaking on the tie-up, Oxigen executive chairman Pramod Saxena said, “Hughes has effectively leveraged the strengths of satellite broadband to create electronic superstores in the form of HughesNet Fusion centres. I am confident that Oxigen will be able to leverage this infrastructure to provide greater accessibility and availability of prepaid recharge and bill payment solutions for customers pan India”. HughesNet Fusion will give Oxigen 1000 additional points of presence especially in regions like Gujarat and Kolkata.

  • Nokia conducting mobile TV trials in Sweden

    Nokia conducting mobile TV trials in Sweden

    MUMBAI: Mobile firm Nokia has announced a new commercial DVB-H pilot in Stockholm with Teracom in Sweden. Nokia is supplying the Nokia Mobile Broadcast System 3.0 and Nokia N92 mobile TV devices to the pilot which will last from October to December 2006 and includes 400 consumers. The project is a co-operation between ATG, Boxer, Nokia, Sveriges Radio, Sveriges Television/UR, Telenor and Teracom.

    The pilot participants will be able to watch 14 TV channels and listen to four radio channels in the Stockholm city region, where a network has been built for high quality indoor and outdoor coverage. The objective is to evaluate what Swedish consumers think about commercial broadcast mobile TV and thus gauge market potential.

    ATG, Boxer, Sveriges Radio and Sveriges Television will provide content for the pilot. The test will be delivered using Nokia Mobile Broadcast Solution 3.0, and the pilot participants will use mobile devices from Nokia, the Nokia N92. Teracom will be responsible for the network, the broadcast and operating of the platform.

    This is the second mobile TV pilot in Sweden where Nokia is one of the main suppliers of DVB-H technology. Recently Nokia had announced a new contract with TeliaSonera Sweden for a complete DVB-H pilot system, including Nokia Mobile Broadcast System 3.0 and Nokia N92 mobile TV devices, underpinned by Nokia’s hosting and systems integration know-how.

    Fore the uninitiated DVB-H technology complements existing operator networks, optimising capacity and quality. It offers consumers the chance to enjoy high quality terrestrial digital broadcasts along with voice telephony and internet access all in a single device. Broadcast mobile TV will offer new business opportunities for mobile service providers, content and broadcast companies, infrastructure and handset manufacturers as well as technology providers.

    The feedback from different mobile TV pilots has been promising. Results from pilots on broadcast (DVB-H) mobile TV services among consumers in Finland, the UK, Spain and France have revealed clear consumer demand for such services as well as important indications over future business models for commercial mobile TV services.

  • Worldspace unveils A R Rahman signature tune; set to launch new campaign

    BANGALORE: Worldspace Satellite Radio has unveiled a new signature tune developed by music impresario AR Rahman, Worldspace brand ambassador in India.


    The signature tune, to be used in an integrated communications campaign, highlights the ‘everyday‘ and ‘everywhere‘ nature of music while showcasing the incredible variety of radio content offered by Worldspace with over 40 stations of distinctive music genres, entertainment and information.


    Speaking at the launch, Worldspace corporate VP Tedros Lemma said, “It is our vision to offer Indians a truly global radio experience – giving them the variety, quality and the ability to choose what they want to listen to. AR Rahman has come to personify quality music and we are honoured to partner with him on our aggressive communication campaign to build our brand in India.”


    The Worldspace signature tune draws inspiration from the sounds of nature and the rhythms of our everyday lives. AR Rahman has woven the lyrical sounds of the soothing sea, a bird‘s chirpy call, the earthy chant of fishermen – showcasing the true inspiration of music, states an official release.


    Adds AR Rahman said, “It is my pleasure to be associated with Worldspace as I believe that there truly is so much music to hear and Worldspace has created a unique platform that not only keeps alive various forms of music but also extends the reach of this music to virtually the entire country and even abroad. When creating the tune I wanted to bring alive the true sounds of India as a showcase of the depth of musical traditions available in the country.”


    The new communications campaign, of which AR Rahman is an integral part, is based on extensive studies with existing as well as potential customers across India. Commenting on the campaign, Worldspace CMO Arti Mehta said, “We will leverage this imposing persona, and his undoubted association with quality music, to build awareness for our brand and connect with music lovers across India. We have developed an aggressive integrated campaign that involves a refreshing new series of TV commercials and on-ground events including concerts, contests and awards.”


    Shot in the picturesque surroundings of Kannur in Kerala, the new television commercial celebrates the diversity of music and draws from the theme of AR Rahman‘s inspiring signature tune – celebrating the sounds around us. At the center of the campaign is the unbeatable variety and diversity of Worldspace content highlighting the fact that “there is so much to hear.”

  • Rajshri Media to create humorous content for telecom networks

    Rajshri Media to create humorous content for telecom networks

    MUMBAI: Rajshri Media has tied up with humorists, Shailesh Lodha and Navneet Hullad, for the creation and development of humour content for telecom networks.

    The company is in the process of producing exclusive audio and video content, specifically catering to the 100 million plus telecom user base in India, which it says is growing at a rapid pace and is increasingly demanding entertainment ‘on the go’.

    The mobile phone is fast emerging as the preferred device for entertainment, communication and information for this consumer base.

    Rajshri Media MD Rajjat A. Barjatya says, “Humour has always been a big attraction on the cinema and TV screens, in both films and TV shows. With mobile phones evolving into personal entertainment devices and with consumers increasingly consuming entertainment ‘on the move’, the age of ‘made for mobile’ content has arrived.

    “After having studied user habits and consumption patterns on this new medium, we have begun creating a large bouquet of original entertainment content customized for the ‘smallest screen’ in people’s lives. Both Shailesh Lodha and Navneet Hullad are hugely talented artists and we are delighted to be associated with them in our endeavor to brighten up the moods of millions of telecom/mobile consumers in India.”

    Rajshri Media has produced audio and video content with both the artists, which would be made available on wap and voice portals across all leading mobile networks. Short audio and video clips will be available for downloading and/or streaming as ring tones, ringback tones, video clips, audio clips and other innovative products.

  • Tata Teleservices gives customers the ‘Power of Choice’

    MUMBAI: Telecom service provider Tata Teleservices has announced a new marketing initiative the Power of Choice. The aim is to address the varying demands of mobile customers across segments.


    On the CDMA front, Tata Teleservices has introduced a range of handsets coupled with a tariff plan suited to the customer‘s requirements.


    With the flexibility to bundle the handset and tariff plan, Tata Indicom prepaid customers will have a choice of four starter packs, The Go Easy, Go Life, Go Active and Go Max plans. In addition, other benefits include no monthly recharge commitment, attractive SMS and call rates and 100 per cent talktime on all recharge cards.


    Speaking on the launch, Tata Teleservices CEO Darryl Green said, “Through ‘Power of Choice‘ offer, we seek to offer the customer a choice of wide, exciting range of handsets and offers and remove misconceptions that CDMA limits the freedom of choice.”


    In their attempts to market the new offers, Tata Teleservices will advertise using the print medium especially vernacular papers along with TV to create an overall awareness about the details of the plan. Additionally, value added services such as downloadable games for Rs 5, stock information, caller tunes and faith sites are also available, as “there is a huge demand for these services in the pre paid market,” stated Green


    “Coupled with our new offers we also plan to extend our services in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and the North East and with this, we expect about 1 million new subscribers this fiscal,” he added.


    The handsets available on offer include Indicom Ace, LG 2535, Samsung Hero, Indicom Star, Pantech, LG 6335 and Samsung Wideo handsets whose price range starts at Rs 999.