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Tag: Dainik Bhaskar

  • Dainik Bhaskar launches edition in Patna

    Dainik Bhaskar launches edition in Patna

    MUMBAI: DB Corp Limited (DBCL), one of India’s leading print media companies and home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar and Divya Marathi today announced the highly successful launch of Dainik Bhaskar’s new edition from Patna, Bihar. With this launch, DB Corp Ltd now publishes 8 newspapers with 67 editions across 14 states across India, strengthening its position as India’s largest print media company. With the launch of Dainik Bhaskar in Bihar, the media conglomerate has stormed Patna city with its awe-inspiring and impressive presence reinforced by a well strategized marketing and sales campaign that has once again proved its exceptional execution strength. Even in the presence of other formidable competitive news dailies, the people of Patna have whole heartedly embraced the publication’s offerings with rave reviews of the product that has made very deep positive first impressions with new readers, all of which have contributed to another landmark launch success story.

     

    Commenting on Dainik Bhaskar’s successful Bihar foray Mr. Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director, DB Corp Limited, “We are thrilled and excited with a tremendous start to the new year and an overwhelming response to our launch in Bihar. This was truly an exciting challenge in a region with formidable peers. We have been studying the Bihar market for long which has a literacy rate of 64%. In line with our market identification criteria; we sensed and explored the opportunity in Patna that revealed impressive demographic features and high market potential – being the 15th most developed city in India as per GDP, high per capita consumption, and a key agricultural hub with rapid infrastructure growth. It is also the 5th fastest growing city in India and the 21st in the world. 

     

    Our intensive on-ground study exposed an exciting prospect where we could establish a leadership position and create a marked impact in terms of readership and circulation. Once again the results have reiterated our execution capabilities, meticulous pre survey planning and thorough pre-launch strategies until seamless final roll-out. We unveiled our marketing campaign with bolder creative outdoor branding and a firm goal of igniting the Bhaskar brand in Bihar. Our product has already achieved wide acceptance and we are delighted that Dainik Bhaskar has emerged as a product with very powerful, unbiased content appealing to diverse readership categories. We are committed to making it the most preferred vehicle to participate in and look forward to actively participating in the region’s socio-economic progress.”

  • DB Corp y-o-y PAT up 53 per cent; radio business revenue up 25 per cent

    DB Corp y-o-y PAT up 53 per cent; radio business revenue up 25 per cent

    BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DBCL), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported good standalone results for Q3-2014 (Quarter ended December 31, 2013). Its overall PAT for Q3-2014 at Rs 94.83 crore grew by a healthy 30.7 per cent from the Rs 72.55 crore for the corresponding quarter of last year and grew by 52.7 per cent as compared to the Rs 62.12 crore during the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Consolidated PAT for Q3-2014 grew by about 34 per cent y-o-y at Rs 94.5 crore (PAT margin 18 per cent) against Rs 70.6 crore (PAT margin 15.9 per cent) in Q3 of last year. This increase in PAT factors onetime pre-operative expense of Rs 4.47 crore for Patna-Bihar new launches as well as forex gain of Rs 1.302 crore.

     

    DBCL radio business revenue for Q3-2014 at Rs 23.82 crore was 24.85 per cent higher than the Rs 19.08 crore for Q3-2013 and was 38.8 per cent more than the Rs 17.09 crore for Q2-2014. The segment showed almost double  (1.84 times) the positive result at Rs 8.51 crore for Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs 4.62 crore for Q3-3014 and more than triple (3.34 times) the Rs 2.54 crore for Q2-2014.

     

    DBCL’s radio business advertising revenues have expanded by about 25 per cent y-o-y to Rs 23.9 crore in Q3-2014, against Rs 19.2 crore in Q3 of 2013.

     

    The company has shown reduced Capital Employed (Segment assets – Segment liabilities) for its radio business during Q3-2014 at Rs 48.14 crore which was 20.3 per cent lower than the Rs 57.92 crore in Q3-2013 and almost flat as compared to the Rs 47.83 crore for Q2-2014.

     

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by DBCL for Q3-2014

     

    The main major contributor to revenue in the case of DB Corp is Printing and Publishing of Newspaper and Periodicals. This segment showed revenue of Rs 488.63 crore for Q3-2014, up 17.2 per cent as compared to the Rs 416.83 crore y-o-y and up 17.4 per cent q-o-q as compared the Rs 416.16 crore for Q2-2014. This segment showed improved positive results for Q3-2014 at Rs 135.7 crore for Q3-2014, 25 per cent more than the Rs 108.2 crore for Q3-2014 and a whopping 42 per cent more than the Rs 95.6 crore for Q2-2014.

     

    Capital Employed (Segment assets – Segment liabilities) by the Printing and Publishing of Newspaper and Periodicals segment at Rs 1394.62 crore during Q3-2014 was 18 per cent higher than the Rs 1181.51 crore for Q3-2013 and 4.3 per cent more than the Rs 1294.46 crore for the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    The other revenue segments in the case of DBCL are events, internet and power, with all the three showing a combined revenue of about Rs 6.47 crore and combined negative segment result of Rs 2.53 crore.

     

    Total standalone expense for Q3-2014 at Rs 373.04 crore was 13.7 per cent more than the Rs 328.41 crore for Q3-2013 and 9.8 per cent more than the Rs 340.3 crore for the immediate previous quarter with two expense heads showed a major increase as compared to the other expense heads.

     

    The company saw a 19.6 per cent rise in raw material consumption to Rs 172.41 crore in Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs 144.13 crore y-o-y and 14.7 per cent more than the Rs 150.34 crore q-o-q.

     

    Other expense for Q3-2014 at Rs 1,126.4 crore was 12.8 per cent more than the Rs 99.81 crore for Q3-2013 and 9.9 per cent more than the Rs 102.49 crore for Q2-2014.

     

    The company’s total consolidated revenue has shown a growth of about 19 per cent y-o-y to Rs 525.4 crore in Q3-2014 against Rs 442.9 crore of Q3 of last fiscal.

     

    The company reported a growth in revenue from advertising by 18.2 per cent y-o-y Rs 403.5 crore in Q3-2013 from Rs 341.2 crore in Q3 last fiscal. DBCL says that excluding barter and private treaty, its billing in Q3-2014 of both years, ad growth is 20.5 per cent.

     

    DB Corp managing director Sudhir Agarwal said, “We are pleased with the good start to this year as we report a healthy performance in the third quarter. As we continue to maintain a pragmatic approach towards operational controls and higher efficiency, we have also been closely focusing on studying the marketing strategies of niche brands in Tier 2 and 3 cities that have echoed our confidence in the potential of these regions. This quarter we have seen strong focus from brands of FMCG, apparels, real estate, automobiles & government that have ramped up their respective marketing thrusts in these regions.

     

    While, we have achieved commendable growth in legacy markets, due to our relentless focus and ability to provide a differentiated product, we are excited with our progress in newer regions of Jharkhand, Maharashtra and now Bihar. We are set to launch in Patna- State of Bihar on 18th January ‘2014 which is of strategic importance for DBCL – the region being one of India’s most dynamic and developing states.

     

    Click below for:

     

    DB Corp’s Financial Results

    DB Corp’s Financial Release

  • ABP news nielsen opinion poll on rajasthan- bjp likely to make a come back with 105 seats

    ABP news nielsen opinion poll on rajasthan- bjp likely to make a come back with 105 seats

    MUMBAI: BJP likely to make a comeback in Rajasthan, to bag 105 seats; 50% feel Cong govt should not get another chance: ABP News-Dainik Bhaskar-Nielsen opinion poll BJP likely to get around 105 seats with a vote share of 37 per cent in the upcoming assembly polls in Rajasthan, predicts ABP News-Dainik Bhaskar-Nielsen opinion poll. Ruling Congress is predicted to get 75 seats with a vote share of 33 per cent in the 200-seat assembly of Rajasthan. Rajasthan Seat Forecast

    The survey indicates towards a gain for BJP in 35-seat zone of Mewar with 24 seats as compared to 9 seats in 2008 assembly polls. Congress likely to get around 10 seats as compared to 24 seats in 2008 polls. 56% feel that Vasundhra Raje is most suitable to be the next Chief Minister of RajasthanAs per the ABP News-Dainik Bhaskar-Nielsen survey, 56% of the respondents feel that Smt Vasundhra Raje is most suitable to be the next Chief Minister of Rajasthan. The performance of present CM Ashok Gehlot is average with a mean score of 3.0.

    The performance of the Congress Government in Rajasthan is rated below average with a mean score of 2.90 lesser than the performance of the Chief Minister. 50% of the respondents feel that the Congress government should not get another chance in Rajasthan. BJP voted for the ability to control price rise; Kirorillal Meena’s appeal would get votes for NPP According to the ABP News-Dainik Bhaskar-Nielsen survey, out of all the respondents interviewed the single most important reason to vote for BJP is their ability to control prices. 13% of the respondents who will vote for INC will vote as they feel INC will improve condition of villages. Kirorillal Meena’s appeal would get votes for NPP.Inflation, poor employment opportunities and corruption were key reasons for people to move from INC to BJP.Crisis of drinking water is the top most problem in the constituenciesAs per the ABP News-Dainik Bhaskar-Nielsen survey, around 27% respondents feel that the most important issue in the constituency is the crisis of drinking water.

     

    The similar issues are resonated in regions like Shekhawati (33%), Mewar (37%). Awareness towards social schemes:According to the ABP News-Dainik Bhaskar-Nielsen survey, 85% respondents are aware of the MNREGA scheme; 71% respondents MNREGA is a socially benefitting scheme.80% of the respondents feel that the Rajiv Gandhi student digital scheme is socially benefitting.76% of the respondents feel that Janani Shishu Suraksha Yojana is beneficial for the society.Although 21% of respondents credit the present Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for the successful completion of Jaipur metro rail, nevertheless 47% respondents are not aware of the same. The opinion poll was conducted by ABP News-Dainik Bhaskar-Nielsen with 17,881 respondents. The survey was conducted between 29th October 2013 to 14th November 2013. The confidence interval (margin of error) assumed for vote share prediction lies in the ranges of ±5%.

  • DB Corp and its radio business report good performance in Q2-2014, H1-2014

    DB Corp and its radio business report good performance in Q2-2014, H1-2014

    BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DBCL), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported a good result for Q2-2014 and (Half Yearly) HY1-2014. Its total revenue has shown a growth of approximately 16 per cent y-o-y to Rs 441.8 crore in Q2-2014 against Rs 382.3 crore of Q2-2013. However, its income from operations in Q2-2014 at Rs 434.07 crore was 2.7 per cent lower that the Rs 446.15 crore in the preceding quarter Q1-2014.  

     

    Consolidated total revenue for HY1-2014 increased by 17 per cent to Rs 895.8 crore from Rs 763.8 crore in HY1-2013; Consolidated advertising revenue grew by 19 per cent in HY1-2014 to Rs 674.4 crore as against Rs 568.8 crore in HY1-2013.

     

    DBCL achieved consolidated EBIDTA margin of 28 per cent in HY1-2014 at Rs 248.9 crore registering a y-o-y growth of 44 per cent. Consolidated PAT margin at 15 per cent at Rs 13.63 crore registered a growth of 48 per cent on y-o-y basis.

     

    DB Corp’s radio business comprises of the brand “My FM” Radio station in seven states and 17 cities. Like last quarter (Q1-2104), it’s radio business advertising revenue which contributed to less than four per cent to the overall revenue, grew by 14 per cent to Rs 17.5 crore in Q2-2014, against Rs 15.4 crore in Q2 -2013. Last quarter (Q1-2014), its radio business reported advertising revenue of Rs17.3 crore. DB Corp’s radio business in Q2-2014 achieved PAT of Rs 1.9 crore, lower by 21 per cent than the PAT reported for the immediate last quarter’s (Q1-2014) Rs 2.4 crore. Its radio business EBIDTA stands at Rs 5.6 crore in Q2-2014.

     

     Let us take a look the other Q2-2014 results of DB Corp

     

    Overall, revenue from advertising reported a growth of about 17 per cent in Q2-2014 to Rs 329.7 from Rs 282.6 crore in Q2-2013. Its advertising revenue for Q2-2014 was about 4.4 per cent lower than the Rs 344.7 crore reported in the preceding quarter Q1-2014.

     

    DBCL’s total expense for Q2-2014 at Rs 340.3 crore was 13.2 per cent more than the Rs 300.6 crore for Q2-2013 and 4.4 per cent higher than Rs 325.91 crore for Q1-2014. Increase in raw material cost and other expense were the major reasons for the increase in DBCL’s expense. Higher raw material consumption cost at Rs 150.36 crore in Q2-2014 was higher by 13.4 per cent as compared to Rs 132.54 crore in Q2-2013 and 5.1 per cent higher than Rs 143.06 crore in Q1-2014. Other expense at Rs 102.5 crore 17.8 per cent higher than the Rs 87 crore for Q2-2013 and was five per cent higher than Rs 97.7 crore in Q1-2014.

     

    DBCL reported EBIDTA for Q2-2014 at Rs 111.6 crore (margin at 25 per cent), against Rs 90.1 crore, in Q2 -2013, registering a growth of 24 per cent y-o-y. The company says that this factors one time preoperative expenses of Rs 2 crore on the launch of Akola, Amravati in Maharashtra and Patna in Bihar and impact of forex (foreign exchange) loss of Rs 4.763 crore. Excluding the forex gain/ loss, EBIDTA has grown 36 per cent y-o-y from Rs 85.3 crore to Rs 116.3 crore. DBCL’s EBIDTA margins stand at 26 per cent on a stand-alone basis at Rs 113.4 crore.

     

    The company reported PAT for Q2-2014 at Rs 60.2 crore against Rs 48.6 crore in Q2-2013, showing growth of 24 per cent y-o-y. The same factors one-time pre-operative expenses of Rs 2 crore for Akola-Amravati and Patna launch as well as forex loss of Rs 5.712 crore. Excluding forex gain/loss, PAT has grown 50 per cent y-o-y from Rs 43.9 crore to Rs 65.9 crore.

     

    Its Print business reported PAT at Rs 60.2 crore (14.3 per cent PAT margin), after considering forex loss of Rs 5.79 crore.

     

    DB Corp managing director Sudhir Agarwal said: “We maintain our brand equity and leadership position in all our major markets and have made noteworthy progress in our performance in emerging editions particularly in Maharashtra where we have been vigorously driving in-market execution. We continue to actively explore expansion opportunities, as this quarter we launched our 7th edition of Divya Marathi from Amravati – a region with significant potential – high literacy rate and a rapidly developing workforce. We are excited and look forward to another challenging launch of Dainik Bhaskar’s Patna edition, which is on the anvil for this fiscal. Our digital platforms have been reporting consistent growth driven by strong viewer engagement strategies.”

     

    “In the context of a variable economic operating environment, it has been our compelling focus on operational fundamentals that have guided us to consistently report healthy performance. We are of the view that the GDP growth seems to have bottomed out and in light of various steps taken to sharpen our execution strengths, DBCL continues to be well placed to capitalise on the consumption potential of the Tier 2 and 3 cities as we look towards an improved domestic economic environment,” he added.

  • Dainik Bhaskars eco-friendly initiative Mitti Ke Ganesh receives overwhelming response across India

    Dainik Bhaskars eco-friendly initiative Mitti Ke Ganesh receives overwhelming response across India

    Dainik Bhaskar’s new eco-friendly initiative ‘Mitti Ke Ganesh’ has received an overwhelming response from its readers across the country.

     

    During the just concluded Ganesh Utsav, through this environment friendly campaign readers were appealed to bring home Lord Ganesha’s idols made only of clay. This activity was intended to motivate people to not bring idols made of plaster of paris, which after immersion contaminates our water resources. Dainik Bhaskar readers were also urged to not immerse idols in local natural water bodies. They were encouraged to conduct immersions at their respective homes in a water container, and use this water to water their gardens or flower pots at home.

     

    This was a Pan-India editorial and print campaign, covering 13 states and reaching more than 4.41 crore people.

     

    Commenting on the success of this initiative, Mr. Prashant Kalyani, VP, Brand Marketing (National), Dainik Bhaskar Group said, “The Dainik Bhaskar Group has always taken the lead in social initiatives that contribute towards positive changes in our daily lives. In line with this tradition this year we launched the ‘Mitti Ke Ganesh’ campaign during the immensely popular “Ganesh Utsav” festivities. Religious leaders of various sects also joined this initiative and supported the cause. To further augment this message Dainik Bhaskar through its editions carried thoughts of these religious leaders explaining the merits of ‘Mitti ke Ganesh’.

     

    This initiative not only enabled us to contribute towards protection of our environment, but also ensured that religious sentiments of people are duly respected. We are glad that we were successful in motivating people and the initiative received a overwhelming positive response from all sections of society.”

  • Dentsu creates Dainik Bhaskar’s new ad campaign

    MUMBAI: Dainik Bhaskar has launched a new advertising campaign, created by Dentsu Communications.

    The campaign is about how if we keep saying Na – and persistently, chances are, we will become a naya jahan. :Na se banega naya jahan”, that is the core message of the campaign.

    The film shows several people in our country caught in tough situations like boys being ragged in hostels, a young housewife going to be burnt alive, a government officer who is tempted with hard cash, a young lonely woman in the middle of the night being chased by a ruffian. They all refuse to cow down and say na. The several Nas are then strung together in an edit pattern that helps emerge a collective hum of a familiar tune. Saare jahan se achcha. The film ends with the message – Buraiyon ko na kaho, naya jahan banao.

    The campaign will run across TV, Print, Radio, Outdoor, cinema and digital.

    Dainik Bhaskar Group VP Sanjeev Kotnala said, “NA is perhaps the most important and certainly the most powerful word in any language. Every day we find ourselves in situations where we need to say NA – at work, at home, and in our communities – because it is our prerogative to decide if I as an individual will protect and be the change agent for everyone and everything that matters to me. Dainik Bhaskar Group does believe that for change to come around you may not need a crowd or a revolution – it can be brought about even by simple acts of individuals”

    “At one level, the film uses irony. Because while everyone is collectively seen to be saying that our country is Saare Jahan se Achcha, what we are seeing is a world that is far from good. Historically, we have seen that it did not take long, beautifully crafted speeches to cause great movements. If we recall the freedom movement, there were just two words: Quit India. In this campaign, there are no long speeches that ask us to change ourselves and make our world a better place. Dainik Bhaskar wishes to continue its crusade with the thought of Zidd. One of the simplest things that illustrate Zidd is saying no or na. When we hum a song, we usually do it using a syllable. I thought if that syllable was a Na and if we string several Nas together, a song would emerge – a song that can show us the path to a Naya Jahan. That‘s how Na se Naya Jahan came about” says Titus Upputuru, National Creative Director, Dentsu Communications.

    Ad film storyboard

    The film shows three boys being ragged in a hostel. While two of the boys are made to strip, the third boy stands firm and refuses saying Na. We next see a young woman about to be burnt alive with kerosene oil by a husband and her mother-in-law. But she screams her lungs out with a Na. Elsewhere a creepy looking husband wants to find out if the child his wife is carrying was a girl child by passing on a chit to the doctor, through his wife. The doctor looks at him and firmly says Na. Next, a young woman is chased by a ruffian at a lonely bus stop.

    She turns back and gives him a resounding slap before screaming Na. Similarly, we see an official refusing bribe, a child refusing to become a bride by hiding herself behind her mother and so on and so forth. We then cut to see several people saying Na in different parts of the country. Young, old, children, men, women, and the film is cut such that a familiar tune emerges. Saare Jahan se achcha.

  • IRS Q4 2012: Press continues to lose

    MUMBAI: According to the Indian Readership Survey for Q4 2012 conducted by Media Research Users Council (MRUC) and Hansa Research, seven out of the top ten dailies (across languages) have lost readership. These include Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, Amar Ujala, The Times of India, Daily Thanthi, Lokmat and Matrubhumi.

    The pecking order of the top ten dailies remains unchanged with Hindi daily Dainik Jagran continuing its reign at the number one spot. The publication saw a reduction in its readership as compared to the third quarter from average issue readership (AIR) number falling from 164.74 million in Q3 to 163.70 million in Q4. Second spot holder Dainik Bhaskar saw a similar fate as its AIR decreased from 144.91 million in Q3 to 144.16 million in Q4.

    English dailies seem to be holding ground. In their case, just five of the Top 10 dailies lost readership. The Times of India, The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle, The Economic Times and The New Indian Express. While The Times of India continued to take the top spot, its readership fell from 7.653 million in Q3 to 7.615 million in Q4. The only change in the pecking order of English dailies happened with The Tribune taking ninth place (previously tenth; AIR 671000 for Q4) to replace The New Indian Express (previously ninth; AIR 652000 for Q4).

    For the language dailies, the pecking order remained unchanged with Malayalam Manorama retaining the top position and saw an increase in readership from 9.752 million in Q3 to 9.76 million in Q4. Six of the top ten language dailies lost readership with the biggest loser being Dinakaran that lost 96000 AIR (4.912 million in Q3; 4.816 million in Q4).

  • ASCI pulls up 11 ads in November 2012

    MUMBAI: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) upheld 11 of the 19 complaints it received against product advertisements in November 2012, including Emami‘s advertisement about Himani Sona Chandi Chyawanprash and Dainik Bhaskar‘s about its position in Bhopal.

    Complaints against advertisements by Bajaj Electricals and Havells India about their water heaters too were upheld by the Consumer Complaints Council (CCI) of ASCI.

    Of the 11 advertisements found misleading, three are from the healthcare category, two from home and personal care, one from education, three from consumer durables and one each from media and ‘others‘.

    A complaint against Signal Cavity Fighter toothpaste was not directed to consumers in India, and hence it was held to be outside the purview of ASCI.

    ASCI‘s National Advertising Monitoring Service (NAMS) helped in tracking down the misleading claims made by advertisers in various sectors.

    A complaint against Emami said its ad claims, “Take Himani Sona Chandi Chyawanprash every day for a strong body and razor sharp mind”, “Gold removes toxins to boost immunity power”, “Silver activates neurons to enhance memory and concentration”, “51 rare herbs protect from weather changes, pollution and general illness” and thus the advertiser should provide supporting technical submission, details of tests/trials conducted, with comparative data, in substantiation of these claims. The CCC concluded that the claims mentioned in the advertisement and cited in the complaint were inadequately substantiated.

    The complaint against Maruti Herbal‘s advert on Stay-On Capsules said that the advertiser claimed, “Stay – On Cap & Oil contains ginseng, shilajit, salampanja, valuable herbs and bhasmas that keep you energetic and powerful and makes you muscular,” but there was no data provided to substantiate the same with proof of efficacy. The CCC concluded that the claims mentioned in the advertisement and cited in the complaint were not substantiated. Also, the advertisement violated The Drugs & Magic Remedies Act and contravened Chapters I.1 and III.4 of the Code. The complaint was thus upheld.

    The third advertisement to be held misleading in the healthcare category was Diwan Chand Imaging and Research Centre‘s Stan Health Check Programme. As per the complaint, the advertiser claims that, Diwan Chand Imaging & Research Centre “has the most advanced diagnostic modalities” and “Is India‘s first integrated diagnostic chain of imaging network”. These claims however are not substantiated with scientific evidence or proof of efficacy along with appropriate statistical and support data. The advertiser provided proof of the installation of the latest state of the art ultrasound machine. The claim, “have the most advanced diagnostic modalities”, was substantiated. This part of the complaint was not upheld. In the absence of comparative data, the CCC concluded that the claim, “Is India‘s first integrated diagnostic chain of imaging network”, was not substantiated and in this regard, the advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code and the complaint was upheld. The advertiser has subsequently modified the advertisement.

    Amara Remedies Limited‘s advertisement for Elavo Toilet Seat Sanitizer Spray was also considered misleading by the CCC. The advertisement claims, “Spray Elavo on toilet seat and enjoy a 99.9 per cent safe toilet experience in just 5 seconds.” Though the claim, “Spray Elavo on toilet seat and enjoy a 99.9% safe toilet experience” was substantiated, he advertisement though fails to substantiate the claim of being effective within five seconds with proof and efficacy, research data along with other appropriate support data. The complaint was thus upheld.

    The complaint against Silvermaple Healthcare Services Pvt Ltd‘s advertisement on Direct Hair Implantation was pulled up for contravening Chapter 1.1 of the Code. The advertisement headline states, “No one gets you your hair back like DHI”. Also, the advertisement claims that DHI “is the best hair restoration treatment in the world with Total Care System” .These claims need to be substantiated with statistical and other necessary data. In the absence of scientific data from the advertiser, the CCC concluded that the claims mentioned in the advertisement and cited in the complaint were not substantiated and thus the complaint was upheld.

    The advertisement by CADD Centre Training Services Pvt Ltd was also pulled up for misleading content by ASCI. The advertisement claims, CADD Centre “is Asia‘s No.1 CADD Training Company”. The claim needs to be substantiated with comparative data of other leading training institutes, certification and other necessary data. The CCC noted that CADD Centre Training Services is the largest network of dedicated CADD training centre in whole of Asia with over 300 training centres spanning across 13 countries in Asia and Africa. In the absence of comparative data, the claim, “Is Asia‘s No.1 CADD Training company” was not substantiated. The advertisement was found to contravene chapter i.1 of the code and the complaint was upheld. The advertiser has subsequently modified the advertisement.

    Luminous Water Technologies Pvt Ltd‘s advertisement of Livpure RO Water Purifier was found to have plagiarised content. The TVC states that Livpure Water Purifier gives “Duniya ka sabse shudh pani”. Kent Water Purifier‘s last campaign was based on the key proposition that Kent provides “Duniya Ka Sabse Shudh Pani”. This has been carried out in all their communication material since 2011 consistently. The complaint pointed out that this was a blatant copy of the same proposition and a gross violation of Kent Water Purifier‘s brand property. The CCC concluded that the tagline of Livpure Water Purifier that it gives “Duniya ka sabse shudh pani” was similar to the tagline of Kent Water Purifier so as to suggest plagiarism. The advertisement contravened Chapter IV.3 of the Code and the complaint was thus upheld. The advertiser has subsequently modified the advertisement.

    Bajaj Electricals Ltd‘s Bajaj Water Heater advertisement was found misleading on some counts. As per the complaint, the advertisement claims, Bajaj Water Heater is “India‘s No. 1 water heater”, “Bajaj Rapidotherm Water Heaters‘ powerful heating coil helps heat water 50% faster than any other water heater”. The CCC said these claims need to be substantiated with scientific evidence, comparative analysis data, and safety data along with appropriate support data. The CCC concluded that the claim that Bajaj Water Heaters is “India‘s No. 1 Water Heater” was substantiated on the basis of a syndicated retail audit done by independent market research company and thus this part of the complaint was not upheld.however, the advertisement‘s claim that “Bajaj Rapidotherm Water Heaters powerful heating coil helps heat water 50% faster than any other water heater” was not substantiated with comparative data of other water heaters of the same electrical rating (3000 watts). The advertisement thus contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code and the complaint was upheld. The advertiser has subsequently modified the advertisement.

    Havells India Ltd‘s advertisement of Havells Water Heater was found to be exaggerated and misleading. The advertiser has claimed “24 Hours Hot Water in Just ? unit of electricity”. The interpretation of this is that, one will get 24 hours hot water supply for usage in just ? KWH of electricity. The complainant found out that ? unit electricity is consumed by the geyser for keeping the water, already heated and stored inside, warm at a particular temperature for 24 hours if no water is drawn out for usage. The claim is hence highly exaggerated and misleading. The TVC also claims, “24 Ghante On Rahe to bhi Sirf ? unit bijli lage To Off Kyun Kare?” This is true only in the case where the water geyser is not used through the day. This claim is also misleading as the consumption of electricity would be considerably higher on usage of the water heater. The CCC concluded that the claim that “24 Hours Hot Water in Just ? unit of electricity” is misleading as it does not account for heating of water from ambient conditions to hot conditions. The advertisement contravened Chapter I.4 of the Code and the complaint was upheld. The advertiser has subsequently modified the advertisement.

    The Dainik Bhaskar Group has once again been pulled up by the CCC. As per the complaint, “Dainik Bhaskar is making a comparison on the basis of Net Paid circulation as per market estimates treating Patrika newspaper on 1/8th position in respect of circulation in the city of Bhopal. The remarks are totally untrue and baseless as the basis on which the comparison was said to be made was not shown in the advertisement nor the publication Dainik Bhaskar has stated the name of any agency on which such comparison was made. As evident from the website of DAVP, the circulation data of Dainik Bhaskar (as provided by RNI) and circulation data of Partika newspaper (as provided by Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) are almost equal but despite of the above fact Dainik Bhaskar have diminished the circulation size of Patrika newspaper to the extent of 1/8th as shown by the graphical comparison.” The CCC concluded that the claim that Dainik Bhaskar “had 8 times more Net Paid Circulation than Patrika in the city of Bhopal”, was not substantiated with ABC/RNI or IRS Data, and was misleading and thus the complaint was upheld. The advertiser has subsequently withdrawn the advertisement.

    Central UP Gas Limited‘s advertisement on CNG was pulled up by ASCI. As per the compliant, “Central UP Gas Ltd (CUCL) CNG”, is 100% Safe”. The claim needs to be substantiated with scientific evidence.The CCC concluded that the claim, “100% safe” was not substantiated with scientific evidence. The advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code and the complaint was upheld. The advertiser has subsequently modified the advertisement.

    During the month of November, the CCC also received complaints against 7 advertisements. The complaints were received against the advertisements of Emami Ltd‘s ‘Himani Fast Relief‘, Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited‘s ‘Revital Capsules‘, Cure Spect‘s ‘Eye Care‘, L‘OREAL INDIA PVT LTD‘s ‘Inoa Hair colour‘, PARLE PRODUCTS P. LTD‘s ‘Parle Londonderry‘, MICROMAX INFORMATICS LTD‘s ‘Micromax Ninja 3.5 & Ninja 4‘, Dabur India Limited‘s ‘Dabur Chyawanprakash Sugar Free‘. However, as these advertisements did not contravene ASCI‘s codes or guidelines, the complaints were not upheld.

  • Dainik Bhaskar exits cable biz, Hathway takes full ownership of JV

    Dainik Bhaskar exits cable biz, Hathway takes full ownership of JV

    MUMBAI: Dainik Bhaskar Group has exited the cable TV business ahead of digitisation, selling its 49 per cent stake to joint venture partner Hathway Cable & Datacom.

    Hathway has taken complete ownership of the JV company, Hathway Bhaskar Multinet, which has cable TV distribution networks in Bhopal, Indore and Jaipur.

    "We have bought out Bhaskar‘s stake. Hathway Bhaskar Multinet now becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of our company," says Hathway Cable & Datacom managing director and chief executive Jagdish Kumar.

    Dainik Bhaskar Group‘s exit comes at a time when cable companies are required to make massive investments in digital set-top boxes (STBs). The government has mandated cable TV digitisation across the country in four phases by 31 December 2014.
    In 2008, the Bhaskar Group sold controlling stake in their cable TV company to Hathway.

    "There has been a fall in valuation since then as Hathway Bhaskar Multinet lost ground to rival multi-system operators Den and Digicable. Though the acquisition amount is not disclosed, it is certain that it has dipped," a source familiar with the development said.

    The enterprise value of Bhaskar Multinet in 2008 was around Rs 600 million, the source added.

    After taking full charge of Bhaskar Multinet, Hathway is planning to fortify its presence in these three cities.

  • DB appoints Pradeep Dwivedi as chief sales and marketing officer

    MUMBAI: Dainik Bhaskar has appointed Pradeep Dwivedi as chief corporate sale and marketing officer.

    Based in Mumbai, Dwivedi will report to Dainik Bhaskar Group MD Sudhir Agarwal.

    The post was vacant after Hemant Arora quit in September 2011 to head sales at Times Television Network.

    At Dainik Bhaskar Group, Dwivedi‘s role will be to develop media industry leadership for Dainik Bhaskar group by leading pan India corporate sales and marketing groups and driving growth and business transformation.

    He is responsible for business revenues, trade marketing and establishing the premium brand in the national market by developing and managing clients‘ relationships, media and advertising agencies.

    Prior to joining Dainik Bhaskar Group, Dwivedi was regional COO and SVP – enterprise business at Tata Teleservices. He had joined Tata Teleservices as General Manager – Customer Care in 2004. He had also worked with American Express Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Eicher Motors.