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  • Sahara One weaves Lanka contest around ‘Hanuman’

    MUMBAI: This summer SaharaOne Television gives kids an opportunity to take their parents for a vacation to Sri Lanka just by watching Hanuman on 30 April.

    SaharaOne Television will air the animation blockbuster Hanuman at 7.30 pm. A question will be asked during the film and 10 lucky families, who answer correctly stand a chance to win a fully paid trip to Sri Lanka. The contest is called ‘Hanuman Dekho… Lanka Jao.’

    SaharaOne Television has undertaken a marketing campaign to promote the contest for Hanuman. Apart from the mass media the channel has tied up with a host of kid’s led touch points like amusement parks and malls.

    Tie-ups are also in place with 1000 DVD parlours and 5000 Camlin branded stores across the country where the contest posters will be displayed.

  • Flying High: Fifa partner Emirates steps on the gas

     MUMBAI: Football’s governing body Fifa’s airline partner Emirates is planning a slew of activities in India and Asia. The twin aim is to create further brand awareness and also reward loyal customers. The Fifa World Cup takes place from 9 June to 9 July in Germany.
     

    The Fifa tie up is part of Emirates plan to become a global brand and household name and association with the most high-profile sporting event in the world is one part of Emirates’ strategy to achieve that aim.
     

    Dwelling on the initiatives being done, Emirates VP India and Nepal Salem Obaidalla says that the airline is looking at the possibility of running contests. In addition to promotional contests, Emirates recently introduced the Emirates Fifa packages to provide its Indian and Asian passengers with an opportunity to experience the 2006 Fifa World Cup excitement. “Passengers purchasing Emirates Fifa packages to any of the airline’s European destinations will receive complimentary match tickets to the game of their choice including the final” he says.

    These packages, starting from Euros1,810 (Rs 1,00,817) per person, include Emirates flights to any of the airline’s European destinations (return); two nights’ accommodation from a choice of one of 12 cities where matches are being played, and a complimentary match ticket to any of the games, including the final, subject to availability.

    Emirates is using the television, print, outdoor and the internet mediums to create awareness of its association with the Fifa World Cup. A global TV advertising campaign launched recently to mark the airline’s Official Partner status. The advertisements are running on several international channels like ESPN Star Sports, CNN, BBC World, Discovery and National Geographic.

    Online an official website of the 2006 Fifa World Cup hosted by Yahoo was created last year with Emirates sponsorship. The site will be featuring complete match coverage.

    When asked to elaborate on the theme of the campaign Obaidalla says, “The theme of the campaign is based on Emirates’ hugely successful and award-winning Keep discovering campaign. The advertisements speak the language of the fans and the passion of football in a truly international and global context.

    “The message of the campaign is that wherever you go and whatever cultural background you have, you’ll find people all around the world having one thing in common: We all speak one language: Football.

    “The key visual of a person running with his arms outstretched mimicking an aircraft – a move performed by footballers after having scored a goal – show an underlined link between Emirates and the sport of football.”

    Emirates has also used the print medium in a big way. Over the past few months ads have been carried in publications such as The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Sydney Morning Herald.

    Closer to home, Emirates is also looking to tie up with certain Indian hotels and pubs for screenings. These will be called Fifa World Cup Zones. When asked where India stands, Obaidalla points out that India is a key market. Indian Ocean and West Asia contributed 9.7 per cent of Emirates’ total revenue for 2004 to 2005.

    “The Indian sub-continent contributed approximately 18 per cent of Emirates’ total passengers for 2004 to 2005. We have just launched in Kolkata and are actively promoting the route. Kolkata will be promoted by Emirates Holidays, the largest wholesale tour operator in the Gulf and Middle East, in its World of Choice brochures, and through Emirates’ offices and travel agents across the network.

    ” After the launch in Kolkata, we will launch eight flights per week between Dubai and Bangalore starting 29 October. We are also interested in launching services to smaller cities and hope the Indian and UAE governments will give the necessary permissions through the bi-lateral agreement.

    “We are also identifying a second international call centre facility in India that will handle all operations worldwide. Our current facility handles all queries from Dubai, North America, Australia, and UK.”

    As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, Emirates Airline signed a seven year $ 195 million partnership deal with Fifa. With this sponsorship deal, the airline’s largest ever, Emirates becomes the sixth and final major sponsor of Fifa, joining the likes of Coca-Cola, Visa, Adidas, Sony and Hyundai.

    The airlines will be the official carrier to all Fifa events – including both the 2010 (South Africa) and 2014 (in South America) World Cups. Emirates is looking to strengthen its association with international football, which its says is the most widely supported sport in the world.

    Emirates has a commitment from Fifa to ensure that at least 22 matches including the opening match, two quarter-finals, two semi-finals, the third place play off and the final of both the 2010 and the 2014 Fifa World Cups may be shown on free-to-air television
    within the territory of the United Arab Emirates. This, Emirates notes is a great opportunity for residents of the UAE to enjoy what it calls the greatest sporting spectacle on earth.

    Emirates passengers will also benefit as Emirates has the exclusive right to broadcast matches of the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups either live or delayed on its in-flight entertainment systems.

    Emirates branding will be evident at all Fifa events during the eight years of this agreement – which is some 44 tournaments and 952 matches – as well as on all Fifa merchandise and its website,
    which will be seen by billions of people during the lifetime of this partnership.

    As Fifa’s only Travel Partner, Emirates receives preferred airline status and a commitment from Fifa to develop business with Emirates including team/association travel wherever logistically possible which will allow the airline to grow through exposure to new customers around the world and to further develop Dubai as one of the world’s premier travel hubs and destinations.

  • US TV industry to launch $300 mn ad campaign on parental controls

    MUMBAI: Former Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) chief Jack Valenti has taken upon himself the responsibility of educating parents on what their kids should watch on television.

    At the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference, Valenti announced plans for a $300 million ad blitz in June by television broadcasters, networks, cable operators, satellite television and the consumer electronics industry about how parents can control what their kids watch.

    According to media reports, though Valenti insisted that this is an effort to respond to parental demands that more choices be available to protect children, the general aim of the campaign is a direct effort to keep lawmakers from toughening the current rules on television content, especially the fines assessed to noncompliant stations.

    Valenti said in announcing the campaign, “No one today knows what is indecent. We want to tell American parents that they and they alone have total power to control every hour of television programming that comes into their home. We hope in June we will launch all over this country thousands of messages going into each parent’s home so in time they will know the power that they possess.”

    The ad campaign comes at the same time that a crackdown by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on broadcast television stations is being waged. The current push for the FCC is for US lawmakers to extend the indecency restrictions now in place to the subscription television industry.

    “We need clearer guidance from the FCC and Congress on where the lines are drawn. The FCC’s recent decisions have done little to clarify what broadcasters can air. The intention for the advertising campaign is to advance parental use of control mechanisms and the TV ratings systems,” said NAB chief executive officer David Rehr.

    US regulations bar radio and television broadcasters from airing indecent material, usually profanity or sexually explicit content, except late at night when children are less likely to be in the audience. The FCC proposed $3.6 million in fines against television stations for decency violations, including about $3.3 million against CBS stations for airing an episode of Without a Trace that depicted teenagers engaged in group sex.

  • New creative leadership at O&M B’lore; Rajiv Rao moves back to Mumbai

    MUMBAI: Ogilvy & Mather Bangalore now has a new creative team at the helm in Malvika Mehra and Amit Akali.

    A couple of years back, two O&M creative guns Rajiv Rao and the late V Mahesh had moved to Bangalore to head the agency’s operations there. Rao has now moved back to Ogilvy Mumbai and will be heading the Hutch account. (The Mahesh-Rajiv duo were the brains behind the award winning Hutch campaign.)

    Ogilvy & Mather India executive chairman and national creative director Piyush Pandey said, “Creativity with responsibility and accountability is what makes a person a creative head. Both Malvika and Amit have demonstrated these qualities in a star-studded office like O&M, Mumbai. I am sure our Bangalore clients and their brands will benefit from their work as well as partnership abilities.”

    Mehra, who started her career with the agency in 1994 has worked with both the Mumbai and Delhi offices and also on a number of national and multinational accounts like Levers, Cadbury, Asian Paints and Hutch.

    Akali too has about 11 years of experience in the business and joined Ogilvy in 2004. During his career he has worked on clients like Cadbury, Hutch and Times of India.
    Mehra and Akali are the creators of the recent ‘Surprisingly SBI’ campaign that has given the brand a new face and created a new paradigm in financial advertising.

    The duo will now join the Bangalore office head Prateek Srivastava and provide fresh impetus to the creative product there. The key clients in Bangalore include Unilever (Beverages and Food), Titan Watches, SAB Miller, World Space, SAP, IBM, and Madura Garments (Allen Solly).

  • Cobra Beer teams up with VH1 India for Liquid Bar Awards

    MUMBAI: Cobra Beer partners with VH1 India and Liquid Magazine to present the annual Liquid Bar Awards. The Awards and the launch of Liquid Magazine will take place on 3 May 2006.

    The awards have been instituted to recognize some of the major players who have been instrumental in strengthening India’s bar and drinks industry.

    The awards have seven categories: Best Bar; Best New Bar; Best New Design; Best Night Out; Best Cocktail Menu; Best Wine List and Best Music Venue, which has been sponsored by VH1.

    Cobra Beer regional director Perses Bilimoria says, “We at Cobra Beer in India are delighted to be associated with the launch of Liquid Magazine in India and the first presentation of the Liquid Bar Awards. We see this as exciting synergy for the entire bar and drinks industry, the opportunities of which are yet to be unleashed.”
    Food writer Rashmi Uday Singh, Alok Chandra and Sandeep Verma are the judges.

  • Interactions wins Rs 350 million media duties of Sony India

    MUMBAI: Lintas Media Group’s Interactions has won the Rs 350 million media duties for Sony India in a multi-agency pitch. Interactions will now be responsible to plan, buy and service the media for the electronics major.

    Sony India general manager AVIT Division Mohit Parasher said, “Since we believe media plays a very crucial role in our sales and marketing strategy, we found Lintas Interactions to be best suited to deliver our goals.”

    Interactions president Sudha Natrajan added, “We are very happy that we are partnering a brand of the stature of Sony forward to make their mark wider and deeper in the Indian market.”
    Lintas Media Group director Lynn de Souza said, “I am very happy that at Interactions, we have been able to bag Sony India. I’m sure the team is raring to go and will do all they can to ensure that the brand is provided with the best insight to consumer needs.”
     

  • Asia still a sport specific television market: Sportel

    Asia still a sport specific television market: Sportel

    MUMBAI: At the recently concluded sports television market Sportel Asia 2006 in China, Mediametrie’s International director, Jacques Braun, noted that “year 2005 was a good year for TV consumption throughout the world, despite the lack of worldwide sports events”.

    He stressed the fact that 2006 is the year of the Soccer World Cup in Germany starting in June in Munich. This is a worldwide event, but if Europe prefers soccer, the Winter Sports like Alpine skiing and ice hockey are still the preference of more than 7 countries.

    Asia is still a very specific market. China’s best sports TV audience of 2005 was the opening ceremony of the National games with more than 54 billion viewers, and India preferred cricket to soccer just like their neighbour Pakistan.

    In 2005, the Brazil FI grand prix won a large audience in Germany with 7.3 billion viewers who followed this GP on RTL and also with 6.2 billion viewers on Rai 1. In China, the Monaco grand prix realized an audience of more than 5.4 billions viewers.

    Braun says, “Once more, TV audiences are even better when the events are local or broadcast in prime time”.

    The winter Olympic Games of Torino saw the men’s free skating competition meet with great audience success in the USA (their national competitors finished 3rd and 5th) with more than 19 billion viewers (delayed broadcast in prime time), and also in Switzerland (TSR2 realized a market share of 37,2%) and France where more than 6 billion viewers (average audience on France 2) were waiting for the French competitor.

    Eurodata TV Worldwide will publish its report One TV Sport Year in the World – 2006 issue by mid april 2006 and offers studies about all the big events with the sport event reports about the Torino OG or the next Soccer World Cup.

  • It is a ‘Windfall’ for NBC this summer

    It is a ‘Windfall’ for NBC this summer

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster NBC will air a drama Windfall with Luke Perry, Lana Parrilla, Jason Gedrick, Sarah Wynter and D.J. Cotrona.

    The show follows 20 lottery winners after their unexpected good fortune and premieres on 8 June 2006.

    NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly says, “This is an engaging and dramatic series with an extremely talented cast. Windfall is an important component of our summer lineup and exemplifies our commitment to quality year round original programming.”

    The show follows 20 lottery winners in the wake of winning a massive, 386 million-dollar lottery. Unfortunately, their initial ecstasy is tempered by the romantic, social and family complications caused by instant wealth.

    At the center is a close-knit foursome who have known each other since college when the ‘wrong’ spouses were in love. Perry stars as Peter Schaefer, a devoted husband to Nina played by Parrilla and father of two. Parrilla finds herself caught between her love for her husband and the deep feelings she has for her college beau and her husband’s best friend, Cameron Walsh, played by Gedrick. Sarah Wynter plays Cameron’s loving but suspicious wife.

    A relative stranger to their circle is Cotrona as Sean Mathers, who finds that winning the lottery threatens to expose a dark secret in his past. Also, for Damien Cutler a rebellious teen, winning the cash means he is set free from his parents — with millions in his pocket. Alice Greczyn stars as Frankie, a 16-year-old girl whose separated parents’ newfound wealth sets off a marital war. Rounding out the cast is Jaclyn DeSantis who plays Maggie Hernandez, a nurse whose generous heart and newfound wealth prove to be a dangerous combo.

  • Hollywood’s perception of Bollywood: Ashok Amritraj

    Hollywood’s perception of Bollywood: Ashok Amritraj

    MUMBAI: More than just a Q& A session, it turned out to be a live session of Koffee with Karan at the Ficci Frames. Except that, this time around there were no Bollywood stars on the show. Karan Johar, one of the most successful Bollywood Producers had his frothy Koffee with Ashok Amritraj, the most successful Indian producer to have made a mark in Hollywood.

    To begin with Johar got Amritraj talking about his initial struggle days in Hollywood. Taking the audience through his early days, this tennis star and now a Hollywood tycoon said, “In the early 1980s, I had gone to the U.S., to play tennis but I had always wanted to make movies. I soon realized that it was a very white world out there, and it wasn’t really multicultural as it is today.”

    And, with time Amritraj managed to break into the Hollywood circuit and has produced more than 80 films in the past 20 years. Currently, he is the chairman and CEO of Hyde Park entertainment and some of his best known films are Bandits, Bringing down the House and Raising Helen.

    Talking of how Hollywood perceives Bollwood, the film tycoon said, “There is a lot of hype being generated in the US about India as the country is slowly being recognized as a global economy. Also, there is a lot of curiosity about our culture and tradition, but, somehow that does not mean that Indian films are getting more eyeballs in America.”

    The discussion got more interesting as Johar queried Amritraj on how Indian film makers can penetrate the global markets and on the making of crossover films. “I think the European market is now more receptive to Indian movies, especially countries like Germany and France, but films like Parineeta , Kuch Kuch Hota could have been distributed better globally.” said Amritraj. “But, somehow for Hollywood, Bollywood films still don’t really exist. Americans are still not able to understand the ethos, emotions and drama which is the core of our movies.”

    On whether filmmakers need to make different kind of films for the international audience, Amritraj said, “”There is always a risk of losing out on the audiences back home. So, it is a clear choice which filmmakers have to make. One of solutions was maybe Indian producers need to have co-production treaties with the international studios for better distribution of Indian films globally.”

    The discussion turned to be not just informative, but, also brought home lessons for Indian filmmakers wanting to carve a niche in the international market.

  • Yahoo! set to enter India

    Yahoo! set to enter India

    Yahoo! Inc is all set to set its foot in India. The portal had earlier announced its plans for creating a India-centric portal. It will commence its operations in India within three months. The Santa Clara based company is setting up offices in Bangalore and Mumbai.

    Yahoo!’s Indian model will be on the lines of Rediff.com and Indiainfo.com. The company has advertised in local newspapers to recruit technical and management professionals for its India operations.

    Rediff.com insiders have laid fears of the outgo of its senior, experienced and well-trained professionals and executives to Yahoo India. “The staff outgo to Yahoo! is a bigger threat than the portal itself” said a senior official at Rediff.com.

    Portals like Indiainfo.com, Rediff.com and Satyamonline.com will have to roll up their sleeves as the biggest international player is entering the Indian web space. In a recent report, Yahoo.com was the portal with the largest recall value. With all the resources, goodwill, popularity and the experience, Yahoo! is all set rule the portal market in India.