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Tag: COVID-19 pandemic

  • METRO SHOES URGES YOU TO GO LOCAL

    METRO SHOES URGES YOU TO GO LOCAL

    The COVID 19 Pandemic has made countries across the globe realize the importance of being self-reliant. While most may fathom the impact of COVID 19, it also gives us an opportunity to step up and showcase our capabilities to the world. Today, it has become more important than ever to support ‘Make in India’. Keeping this sentiment in mind, Metro Shoes , the contemporary Indian fashion footwear and accessories brand, released a digital campaign urging customers to get vocal about going local!

    Make in India initiative by Metro Shoes echoes the sentiments of every Indian- to produce locally, and to wear what is local so that more and more Indians get jobs at the grass-root level. Started in the year of liberation, 1947, Metro Shoes, opened its doors to the public in Colaba, Mumbai. Since then, it has catered to the diverse footwear needs of India and become a household name with over 218 stores across 115 cities. In its latest digital campaign, Metro Shoes, thanks the Indian artisans for being a part of its Swadeshi journey and urges customers to support local homegrown Indian brands during these trying times

    Over the past seven decades, the company and the brand have become synonymous with unmatched quality, skilled craftsmanship, and high-fashion products in the footwear industry. As a brand that was established in the post-independence era, Metro holds the Swadeshi movement very close to its core. Speaking about going local, Alisha Malik, Vice-President-Marketing and E-commerce, Metro Shoes said, “We at Metro Shoes are very proud of our Indian heritage. We have always believed in the beauty of Indian art and the skills of our karigars. Today, it is important for all of us to support each other to come out strong from the pandemic and going local is a crucial step in being sustainable, equitable, and scalable. We request our customers to walk along with us and support us in our journey ahead.”

    On the retail front, the safety of customers and employees remains the top priority for Metro Shoes. They have set up special health helplines that are monitored on a real
    time basis. All the warehouses, stores, office premises, and even footwear are being sanitized. They have also set up special teams to train front-end and back-end staff on adopting all necessary safety measures and made provisions for sanitizers, masks, and gloves for all employees at the retail stores. The brand has also taken similar measures for all the e-commerce driven sales as well.

  • How COVID-19 will change live events

    How COVID-19 will change live events

    Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This was is the bedrock of every live experience. The ones that we remember most vividly are the ones that made us feel most ‘a-live’. And over the years with the advent of technology, communication, internet, this feeling can be enhanced with these tools. 

    The pandemic, however, has made a swift incision at the heart of the live event business. If you just look at the figures pouring in from different sources about the estimation of current losses, they are a staggering Rs 3000 crore in just two months in India alone. More than 10 million people employed in the industry have been impacted. It will, if it hasn’t already, force the industry to rethink its strategy entirely. The consumer journey is now different– the touch and feel of in person events is not involved right now. Going virtual, using technology and design thinking, is the need of the hour. We have already seen many platforms including venues like NCPA that have taken the staged experiences and brought them home. Ticket booking platforms like BookMyShow have widened their canvas to include online fitness classes and dance classes. Experiences that you never thought could be enjoyed sitting indoors, like Theatre, have already started adapting to the small screen format of your laptops and mobiles. 

    Can it be shown as it was on stage? Maybe. 

    Can it be made better to include the new consumption process? Absolutely. 

    That’s what will set the best experiences apart. It cannot be just a LIVE on ground experience anymore. It will have to be a Mixed Reality Experience.

    Once things come back to normal, yes, events will happen again. In my opinion though, two things will need to be now evaluated:

    What kind of experiences are the consumers seeking – those who are attending live and those who are not? 

    How will the event industry design an experience within this environment? It will have to move ahead from just another ‘Going live on a social media platform’. It will need to be more integrated. 

    Emotional connect will have to be elicited through consumers’ devices. Not just event managers but even artists will need to rethink their delivery of the experience. In India, thankfully, the event industry has a body like EEMA that enables discussions, debates and innovations and in unprecedented situations like this, the body provides a voice as well as support. This pandemic will hopefully also give rise to a collective body that will be a platform for freelancers, gig workers, artists to enable them to come together and keep innovating and growing. 

     (The author is TABHRASA founder. The views expressed are her own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them)

  • Blue Dart freighters fly on international routes to bring medical equipment and essential supplies to India to fight against COVID-19 pandemic

    Blue Dart freighters fly on international routes to bring medical equipment and essential supplies to India to fight against COVID-19 pandemic

    Blue Dart Express Ltd. South Asia's premier express air and integrated transportation, distribution and logistics company recently operated its Boeing 757-200 freighter cross border on the Kolkata – Guangzhou, China – Guwahati – Kolkata route to bring critical PPE and COVID-19 related medical supplies. Blue Dart freighters with a carrying capacity of 34 tons are flying on international routes to ensure continuity of essential supply chain in India. Earlier this month, Blue Dart freighters flew on Kolkata – Dhaka – Kolkata route frequently and are scheduled to fly on Delhi – Guangzhou, China – Delhi and Kolkata – Guangzhou, China – Kolkata routes through the month of April 2020.  

    Blue Dart has been flying its 6 Boeing 757- 200 freighters across major metropolitan cities in India to ensure uninterrupted supply chain continuity of essential shipments like – medical equipment (ventilators & PPE), testing kits, reagents, enzymes, respirators, surgical masks and gloves among other medical and pharmaceutical supplies. The company is working closely with the Government of India, to ensure door-to-door delivery carrying inter-state and international supplies of essential goods through its strong air and ground express network. From a charter load to critical shipments the air express company has transported tons of cargo carrying essential supplies since the nation-wide lockdown began, fulfilling its promise to keep the mission critical supply chain running and help the nation in fighting this war against the global pandemic. 

    Ketan Kulkarni CMO & Head – Business Development said, “There are several components and ingredients that are coming from different places, whether it’s a drug, medical equipment or PPE. To ensure continuity of the global supply chain and help our nation and companies to adapt their operations during this critical health crisis, Blue Dart is flying Boeing 757-200 freighters round-the-clock to carry medical and other vital supplies in these difficult times and is firmly committed and honoured to be a part of the Government’s ‘Lifeline Udan’ initiative. Since the lockdown began, we have operated numerous cargo flights transporting more than thousands of tons of medical supplies, medicines, medical devices and other essential items for various state governments, medical and pharma companies.”

    He further added, “At Blue Dart, we are working on a 2-pronged strategy to prepare the logistics infrastructure for being future ready and ensure both lines operate smoothly – essential supplies to fight COVID-19 and all other non-essential supplies in the pipeline post the lockdown exit.” 

    In addition to this, Blue Dart is providing support with daily shipments across India for requisitioned items by State Governments, Municipalities, Hospitals and Research Centres during this challenging period. Some of these include special food for paralytic children; medicines for senior citizens residing in another town sent by their children; important and confidential papers for legal agreements; masks for cancer affected children as well as healthcare staff; temperature controlled medicines that need to be maintained at a specific temperature in order to maintain their efficacy among others.  

    Blue Dart will continue to offer unwavering support during these difficult times to ensure an uninterrupted supply chain across domestic and international markets. Our employees are motivated and eager to contribute to serve the country while keeping health and safety as a paramount.

    Blue Dart has listed itself on the dedicated Medical Air Cargo website www.civilaviation.gov.in 

  • Fox executives take pay cuts; Murdochs forgo salaries

    Fox executives take pay cuts; Murdochs forgo salaries

    MUMBAI: There will be salary cuts at Fox Corp in view of the crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic. While CEO Lachlan Murdoch will give up his salary, the company’s 700 employees will take a pay cut. There will also be a suspension of compensation increase across the company, including for the board of directors.  

    Top executive officers at Fox will go without pay until September 30 of 2020, according to an internal memo. Those who are foregoing salaries include Rupert Murdoch, chief financial officer Steve Tomsic, chief operating officer John Nallen, and chief legal officer Viet Dinh.  

    “We are able to protect our full-time colleagues with salary and benefit continuation during the period we are most affected by the crisis," said Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch.

    While Rupert Murdoch took home $42.1 million in fiscal 2019, Lachlan’s total compensation was $42.1 million, according to company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Dwindling ad spends have hit the media empire which comprises Fox News, Fox Entertainment, and Fox Sports, in addition to local TV channels. While production of some entertainment programmes was cancelled, broadcast rights had to be postponed or cancelled.   

    The media company has extended the work-from-home system till May 15. According to the CEO, a return to “normal operations” will only become possible as per the recommendations from officials and health experts.

    Murdoch informed that salary cuts will affect the rest of the Fox executives in tiers. Those executives who directly report to him will take a 50 percent cut through the same period.

    The Fox employees have undertaken some COVID-19-related relief activities which Murdoch has highlighted in his staff memo: “We have retained and redeployed our Studio Lot food services staff, and these colleagues are now preparing 2,000 meals per day for those in need in the L.A. community. And some costume department staff have used their time and skills to make masks for fellow colleagues to help them work more safely," 

  • News channels fail to retain previous week’s shine; fall marginally in week 13 of BARC

    News channels fail to retain previous week’s shine; fall marginally in week 13 of BARC

    MUMBAI: As we are about to conclude the third week of the 21-day lockdown due to the COVID-19 situation, the overall news genre viewership has slumped marginally in week 13 (28 March – 3 April) of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, as compared to the earlier week (21-27 March).

    Hindi news channels fell by over 11 per cent, while English news channels by a mere 2 per cent. Despite the fall in week-on-week basis, the news channels have shown a stellar performance this week too in terms of viewership as same as the last two weeks i.e. week 11 and 12 of BARC.

    The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the whole nation to go under lockdown and only news channels generate fresh content by giving a timely update of the rising infected and death counts.

    Leading the chart for the straight thirteenth week, TV Today Network’s Hindi news channel Aaj Tak has declined by over 19 per cent to 429,900 weekly impressions in the current week as compared to 532,102 in week 12. The channel reported the best numbers in terms of viewership in the last week.

    However, the channel has seen maximum growth among all national genre leaders, as it grew by around 300 per cent, on average impressions of the week 1 -11 as against the average of week 12-13.

    Retaining its second position for a second consecutive week, ABP News Network’s Hindi news channel ABP News has also dropped marginally by over 8 per cent to 311,382 weekly impressions in week 13 as against 340,659 in the previous week. For the first time ever, the channel has posted its best weekly viewership numbers in week 12 of BARC.

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises’ Hindi news channel Zee News has maintained its third spot in the current week too; however, it has fallen by 11 per cent in terms of viewership. The channel garnered 300,324 weekly impressions in week 13 as compared to 337,359 impressions in the previous week.

    India TV has secured the fourth spot. Despite moving one rank up from the previous, the channel marginally declined by around five per cent to 282,228 impressions in week 13 versus 296,305 impressions in week 12.

    Struggling to make a place in the top five news channels’ list for the last two weeks, Republic Media Network’s Hindi news channel Republic Bharat has secured the fifth spot with 280,219 weekly impressions. The channel has always been featured in the top five channels' list in the urban segment HSM.

    Where all other channels declined marginally in week 13, Republic Media Network’s English news channel Republic TV has gained by over six per cent to 2082 weekly impressions in the current week as compared to 1962 in week 12. The channel has been the leader in terms of viewership for the straight thirteenth week of BARC.

    Retaining its second spot for the thirteenth week in a row, Times News Network’s English News channel Times Now declined by over six per cent to 1284 impressions in the current week as against 1375 impressions in week 12. The channel reported best-ever numbers in term of viewership in the previous week of BARC.

    TV Today Network’s English news channel India Today has dipped by 0.7 percent in terms of viewership in week 13. Maintaining its third spot, the channel garnered 1182 weekly impressions in week 13 as compared to 1190 impressions in the earlier week of BARC.

    In the megacities category, India Today has become the most-watched with number one rank. The channel grew by over 12 per cent to 657,000 impressions in megacities among NCCS 22 plus Male AB in week 13 as compared to 583,000 impressions in the last week.

    Similarly, Network18’s English news channel CNN-News18 has retained its fourth spot in the list for the third consecutive week of BARC. The channel slumped than its peers by over 23 per cent to 653 weekly impressions in week 13 as against 848 impressions in the previous week.

    Featuring for the very first time in the top five English news channel’s list so far this year, Zee Media’s international news channel has secured the fifth spot. The channel has gained at least 623 weekly impressions in week 13, little less than CNN-News18.

    According to a joint report released by BARC and Nielsen India on the crisis consumption – the impact of COVID-19, the overall news broadcasters grew by over 250 per cent in terms of viewership in week 13 as compared to combined week two and four of BARC.