MUMBAI: The Covid-19 pandemic has overwhelmed the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe and put unprecedented pressure on the economy. Businesses and individuals are struggling to mitigate the crisis, which has not only impacted consumer sentiments, but altered their purchase habits, and demand for products and services.
According to a new report released by the Data Sciences Division of dentsu India, over 70 per cent of millennials and Gen Z consumers in Urban India are now willing to purchase products from a lesser-known brand. It also found that close to 60 per cent of transactions of its surveyed audience claim was fulfilled via virtual wallets- 23 per cent via credit and debit cards and the remaining through cash. Google Pay continues to enjoy a lion’s share followed by Paytm.
The latest Insights report titled ‘The Next Normal: The Rise of the Contactless Economy’ was released under the agency’s specialist consumer insights wing dentsu Marketing Cloud (DMC) Insights. It covered deep findings of the impact of a zero-touch world on consumer behavior and sentiments with a focus on millennials and Gen Z consumers in Urban India.
The findings of the report also showed a boom in online certificates. As many as 59 per cent of people claimed to have done an online certification- a trend which is likely to continue post the pandemic, according to the agency. There was a growing preference for Ayurvedic products, as 49 per cent of the surveyed pool said they relied on Ayurveda to meet their immunity needs.
“There is widespread uncertainty as the world grapples with the impact of the pandemic. But, in case of ‘at home’ economy, the only assurance is that a ‘next normal’ is being created with the help of a hyper-connected world,” said dentsu Programmatic chief data officer (Asia Pacific) & CEO Gautam Mehra, highlighting that ‘at home’ consumption economy is pegged to reach a $3trillion size globally by 2025. “This will be fuelled by the need for consumers to look at digital channels to maintain normalcy in their lives whether it is to connect with friends and family virtually, purchase necessities, subscribe to content, or discover and learn new skills. Millennials and Gen Z consumers, being digital natives, have been better equipped in adapting to a virtual world by demonstrating a greater adoption of cashless payments and an openness to discover and try new brands.”
According to dentsu International VP (Asia Pacific) and head of DMC Insights Abhinay Bhasin, Gen Z and millennials will form a cornerstone of new-age marketing and brand engagement given their growing spending power and digital literacy. “A virtual world has given rise to human experience platforms. With the virus hitting home, there has been a hyper-awareness of health and safety amongst Millennials and Gen Z audiences. This report builds on our commitment to deliver industry leading insights on this demographic covering their impact on various aspects of consumption and growth,” said Bhasin.
KOLKATA: Actor Salman Khan’s much awaited film Radhe has opened to a thunderous response from the audience. The movie proved to be yet another Eid blockbuster garnering over 4.2 million views across various platforms.
In India, the film was released on Zee5 with Zee’s pay-per-view service ZeePlex, along with leading DTH operators. It was also released theatrically in international markets on 13 May.
Right from fans cheering for the film in theatres overseas, to massive bookings on streaming platforms, the fans of the superstar watched the film as soon as it released making it the most-watched movie on the opening day itself.
With theatre capacities running at 50 per cent in UAE, the film has collected $379,000 on its opening day, which is not only higher than Salman Khan’s last film Dabbang 3 (2019) but also a higher opening day collection than Godzilla vs. Kong. The collections are likely to go up given the festive weekend.
Radhe’s emphatically demonstrates the success of a hybrid release and shows an effective model of releasing a film during these very tough times. This would be important not just to the stakeholders of Radhe but to the entire film industry at a time, when the country is reeling under the most severe wave of Covid-19. The release also reinforces the belief that multi-platform simultaneous release is the future of entertainment and will grow multi-fold in the years to come.
“The film has won over audiences and through this unique and never-seen-before distribution strategy we could ensure the widest possible ‘opportunity to see’ this high-on-entertainment, quintessential Salman Khan movie at a place and time of audiences’ choice,” said Zee Studios CBO Shariq Patel. “With unprecedented circumstances comes the responsibility to make innovative choices that will pave the way for future business models and Zee is at the forefront of it.”
New Delhi: Fast moving consumer goods major CavinKare has announced that it will provide Covid-19 vaccination cover to all its employees and dependent family members in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The company said it will cover 1,700 employees both at factory and corporate level. In addition, it will provide financial assistance to the bereaved family by paying an annual salary for a fixed time frame as an immediate monetary support over and above the statutory insurance benefits, it said on Friday.
As part of Covid-19 relief initiatives, the company has also extended educational support and sponsorship till college for two children of the deceased employee, it said.
“We want to stand by our employees and their family during these trying times by offering the right support and nurturing a positive ecosystem. Their health and safety are of monumental importance to us at CavinKare,” said company director and CEO – Personal Care and Alliances, Venkatesh Vijayaraghavan.
“We will continue to prioritise the overall well-being of our employees and extend support to their family in these uncertain times” he added.
to their family in these uncertain times” he added.
New Delhi: Times Group chairman Indu Jain passed away on Thursday night due to Covid-related complications. She was 84.
The group owns the Times of India and other newspapers.
Jain had also set up the Times Foundation in 2000 with sustainable development as its key goals. The non-profit organisation provides community services and runs the Times Relief Fund to offer assistance during extreme weather events and other crises.
Times Group Chairperson Indu Jain passes away at the age of 84.
Tributes pour in for Times Group Chairperson Indu Jain, a lifelong spiritual seeker, pioneering philanthropist, distinguished patron of the arts, and passionate proponent of women’s rights. pic.twitter.com/vEIRJbo5v6
She was also the founder president of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), set up in 1983 to promote entrepreneurship and professional excellence among women in India. She also served as the chairperson of Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust to promote literature in Indian languages. The Jnanpith Award, conferred by the Trust annually, is considered to be among the most prestigious honour for authors writing in Indian languages.
She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in January 2016 and an award for Lifetime Contribution to Media by the All India Management Association in 2018.
Tributes poured in for Jain, who was also widely recognized for her philanthropist work. Prime minister Narendra Modi also condoled her demise and said that Jain will be remembered for her contribution to the country’s progress.
Saddened by the demise of Times Group Chairperson Smt. Indu Jain Ji. She will be remembered for her community service initiatives, passion towards India’s progress and deep-rooted interest in our culture. I recall my interactions with her. Condolences to her family. Om Shanti.
Mumbai : In catastrophic times such as the one our world is going through currently, everyone from the Pope to the common man is in need of a prayer. Little wonder then that a universal prayer initiative by Cycle Pure Agarbathi to #PrayForEveryone, has gone viral on social media platforms.
With this short video, the brand is urging people to join hands together in this global pandemic and pray for the wellbeing of all beings. Amitabh Bachchan, Saurav Ganguly, Ramesh Aravind along with various other notable celebrities from cinema and sports have come forward and extended their support to Cycle’s this initiative.
While Covid-19 has created havoc around the world and panic is the prevailing sentiment, people are seeking solace and hope in prayers. This short film is doing rounds for its #PrayForEveryone appeal.
The video has received over seven million views on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube collectively in a week’s time. The video has also been shared by over xx people on various social media platforms including WhatsApp.
“Our intention was to spread hope and positivity, with a simple, universal prayer. At Cycle, we believe in the healing power of collective prayer and its ability to provide well-being. For this, we chose the timeless prayer ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukinah’ meaning, ‘May all beings be happy’. The fact that the film has gone viral is proof that today everyone is praying for everyone. Everyone has a reason to pray. We pray this pandemic passes soon,” said Cycle Pure Agarbatti MD Arjun Ranga.
A sure indicator of the universal appeal of the video is that many people from different walks of life have come together and extended their support to the video by sharing it rapidly. While Cycle Pure Agarbathi has been actively working at the on-ground level to help Covid patients and aid the medical requirements, the video is to reinstate the hope and spread positivity among the people of India during these difficult times.
New Delhi: Microblogging platform Twitter has launched new state-specific Covid-19 pages in the country that surface the latest tweets from people asking for SOS resources, as well as those offering help.
The social media giant currently has seven state-specific pages available in the places hardest hit by the lethal virus — Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.
“You will find bi-lingual tweets on these pages in both English and the official state language,” the company said in an update.
Twitter said that it is partnering with news and media organisations as well as journalists across India to bring the latest, most credible news about Covid-19 to your timeline. It has also launched an interactive series called #AskTheDoctor in collaboration with the team of Editorji.
National broadcaster Doordarshan also live-streams its daily show called #DoctorsSpeak on Twitter, where doctors answer frequently asked questions about Covid-19, including those via tweets using the hashtag.
Developers in India are building creative tools and apps using the Twitter API to help people source information about medical services, oxygen, medicines, food, and more.
“We’ve been working closely with developers to ensure their services are able to have the widest impact, and reach the most people while operating in compliance with Twitter’s developer policies,” Twitter added.
It went on to explain that these tools are built using the Twitter API and make use of Twitter’s Advanced Search functionality by providing easy-to-use filters that help people navigate tweets about Covid-19 in real-time by applying location filters or other search parameters.
MUMBAI: Consumer durable firm LG Electronics India has pledged $5.5 million for Covid-relief efforts and set up medical infrastructure to aid the battle against the novel Coronavirus in India. The company said as part of this initiative, it will set up 10 makeshift hospitals across India in association with local government bodies and NGOs.
It will also fund more beds to treat Covid-19 patients at India’s biggest medical facility, AIIMS.
“All these makeshift hospitals will be made across Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Pune, Bhopal, Udaipur, Lucknow and other cities in association with various government hospitals. LG Electronics will be working with implementation partners including people to People foundation across various states,” it added.
In a statement, LG Electronics India MD Young Lak Kim said, “We stand committed to lending our full support to the government and citizens in the fight against Covid-19. With the onset of the pandemic last year, we provided support by sharing our resources with the healthcare community. Our focus has always been on the well-being of the people and we believe through makeshift hospitals we can contribute to saving lives by creating medical infrastructure. We will be working with various authorities and partners to create required medical infrastructure with a budget of $ 5.5 million.“
In April 2020, LG had partnered with Akshaya Patra Foundation to serve one million meals across India and donated products like water purifiers, air-conditioners, refrigerators and TVs to over 300 hospitals allotted for quarantine/ isolation wards in states and districts.
LG’s decision to support India in its fight against Covid-19 comes days after other tech giants pledged similar support. Earlier this week, Twitter announced $15 million funding to help address the Covid-19 crisis in the country.
KERALA: At a time when the entire nation is facing the wrath of the Covid-19 pandemic, logistics company Blue Dart has been working round the clock to ensure supply chain continuity. With the #WeMoveSoYourWorldCanMove campaign, the brand ensured quick delivery amid the pandemic scare and ensured that the shipments are moving in perfect conditions.
Indiantelevision.com’s Nirmal Narayanan spoke to Blue Dart CMO and head-business development Ketan Kulkarni to know more about the company’s operations during the pandemic times, and understand how it pivoted during the pandemic to ensure supply chain continuity across the country.
Edited excerpts:
On navigating the Covid pandemic.
The logistics sector is crucial for the business continuity of all industries. It is seldom in the spotlight, but it received due credit for the work done during the pandemic. The resilience of the sector was tested given the restrictions imposed on the mobility of any sort. With the ensuing lockdowns and the fear of contagion rampant, people became increasingly reliant on online services that delivered shipments to and picked up shipments from the customer’s doorstep. This heightened trend, spotted across customer demographics, was enabled by an agile logistics sector.
Blue Dart stepped into action the minute the lockdown was announced, gearing up with its business contingency and continuity plan (BCCP) to aid customers in their time of need. Initially transporting only essentials, we worked with vigour and determination like never before to fulfil our role as the trade facilitator to the nation and continued to do so as the economy ‘unlocked’. We leveraged the power of technology to continue to deliver the premium service quality associated with Blue Dart.
On the challenges faced to deliver shipments on time.
Transport restrictions on the ground put a spoke in our wheel. However, our market differentiating air express service won the day, as we leveraged our Boeing 757-200 freighters to transport essentials across the country as well as to our neighbours internationally as part of the government’s Lifeline Udan initiative. We pioneered the Contact-Less Delivery service that eliminated contact by allowing access to over 14 digital wallets, netbanking, credit and debit cards, UPI, and BHIM. The pandemic helped us understand the resilience of Blue Dart. The success mantra we followed was to tackle challenges head-on with an ‘improvise – adapt – overcome’ perspective and it worked.
On Temperature Controlled Logistics Solutions (TCL) for pharma products.
Blue Dart has been a Temperature Controlled Logistics (TCL) industry expert for a significant period. Our solutions are developed, keeping pharma and life science in mind. It provides a secure and validated supply chain for all temperature-sensitive needs and ensures safe and compliant transport in frozen, chilled, and ambient conditions. Using appropriate cooling mediums, the packaging performance delivers temperature for the range – 20°C, 2°C – 8°C, and 15°C – 25°C for varying distribution times.
We also design customised packaging to meet our customers’ unique requests. We have pharma grade conditioning rooms at strategic locations like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kolkata, Delhi, and Bangalore. These rooms are close to our Blue Dart Aviation Stations which reduces our turnaround time and aids in the speedy delivery. With our TCL Solutions, we can deliver excellence to 9,000 pin codes within 24 hours and 12,000 pin codes within 72 hours. Additionally, as part of the DPDHL Group, we have access to several additional assets such as reefer vehicles, cold storage trucks as well as a global network spanning 220 countries and territories worldwide.
On the #WeMoveSoYourWorldCanMove campaign.
Blue Dart’s USP is our quick delivery and fast turnaround time, all while ensuring shipments move in the perfect condition. When the pandemic hit, this was only reinforced further as we put in an extra 100 per cent to ensure supply chain continuity. We understand that every shipment, something as small and yet so meaningful as a Rakhi, something as valuable as bank documents, or something as crucial as a vaccine or medicines matters to our customers, and hence, it matters to us. Therefore, the phrase ‘We Move So Your World Can Move’ and ‘If It’s Important, #BlueDartIT’.
On Blue Dart’s first women-led service centre in India.
We value the diversity of our teams as a genuine strength. Our organisation brings together people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds – all with different skills, experiences, and viewpoints. We perceive diversity as something that goes beyond gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, or any other characteristics protected under law. We promote inclusion because an inclusive team leads to happier and more innovative employees. We wanted to take one step ahead to help our nation bridge the gender gap that is widening as we speak. The All-Women Service Centre is a step in the right direction towards achieving this feat. Diversity begins at hiring and in the future we will continue to hire more diverse talent, increasing our Diversity and Inclusivity ratio.
On getting certified as a Great Place to Work for the 11th year.
Blue Dart has always championed a ‘People First’ philosophy. Therefore, we ensure our colleagues and their families are taken care of. ‘A Happy colleague equates to a Happy Customer’ – keeping this as the foundational tool of our business, Blue Dart has launched several initiatives, including several internal campaigns that highlight the outstanding work done by our colleagues.
We have also launched the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to increase mental health awareness. For the outstanding work done during the pandemic, we offered a special Covid-19 appreciation bonus. Additionally, in case a team member falls victim to the virus, special Covid leave and a special medi-claim policy have been put in place to ensure that the individual feels supported in their time of need. Our HR initiatives include the Death Benevolent Fund (DBF) to help resolve the financial crisis of the family rising due to the death of a team member. Upstairs is another program that aims to help children of team members by offering a scholarship program that provides them with Rs 1 lakh per year along with a mentor.
KERALA: The Cine and Television Actors’ Association (CINTAA) has urged producers to follow standard operating procedures (SOP) during the shooting and production stages to protect actors from Covid-19. The request from CINTAA comes at a time when several actors have tested positive for Covid, and some of them have even succumbed to the deadly virus.
In an open letter on Facebook, CINTAA has appealed to production houses and producers to follow all health and safety protocols and made it clear that even minor negligence could have a severe impact on the entire unit.
Actors succumbing to Covid-19
Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, several actors in the Indian entertainment industry have fallen victim to Covid. Some of the noted actors who lost their lives due to Covid-related complications include veteran Bollywood actress Shripradha, Marathi actor Abhilasha Patil, and veteran Punjabi actor Satish Kaul, who had featured in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat.
Apart from these artists who lost their lives after battling the fatal infection, several top Bollywood stars like Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar, Aamir Khan, and R Madhavan also tested Covid positive in recent weeks.
With Covid cases on the rise among the acting fraternity, CINTAA has aired its concerns over their safety, as they are at a higher risk of contracting the virus due to regular traveling.
SOPs to protect artists from Covid infection
The association urged producers to formulate SOPs by keeping the transmissibility of the new Covid variant in mind, which might show negative in the first RT-PCR and would mean isolating the cast and crew before and after the shoot.
Citing the example of the IPL bio bubble failure, CINTA predicted that the secure bubble maintained in television shooting sets may be breached soon.
“It is wonderful that TV shoots are shooting in a bubble, with necessary precautions, but we are worried that a secure bio bubble of the IPL has been breached, it will not take long for this disaster to strike TV shoots. There is a traffic of actors travelling to and from shoots, using flights and airports and the danger of infection is tenfold,” said a CINTAA spokesperson in a recent press release.
Request for 30-day payment
CINTAA has also requested film and TV showrunners to follow the 30-day mode of payment until the end of the pandemic.
“With medical costs sky-rocketing, it is only prudent that expenses are completely covered with no burden to our members,” added the spokesperson.
The association has also demanded an explanation from producers who have replaced actors who were unwilling to take part in shoots due to the second Covid wave. Seeking compensation from producers, CINTAA asked who will be responsible if an actor contracts the lethal disease.
“We are appealing to all the stakeholders that we want to know on whom does the moral responsibility lie: If the actor contracts Covid who is going to take care of the entire hospital/medical expenses, the insurance, injury cover, death cover, etc. Is the broadcaster taking the onus, studio taking the onus, or the producer association or individual producer is taking the onus, that is what we wish to know,” it questioned, adding that actors are also no less than frontline workers.
KERALA: Indian e-wallet and fintech company PayTM has pledged to donate 100 concentrators and one oxygen plant for Covid relief efforts in Gujarat. The donations were made to the Corona Sewa Yagna initiative spearheaded by Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat.
PayTM has donated oxygen concentrators to combat the shortage in the supply of medical oxygen and stabilise the healthcare infrastructure. The oxygen concentrators will be sent to public hospitals, Covid-19 clinics, primary health centres, dedicated Covid-19 hospitals and health centres.
“We feel proud to extend our efforts to support Gujarat governor Shri Acharya Devvrat’s noble ‘Corona Sewa Yagna’ initiative. It’s crucial in the time of crisis to provide a pillar of support to our fellow citizens as pandemic waves hit the shores. We aim to converge our resources along with the state government’s initiatives to save as many lives of the people of Gujarat. These oxygen concentrators are our humble contribution to help overcome the oxygen shortage by the Gujarat citizens struggling with Covid-19,” said PayTM founder & CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
Non-profit organisation Yuva Unstoppable is supporting this campaign under the mentorship of the governor of Gujarat. Other corporates like HDFC Bank, Finolex, JITO, and more have supported ‘Corona Sewa Yagna’ initiative.
PayTM’s helping hand to its employees
While interacting with the Indiantelevision.com, Sharma talked about various initiatives PayTM has taken to assure the wellbeing of its employees.
“Unfortunately, we have lost eight members of our PayTM family due to the Covid pandemic. We, at PayTM, are trying our best to fulfil the needs of the employees at these pandemic times. We are providing jobs to the dependents of the deceased employees, and we are meeting their family expenses for one year. We have introduced work from home option to our employees. We have given health insurance to our employees, and have never compelled them to work if they face any Covid-related issues,” he added.
