ITV

Category: News Headline

  • Despite technology, content will continue to remain king: McCann

    Despite technology, content will continue to remain king: McCann

    MUMBAI: “Television remains a strong, growth oriented business and despite fragmentation, rising internet interest and many gloomy forecasts, television viewership around the world is on the rise,” said Nielsen Media Research, International chairman Robert L McCann.

    McCann was speaking at the third day of Ficci Frames 2006 in Mumbai. “PVRs and DVRs seem threatening but the focus should be on these infernal time shifting machines,” he added.

    Throwing in some figures from the US, McCann said that more than $ 130 billion was spent in the US on television advertising. “The emerging truth is that the consumer is the boss. With the coming in of PVRs and DVRs, time shifting viewing, instant replay of live television, commercial zapping are all becoming a reality,” McCann said.

    “Another reality is that emerging technologies may alter traditional advertising supported television business model. However, despite all these changes, content remains the king. Those who will embrace these changes will win and those who will ignore them may suffer,” McCann concluded.

  • Mobile phone entertainment is about making dead time alive: Sandip Das

    Mobile phone entertainment is about making dead time alive: Sandip Das

    MUMBAI: One of the special addresses on the final day of Frames – The convention for the business of entertainment was made by Hutchison Essar MD Sandip Das.

    He pointed out that the mobile is an effective entertainment tool as it makes dead time alive. It could be while one is travelling in a bus, car or sitting on a beach watching the waves.

    “The mobile does not compete nor threaten other media.

    It complements them. Its portability and unobtrusiveness provide opportunities for engagement. At the same time it cannot match the scale of Imax. Yet, one cannot carry an Imax or a movie theatre as one does a mobile.”

    He praised Ericsson’s 0,1,2,3 phase of developing the mobile. 0 means that no user manual is needed. It is self explanatory. One means one button to remove the complications of different controls. Two refers to the two seconds it takes for a screen to appear. Three refers to getting to an online destination within three clicks. “It is important that the mobile service providers think in this manner. The mobile is all about customised and personalised entertainment. The more mass it becomes the more important it is for mobile operators to provide distinctive services.”

    He said that for content providers looking to tap the mobile it is important to think of the mobile first and not see it as an appendage. “Unique content needs to be created for the mobile that does not involve merely shortening the length of a film. Mobisodes are a step in the right direction. The good news is that data is getting compressed into smaller formats.”

    He stressed that no other media had as much user capability as the mobile. Location based services will help make the mobile more timely. He quoted Bill Gates who once said that knowledge was more profound than information. The reason why some channels consistently get excellent viewership even though there are more choices available is because those few channels understand their viewers.

    He went on to state that the jury is out on the mobile entertainment eco system. There is land grabbing going on. For instance Apple is selling music, Sony has bought a bank, HP sells TVs. There are also challenges that the mobile entertainment industry is facing. “The first is that we need more data friendly mobile phones. There is no point in buying a Ferrari if you drive it on pot holed roads. More bandwith is necessary for the mobile. It is important for more spectrum to be freed up. There also needs to be a change in terms of how our filmmakers and television serial makers view the mobile. Their antennas go up when the word mobile is mentioned.

    “M Night Shyamalan for one has said that he would not like to make a film which can be viewed by someone in a toilet who has a mobile. I think that with our stories there is scope to make great content for the mobile.”

    He noted that open source software is enabling collaboration and content is increasingly being created by users in the form of blogs and communities. It is becoming less and less the privilege of technology geeks. He mentioned that revenue sharing is one area that needs to be sorted out. That is why Digital Video Broadcast Handheld (DVB-H) is facing a problem. It is not that the technology is not upto speed. He praised Nokia who through the N Series has revolutionised MP3 and e-mail among other functions.

    The consumer experience is key. If one develops services but does not allow the experience to be as good as it should, then one is doomed. In mobile as in other media, content is king. There are four sectors – video, imagery, gaming and music. While music has 70 per cent revenue share this will change in the coming years.

    “The challenge for providers of mobile entertainment will be to bridge the gap between the early adopters who saw the potential in the medium and the huge mainstream market that wants to enjoy its benefits but does not want to get caught up in the gory technological details.

    “Seamlessness in mobile technology will enable us to move seamlessly from one media to another. For instance, you watch a football match at home. In the middle of the match you have to leave for the office.

    When you leave home, the mobile picks up the signal and the match gets switched on the mobile. When you reach the office, the PC has the match on. I got a demonstration of this from Motorola yesterday.”

  • MTV, Rolling Stone team for reality series

    MTV, Rolling Stone team for reality series

    MUMBAI: Amateur journalists will vie for a year long position at Rolling Stone magazine in a new reality series for MTV US.

    Contestants will work with the veteran music magazine’s senior editors to develop their writing skills and secure interviews with artists, actors and politicians.

    Rolling Stone founder and publish Jann Wenner says, “Throughout our history we have seen the careers of some of the nation’s most notable journalists flourish, including Cameron Crowe and the late Hunter S. Thompson. We are anxious to meet the candidates and welcome them into the Rolling Stone family as they embark on their professional careers.”

    MTV executive VP programming Lois Curren says, “The series will capture the drama and excitement of the fast-paced world of Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone has long been an incubator for top journalists, which makes this an amazing opportunity for aspiring writers.”

    The show will be taped in New York from June through August and is expected to premiere later this year.

  • Nielsen Outdoor launches GPS ratings service in Los Angeles

    MUMBAI: Taking another step to increase the value of outdoor advertising, Nielsen Outdoor has expanded its GPS (global positioning system) based ratings service to Los Angeles to establish an independent, accurate ratings currency for the outdoor advertising marketplace.

    This expansion is part of an immediate roll-out of the technology-based measurement service in the top ten media markets in the US.

    The expansion of the service to Los Angeles comes on the heels of its introduction last year in Chicago, where it received support among advertising agencies and media owners. The service was also adopted as the currency of the outdoor industry in South Africa.

    Nielsen Outdoor will begin recruiting a representative sample for the Los Angeles service in May and expects to deliver data to clients in the fall. It will begin marketing the service in Los Angeles immediately.

    Through the patent of its technology partner RDPA LLC, Nielsen Outdoor has proprietary rights to the technology used in GPS-based outdoor ratings. This unique technology enables Nielsen to track the travel patterns of consumers in relation to known outdoor advertising sites, even in difficult urban canyon areas.

    Nielsen Outdoor managing director Lorraine Hadfield said, “With the outdoor industry adopting new, high-tech signage, it is essential that they also adopt the most advanced measurement capability. Our decision to expand our GPS-based ratings service into Los Angeles is part of a continuing commitment to support one of the fastest growing and most dynamic advertising vehicles. We are confident that advertisers, their agencies and media owners will appreciate the power of outdoor as an effective and persuasive marketing medium.”

    Using proprietary devices that are entirely portable, passive and personal, Nielsen Outdoor tracks the passage of people as they ordinarily walk, drive or travel in other ways through the marketplace. Combining these findings with the known locations of outdoor signage, the company can precisely calculate how many persons see the outdoor ads and identify them demographically. Accordingly, Nielsen Outdoor provides advertisers with the total number of people exposed to outdoor advertising and the frequency of their exposure.

    In addition to standard demographics, information about respondents’ use of other media, products and services is also collected, allowing greater insight into how different types of consumers are exposed to outdoor advertising and delivering further understanding of the value of this medium.

  • INCL organising PR workshop in Delhi next month

    MUMBAI: A one-day PR workshop is being organised on 4 May 2006 in New Delhi by India News Communications (INCL), in association with PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Zee Business.

    The workshop will feature relevant subjects within India’s PR fraternity.

    The speakers include CNN IBN Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Star News CEO and director of news Uday Shankar and Tata Services VP public affairs Sanjay Singh.

    They will be discussing topics on the current PR trends and analyse the discipline. This will be supported by in-depth case studies and hands-on experience working in their respective fields.

    INCL CEO and dierctor Prashant Kumar said, “ There is dearth of workshops in the field of Public Relations. Our basic objective behind this workshop is to realize the true potentials of the discipline within India. The workshop is for PR professionals, corporates, academicians, research scholars, students and all those connected with the field. The idea is to provide a brainstorming platform for analyzing, assessing and realising all facets of PR vis-?-vis resurgent corporate India.”

    The three topics that will be covered are- PR: Facts and Fiction involving the Indian Corporate demands consolidating challenges ahead, Crisis Management an evolving forte in the domain of India’s Public Relations, and PR venturing new areas transcending the limits of merely relationship. How sustainable is the whole issue?” Kumar adds that, “However there are every scope of newer topics during the interface. The lively workshop will see a participation of delegates from across the country. “

    INCL notes that public telations has began to make an impact within corporate India and now is being acknowledged as one of the most important aspects for better pitching up of a business entity. With the booming Indian economy and upsurge in the global visitations of multinationals, the onus lies on PR professionals to be competent enough to take the challenge in right earnest. This workshop hopes to decipher new horizons for the Indian PR professionals, making them better equipped to brace up for the challenges lying ahead.

  • Aamir adds more ‘tadka’ to Coca-Cola’s summer campaign

    MUMBAI: After Aishwarya Rai’s ‘kamar Coca Cola’ ad to mark the beginning of the Coca-Cola Thande ka Tadka” campaign, the beverage company has now rolled out another ad with the versatile Aamir Khan. After donning personnae of a Bihari, Punjabi, Nepali and a ‘tapori,’ this time the Khan will be seen as a Japanese tourist.
     
     
    In this ad, Aamir makes a clever and funny appearance as a tourist who not only underlines the message of “How food tastes best when had with Coca-Cola,” but also reinforces the entire concept of “Thanda” being synonymous with a bottle of Coca-Cola. The new brand campaign will launch on 26 April.
     
     
    Coca-Cola India vice president marketing Vikas Gupta said, “Thanda is synonymous with Coca-Cola. It is also an established fact that food tastes best, when had with the world’s favorite soft drink. To blend and deliver all these messages to the consumer, the new brand initiative utilises Aamir’s humour and acting skills. With the recipe now complete, the initiative further enhances the impact of Coca-Cola’s brand campaign for the summer – “Thande ka Tadka.”
     
     
    The new brand initiative has been conceptualized by McCann Erickson regional creative director South and South East Asia Prasoon Joshi and has been directed by Pradip Sarkar of Parineeta fame.
    The ad opens with Aamir, who is mistaken for a tourist, entering a restaurant and being shown with a special overpriced menu by the manager whose aim was to fool an unsuspecting tourist. But Aamir asks to be served with “Thanda food.” The puzzled restaurant manager later on discovers that is actually being asked is – Thanda (Coca-Cola) and food.

    Joshi said, “The challenge here was to carry forward the feelings of intense positivism seen in the “Piyo Sar Utha Ke” campaign and take it forward to an even higher realm. If you notice while “piyo sar utha ke” worked within the framework of idealism-hope-belief, Thande ka Tadka takes that same belief and converts it into action all the while supported by your very own Coca-Cola. The ad will clearly enhance a more definitive role for Coca-Cola in the consumer’s life. The denouement of the ad is what will leave the audience pleasantly surprised “

    In addition to above the line initiatives, Coca-Cola India has also planned an integrated food campaign, which will leverage other evolving media and will be supported by a strong on the ground program in terms of visibility and trade activation.
     

     

  • MTV, Pepsi put marketing might into ‘Youth Icon’

    MUMBAI: Anil Ambani, Rahul Dravid and Shahrukh Khan. What do these three have in common? Well, apart from being in the spotlight as a successful businessman, sportsman and actor respectively, these three have also been voted as the MTV Youth Icon over the last three years.

    Now, the hunt for India’s ‘Youth Icon’ has begun yet again. This time, Pepsi’s brand ambassador Priyanka Chopra will be promoting the Pepsi and MTV Youth Icon 2006 along with Dravid. The duo will be announcing the final six nominees of the hunt.

    The finalists for this year’s Youth Icon are from varied fields like films, sports, politics, television, music and business. M S Dhoni (sports), Navjot Singh Siddhu (television), Dr. Vijay Mallya (business), President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam (science), John Abraham (films) and Abhijeet Sawant (music) are the final contenders who will be vying for the ultimate title. These final nominations have been arrived at after a 10-city study conducted by research agency IMRB.
    This year, as the title sponsor, Pepsi will also push and promote the event. Specially branded Pepsi 600 ml Pet bottles, with Pepsi & MTV Youth Icon labels carrying the SMS voting codes will be launched. These will initially hit the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kanpur and Hyderabad.

    Also, Pepsi truck backs/sides will carry the Youth Icon logo and the voting communication in these cities along with posters across 13,000 key Pepsi outlets nationwide.

    What’s more, Pepsi and MTV will give five lucky contest winners a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet his/her icon on MTV. Apart from this, MTV has also tied up with various media like Red FM, Headlines Today, Aaj Tak and Outlook for voting details and winner announcements. Also, promotions will be on at Baskin Robbins and Music World outlets.

    MTV Networks India vice president marcom and digital Vikram Raizada said, “The big difference this year is in the marketing might, which we have put into this event. There will be a huge on-air promo push, be it on television, print or radio.”

    MTV has further planned youth-connect initiatives through mall activation across Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, wherein MTV VJs will visit select malls in these cities and engage audiences in interesting thematic games and activities.

    The associate sponsors on the event include Weekender, Castrol, HP and Ford Ikon. The latter will give away a Ford Ikon ‘Flair’ to one lucky winner who votes for his/her icon. Every mobile voter is a winner, as each valid SMS vote will entitle the voter to win a guaranteed MTV ringtone of the Youth Icon signature tune.

    The number of public votes acquired by each one of the six nominees will decide the ultimate Youth Icon for the year. The voting process has already begun and will end on 22 May, 2006. Viewers can log onto www.mtvindia.com to vote or can SMS “ICON” to 6882 or 8243 to vote for their choice. Additionally, they can also call 1250-122 (BSNL) or 1250-111-122 (MTNL) and cast their votes.

    “The Youth Icon is a property that honors men and women of substance, who have positively influenced youth. Youth empowerment is a credo that brand Pepsi has always lived by, and we are proud to partner MTV is this highly youth relevant endeavor, that empowers them to vote for their Youth Icon,” said Pepsi Foods Pvt. Ltd executive director marketing Punita Lal.

    Raizada added, “The Youth Icon is a unique, one-of-a-kind platform created expressly for the youth to identify their new-age role-models. In its fourth year the Youth Icon will reach newer heights in terms of on-air engagements and on-ground activation to further empower the youth to vote for the one person who’s fired their imagination through the year.”

    The Pepsi & MTV Youth Icon 2006 will be announced in June.

  • MTV US’ new campaign against global warming seeks to ‘Break The Addiction’

    MUMBAI: US broadcatster MTV has announced the network’s latest pro-social initiative, Break The
    Addiction. This is a year-long campaign to engage, educate and empower young people to take simple, daily actions that can have a measurable impact in the fight against global warming.

    The campaign kicked off a couple of days ago with a channel takeover on Earth Day, 22 April. This includes an on-air, online and wireless messaging campaign about how to help stop global warming,
    break-ins to regularly scheduled programming that offer environmental lessons, multiple public service announcements (PSAs), and an MTV News
    package introducing the initiative featuring an environmental activist.

    MTV’s year-long recovery programme aimed at
    mobilising a new generation of environmental activists. On-air, online and on wireless, the initiative will connect the audience to simple, daily
    tips, as well as in-depth resources, to help them recognise and change habits that harm the environment. Viewers will be directed online to
    think.mtv.com to quantify and track their efforts by the amount of carbon dioxide emissions and dollars saved due to changes they commit to making
    throughout the year.

    Supplemental MTV programming — both long-form and news packages — will air throughout the year and the tips will be revealed in daily PSAs on air on MTV, MTV2, and mtvU as well as online and delivered to cell phones. Additional PSAs will appear on mtv.com, mtv2.com, mtvU.com,
    MTV Overdrive and mtvU Uber. Through partnerships with StopGlobalWarming.org, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC),
    Grist.org, Student PIRGs, Campus Climate Challenge, and Clean Air-Cool Planet, MTV will go beyond the broadcasts to create online and wireless
    resources, as well as opportunities for grassroots organising and outreach.

    MTV president Christina Norman says, “Throughout history young people have always rallied around issues and generated change, and we know from our constant dialogue with young people that they are concerned about the environment but don’t know how to make a difference. Break The Addiction will educate and empower young people with tangible, simple actions and measurable ways to see how their small efforts have big effects.”

    MTV will theme each month with a concrete message — from Examine Yourself to Go Paperless to Get Political — and create corresponding
    programming and resources on air, online, on wireless phones and on the ground. Throughout the campaign, young people will be able to access a
    number of resources on these platforms, including:

    * The Break The Addiction recycle bin on TRL — MTV’s flagship TRL program will host the recycle bin for audience members who literally must recycle to gain entrance to the studio. Throughout the
    year, MTV will point to the container as a reminder of simple acts that can make big impacts on the planet.

    * think MTV’s Carbon Calculator — This is an online calculator, built in partnership with StopGlobalWarming.org. It enables young people to calculate their carbon and financial savings as
    they commit to making changes in their lives.

    * Long-form programming and MTV News packages — MTV programming will explore the issues of global warming, as well as showcase the innovative
    ways that young people are fighting to preserve the environment.

    * User-generated Content — MTV viewer ideas will be solicited and showcased through their submission of pictures about how they’re stopping global warming.

    * Action Center — Break the Addiction will provide opportunities for young people to take personal, social, and political action to help stop
    global warming.

    * Online Resources — think MTV will launch a Break the Addiction website on think.mtv.com to serve as a portal for information about global warming and ways to take action to reduce
    one’s environmental impact.

    Additional on air, online, wireless, and grassroots initiatives will be rolled out throughout the year.
    About think MTV
    The think MTV initiative includes longform specials, MTV News reports, PSAs, and other special programming dedicated to the issues that young
    people care about most. A think MTV icon appears onscreen during programming that has an online counterpart at think.MTV.com, to offer a
    range of opportunities for young people to learn about and engage on critical issues at the local or national level. On every page within the
    site, young people can search for local volunteer opportunities, contact their political representatives, and register to vote.

  • Fun Technologies signs online gaming agreement with BSkyB

    MUMBAI: Fun Technologies Inc’s wholly owned subsidiary, Fanball UK Limited has signed an agreement with British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) Limited to provide fantasy sports games and content for the Sky sports portal – http://www.skysports.com.
     
     
    Under the terms of the agreement, Fanball will build, host, operate and maintain an online fantasy sports website that will be accessible via links from the Sky website, and tailored to the look and feel of skysports.com. The site is scheduled to be launched this spring, ahead of football’s World Cup Finals.
     
     
    Skysports.com is the UK’s commercial sports website and attracts over seven million unique users per month. It has recently launched a dedicated World Cup site.
     
     
    Fanball creates league-hosting software, content, real-time sports statistics, and interactive games for the web and other convergent media platforms. It is the premier provider of online fantasy sports contests, content, strategy and insight, and has exclusive, white-label distribution agreements with leading organizations such as AOL and Nascar.com.

    Fun Technologies CEO Lorne Abony said, “This is a terrific step forward in our drive to extend our leading fantasy platform into the UK and Europe, and is aligned with our overarching goal of expanding the distribution of our games into new geographic markets. We are thrilled to be partnering with Sky and look forward to a successful relationship.”
     

     

  • Group M announces increased commitment to search in Asia Pacific

    MUMBAI: Owing to the growth of paid search market across the Asia Pacific region, Group M has made three new appointments in Singapore, Australia and India.

    Group M has made significant additions to its capability to provide service to clients of Mindshare, Maxus, Mediaedge:cia and Mediacom.

    Rosemary Lising joins Group M in Singapore and will combine the role of leading search for the region with leadership of the MEC Interaction team within Mediaedge:CIA Reporting to Group M Interaction regional CEO Ruth Stubbs, Rosemary will work with US based Chris Copeland, global head of search for Group M, to bring the latest tools, strategy and process to search in the region.
    Rosemary will be supported by Sanchit Sanga in Mindshare Interaction India, a unit which is showing rapid growth in search and by Susan Zabeti who joins Mindshare Interaction Australia from our UK search operations.

    Sanga will be reporting to Interaction India national director Tushar Vyas in India and will work with Rosemary to capitalise on the rapid growth in the search market in India and the region. The team will assist all Group M clients in extracting the best return on investment from this emerging channel.

    Stubbs said, “The time is right for this kind of investment in search. Group M is a real leader in paid search and search engine optimisation in the US and Europe and we believe that we can bring that learning to our clients in the region. Rosemary, Sanchit and Susan are all top class professionals who understand the dynamics of the market and we are delighted that they are in place.”