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Tag: Ganapathy Viswanathan

  • PR story comes full circle as veteran pens India’s five-decade journey

    PR story comes full circle as veteran pens India’s five-decade journey

    MUMBAI: From press releases to power moves, Public Relations in India has been on quite the rollercoaster and now its story has been bound between covers. Communication veteran Ganapathy Viswanathan, who has spent over 30 years shaping brands at Ogilvy, Lintas, Mudra and Publicis, has launched a new book chronicling PR’s dramatic transformation across five decades.

    What began in the 1970s as a little-understood function has now grown into a strategic juggernaut that drives reputation, navigates crises, and even influences elections and sport. Viswanathan’s book captures this arc with real-world anecdotes and practical insights that make it both a guide for the young and a mirror for industry stalwarts.

    “PR today is about building trust, telling authentic stories, and engaging meaningfully with audiences across platforms. This book is my tribute to a profession that has the power to shape perceptions, influence decisions, and create lasting impact,” said Viswanathan at the launch.

    The chapters don’t shy away from today’s burning questions either: the talent crunch, the shifting roles of influencers and journalists, and how empathy has become as critical as strategy.

    For students, it’s a crash course in a craft that’s moved beyond “spin.” For professionals, it’s a reminder that PR is now central to boardrooms, not just newsrooms. And for India’s communication industry at large, it’s a milestone marker charting how far PR has come, and how much further it could go.

  • Will test retirement impact ‘Brand Dhoni’?

    Will test retirement impact ‘Brand Dhoni’?

    MUMBAI: Mahindra Singh Dhoni’s achievements suddenly seem to be a thing of the past. What immediately comes to mind is Dhoni’s stupendous victory as hugely popular ‘Captain Cool’ of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. 

     

    Dhoni recently announced his impending retirement from the test cricket format,  to supposedly concentrate better on ODI and T20 formats.  Close on the heels of this news, came the announcement that Dhoni had been declared the team’s captain of the Indian squad, at the forthcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

     

    His on-field, cool ‘dude’ charms and his exciting and varied hairstyles, have hitherto made him quite the favourite with various Indian brands. Not surprisingly, late last year, he was the only Indian sports person to figure on Forbes list of the world’s most valuable athlete brands. Ranked at the fifth position, with a mammoth brand value of $20 million, he was darting ahead of sprinter Usain Bolt and even edged football giants like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who were placed at the sixth, seventh and ninth position, respectively. But will the recent announcement grossly affect his brand value or his new signings? Only time will tell…

     

    Celebrity and sports management firm, CAA KWAN’s COO, Indranil Das Blah, feels his retirement from test cricket will definitely impact his erstwhile huge brand value. “Being the captain of the Indian test cricket team, he is pretty much the statesman of Indian cricket, but now brands will see him retiring slowly as he winds down his career.” When questioned if his performance at the ICC World Cup 2015 could impact his brand value, he goes on to say, “If the team manages to do well and even win, Dhoni’s brand value could be bigger than ever before. Therefore, if the team is not successful, the captain’s brand value will simultaneously diminish rapidly. So, all rests on the World Cup.”

     

    The cricketer currently endorses close to 20 different brands in categories ranging from FMCG, telecom to real estate. He also co-owns the Chennaiyin FC team of the Hero Indian Super League, a fitness chain called SportsFit and the Ranchi team for the Hockey India League, along with Sahara India Pariwar. He is the face and his wife Sakshi Singh Rawat, holds a 25 per cent stake in Amrapali Mahi Developers, which is a joint venture between the sports personality and the firm.

     

    According to Eureka Mobile Advertising’s senior vice president Ganapathy Viswanathan, the move won’t see any impact on his brand fees. “I do not see his brand value being affected. For the simple reason that at the end of the day, cricket has become an entertainment-based game. He is still in the exciting part of the game like ODIs and Twenty20s.  Therefore, I do not see his brand value being diluted. Maybe, it will not go up phenomenally, but it will remain stable.”

     

    GroupM ESP India entertainment sports and live events national director Vinit Karnik, on the other hand, opines that Dhoni’s brand value will not be impacted in the short term this year, as he will still be playing the game’s marquee events like the World Cup and the Indian Premiere League (IPL). “But subsequently, in 2016, there could be an impact. Post 2015, there will definitely be some correction, even if he does well at the World Cup.”

  • Eureka Mobile to launch Video on Mobile

    Eureka Mobile to launch Video on Mobile

    MUMBAI: Eureka Mobile a leading live engagement platform on mobile brings another first in the form of video on mobile. Mobile has now become the first screen,but watching videos on the mobile screen is an excruciatingly painful experience. The user spends a lot of time waiting for buffering and for a data connection. Which is where Eureka’s technology team, in its constant endeavor to innovate, has launched an exciting asset, VIDEO on Tap. No more waiting ….no need for an active data connection at the time of watching the video, all one has to do is just tap the mobile screen and enjoy the VIDEO without any buffering and interruptions.

     

    With the increase in watching video content online amongst many Indians on their smart phones and PC, the Indian video advertising market is expected to more than double this year, according to IAMAI estimates.  In 2013-14, the market was $55 million and the latest IAMAI estimates put the 2014-15 numbers at $115 million. Globally, the video advertising market was estimated to be $4.15 billion in 2013, according to eMarketer.

    From a brand point of view it will help to target both the B2C and B2B audience. In the case of B2C the advertiser can target their audience any time anywhere with precision. While for B2B audience it can reach both the internal and external stakeholders with relevant messages to stay connected and engage with them constantly.

    According to Ganapathy Viswanathan, Senior Vice President, Eureka Mobile Advertising, VIDEO on Tap is one of its kind. “We have addressed some of the major challenges a viewer faces while viewing video on mobile. Our primary objective was to delight the customer with great viewing experience, which we have successfully attainedand we have also received some excellent reviewsand feedback from many of the prospective advertisers. We are now in talks with several brands to leverage our platform and engage live with the audience on the go.”

    Eureka is a leading engagement platform on the Mobile. We leverage the idle screen of the smartphone to send out precise marketing communication to the opt-in audience. With Mobile fast becoming the Screen of choice, Eureka provides the advertisers an opportunity to reach out to their target audience in the intimacy of their mobile devices at the time of their choosing. Eureka’s proprietary technology provides advertisers an opportunity for guaranteed engagement with the audience and the analytics engine is able to track the life-cycle of the copy served to the opt-in audience.

     

  • This Diwali should I gift Chocolates or Mithai?

    This Diwali should I gift Chocolates or Mithai?

    All of us know that as Diwali is nearing there is always a debate; should I gift Chocolates or mithai at home, to my friends and my business partners. It’s been a tradition that every part of India celebrates this great festival of lights by sharing joy and happiness with sweets. But over a period of time as the new generation has entered this world there has also been a marginal deviation in the thinking when it comes to gifting and sharing sweets during diwali. This is partially because of the strategy adopted by many chocolate brands (which include homemade chocolate brands and products from the big MNC’s) who have entered this market to capture some share of the mithai market during this great festival across India. Let’s look at some key differentiators between the two.

     

    1.      Traditional & Emotional: Diwali is a festival which has lot of history and tradition which date backs to many years.  Most of them love to preserve the values of traditions connected with sweets made and prepared at home. These traditionally prepared sweets bring in plenty of love and emotional expressions when they are exchanged with your relatives, family members and friends. While the promotional campaigns of many chocolate brands try to bring the emotions through their advertising but they are not able to capture the real essence that a mithai is able to deliver. Every ingredient that goes into a mithai has that warmth and emotional connection with the audience which touches his or her heart.

     

    2.      Wider Choice: There is no limit when you think of preparing mithai. Since mithai is very meticulously prepared by hand the touch of authenticity further enhances its taste, which is missing in chocolates though some brands try to use some special ingredients to come closer to the mithai. The good old parents and grandparents always relish the wider choice that one has when it comes to mithai. The natural ingredients have more positive impression as compared to the artificial flavors.

     

    3.      Pricing v/s Presentation: Mithai’s are still easily affordable as the prices are not so steep. You have a larger choice to pick from. You can taste it at the sweet shop before you decide to buy your preferred mithai.  And when you prepare it at home you can use genuine ingredient to make it healthier, tasty and less expensive. This is not true with Chocolates but when it comes to Corporate gifting due to its attractive packaging and presentation Chocolates scores over the mithai.

     

    4.      Innovative & Delicious: One can experiment lot of innovation while preparing a Mithai and that has been the hallmark of traditional sweets. One of the most popular items that have caught over the years has been the mithai for health conscious audience. This is prepared from quality dry fruits which are preferred over the chocolates by many diabetics as chocolates are perceived to be more rich and sweet. But chocolates have a larger shelf life compared to mithai and therefore it has an added advantage as compared to mithai when gifting to the corporate and sending it out of station through couriers, to far off friends.

     

    Both chocolates and mithais have their merits and demerits when it comes to sharing and gifting during diwali. But with the change in the audience pattern there is a different point of view between the two. While mithai has still stuck to the core values of maintaining the traditional image but the chocolates has wooed the new generation audience with their product and packaging to explore chocolates instead of mithai every diwali and every other festive season.

     

    Let us wait and watch the various marketers in this category are planning and what would be their strategy to woo the mithai audience.

     

    (These are purely personal views of Ganapathy Viswanathan, who is an independent communication consultant with over two decades of experience in branding, communication and public relations, and indiantelevision.com does not subscribe to these views.)

     

     

     

  • Puja festival – A great platform for brands to engage

    Puja festival – A great platform for brands to engage

    MUMBAI: Many brands are planning to use the puja festival at various pandals to engage with the consumers. The product range can be as wide as possible. Starting from soya bean nuggets to aerated products brands can make use of this huge platform as a great place for engaging and delivering experiences to the worshippers who will throng in huge numbers across several pandals especially in East and North India. Brands must leverage this opportunity as they are able to address a wide spectrum of audience from kids to adults to elderly people; and thus helping brands to deliver that extra mile through brand experience. Let’s examine how brands can enrich themselves and establish a strong connect with the audience at the various pandals.

     

    Relevant Brand Connect: The essence of the brand should be captured with firsthand experience. Vijayadhsami is the most auspicious day for most parents to make their kids learn and start their beginning to step into the educational world. This is a brilliant opportunity for writing instrument brands to connect with tomorrow’s audience. Catch them young to stay connected with your brand. People especially in the East are avid travelers and sincerely make use of their LTA to visit new holiday spots. Travel and tourism brands should try and explore it to the maximum advantage by capturing some of the tourist spots in the most dramatic manner to bring them closer to the brand.

     

    Right Brand Experience:  Give a proper structure to deliver the brand experience. For example an audio and television brand can create a mini auditorium to deliver great sound and picture clarity to give the consumer that original and natural experience at the venue. Brands like Dolby can really capitalise by educating and promoting their sound features with live demonstration and firsthand experience.

     

    Interactive engagement: Make use of the best of technology to make your consumer engagement interactive. Touch screens and use of apps will intrigue customers to take maximum advantage. With so many Pandals located at various places, downloading of apps at the venue which gives you all information on various activities at various pandals will excite the consumers to download the information using their mobile. Some famous devotional songs can also be made available for downloading at the venue to bring in some emotional connect with the festival and the relevant brand.

     

    Relevant Target audience: You will witness people from all strata of the society queuing up at all pandals. So one need not worry about the brand fit to be present at the pandals. A mixed population can be reached with the relevant product and brand and thus giving you an immense opportunity for branding your product at various touch points.

     

    With the economy slow down and limited marketing budgets, I am sure most brands will use this platform to propagate their brands in the most engaging manner. What’s more with festivals like Puja becoming popular year after year it’s one of the best platforms for marketers to pump in money and increase their brand saliency.
    By Ganapathy Viswanathan, an independent communication consultant, in communication, branding and public relations.