MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) in line with its national level CSR drive against Covid2019 officially handed over critical healthcare equipment to the state of Karnataka, further strengthening its fight against Covid2019. In the presence of the chief minister, B. S. Yediyurappa, the healthcare requirements were handed over to the Karnataka Government.
The Company will be utilizing the sanctioned CSR budget (for the fight against Covid2019) to provide the following essentials to the state:
• Ambulances – 20 ambulances to be donated to the state.
• PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Kits – 4,000 kits donated to the state.
• Oxygen Humidifiers: 25 oxygen humidifiers donated to the state.
ZEE CEO and MD Punit Goenka said, “The Karnataka Government has taken some strong steps to ensure that the health and safety of its citizens is safeguarded. ZEE is committed to provide strong support to the state in its fight against Covid2019. We sincerely hope that the donated healthcare requirements will further enable the state to address the challenges faced due to the ongoing pandemic and strengthen its overall healthcare ecosystem."
Karnataka CM B. S. Yediyurappa said, “The Government of Karnataka is doing everything to keep the people of the state safe and follow all precautions against Covid19. We would like to thank Mr. Punit Goenka and ZEE for their support in this time of need towards Covid2019 response and relief.”
In its national level CSR drive towards enhancing the country’s healthcare infrastructure against Covid2019, ZEE had committed to donate 240+ ambulances, 46,000+ PPE kits and 90+ oxygen humidifiers. The donation to the state of Karnataka is in line with this national level CSR drive.
At a national level, ZEE has also financially supported over 5000 Daily Wage Earners working directly or indirectly with the Company. Further, 3400+ employees have contributed towards PM CARES Fund.
NEW DELHI: FCB India group chairman & CEO Rohit Ohri doesn’t need a long introduction. An ad veteran, with years of experience in the trenches, he has earned respect and his stripes over the past three decades.
Hence, when he got together with Indiantelevision.com founder CEO & editor-in-chief Anil Wanvar over in a virtual fireside chat on Saturday when the rest of the industry was putting its legs up, resting, one expected some interesting insights. And boy! did he provide them.
For instance, he revealed that he is not a great votary of working from home (WFH), which has become the norm now. He has accepted it as a necessity but is raring to get back to the office.
“I come from the pretty old school of advertising, and WFH is much harder because you’re doing so many things altogether,” he said. “Advertising is a people business. Yes, virtual meetings are good, we are getting more work done, and are saving on travel time. But the business of advertising requires ideas, which we get in casual interactions and in the face to face meetings and even in having fun. That constant interaction is essential to get the creative juices flowing more. I can't wait to get back.”
He, however, admitted that the past few months of lockdown and WFH have allowed him the opportunity to get involved in the larger set of business needs. Plus it has lent to a cleaning up of the environment something that millennials have really appreciated. “Nature is telling us it is possible to clean up your act and this realization has made an impact among people,” he revealed.
Ohri shared that he has learned all about advertising from his first boss Kolkata-based Response Advertising’s Ram Ray who passed away in November 2019.
“His skills, his passion, his attention for detail was impeccable, his eye for detail are qualities that I have never seen in many ad professionals,” he expounded. "Ray used to write letters to clients and employees, one of the best lessons I learned in business communication. He always had said if you don’t pay attention to your own brand and if the client sees shoddy communication how will you handle them? Ray took me under his wings, and I learned so many things.”
Ohri firmly asserted, as leaders of companies and organizations it’s our responsibility to mentor the next generation and leave a rich legacy.
According to him, Ogilvy’s Piyush Pandey brought about a change in the way creative brand advertising can be used to build organisations just like he did for Pidilite.
But he was also very clear that he lets FCB’s advertising output do the talking rather than sounding a bugle about its creative prowess. “I don't believe in the flamboyance of agencies at all, the flamboyance should be the brands,” he emphasised. “In my head, what work we do, and the best rewards are when the brands do well in the market. In my book, there’s no other flamboyance required. It is genetically against the way FCB is as an organization. We believe in solid partnership with clients.”
He believes that an agency’s role has evolved to become more of a marketing solutions provider. “It’s not just about advertising. It goes way beyond helping them solve any marketing problems. This is something FCB is known for since Anil Kapoor’s days,” he pointed. For instance, the decision to air old Amul commercials during Ramayan and Mahabharat on Doordarshan was something that both the FCB and the Amul team reached. “It was a nostalgic journey into the Amul history,” Ohri explained. ”And on many levels, AmulDoodhPeetaHaiIndia will go down in marketing history because of the way the brand behaved during this crisis. It built a new bond with the whole set of consumers. There was not a day when Amul Milk was off the shelves even during the lockdown. Even with consumers, it brought back the nostalgia, and everybody felt connected with the brand.”
Ohri shared that he is cautiously optimistic about the advertising industry’s propsects going forward. “We have a global freeze on recruitments or increments, everyone is holding together in these difficult times. But the good news is that clients are coming back and there’s a lot of pent up demand,” he revealed. “FMCG, automotive, white goods are a few categories that have seen improvements.
He pointed out that there’s a clear pathway that he has charted out for the FCB group (which includes FCB Ulka, FCB Interface, Lodestar UM, FCB Digital, and FCB Cogito). “We are not in the binge acquisitions game,” he said. “We work with partners to provide services to our clients who are satisfied with what we have to offer. That's the path we will continue to tread. Additionally, we have brought all our digital offerings in-house under the main agency. I believe that way we can work holistically together to offer clients a comprehensive solution.”
MUMBAI: The seventeenth season of adventure reality show Roadies started earlier this year in Rishikesh and moved to Himachal just before the lockdown put a grinding halt on all outdoor shoots. However, with all the standard operating procedures issued by the I&B Ministry, the rest of the shoot of Roadies Revolution has resumed in Mumbai starting this month.
Cast and crew members, on the set, are strictly adhering to protocols starting from social distancing norms to sanitization. It is mandatory to wear masks, face shields and hand gloves. There is stay over facilities for contestants and crew. The contestants who are travelling for the show have been following the necessary quarantine procedures and will be stationed at one place from start to end of the shoot. Also, Covid2019 tests have been done for all the members on the set.
For an adventure show like Roadies, which requires intense on-ground activity, MTV is ensuring that all shooting locations are equipped with proper medical facilities including an ambulance that would be available on the set at all times. Instead of having a buffet system, all the contestants and crew will be provided with packed food, that would first run through a UV sterilizer.
The high-intensity tasks on the show will now be conducted in a safe environment under the supervision of professionals, specializing in safety, to ensure that all safety measures are implemented.
With a daily dose of action and drama, Roadies Revolution is keen on increasing the entertainment quotient for its fans. As the shooting has resumed, the show aims to raise awareness and prioritize safety and well-being to fight against the global pandemic.
Strict sanitisation procedure presumably began after Rapper Raftaar, who is one of the mentors on Roadies Revolution, along with Rannvijay Singha, Neha Dhupia, has informed that he has tested positive for the Covid2019. He shared the news on 9 September. Raftaar is currently home quarantined. "I wanted to give you an update. I had to go for Roadies and before that, I had to test for Covid2019. Two of my tests were negative, but the result which came today was positive. BMC has asked me to self-isolate," said Raftaar on his Instagram Story.
MUMBAI: It was in 1999 when Zee TV and Sony TV led the charts with shows like Amanat, Hasratein and Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka, while Star India was struggling to keep up with its counterparts, especially in the prime time slot of 9 pm to 10 pm. Star India had highly appreciated shows but it didn’t get them the expected ratings.
With a sheer hope to turn around Star TV’s brand image and positioning, the then Star India CEO Peter Mukherjea and programming head Sameer Nair. Steve Askew and Nair’s boss in Hong Kong, came across a popular show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in UK and Australia. Nair is currently the CEO of Applause Entertainment.
Later, in July 1999 Askew showed a snippet of the show to Nair. Initially, Nair was hesitant about the format of the show, he asked Askew to buy the rights for Who Wants to Be A Millionaire from ECM. He started looking for someone to create a similar show in India.
Nair zeroed in on Siddhartha Basu, a quiz master, who had earlier worked with Star Plus for current affairs show with journalist Vir Sanghvi called A Question of Answers.
Under Nair’s guidance, the channel brought, Kaun Banega Crorepati a reality show that has changed the destiny of three brands – Star TV, Amitabh Bachchan, and Samir Nair. On 3 July 2000 KBC went on air it was also the year Indian television changed.
Today, the shooting for the twelfth season of quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati is in process. Host Amitabh Bachchan, who has been a part of the quiz show since 2000, shared glimpses of the first day of the shoot on social media and also celebrated 20 years of Kaun Banega Crorepati in his own style. "20 saal, 12 parv, KBC: Kaun Banega Crorepati, arambh! (20 years, 12 festival, KBC: Kaun Banega Crorepati, begin!)"he tweeted.
Let us have a look at the KBC campaigns over the last 20 years.
Nau Baj Gaye Kya?
In 2000, Star Plus launched KBC with its campaign ‘Nau Baj Gaye Kya?’ It was also the first time when megastar Bachchan appeared on a small screen. The campaign spoke about giving chance to viewers to win the prize money, worth Rs 1 crore. KBC not only changed the destiny of the reality shows on television, but also helped Bachchan and Star Plus regain their lost glory.
Umeed Se Dugna
After a hiatus of 5 years, KBC was launched in 2005 and this time the prize money was doubled to Rs 2 crore. To promote the new season and create a buzz in the market Star Plus came up with a rap campaign named Umeed Se Dugna. The season, however, ended abruptly with Bachchan falling ill.
Kuch Sawaal Zindagi Badal Sakte Hain
In 2006, when Bachchan fell ill, the channel had roped in Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan to host season 3 of KBC. The campaign highlighted that some questions can change the life. However, the change of host didn’t go well with the audiences and ratings started to go down. This time KBC decided to take three years gap.
Koi Bhi Sawaal Chota Nahi Hota
With the new season falling flat, and the show witnessed considerable dip in ratings. Star Network denied reviewing the rights. It was around this time, that KBC moved to Sony Entertainment.
The’ campaign titled ‘Koi Bhi Sawaal Chota Nahi Hota’ was directed and produced by Chrome Pictures. This was also the season where a whopping prize money of Rs 5 crore was introduced. This year was crucial for Sony Network as the rival network Viacom18’s Hindi General Entertainment Channel (GEC) Colors has acquired the rights to Bigg Boss which was earlier aired on Sony TV with Arshad Warsi as a host.
Koi Bhi Insaan Chota Nahi Hota
In 2011, KBC launched their brand new campaign ‘Koi Bhi Insaan Chota Nahi Hota’ which highlighted the importance of never underestimating anyone and their talent.
Dusra Mauka
In the sixth season KBC incorporated cause-advertising in its promotion. It focused on deep-rooted issues like girl child, dalits and more. The campaign was conceptualised by Leo Burnett. Amitabh Bachchan explained the power of knowledge, by reciting a verse ‘Gyaan Hi Aapko aapka Haq Dilate hain’.
Seekhna Bandh to Jeetna Bandh
In 2013, KBC with its campaign titled ‘Seekhna Bandh to Jeetna Bandh’ pointing out the importance of learning, because the moment you stop learning, your progress comes to a grinding halt. This year the price money was hiked up to Rs 7 crore.
Yahan Sirf Paise Nahi Dil Bhi Jeete Jaate
In 2014 KBC released a campaign titled ‘Yahan Sirf Paise Nahi Dil Bhi Jeete Jaate’, it became an instant hit among the audiences. It showcased the sensitive issues like Hindu-Muslim animosity and discrimination of north East people in India.
Jawaab Dene ka Waqt aa Gaya Hai
In its ninth season, Sony Network had discontinued its long-standing association with Leo Burnett. This time the campaign was conceptualised, directed, and written by Dangal movie director Nitesh Tiwari, Nikhil Mehrotra. The campaign dealt with a slice of life situations.
Kab Tak Rokoge
Continuing with their partnership with Nitesh Tiwari and Nikhil Mehrotra ahead, the campaign titled ‘Kab Tak Rokoge’ focused on the spirit of resilience.
Vishwaas Hai toh Khade Raho…Adey Raho
Released in 2019, the campaign Vishwaas Hai toh Khade Raho…Adey Raho again conceptualised by Nitesh Tiwari, had humour in it. It narrated the story of a youth who breaks the shackles of societal norms and succeeds in life.
Jo Bhi Ho, Setback Ka Jawaab Comeback Se Do.
The twelfth season of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) gears up for the most celebrated comeback with the thought – Jo Bhi Ho, Setback Ka Jawaab Comeback Se Do.
MUMBAI: A couple of weeks ago, ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish announced a new international streaming service – replacing CBS All Access – which would be launched in the first phase in Australia, Latin America and the Nordics in 2021. It would be the second streaming service under the Viacom-CBS umbrella, the first being the free streamer Pluto TV, which it acquired in 2019 for $340 million.
Speaking at APOS yesterday ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) president & CEO David Lynn said that “Asia is a significant territory, the markets there are extremely advanced in OTT and streaming. However, we have not decided on the markets. What differentiates us is the free play we have through Pluto and the paid one through the super streamer we are planning. Having two products allows us the flexibility to decide what plays out where. Indonesia is an advertising- based market whereas Japan is subscriber-oriented. What we know is that the partnerships we have had with mobile in those regions are going to be important, particularly around 5G, and we can work with the operators to market that service.”
He additionally sees opportunities in Asia for Noggin, the preschool kids services which have been launched internationally on Amazon and Apple channels.
Lynn revealed that in India, ”Viacom-CBS has a very material successful business in Viacom18 that has been built out over more than a decade. That business-like several other businesses has had the impact of Covid2019, but we are beginning to move past that. We are seeing our production ramp-up again, we are seeing viewership follow the new production and we are seeing the ad markets recovering.”
He further explained that the strategy for India is similar to the international streaming strategy. “We have a very successful leading free streaming service in Voot. Then we have a premium paid premium service called Voot Select, which has got off to a significant start,” he said. “The core business is very strong, the move into streaming presents a huge opportunity and is off to a successful start, and not the least because of our partnership with Reliance and their ownership of Jio which is an incredible driver of streaming. “
Clearly, even as different publications have been going to town writing for the past two years – and more aggressively recently – about the impending merger of Sony with Viacom18, Lynn did not once mention that any such talks were on.
Lynn further expressed that the new global subscription OTT will have an output premiere deal with Showtime, CBS-All Access, content from Paramount Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. “It is going to be a supersized streaming service,” he said. “With the massive content from Viacom-CBS. “
Lynn revealed that the 30 countries that Viacom-CBS has operations in and the assets, and relationships, the local content will be leveraged to push the super- sized streaming service. “We want to become a material player from the advertising, subscription and licensing perspectives and become a market leader in streaming internationally,” he stated.
NEW DELHI-The Covid2019 outbreak has severely impacted the live sporting events across the world. Every major fixture was canceled or postponed due to it, but steadily organisations across the world are working effectively to resume competitive sport.
Nike has released an ad retelling the story of two of tennis’ greatest ever players – who also, happen to be sisters. Serena Williams and Venus Williams have in total, won 122 titles, 30 majors and spent 327 weeks in the no 1 spot.
The tennis sisters’ competitiveness against each other has been much written about in the media, but Nike has tried to change the mindset and has focused on the sisters’ relationship with each other as a kin. The brand has received applause for the out-of-the box creativity. It has managed to combine their achievements instead of pitting them against each other, and depicts how the Williams’ sisters have influenced the game and lifted each other up at every step of their journeys using the power of sport and sisterhood.
The creative agency behind this inspiring work is Weiden+ Kennedy
Both the sisters have also shared the ad with the caption: “When one of us wins, we both win. You can’t stop sisters.”
“We were born sisters, but we’ve become each other’s biggest allies,” says Serena in the TVC. “For us, being sisters is everything. On and off the court, we’re each other’s biggest competitors, but we’re also each other’s biggest advocates. We are where we are today because we did this together.”
The younger sister, Serena, has taken out home 23 Grand Slam titles and stayed for a total of 316 weeks. Venus has won a total of seven Grand Slams and held the top slot for a total of 11 weeks. They are the only women in history to have played each other four consecutive times across Grand Slams; with Serena emerging triumphant in all four.
The duo has played against each other 31 times in their careers with Serena leading 19–12.
Serena has been promoting Nike since 2004 when she signed her first deal worth $40 million. However, Venus wears her own apparel brand on-court called ‘Eleven.’
The Williams sisters have also appeared in the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA’s) “Be Open” campaign, which debuted last week and focused on the themes of racial justice and equality.
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE), in line with its national level CSR drive against Covid2019, officially handed over critical healthcare equipment to the state of Tamil Nadu, further strengthening its fight against Covid2019. In the presence of the chief minister, Edappadi K Palaniswami, the first batch of 18 ambulances were handed over to the Tamil Nadu government. Additionally, ZEE has donated 12,500 PPE Kits, 5,000 face shields, surgical masks, and sanitizers each to the state.
The company will be utilizing the sanctioned CSR budget (for the fight against Covid2019) to provide the following essentials to the state:
Ambulances – 45 ambulances donated to the state.
PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Kits – 12,500 kits donated to the state.
Plastic Face Shields: 5,000 plastic face shields donated to the Chennai police force.
Surgical Face Masks: 5,000 surgical face masks donated to the Chennai police force.
Sanitizers: 5,000 sanitizers donated to the Chennai police force.
Over and above the support towards healthcare relief, ZEE has also partnered with Akshaya Patra Foundation to provide 80,000 daily meals which will support migrants across the city of Chennai for a month.
Speaking on this initiative, ZEE MD & CEO Punit Goenka said, “ZEE is committed to providing strong support to the Tamil Nadu government in its fight against Covid2019, with a key focus on strengthening the overall healthcare infrastructure. We also stand together with the dedicated police force of Chennai who has been at the frontline in this fight against the pandemic.”
In the handover ceremony presided by the CM Edappadi K Palaniswami, the government expressed its gratitude to ZEE for handing over the first set of 18 ambulances for Covid2019 relief. The CM also acknowledged the gesture from ZEE on his official twitter handle.
In its national level CSR drive towards enhancing the country’s healthcare infrastructure against Covid2019, ZEE had committed to donating 240+ ambulances, 46,000+ PPE kits, 90+ oxygen humidifiers, and 6,00,000 daily meals. The donation to the state of Tamil Nadu is in line with this national level CSR drive.
At a national level, ZEE has also financially supported over 5000 daily wage earners working directly or indirectly with the company. Further, 3400+ employees have contributed towards PM CARES Fund. The amount generated was matched by ZEE, and the collective proceeds were donated to PM CARES Fund.
NEW DELHI- The Covid2019 situation has utterly changed the marketing dynamics in the last five months, whether it’s a B2B or B2C company, everyone is trying to adapt and reinvent the marketing strategies.
Brands in recent time have put efforts to talk about the coronavirus through their campaigns, and build connections with their TG’s.
The iconic fast-food giant, Kentucky Fried Chicken, aka KFC announced to suspend its iconic slogan, “It’s finger-lickin' good for a temporary period due to the prevailing coronavirus issue. The company feels that the slogan doesn’t fit with the consumers at this point of time due to the Covid2019 outbreak.
The brand has been using the popular catchphrase since 1956 across all countries, the tagline in a way has enormously helped the brand to resonate with the customers.
It’s quite interesting to see that a brand has given a pause to its slogan to aware people of the cause. However, the reason to take a break from it has come after the widespread backlash the brand faced in the US.
"We find ourselves in a unique situation – having an iconic slogan that doesn't quite fit in the current environment," KFC's global chief marketing officer, Catherine Tan-Gillespie, said in a statement.
However, nearly after five months now the restaurant chain has unveiled a 30-second ad campaign on its YouTube channel depicting KFC chicken buckets with the "Finger-Lickin'" words blurred out from its captions.
The ad then ends with the tagline "That thing we always say? Ignore it. For now,".
The campaign has been launched in markets like the UK, the Netherlands, South Africa, Canada, parts of Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
Previously, in March 2020, the brand launched an advertisement in the UK with the tagline, which portrayed consumers licking their own fingers after eating chicken from KFC. However, the ad was criticised on social media platforms for being irresponsible and insensitive during such difficult times. The UK’s advertising standards authority received at least 150 complaints. However, the video was withdrawn by KFC later.
KFC was founded in the 1930s by Harland Saunders opened its first franchise in the 1950s and has used the finger lickin' good slogan since then. The fast-food brand dropped the slogan in the late 1990s but brought it back in 2008.
KFC has 22,500 outlets around the world – 900 in the UK and Ireland. It is owned by Yum! brands, which also owns Pizza Hut.
MUMBAI: Disney Star India chairman Uday Shankar seems to thrive in crisis moments. The ongoing pandemic seems to have brought out the best in the former journo. The world’s most prestigious and valued cricket tournament the Indian Premier League (IPL) – on which he had betted big three years ago by bidding unheard of acquisition fees – is taking place in the UAE come 19 September after it was aborted in March end. For only the third time in its 13 years of existence it is being held in a foreign land.
And it's taking place in very trying circumstances: Covid 2019 is on a rampage in India and cases are rapidly rising every day and the CSK team has reported that one of its players and many of its staffers have contracted the SARSCov2 virus – that’s even before a single ball has been bowled.
Hence, Uday and his team are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that it runs smoothly at least from the broadcast end. Speaking to The Times of India, he said that “Star has been working on its own bio-secure bubble. The challenge that has been presented to my team is to deliver an exciting IPL, while keeping every crew member and team member totally safe from the pandemic. That remains our top priority. It’s not an easy one because there are no global role models for something like this.”
The Disney Star India team has put in place the bio-secure bubble in Mumbai to accomodate 400-plus staffers across six floors of the production facility which has been set up for the IPL. Staffers will be rigorously tested – pre-screened, tested before taking them in and periodic testing will be resorted during their stay in the production hub. “Stringent sanitization and social distancing protocols at production facilities and multiple zones are being set up to keep teams separated,” explained Uday.
He added that the same stringent Covid-related protocols will be followed for 65-70 days at the three stadiums with around 700 plus crew and around 90 commentators working across UAE, India and globally.
The crew’s output will reach 100 countries, result in seven fully customised broadcast feeds across languages and 18 hours of daily live and special programming around the IPL, Uday further shared.
“IPL has gone out of India twice, but this exercise is going to be phenomenal… The BCCI is the umbrella under which everybody operates, and they have a right to expect full safety and reassurance from us …The onus is on us to take the responsibility,” he said. “The protocol we’ve designed for this IPL can become a global benchmark for any tournament to be held safely….In the end, we all know, it’s a virus and anything can happen, but we would like to have a very clear conscience that we put our best foot forward.”
Even though there won’t be spectators in the stadia in Abhu Dhabi, Sharjah and Duba, Uday expects TV viewership to cross 550 million in India across live broadcast and beyond live programming. “There’s been a massive drought of live sport. People have been in a state of mind where they need a break from the last few months and IPL is ideally positioned for that. We are very focused on making sure the fan experience at home is not impacted. Technology has only made the engagement of the fans deeper and wider,” he averred.
Uday further highlighted that the IPL coming back could be viewed in a more positive light. “At a time when the country has been gripped by concerns, and people have mostly been spending time locked indoors, something as important to their lives as the IPL coming back is highly symbolic of the triumph of things positive over things negative,” he expounded. “IPL is India’s only global brand and one of the top sports properties globally too. This year’s IPL is a professional and personal commitment.”
MUMBAI: The dreaded SARSCOV2 virus claimed another victim from the television and political firmament today. 70-year-old Harikrishnan. Vasanthakumar, the founder of Tamil TV channel Vasanth TV, and Tamil Nadu’s biggest electronics retail chain Vasanth & Co succumbed to Covid2019 today in Chennai’a Apollo Hospital. Vasnathakumar was also a member of parliament representing the Kanyakumari constituency, a seat he successfully won in the 2019 elections.
The veteran Congress leader was admitted to Apollo Hospital on 10 August after showing symptoms of Covid2019. He was battling the virus since then was put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment as well as a ventilator. But the once-upon-a-time salesman-turned entrepreneur-turned politician gave up the fight on Friday when he succumbed to the disease.
