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Tag: D Shivakumar

  • ASCI decisions binding on non-members too: Delhi district court

    ASCI decisions binding on non-members too: Delhi district court

    MUMBAI: On the back of the Consumer Protection Act passed in parliament recently comes a District Magistrate Court’s order that ASCI decisions are applicable to members as well as non-members. Until now a large number of advertisers avoided becoming members of ASCI under the mistaken notion that they would then not have to abide by ASCI decisions.

    In a landmark judgement by the Delhi district court (Tis Hazari), for a ruling, in the case of PRIMORDIAL SYSTEMS P. LTD. V. THE ADVERTISING STANDARDS COUNCIL OF INDIA, the court has given a verdict in the favour of advertising self-regulatory body, ASCI.

    The complainant advertiser (Primordial Systems), argued that being a non-member of ASCI, the self-regulation code laid down by ASCI is not applicable to them and ASCI has no jurisdiction over the advertiser. The court affirmed that ASCI, has the power to, after following due process, provide recommendations to the advertiser to modify or remove the advertisement containing claims that are considered as misleading by the ASCI’s independent Consumer Complaints Council (CCC).

    The court clearly stated that though the complainant is not a member of ASCI but is indulging in activity, viz of advertising, for which ASCI has made a self-regulation code and for breach of that, ASCI entertains complaints. Thus, if ASCI makes a recommendation and in pursuance thereto the advertising agency or the television channel refuse to air the advertisement of the complainant, they would be entitled to do so. No merit is thus found in the argument of the counsel of complainant being a non-member of ASCI and ASCI thus having no jurisdiction over the complainant.

    The court further reiterated that ASCI has been constituted as a self-regulatory body for the purpose of advertisements and the code drafted and changed from time to time by ASCI has been given a statutory flavour. It is already held by the Supreme Court of India that ASCI looks into specific complaints regarding violation of programme code hence prima facie it cannot be said that entertainment of a complaint is without due process.

    In such view of the matter court settled that ASCI has the power to regulate the advertisements as per guidelines laid down.                                                                                                                   

    ASCI chairman D Shivakumar said, “It is a very significant judgement passed by Delhi court as it clarifies that all advertisers come under the purview of ASCI’s guidelines. It also sends a clear message to the entire industry that investing in honest advertising is effective as dishonest advertising is not going to work. Clearly, for the consumers it is a big win as all the industry members whether they are part of ASCI or not, can no longer deceive them with misleading advertising.”

  • Lok Sabha passes Consumer Protection Bill 2019

    Lok Sabha passes Consumer Protection Bill 2019

    MUMBAI: The Lok Sabha has passed the Consumer Protection Bill 2019 after due consideration and discussion. The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan said that the bill aims at protecting the interests of consumers by establishing authorities for timely and effective administration and settlement of consumers’ dispute.

    Moving the bill, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Raosaheb Patil Danve said it aims to simplify a number of rules. Danve said consumers do not get quick redressal of their complaints and with the passage of the bill, consumers will be able to get speedy justice. He said the government aims to simplify the entire process of redressal of consumer grievances.

    Under the bill, there is provision for central government to set up a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers and will be empowered to investigate, recall, refund and impose penalties. It will regulate matters related to violation of consumer rights, unfair trade practices, and misleading advertisements. There is also a provision for class action law suit for ensuring that rights of consumers are not infringed upon. The authority will have power to impose a penalty on a manufacturer or an endorser of up to Rs 10 lakh rupees and imprisonment for up to two years for a false or misleading advertisement. 

    Commenting on the development, Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) chairman D Shivakumar said, "This is a great development in favour of consumers and ASCI welcomes the passing of the new Consumer Protection Bill.  Protection of consumers’ interest is also ASCI’s core mission. As an expert body dealing with complaints pertaining to misleading advertisements, ASCI has been working closely with the Department of Consumer Affairs. Complaints being received on the GAMA portal are being examined by ASCI since the launch of the GAMA portal. We expect this co-regulation model to be strengthened further as per recommendations of the parliamentary standing committee."

    Salient features of the bill

    1.  Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA): Executive agency to provide relief to a class of consumers. The CCPA will be empowered to-

        Conduct  investigations into violations of consumer rights and institute complaints /prosecution
        Order recall of unsafe goods and services
        Order discontinuance of unfair trade practices and misleading  advertisements
        Impose penalties on manufactures /endorsers /publishers of misleading advertisements

    2.  Simplified dispute resolution process

    i) Pecuniary jurisdiction enhanced to-

        District Commission –Up to Rs 1 crore
        State Commission- Between  Rs 1 crore and Rs 10 crore
        National Commission –Above Rs 10 crore

    ii) Deemed admissibility after 21 days of filing

    iii) Empowerment of consumer commission to enforce their orders

    iv) Appeals only on question of law after second stage

    v) Ease of approaching consumer commission

        Filing from place of residence
        E-filing
        Video-conferencing for hearing 

    3.  Mediation

        An Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism
        Reference to mediation by consumer forum wherever scope for early settlement exists and parties agree for it.
        Mediation cells to be attached to consumer forum
        No appeal against settlement through mediation

    4.  Product liability

    A manufacturer or product service provider or product seller to be responsible to compensate for injury or damage caused by defective product or deficiency in services

    The basis for product liability action will be:

        Manufacturing  defect
        Design defect
        Deviation from manufacturing specifications
        Not conforming to express warranty
        Failing to contain adequate instruction for correct use
        Services provided arefaulty, imperfect or deficient

    New bill – benefit to consumers

    Presently consumers only have a single point of access to justice, which is time consuming. Additional swift executive remedies are proposed in the bill through Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)

    Deterrent punishment to check misleading advertisements and adulteration of products

    Product liability provision to deter manufacturers and service providers from delivering defective products or deficient services

    Ease of approaching consumer commission and simplification of adjudication process

    Scope for early disposal of cases through mediation

    Provision for rules for new age consumer issues: e-commerce & direct selling

  • ASCI urges consumers to take action against misleading advertisements on ‘World Consumer Rights Day’

    ASCI urges consumers to take action against misleading advertisements on ‘World Consumer Rights Day’

    MUMBAI: On the occasion of the ‘World Consumer Rights day’, The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) urges consumers to not just be vigilant but also take action against misleading advertisements by informing ASCI through a simple WhatsApp message on +91-7710012345.  Additionally, consumers can also reach out to ASCI through website ascionline.org  or via e:mail to contact@ascionline.org

    ASCI chairman D Shivakumar said, “Consumer is the King or Queen and has a voice today, thanks to the digital medium. ASCI encourages consumers to reach out to ASCI using our WhatsApp number, it’s as simple as that.”

    ‘World Consumer Rights Day’, originated in 1983, is an occasion to remind the world about the importance of observing and enforcing consumer rights. It is celebrated with a purpose to unite the consumers and reiterate that corporations must keep in mind their responsibilities. Advertising is an indispensable mode of communication and has always been an important medium to persuade consumers and create a perception about a certain product or service.

    Established in 1985, The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), a self-regulatory organisation, is working towards protecting the interests of consumers by ensuring that the advertisements conform to the Code of Self-Regulation of advertising content. While ASCI does not accept anonymous complaints, it maintains utmost confidentiality with respect to complainant’s identity. Each complainant gets acknowledgement and unique tracking ID number for their complaint. Key milestones of complaint processing are informed via automated SMSs. ASCI receives over 300 complaints a month from end consumers.

  • D. Shivakumar elected new chairman of ASCI

    D. Shivakumar elected new chairman of ASCI

    MUMBAI: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has appointed D. Shivakumar as the new chairman of the board for ASCI. 

    Shivakumar is the group executive president of corporate strategy at Aditya Birla Group.

    As the member of the board of governors for three years, supporting self-regulation, Shivakumar is an accomplished business leader having spent over 19 years in sales, marketing and general management positions across consumer products and the luxury industry.

    Sony Pictures Networks India President of network sales and international business Rohit Gupta has been elected as the vice-chairman while Media Brands CEO Shashidhar Sinha has been re-appointed as the honorary treasurer.

    Members of the Board of Governors include Harish Bhat (director, Tata Global Beverages.), Subhash Kamath (Managing Partner, BBH Communications India), Sandeep Kohli (executive director and vice president for personal care Hindustan Unilever Ltd), Prof S.K. Palekar (adjunct professor and advisor – Executive Education Institute of Management Technology), .S.  Rajan (managing director, Ketchum Sampark), K.V. Sridhar (founder and chief creative officer Hyper Collective Creative Technologies), Abanti Sankaranarayanan (former vice chairperson, CIABC), Girish Agarwal (director, Dainik Bhaskar Group), Madhusudan Gopalan (CEO, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care), Prasun Basu (president – South Asia Nielsen India), Sivakumar Sundaram (president- revenue Bennett, Coleman & Co), Vikas Agnihotri (director sales, Google India) and Umesh Shrikhande (CEO, Taproot India).

    The outgoing chairman of ASCI Abanti Sankaranarayanan said, “2017-18 has been another strong year for ASCI as we have made significant advancements towards building our organizational muscle, external credibility and strong collaborations. Our stringent guidelines, seamless processes and the dedication and hardwork of our Consumer Complaints Council have contributed to restricting the use of misleading advertisements and enhance self regulation. ASCI’s momentous achievements for the year include successful completion of three year-long collaboration with Department of Consumer Affairs, renewal of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Food Safety Standards Authority of India, introduction of “Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising” and inclusion in AYUSH’s Empowered Committee to control misleading ads of AYUSH drugs. As the Chairman for ASCI for the year 2017-18,I am extremely proud to be a part of this journey and I am confident that under Shivakumar’s Chairmanship ASCI will continue to grow swiftly and steadily.”

    The incoming chairman, D. Shivakumar said, “I want to thank Abanti for her stewardship. We live in changing times with respect to information, media and trust of society. ASCI has been built on the foundation of self-regulation and the wisdom of the previous chairmen and the board. It’s my privilege to do the role now”.

    The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) established by ASCI is an independent body (majority of its members drawn from civil society members like consumer activists, lawyers, doctors, educationists), the CCC met 47 times during the year and deliberated on complaints against 2641 advertisements. Complaints against 1177 advertisements were upheld, while for 483 they were not upheld. The significant increase in the number of complaints as compared to 2016-17 numbers (2300) is largely due to ASCI’s Suo Moto Monitoring project viz. National Advertisement Monitoring Services (NAMS). The Independent Review Process (IRP) received a very favourable response and 30 IRPs were conducted during this year.

  • Mobile third largest ad medium; may grow to Rs 10,000 cr by ’18

    Mobile third largest ad medium; may grow to Rs 10,000 cr by ’18

    MUMBAI: The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), in association with GroupM, one of India’s largest media and marketing conglomerate, has released a report on the mobile marketing ecosystem in India. Called the ‘Mobile Ecosystem and Sizing Report’, this report states that the mobile medium is the third largest mass media in India in terms of ad spends, after television and print. The ad spends on mobile media is estimated to be Rs. 4200 crore by the end of 2016, and is expected to grow to Rs. 10,000 crore by end of 2018.

    The report is an endeavour to decode the burgeoning Indian mobile market in terms of reach of the medium, rural-urban divide in-terms of usage habits and increasing mobile data usage. The report takes into account the mobile service providers and handset manufacturers ecosystem as well. It is a collaborative effort by the marketing and mobile industry, championed by the research team at GroupM India.

    The growing use of mobile in rural media-dark markets has made brand marketers look at increasing their ad spends on mobile marketing. While spends are increasing, organizations are still evolving in terms of familiarity with mobile marketing. Industry sectors such as e-commerce and BFSI are leading the way in mobile advertising, while sectors such as FMCG are now going beyond the SMS and IVR-based mobile solutions The report also brings in perspective on the role of local language in enabling the next spurt of growth in rural India.

    CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asiasaid, “It is clear that brands cannot ignore the power of the small screen. It may be the third largest (after TV and print) in terms of ad spends but is by far the leader in terms of time spent and consumer engagement.”

    PepsiCo India Holdings chairman and CEO, D Shivakumar, said, “MMA felt there was a distinct need for a single comprehensive report that covers the mobile marketing ecosystem in India and provides insights to marketers to help them make sharper decisions.”

    “Marketers are aware that mobile is arguably the closest you can get to the consumer with its powerful promise of ‘immediacy’. The consumer is getting steadily used to everything in the ‘now’ with regards to content, commerce, information or utilitarian. This very concept has transformed the mobile into a tool of action and transaction,” said Mobile Marketing Association India manager, Preeti Desai.

    2015 has been a good year for mobile subscriber growth in India. Over 60 million new mobile subscribers were added since the start of year, at an average 5 million subscribers added every month. This was a 20% growth in comparison to 2014. Research has found that in the last 5 years, rural tele-density in India has increased by 60%; rural mobile internet subscriber saw a 90% YOY growth in 2015 and they are using the internet primarily with their mobile phones.

    In terms of usage, the report clearly states the varied usage patterns between urban and rural consumers. While urban consumers are adopting 3G and 4G technology at a much faster rate, the growth spurt in new technology and smartphone penetration is coming from the Tier 2, Tier 3 and rural markets. There is a high demand for affordable smartphones in rural markets, as mobile phones are replacing or supplementing TV as an important entertainment and marketing medium, alongside other traditional communication methods. Handset manufacturers are also looking at developing distribution channels to meet this high demand and thus as seen in the report, eTailers are gaining significance where 29% of smartphone purchases in 2015 happened via e-commerce channels.

    This increase in higher speed data penetration along with growth in smartphones will lead to data driven marketing. It is also reported that traditional TV players are getting more vertical with OTT driving the case for mobile as the stronger secondary screen. [Leading video publishers have seen watch-time in India grew 80% over the last one year, of which 55% of the watch time was on mobile. 90% content upload on these services was from mobile as well]. All this could mean that Native and Video formats are set to dominate mobile marketing in the years to come. Consumers look at Native ads 53% more often than they look at traditional mobile display ad. Also, mobile based audio and video streaming apps provide measurable reach, with 100+ million monthly active user base in India according to the report.

    MMA’s objective through this report is to give the readers a comprehensive view of the mobile marketing ecosystem in India and the various factors that influence it like the various mobile marketing channels, the mobile marketing landscape and the growing subscriber, internet and app user base. It also highlights some of the case studies that readers of the report can leverage to better understand the medium from a marketing perspective. Going forward, MMA also plans to follow up with a second report that will deep dive on topics like use of location and other signals on mobile for predictive analytics and intelligence and mobile measurability.

  • Mobile third largest ad medium; may grow to Rs 10,000 cr by ’18

    Mobile third largest ad medium; may grow to Rs 10,000 cr by ’18

    MUMBAI: The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), in association with GroupM, one of India’s largest media and marketing conglomerate, has released a report on the mobile marketing ecosystem in India. Called the ‘Mobile Ecosystem and Sizing Report’, this report states that the mobile medium is the third largest mass media in India in terms of ad spends, after television and print. The ad spends on mobile media is estimated to be Rs. 4200 crore by the end of 2016, and is expected to grow to Rs. 10,000 crore by end of 2018.

    The report is an endeavour to decode the burgeoning Indian mobile market in terms of reach of the medium, rural-urban divide in-terms of usage habits and increasing mobile data usage. The report takes into account the mobile service providers and handset manufacturers ecosystem as well. It is a collaborative effort by the marketing and mobile industry, championed by the research team at GroupM India.

    The growing use of mobile in rural media-dark markets has made brand marketers look at increasing their ad spends on mobile marketing. While spends are increasing, organizations are still evolving in terms of familiarity with mobile marketing. Industry sectors such as e-commerce and BFSI are leading the way in mobile advertising, while sectors such as FMCG are now going beyond the SMS and IVR-based mobile solutions The report also brings in perspective on the role of local language in enabling the next spurt of growth in rural India.

    CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asiasaid, “It is clear that brands cannot ignore the power of the small screen. It may be the third largest (after TV and print) in terms of ad spends but is by far the leader in terms of time spent and consumer engagement.”

    PepsiCo India Holdings chairman and CEO, D Shivakumar, said, “MMA felt there was a distinct need for a single comprehensive report that covers the mobile marketing ecosystem in India and provides insights to marketers to help them make sharper decisions.”

    “Marketers are aware that mobile is arguably the closest you can get to the consumer with its powerful promise of ‘immediacy’. The consumer is getting steadily used to everything in the ‘now’ with regards to content, commerce, information or utilitarian. This very concept has transformed the mobile into a tool of action and transaction,” said Mobile Marketing Association India manager, Preeti Desai.

    2015 has been a good year for mobile subscriber growth in India. Over 60 million new mobile subscribers were added since the start of year, at an average 5 million subscribers added every month. This was a 20% growth in comparison to 2014. Research has found that in the last 5 years, rural tele-density in India has increased by 60%; rural mobile internet subscriber saw a 90% YOY growth in 2015 and they are using the internet primarily with their mobile phones.

    In terms of usage, the report clearly states the varied usage patterns between urban and rural consumers. While urban consumers are adopting 3G and 4G technology at a much faster rate, the growth spurt in new technology and smartphone penetration is coming from the Tier 2, Tier 3 and rural markets. There is a high demand for affordable smartphones in rural markets, as mobile phones are replacing or supplementing TV as an important entertainment and marketing medium, alongside other traditional communication methods. Handset manufacturers are also looking at developing distribution channels to meet this high demand and thus as seen in the report, eTailers are gaining significance where 29% of smartphone purchases in 2015 happened via e-commerce channels.

    This increase in higher speed data penetration along with growth in smartphones will lead to data driven marketing. It is also reported that traditional TV players are getting more vertical with OTT driving the case for mobile as the stronger secondary screen. [Leading video publishers have seen watch-time in India grew 80% over the last one year, of which 55% of the watch time was on mobile. 90% content upload on these services was from mobile as well]. All this could mean that Native and Video formats are set to dominate mobile marketing in the years to come. Consumers look at Native ads 53% more often than they look at traditional mobile display ad. Also, mobile based audio and video streaming apps provide measurable reach, with 100+ million monthly active user base in India according to the report.

    MMA’s objective through this report is to give the readers a comprehensive view of the mobile marketing ecosystem in India and the various factors that influence it like the various mobile marketing channels, the mobile marketing landscape and the growing subscriber, internet and app user base. It also highlights some of the case studies that readers of the report can leverage to better understand the medium from a marketing perspective. Going forward, MMA also plans to follow up with a second report that will deep dive on topics like use of location and other signals on mobile for predictive analytics and intelligence and mobile measurability.

  • IndIAA Awards to be held on September 16

    IndIAA Awards to be held on September 16

    MUMBAI: The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA), launched the IndIAA awards “for real creative advertising that was backed by real budgets” last year. Nominations for the second edition were invited and unprecedented number of nominations was received and reviewed.

    D Shivakumar, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo India, Chaired a jury of senior business leaders, which included Shantanu Khosla, Crompton Greaves, VL Rajesh, ITC Foods, Geetu Verma, Hindustan Unilever, Sanjay Behl, Raymond and Amit Syngle, Asian Paints. The Jury members met and determined the winners in a process that was both objective and transparent.

    D Shivakumar, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo India, said, “We just finished seeing over 100 shortlisted commercials from 19-20 categories. We spend about 4 1/2 hours reviewing some outstanding work & some average work. We judged the commercials & the whole campaign under 3 parameters 1) does it make us think on the brand and the category in a fresh way 2) Is the benefit visualized brilliantly as a lot of it is in the audio visual medium 3) How campaignable is this. I must say that the whole process has been outstanding and the results have been pretty simple & clear. I wish all the winners the very best & for those who haven’t won, best of luck for the next time”

    Pradeep Guha, Chairman, IndIAA Awards, said, “In our second edition, advertising campaigns that were released between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016 will be honoured in multiple product and service categories. To qualify for the Award, the campaign should have film (TV or Digital) as one of its elements. In each product or service category, no more than an overall winner was awarded. The awards ceremony is now slated for 16th September, 2016 at ITC Maratha, near Sahar Airport, Mumbai.”

    Srinivasan Swamy, President, IAA India Chapter and SVP, IAA Global, added, “At the IndIAA Awards event, you will see campaigns that have been watched and loved, and went on to impress our stellar jury. Therefore, we will invite on stage all the co-creators of the campaign to accept the award. This will include the marketing team, the agency creative team, the media team and other agencies that contributed to the success of the campaign. A special website www.indiaa-awards.org now hosts all the nominees of the campaigns across 20 categories. Advertising and Marketing professionals can review the work and indicate their choices by clicking on the ‘like’ button.”

  • IndIAA Awards to be held on September 16

    IndIAA Awards to be held on September 16

    MUMBAI: The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA), launched the IndIAA awards “for real creative advertising that was backed by real budgets” last year. Nominations for the second edition were invited and unprecedented number of nominations was received and reviewed.

    D Shivakumar, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo India, Chaired a jury of senior business leaders, which included Shantanu Khosla, Crompton Greaves, VL Rajesh, ITC Foods, Geetu Verma, Hindustan Unilever, Sanjay Behl, Raymond and Amit Syngle, Asian Paints. The Jury members met and determined the winners in a process that was both objective and transparent.

    D Shivakumar, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo India, said, “We just finished seeing over 100 shortlisted commercials from 19-20 categories. We spend about 4 1/2 hours reviewing some outstanding work & some average work. We judged the commercials & the whole campaign under 3 parameters 1) does it make us think on the brand and the category in a fresh way 2) Is the benefit visualized brilliantly as a lot of it is in the audio visual medium 3) How campaignable is this. I must say that the whole process has been outstanding and the results have been pretty simple & clear. I wish all the winners the very best & for those who haven’t won, best of luck for the next time”

    Pradeep Guha, Chairman, IndIAA Awards, said, “In our second edition, advertising campaigns that were released between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016 will be honoured in multiple product and service categories. To qualify for the Award, the campaign should have film (TV or Digital) as one of its elements. In each product or service category, no more than an overall winner was awarded. The awards ceremony is now slated for 16th September, 2016 at ITC Maratha, near Sahar Airport, Mumbai.”

    Srinivasan Swamy, President, IAA India Chapter and SVP, IAA Global, added, “At the IndIAA Awards event, you will see campaigns that have been watched and loved, and went on to impress our stellar jury. Therefore, we will invite on stage all the co-creators of the campaign to accept the award. This will include the marketing team, the agency creative team, the media team and other agencies that contributed to the success of the campaign. A special website www.indiaa-awards.org now hosts all the nominees of the campaigns across 20 categories. Advertising and Marketing professionals can review the work and indicate their choices by clicking on the ‘like’ button.”

  • BBC World News to organise ‘Golf Connect’ tournament

    BBC World News to organise ‘Golf Connect’ tournament

    MUMBAI: BBC World News is all set to organise the Golf Connect tournament, welcoming corporate leaders from across India. The channel will host the event on 27 February, 2016 in Gurgaon.

    The event will be attended by more than 100 leading golfers from different types of businesses and will provide professional networking opportunity for the participants.

    The event is in its 12th year and has seen participation from the likes of PepsiCo CEO D Shivakumar, Max New York Life Insurance CEO and MD Rajesh Sud, Cleartrip president and COO Samyukth Sridharan last year.

    Participation to the evening is by invitation, though potential players can still register their interest via email to engage@bbc.com.

  • BBC World News to organise ‘Golf Connect’ tournament

    BBC World News to organise ‘Golf Connect’ tournament

    MUMBAI: BBC World News is all set to organise the Golf Connect tournament, welcoming corporate leaders from across India. The channel will host the event on 27 February, 2016 in Gurgaon.

    The event will be attended by more than 100 leading golfers from different types of businesses and will provide professional networking opportunity for the participants.

    The event is in its 12th year and has seen participation from the likes of PepsiCo CEO D Shivakumar, Max New York Life Insurance CEO and MD Rajesh Sud, Cleartrip president and COO Samyukth Sridharan last year.

    Participation to the evening is by invitation, though potential players can still register their interest via email to engage@bbc.com.