Category: Press Release

  • Spurt in internet usage to Drive Digital Marketing in India

    Spurt in internet usage to Drive Digital Marketing in India

    MUMBAI: Delivering the keynote address at the 15th Marketing Conclave organized by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), Manish Maheshwari, Managing Director, India Operations at Twitter India said there are 1.1 billion expected smartphone users in India by 2024, Internet users in rural India are growing at the rate of 35% and Indians at large are expected to consume 18GB data per day by 2024. He further added, “This evolution in the way people consume information and connect with one another has also inspired brands to take steps in a new direction. It has encouraged these advertisers to evolve beyond one-sided communication and move towards designing participation.”

    The theme of the flagship event was ‘Age of MadTech’ and the discussions were centered around ‘Future of Marketing.’ The conference was attended by high-profile industry stalwarts who shared insights on the technology trends in advertising and marketing.

    Speakers at the conference were of the view that digital was the way forward for brands to achieve the highest RoI, and also to build trust and enagage with the consumers. The speakers opined that this being the age of millennials, digital would play a critical role to capture and engage with that generation. This would also pose exciting challenges for brands to capture their imagination.

    It is pertinent to note that the digital marketing landscape in India is growing phenomenally and expected to grow manifold in future. According to a DAN Report, as of 2018, the Indian digital advertising market was pegged at Rs 61,878 crore and is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 10.62% till 2021 to reach a market size of Rs 85,250 crore.  The conclave thus provided an excellent platform for attending delegates to network and engage with industry peers who discussed the latest trends of ‘martech’ and debated on ways to continue the growth momentum through innovative approach.

    Commenting on the success of the 15th Marketing Conclave, Gaurav Chopra, Vice President, IAMAI said, “The conference is a great platform for aspiring marketers from various industries to discover the Age of MADTech. Experts from the marketing and advertising fraternity shared wonderful stories of how many brands have transformed/evolved with time using the right mix of marketing, advertising and technology. IAMAI strives to work with industry to push the envelope further for the betterment of the industry.”

    The conclave was attended by high-profile industry stalwarts including Manish Maheshwari, Managing Director, Twitter India; Vivek Bhargava, CEO, DAN Performance Group; Anita Nayyar – CEO, India and South-East Asia, Havas Media Group; Prasanjeet Dutta Baruah – Business Head, Technology, Automotive, Facebook; Robert Hain, Senior Product Manager, IBM;Charles Ross, Asia Editorial Director, The Economist Intelligence Unit; Deepali Naair, Director Marketing India and South Asia, IBM and Sunder Madakshira, Head – Marketing, Adobe who shared their expert views on the changing marketing dynamics. The conclave acted as strong learning platform for delegates to understand the various new-age marketing trends and methods.

    Some of the top brands who attended the conclave are Alt Balaji, Amazon,  Asian Paints,  Axis Bank, BookMyShow, Cipla, Dream 11, Eros Now, Godrej, GroupM, HDFC Bank, Hotstar, ICICI Bank, JioSavaan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Marico, Nykaa, Pantaloons, Radio City, Red Chillies Entertainment, McDonald’s, SBI, Sony Liv, Star Entertainment, Tata Sky, Times Network, Vodafone Idea Limited, Yashraj Films, Yes Bank, Yatra.com and Zee5.

    The audience – content creators, marketing and advertisement professionals, publishers, startups and digital marketers at the conference got the opportunity to experience and understand new-age marketing methods. Some of the highlights of the conclave were around discussions on trending topics (such as AI in Marketing, Importance of UI/UX in Digital Marketing, Data Driven Marketing, Marketing Automation), insightful keynotes, Debates and chats which was well-received by them.

  • Harmonic Powers Sky Italia OTT Services

    Harmonic Powers Sky Italia OTT Services

    SAN JOSE, Calif: Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that its cloud-native media processing software and content-aware encoding (CAE) technology is powering Sky Italia's OTT streaming services. The Harmonic solution is integrated into the Sky Italia hybrid cloud software-defined streaming platform. Leveraging the latest advancements in pure software architecture, the Harmonic solution provides Sky Italia with the agility, flexibility and scalability to speed up the launch of new premium services and enable delivery of superior video quality at low bitrates.

    Sky Italia's solution for its linear video streaming platform is based on Kubernetes and microservices to serve event-based and 24/7 channels on OTT platforms. Adhering to these requirements, Harmonic's VOS® Cluster software dynamically controls and optimizes Sky Italia's on-premises and cloud video-processing resources.

    "To ensure the success of our next-generation streaming services, delivery of exceptional video quality and the ability to quickly adapt to changes are critical factors," said Gabriele Ubertini, director of technology engineering and innovation at Sky Italia. "Harmonic's cloud-native media processing software aligns with our choice of moving resources to Sky's software-defined streaming infrastructure, while allowing us to be nimble. Using CAE, we can deliver stunning video to a larger group of subscribers, providing a better quality of experience to those in areas with challenging bandwidth availability."

    Sky Italia will use Harmonic's VOS software for OTT media processing in on-premises datacenters integrated with the Sky Italia architecture, which leverages Kubernetes and a SMPTE 2022 uncompressed multicast video network. By enabling Sky Italia to dynamically control and optimize its video processing resources, together with their blueprint for an open-source ecosystem, the VOS solution will dramatically accelerate time to market for new channels. EyeQ™ CAE will be used to significantly reduce Sky's bandwidth requirements, decrease CDN costs and improve QoE.

    "Sky Italia asked for a highly available and scalable streaming solution for outstanding video quality and state-of-the art ABR packaging. We went above and beyond in meeting these requirements," said Ian Graham, senior vice president of international sales and video services at Harmonic. "Having an elastic and always-up-to-date media workflow will give Sky Italia serious competitive advantages, enabling it to launch services faster and scale up seamlessly."

    Harmonic will showcase its latest video streaming innovations at IBC2019, Sept. 13-17 in Amsterdam at Stand 1.B20. Further information about Harmonic and the company's solutions is available at www.harmonicinc.com.

  • Sony MAX2 to showcase cult classic ‘Karan Arjun’ as the Movie of the Month

    Sony MAX2 to showcase cult classic ‘Karan Arjun’ as the Movie of the Month

    Mumbai: Sony MAX2, the country’s leading movie channel is all set to revisit the most memorable brotherly bond in Indian cinema with the Movie of the Month – Karan Arjun. The blockbuster will be screening on Sony MAX2 on 15th September 2019 at 7PM.

    Directed by Rakesh Roshan, the cult classic won hearts with the Shah Rukh – Salman duo as the lead pair as they pass on the ‘pyaar ka bandhan’ to all their fans. Karan-Arjun is a story that unravels the epic tale of brothers Karan & Arjun who get murdered by a Thakur only to be reincarnated for their mother who always believed her sons will come back to fight for justice

    Get the samosas and chai ready for an evening of iconic Indian cinema, tune into Karan-Arjun and join their quest for justice at 7PM on 15th September 2019 only 0n Sony MAX2’s Movie of the Month

  • ZEE5 premieres kannada blockbuster Seetharama Kalyana

    ZEE5 premieres kannada blockbuster Seetharama Kalyana

    MUMBAI: ZEE5, India’s fastest growing multilingual OTT platform continues to strengthen its movies catalogue with the world digital premiere of the super-hit Kannada film ‘Seetharama Kalyana’. The film written and directed by A. Harsha has a heady dose of action, romance, comedy and family drama. Starring Nikhil Gowda, Rachita Ram in lead roles, the superhit film is will premiere 13th September 2019 exclusively on ZEE5.

    Sharing his excitement Nikhil Gowda said, “Our film is  packaged with high voltage drama and action. It received a phenomenal response in the theatres and now anybody who wants to  watch it can catch it now on ZEE5,  from the comfort of their home.”

    Writer and Director A. Harsha commented, “Seetharama Kalyanais a complete pot boiler. The film received much love at the box office and it is now available on ZEE5, for all those who missed it in theatres. We are really excited to partner with ZEE5 and are sure the film will travel further because of their sheer reach.”

    Aparna Acharekar, Programming Head, ZEE5,commented, “Seetharama Kalyana is a mass entertainer and we are thrilled to add it in our movie bucket. 2019 has been an exciting yearduring which we have added interesting films and series on our platform.We are committed to build a robust library across languages.” 

    In November last year, ZEE5 introduced regional premium packs (Kannada, Tamil and Telugu) for subscribers which have seen great success. The ZEE5 Tamil Premium pack is priced competitively at Rs. 49/- for one month and Rs. 499/- for a year.

  • Vodafone Idea launches TurboNet 4g in karnataka

    Vodafone Idea launches TurboNet 4g in karnataka

    MUMBAI: Vodafone Idea Ltd., India’s leading telecommunication service provider, today announced the launch of TurboNet 4G in Karnataka where it has successfully integrated the erstwhile Vodafone and Idea networks. With this, Bengaluru has become the first metro in the country to get TurboNet 4G services, in addition to other major cities like Mysuru, Mangaluru, Belagavi, Hubballi & Davangere in Karnataka.

    Additionally, to further enhance indoor user experience on 4G, Vodafone Idea Ltd. has deployed the future-fit L900 technology for its customers in Bangalore. This latest deployment enables higher penetration of 4G in indoor areas offering enhanced network experience for customers.

    The launch of TurboNet 4G follows the successful consolidation of its radio network integration and the deployment of newer technologies to further boost network capacity and coverage across large parts of the country.

    Speaking on the occasion Arvind Nevatia, Circle Business Head – Karnataka, Vodafone idea Ltd. said, “With TurboNet 4G, 14 Mn Vodafone Idea customers in Karnataka will get faster download and upload speeds, better coverage and enhanced user experience while consuming content on their smartphones. While there is already more than 2X times improvement in 4G speeds in many markets, our latest deployment of L900 technology in Bangalore, will further greatly enhance indoor coverage and provide HD quality voice calling and higher data speeds at places where our customers need these services the most. With a strong unified network and rich digital content, we are confident of giving all our customers a superior network experience.”

    Mobile users of other networks who wish to switch to Vodafone Idea TurboNet 4G and benefit from our superior network experience can connect by dialling the toll-free number 1800-123-612345.

    According to Vishant Vora, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone Idea Ltd., “With the integration of two strong networks in many markets, Vodafone Idea is becoming a higher powered, super charged 4G network on the back of larger number of sites, deployment of future fit technologies and greater spectrum allocation. TurboNet truly defines the reinvented 4G network which promises to deliver wider coverage, increased capacity, turbo speeds and superior customer experience. Our unified network is being presented to customers of both brands under a single brand proposition – TurboNet 4G – in all the integrated markets in India. So whether you are a Vodafone or Idea customer, your network is now bigger, stronger and better.”

    As per Ookla, the global leader in broadband testing and web-based network diagnostic applications, Vodafone and Idea brands are delivering fastest upload and download 4G speeds in many of the integrated markets. More details on www.vodafoneidea.com

    With the turbo speeds being offered on both the brands, customers can enjoy live TV shows, latest movies and a variety of original content on Vodafone Play and Idea Movies and TV App. Vodafone Idea has partnered with leading content creators and aggregators like Eros, Sony, Zee5, Hungama Play, T-Series, SunNXT, ShemarooMe, Hoichoi, TV Today, Discovery and many others that provides an array of free premium content to subscribers to enjoy on TurboNet 4G. Additionally, the company has tie ups with leading content providers like Amazon Prime and Netflix for its premium customers.

  • Electro Rent announces new global CEO & president, Jay Geldmacher

    Electro Rent announces new global CEO & president, Jay Geldmacher

    MUMBAI: Electro Rent, a global leader in test equipment services, today announced the appointment of Jay Geldmacher as the company’s new Global CEO and President. 

    Jay is a seasoned technology executive with over thirty years of experience in building and growing businesses within the electronics manufacturing industry.  Most recently, he was the President and CEO of Artesyn Embedded Technologies (formerly Emerson’s Embedded Computing & Power Business) where he championed the expansion of engineering resources and investments in technology into new markets such as hyper-scale, 5G and Industry 4.0. 

    Mr. Geldmacher will succeed current Electro Rent Global CEO Nigel Brown, who is retiring from day-to-day service but will remain active as a shareholder, Chairman and key strategic advisor to the company. 

    Over the last 20 years, Mr. Brown has been instrumental in driving the company’s growth both organically and via M&A, expanding its footprint, creating industry-leading equipment services and most recently leading the successful integration of the Microlease and Electro Rent businesses. 

    “Jay is uniquely qualified to lead the business through its next phase of growth and evolution, building on the company’s position as the global test equipment services provider of choice,” said Mr. Brown. “His global technology background and experience developing deep customer relationships is a perfect fit for Electro Rent.” 

    Electro Rent is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity.

    “Nigel has been an exceptional leader and we are pleased to continue our partnership with him in his new role,” said Platinum Equity Partner Louis Samson. “Jay’s leadership style and tireless dedication to customers aligns well with Electro Rent and our long-term aspirations for the business. The company will benefit from his experience penetrating new markets and geographies as well as his sense of urgency and focus on execution.”  

    Mr. Geldmacher will be based in Electro Rent’s headquarters located in West Hills, California and will assume the Global CEO and President role this month.

  • Mystery Supper – master chef australia season 11 Indian launch

    Mystery Supper – master chef australia season 11 Indian launch

    MUMBAI: Star World, India’s leading English Entertainment channel launched the biggest gourmet show in the world, MasterChef Australia Season 11, by hosting a Mystery Supper – an exclusive dinner event across three cities – Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore on 11th September 2019.

    In Mumbai, the Mystery Supper was held at Slink and Bardot, Worli. Through this on-ground launch activity, Star World took its campaign theme for the show – #Reunite, on-ground, by bringing together all five senses over food. Star World brought dishes from the kitchen of French chef, Alexis Gielbaum. As he dug deep to his roots drawing inspiration from the great chefs of France, he reproduced some of their signature dishes with a twist armed with the best of contemporary Indian produce. 

    In re-enforcing the channel’s messaging to #Reunite, celebrities like Mandira Bedi, Tara Sharma, Mini Mathur, Shveta Salve, Shruti Seth, Pooja Gor, Raj Singh Arora and Manasi Scott graced the dinner event with their presence. Renowned chefs like Vicky Ratnani, Munaf Kapadia, Boo Kim, Rohan D’souza, Maria Goretti and Harsh Dixit also made their way to the MasterChef extravaganza leading to the ultimate reunion between food, fashion and culinary greatness.

  • iTV Network appoints Uma Prabhu as group editor

    iTV Network appoints Uma Prabhu as group editor

    MUMBAI: iTV Network that publishes The Sunday Guardian, India’s finest Sunday newspaper has announced the appointment of Uma Prabhu as the Group Editor.

    Uma has a wealth of leadership experience of over three decades in the news broadcasting. She has a standout track record, result-oriented approach and has a deep understanding of news ecosystem.

    Uma was, until recently, the Group Editor of Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL). She has previously held various senior executive positions with organisations of repute. She has held a range of roles and her responsibilities and portfolios have grown: Correspondent with Stardust, Reporter with The Daily, Senior Reporter with The Times of India, Chief Editor with Popular Prakashan; Editor at Education Times, Group Editor with TOI and as Consultant with Al Sayegh Group of Abu Dhabi.

    In her new role at iTV Network, she will focus on writing articles at The Sunday Guardian, creating content for education, skill development, women affairs, events and IPs for iTV Network channels and its digital platforms.

    Elaborating on the vision that Uma aims to follow in her new role, she said, “It is a tremendous honour and a privilege to have been entrusted with this new role. iTV Network is one of journalism’s great institutions, with an enormously talented staff.

    Speaking on Uma’s new role, Kartikeya Sharma, Founder and Promoter of iTV Network, said, “I’m delighted to welcome Uma into the iTV Network fold. She brings a wealth of experience and a strategic thinking to our publishing. Her flair, intelligence and editorial instincts will be a terrific addition to our brilliant editorial team and bolster our list even further.”

    Uma holds a post-graduate degree in Management (from NIMS) and Journalism (from University of Pune). She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Karnataka University and a diploma in Training and Development from Indian Society of Training and Development, New Delhi.

  • POPxo strengthens its position as a Content-Community-Commerce platform; launches private label of skin, bath & body, and hair products

    POPxo strengthens its position as a Content-Community-Commerce platform; launches private label of skin, bath & body, and hair products

    MUMBAI: POPxo, India’s largest community for women launches its private-label Beauty Collection #POPxoEverydayBeauty. This pivotal launch marks the company’s entry into the lucrative and growing beauty segment. The collection decodes beauty for millennials and promises to put the fun back in skincare with their community approved products. The range is all about making everyday beauty fun, effective and 100% fuss-free. Packed with natural ingredients, they are  paraben-free, non-toxic and cruelty-free. The highlight of the launch is the signature packaging that resonates well with POPxo’s userbase of 43 million MAUs across platforms. With the new beauty collection, POPxo aims at making its users look good and feel good, every day.

    Available in 3 product categories: skin, bath & body and hair, the newly launched collection comprises 17 products. The POPxo Beauty Collection is perfect for women who seek simple, easy to use and effective beauty products with herbal ingredients and uplifting package design. The skin collection boasts of unique and effective ingredients like lotus oil, aloe vera, tulsi extract, rose leaves, etc. while the bath & body and hair collection have been created with active ingredients like coconut milk, green apple, argan oil, Vitamin E, etc.

    With the introduction of the POPxo beauty collection, the company further strengthens its position as a Content-Community-Commerce platform.  On the launch of the POPxo beauty collection Priyanka Gill, Founder & CEO, Luxeva Ltd says, “This is an important launch for us as beauty is a key interest area for our users. We are very excited to enter this large and growing segment. Each product addresses the POPxo core user’s personality, voice and everyday concerns.”

    “Our large user base, proven digital market capabilities and data-driven insights into what users are looking for places us in a unique position to successfully create, launch and market  DTC brands for millennial women across categories.”

    “Our unique marketing approach allows us to dramatically reduce the cost of user acquisition by relying on organic content generated by our team, our users and our Plixxo influencer base,” she adds.   

    Starting at INR 465, all the products are available at POPxo SHOP. You can avail a flat 25% off on the products if you pre-order today. 

    Happy Shopping at <https://www.popxo.com/shop/beauty>

    Below are the details of the products for your reference –

    https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ZRZV_LPgeM8ZnPcwjqMciRB6hpGT5W6BJnkG6DyW0XjnhuXeehOW36zmcvAGs_ULLuN950FqNU43R2TywY4DSGBjK0vIbYV5DJFmFAbj7BkIqXLFhHgcmI774p-rgu5xK3-kzLSP

  • Star World all set to #Reunite your family with MasterChef Australia Season 11

    Star World all set to #Reunite your family with MasterChef Australia Season 11

    MUMBAI: Star World, the official Indian broadcaster of the longest running cooking show in the world, MasterChef Australia, launches its campaign to #Reunite your family. In this time and age of ever-growing smartphones and cheap data prices, everyone is glued to their own little screen, in their own little silo, doing their own thing. But uniting all individuals, television is the one medium that celebrates family time, and with MasterChef Australia Season 11 premiering on Star World starting 16th September 2019 at 9 PM on Indian television, get to the experience some joy, some food, and a little bonding with family.

    Image result for masterchef australia poster

    Showcasing the power of food with multiple TVCs lined-up, Star World introduces its campaign promos exhibiting its wonderful ability to bring family members together as they bond over food. In keeping with the theme of the campaign, Star World follows the insight of how food, the social agent and an ultimate enabler of conversations, unites even the most anti-social members of the family while also instilling a sense of inspiration within them. These exciting TVCs convey the idea of re-uniting with family members, from teenage kids to millennials and grandparents.

    The first TVC features a bear stepping out of his den after a long term of hibernation. This bear is compared to the typical teenager girl who behaves to be in perpetual hibernation. The TVC cuts to both stepping out of hibernation for one reason only… FOOD with family, i.e. MasterChef Australia. To rightly portray this analogy of bears and humans in hibernation in the film, the promo takes inspiration from the engaging storytelling style of Sir David Attenborough, the British naturalist and television personality, known for narrating many nature and planet focused documentaries.

    Honoring the friendly neighborhood trio of judges – Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan, and George Calombaris, Star World brings the next TVC that attributes to #Reuniting the three of them one last time.

    Extending the idea of uniting people over food, the third promo features the ladies of the house, often busy tending to other family members, come together at 10 in the morning to watch MasterChef Australia.

    And the last TVC on ‘immunity pin’ has all family members set on the dining table; this promo video celebrates the sibling mockery and love. Here, the daughter wins the immunity pin and gets to skip the green salad while the son has to now gulp it down.

    Star World builds this campaign based on insights gained from detailed research through T.V. viewership data and tapping into family viewing, and their emotional connect with the show. Research also suggests that a show like MasterChef Australia is not only a food show but one that inspires home chefs into becoming culinary masters, making it India’s favorite reality culinary show. In an age where the quality fam-time is almost nil, Star World brings out the magic of these films and showcases the power of food to #Reunite them all.

    Moreover, to create an immersive experience for its audiences, Star World is organizing ’Mystery Supper’ – dinner parties in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Delhi. Through this on-ground launch activity, Star World, will #Reunite people from across the culinary industry. Resolved to take the excitement to another level, Star World will reveal the locations, menu, and chef, only on the day of the event!

    Expanding the campaign to #Reunite, Star World introduces an eight-week contest across all digital platforms with the ‘Ultimate Gourmet Challenge’ and brings biggest of throwback challenges and creations in order to engage with all MasterChef fans throughout the season.

    So, gear up as Star World curates a food experience like no other with you, your family, and MasterChef Australia, starting 16th September 2019 at 9 PM.