ITV

Category: Press Release

  • Vkaao Gems receives overwhelming response for Shoplifters and Capernaum

    Vkaao Gems receives overwhelming response for Shoplifters and Capernaum

    MUMBAI: An entertainment loving country, India, is taking to world cinema and how. BookMyShow and PVR-backed Vkaao, India’s first theatre-on-demand platform has seen resounding success with its recently launched initiative Vkaao Gems. In just the initial week, both international foreign language films – Shoplifters and Capernaum, screened by Vkaao Gems, have received a tremendous response with packed theatres. The popular demand for the films has led to an extension in the screenings for another week in Mumbai.

    Vkaao Gems is an exclusive property under Vkaao, which screens award-winning foreign language films in PVR Cinemas, currently across 6 cities in India.

    The Oscar-nominated Lebanese film Capernaum, which traces the journey of a young boy who survives the dangers of the city streets using his wits, resonated with movie buffs across Chennai, Hyderabad and NCR region. The film ran to a full house in most cities, with Mumbai witnessing 2X occupancy on weekdays as compared to the usual. This makes Capernaum the first Arabic film to have received such an overwhelming response in India.

    Shoplifters, the Japanese film which paints a heart-warming picture of a family living in poverty and stealing to make ends meet, also received an exceptional response. It is the first film by Vkaao to have released at SPI Cinemas in Chennai, achieving over 90% occupancy in its first run itself. The film saw a 95% occupancy in regions that otherwise witness an occupancy of 60-70% over weekends, resulting in 3x the usual occupancy for films of this genre. On the back of the unprecedented response, this experience will now be extended for residents of Ahmedabad and Chandigarh as well. 

    With Vkaao Gems bringing the best of international films to the country, this is the first instance of foreign language films being released commercially at such a large scale in India. In the coming months, Vkaao Gems has an exquisite and exciting line-up of films including Ash is Purest White (China/Mandarin), Yomeddine (Egypt/Arabic), Taxi 5 and The Big bad fox and other tales (French) and Tokyo Ghoul S (Japanese) through the year.

  • Kantar releases CX+ India Retail Banking Report 2019

    Kantar releases CX+ India Retail Banking Report 2019

    MUMBAI: In today’s experience era, the majority of CEOs believe customer centricity is essential for driving business growth. However, there is still a big gap between ambition and reality; while 91% of retail bank CEOs in India see the need to become customer-centric, just 29% of consumers believe banks offer truly customer-centric experiences, according to Kantar CX+ study. 

    The new CX+ study released by Kantar today is the only sector-specific index that assesses banks based on a unique combination of their customer experience scores. In addition, the study identifies each bank’s Experience Gap – which quantifies the difference between their Brand Promise and the actual customer experience delivered.  

    The Top Ten CX+ Retail Banks in India

    Ranking

    Brand

    1

    HSBC

    2

    Standard Chartered

    3

    Citi

    4

    Yes Bank

    5

    IndusInd bank

    6

    ICICI Bank

    7

    Kotak Mahindra Bank

    8

    HDFC Bank

    9

    Syndicate Bank

    10

    Axis bank

    CX+ reflects that providing excellent customer experiences is no longer enough. In a connected environment, brands and customer experience have become synonymous. Thus the roadmap to growth is based on 5 key CX success factors: 

    Clarity of brand promise 

    Empowered employees 

    Empowered customers 

    Creating lasting memories 

    Exceptional delivery

    Commenting on the launch of the findings and CX+ ranking, Preeti Reddy, CEO-South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar said: “We live in the age of experience, but many brands are still missing the mark as there’s a huge gap between brand promise and customer experience. Our study reveals that the top-ranking Retail banks in India have delivered a superior customer experience that is matched with a strong brand promise thus giving them a distinctive Experience advantage over their competition. However, there’s a huge opportunity for growth as half of India is still unbanked and are increasingly looking up to their banks to give them more personalised experiences, smoother and more convenient digital services, and a more human approach to technology. Encouragingly, the entire industry has a unique opportunity to enhance its service for a receptive, fast-growing audience.

    Other findings underline the clear benefits of delivering strong customer experience:  

    Banks that lead in the CX+ Index are 1.6x are more likely to be recommended than banks at the lower end of the index. 

    Banks that deliver an excellent experience on digital channels are 2.5x more likely to delight customers.

    Customers are 3.6x more delighted when they feel appreciated by their bank. 

    While improved customer experience can benefit financial services companies across the board, the opportunity to grow is particularly significant among women, according to the research:

    About 114m Indian women are unbanked. About half of women in India with personal bank accounts use them in a limited capacity or not at all.

    Women use more online banking than men (w: 55,7%, m: 49,8%) and are less likely to visit branches (w: 61,6%, m: 64,7%). 

    Women are more skeptical regarding FinTechs / technology-enabled banking providers. They feel less in control of their finances with technology-enabled banking providers 

    (w: 39%, m: 44%).

    The Kantar CX+ study analyzed 7,280 retail banking customers in India and was conducted in 2019.

  • Lavian picks up WCC sponsorship

    Lavian picks up WCC sponsorship

    MUMBAI: In our country, cricket is religion and during this cricketing season, brands have not left any stone unturned to be part of the narrative and get the attention of the consumer, with crores being spent on creating content and buying media to raise the stakes. 

    The brand and agency – Team Lavian looked at the opportunity from a different lens. It was decided to reach the same audience that brands spend crores to reach via TV, at a fraction of a cost. This audience is busy with cricket; watching it, following it and more importantly for us, they are even playing it on their phones on the ever so popular World Cricket Championship 2.

    World Cricket Championship 2 or WCC2 as it is commonly called, is the world’s most played cricket game and has seen exponential growth in the number of users that are coming and experiencing the best-in-class interface and cricket experience. This has resulted in upwards of 2 million Daily Active Users playing over 45 minutes per session. All of this has aggregated in the game being rated one of the top 10 games in India by App Annie. A perfect way for brands to connect with a captive audience. 

    Vinod Lalwani, Executive Director, Prayagh Nutri Products (P) Ltd. said, “With the WCC2 partnership, we have discovered a smart and super-efficient way to be part of the cricket narrative in India. This is a good way for us to start our brand marketing for Lavian and in this attempt, we are not just ensuring hi decibel impressions, but the focus is on driving user engagement. We are seeing 2X the results of what we set out as a goal with. 
    The purpose ultimately remains to ensure that amidst the match battles, gamers get to enjoy moments of sweetness.”

    Sidheshwar Sharma, Exec. VP, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi says, “India is showing signs of a new break, with mobile first gaming boom. The sheer number of Indians who have come in to gaming has already reached 250MN (as per KPMG & Google data). So for us, this was an opportunity we didn’t want to miss as a first step towards the brand’s growth, the aim here is to build brand recall for Lavian and drive user engagement. For us, it’s yet another proof point in the belief, that when you set your mind and effort to a task, you can achieve Impossible outcomes. The excitement here at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi continues with the brand journey to create a powerhouse brand – Lavian”

  • CNBC- TV18 Network once again dominates the news space on Budget Day garnering unprecedented viewership figures

    CNBC- TV18 Network once again dominates the news space on Budget Day garnering unprecedented viewership figures

    MUMBAI: CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, India’s leading Business news channels, over the years have consistently earned the reputation of being the go-to destination for news consumer to get most accurate and comprehensive coverage of Union Budget. Having dominated the business news genre and being the Voice of the Nation for the past 19 years, the CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz once again reigned supreme garnering maximum viewership of 59.6% and 68.1% (market share) respectively on the Budget Day*. The day where the eyes and ears of the Indian citizen is hooked onto their screens, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC- Awaaz left no stone unturned in delivering top-quality content via its extensive, exclusive and unmatched coverage.

    Speaking on the ratings, Basant Dhawan CEO – English & Business News Cluster, Network18, said “Having earned the reputation as a market leader in the business and finance news space, nothing is more important to us than offering the viewer unmatched coverage. We strive to deliver this not just on Budget Day, but throughout the year. It is the dedication and sheer efforts of the entire team at CNBC-TV18 Network that has led to us being the market leader for almost two decades now. What we have achieved this Budget, with regards to viewership figures is remarkable and one to be proud of. This is going to inspire us to continue to deliver a great product for our viewers all days.”

    In what was a landmark Union Budget presented by the country’s very first female finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on July 5, the policies and reforms implemented aimed to resolve pressing issues and take the country towards further development. With the day being of severe importance to the country’s economic future, CNBC-TV18 Network provided content and information via an integrated newsroom comprising CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNBC Bajar and www.cnbctv18.com with utmost authenticity and perspective from market experts ensuring that the investor is kept abreast of the day’s events. The Finance Minister’s interview on CNBC-TV18 saw a remarkable share of 98.5%**

    Further exemplifying its valiant effort to raise awareness about the Budget in the buildup to the big day, the channel executed a one-of-a-kind on ground initiative that saw the channels join hands with the Dabbawalas of Mumbai. The comprehensive and well-integrated activity on July 4 witnessed Dabbawalas across the city show their support by displaying CNBC-TV18 & CNBC- Awaaz’s message, “Count your calories and your profits.” on the tiffins that they delivered.

    *(Source:  CNBC-TV18: BARC TG: 22+ AB Males Market: India Period: 5 July, 2019 (24 Hrs) & CNBC- Awaaz: BARC TG: 22+ AB Males Market: HSM Period: 5 July, 2019 (24 Hrs).

  • Livpure associates with Flipkart for their digital campaign on Livpure Smart AC #ThinksLikeYou

    Livpure associates with Flipkart for their digital campaign on Livpure Smart AC #ThinksLikeYou

    MUMBAI: Livpure for the first time associates with Flipkart, the world’s largest e-commerce platform for their digital campaign on Livpure Smart AC #ThinksLikeYou. The film targets the millennials of today that are more inclined towards the use of smart technologies. From the house of Livpure, it brings for its consumers a campaign that shows that the Livpure ACs are embedded with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, equipped with Wi-Fi and IoT.

    The narrative of the campaign has a protagonist that focuses around using ‘smart’ and AI technology equipment in every situation and showcasing the importance of technology today. Through various scenarios, the protagonist when finally meets his friend, he is being introduced to Livpure Smart AC that is powered by HEKA technology. Aimed at creating awareness, the brand focuses on the features of the product that with one touch can make a difference in the lives of the users. With the tagline ‘Stay cool the smart way’ the brand’s objective is to give its consumers preferences as per their comfort and stay smart.

    Keeping in mind the preference of the users, Livpure, India’s fastest growing water purifier brand enters into a new product category by launching India’s first future ready Smart Air Conditioner powered by HEKA technology that saves up to 40% energy. With a simple and interactive mobile app, the users can convert the mobile into remote access for operating AC from anywhere. By adaptive pairing with Alexa, Livpure Smart AC allows the users to operate effortlessly thorough voice command control.

    The product is available on Flipkart in different price ranges starting from Rs 38,990 for 1 ton 3 star, Rs. 44990 for 1.5 ton 3 star and 52990 for 1.5 ton 5 star.

  • India’s biggest band, SANAM collaborates with VYRL Originals for their latest Original

    India’s biggest band, SANAM collaborates with VYRL Originals for their latest Original

    MUMBAI: Pop Rock band, SANAM, associates with VYRL Originals for the release of its latest single. Known for its classic covers and originals, SANAM will now be coming up with a non-film single for their fans.

    SANAM has carved a niche in the music industry with their unique style creating a genre for the classics, for the music lovers. The band has made pathbreaking music, showing their versatility, time and again with their latest World Cup Anthem with international artists from all around the World. SANAM is ranked as a top band on the digital space with over 6 Million subscribers on YouTube already. Today their association is sure to create a benchmark for non-film music.

    The band has always believed in being independent artists, until they met VYRL Originals team. VYRL Originals has been the frontrunner in developing the culture and category of non-film music in India and the collaboration with SANAM is a befitting partnership of music ideologies. Non-film music has been making its way into top music charts across the country and it’s a rage amongst the youth who are looking for new and meaningful original music today.

    “SANAM has been amongst the biggest music artist digitally in India for a while now. And VYRL is a very promising platform for independent releases. This association will ramp up the game for SANAM & VYRL to reach out to newer audience and markets. I can see a lot of synergy in this association given the enthusiasm of the VYRL team and concordance in our approach on independent music and the need to revive it.” said Ben Thomas, Business Manager of SANAM band, Founder & MD, Kurian & Co Talent Management

    Commenting on the association of the band, SANAM shared "Our association with VYRL began more than a year ago, when our manager Ben Thomas met with Vinit. The comfort of working independently has always been our strength. Because we like to enjoy the process of making music together and every song to us is a story that goes beyond just how many views you can get on YouTube. However, with VYRL, we have finally found a comfortable team who believe in the same things we believe in. We are excited to explore this association further!”

    Speaking on the association, Vinit Thakkar, Senior Vice President, Universal Music Group India & South Asia, said, “SANAM is undoubtedly one of the finest bands in the country and I have personally been a big fan of them. They are extremely talented singer-song-writers and I have great respect for their craft. We at VYRL Originals are privileged to work with SANAM and are in an incredible position to feature their originals to new heights in the non-film music space.”

  • ET NOW continues its winning streak, dominates viewership on Budget Day

    ET NOW continues its winning streak, dominates viewership on Budget Day

    MUMBAI: ET NOW, India's leading business news channel has emerged Number 1 on the most important economic event of the year- the Union Budget 2019, on July 05,2019. ET NOW recorded a market share of 55% on Budget Day (Source: BARC| 22+ AB| All India 1mn+| 5th Jul’19| 24 Hrs| Channel Shares %) and 56% market share during the Budget Speech (Source: BARC| 22+ AB| All India 1mn+| 5th Jul’19| 11:00-13:00hrs|Shares %). ET NOW has been indomitable as it continues its winning streak in the English Business News category by dominating viewership for all three mega events this year- Interim Budget, Counting Day & Budget Day. 

    Leading with the theme, ‘Budget for Bharat’, ET NOW featured a series of shows that focused on the growth agenda for the government. Backed by stellar line up of industry experts and think tanks, ET NOW examined and decoded Union Budget 2019 delivered by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from a consumer, markets, industry and political perspective. Further amplified by real-time market & data intelligence, ET NOW deployed cutting edge Augmented Reality and 3D graphics, that delivered an immersive and superior viewing experience across on air and across the channel’s digital platforms.

    Commenting on the ratings, Nikunj Dalmia, Managing Editor, ET Now said, “Trail blazing Elections 2019 and Interim Budget and now delivering an unparalleled performance on Budget Day, ET NOW has truly stamped its unwavering leadership in the English Business News genre. The bedrock of our success has been our consumer centric approach that enabled our viewers to interpret nation’s biggest events in a simplified manner. With our line-up of superlative think tanks, comprising the biggest voices from politics, policy and India Inc, ET NOW gave viewers minute by minute analysis as the key announcements came in. We thank our viewers for choosing us on all days and more significantly, on the most important days this year”.

    On Counting Day (23rd May,2019), ET NOW had a viewership share of a whopping 52% (Source: BARC| 22+ AB| All India 1mn+| 23rd May| 08:00-17:00hrs| Channel Shares %) and during Election week (18th-24th May 2019), ET NOW's channel share stood at 46% (Source: BARC| 22+ AB| All India 1mn+| Wk 21’19| All Days; 24 Hrs| Channel Shares %). On Interim Budget Day in February, ET NOW viewership share was an overwhelming 73% (Source: BARC| 22+ AB| All India 1mn+| 1st Feb’19| 24 Hrs| Channel Shares %) and the run-up to the Budget, ET NOW had a channel share of 50% (Source: BARC| 22+ AB| All India 1mn+|Wk 5’19 (26th Jan-1st Feb’19)|All Days;24 Hrs| Channel Shares %), demonstrating its credibility among its target audience.

  • Aviva Life Insurance introduces Aviva Income Suraksha for defence sector

    Aviva Life Insurance introduces Aviva Income Suraksha for defence sector

    MUMBAI: Aviva Life Insurance, one of India’s leading life insurance company, today announced the launch of “Aviva Income Suraksha”, a non-participating traditional retirement plan especially designed for the Defence Forces. The plan offers our soldiers the ability to plan their financial preparedness post retirement with utmost ease. It is aimed at providing an additional financial aid with a regular monthly income stream for all our customers.

    Aviva Life Insurance introduced its Defence Channel last year. The success in this segment of the market encouraged the brand to go deeper, with a tailor-made proposition for the defence forces. Aviva Income Suraksha – is a customized proposition introduced by Aviva for the defence channel to offer a customized financial plan specifically focused towards the “jawans” that protect our countries borders.

    Commenting on the launch, Ms. Anjali Malhotra, Chief Customer, Marketing, Digital & IT Officer says, At Aviva Life insurance, the customer is at the center of all our product development process. With Aviva Income Suraksha, we aim to secure the financial future of the defence personnel, who are the protectors of our nation. The endeavor is to secure the lives of those who work tirelessly to protect us. The plan has been customized to their specific needs and will enable them to carry out proper financial planning for their growing needs through different life stages. “

    “The defence personnel usually retire at a very young age between 38 to 42 years, thus lowering their primary income. With Aviva Income Suraksha, we propose a solution to support them with a financial plan to meet most of their life goals like child education, saving for children’s marriage post early retirement, whilst they find alternate source of employment post defence service. Moreover, the premiums can be paid on monthly modes making it easier for them to save in small installments.” Ms. Malhotra further added

    With the single-minded focus of delivering a comprehensive and differentiated proposition, Aviva Life Insurance introduced Aviva Income Suraksha in line with the brand’s vision of creating tailor-made products addressing to specific needs of customers. While the plan has been developed mainly for the Suraksha (defence) channel, Aviva Income Surkasha will be equally useful for all other customer

  • KBM Spices cooks with Hrithik Roshan starrer Super 30

    KBM Spices cooks with Hrithik Roshan starrer Super 30

    MUMBAI: KBM Spices one of the pioneer brands of KBM Foods since 1969 successfully established association with upcoming Hindi Feature Film, Hrithik Roshan starrer, Super 30.  One of the most anticipated movie of the year, Super 30 is scheduled for release on 12 July 2019. Blue Bang Media & entertainment, leading entertainment and brand alliance agency closes the brand integration deal between KBM spices and Super 30, blending the movie attributes along with the communication of the brand.

    The deal comprise a massive co-branded TV campaign having exposure on TV, Radio and outdoor mediums of branding which seamlessly merge the brand with the film, featuring the lead star of the film Hrithik Roshan. The brand communication goes in sync with the movie attributes conveying Super Swad aur Super Sehat which conveys that ‘to achieve big goals healthy brain and body are very important’. 

    The salient features of the brand inherently align itself to the theme of the film and main characters of the film, Brilliant mathematician Anand Kumar portrayed by Hrithik Roshan helps 30 smart but underprivileged students prepare for entrance exams for the Indian Institutes of Technology which is a big goal to achieve. 

    KBM Spices is India’s one of the leading spice provider a respectable name amongst spice connoisseurs across the country. The brand stands for best quality spices with best taste and health benefitsfits in well and support the communication. The essence of the brand and the character alongside the plot line come alive in this co- branded campaign. In addition, a meet and greet between KBM Spices and star cast of the film be organised as a part of the association.

    Talking about the deal, Mr. Pravesh Aggarwal, Co-owner, KBM Foods Private Limited said, “The film Super 30 is truly an inspiration for young minds of the country on how they can scale great heights in life. What made our brand KBM associate with the movie is the efforts of KBM Spices to help the young minds scale such great heights through ‘Super Swaad’ and ‘Super Sehat’ which our Spices deliver and which are pivotal for both mental as well as physical health. Also our brand KBM stands for purity and quality- the things which have stood all the way in the teachings of Anand Sir, Hritik Roshan’s character in the movie. The message conveyed through the association is meaningful for the audience and help them to associate the purpose for which the brand KBM as well as the movie Super 30 stand for.”

    Mr. Vinay Punjabi, MD & CEO of facilitating agency Blue Bang Media & Entertainment says, “Spices as a category is low involvement when it coming to purchase decision. Product distribution plays a very important role in this line of products. Core objective was to build the brand KBM Spices and create awareness among the trade value chain and customers. The association with the movie Super 30 with the concept of ‘Super Swaad …Super Sehat’ and getting Hrithik Roshan’s face value and brand value to accelerate the KBM Spices awareness level. We have created great Co-branding association campaign across media platforms to have great benefit to the Brand and the Movie.”

  • CleverTap partners with vonage to enable the WhatsApp business solution via Nexmo Messages API

    CleverTap partners with vonage to enable the WhatsApp business solution via Nexmo Messages API

    MUMBAI: CleverTap, the full-stack customer lifecycle management platform, today released an integration with Nexmo, the Vonage API Platform, and its Messages API to add the WhatsApp Business solution to CleverTap’s engagement suite. With this integration, CleverTap enables two-way communication with customers on one of the most widely used channels worldwide.

    Today’s consumers want to interact with businesses just like they do with friends and family, and social channels like WhatsApp and Facebook make that possible. With more than 1.5 billion users globally, WhatsApp stands out by enabling businesses to send instant service messages, delivery updates and check-in reminders to users in any part of the world. With more than 3x the volume of SMS messages and a 98% open rate2, WhatsApp has opened a whole new opportunity for businesses to engage with customers3.

    “Customers are shifting towards conversational commerce so they can have instant interactions with their preferred brands. With the Vonage partnership and Nexmo APIs, CleverTap enables WhatsApp Business as an avenue for brands to offer superior service and support by allowing them to be where customers are. We are excited to see how brands leverage this channel to transform customer relationships,” said Sunil Thomas, CEO, and Co-Founder at CleverTap.

    “Integrating the Nexmo Messages API with CleverTap makes it simple and seamless for us to leverage the WhatsApp Business solution and reach customers on a channel where they spend the most time. We’ve seen WhatsApp showing great promise as a marketing channel with 3x more engagement as compared to the current average. We are confident that with the combined power of the WhatsApp Business solution, Nexmo APIs, and CleverTap, our conversational commerce capabilities will become more integrated and seamless,” said Himanshu Periwal, Vice President of Growth at ixigo.com

    CleverTap’s integration with the Nexmo Messages API brings WhatsApp’s ubiquity to its customers with a hassle-free and automated way to send and receive personalized messages. Without having to host or manage a separate infrastructure, businesses can have two-way communication with customers right through the CleverTap dashboard. 

    “The Nexmo Messages API makes it easy for businesses to engage with customers around the world via the channels they prefer. Channels like WhatsApp Business allow companies to reinvent their business models with a more modern, personal way of providing products and services,” said Mark Summerson, VP Global Channel Partners at Nexmo, the Vonage API Platform.