ITV

Category: MAM

  • Airtel crosses two million customer landmark in Delhi

    Airtel crosses two million customer landmark in Delhi

    Airtel has crossed the two million customer mark in Delhi. With this, Airtel becomes the first mobile operator to complete this milestone in the Capital. The journey to the two million landmark has been stupendous having achieved the second million customers in two years eight months. On this momentous occasion, Airtel felicitated Mr. Vajinder, a dairy owner from Narela village, as its two millionth customer.

     

    Airtel’s commitment to Delhi is amply evident over the years as it has expanded its robust state-of-the art network and world class customer service to connect all of Delhi and the NCR region. In FY 05-06, Airtel invested over Rs 3000 million in Delhi. For the year ahead, Airtel will continue to focus and build on its network and customer service. Airtel currently has over 1600 cell sites in Delhi and the NCR region and plans to increase its number of cell sites by approximately 50%. It also plans to increase its number of Airtel relationship centers by 50% from the present 70. Airtel also has close to 25000 retail outlets.

     

    K Srinivas, CEO, Airtel, Mobiles services, Delhi circle said, “We are delighted with the overwhelming response from our valued customers as we cross this significant milestone. Their confidence in us has helped reiterate our leadership position in Delhi. This achievement, will inspire us to keep up the momentum that will see us scale new heights. Going forward, we will continue with our strategy of broad basing our consumer market. We will deploy a more segmented approach to the market and increase our penetration and preference amongst youth, low end customers and SMEs. Investing in the expansion of our state-of-the art network and infrastructure facilities will be key focus so as to provide unmatched quality of service and coverage to our customers across Delhi. I would like to thank Delhi for helping us achieve the two million mark.”

  • Webaroo launches the searchable, offline web in India

    Webaroo launches the searchable, offline web in India

    BANGALORE: Marking a significant step forward in improving the mobile web experience, Webaroo today launched a new software service that enables consumers to search web pages and view web sites anytime, anywhere, without an internet connection, on their handhelds and laptop computers.

    Available at www.webaroo.com, the Webaroo software features ‘web packs’ on a variety of subjects, such as news, sports and major global cities, including New York, London and Mumbai – each of which contains thousands of relevant web pages identified by Webaroo’s innovative algorithms, informs an official release.

    “The time is ripe for India to be a developer of global consumer brands, not just an outsourcing center.” says Webaroo CEO and founder Rakesh Mathur.

    “We’re thrilled to be located within the IIT incubator,” said Webaroo CTO & founder Beerud Sheth. “We’ve been able to build a world-class team in an incredibly short time.”

    In recognition of the appeal of taking the web offline, Acer plans to bundle the Webaroo software on its laptop PCs worldwide, the release adds.

    “Acer believes that the new, powerful ability to search the web offline will bring tremendous advantages for consumers and business people,” said Campbell Kan, head of Mobile Computing Business Unit, Acer Inc. “Acer is committed to being first-to-market with innovative products that are easy-to-use, dependable and empowering-enabling our users to be more productive. We plan on incorporating Webaroo’s software into Acer’s mobile PCs. We look forward to creating mutual success for Acer and Webaroo and even greater satisfaction for our customers.”

    Webaroo is a software service that allows users to download web content onto their mobile devices and search it anytime, anywhere, even without a connection. Founded in 2004 by experienced entrepreneurs Rakesh Mathur, Brad Husick and Beerud Sheth, the company has offices in Santa Clara (California), Bellevue (Washington), Mumbai (India) and New Delhi (India).

  • Philips debuts digital satellite TV in India

    Philips debuts digital satellite TV in India

    MUMBAI: Philips Electronics India Limited has announced the test launch of digital satellite TV in India. The product, which the company claims as being the first of its kind in the country, will target the “cable dry” semi-urban and rural areas.

    Digital satellite TV has a Set-top box (STB) integrated inside a 15 inch CRT monitor display. This announcement was made by Royal Philips Electronics chief technology officer Rick Harwig in Bangalore today.

    The digital satellite signal from the STB to CRT monitor is in high quality VGA format, Philips said. The product also has external multi-media speakers, with high sound output resulting in a convergence product, TV, PC and radio.

    Interestingly, Philips Innovation Campus here developed the first prototypes of the product which has been successfully test marketed in cable dry areas of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

    The Philips Digital Satellite Vardaan TV, when plugged into the CPU of a computer, functions as a PC Monitor. It also comes with a high quality dish antenna and LNB for excellent reception of satellite signals anywhere in the country, the company said.

    The 15 inch digital satellite TV displays 640×480 pixel resolution which is more than twice the resolution seen in normal analog TVs for the same Direct-to Home (DTH) content.

    The company hinted at a “very affordable” introductory price tag for its digital satellite TV. The product will be available at all consumer electronics retail outlets across the country and through the corporate marketing channel of the Consumer Electronics Division of Philips.

  • FremantleMedia expands UK home entertainment team

    FremantleMedia expands UK home entertainment team

    MUMBAI: Fremantle Home Entertainment (FHE), the home entertainment division of format creator FremantleMedia has appointed Rebecca Candler as senior product manager for the UK.

    Candler will manage and develop the ongoing relationships with DVD labels represented by FHE. Additionally, she will be responsible for creating and developing innovative marketing campaigns to support releases from these labels as well as FHE’s own label and also assist in building brand awareness of the division by maximising opportunities for the company’s proprietary library of over 19,000 hours of programming.

    Candler will be based in London and will report to FHE marketing manager Michelle Donovan.

    Donovan says, “2006 sees the continued expansion of our DVD business in the UK. With this appointment, we have another experienced marketing executive who can further develop relationships with our labels and oversee the strategic marketing of our portfolio of brands. I am very pleased to announce that Rebecca is joining the team and I feel certain that, with her tremendous TV and studio experience along with her industry knowledge, she will be a great asset to the team and play a major part in the continued growth of our business.”

    Candler joins FremantleMedia from Warner Home Video where she was senior product manager, television and special interest. In this role, she was responsible for the strategic product management of the company’s TV sector including key Warner Bros TV properties Friends, Joey, The OC and West Wing.

  • Randstad acquires 57% of Indian staffing company Team4U

    Randstad acquires 57% of Indian staffing company Team4U

    MUMBAI: Randstad Holding has agreed with shareholders of Team HR Services Private Limited, operating under the brand name Team4U, to purchase 57 per cent of the company’s shares, with the option to purchase the remainder of the shares over the coming two years.

    “Team4U provides a platform to further strengthen Randstad’s position in the growing Indian market, and fits with our overall growth strategy to establish a presence in the region,” the company stated.
    “Team4U helps Randstad expand its Indian business. This gives us a head start in entering the rapidly growing staffing market thanks to their market share of some 10 per cent. Team4U is a well-managed company that has experienced excellent growth over the past years, now being the fourth largest staffing company in India. We are delighted to benefit from the managerial and commercial strengths of Team4U. This will allow us to further leverage our position in India, which we first established with our majority stake in the Indian recruitment company EmmayHR in December 2005,” said Randstad Holding CEO Ben Noteboom.

    “Randstad’s expertise in staffing will enhance our capabilities for serving our clients. With Randstad as a strong partner, we will be in an even better position to continue our path of profitable growth,” said Team4U president and director Abhinav Dhawan.

    Team4U provides staffing and HR solutions services, with payroll management services forming an important part of the service offering. Headquartered in Delhi, Team4U has offices in nine Indian cities, including Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata.

    The staffing and recruitment services market in India is still relatively small, but rapidly developing. Randstad already established a position in the Indian recruitment market by obtaining 51 per cent of the shares of EmmayHR in December 2005. The current transaction with Team4U provides Randstad access to the Indian staffing market.

  • Indiantelevision.com’s Media, Advertising, Marketing Special Report

    New emerging technologies are going to change the way we consume media. It is a dynamic and constantly morphing scenario that confronts media researchers and marketers. Indiantelevision.com introduces the first of a series of studies by Group M’s Maxus, which will cover a wide range of issues.

    Indiantelevision.com would welcome such similar studies that add to a better understanding of our media landscape.

    In this, the first such paper, Maxus dwells on Television and Generation Next.

    “Incredibly Young India”! This might well be an appropriate coinage given the current demographics of the Indian population. Over the next decade, marketers are looking at the most lucrative and influential youth market in Indian history.

    But crucial to profiting from this increasingly critical section of our society will also be a proper understanding of this fickle and extremely hard to please generation.

    The fact that India is getting ‘younger’ is also reflected in our advertising – in 2005, advertising directed at the youth comprised 20 per cent of total ad spends, up from 16 per cent a few years ago. (Maxus estimates)

    However, worryingly, youth engagement with TV is on the wane – time spent on TV is progressively declining.

    Time Spent on TV viewing per day Index to 2002
     
    (Source: TAM, 15-24 years, SEC A)

    A look at similar numbers for housewives confirms that this is a youth only trend – housewife viewing is at best flat with spikes in some years.

    Time Spent on TV viewing per day Index to 2002
     
    (TG: Housewives, 25-44, SEC A)

    So while more money is chasing the youth on TV year after year, the worry for marketers is the declining returns on their investment. TV channels aimed at the youth need to also contend with this problem. How do they get Gen Next to watch more TV?

    Why is this happening?

    The growing propensity to multi task also makes inroads into the TV preserve – not only is the youth much more on the move (college, tuition, evening job, partying…), they are also consuming multiple media simultaneously – SMS a friend, while on a chat site with FM blaring. The SMS shorthand has also shortened attention spans making the youth clamor for constant newness.

    But of course, the biggest change agent has been the Wiring of Gen Next’ – a phenomenon sweeping urban India – SMS, internet, gaming, iPods…

    Apart from the technology, these gadgets fulfill a very basic youth need of providing a network: their virtual, private world offers them the peer group belonging and security, exchange of information and a social cocoon that helps fight loneliness characteristic of nuclear families today.

    Most of the entertainment options that appeal to this whole new segment is actually done with others and not alone. Be it going to multiplexes, hanging out in coffee pubs, sweating it out at gaming parlours or chatting online – all are group acts.

    Hence the cult rise of IPods, chat rooms, networks, Google, iTunes and PodCasts, on line messengers…

    All the gadgets and entertainment options mentioned above are:

    Interactive and/or consumer created
    Warm and friendly inviting active participation
    Platforms where there are very few pre-set norms or content limitations
    So, is it doomsday for TV?

    Certainly not! TV has some inherent strengths – the challenge for TV is to amplify its strengths and leverage the new digital world to expand its youth catchment.

    The starting point of course has to be content. In the convergence era of information, communication and entertainment, the last remains a bastion for a (relatively) large screen, audio-visual medium like TV.

    This is the area that TV needs to build on and develop far greater depth in content. The question is how? For one, we really need to stop thinking of the youth as one amorphous mass of wired, accessorised, colloquialised beings.

    The content generators have to realize that there are at least four life stages that are spawned in the decade of 15-24 years – leaving school, college years, early work life and in some cases, matrimony – each with their own share of angst and joy. While some content has meaningfully focused on the first two, nothing has been done on the rest

    The possibilities are many:

    A soap completely scripted by the audience through emails and the winning contestant being sent on a creative writing course to a US university
    A news hour exclusively showcasing reports from “Citizen Journalists” (anyone with camera-mobile), who can SMS/email in their content
    A muti-contestant Gaming platform on TV completely enabled at the back-end to require just a mobile phone to participate
    A few ideas, like the ones above, have in fact been experimented with by various channels. However, these have been a smattering on the larger landscape of music countdown shows! One way to increase impact for these shows would be to package them in a ‘youth’ time slot. We have an afternoon band for the ladies at home, one early evening for kids, but no time band exists which invites youngsters into ‘their’ world.

    The second big focus area for TV needs to be on becoming a part of the digital youth network. In this regard, content providers need to augment their content through the digital world as well as sample it through the digital world.

    Snippets of programming converted into mobile/mail friendly formats like 3GP or MPEG and mailed/SMS’d out
    Creation of specific chatrooms on popular portals that help the prospective audience understand (and augment) the programming intent
    Previous episodes easily accessible online, but for the fresh episodes they have to tune in
    In the end, TV will be an integral part of the digital world – the challenge for TV will be to retain its glory as the defining point of entertainment – just like its content be it cricket or serials dominates the drawing room and kitchen conversations, will it also dominate the canteen, the SMS, the blogs and other ways in which the youth communicate?

     

  • America Online is now AOL

    America Online is now AOL

    MUMBAI: After 15 years, AOL announced that it is retiring the name America Online and will now officially be known as AOL.

    AOL Chairman and CEO Jon Miller said, “Our company long ago accomplished the mission implied by our old name … we literally got America online. Our new corporate identity better reflects our expanded mission – to make everyone’s online experience better. Plus, consumers in the U.S. and around the world already know us by our initials.”

    The legal structure of AOL has also changed, from a corporation to a limited liability company.

  • AOL launches mobile browsing service

    AOL launches mobile browsing service

    MUMBAI:AOL announced the debut of new mobile information and location services, including a new addition to the industry-leading suite of mobile AOL Search services. The new offering is a mobile browsing service that automatically adapts web pages for mobile screens. The easy-to-use mobile browsing service can be used by wireless subscribers with web-enabled phones.

    According to a new survey AOL conducted with the Associated Press and Pew Research Center, 52 percent of adults keep their cell phone turned on all day, everyday, and 40 percent of those aged 18-29 are likely to drop their landline once and for all. The report reveals that more than 30 percent of adults want to search and browse the web from their cell phone, while 47 percent say that mobile maps and driving directions are a “must have” on the next phone they buy.

    AOL’s wireless group senior vice president of Products Eric Engstrom said,”We are committed to providing people with easy access to the web’s full range of information, location and communications services wherever they may go. We are pleased to be working with the nation’s leading carriers to provide their subscribers with our complete suite of popular and consumer-friendly offerings. Together, we are making it easy for people to stay connected to friends, family members and colleagues.”

    AOL’s new mobile browsing service has been seamlessly integrated into the existing suite of mobile AOL Search services — including web search, shopping search and local search — to make it easy for consumers to navigate the web and find anything they need from their mobile device, according to an official release. Mobile AOL Search Services, including the new advanced browsing services, are available via mobile browser at http://www.aol.com .

    The new browsing service also marks the successful expansion of AOL’s alliance with InfoGin Ltd., a pioneer of web to mobile content adaptation solutions. AOL uses InfoGin’s transcoding and content analysis technologies to extend the ease of desktop search and navigation to wireless devices, bringing a wealth of web resources to mobile users’ finger tips.

    Also, AOL is bringing its mobile portal services to Sprint subscribers nationwide. AOL’s mobile web portal is a wireless version of the new AOL.com portal (http://www.aol.com). It is a one-stop-shop that gives mobile users easy access to the newly enhanced mobile AOL Search, AIM, AOL Mail and AOL Pictures services as well as AOL’s news, entertainment, sports and weather content.

    Sprint subscribers now have full access to America’s most popular instant messaging community via downloadable mobile AIM applications or through the wireless web. Features include presence awareness via the mobile Buddy List feature, IM Forwarding and two-way desktop-to-mobile (IM2SMS) messaging services.To learn more about mobile AOL services available to Sprint subscribers, please go to http://www.aolmobile.com/sprint

    In a related announcement, AOL debuted MapQuest’s new web-enabled service making it easier for consumers to access MapQuest.com. Coming soon, MapQuest Navigator will enable consumers to access Global Positioning Service (GPS), turn-by-turn, voice-guided directions on their mobile phones.

    Consumers with web-enabled mobile phones can access MapQuest.com by going to http://wap.mapquest.com .MapQuest expects the MapQuest Navigator service to be available through major U.S. cell phone providers later this year. For more information, see http://www.mapquest.com/mobile.

    Other services coming soon from AOL include a new mobile pictures upload feature will allow AOL Pictures users (AOL members and AIM users alike) to automatically post photos taken with their mobile device to their AOL Pictures account, regardless of their wireless carrier. The feature will be enabled through the AOL Pictures website ( http://www.aol.com/pictures).

    AOL will also introduce mobile blogging capabilities that will enable consumers to automatically post pictures from their mobile device to their AOL Journal or AIM Blog.

  • GM looks to increase emotional quotient of Chevrolet through marketing initiatives

    MUMBAI: For a special journey called life! Car and vehicle manufacturer General Motors (GM) India is going all out to increase the aspirational awareness about its Chevrolet brand of luxury cars. For this purpose the company has among other things announced a tie up with jewelry store Tanishq.
     

     
    Elaborating on the strategy General Motors India VP marketing, sales and after sales Amit Dutta says that a loyalty initiative Optra Gold Rush has kicked off in the Metro cities. This will be a two-month affair that is aimed at pushing the Chevrolet Optra. Here customers purchasing the care get gift vouchers worth Rs 30,000 from Tanishq. However each week a lucky draw is held and the big prize comes in the form of the winner visiting a Tanishq store. The man will then have one minute to pick up whatever jewelry is on display and put it on his wife.
     
     
    Basically the aim is to take the message of the Chevrolet furthering the bond of love, warmth and emotion between a man and a woman to the next level. Last year a TVC had been done where a man as a treat takes his wife out for drive on his Chevrolet Optra. This year another TVC was created where the quietness of the car is brought to forefront. Basically in the car while the woman is very nervous she can hear the man’s heartbeat. Chevrolet ads naturally air on channels that cater to the upmarket sector like Star Movies.
     
     
    As Dutta says,” While ads of other luxury cars make a big noise about luxury our message is that the Chevrolet quietly and smoothly moves along. As a result the woman can literally hear the extent to which her partner feels for her. A strong storyline was used to push the emotional quotient. One unique TVC was done through a tie up with BPCL. Through that while the ad was for a petroleum brand FI driver Narain Kartikeyan was shown driving a Chevrolet Optra.

    “Just to give perspective when we launched the Chevrolet Optra in 2003 after a gap of 50 years the challenge was to rekindle the association. So our first TVC basically demonstrated the perfect control the car allows the driver. We also conducted a Chevrolet Vintage Rally last year in Delhi. Basically General Motors’ aim is to capture 10 per cent of the car market share in the next few years. We also came out with a book that spoke about the heritage of Chevrolet. Most of our media budget goes towards promoting the Chevrolet brand. It goes without saying that we have become much more visible in 2004 and in 2005 due to our next product the Chevrolet Tavera which launched last year.”

    However Dutta points out that while mass media is effective in creating awareness about the aspirational value of a brand direct marketing can have a bigger impact at a lower cost. He gives the example of a tie up that the company did with Jet Airways in 2004. Winners could walk away with a Chevrolet Tavera and as a result GM got 80,000 inquiries.“That represents the number of potential clients. We also do customer relationship management initiatives. For instance through a tie up with ICICI Bank we were able to build up a database of 20,000 potential clients. We have also done innovative loyalty programmes like giving away movie tickets to customers. That is not to say that we do not use mass media like print.”

    “In fact a print campaign that we did in magazines and newspapers celebrated the fact that 10,000 Chevrolet Taveras were sold. As of now I would say that around 17,000 Taveras have been sold. Also the TVC that was created showed a family going for a holiday. That is the brand positioning of this car – that a husband can use it to get away from the hectic life of the city and go for a break with his family to a hill station like Lonavala. Another TVC was the Monk Ad. This saw students in a monastery enjoying a ride despite the fact that monks have a strict routine.”

    While McCann handles the media duties Enterprise Nexus is in charge of creative for GM. The next round of ads for Chevrolet Optra and Chevrolet Tavera will kick off in September. Dutta says that hoarding activity will be taken to the next level. Last year outdoor was used in around 76 cities. This year it will be used in 120 cities, which will include the smaller towns. However the company has no plans to rope in a brand ambassador as of now. Dutta says, “A brand ambassador works better for mass products. For high end products like Chevrolet it is better for the product to speak for itself. Anyway people are not going to buy a car unless they are sure it is reliable. That is why we plan to put in place 90 sales points and nearly 100 service outlets by the end of the year. We will be bringing in mass products like SUVs later on. At that time we might consider appointing a brand ambassador who will be able to help us cut through the clutter.”

    The company has also kicked off the GM Service Plus initiative in Delhi. It has among other offers the Free After Three service. Here a service mechanic will reach the car destination within three hours. If that does not happen then the person gets the service for free. So far 600 customers have availed of this service and the company claims to have had a 98 per cent success rate in meeting the three-hour deadline. It plans to introduce this initiative to Mumbai in December. This is way of saying “We value your service and your time’. The aim is to provide the wow factor in the service arena and thus become a leader as far as image is concerned even though in terms of volume sales one might not be number one. In addition before the year is through Chevrolet will unveil its global brand positioning.