Tag: Google

‘The X Factor’ Indonesia attracts over 6 million votes on Google search

MUMBAI: The second season of the Indonesian version of The X Factor is celebrating huge success having received over six million public votes through the groundbreaking partnership with Google. The X Factor Indonesia is just the second TV show in the world to use the Google Search voting platform after American Idol, produced by FremantleMedia North America, introduced the Google Search voting platform in 2014.

Audiences across Indonesia tuning into the The X Factor live shows were given the opportunity to vote for their favourite performer directly from Google Search. The introduction of the Google Voting has led to increased interactivity through mobile and tablet devices and has resulted in a steady rise in voting numbers week on week – from an initial 700,000 votes to peaking at just over six million after the most recent show.

Ferry Firdaus, Head of Brand Partnership and New Media, FremantleMedia Indonesia, said, “The Google voting platform has proved to be incredibly popular with viewers of The X Factor. This innovative new voting platform is a landmark first in Indonesia and its introduction enables fans of the show to further connect to the series as well as offering a way to get closer to the action.”

Fabian Dharmawan, Head of Operational Production RCTI, said “With Google vote we are responding in the fastest ever growing mobile-based interaction. We are pleased to have Google vote in The X Factor Indonesia to cater digital trends to our loyal The X Factor voters.”

James Rothwell, Head of Social Marketing, Google Asia Pacific added “We are incredibly excited to bring the Google Search voting platform to Asia, and have been delighted by the results and feedback we have seen so far. The X Factor Indonesia was a natural partner to launch with, and we hope that voters will continue to turn to Google to keep their favorite contestants in the show.”

With numerous award-winning apps and games, and millions of fans and followers of its brands on social media around the world, FremantleMedia has long been a market leader in introducing new ways for audiences to engage with TV programmes in the second screen and social media.

August 14, 2015
Livspace hops on as design partner for Great Online Home Festival

MUMBAI: Livspace has come on board as the exclusive design partner for the Great Online Home festival (GOHF), an initiative of GroupM. The festival is presented by Magicbricks and powered by Google.

As the design partner for GOHF, Livspace will offer interior design to new homes listed on GOHF platform as well as existing homeowners. GOHF will bring together the best home deals in India including real estate, home decor and home care. The nine day festival began on 18 July.

Livspace will offer exclusive deals on complete home design service, as well as modular kitchens and wardrobes. The focus will be on making good home design accessible to the Indian homeowner, while making the interior design process fun, simple and exponentially less time-consuming. As a homeowner, you can also get all your design queries answered, by joining Livspace interior designers on Google Hangouts everyday between 7 – 8 pm from 18 – 27 July.

Livspace has also launched its new mobile app for Android users, with an iOS version to follow soon. The app allows users to discover thousands of new shop-able looks on mobile. In the coming week, app users will also be able to chat with their designer in-app.

Livspace CEO and co-founder Anuj Srivastava said, “We are thrilled to be featured as the exclusive design partner for the Great Online Home Festival, a one of its kind event which is reflective of the rising trend of the home market moving online quickly. Millions of users will experience online end-to-end home design for all their rooms, kitchens and wardrobes, like never before. Inspired by the fact that over 50% of our traffic comes from the phone, we are also excited to announce the launch of our mobile app for Android, with iOS soon to follow. With the innovative Livspace app, you can discover, save and share thousands of looks for your home on the go.”

July 20, 2015
NBA finals 2015 shatters television, digital and retail records

MUMBAI: The NBA Finals 2015 – which concluded on 16 June and saw the Golden State Warriors defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers four games to two – broke records across television, digital, and retail, becoming the most-watched and highest-rated Finals in ABC history with nearly 20 million viewers per game and an average 11.6 U.S. household rating.

Highlights from The Finals include:

·         ABC: The six-game series set new Finals records for ABC with 19,939,000 viewers and an 11.6 U.S. rating, up 30 percent and 26 percent, respectively, from 17,667,000 viewers and a 10.5 U.S. rating for The Finals 2014.  Additional details on highest-rated NBA Finals on ABC.

·         NBA Digital:  NBA.com and NBA Mobile garnered a combined 336 million video views, eclipsing the record set during last year’s Finals.

·         Facebook: On Facebook, fans created 173 million interactions related to The Finals, including posts, comments, and likes. Additionally, NBA, Warriors, and Cavs content amassed a record 98 million video views – up 180 percent from The Finals 2014, viaSports on Facebook.

·         Twitter: On game days throughout The Finals, the NBA accounted for 71 percent of all television-related conversation. #NBAFinals tweets were viewed 7.6 billion times on Twitter and across the web, via @TwitterData.  During the #NBAFinals, 7 million tweets contained the hashflags #CLE, #GSW, #ALLinCLE, #DubNation.

·         Google: On the day of Game 6, “Golden State Warriors” was the most-searched item on Google, with “Cavs vs Warriors” ranking No. 3.

·         Instagram: The league’s Instagram account added a record 628,000 new followers throughout The Finals, pushing the total following to 7.8 million.

·         Snapchat: With 417,000 views, the NBA posted its most-viewed snap of all time during Game 6. Overall, NBA Snapchat content received a record 93.5 million views during The Finals.

·         Merchandise: June 17 was the highest-selling day in NBAStore.com history, up triple digits from the previous one-day record.

o Record-setting sales for NBA Finals 2015 merchandise across all Fanatics platforms, including NBAStore.com and Fanatics.com, up triple digits from the previous record achieved at The Finals 2010 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

June 22, 2015
WWE surpasses half a billion social media followers

MUMBAI: WWE has eclipsed half a billion fans through its global social media platforms, further cementing its position as one of the most-followed brands in the world.

WWE’s Facebook page has more fans than the NFL, ESPN, Marvel, Google and UFC, and WWE superstar John Cena is the No.1 most followed active American athlete on Facebook with more than 36 million likes.

On Twitter, @WWE has more followers than MLB, Disney, Sony and Pepsi and according to Klout, is the No. 1 most influential brand on Twitter.

On Instagram, WWE’s fastest-growing platform, @WWE has more followers than ESPN, HBO, NHL and Gatorade. With nearly five billion video views on YouTube in the past year alone, WWE is the No. 1 Sports channel ahead of the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, ESPN and NASCAR.

WWE’s Social Media Snapshot:

• Facebook: 354 million total likes, including 98 million new likes, an increase of 38 per cent year-over year.

• Twitter: 108 million total followers, including 18 million new followers, an increase of 20 per cent year-over-year.

• Instagram: 26 million total followers, including 25 million new followers, an increase of 2,955 per cent year-over-year.

• YouTube: 6.2 million total subscribers, including 2.8 million new subscribers, an increase of 82 per cent year-over-year.

Earlier this year, WWE won awards for Overall Social Media Excellence and Social Media Dream Team at the 2015 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards and 2015 Cablefax Digital Awards, respectively. WWE’s 12 social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Periscope, Google+, Vine, Foursquare, Tumblr, Pheed and Pinterest.

June 8, 2015
Apple pips Google to take top spot as most valuable brand

MUMBAI: Apple has overtaken Google to reclaim the title of ‘world’s most valuable brand’ in the 2015 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands released by WPP and Millward Brown.

Apple has increased its brand value to $247 billion, a rise of 67 per cent year on year. Google (no.2) also grew, achieving a nine per cent value increase to reach $173.7billion. Microsoft, now worth $115.5billion, is the new no.3, rising one position with value growth of 28 per cent.

Though the AppleWatch has proved extremely popular, it is the success of the iPhone 6 that has been the main driver of Apple’s brand value growth.

Millward Brown’s Global Head of BrandZ Doreen Wang said, “Apple continues to ‘own’ its category by innovating and leading the curve in a way that generates real benefits for consumers. It meets their rational and emotional needs, and makes life easier in a fun and relevant way. Apple is clear on what it stands for, and never stops refreshing its message to sustain the difference that makes it so desirable.”

The total brand value of the Top 100 now stands at $3.3 trillion, a 14 per cent increase on 2014 and a 126 per cent growth over the 10 years since the ranking was first launched.

WPP’s The Store CEO, EMEA and Asia David Roth said, “Brand value has risen substantially despite a disruptive decade. This is a pivotal moment for brand builders. We’re at the threshold of a new normal, and a changing consumer. The past 10 years of valuing brands proves that investing in creating strong, valuable brands delivers superior returns to shareholders.”

Highlights and key findings from this year’s BrandZ Top 100 study include:

•Technology is the fastest-growing category – up 24 per cent in the last year, the tech brands in the Top 100 are worth more than $1 trillion, nearly a third of the value of all brands in the ranking.

•Facebook is the fastest riser, with 99 per cent growth achieved through its successful strategy of acquiring and integrating other social apps such as Instagram and WhatsApp, and an understanding of how to monetise and cross-sell its platforms.

•E-commerce boosts retail brand value as Alibaba enters ranking and overtakes Amazon – Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba entered the retail ranking at $66.4billion, helping to grow the retail category ranking by 24 per cent and overtaking both Amazon and Walmart. The most valuable retail brands Alibaba and Amazon, which lack physical stores, are now worth more than Walmart, which has 11,000 stores worldwide.

The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands is now in its tenth year. Analysis of the 10-year trajectory of the brands in the ranking has revealed that:

•Europe’s brand powerhouses stagnate as Chinese brands grow and US brands make a comeback. The number of Chinese brands continues to grow with 14 brands in the Top 100, up from one in 2006, and an increase of 1004 per cent in value. The value of US brands grew by 137 per cent in the last 10 years (up 15 per cent in the last year) compared to just 31 per cent in Europe (down -9.3 per cent in the last year). There are now just 24 brands from Europe in the ranking (down from 35 in 2006). This represents a shift from West to East; most of the brands that have been ‘pushed out’ of the Top 100 by China were from Europe.

•High value brands provide faster bottom-line growth and shareholder value. In the last 10 years, a measurement of the strongest brands from the Top 100 as a ‘stock portfolio’ shows their share price has risen over three times more than the MSCI World Index and almost two thirds more than the S&P500.

May 27, 2015
Both TV & digital mediums are here to stay: PromaxBDA

MUMBAI: With the advent of social media and new usage platforms, the way people consume media has changed and how.

At the PromaxBDA conference, an interesting session with Google partnership director South Asia Ajay Vidyasagar and Discovery Networks VP marketing Rajiv Bakshi threw light on how media is consumed and is leading the way for television of tomorrow.

Spatial Access founder Meenakshi Menon moderated the session.

Vidyasagar said, “The space has moved from creating content to creating a fan base. The consumer uses content to express himself.” Citing an example of when he joined Google in 2010, he said, “In 2010, the Indian audience gave a total of 500 million views, while today it gives about 350 billion views for the content that is available on YouTube.”

YouTube is a platform for creators to engage and communicate with audiences, which television lacks. Sharing his views on how television will continue to exist, Bakshi said, “We’re no longer a traditional medium. We’re a contemporary medium. In spite of having entered the phase of digitisation, we are growing. So even if digital exists, television will continue to be there for the audiences. It caters to different sets of audiences. Moreover, people like to consume content on all platforms.”

“We started Discovery in India with two channels. Today we have 11 channels, including one GEC – ‘Investigation Discovery,’ which we launched recently. So there is an audience for all types of content. India is evolving and TV is robust and growing,” Bakshi added.

Raising a question, Menon asked how TV reconciles with the fact that content cost on TV is very high, whereas on YouTube it is bare minimum and in spite of this, YouTube gets a million views and a billion fans to their content.

Answering Menon’s question, Bakshi said, “From a short term business point of view, the YouTube model is fine. But from a long-term business point of view, one needs to have a 24-hour content model. Eventually, in India people want maximum entertainment and minimum effort and TV is giving exactly that.”

Speaking about the evolution of media, Vidyasagar said, “When print came, the word of mouth publicity did not lose its business. Similarly, when radio and television came, print did not die. None of them have impacted the value of existing media. The need for one to consume news is increasing and hence every medium is here to stay. The only important point to keep in mind is that content is an asset and in today’s world it needs to be made relevant to different devices.”

While we know that a lot of producers are creating content for digital and showing it on digital, Vidyasagar stated an example where Jimmy Fallon actually engages with audiences on digital to bring relevant content back on TV. In the end, it’s a loop of usage. Digital is not taking away from anybody, and neither is television. Both the mediums engage consumers.

Vidyasagar added, “For instance, in India the highest searched channels on YouTube are that of television networks because their content is available on YouTube. Eventually, the consumer gets the core benefits of the content available on digital and on television.”

May 14, 2015
Contest for PMO mobile app launched; winner gets trip to US

NEW DELHI: A contest has been launched for development of a mobile app for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his recent address at the 25th foundation day of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) had announced the intention to launch a mobile app for PMO.

The Government’s citizen engagement platform MyGov will host this contest in association with Google. The contest will be organized over the next three months in three areas of ideation, wireframe development and app development. The best app will be then presented to the PMO. The team developing the wining app will get a chance to visit the headquarters of Google in the United States.

The contest is open for all citizens of India above the age 18 years, who are registered on MyGov (https://mygov.in). Participants can submit their entries on the contest page. Each phase will be assessed by an independent jury constituted by MyGov.

Speaking on the launch, Communication & Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said views of the citizens collected through the MyGov and other forum have been incorporated into railway and Union Budgets.

The need to tackle benami properties and the idea for introduction of sovereign gold bound scheme have come through some suggestions from the people. He said this Government wants to take follow up action on ideas obtained through crowd sourcing and also wants to use social media for public good.

Deputy secretary R S Sharma gave an overview of the Digital India programme, whose aim is to first digitally connect all citizens of the government and then digitally empower them in participative process of policy making and being continuously informed of various government initiatives and programmes.

MyGov CEO Gaurav Dwivedi charted out the evolution of MyGov, since its launch on 26 July last year and laid out some key features of the newly released MyGov Version 2.0. Google India managing director Rajan Anandan, who is MyGov’s partner in the contest, spoke of Google’s commitment to partner India’s digital drive at multiple levels.

March 7, 2015
FoxyMoron bags the digital duties of &TV

MUMBAI: FoxyMoron has bagged the digital marketing duties of the yet-to-be-launched Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) – &TV.

To be launched from the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) stable, the mandate comprises managing the channel’s presence on social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and YouTube. The account was won following a multi-agency pitch.

FoxyMoron co-founder Suveer Bajaj said that this win established its foothold in the television entertainment industry and also brings along the creative opportunity to build an entirely new brand. “As a digital partner, it will be our aim to make the channel scale from the very beginning. With soaring engagement for brands in the entertainment industry, we have great aspirations for this new channel,” he said.

FoxyMoron will work towards creating and executing content revolving around the central belief of the channel – Jashn Jeene Ka (celebrating the spirit of living). It will also create programme-specific content for their flagship shows in order to utilize the ever growing populace of the digital space.

February 24, 2015
Saavn hires Mahesh Narayanan as global COO

MUMBAI: Indian music streaming service Saavn is kicking off 2015 with a new appointment. The company has appointed Mahesh Narayanan as its global chief operating officer.

Based out of Mumbai, Narayanan will oversee numerous functions of the company to encourage growth and support Saavn’s expansion in 2015.

Narayanan, who brings a decade of digital experience to Saavn, most recently led the India operations for German display advertising company, Sociomantic, which was acquired by Dunnhumby in April 2014, less than a year after he helped launch the company’s Mumbai-based operations.

Prior to that he played a major role in planting the seeds of growth for Google India. He was the founding member of Google’s Direct Sales Operations in 2005, before joining the leadership team of mobile advertising network, AdMob. Following Google’s acquisition of AdMob in 2010, Narayanan returned to Google as mobile head for India.

“Mahesh is an elite executive who is recognized as one of the top digital leaders in the world and brings a bright, uniquely experienced perspective to Saavn. He’ll be involved in 360 degrees of the company to help make everyone better and bring us into the next chapter of growth and revenue. We’re honored to have Mahesh on board, and he has already made a tremendous impact on the organization in his first few weeks with us. Businesses are built off great people. Mahesh is one of the best,” said Saavn co-founder and CEO Rishi Malhotra.

“I am most passionate about digital technology and music. Saavn represents my vision of the ideal blend of both passions most aptly. I’ve had the opportunity to help many leading global technology media companies achieve success, and I genuinely believe that Saavn is primed for the same caliber of success. I am really excited about partnering with Rishi and the leadership team to take Saavn to a whole new league,” added Narayanan.

Narayanan joins Saavn as the company enters its most significant phase of growth. In addition to crossing user thresholds (30 million unique users in 2014; 11 million monthly streaming users), Saavn is announcing several major milestones, including:

1) Entering the 10-50 million downloads tier on Android, making it the most downloaded Indian music service in Google Play (International).

2) 6x increase in Saavn Pro subscribers from Q1 2014.

3) 3x increase in streaming volume from Q1 2014.

4) Approaching 200 million streams per month.

5) 90% of users are on mobile.

Saavn closed 2014 with partnerships with companies like Twitter, T-Mobile and Snapdeal, an industry-first content initiative with Sony Music, and a year-end infographic celebrating Saavn’s most active cities and users.

January 23, 2015
One-in-four digitally connected Indian will ensure growth of medium: IAA

MUMBAI: The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter conducted its 12^th Webinar on 19 December 2014 as part of the ‘World Goes Digital’ webinar series.

GroupM South Asia, veteran digital media specialist and managing partner, Tushar Vyas was a guest speaker in this series of the webinar. As part of the GroupM South Asia ExCo, Vyas leads the digital media practice for GroupM South Asia. He is also responsible for investments and corporate business development.

Commenting on the importance of the digital medium, Vyas said “The number of people who have embraced digital as a medium is a testimony to its growth and importance. There are 5 million smartphones being bought every month in India, which has ensured that 25 per cent of the Indian population is digitally connected.”

IAA India Chapter & vice president, development (Asia pacific region) Srinivasan K Swamy commented, “Having experts like Tushar Vyas, ensures that our members and the fraternity in general gets the latest and most authoritative view on the digital media.”

The Free Press Journal director and Webinar Series chairman Abhishek Karnani said “We were delighted to have Tushar Vyas addressing the 12^th in the series of ‘World Goes Digital’ Webinar series hosted by the IAA India Chapter. These sessions go a long way in spreading the awareness of the digital media.”

The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter has hosted speakers like Citi India CMO Sanjeev Kapoor, Bookmyshow.com founder and CEO Ashish Hemrajani, Google India managing director Rajan Anandan, Linkedin India managing director Nishant Rao, Rediff.com founder Ajit Balakrishnan SAP chief story teller Julie Roehm, Hungama Digital Media managing director and CEO Neeraj Roy and mCordis co-founder & managing partner (EMEA) Paul Berney.

Recently, Ram Subramanian and Rajjat Barjatya were also invited as guests on ‘World Goes Digital’ webinar series.

December 23, 2014