ITV

Blog

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.
     

     

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • International talents to host Interactive Emmy Awards at MIPTV

    International talents to host Interactive Emmy Awards at MIPTV

    MUMBAI: The first International Interactive Emmy Awards at MIPTV in Cannes will have many international talents as presenters.

    Television and film star Dennis Haysbert (24, The Unit) will join producer Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice), The Bold and The Beautiful’s Jack Wagner, French leading actress Corinne Touzet and RCTV (Venezuela) telenovela actors Veronica Schneider and Alejandro Otero to present the Awards on 5 April. Desperate Housewives star Roger Bart will host the black-tie event.

    Academy president, CEO and president of Hearst Entertainment Bruce Paisner, said, “Their participation will help bring the industry’s focus to the significant developments in the interactive world.”

    Mark Burnett will present the Pioneer Prize to AOL, chairman and CEO Jonathan F. Miller for his innovative contributions to the field of interactive television.

    The International Interactive Emmy Awards at MIPTV 2006 is the first Emmy Awards ceremony ever organized outside of the United States. There are 12 nominees in 3 categories: Interactive Program, Interactive Channel and Interactive TV Service.

  • Star pact with Harrah’s, Keppel for Caesars Singapore

    Star pact with Harrah’s, Keppel for Caesars Singapore

    NEW DELHI: Further developing their world-class entertainment vision for Caesars Singapore, Harrah’s Operating Company, Inc (a subsidiary of Harrah’s Entertainment) and Keppel Land today announced they had joined forces with Asia’s leading media and entertainment company Star group.

    Under terms of the agreement, Star will work with Caesars Singapore to create a wide range of entertainment attractions at the Marina Bay integrated resort based on the broadcaster’s popular media brands and assets, according to an official statement.

    Star, a fully-owned subsidiary of News Corporation reaching 300 million people across 53 countries in Asia, will also have access to live entertainment and events hosted by Caesars Singapore on a year-round basis.

    “Our agreement with Star is another significant step toward the creation of an experientially compelling entertainment destination at Singapore’s Marina Bay,” Richard Mirman, senior vice president of business development for Harrah’s, was quoted in the statement.

    “We believe having a powerful media partner will help drive tourism and build awareness for the integrated resort throughout Asia and specifically the countries of China and India,” Mirman added.

    Star, Harrah’s and Keppel will create a state-of-the-art broadcast studio, a Channel [V] club, a Star-branded attraction within the iPort, and will integrate broadcast capabilities into all the live entertainment venues.

    The broadcast studio will be the home of Star in Singapore and will be a high-energy area of the integrated resort with activities throughout the day. Caesars Singapore will also provide viewing space outside of the studio so that visitors will be able to watch their favourite shows being broadcast live.

    Star, Harrah’s and Keppel will also create a Channel [V]-branded club that will feature eye-catching live productions. The partners will work with leading record labels and promoters to source talent for performances at the club.

    Star Entertainment chief operating officer and president Steve Askew said, “The agreement with Caesars Singapore provides us an unique opportunity to extend our popular media brands and assets into a whole different realm, where visitors to Singapore can experience the magic of television productions firsthand.”

    The announcement comes less than two weeks after Harrah’s and Keppel announced that Hollywood icon James Cameron had signed on as executive producer of iPort – a 16-story, one million-square-foot immersive entertainment experience.

    Star plans to create a themed attraction within iPort, giving visitors the opportunity to watch their favourite shows being recorded; to participate in live and taped shows, such as quiz shows or sporting events; and to visit famous sets used in popular shows.

    Entertainment Media Ventures president Sandy Climan represented Harrah’s Entertainment in its discussions with Star. Climan also represented Harrah’s in the James Cameron, iPort experience unveiled at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

    Harrah’s and Keppel have assembled a creative and cutting-edge talent lineup as they pursue this premier project in Asia. Previously announced players include world-famous gallery Centre Pompidou, renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc.’s AEG Live Division, convention promotion and management specialist SMG, Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, retail giants Taubman Asia Ltd., Gordon Group Holdings (Taubman/Gordon) and celebrated luxury-retail designer Peter Marino.

    Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. is the world’s largest provider of branded casino entertainment through operating subsidiaries. Keppel Land is the property arm of the Keppel Group, one of Singapore’s largest multi-national groups with key businesses in offshore and marine, infrastructure and property.

  • Zee to rejig; mulls Siti Cable hive-off

    Zee to rejig; mulls Siti Cable hive-off

    NEW DELHI: The Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms, which is planning a restructuring of its businesses, is toying hiving off its distribution activities as a separate company.

    On being specifically asked whether Siti Cable, the distribution arm of the company and the country biggest MSO, would be hived off as a separate company, a senior executive of Zee Telefilms admitted, “There is a possibility.”

    However, the executive was quick to point out that such an initiaive would not be done overnight. “We’ll have to take the shareholders’ nod for any such restructuring,” he added.
    Yesterday, Zee Telefilms Ltd informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that its board of directors would meet on 29 March 2006 to consider restructuring the company’s businesses.

    Few days back, Zee Telefilms finalised a deal for distribution of some family channels in Afghanistan where the flagship is now available on cable networks. Applications for landing rights in China too were made, but the chances are slim as China has stringent laws for non-Chinese broadcasting companies.

    According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, Zee Telefilms — India’s largest vertically integrated media company with its flagship Zee TV now inching back to the No. 2 position ahead of Sony — is toying a de-merger of its businesses.

    At the moment, all aspects of the broadcast business like content generation, marketing, distribution and syndication are carried out under the Zee Telefilms umbrella with different divisions.

    The DTH business of Subhash Chandra is carried out by another concern, ASC Enterprise, which has a content supply agreement with Zee Telefilms for country’s first private sector DTH service Dish TV.

    And, on Thursday Zee Telefilms announced at Ficci-Frames in Mumbai that the group’s digital media initiative will be carried out through a separate company called DMCL (Digital Media Convergence Ltd) that will facilitate the availability of digital content in India in association with Intel.

    In the past, Chandra has gone on record saying that the company would explore opportunities of unlocking shareholders’ value by hiving off Siti Cable as a separate company and possibly listing it also.

    Zee Telefilms subscription revenue (mainly garnered through distribution of TV channels; in India, Siti Cable is the vehicle) has been on the upswing with the company clocking Rs 1,751 million for the third quarter ended 31 Dec, 2005, signifying an increase of 7.8 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last fiscal.

    Out of the total subscription revenue, domestic subscription amounted to Rs 716 million for the Q3 2006.

    Meanwhile, the senior executive of Zee Telefilms talking to Indiantelevision.com said that the company in 2006-07 hoped to do better than the annual average advertising industry growth of 9-11 per cent.

    Buoyed by good ad revenue (Q3 revenue: Rs 1,698 million, an increase of 12.3 per cent YoY), Zee Telefilms is set to increase ad rates across all channels by 30-40 per cent from the next financial year starting 1 April 2006.

    In the last one month, shares of Zee Tele have been heading northward rising to over Rs. 250 during the intra-day trading on 23 March from being quoted at Rs 168.15 on 22 February on the BSE.

    On Thursday, the Zee Tele scrip closed at Rs 242.70 after opening the day at Rs. 238.50.

  • Essel, Intel partner on digital content

    Essel, Intel partner on digital content

    NEW DELHI: The Subhash Chandra-promoted Essel Group has launched DMCL (Digital Media Convergence Ltd) as a company that will facilitate the availability of digital content in India.

    Infotech major Intel will partner the Essel Group in this digital venture, according to senior Intel company executives at the ongoing FICCI Frames event in Mumbai.

    DMCL, to be headed by Zee Telefilms president Abhijeet Saxena, will concentrate on acquiring, digitising and making available on various platforms a wide variety of content.

    This content could be special interest content sourced from outside India for the Indian audience as well as Indian/Bollywood content for use in India and outside.

    DMCL will also engage in creating special interest /niche content that will be of immense value to select audiences in India.

    Announcing the initiative, Saxena said, “We have always been very conscious of offering the best in entertainment to our consumers. Keeping our sights on the future of entertainment in the digital new media scenario, we will be at the forefront of providing both new and existing content across various consumer gadgets.”

    Dwelling on shaking hands with Intel, he added, “While selecting the technology and partner for implementation, performance and expertise in successful implementation was given prime consideration. As Intel is a domain specialist, we are very happy to collaborate with them for this effort. We are confident that we will have mutually beneficial partnership with Intel for this gigantic strategic initiative.”

    Intel Corp launched its Intel Viiv technology platform for home entertainment devices at the CES show California in January 2006.

    The Intel Viiv technology is designed to make it easier for people to download, view, manage and share digital entertainment on a variety of viewing screens and networked devices such as portable media players, digital TVs and routers.

    The company is working to bring the Intel Viiv platform to India in the near future.

    DMCL and Intel will work towards offering digital content over the Intel Viiv platform in India. DMCL will offer an agnostic platform, by being an aggregator (including doing re-purposing) for other content owners, starting with Zee Telefilms Ltd.’s content.

    Intel will work with other players in the industry to introduce DMCL as an Intel Viiv content service provider in India. This joint industry supporting effort means that the consumers who procure Intel Viiv will get a ready service available on the platform for them to access information, entertainment and other services.

    Essel Group has diverse national and global business interests, encompassing media programming, broadcast and distribution, specialty packaging, entertainment and trading.

  • Ready for the future or face customer desertion: Chandra

    Ready for the future or face customer desertion: Chandra

    MUMBAI: “It’s the end of TV, the way we know it.” That was Zee group chairman Subhash Chandra introducing his keynote at the plenary session today – Digital Entertainment Living.

    The thrust of Chandra’s presentation could be said to be the common strand running through most of the sessions on Day 2 of Ficci Frames 2006, which is that the future was the consumption of content would be according to individual requirements and on the go as it were – how you want it, when you want it, where you want it.

    Chandra spoke of a five point agenda that his company had laid out as its course into the digital future.

    These included the need for segmentation of content; innovation in pricing; experimentating with new content ideas; seamless delivery across various platforms; and fourthly, essentially extending the preceding points, the absolute need to prepare for the future if loyalty of consumers was to be preserved.

    Said Chandra, “We have to segment our content. Segmentation will become very important. Content needs to be individualized, personalized.” He also pointed to the possibility that it would not just be programming that was customised but advertising as well. Advertising directed at individuals rather than a mass audience will become possible, the Zee head honcho averred.

    Expanding on the point of seamless delivery across platforms, Chandra made a strong case for the need to move towards opens standards rather than focusing on proprietary control.

    Chandra warned that it was essential that broadcasters “prepare for the future otherwise consumers will desert us.”

    Chandra said that the huge effort that was currently on to digitise Zee’s entire content library (1,500 movies, 50,000 hours of TV) in partnership with IBM was part of that effort. Chandra estimated that it would be another year before the process was complete.

    Another key initiative in that direction, announced earlier in the day in partnership with chip maker Intel, is a separate company Digital Media Convergence Ltd (DMCL) to be headed by Zee Telefilms president Abhijit Saxena, Chandra said. DMCL’s brief was to acquire, digitize and make available on various platforms, a wide variety of content, he pointed out.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the sidelines of another session, Saxena said that DMCL would become fully functional only after Zee’s content offering had been completely digitised. The interim period (one year) would be spent in acquiring content from a variety of vendors across the globe, Saxena said.