ITV

Tag: Google

  • Twitter ads now available to all US users

    Twitter ads now available to all US users

    MUMBAI: Twitter‘s senior director of product for revenue Kevin Weil announced the launch of its advertising options for all US users on Tuesday at TechCrunch‘s Disrupt in New York. The company had previously made advertising on the platform invite-only.

    The first announcement was made on April 2010 by social media giant stating it would show ads. Since then it has openly promoted tweets and accounts, which lets people pay to get their updates seen and their profiles followed. Additionally, it announced limited availability of a self-serve tool for buying ads in March 2012, and an ads application programming interface (API) for programmatic buying of huge campaigns in February recently.

    Last week, Twitter announced that its ads could be targeted based on keywords tweeted or within tweets engaged with by users, which lets Twitter move towards demand fulfillment like Google search ads.

    Most recently, Twitter opened its advertising API to third parties, letting larger advertisers to create more refined campaigns on the portal. The company launched that program with five partners – Adobe, Hootsuite, Salesforce, SHIFT and TBG Digital.

    “Over the past year we‘ve listened carefully to feedback from the thousands of businesses and individuals who‘ve had access to the self-serve tool, and made enhancements based on their suggestions, including more targeting and reporting in the UI,” the company wrote in a blog post. “It‘s because of this feedback that effective today, we‘re ending our invite-only period and opening signups for our self-serve ad platform to all users in the US.”

    According to eMarketer the company, which is expected to go public within the next year, is projected to earn $1 billion in ad revenues in 2014.

  • Google acquires news app Wavii for $30 mn

    Google acquires news app Wavii for $30 mn

    MUMBAI: Google has acquired news summarisation app Wavii for $30 million in cash, Earlier this year Yahoo! had paid a similar amount to buy news reader Summly which is competition to Wavii.

    Google could use Wavii to improve search results for news stories.

  • Charlie Sheen invests in an OTT company

    Charlie Sheen invests in an OTT company

    MUMBAI: The Digital Development Group (DIDG) (DigiDev), a Hollywood-based Over the Top (OTT) TV, technology, content acquisition and distribution company, has announced that actor Charlie Sheen has invested in the company.

    The funds will be used to help the company expand its original programming and other content. This comes on the heels of Sheen‘s recent deal with DigiDev for the development and creation of the Charlie Sheen Cyber TV channel.

    DigiDev president Joe Q. Bretz said, “Charlie understands the power of this new TV technology and his fertile mind has already begun to shape his upcoming channel. Old fans and new fans will see the uncensored Charlie Sheen take on the role of the ‘outspoken‘ spokesperson for the new generation.”

    “Internet television is on fire with Bloomberg reporting that Netflix tops cable networks with 4-billion viewing hours in the past three months, and Mediapost.com forecasting that OTT (Internet TV) will hit $20 billion by 2015, which explains why in addition to Netflix, Google, and Apple, others are charging into this arena. DigiDev will continue to create new, cutting-edge programming, while increasing its channel count with an eclectic mix of compelling programming,” Bretz added.

    Sheen said, “Joe and his crew have built an amazing machine and I‘m looking forward to the launch of my channel. My investment in DigiDev is a vote of confidence, confidence in Joe and confidence in the industry”.

  • Rajan Anandan takes over as new IAMAI chairman

    Rajan Anandan takes over as new IAMAI chairman

    MUMBAI: Google India MD Rajan Anandan has to take over as the new chairman of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). He replaces InfoEdge MD and CEO Hitesh Oberoi, who was at the helm of IAMAI‘s affairs since April 2011.

    Facebook director online operations and head of office India Kirthiga Reddy has replaced Yatra co-founder and CEO Dhruv Shringi as the vice-chairman replacing of the mobile and internet body.
     
    On his new role, Anandan said, “I am excited to take over this responsibility at a time, when the industry is going through an exciting transition. The digital industry has reached an inflection point and is growing steadily. IAMAI, which has been working persistently towards the growth of the medium, is also growing. We plan to engage and interact more closely with the government to ensure that the online industry registers a balanced growth in the years to come and the internet user base widens.”

  • BBH to design creative communications and digital solutions for CRY

    MUMBAI: Child rights organisation CRY – Child Rights and You – has appointed BBH to develop their creative communications and digital media solutions.

    The agency has been brought on-board at a time when CRY is embarking on its own mission to engage with a younger audience, especially through the digital space. The mandate spans the spectrum of communication solutions – from overall communications strategy to digital initiatives and engagement strategy for CRY’s operations in India as well as overseas.

    CRY Director – Resource Mobilisation and Volunteer Action Yogita Verma said, “Creating brand awareness and mobilising people for the cause of child rights is a challenge, particularly when limited resources need maximum impact. The digital space is one such area where CRY can engage with its target audience, and BBH’s specialisation in digital media and creative tools in the digital space will help CRY reach out to a wider audience.”

    She added that CRY’s communication mandate is to raise awareness and thereby action for children in India for whom a happy, healthy childhood is not a natural consequence and the NGO felt that BBH is not only extremely skilled at what it does, but is also truly passionate about children and committed to ensuring the children a future filled with hope.

    BBH India Managing Partner Subhash Kamath said, “It is not often in advertising that one gets a chance to use one‘s skills and talent for a real cause; something that directly impacts society, especially children. We are proud to partner CRY on their journey and we have tremendous respect for what they do. All of us at BBH are looking forward to working on some groundbreaking strategies for them.”

    BBH Communications, part of the Publicis Groupe, was launched in India in 2009 and has grown to be a 65-people strong organisation with a portfolio of clients like Unilever, Marico, Diageo, Skoda, Red Bull, Google, World Gold Council, Times Group and Acer.

    Established in 1979 in Mumbai, CRY was among the first indigenous Indian NGOs working for the rights of children in India. Since then, the organisation has grown to a national institution, present in over 23 states and reaching out to almost a million children every year. For over three decades, CRY has been committed to making a lasting change in the lives of Indian children by ensuring their right to live, learn, grow and play – in short, every child’s right to a happy childhood.

  • Brands need to keep the customers at the centre: Ray Velez

    VARCA: At Goafest 2013, Razorfish chief technology officer Ray Velez explained how a company should organise a brand around the consumer by busting silos and applying the principles of agile development across one‘s business.

    “A brand should always keep his customer at the center. One‘s organisation must be structured around the customer that will in a way help in building relationship with him. A marketer should plan his strategy based on the data from the actual customer activity and also understand that customer will give a feedback whether you like it or not,” he said, while talking about the five principles one should embrace in order to evolve their business to deliver new customer experience.

    He also said a marketer should measure the data and see how to maintain the interactivity with the costumer. “Think of your brand as a service,” he emphasised.

    He added that a customer should be serviced well so that he comes back. One needs to fulfill consumer needs which will henceforth enhance customer relationship and deliver happiness. Loyal customers buy 75 per cent more than the others, Velez mentioned.
    Velez also added about how to thrive in our age of disruption. He highlighted on how the lines have blurred with technology, media, and creativity coming together, and how this shift is revolutionising marketing and business strategy.

    “Convergence of technology, media and creativity allow you to imagine, create, and enable customer experience like never before. Media allows a two way communication through a hash tag which is a way for a customer to talk back. Creativity can come from anywhere and everywhere. And these are the provisions that technology provides,” he said.

    Vezel believes that it‘s all about telling a brand story and providing an experience in a whole new way.

    “Simple plug in buttons such as Facebook‘s “Like” and “Share,” Google‘s “+1,” and Twitter‘s “Tweet” and “Follow” dramatically lower the barrier to users sharing content from one‘s site out to their entire social graph,” he added.

    Social cloud services provide digital experiences or web properties with the ability to connect up with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, Microsoft and other social services.

    These services come in the form of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that a technologist can integrate. Whether a digital experience is a mobile application or a traditional desktop site, these APIs are available.

    According to Velez, one should create a 360 degree view of the consumer with analysing his media exposure, offline consumer data and the website behavior. ‘Data is something which tells you what your customer wants. Also, employ agile methodology and rapid prototype,” Velez said.

    Velez said that one needs to embrace the diversity of culture and other diversities in order to deliver new customer experience. He picked a statement from Frans Johansson‘s book The Medici Effect saying, “When you step into an intersection of field, disciplines of culture, you can combine existing concepts into a large no. of extraordinary new ideas”.

  • Govt fully backs freedom of expression for online media: Sibal

    Govt fully backs freedom of expression for online media: Sibal

    NEW DELHI: Communication and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal has reiterated that the country is ‘wedded to the freedom of expression’.

    Delivering the keynote address at the Google Big Tent Activate summit here, he underlined that the Internet is the most important and transformative forum. Underlining the power of the internet as a most inclusive medium, as there are no borders on the net, he stated we must move slowly but surely towards making internet the equinet.

    Sibal underlined the three important points for making the internet a truly empowering, transformational and inclusive force. He said from the point of view of the State, “we must have an enabling framework and rules and regulations must not come in the way of the growth of the net”. Secondly, he said networks in terms of fibre-optics and also wireless must be developed to facilitate access to the net. Thirdly, he said affordable access devices are needed for a true inclusive transformational internet revolution. Sibal also said that it will be truly transformative, if through the internet, we can reach people in their traditional languages.

    Google’s Big Tent Activate Summit aims to address questions like: Can India gain a global competitive edge by enabling the full economic potential of the Internet?; Will the Internet dilute Indian culture, or can it help preserve and share it locally and globally?; How is the Internet already changing the democratic process, and what will happen as many more constituents come online? The debate has become relevant in the wake of India‘s growing online population.

  • Sony’s Indian Idol Junior auditions open through app

    Sony’s Indian Idol Junior auditions open through app

    MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television has opened auditions for Indian Idol Juniors.

    Set is inviting singers in the age group of 5 – 15 years to give youngsters a platform to showcase their talent. Parents can now register their child online and upload their performance videos through the app to be shortlisted for an audition in front of the judges.

    The performance videos can also be shared on Twitter and Facebook using the Indian Idol Junior mobile app. To keep up with the action, the app will also feature top audition videos which can be shared with friends.

    With entertainment now increasingly being consumed online, Set sees this step as an exciting platform to engage participants and audiences with.

    MSM SVP – new media, business development and digital/syndication Nitesh Kripalani said, “We want talent from all over India to participate and take a shot at being the first Indian Idol Junior. Now any parent can download the application, and submit their child’s video entry, across all Android and Apple devices. The app will help people connect to the action in Indian Idol Junior and directly participate in the competition, all one click away.”

    The Indian Idol Junior app is available for download on Google Playstore and ITunes free of cost.

  • Google’s Nikhil Rungta joins Yebhi.com

    Google’s Nikhil Rungta joins Yebhi.com

    MUMBAI: Google India country marketing head Nikhil Rungta has resigned from his post at the company to join Yebhi.com as chief business officer.

    Rungta will be responsible for the strategy, planning and execution of the company‘s sales, marketing and product development.

    Big Shoe Bazaar (brand owner of Yebhi.com) CEO Manmohan Agarwal said, “We are extremely happy to welcome Nikhil to the Yebhi team. He brings with him wealth of experience and knowledge after serving more than 15 years with leading organisations. We are confident that he will have a similar success at Yebhi.com.”

    Rungta said, “This is a new challenge and I am very excited as I get onto this new journey. I will be teeing off with a new TV campaign based on the concept of ‘Try and Buy‘. The new feature ‘Try n Buy‘ initiated by Yebhi will be the game changer for the E-commerce category and will help in taking the category to the next level. The campaign came from a deep understanding of how consumers buy online and the fact that one of the biggest barriers to purchase is lack of touch and feel of the product. Now the consumer can order products through Yebhi.com and only buy after trying or checking out the product.”

    Rungta was the country marketing head at Google since 2009. He was responsible for all Google products including Search, Youtube, Chrome, Google+, Android. Prior to Google, he was the head of marketing for Yatra.com where he was a part of the leadership team.

    His 15-year career in sales and marketing includes work across various categories like FMCG, Consumer Durables, Finance, IT and Travel Services.

  • Google remains India’s most trusted internet brand for 3rd time

    Google remains India’s most trusted internet brand for 3rd time

    MUMBAI: Google remains India‘s Most Trusted for the third year in a row but the gap with the second ranked Facebook is a miniscule 3 per cent, according to brand trust research agency Trust Research Advisory (TRA).

    An analysis of the All India Most Trusted ranks shows that Google (All India rank 44) fell 13 ranks and Facebook (All India rank 48) gained 17 ranks to bridge the gap, says TRA.

    Yahoo still stood as the third Most Trusted Internet brand despite its 62 rank fall in All India Brand Trust rank.

    Google‘s Orkut, steadied at 4th rank despite a significant fall in daily visitors from India. Ebay follows as India‘s fifth Most Trusted Internet brand with a very small difference in BTI from the previous. The top six of last year are repeated in the same order this year as well.

    TRA noted that the number of brands represented in the Internet category this year has gone up from just 14 in 2012 to 25 this year showing a direct increase in the trust internet based exchanges have begun to garner.

    The Brand Trust Report, India Study – 2013, is the third in its series researched and published by TRA. This year‘s research was conducted in 16 cities generating 19000 unique brands across 211 categories. Trust Research Advisory is a part of the Comniscient Group, a group of India‘s largest non-advertising based communication businesses.

    TRA CEO N. Chandramouli said, “Two reasons online brands rely significantly on trust more than any other. Firstly, the exchanges are without any physical interface, and secondly, the online world is cluttered with choices that make loyalty ephemeral. With most of the new brands entering the Most Trusted list this year being from Online Shopping or Internet Services, there will be no stopping this sub-category from seeing accelerated growth over the next 12 months.”

    The leaders in the various sub-categories are Naukri leading in Internet Services, Youtube in Online Sharing, Ebay in Online Shopping, Google in Internet Tools and Facebook in Social Networking.

    A study of the number of brands in each sub-categories shows that Internet Tools is represented by nine brands, Online Shopping by eight brands, Social Networking by four brands and Online sharing and Online Services by two brands each.