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  • Twitter: Strong IPO, followed by even stronger opening

    Twitter: Strong IPO, followed by even stronger opening

    MUMBAI: It began with a tweet on its twitter handle which stated: “We just priced our IPO.” Attached with the tweet was a screen shot of the offering announcement.

     

    And by the time Wednesday 6 November ended, the social networking site that has become a phenomenon across the globe had managed to raise $2.09 billion from its IPO, making it the seventh-largest US tech IPO ever, just ahead of Google, which raised $1.92 billion in its 2004 stock market debut, according to some estimates.

     

    But there was more in store for stockmarket observers and investors as trading began on Thursday morning. The Twitter share – under the TWTR ticker – spurted 90 plus per cent in value as it soared to $45 per share during early trades and then to a high of $50. This took up the valuation of the firm to $25 billion or 32 billion or so, at the time of writing.

     

    Yesterday’s $26 price valued the microblogging service at $18.34 billion, on a fully diluted basis. That is 16 to 17 times forecast 2014 sales, a premium to rivals including Facebook, LinkedIn and Yelp, according to some analysts.

     

    Twitter set an early price range of $17 to $20 for its IPO, which was considered cautious. But there was strong interest from investors, and the company was selling just 70 million of its 545 million shares, leaving an imbalance between supply and demand. That allowed the company and its bankers, led by Goldman Sachs’ Anthony Noto, to raise the range to $23 to $25 and then pick a final price above that.

     

    Analysts felt that the price should have been in the $21 range but the final pricing zipped past that. Other analyst and stock watchers had predicted that the share would go past the $40 market during day one’s trading. The IPO was as much as 30 times over-subscribed.

     

    While Twitter has a broad and powerful influence, its service is sometimes tricky to understand and use, which has reportedly limited the company’s growth. Twitter has about 230 million users, including heads of state and celebrities, while Facebook has more than one billion.

     

    However, Twitter lost $65 million in the latest quarter.

     

    Twitter is expected to generate $1.24 billion in sales in 2015, according to some projections. Its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margins will be roughly 6.5 per cent this year and 8.4 per cent in 2014, according to IPO underwriter forecasts that were shared with investors. In 2015, margins may jump to about 16 per cent, the estimates suggest.

     

    During an interview given to CNBC, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo is believed to have said that investors should not be concerned about the company’s current lack of profits, since its part of a plan to invest for the long term.

     

    It looks like the investment community and public is buying his story for now – at least.

  • Zoom packs a digital punch

    Zoom packs a digital punch

    Not only is it the ‘go to’ television channel for gossip and music, Zoom has caught the fancy of the youth even in the all-important digital space. We did some digging to find out just how much.

    Launched in 2004 and available in over 15 countries, Zoom’s official page boasts a staggering 5.4 million likes, with over 4 lakh fans talking about it simultaneously.

    In September, the channel crossed 5 million likes on Facebook with the community drawing a weekly reach of 95 lakhs, with Facebook posts delivering impressions in excess of 4 crores every week.

    So what’s the secret of Zoom’s digital success? “Through careful monitoring and studying of past trends, Zoom ensures that it puts out content that the audience is looking out for the most. Also, in this space, it is critical to be the first. Zoom has systems in place to ensure that even if one is not in front of the TV – one never has to lose access to the latest,” says ET Now, Times Now and Zoom CEO Avinash Kaul.

    The Zoom page works towards interacting from more of a friend perspective rather than just a brand, says Avinash Kaul

    But with properties like MTV also crossing the magical number of 5 million on Facebook, how does Zoom plan to stay ahead of the game? “Being the first to get to a landmark figure is always special. As an entertainment brand, the channel has its own defined presence in our audience’s mind. Our objective has never been to be the one with the highest number, but to be the one who engages their audiences the best. As long as we continue to focus on that, we would still be the preferred destination for our kind of content,” says Kaul.

    Zoom walks the talk in keeping its official page up-to-speed with pictures of Bollywood divas and hunks and all the masala from telly and Bolly land as well as happenings on its shows like Gennext and Planet Bollywood.

    And how does the channel build traffic? “There is a broader strategy based on a clear understanding of our consumers and their basic requirements. But we also look at micro management on the page, by concentrating on each post to ensure engagement and therefore build traffic.”

    “The question is what the consumer takes away from this page, so be it through contests, trivia, or breaking news, it is told to the fans as and how they want it. The Zoom page works towards interacting from more of a friend perspective rather than just a brand,” reveals Kaul.

    The social media space is managed by a dedicated in-house team, which helps maintain complete control over content apart from ensuring immediate response and interaction with members.

    In a world where news is increasingly being replaced by 140 character-tweets, Zoom tweaks music tunes as per fan tweets. The channel has 2.9 million-odd followers and more than 50,000 tweets, setting the official twitter handle @ZoomTV abuzz.

    Topping such a comprehensive digital presence is Zoom’s official website, http://zoomtv.indiatimes.com/, the channel’s mainstay in the digital space with special web exclusive content including live streaming, picture gallery, video uploads, trends and show trivia. The idea is to feed avid Zoom fans as much information as possible through the website.

    Also, Zoom’s official YouTube channel has over 28,000 videos uploaded with 3.4 lakh loyal subscribers and over 81 crore views at last count.

    To its credit, Zoom was adjudged the third most consumed TV channel on Mobile TV by India’s largest consumer survey on mobile usage.

    The channel follows a simple strategy which Kaul puts as: “The strategy has been to listen keenly to know audience conversations, reactions and trends from the past and use that knowledge, almost instinctively, to serve up new stuff that they find interesting. The choice of topic, stars, the time of day (when an update is put out), and selection of hash tags – all comes from the close and mindful study of past trends. Above all, we aim to be as current and quick as possible in making the content available online. Keeping a constant track on all that’s being reported by our own internal resources, while also being watchful at the world outside”

    Zoom’s online channel Telly Talk is the newest jewel in its digital crown and made heads turn when it crossed 10 million video views on YouTube within six months of its launch.

    Telly Talk affords audiences uncensored access to their favourite stars, right from their personal wardrobes to how they celebrate their anniversaries to what goes on behind-the-scenes et al. Not only does it provide entertainment in newer, more user-friendly formats, it also engages viewers by giving them opportunities to interact with their favourite small-screen stars from time to time.

    Telly Talk has over 21,000 subscribers on YouTube. Through Twitter initiative – #TellyMate, the channel facilitates two-way communication between the audience and their favourite stars.

    Asked what makes the channel so popular, sometimes more than GECs, Kaul says: “As a part of family TV viewing, the youth has to follow GECs even when they’re not their most preferred choice of entertainment. In the digital space, it’s entirely left to their individual choice to choose and watch exactly what they want. The width of leadership that the channel enjoys in the space is evidence of the strong connect that the brand has with its core audience.”

    Asked if Zoom would turn to reality shows ever, Kaul simply says: “The youth is really smart and is looking for content that will interest them. The minute it’s not relevant or exciting enough, they have many more options to turn to. So we are focused on the quality of our conversations on the page. It’s more about providing relevant content on the fans’ page to keep them interested and encourage their friends to further develop interest and that automatically gets people to visit the page.”

    The channel is pretty sorted in terms of getting clients and business on-board, says Karthik Lakshminarayan

    On the other hand, Zoom’s activeness on digital platforms is getting praise from senior media professionals.

    “The channel is doing pretty well, very profitable and has made good progress in the last so many years. The channel is pretty sorted in terms of getting clients and business on-board,” says Madison Media COO Karthik Lakshminarayan.

    He further adds that, though the channel is doing well, it does not have any undifferentiated content to offer to its viewers. He suggests that in future, the channel should not take a reality turn and should stay in what its forte is. “Moving beyond that into different forms of offering won’t really help them,” Lakshminarayan signs off.

  • Facebook says 48% of daily active users and 49% of ad revenue come from mobile

    Facebook says 48% of daily active users and 49% of ad revenue come from mobile

    NEW DELHI: Facebook has claimed that mobile ad revenues and usage will soon outperform desktop ad revenues and usage.

    In its third quarterly earnings press meet, Facebook co-founder and CEO Zuckerberg said 48 per cent of its daily active users only use mobile devices while 49 per cent of its total ad revenues come from mobile ads.

    Zuckerberg said Facebook ads raked in nearly $890 million in revenues during the third quarter through the company’s app install ads, mobile engagement ads, and so on.

    The announcement means the company is heading in the right direction to meet its Q2 prediction that mobile ad revenues will surpass desktop ad revenues by year-end.

    Facebook mobile MAUs gained 45 per cent more than last past year, from 604 million MAUs in Q2 2012 to 874 million MAUs in Q3 2013.

     

    Facebook mobile MAUs include Facebook users who only use mobile devices and mobile users who occasionally use desktop devices to access Facebook services.

     

    The 45 per cent statistic for mobile MAUs had more than twice as much growth as overall MAUs, up 18 per cent from $1.007 million in Q2 2013 to $1.189 million in Q3 2013.

     

    Facebook remarked that its statistical figures exclude usage from Instagram-only users, but Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg delivered figures on the length of time consumers spend on Facebook’s mobile platform if combined with the photo-based social network.

     

    Sandberg said Facebook and Instagram accounts for a combined 20 per cent of total time spent on mobile devices and 12.5 per cent of total time spent on desktop devices every month in the US.

     

    Sandberg noted that Facebook accounts for more mobile minutes in the US than the combined minutes of YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Pandora, Yahoo, Tumblr, and AOL, even though comScore research results suggest it may have included Instagram data.

     

    Facebook noted that MAUs only access the company’s services through mobile devices is at 254 million

     

    With a total of 1.19 billion Facebook MAUs, the company grew 2.3 per cent of MAUs that only use mobile devices to access it, from 19 per cent in Q2 2013 to 21.3 per cent in Q3 2013.

     

    According to the latest figures, Facebook mobile DAUs across the world are up by 38 million from Q2 2013, whereas MAUs are up by 55 million from the same period.

  • 24 has attracted youngsters to TV: Anil Kapoor

    24 has attracted youngsters to TV: Anil Kapoor

    KOLKATA: Whether it’s on the social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, or applauds from the Hollywood counterparts, Anil Kapoor’s Hindi adaptation of the international TV series, 24 has been received quite well.

     

    Basking in the glory of his debut television production, the actor on Wednesday said that the biggest achievement of the thriller is that it has managed to hook youngsters. “The best thing is that youngsters who never used to watch TV are hooked to it. They have something to watch now. Even men have something to watch on TV besides the family soaps. I have heard that women and kids also like it,” said Anil while addressing reporters.

     

    “Usually my family is divided in opinion when it comes to my ventures. There is groupism in my family, but everybody loves 24,” added the 56-year-old, who was last seen in films like Shootout At Wadala and Race 2.

     

    Directed by Abhinay Deo, 24 airs on Colors on Friday and Saturday. In the show, Anil plays the lead role of Jai Singh Rathod, the chief of an anti-terrorist unit. The show captures 24-hours of Rathod’s life where he struggles to prevent the assassination of a prime ministerial candidate and also save his daughter and wife who have been kidnapped by terrorists.

     

    Anil cleared the air about the show being adapted to the big screen saying he had only the rights to the TV format.

     

    When he was quizzed about not foraying on television earlier, Anil said, “I had been offered to judge reality shows, but I didn’t feel good enough. However, with 24, it felt like my calling. I have never been scared of failure and I thought the maximum that could happen was the show wouldn’t work,” he said.

     

    On a lighter note, he expressed how he wanted the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who recently announced his retirement plans from Test cricket, to continue playing cricket for the rest of his life. “I wish he could go on and on for life, but Test cricket is a physical sport, and gradually youngsters have to take over. The demands are tough on the body,” he said.

  • Campaigning on the web? Get a certification, says EC

    Campaigning on the web? Get a certification, says EC

    NEW DELHI: The world has gone digital and so has the Indian political system. With more and more political parties using social media for election campaigns, the election commission (EC) has now directed the chief electoral officers of all states and union territories that details of the social media accounts of the candidates (besides the recognised political parties) who are contesting elections have to be communicated to the commission.

     

    Candidates and political parties will now have to keep the EC posted about their social media accounts and websites used for campaigning, expenditure incurred for maintaining the sites and development of advertisement. Besides, the model code of conduct will also become applicable on the social media.  

     

    According to the commission, a candidate having an account on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or even apps, has to update the commission with their email ids.

     

    The EC has also stated that campaigning on the web will require pre-certification from competent authorities. No political advertisement can be released to any internet-based website, including social media sites without this pre-certification. This certificate is issued by the media certification and monitoring committees at the district and state level.

     

    Not only this, candidates and political parties in the statement submitted to the EC have to include all expenditure incurred on advertisements on social media. This includes: payments made to internet companies and websites for carrying their advertisements, money paid for developing such content for the web, as well as salaries and wages paid to the workers employed to maintain the social media accounts.

     

    The commission has also stated that the model code of conduct will be applicable to the content posted on the internet. However, the commission will consult the Communication and Information Technology Ministry on the content posted by persons other than the candidates and political parties.

  • Intex campaign becomes bigger, better for Aqua i7

    Intex campaign becomes bigger, better for Aqua i7

    Mumbai: As the smartphone market continues to grow at a brisk pace, the manufactures are coming up with better and bigger campaigns to promote their products.

    The multi-crore TVC was shot in Mumbai and Malaysia while the VFX and editing had been done out of Singapore, says Keshav Bansal

    This time, Intex has launched a new campaign for its latest smartphone, Aqua i7. The insight for the campaign came from a research highlighting Intex’s hold across major tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The TVC is done by an in-house team.

    Keeping in mind the target consumers for Aqua i7, the focus was to devise a TVC that will help in its aggressive marketing of the product in Tier 1 cities, majorly in the metros like Delhi, Mumbai and others.

    The phone comes with features packed at an aggressive price range of Rs 22,000 which is a huge leap from the 12,000 price range of its previous flagship smartphone. “The phone caters to a niche segment, therefore the richness and the elegance of the phone needs to be communicated to the audience through TVC. Thus, the objective was to communicate these features to the consumer in an engrossing manner,” said Intex Technologies director – marketing (mobile) Keshav Bansal.

    Talking about the key issues kept in mind while executing the TVC, Bansal says, “We wanted the TVC to focus on the remarkable features of Aqua i7 and hence the TVC was crafted in a way that it is able to etch these features in the mind of consumers with its visual grandeur. The multi-crore TVC was shot in Mumbai and Malaysia while the VFX and editing had been done in Singapore to give it an unmatched appearance. Since we are coming out with a quality product for a niche segment, we left no stones unturned in terms of execution, visual effects or editing to bring out a one of its kind TVC in the fastest possible time.”

    The TVC features the brand ambassador Frahan Akhtar and an action packed fight sequence between a Samurai and Ninja.

    The major media vehicles chosen are TV, print, outdoor hoardings and digital. “Intex is giving extra importance to social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter and is aggressively engaging with its customer base on these platforms,” emphasises Bansal.

  • LinkedIn unveils trio of mobile apps

    LinkedIn unveils trio of mobile apps

    MUMBAI: LinkedIn on Wednesday showed three mobile apps that aim to boost productivity of mobile professionals and capture on-the-go audiences.

    The professional network unveiled a new app called LinkedIn Intro along with a redesigned Pulse and LinkedIn iPad app. LinkedIn Intro is a mobile email product that allows users to have people’s LinkedIn account connected with popular email accounts so that they can immediately identify people.

    LinkedIn Intro works on iPhones and is available for download at Intro.LinkedIn.com and will hit Apple’s App store in coming months.

    “This adoption of smartphones over the last decade or so has really changed the way we think about products,” said LinkedIn senior VP of products and user experience Deep Nishar.

    LinkedIn senior VP of products and user experience Deep Nishar

    LinkedIn is experiencing explosive growth in users coming to its services from mobile devices, much like Facebook, Google and Twitter. About 38 per cent of its members visit from mobile

    For recruiting professionals, often out at job fairs and networking events, mobile apps that replace desktop functions are important tools.

    LinkedIn acquired Pulse in April for $ 90 million in stock and cash. Pulse’s popular news reader, started by two students while at Stanford University, had quickly become a sensation for its slick interface on touch screens ideal for flicking through news feeds. Under its relaunch, LinkedIn meshed many of its desktop features into Pulse, such as integration of its Influencer blogs.

    LinkedIn’s redesigned Pulse app will be available for download on iOS and Android for both smartphones and tablets in the coming week.

    Last week, LinkedIn unveiled ‘Recruiter Mobile’ and ‘Mobile Work With Us’, two popular desktop services adapted into apps for on-the-go use.

     

    ‘Recruiter Mobile’ will enable recruiting professionals to search for candidates, allowing them to send InMails, call or text. Also, recruiters can take notes on candidates and forward prospects to hiring managers.

    Recruiter is LinkedIn’s primary subscription service and is responsible for the largest portion of the company’s revenue. The product is used by more than 20,000 companies.

    LinkedIn’s new ‘Mobile Work With Us’ gives employers the ability to show job openings on the profiles of employees at their company. These job advertisements will appear at the top of member profiles.

    LinkedIn acquired CardMunch in January 2011 for an undisclosed sum. CardMunch’s mobile app allows people to take photos of business cards and convert them into their mobile contacts.

  • Himalaya new campaign created by Soho Square

    Himalaya new campaign created by Soho Square

    MUMBAI: Himalaya, a herbal health and personal care company, is set to release its latest campaign conceptualised by Soho Square to showcase its entire range of face care products.

    On the campaign, Himalaya drug company business head – consumer products division Rajesh Krishnamurthy, “Brand ‘Himalaya’ has evolved over the years to become a preferred brand among young consumers in the face care category. The success story started with Purifying Neem Face Wash and today we have a vast portfolio of over 15 face care products including face washes, packs and scrubs providing unique solutions to different skin problems. We wanted to build awareness on the complete range and bring out the problem-solution USP of our products. We also wanted to communicate to our consumers that their trusted Face Wash brand is now in a new avatar.”

    The TVC highlights the new packaging of the face care range. He added, “The brief to the agency was to come up with a simple, compelling creative that highlighted this news while building the brand values of trust and credibility. The TVC takes a different approach to storytelling and the music accompanying it is also catchy and appealing.”

    Reiterating this, Soho Square head of office Shenaz Bapooji said, “We had great fun while creating this advertisement especially because it was another 1st for brand Himalaya!”

    The commercial will debut on the popular GECs and will go live on Himalaya’s official Facebook page post the on-air release.

  • And now a 3D mobile game for Colors’ 24

    And now a 3D mobile game for Colors’ 24

    MUMBAI: It has been three weeks since Indian audiences have been introduced to a new fictional TV format in the form of real time story telling through the first international adaptation of the American hit 24. With a 360 degree marketing campaign – almost like that used for full length feature films – to help create the buzz around the series, host channel Colors has decided to perk it up by throwing in a sparkling digital ingredient for viewers.

    And it’s coming in the form of a 3D interactive mobile game for iOS and Android phones. Developed by Gameshashtra Solutions, it is targeted at those who want to have the thrill of playing Jai Singh Rathod (Anil Kapoor) – the main protagonist of the show – while on the go. Called ‘Safari Storme 24 – The Game’, it is available for download only in India. It will allow gamers to go through three maps of Worli, Dadar and Parel with 30 levels of two minutes each. As of now only the Worli route is available while the other two will be launched in the coming weeks.The first map of Worli is a rooftop setting.

    Four and a half months went into creating the 3D game. Fans will keep going through levels, scoring points, winning ammunition and then checking scores with others on the ‘leaderboard’ through their Facebook or Twitter accounts.

    “The three locations in the game are also there in the series,” says Colors digital head Vivek Srivastava. “We kept the game in the spirit of the show by taking the concept ‘race against time’ rather than the political drama in it,” he adds.

    Explaining the game technique Srivastava says that players have two ways of surviving – hit and survive or duck and survive. As the game levels progress, the enemies come in hordes and ammunition also stacks up.

    Coming up with a 3D game has probably cost sack fulls of money, apart from what has already been invested in the expensive show. But the channel seems to not be too worried about it.

    Vivek Srivastava is targeting a million downloads of the game

    “For the first season it is not about making money,” says Srivastava who is aiming at getting 1 million downloads for the free game. However, advertisements will be inserted into the game that would give them some amount of revenue.

    24 is Colors biggest fiction property created by Anil Kapoor Productions and Ramesh Deo Productions (RDP). Delly Belly director Abhinay Deo is the series director while Rensil D’Silva is the scriptwriter.

    The show is presented by Safari Storme while Next is one of the associate sponsors. The launch day saw it garner 3.4 million viewers with most of it coming from the urban areas while the second week saw it get an average of 2.6 million viewers.

    “Television executives in India are increasingly understanding that you can take a TV show into other experiences for viewers. Look at KBC which has a game which allows fans to test their general knowledge skills online and on the mobile. And now Colors has developed a 24 game which will allow youngsters and old alike to shoot, and kill while rising up in levels,” says a media observer. “The fact that it is primarily for the mobile will bring in a lot of fans who will play the game when they have a few minutes to spare, whether in the bus or the train or in between meetings. It’s a great move. Hopefully, some of the gamers who are not viewers of the series will be lured to watch it after playing the game.”

    Another media observer says that there is little hope of 24 ever becoming a massy series along the lines of soaps and dramas. “It’s great to flog the horse, but the horse only has that many backers,” says she. “Colors has gambled with 24 and it is to be lauded for the effort especially in terms of taking TV production and narrative to a different level. But it should bear in mind that 24 is going to be a niche affair for some time. So it should not expect too many incremental gains from the game as well.”

  • Get ready for an online adventure as Life of Pi premieres on Star Movies

    Get ready for an online adventure as Life of Pi premieres on Star Movies

    MUMBAI: It was one of the highest grossing Hollywood films in India in 2012. Now, as Life of Pi is slated for a TV premiere soon on Star Movies, the channel has come up with an innovative experiment to involve the viewers. Having acquired the telecast rights of the Oscar-winning film directed by Ang Lee, Star Movies will premiere the film on Sunday, 27 October at 1:00 pm and 9:00 pm. The channel is leaving no stone unturned to create the right buzz around the movie that will be broadcast as part of their most distinguished slot – “Hollywood Premiere”.

     

    To engage the audience well, the channel is using the interactive power of the digital medium to reach out to its audience by launching an experiential online journey based on the movie. “Most of the film has been shot in India and has Indian stars. Since we really believe that the premiere will fetch good results in the Indian market, we are planning a strategy that can pull more audience,” says Star Network (English channels) general manager Kevin Vaz, informing about an online game, “Life of I” that they are launching before the premiere of the film.

     

    The game invites viewers to experience the journey of a lifetime through the lens of Pi. The participants can log in to the game via Facebook where they have the chance to map out their own journey based on the events that transpire in the movie. The game has eight milestones. A player who crosses all the milestones becomes eligible for a trip to landmark locations where Life of Pi was shot – including Puducherry, Munnar and Taiwan, in addition to other prizes. A person who plays the entire game will also get a personalised video of their journey that will comprise a part of their Facebook journey. The video acts as a memoir of their journey as they live in real life their own version of the movie.

     

    Kevin says that the channel has taken the entire initiative to plan the trip for the winners. “We haven’t roped in travelling partners. We will be doing it on our own,” he adds.

     

    “Not just this, to create enough buzz, we have also created special videos shot with the stars of the movie that will give the audience an insight into the film’s making, with anecdotes that happened during the shooting of the film,” says Kevin, who thinks that an extra effort has to be made in order to get more audience and survive in the world of cut-throat competition. “Whenever we have made an extra effort to promote a show or a film, it has reaped good results. Case in point, the Academy Awards, which we promoted across mediums with new initiatives, gave us many viewers,” says Kevin, who thinks that very soon such efforts will be made with all big movie premieres.