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Tag: COVID-19 pandemic

  • GUEST COLUMN: Streamlining performance marketing via automation is must in post-pandemic era

    GUEST COLUMN: Streamlining performance marketing via automation is must in post-pandemic era

    Mumbai: The Covid-19 pandemic altered how we live and work in ways that will redefine our behavior even after its effects subside. As of today, businesses are still continuing to rapidly deploy digital and automation technologies which in turn are putting trends (previously progressing at a slower pace) on a fast-track mode. The marketing automation software market poised to grow at 8.55 per cent is slated to unlock a market capitalisation of $6.4 billion by 2024 (Source- Marketing Automation Market by Component-Software, Services). While over 51 per cent of businesses are already using marketing automation, over 58 per cent of companies have plans of adopting it (Source- Emailmonday).

    Across advanced economies, the dynamics of these changes, whether in business models, operations or consumer behavior will continue this year but not with the same intensity as witnessed in 2020 or 2021. Against such a scenario, a lot of businesses are stretched for margins. Therefore, the best utilisation of resources for them is to focus on growing their businesses by having their employees focus on tasks that are oriented towards value-creation. Using automation to replace all the man-hours put into repetitive manual processes will be their arsenal!

    This year marketers in India are channeling their energies towards generating distinct, value-added user experiences and making user engagement even more connected for consumers who are always online. Digital marketers in India should look to leverage automation in five important ways to make their performance marketing strategies more efficient and scalable.

    Offer testing

    Nobody wants to send traffic to an inactive offer or to spend money on users that are not going to yield any return. Offer testing can save both time and cost for advertisers and publishers. By identifying broken links, corrective measures can be taken in a timely manner to make the most of the efforts. This saves hours and hours of advertising operations along with manual back and forth communication to solve an issue, which can be identified by an automated tool within seconds. Some of the leading performance marketing management platforms offer testing as an inbuilt part, where all the actions from creating a new offer to promoting them to your partners can be validated by the system upon the user’s choice.

    Data-driven campaign optimisation

    The next key lever typically in the hands of marketers to pull when it comes to optimizing their digital marketing campaigns is audience targeting. They should focus on effectively targeting their audience based on geolocation, device, traffic type, carriers, interests, and other custom data. Performance marketing solutions with automated audience targeting can reduce the amount of manual work and cost based on rules set by the marketers. Additionally, they can set rules that determine which ads are distributed to the publisher partners to best match the audiences targeted using advanced machine learning algorithms. This means that companies can use granular targeting options manually and also use a platform’s recommendation tool, powered by machine learning, to suggest the right advert for the right user, thereby increasing the ROI for the advertiser and profitability for businesses.

    Automated insights

    While the first-generation campaign management tools only provide limited data insights and still require substantial manual work processes, the next-generation solutions are integrating more sophisticated data science tools. Digital marketers can partner with performance marketing management platforms which can lend them greater accessibility to performance metrics. This in turn will allow marketers and partners to see tracking and revenue numbers in real-time. Further, today’s data science tools can automatically discover patterns, trends, and business opportunities in the given data sets, so that marketers can further optimize their performance marketing efforts. Business users can query billions of real-time events in seconds with just drag and drop actions and marketers can identify patterns in traffic across a business with just a few clicks. Many global martech platforms are offering these directly with zero setup and no third-party fees and integration pains.

    Automatic offer approval

    Affiliate or partner marketing is unique from other digital advertising channels (like search or social media) in the way that the marketer must distribute and accept offers with the partner for referring potential customers. It’s a process that is until today manual and archaic in the digital marketing age. Fortunately, automation now enables importing, creating, and accepting offers from a vast number of integrated partners based on predefined rules, thereby saving tons of time and resources. When it comes to taking any action with automation, marketers should look at partnering with those martech platforms which allow them to configure the rule to their needs. Flexibility is a key ingredient for automation to succeed and their martech platforms should empower them to set up their processes with dos and don’ts and let the platform handle the rest while they can focus on other value-adding tasks.

    Automated client notifications

    Another big part of the partner marketing domain is keeping all partners informed of all the changes that might be happening on an offer. Communicating this information to the partner in real-time can be a bit of a challenge. With automation, all of this can be handled with a click of a button. An industry-wide innovation like ‘Smart Triggers’ helps identify your partners and the contacts, write an appropriate text for the update, and all marketers need to do is schedule it.

    Performance marketing is made even more effective by automation. To really hit business goals, it’s important to build campaigns strategically—choose the right platforms, advertising formats, and optimisation goals, focus on the right audience, and, of course, create campaigns that will resonate with the target audience. Automation is the key to scaling and achieving these goals.

    (About Author: Yogeeta Chainani co-founded Swaarm, in September 2020. As the CEO of Swaarm, Yogeeta drives product innovation and human resources along with spearheading business development in India and other global geographies for her company.)

  • GUEST COLUMN: Five ways how a digital advertising agency can help grow your business

    GUEST COLUMN: Five ways how a digital advertising agency can help grow your business

    Mumbai: Amid the accelerating digitisation due to the pandemic, businesses are exploring the digital world. Companies are increasingly investing in digital strategies to stay relevant amid the competition. Although there is no dearth of online resources to help grow your digital presence, companies often lack the in-house expertise and resources to implement a robust digital advertising strategy. The digital landscape for a company can’t be short-term, or with temporary goals. Digital presence needs a robust thought process that should be backed by the business processes of the company. Digital advertising agencies play an instrumental role in assist in creating effective roadmaps. Performance-backed campaigns, and effectively utilise existing time and resources to maximise return on investment in marketing campaigns. 

    Here are five ways a digital advertising agency can help grow a business

    Ideate and develop a 360-degree digital roadmap: Helmed by seasoned marketers, digital advertising agencies help you ideate and plan a digital strategy to achieve your business goals. The brand and the agency work collaboratively to devise a plan with the right milestones for achieving marketing goals. These strategies may be short-term or long-term, depending upon the objective. The digital strategy is further broken down into actionable KPIs to be achieved within a predefined timeline.

    Craft fresh and engaging content: Content is the heart of digital advertising. Fresh and compelling content helps achieve your desired action- generate leads, boost sales, acquire new customers, etc., for your brand. Content is also the key to building long-term relationships with customers. Agency professionals are thoroughly abreast of the latest content marketing trends, which gives them an obvious advantage in content development and curation. They are experts in planning content according to the channel requirements and campaign goals while reinforcing the key messaging of the brand.

    Grow online presence: Like Taj Mahal wasn’t built in a day, the digital presence of a brand or company can’t be created overnight. A sturdy online presence is vital to enable users to find you easily. A combination of SEO, SEM and social media marketing strategies helps boost your digital presence and build a strong recall about your brand. With the availability of an experienced team with specialized people in a particular area of digital strategy, a digital agency is an asset to your business.

    Monitor campaign analytics: Big data is playing a pervasive role in measuring campaign outcomes against the objectives set during the planning stage. It allows the real-time modification of the running campaign to achieve desired results. If the campaign has already concluded, its insights serve as learning to plan the upcoming campaigns better and execute them well. Agencies have the latest tools and technologies at their disposal that automate day-today-operations, streamline campaign and account management, and draw actionable insights. This makes agencies a one-stop solution for tasks such as social listening, competitive benchmarking, keyword research, etc.

    Manage your marketing budget effectively: Digital agencies help develop a realistic budgeting plan with a prudent allocation among various channels such as SEO, social media, SEM. This minimizes the wastage of time and resources while helping you fast-track your marketing strategy.

    Today, an agency is an extension of the brand. Outsourcing digital marketing to the right agency can open a plethora of growth opportunities, facilitate knowledge-sharing and technical know-how and strengthen ideation for your brand. With the help of suitable tools, knowledge and resources, a digital agency can help propel your business onto a higher growth trajectory. Choose an agency partner who is equipped to align with your organisational goals the challenge for companies today is to access the digital partner with a balanced outlook with all the above-mentioned points. 

    (About Author: Khushboo Sharma is the founder of Zero Gravity Communications)

  • Panasonic’s latest campaign underscores importance of healthy indoor air

    Panasonic’s latest campaign underscores importance of healthy indoor air

    Mumbai: The last two years have fuelled an increasing concern over the quality of the air we breathe, both outdoors as well as indoors. With many of us spending more time indoors during the pandemic Panasonic India has introduced a new 360-degree marketing campaign called ‘AC for Healthier Homes’ that emphasises the importance of a healthy indoor environment. 

    Conceptualised by Wunderman Thompson, the campaign uses light-hearted humor to highlight Panasonic’s smart range of Air Conditioners (ACs) which are equipped with nanoe-X and nanoe-G technologies to promote safe and healthy indoor spaces using smart and intelligent air conditioners. These are Panasonic patented technologies that ensure a healthier indoor Air Quality Index (AQI) and are capable of inhibiting bacteria and viruses, according to the brand.

    “Our consumer insight reports tell us that today’s consumers are increasingly conscious of a safe and healthy indoor environment and are seeking appliances that can ensure health and hygiene,” said Panasonic India head of marketing communications and brand Shirish Agarwal. “Our AC for Healthier Homes campaign takes cognizance of this aspect and conveys the value propositions of Panasonic’s smart ACs through a light-hearted humor-filled conversation that instantly connects with millennials and is quite relatable.”

    “The need to have healthy living conditions at home is paramount for today’s consumer. Panasonic’s new-age innovative tech solutions aim to cater to this need to stay protected and turn homes into healthy havens,” commented Wunderman Thompson Delhi managing partner Joy Chauhan. “This is quite a remarkable achievement in consumer goods technology and Wunderman Thompson is proud to partner Panasonic in their ‘Panasonic AC Healthy Homes campaign’ for the cautious consumer.”

    Capitalising on higher Inverter AC sales, Panasonic India’s AC division registered an impressive sales growth of nearly 45 per cent in 2021, said the company.

    The new campaign will be live across electronic, and digital as well as social media channels and outdoor advertising in a phased manner starting with Southern India. Panasonic India will also bring in integrated content to create excitement among consumers, channel partners, and sales personnel at retail stores.

  • GUEST COLUMN: What does future hold for PR and communication industry?

    GUEST COLUMN: What does future hold for PR and communication industry?

    Mumbai: The pandemic has impacted nearly everything that we do in our personal and professional lives. But if there’s one thing that it has affected the most, it is undoubtedly the way people interact and communicate. And unsurprisingly, the public relations (PR) and communications industry witnessed significant transformations to that effect.

    Businesses felt a need to rethink their communication strategies as consumer behaviour and patterns changed suddenly with the pandemic altering our daily lives and routines. The PR industry had to cope and adapt its approach to helping businesses communicate their messages in a context that’s relevant and meaningful for all stakeholders.

    The acceleration in digital adoption has led the PR industry to take an integrated approach as opposed to the traditional approach that was largely in practice. The industry as a whole is up for some new changes and going forward PR agencies would need to adjust to the emerging trends to stay competitive and relevant. By the end of 2025, it is expected that the global PR industry would surpass a value of 129 billion dollars at a CAGR of 7.4 per cent.

    Listed below are a few of the key trends that give insights into the road ahead for the industry in the near future.

     1.  PR to evolve as a holistic marketing function

    Gone are the days when PR used to be limited to publishing a few press releases or conducting events. PR has evolved to become a much broader term now as opposed to a few years back and this can be partly attributed to the proliferation of digital platforms. PR agencies today have an arsenal of services under their umbrella that include everything from press releases to advertising and paid/affiliate marketing techniques. A holistic program is more in demand, clients need to see tangible results in the form of numbers and PR agencies have extended their expertise to all areas of communication that would help businesses rise and position themselves above the noise. Relying solely on earned media isn’t practical in today’s competitive age and PR is now shifting towards a blend of earned, paid, and shared media to accommodate the growing needs of result-oriented businesses.

    2. PR to cater to added business functions such as HR and investor relations 

    PR agencies are now expected to cater to added business functions like HR, finance, and investor relations. PR traditionally used to be associated with only marketing and brand building. But it’s high time that PR agencies act as an extension of their client’s business and not a separate entity that solely deals with marketing or brand building. The employees in an organization as well as other stakeholders such as investors play a vital role in building an image. Going forward, PR agencies would become deeply involved wherever communication and reinforcement of company values are required. Right from what employees think and feel about the company to how to maintain a positive, healthy relationship with investors, PR will go on to become more than just a marketing or brand-building tool.

    3. Digital PR and content-driven engagement takes center stage 

    Though digital platforms were quite popular even before the pandemic, it was during the pandemic that its use exploded like never before. Like every other industry, the PR industry too is adapting to this new trend and has shifted focus towards the inclusion of digital in their PR strategies. PR is taking a more focused approach with content-driven engagement at its heart. As consumers are exposed to a plethora of content on a daily basis, cutting through the clutter seems to be a gargantuan task. Moving forward, PR agencies will channel their efforts towards exploring the digital domain and establishing a strong presence with creative, informative, and authentic content. Measuring success and crafting PR communications driven by data would lead the way in 2022. As content consumption patterns of consumers have changed over the past years, there is a growing need for PR agencies to resort to digital tools and techniques.

    4. PR agencies become a mouthpiece for ethical positioning of brands 

    Modern brands are always under scrutiny and consumers cannot be fooled anymore with marketing that isn’t in line with the brand’s values. People expect more than good products/services from a brand. A brand is expected to be socially responsible and take a stand on issues rather than just promote itself on a host of platforms guided purely by profit motives. PR agencies need to craft strategies reflective of the brand’s values and ethics. PR agencies will need to consciously weave the brand’s values so they are evident across every interaction with consumers and stakeholders. Responsible and ethical communication would be a dominant trend ruling the PR landscape.

    With pandemic disrupting businesses like never before, PR became a key business communication tool as its role in navigating crisis situations assumed more importance. The PR industry saw several challenges emerging during the pandemic but it has shown remarkable resilience and adapted quickly to fit into the modern expectations of businesses. The industry is evolving faster and the trends discussed above are indicative of the industry’s future ahead. Partnering with the first movers will help you capitalize on these trends and leverage them to your advantage.

    (The author is co-founder of Scenic Communication. The views expressed in this column are personal and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)

  • Extramarks spotlights its holistic learning solutions in latest campaign

    Extramarks spotlights its holistic learning solutions in latest campaign

    Mumbai: Ed-tech company Extramarks has launched a new brand campaign called ‘School Se Ghar Tak’ to underscore its stance as a holistic learning platform.

    The campaign highlights Extramarks expertise in combining the best of ‘in-school’ and ‘at-home’ digital learning ecosystem helping students’ #FlyTheExtraMile. It also highlights the end-to-end learning offerings such as Live doubt solving sessions, unlimited practice tests, performance analysis, and much more with the help of a dynamic jingle and visuals, said the company in a statement.

    “The near-immediate shift to online education post the Covid-19 outbreak accelerated convergence of school and home learning, emphasising the need to make education holistic, interactive and personalised,” said Extramarks Education VP of marketing Vineeta Singh. “latest TVC embodies this image of Extramarks as a one-stop learning solutions provider that complements in-school learning from the comfort of home. We are excited to mark our new beginnings as we strengthen our message of well-rounded, all-inclusive learning, School se Ghar Tak.”

    Rolled out on the heels of the brand’s recent rebranding and re-introduction of ‘Extramarks – The Learning App,’ the campaign reinforces the brand’s leadership position in the ed-tech segment and highlights its robust set of product offerings for all classes, multiple boards, and all subjects including K12, JEE, and NEET. The brand has merged all its applications in the K-12, JEE, NEET segments into a single Extramarks – The Learning App.

    “We are thrilled to win the media mandate for Extramarks and work on the launch campaign. We are confident that our integrated media approach centered in consumer journey backed by data and insights will drive growth in this extremely competitive and fierce category,” stated Wavemaker India chief client officer North and East office head Mansi Datta. “The campaign reaches out at an all-India level to both parents and school children talking about holistic learning solutions not just in schools but children having access to it at home as well.”

    extramarks

  • ASCI, FSSAI join hands to curb misleading claims in F&B ads

    ASCI, FSSAI join hands to curb misleading claims in F&B ads

    Mumbai: In order to curb the spike in the number of misleading claims made in food and beverage (F&B) ads seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has signed an agreement with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to safeguard consumers against such advertisements.

    The agreement was signed in the presence of FSSAI CEO Arun Singhal and ASCI adviser- public affairs professor Bejon Misra on 1 July. As per the agreement, ASCI will identify advertisements that prima facie violate provisions of Food Safety and Standards (advertising and claims) Regulations, 2018, and FSSAI would further investigate these. Under the agreement, ASCI will set up a three-member expert panel to evaluate F&B advertising identified by the ASCI monitoring team.

    In the last financial year (FY) ASCI has processed a total number of 284 complaints compared to 175 in FY 2019-20. So, claims by F&B brands, particularly those related to health and nutrition, are under greater scrutiny. With this association, ASCI further strengthens its 360-degree approach of protecting consumers as well as guiding brands, agencies, and influencers towards greater responsibility. As per a report published by media agency Zenith, India will be the fastest-growing market for FMCG brands’ F&B advertising over the next three years with spending rising 14 per cent a year. This further necessitates the monitoring of F&B advertisements.
    ASCI secretary-general Manisha Kapoor said, “With this agreement, ASCI will intensify its scrutiny of the F&B sector. We will tap our National Advertising Monitoring Service, which monitors over 900 TV channels and publications, and over 3,000 websites. Besides national brands, we will examine regional and local ones. Our experts, with decades of experience in the F&B sector, will shortlist those advertisements that require further scrutiny by FSSAI.”

    ASCI chairman Subhash Kamath said, “This is a significant collaboration. The common goal of consumer protection drives us all to share skills, expertise, and resources in the most effective way to curb the menace of misleading advertising.”

  • TV18 Broadcast reports Rs 115 crore Q2 net profit

    TV18 Broadcast reports Rs 115 crore Q2 net profit

    NEW DELHI: TV18 Broadcast Ltd has reported a net profit of Rs 115 crores for the quarter ended 30 September 2020, up from Rs 46 crore in the same quarter in the previous year.

    The consolidated operating revenue for Q2 21 fell 10 per cent y-o-y and stood at Rs 1,013 crore against Rs 1,127 crore for the same period in Q2 20.

    However, the consolidated operating EBIDTA grew by 56 per cent y-o-y to Rs 164 crore in Q2 21 against Rs 105 crore for the same period last year. Step-jump in EBITDA margins for both news and entertainment to healthy levels and H1 operating margins highest in four years despite Covid2019 drag; continue to improve y-o-y.

    Ad-revenues have rebounded as economic activity resumed with the lifting of lockdowns. News business’ advertising has fully recovered, as viewership has settled at a higher level and entertainment recovery near-complete. However, the year-on-year revenue reduced to single-digits now.

    Subscription revenues showed resilience and domestic subscription revenue has continued to rise. TV connections in commercial establishments and some low-end connections saw a temporary dip due to the pandemic; but multi-TV home connections have picked up. Distribution tie-ups across TV and digital continued to expand but international subscription witnessed pandemic-related stress.

    Cost controls have been implemented since last financial year and were accelerated during the pandemic. Broad-based cost controls have been implemented across business lines, including renegotiation of contracts and reining-in all discretionary expenses. Working capital optimisation, a tight leash on debt, and softer interest rates has resulted in major savings in finance costs, boosting profitability.

    Media consumption has settled at a higher plane in the face of receding Covid2019 impact. TV viewership had spiked to 1.5x of its usual levels at the beginning of lockdown, but has now settled at 1.1x as the economy gets unlocked. Digital media engagement too has received a smart fillip, across both news and entertainment. News genre has reverted to contributing eight per cent of TV viewership, vs 15 per cent during lockdown. Pay-TV has clawed back its share from free-to-air channels, as entertainment programming is back in full-swing.

    TV18 chairman Adil Zainulbhai said, “TV18’s broadcasting businesses have recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to a very large degree. Our proactive measures on cost-control have resulted in much-improved profitability across both news and entertainment, despite certain market segments still suffering from pressures due to the Coronavirus. We have ensured business continuity through rejigging processes, innovatively revived alternative revenue streams, and focusing on aligning content distribution strategy with market opportunity. As we head into the festive season, the underlying trends on both viewership and monetization are supportive.”

    News bouquet (20 channels) was #1 by reach and had 8.7 per cent news viewership market-share.

    Entertainment bouquet (Viacom18’s 34 channels + AETN18’s 2 infotainment channels) share of TV entertainment rose to 10.7 per cent from a low of 9.1 per cent in Q1. By and large, entertainment viewership has improved sharply, led by ramp-up of original content production and telecast which had been shuttered during lockdown. Ad monetization is fast catching-up, with increased volumes of advertising ahead of the festive season leading to improving yields as well. Hindi general entertainment has fully revived as national advertising has ramped-up, while regional entertainment is following with a lag.  

    In the digital segment, Voot witnessed a significant improvement in MAUs as fresh content resumed. It enjoys the most loyal audience amongst broadcaster-OTTs, with average daily time spent per viewer of 52 minutes. The scale-up of the advertising-led section is driving a reduction in gestation losses.

  • Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic Maharishi Ayurveda Launches AyurDefence-AV

    Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic Maharishi Ayurveda Launches AyurDefence-AV

    One of the pioneering Science-based Ayurvedic company — Maharishi Ayurveda today announced the expansion of its Ayurvedic Healthcare portfolio with the launch of its 100% Ayurvedic product AyurDefence-AV amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This is completely a herbal product made up of the combination of 19 herbs, possessing functional attributes of turning out to be the armour against viral infection & seasonal flu. It has the property to enhance the body’s innate intelligence, which works synergistically for more vitality, inner strength, stability and balance to strengthen immunity.

    Announcing the launch, Maharishi Ayurveda Chairman, Mr Anand Shrivastava, said, “Given the COVID-19 pandemic situation, we are passing through the age of infection wherein protecting ourselves from this is utmost important for survival. In such a situation, recognising the non-availability of medicines for curing viral infections, and realising the fact that firstly not all the population gets infected, whilst most of those who do get infected also recoup, accepting a few who  pass-away, we have launched this product, which is the need of the hour.

    “The launch of this product is a step forward in the direction of launching products based on the age-old knowledge of Ayurveda in modern-day convenient formats. We always try to introduce safe, effective and affordable health care products for all by marrying the traditional knowledge of Ayurveda with modern-day science & technology. The synergistic effect of the herbs in AyurDefence-AV helps the body strengthen its immunity”, added Mr Anand Shrivastava.

    Upon asking specific questions whether AyurDefence-AV will be effective for covid-19 virus also? Mr Shrivastava further added that “Covid-19 is also a virus and like other viruses present in the atmosphere there is no medicine to kill this virus as well. Our body's immunity is the only remedy to give appropriate response to covid-19 in the same way as it deals with any other virus. Since AyurDefence-AV strengthens the body's immunity and defence mechanism, it will be definitely helpful to our physiology in getting rid of the virus very soon. If AyurDefence-AV tables are taken immediately upon seeing the initial symptoms like sore throat, headache, stiffness, etc. it will support the physiology in preventing further spread of the virus and one can be free from infection faster, without much damage”. 

    Viral infections or flu indicated by symptoms like runny nose, sore or strep throat, body ache, stiffness, headache, shortness of breath result in drowsiness, weakness, sluggishness and much more depending upon the type of virus or other pathogens involved. The symptoms differ and sometimes depending upon the comorbid conditions may become serious or even fatal.

    “We have been passing through the time of viral infection. Usually, we get infected through bacterial infections as well as the viral infection. However, for bacterial infections, some antibiotic medicines are available, but for other pathogens, specifically in viral infections, antibiotic medicines do not work and neither is any medicine available for treating such viruses. Nowadays, people who are worried about the side effects of the medicines, this product – AyurDefence-AV will work wonders for them”, said, Dr Saurabh Sharma, Medical Superintendent, Maharishi Ayurveda Hospital.

    AyurDefence-AV is made up of 19 herbs, which help the body to combat the viral infection and flu-like symptoms e.g. fever, runny nose, difficulty in breathing, cough, headache, stiffness. The synergistic effect of the herbs in it also helps the body to strengthen its immunity.

    As AyurDefence-AV is a combination of well-known, highly effective herbs like — Tulsi, Kali Mirch (Piper Nigrum), Ginger, Long pepper, Cumin, Licorice, Bilva ,Giloy, Sonth, Pippali, Mulethi and Lahsun. And these herbs have the characteristics to strengthen the body’s guard against any external health threats including bacterial and viral infection. This product made up of herbs also works as Bronchodilator, Immuno-modulator, Antimicrobial, Anti-allergic, Antipyretic, Analgesic, Anti-viral, Anti-inflammatory and Antitussive.

    It promotes balance in Dosha, Agni and Dhatu, eliminating Ama (improperly-digested impurities) that can block microcirculatory channels. This way Ama is reduced and does not reach the other parts of the body, especially the respiratory system, hence prevents creation of weak sites. This also helps decrease microbial load, balance mucus production and in building immunity. It also promotes Ojas, which further promotes the balance, provides vigour to the body and strengthens immunity.

  • Coca-Cola India’s ‘Ummeedo Wali Dhoop’ salutes positivity, togetherness and generosity of the human spirit

    Coca-Cola India’s ‘Ummeedo Wali Dhoop’ salutes positivity, togetherness and generosity of the human spirit

    New Delhi: Celebrating the ability of human spirit to persevere and to always emerge stronger, Coca-Cola India has released a series of stories narrated through the digital medium as short films, static posts on its social assets and long format stories on Coca-Cola India Journey titled ‘Ummeedo Wali Dhoop’, recognizing beacons of hope, countless acts of selflessness, kindness and courage. The campaign features stories of everyday heroes who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help the community amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Shrenik Dasani, Vice President – Sparkling Category, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia said, “At a time when the human spirit is being tested like never before, this was our attempt to share an inspiring, optimistic message with people and collectively reaffirm our unshakeable faith in the resilience and power of the human spirit.

    In equal measure, the campaign is a small expression of our gratitude to all those individuals, who acted as living proof of that resilience, when they went above and beyond what was expected and rose up in aid of their fellow human beings in a time of great need.”

    The campaign titled #ToTheHumanRace, offers an ode to humanity and the human spirit in these challenging times. In the first phase of the campaign, the company had released an inspiring film saluting the generosity and courage of the everyday heroes ‘Ummeedo Wali Dhoop’. The anthem has been written by Prasoon Joshi, CEO of McCann World group India and Chairman (Asia Pacific). The now released stories are an extension of the campaign which features ‘heroes’ from across the country and various walks of life.

    Meet our heroes:

    Bilal Khan, a 29-year old lawyer from Delhi is ensuring slum dwellers do not go hungry through his ‘Four for All’ initiative in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Link to his short film

    Chhayarani Sahu, a 57-year-old farmer in Bhadrak district of Odisha has been distributing vegetables from her farm to nearby villages, sharing her abundance with many during the countrywide lockdown.

    Click here to read her story

    P Naveenkumar, a 26-year-old social worker from Munsiyari in Tamil Nadu is doing his bit by distributing food, water and providing other forms of assistance to street dwellers during the pandemic, through his NGO Atchayam. His work is a great example of starting at grassroot level and influencing a larger cause.

    Click here to read his story

    Supratik Chhaperia, a 25-year-old owns a designer cake shop in South Delhi. When the lockdown was announced in March, like for countless others, his world went topsy-turvy as operations shut down abruptly. His immediate thought however was not about his business, but to reach out to alleviate the distress of daily wage workers, the community hit the hardest during this period.

    Click here to read his story

    S. Veena, a transgender from Bengaluru is reaching out to transgenders, single women, and widows during the lockdown. Till now, she has distributed about 10,000 kilograms of rations.

    Click here to read her story

  • Instant messaging app imo raises awareness among millions in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic

    Instant messaging app imo raises awareness among millions in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic

    imo, a free video calling and instant messaging app, has taken slew of initiatives to raise awareness and put a check on misinformation about Covid-19 pandemic. The efforts by imo were carried out at a global level. With a comprehensive dashboard furnishing verified information, the app has kept more than 20 million people apprised across countries such as India, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.

    As part of its CSR initiative at the onset of Covid-19 outbreak, imo began to take steps aimed at easing the situation for its users. It collated real-time data from impacted countries and disseminated the same through a dashboard. Apart from it, the app also catered information such as prevention and control, government announcements, verified reports etc through different meta-authorized content topics. It further ensured to dispel misinformation and unverified information circulated across social media boards. The average daily exposure of the pandemic-related content was recorded to be more than 10 million.

    It was due to this comprehensive approach and the app’s massive global outreach that even some government authorities took cognizance of the steps taken. The Information Communication Technology (ICT) division of the Bangladesh government launched a healthcare call centre on the app on April 29 to provide medical assistance to its nationals stranded in Saudi Arabia. Five imo numbers were included in the programme through which Bangladeshi expatriate could schedule consultations with specific doctors.

    Talking about factors behind the app’s global popularity, imo spokesperson said, “A major reason for our wide acceptance is the ability to provide stable calls even in unstable or weak network areas. Compared to other IM applications in the market, users can save more than 20% mobile data while using imo for video calls and messaging. We are happy that our tech-powered innovations have helped people.”

    Apart from aforementioned initiatives, the app has also made some key changes in its functioning to ease out things for personal as well as professional usage. Based on the requirements of the Covid-19 scenario, the app upgraded its multi-person audio and video call mechanism. As many as 20 people can get connected at once on an audio call and 9 people on a video call through imo. While this is particularly helpful in organizing office meetings in a work-from-home situation, it is also of use for those who wish to connect with their loved ones in these trying times.