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Tag: Google India

  • Google India unveils new initiative for SMBs

    Google India unveils new initiative for SMBs

    MUMBAI: In a bid to provide deeper engagement to small medium businesses (SMBs), who are looking to gain from the rising Internet user base in the country, Google India has launched a new initiative called Google Advantage.

     

    The initiative will entail Google hosting an offline symposium to educate small medium businesses on the benefits of the Internet and also provide one-on-one consultation on how to use the latest online tools and technologies and meet their business objectives.

     

    Speaking about the initiative, Google India head of small medium business marketing Sapna Chadha said, “Small and medium businesses in India have been a strategic focus for Google. In the last four years, we have rolled out several initiatives that are aimed to equip small medium businesses to get an online presence and use the digital platform to grow their business. With this initiative, we wanted to provide SMBs a platform to get direct access to Google and gain through deeper engagement and one-on-one consultations. We expect over 4000 small medium businesses to attend the program this week.” 

     

    The initiative in Delhi will be executed in partnership with Google agency partners IPG Mediabrands.

     

    IPG Mediabrands CEO Shashi Sinha said, “We’re delighted to partner with Google for this initiative. Google Advantage is a great platform for small medium businesses to connect and learn about the scope of online medium. There is a huge potential for modernization and adoption of newer marketing technology amongst SMBs in India to grow their business.”

     

    Out of the estimated 51 million small medium businesses, only five – six per cent have online presence. Studies done by Google indicate that at least 20 per cent of India’s SMBs are already equipped with the infrastructure to leverage technology but need the help of digital experts to help them navigate some of the complexities of navigating the constantly changing digital landscape.

     

    The initiative is designed to help small medium businesses get first hand information from Google in a format that will encourage SMBs to share their challenges and learn directly from Google experts. The event will be held in Delhi from 7 – 12 September, 2015 and extend to more cities basis the feedback.

  • “I’m optimistic that BARC will be able to measure all screens very soon:” Shashi Sinha

    “I’m optimistic that BARC will be able to measure all screens very soon:” Shashi Sinha

    MUMBAI: Stressing on the importance of measurement, IPG Mediabrands CEO Shashi Sinha is of the opinion that with the way things are shaping up along with technological advancements, India’s new television ratings measurement body Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India will be able to measure all screens very soon and not just television.

     

    Giving a keynote at a media review organised by The Ad Club of India, Sinha said, “If you cannot measure, you cannot control. In India, measurement is not always about science and technology, it’s also about giving stakeholders a perspective. The television industry is migrating from TAM to BARC and hence witnessing a lot of glitches. But going forward with how things are shaping up and the technologies that BARC is using I am optimistic that BARC will be able to measure all the screens very soon. It is very important to have common matrices and single source when it comes to measurement.”

     

    Sinha also expressed his anguish about the fact that besides having so many powerful associations, India does not have an organised measurement mechanism.

     

    The media review was organised to discuss the challenging issue: Continuous Partial Attention (CPA) of Audiences and was attended by key media, advertising and marketing veterans.

     

    The theme of the discussion was ‘Is Anyone Listening,’ which began with Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) executive committee chairman Pradeep Guha announcing the road map of Ad Asia Summit, which will be hosted by Taipei in November. Every year, the India delegation is led by a stalwart from either media, advertising or marketing agency. Guha announced, “2015 India delegate in Ad Asia will be led by Colors CEO Raj Nayak and the emphasis will be around digital – the theme of 2015 Ad Asia.”

     

    Media veteran Meenakshi Menon threw light on the lack of communication between the advertiser, agency and client. “The model we are following is totally broken. The advertising model cannot move like an ostrich in a lightening fast world. India has always shown the world how to do work differently.”

     

    Highlighting the factors that play a pivotal role in bringing about agency reviews for accounts, Menon’s said, “Change of CMO – 63 per cent, business performance – 78 per cent, creative dissatisfaction – 59 per cent, general relationship – 56 per cent and compensation – seven per cent. Discount can be an icing on the cake but can never be the reason behind the selection of an agency. Additionally, there is a strong distrust amongst clients and agencies, which needs to be addressed and worked. Moreover, the guys in advertising need to believe in themselves.”

     

    Contradicting Menon’s viewpoint, Google India agency business director Punitha Arumugham said, “Agencies are the most effective listeners in the business and they are doing some good and progressive work. They are the only stakeholders in the fraternity, who listen to everybody.”

     

    Arumugam abbreviated ‘Listen’ from the topic’s ‘Is Anyone Listening,’ wherein L stood for Leverage Insights, I for Investigative Features, S for Seek moments, T for Think Moonshots, E for Employ Curious People and N was for Never stop being amazing.”   

     

    In his end note, moderator of the panel discussion, Madison World chairman and managing director Sam Balsara left the audience to ponder over a few pertinent questions. “With new ratings and measurement bodies coming in, should the fundamentals and principles remain same or should they also change with the change of mechanisms?” he asked. Balsara also threw light on the inconsistencies in subscription fees while referring to the migration from BARC and TAM but accepted the fact that measurement is an essential tool as, “matrices are the building bricks of any plan,” he concluded.

  • Rural India to dominate next set of internet users

    Rural India to dominate next set of internet users

    MUMBAI: India, with over 300 million internet users, is the second largest mobile market of the world, only after China. But, 300 million out of 1.2 billion population, surely leaves a lot of room for improvement. Urban India dominates 33 per cent of India’s total population, which means the next set of internet users will majorly come from the rural part, where people mostly communicate in their regional language.

    The recently launched ‘Internet Saathi’ initiative by Google India in association with Tata Trusts and Intel promises to bridge the language gap. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Google south east Asia and India VP and managing director Rajan Anandan said, “Google will introduce more and more regional languages with more technical upgradations. Also, the voice search feature will be strengthened to make the use of internet easier for the rural part of the country.”

    As per analysis, in the first six months of 2015, India is estimated to have added 52 million internet users of which 50 per cent (26 million) have come from rural India. For the first time India is going to witness equal growth rate.

    But the discrimination of internet is not only limited to rural and urban, but very much evident in male and female also. A large part of rural India considers internet as a tool for male counterpart. Only 12 per cent women from rural India uses internet and it is highly important to change this mindset, do away with the fear and make women from rural India active part of internet explosion.

    “We are working with various partners to help spread awareness about the benefits of being online amongst women. While we have now started the ‘Internet Saathi’ initiative, in association with Tata Trusts and Intel, earlier we had launched a new film to inspire young digital natives to bring their mothers online. There are a large number of educated women in India with internet access in their households, but they still do not use it. We are targeting them with our initiative,” informed Google country marketing director India Sandeep Menon.

    India now has over 100 million online shoppers, 200 million plus wireless internet users, 140 million smartphones, over 85 million 3G users out of which 9.3 million were added in past three months. But when Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks about ‘Digital India’, he dreams of 1.2 billion people benefiting from digital. But to achieve that, the rural-urban, male-female barrier needs to be tarnished as soon as possible with various initiatives.

    When it comes to frequency of internet usage, reports signify that a good 61 per cent of users are daily users. About 18 per cent access internet several times a day, 10 per cent users at least use it once a day and 33 per cent access it on all seven days of the week.

    If we take the example of mobile phones, the multiplications happened only once the device was made affordable in the rural and sub urban part of the country. India is a mass country with aspiration in every eyes and internet, if used adequately, can be a tool to achieve dreams in rural part where hi-tech education is yet to reach.

    Also, e-commerce can grow at a double speed if rural India starts shopping online. While infrastructure and pricing of wireless data puts India on the back foot, Initiatives like ‘Digital India’ and ‘Internet Saathi’ enthralls optimism. It remains to be seen how Modi, Google, Tata, Ambani, Mittal strategises to take internet to rural India.  

  • “I am delighted that PM has given preference and priority to digitise India:” Ratan Tata

    “I am delighted that PM has given preference and priority to digitise India:” Ratan Tata

    MUMBAI: In a marquee philanthropic move, Tata Trusts has teamed up with Google India to take internet closer to women of rural India with its ‘Internet Saathi’ initiative. The move comes at a time when India is celebrating ‘Digital India Week’.

     

    The initiative has been built on the philosophy that it is important to digitise the entire country and not just a particular geography or gender.

     

    Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata at the time of launch of the initiative said, “It’s a privilege for us (Tata Trusts) to join hands with Google, a company I vastly admire because of the way it has digitised billions of people with its broad connectivity.”

     

    Tata further added, “It took 7 to 10 years for India to popularise telephone, but today, right from a pan wala to a rickshaw driver, there are millions using the mobile phone. They can buy a prepaid sim and use the device and that has helped in enhancing their self respect and has brought education and knowledge closer to them. Such is the power of internet. I am delighted that our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has given preference and priority to digitise India.”   

     

    India is a booming market when it comes to mobile phones and wireless internet. “It’s absolutely unbelievable. No one thought India would have so many mobile phone users who are now gradually transforming into smartphone consumers. It’s very essential for women in rural India to earn their livelihood and be self dependent. I hope this initiative takes internet closer to them and takes commerce closer to them. I wish luck to Google, Intel and my colleagues at Tata Trusts,” he concluded. 

  • Tata Trusts, Google India and Intel team up to launch Internet Saathi

    Tata Trusts, Google India and Intel team up to launch Internet Saathi

    MUMBAI: The definition of philanthropy is changing with time. In a philanthropic move and in keeping with the ‘Digital India’ campaign started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, business giant Tata Trusts and digital ruler Google India have tied up to launch a special programme called ‘Internet Saathi’ to empower women and their communities in rural India by enabling them to use internet and benefit from it in their daily lives.

     

    The joint initiative is aimed at bridging the technology gender divide, which currently puts women in rural India at further risk of getting marginalized in the society as the world around them benefits from going online. The ‘Internet Saathi’ initiative adds on to the ‘Digital India’ vision of the country. The launch event was also attended by Tata Trusts chairman Ratan Tata.

     

    The initiative will provide basic training on the usage and benefits of internet for women through specially designed internet cycle carts which will be used to visit areas in villages which women can easily access and also learn more from the internet.

     

    Built on the back of a cycle, the cart is modeled on India’s traditional distribution system that is used to carry everything right from ice-creams to industrial supplies. The operator or the ‘Internet Saathi’ keen to train the women, would be akin to the village postman who was the single point contact for the village with the outside world both in terms of information as well as communication. Tata Trusts, with its vast field based ecosystem, will manage the on-ground rollout with its partners whereas Google will invest in providing the internet-enabled carts and the training content.

     

    Google South East Asia and India VP and managing director Rajan Anandan said, “While women are making rapid progress on adoption of internet in urban areas, women in rural India are being left behind. Today only 12 per cent of internet users in rural India are women. We need to come together to address this challenge and empower women in rural India through training and programmes that can truly transform their lives. We are delighted to partner with the most respected and well known Tata Trusts who have years of experience in managing programmes of this scale. By combining our strengths, I am confident that we can achieve great results and overcome the challenges of providing easy access and digital education to women in rural India.”

     

    “Tata Trusts strongly believes that innovative use of technology should be at the core of all its interventions that are undertaken for the benefit of the communities. Internet connectivity has become a fundamental need in any society and improves literacy and access to information that is instrumental for socio-economic development. We are glad that this joint initiative with Google will reach out to the rural communities, especially women in our country and we are confident that it will contribute towards their empowerment and also self-sustenance,” Tata Trusts executive trustee R Venkataramanan.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Google country marketing director India Sandeep Menon asserted, “With this initiative we will educate and empower women of rural India about internet and take them a step closer to entrepreneurship which will enable them to be self dependent. The next set of internet users will be totally different as majority of them will come from the rural part so it’s very important to make them aware about internet.”

     

    The initiative will also be supported by Intel who has been a long term partner of Google India’s Helping Women Get Online initiative. “We believe that the vision of Digital India will empower every Indian citizen with equal opportunities irrespective of cast, creed and gender. At Intel, we believe that skill development and innovation are imperative for realizing the Digital India vision and we are very proud to collaborate with Google and Tata Trusts on the ‘Helping Women Get Online’ initiative especially as we celebrate the Digital India Week,” said Intel vice president SMG, managing director- South Asia Debjani Ghosh.

     

    The initiative will kick off from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jharkhand and will be rolled out across the country eventually reaching out to over 4500 villages and 5 lakh women and rural communities across rural India over the next eighteen months. The internet cart would be available in the village for a minimum of two days every week for over a period of four to six months. It will create awareness and also try to ensure that adequate training is provided to use the devices till women are confident of using them independently. Once the cart has completed the training in a cluster of three villages, it will be moved to the adjoining cluster for completion of a similar cycle. The training of women, and the community at large would be ensured by involving SHG federations / local NGO members as trainers.

     

    Google’s helping women get online is an initiative to create awareness about the benefits of internet amongst 50 million women in India. Under this initiative, Google conducts various outreach and educational programmes. The programme includes an awareness module, coupled with hands-on training modules aimed at teaching women how to use the internet, including via mobile devices. Since the launch of this initiative, Google has directly trained over 1.5 million women on the basics of the internet.

  • InstaLively raises $120,000 from Angel investors

    InstaLively raises $120,000 from Angel investors

    NEW DELHI: InstaLively, the first mobile app in the world, which can live stream directly in HD from any android phone to YouTube, has recently raised $120,000 from six Angel Investors.

     

    InstaLively is the first end-to-end live streaming solution, available both on mobile and the desktop.

     

    The six Angel Investors, who have invested about Rs 75 lakhs ($120,000) into this new venture includes Outbox Ventures’ Niraj Singh, MeraEvents, Google India MD Rajan Anandan, Slideshare co-founder Amit Ranjan, GSF founder Rajesh Sawhney and German investor AECAL.

     

    The primary aim of the fundraise is to capture the global live streaming market. The target market includes events ranging from entertainment to corporate to personal events (like birthday parties and weddings). 

     

    In the past two months, the company has successfully piloted with marquee clients like Google, Mary Kom, NASSCOM for Start-ups, NrityaBharati, GSF, Meraevents and Belgian Embassy amongst others.
     

    InstaLively helps broadcast videos to the cloud in just a single click. The technology is such that using the InstaLively mobile app, one can live stream to YouTube directly from an Android phone with a single click. Moreover, InstaLively has also builtDesktop Apps (Windows & Mac) to live stream from a professional camera.

     

    The USP of InstaLively is that it integrates seamlessly into one’s YouTube channel and has two live streaming modes – “Do-it-Yourself” OR “Get External Help.” In the latter, the nearest videographer comes to your location on the click of a button to live stream or record the event into your YouTube channel.

     

    InstaLively co-founder Karthik Vaidyanath said, “Our technology is way superior to live streaming apps like Meerkat, Stre.am or any other app doing the rounds lately. Cross-platform low bandwidth video delivery is important in Asian market and closely integrating with YouTube, InstaLively facilitates it way better than any other LiveStreaming solution in the market today.”

     

    Sawhney added, “InstaLively is bringing together the video delivery capabilities of YouTube with the real time reach of Social Media.”

  • Google India launches #TogetherOnline initiative

    Google India launches #TogetherOnline initiative

    MUMBAI: In its efforts to gather support for more women to get on the Internet, Google India has launched an initiative #TogetherOnline in association with Snapdeal, Axis Bank, HUL and GSK. The new initiative aims to encourage Internet users to step up and help women get on the Internet and understand how she can use the web to get ahead in life.

     

    The nine week along initiative, will see a number of activities across India, starting with a concert with Farhan Akhtar to raise awareness amongst the youth in metro cities. Axis Bank will host special digital literacy workshops for women customers in their branches across India, whereas Snapdeal will run awareness campaigns amongst its shoppers and educate women on the entrepreneurial opportunities on their platform. To take the initiative to interiors of India, Google will also launch 500 custom designed Internet carts that will reach out to 5000 locations to engage women in towns and villages across India.

     

    Google India director marketing Sandeep Menon said, “Internet has completely transformed the way we live our lives. Everyday people are discovering new opportunities and finding newer and better ways of doing things on the web to get ahead in life. We want to encourage all these users to extend this power of the web to women in India. #togetheronline is an effort to empower women in India with the knowledge of Internet and how they can use it to do different things in their daily lives. We along with our partners will host a number of initiatives to play our part and we invite all Internet users to play their part and help get more women online.”

     

    In addition to this, Google has partnered with PopXo to cover easy to know and follow steps for day to day living for various categories. The aim of this partnership is to promote digital literacy amongst women.

     

    Axis Bank group executive and head – retail marketing Rajiv Anand said, “As Axis Bank, progress is a part of our identity, our DNA. And we believe that empowering women is integral to the progress of our society. With the Indian woman today transforming from being a key influencer to a decision maker, it is important for her to be empowered with information. We are proud to be championing this cause in association with Google, to bring knowledge at the click of a button and help get more and more Indian women online.”

     

    GSK Consumer Healthcare India marketing head Prashant Pandey added, “The bond between mothers and daughters has always been a unique and everlasting one. From 1896, Horlicks has been helping mothers make their daughters tall, strong and sharp. Today we are delighted to partner Google for their ‘Helping Women Get Online’ – an initiative that encourages daughters to help their mothers go online to stay aware and connected. This is yet another way of saying #LoveYouMaa like our recent digital film celebrating the universal truth that only mothers can give what they don’t have.”

     

    Google has already introduced a number of initiatives to help get more women online through partnerships with various state governments and outreach efforts in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and more recently in Andhra Pradesh. Under the helping women get online initiative, Google has imparted basic Internet training across 950 educational institutes training over 45,000 girl students and over 5000 teachers who can continue to educate and inform more girl students across India.

  • E-commerce, the Santa Claus this Diwali

    E-commerce, the Santa Claus this Diwali

    With the festival of lights knocking at the door and gifting at its peak, the-commerce portals are raining flash sales, lucky draws, special portfolios and exclusive product launches. The season which kicked off the with the Big Billion Day by Flipkart to the week- long Diwali Dhamaka Sale from Amazon, the online buzz is getting louder each day.

    The portals, flushed with money from recent fund-raising efforts, are lining up steep discounts, exclusive merchandise, cash-back schemes, and other promotional offers for this year’s festive season, giving them an opportunity to sell more, gain market share and increase their valuations.

    According to Team Pumpkin co-founder Swati Nathani, the period of October till January is considered great for retail sales, starting with festive buying for Pujo and Diwali, to winter shopping in November, party shopping in December and then End of Season Sale in January. “The season sees an approximate 200-300 per cent increase from the average e-commerce sales. Obviously, post Diwali sales will not match to the level of Diwali, but on an average they are 20-30 per cent higher than average period sales,” said Nathani.

     

    Amazon India

    For the festive season, the e-commerce giant is offering discounts with minimum 16 per cent and maximum of up to 56 per cent discounts on products like laptops, mobiles, household items and home appliances. The e-retailer is giving up to 70 per cent discounts on home appliances, clothing & accessories, gifts, gadgets and jewellery along with an additional cash back offer on purchases made by Citibank cards.

    Talking about the Diwali, the offers and discounts, Amazon India country manager & VP Amit Agarwal said that the customers can look forward to Amazon.in as their one-stop Diwali shopping destination and that Amazon is offering its Indian customers great savings on thousands of products every hour through its discounts and offers.

    On 21 September,  Amazon.in kicked-off the 30 day online Shopping Dhamaka ahead of the peak festival season offering customers thousands of exciting new deals & offers on the hottest products; new store launches; first access to unique selections & premium brands,  exciting contests, etc.

    As part of the Online Shopping Dhamaka, Amazon.in hosted two major events including ‘Mission to Mars’ weekend between 4-6 October dedicated to the success of India’s Mangalyaan mission and the Diwali Dhamaka Week between 10-16 October.

    “We are humbled by the tremendous response from customers to the Online Shopping Dhamaka and all events hosted as part of this.  The response from customers on the first day of the Diwali Dhamaka Week went beyond our wildest expectations as we surpassed our biggest day. Traffic on that day was 200 per cent more than that on our previous biggest day. We are seeing a massive interest from all over the country including tier 2 markets like Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Surat, Vizag, Coimbatore, Patna, Bhopal, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Lucknow,” said an Amazon spokesperson.

    “Our seller clubs that have Rs 1 million+ & Rs 1 crore+ weekly sales increased by 44 per cent & 26 per cent respectively during the Diwali Dhamaka Week and sellers received orders from 868 non-metro cities,” he added.

    Electronics and Kitchen product categories grew by nearly six times during the Diwali Dhamaka week. In addition, we have received an overwhelming response from customers to all the exclusive launches that have taken place on Amazon.in during this period.

    “We have sold over 130,000 Micromax Canvas Android One smartphones, over 100,000 Coke Zero cans within two weeks of its launch, the Blackberry Passport has gone out-of-stock and we have sold hundreds of audio products of House of Marley,” the spokesperson informed.

    They also launched special festive design packaging and introduced gift boxes and gift wrapping paper in colours that match with the artwork on the gift boxes for Diwali.

     

    Flipkart-Myntra

    After offering crazy massive discounts on the Big Billion Day, raising Rs 600 crore as well as sending an apology letter to all its customers, Flipkart seems to have toned it down a bit.

    However, the industry that is currently surviving on discounts, the home-grown e-tailer is giving offers on select products. The site is hosting an electronic mela, giving massive discounts on televisions, camera, Smartphones, home appliances and others. The portal is offering 45-50 percent on home appliances like mixer grinders and induction cook-tops.

    The e-retailer is also holding an App lucky draw, where the lucky ones can win 3 days/2 nights holiday packages along with an additional cash back offer on purchases made by an SBI card.

    The e-commerce portal recently acquired the fashion portal Myntra as well as raised funds worth $1 billion.

    “Our aim is to help our sellers provide the best possible shopping options to our customers such that both sellers and customers benefit,” said a Flipkart spokesperson, talking about the Diwali sales.

    While the Bengaluru based portal is being cautious, its acquisition Myntra is giving discounts like 30 per cent off on no minimum value, up to 60 per cent off on festive collection and launching new private brands, Indian as well as international etc. Myntra has launched an exciting Diwali campaign ‘Myntra Cracker of a Sale’ from 7 -25 October.

    Myntra chief operating officer Ganesh Subramanian said, “Diwali is a period of festivity and cheer, where all of us buy new clothes, and want to ‘Look Good.’ The ‘Myntra Cracker of a Sale’ boasts of exciting brand offers from over 500 marquee brands and will also include exclusive collections from leading brands and designers which will be available only on Myntra.com.”

    “At Myntra, we are not restricting celebration only to clothes, but have also extended a personalized style service, the Style Helpline, where Myntra’s expert stylists will be available to answer everything from simple style queries to advice on getting the perfect festive look,” he added.

    Talking about the sales target, Subramanian revealed, “We expect it to be a record breaking Diwali, with over 3X growth in sales as compared to last year.”

    The fashion e-tailer also designed a ‘Made for Myntra Collection,’ which includes over 5,000 exclusive styles and collections by some of the most respected designers and brands like FCUK, UCB, Elle, SuperDry, Biba, FabIndia and Antony Moratto.

    The company is offering every shopper with assured money back with every order – minimum Rs 100 up to Rs 1 lakh and five gold vouchers from Tanishq, to be won every day.

     

    Snapdeal

    All set to lure customers to its portal, Snapdeal is offering 50 per cent off and 1+1 offer on many of its products. The Delhi-based e-tailer is also offering 60-70 per cent discount on mobile phones and gadgets.

    “The intention is to try and cater to every single consumer. Because we are trying to cater to everyone, we have products for everyone. There has been a big ensemble of celebrities, who have come on board for the same,” said Snapdeal VP-offline marketing Maneesh Goel.

    “We are aiming to double our normal sales this festive period like last year,” revealed Goel who added that the company is already seeing a 30 per cent increase in its daily order and sales average. Snapdeal recently crossed $1 billion (over Rs 6,100 crore) in sales this fiscal.

    The portal is offering up to 50 per cent discounts on home appliance, up to 40 per cent on watches, around 50 per cent on gadgets along with 1+1 offers on ethnic wears, footwear, clutches etc.

     

    Google India

    Celebrating the occasion, the search-engine giant Google has launched ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ to cash in on the festival of lights.

    Google has also set up a ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ website, which provides two activities that Indians love to indulge in: shopping and entertainment.

    The powered by sponsor for the site is Amazon India while the presented by sponsor is Lakme. Other sponsors for the site include OLX, Fiat, Line messenger, Horlicks among others. It has also partnered with Shah Rukh Khan’s Happy New Year, which is set to release on the day after Diwali.  

    It allows users from across India to try out everyday products through samples at Re 1, play games that are in sync with the cultural moment, stream movies for free and watch great content from the upcoming film Happy New Year.

    At the ‘Grand Diwali Mela,’ consumers can also experience gaming via a platform called Centerstage Hungama.com. On this online ‘zone’, consumers can stream two Bollywood films of their choice. A game called Diwali Chakri has been launched exclusively for this occasion. In association with Rummy Circle, it allows users to play with other card game enthusiasts across the country. Gaming hour will be from 9-10 pm and prizes include online offers and merchandise.

    Last month, Google stated plans of launching a virtual shopping and entertainment platform by tying up with the media buying agency GroupM. While GroupM is responsible for bringing brands onto the platform, Google provides the technical support.

    The website, which will run live till 22 October, invites patrons to try samples for products across various categories at just one rupee each, and to play and win awesome prizes and a chance to hang out with celebrities.

     

    Other sites

    Riding high on the festive season, CouponDunia, has brought together the country’s most popular e-commerce stores to give its users 30 exclusive offers over the next 15 days as part of ‘Deal-Wali Diwali’. These offers include: Rs 250 gift card on Rs 999 shopping for Amazon, Buy-1-Get-1-Free in Dominos, Flat 33 per cent off above Rs 2999 in FabFurnish, Flat 45 per cent off on Hotel Bookings at Goibibo, Flat Rs 500 off on Flights at Yatra.

    Jabong is also offering huge discounts on lifestyle products. On purchase of two products of American Swan, one can get one product of the company free. Apart from this, one can book a home with just Rs 999 under ‘Living Room Bonanza’ and will also be entitled to 20 per cent discount on total cost.

    With the massive discounts offered and customers being treated as kings, this Diwali marks the growth of the e-commerce sector in India. So, shop till the discounts last and we at Indiantelevision.com wish you a happy Diwali and a fun festive season.

     

  • Empowering women with internet can change India’s future, believes Google

    Empowering women with internet can change India’s future, believes Google

    MUMBAI: Google India today announced the launch of a new social campaign called #ReachForTheSky, in association with Farhan Akhtar’s MARD initiative to increase internet literacy among women in India.

     

    The joint campaign will also look to build support from existing Internet users and encourage more women to learn and use the internet to excel in their lives.

     

    Speaking about the campaign and the importance of getting women online, Google India VP and managing director Rajan Anandan said, “There are 616 million women in India and close to half are below the age of 25. Empowering the young women population with information and internet could transform India’s future.”

     

    In November 2013, Google India had launched its first digital literacy initiative campaign in India called ‘Helping Women Get Online’ (HWGO) in collaboration with Intel, HUL and Axis Bank.

     

    Along with boosting the overall internet adoption, the initiative aims to bridge the huge gender disparity prevalent India. “The first phase has been very successful. For the first time last year, the number of women using the internet has grown 35 per cent as against 31 per cent by men,” Anandan added.

     

    Anandan also revealed that this initiative is not a part of the company’s CSR and said, “Google’s mission is to get more people online and as the number of women using Internet increases, it would be a good thing for the country as well as the company.”

     

    Talking about the association and the launch of the campaign, Farhan Akhtar, said, “MARD is a progressive movement for a more gender equal world. There is lack of encouragement for women to use internet or technology and we need to come together to address this issue. Technology is not just the domain of men. I am excited to join this initiative, to gather support and encourage men to support and help young girls and women to learn and use the internet to improve lives.”

     

    Sharing more details about the campaign, Google India marketing head Sandeep Menon said, “Our mission is to help bring 50 million women online in India. In the last nine months we have undertaken a number of initiatives reaching over one million women across five states in India, covering 30 cities and 55 small towns.”

     

    The company has also been working closely with educational institutions for the campaign to reach the remotest parts of the country by imparting basic internet and computer training to students and teachers. The company has also have introduced HWGO Internet Cart, a mobile way of reaching out to women in villages to give them the internet experience and are planning to roll it across more states of the country.

     

    Talking about association with Akhtar, Menon reckoned, “Since the launch of HWGO, we have worked with a number of partners, HUL, Samsung, Aircel. One of the partners was MARD, and we soon realised our aims were very well aligned. It was a natural fit.”

     

    Menon also added that they would also launch two media campaigns. “Farhan will help us enroll multiple stars. There will be a number of familiar faces joining the cause as that is a powerful medium. Also, for people looking for facts and statistics, we will have a campaign that will provide statistical data to shake up people and inspire them to join the campaign.”

     

    To rope in more existing internet users to join the campaign to help get more women online, the company will be only opting for digital marketing.

     

    “We will be taking the digital route completely for this, not going to take the campaign on mainline media at this point of time. We will be propagating the campaign on different mediums and sites including Youtube, economictimes.com. The campaign will be launched across social media,” revealed Menon.

     

    MARD also plans for global outreach and will continue to address gender equality issues across the world and in India, MARD Canvas Talent CEO and Artist Innovations & Repertoire director Anurag Rao said, “MARD will work with content makers around the world in a pledge to engage hearts and minds through art and music, for a more gender equal world #ReachForTheSky is just the start.”

     

    The campaign was also launched with a musical work ‘Chulein Aasmaan’, composed by Salim-Sulaiman and performed by Akhtar and Shraddha Pandit. Written by the two of them, the song, that was released on Youtube today, highlights the importance of equal opportunity, possibilities and the impact it can have on women.

  • Cannes Lions 2014: 6 Indian entries make it to Cyber Lions finals

    Cannes Lions 2014: 6 Indian entries make it to Cyber Lions finals

    MUMBAI: Finally, Indian agencies have made it to the finals of Cyber Lions this year. While no India entries qualified to the shortlist of this category last year, this time six Indian entries have been shortlisted.

     

    O&M India’s campaign, ‘Google Reunion’ under the subcategory- storytelling and ‘Barter’ in the subcategory- charities, public health and safety, public awareness messages has made it to the shortlist in this category too. JWT India’s work for Nike called ‘Make Every Yard Count’ got shortlisted under three subcategories: use of co-creation & user generated content; clothing, footwear & accessories and use/curation of image/s.

     

    Interestingly, 22 Feet Tribal Worldwide’s ‘Push the Pin’ campaign for Tata Global Beverages has qualified for the final round as well. This entry was submitted under the sub category co-creation & user generated content.

     

    Launched in 1998, Cyber Lions honours excellence in online digital communications and gives key players in this industry an annual meeting point.

     

    It can be noted that no Indian work has made it to the shortlist of Product Design category.