ITV

Tag: IBM

  • Coca-Cola retains top spot in Interbrand’s Global Brands report

    MUMBAI: Coca-Cola, Apple and IBM lead brand consultancy Interbrand‘s 13th annual Best Global Brands report.

    While Coca-Cola retained its top position, Apple jumped to number two with stellar sales in both developed and emerging markets over the last year.

    Social media giant, Facebook (69), enters the report after making headlines as the third largest IPO in US history, and Google in fourth spot experienced a 26 per cent increase in brand value over the last year, exceeding rival Microsoft‘s (5) brand value for the first time in the history of Interbrand‘s report.

    Interbrand publishes its Best Global Brands report of the world‘s 100 most valuable brands on an annual basis.

    Interbrand‘s methodology – the first of its kind to be ISO certified – analyses the many ways a brand touches and benefits an organisation, from driving bottom-line business results to
    delivering on customer expectations.

    To develop its report, Interbrand examines the three key aspects that contribute to a brand‘s value:

    • The financial performance of the branded products or service
    • The role the brand plays in influencing consumer choice
    • The strength the brand has to command a premium price, or secure earnings for the company

    2012 Overview: Delivering meaningful brand experiences across all touchpoints

    Against the backdrop of continued global economic uncertainty, this year‘s top 100 brands excelled in securing their market position and delivering more personal and enriching experiences to consumers — across geographies and platforms.

    Interbrand Global CEO Jez Frampton said, “As global competition increases and many competitive advantages, like technology, become more short-lived, a brand‘s contribution to shareholder value will only increase. The world‘s 100 most valuable brands are leading the way by listening to consumers, employees, and investors alike and delivering a seamless and holistic brand experience across an ever-evolving range of touchpoints.”

    In a fast-moving world where consumers‘ offline and online brand experiences constantly intertwine, the leading brands are staying actively engaged, tapping into the inexorable rise of data and information in order to drive innovation across all industries. They are spending the time and money required to understand the role their brand plays in consumers‘ lives – and they are strategically weaving their brand proposition into every interaction.

    New entrants in 2012

    Pampers (34): Pampers, the top-selling diaper brand in the US and P&G‘s number one selling brand in the world, earned the highest ranking position among this year‘s new entrants. Pampers has effectively used social media platforms and loyalty programmes to connect to its consumer base. Such efforts (and increased financial transparency on P&G‘s part) have earned Pampers a high-ranking spot in this year‘s Best Global Brands report.

    Facebook (69): Facebook‘s IPO in May enabled Interbrand to examine the social media behemoth‘s financials for the first time. Despite its rocky start as a publicly listed stock and lingering uncertainty about its business model, Facebook‘s growth as a brand, especially in developing markets, earns it a position in this year‘s report.

    Prada (84): Prada returns to the Best Global Brands report this year. The brand‘s continued growth in revenue is fueled largely by 250+ DOS (Directly Operated Stores) worldwide – a network that has expanded by keeping a careful eye on increasingly sophisticated customers in developing markets.

    Kia (87): For the past few years, Kia has been one of the fastest-growing global automotive brands. In the US, Kia‘s market share has grown for 17 consecutive years and its sales numbers continue to rise, even in the troubled European marketplace.

    Ralph Lauren (91): Making its first appearance in the top 100 since 2009, Ralph Lauren‘s notable brand growth in the past year can be attributed to highly innovative communication patterns and consistency across all touchpoints and formats.

    MasterCard (94): MasterCard makes its debut in the 2012 Best Global Brands report after an impressive year. The company‘s launch of its “Priceless Cities” campaign and a growing suite of solutions for business owners are steadily increasing consumer satisfaction – and contributing to its rise in brand value.

    Top rising brands in 2012

    Apple (+129 per cent): Despite Steve Jobs‘ passing, consumers‘ emotional connection to the Apple brand remains stronger than ever – this was made clear just recently with the launch of iPhone 5. Even in the face of increasing competition from rivals Google and Samsung, the company continues to demonstrate its commitment to protecting the Apple brand and its intellectual property. Such commitment enabled Apple to post quarterly revenue of $35 billion and quarterly net profit of $8.8 billion in July.

    Amazon (+46 per cent): Amazon has introduced the Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire in 175 countries, stretching the Kindle beyond its e-reader origins and turning it into a serious
    rival to the iPad. The Kindle Fire now enjoys the world‘s second-largest tablet market share.

    Samsung (+40 per cent): Samsung became the global leader for smartphone shipments in 2011 ahead of Apple and Nokia. Samsung also generated a great deal of online buzz by integrating its Galaxy SIII and Note into the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. Despite its legal battle with Apple, Samsung‘s global market share is 32.6 per cent and its brand value increased by a meteoric 40 per cent in the past year.

    Nissan (+30 per cent): Nissan recovered quickly from last year‘s natural disasters in Japan and grew its market share by pushing the envelope on innovation and by creating bold vehicle designs like that of the Nissan Juke. Nissan‘s ability to overcome challenges and continually innovate caught the attention of consumers and helped increase its brand value by 30 per cent.

    Oracle (+28 per cent): Oracle has been branching out beyond database solutions in order to stay ahead of competitors. The company continues to make strategic acquisitions and grow its capabilities and offerings, especially in cloud computing. Oracle‘s 28 per cent increase in brand value this year proves that such strategies have impressed customers and investors alike.

    Technoplogy brands continue to dominate: Technology brands continued their strong push of recent years, with four of the five top risers hailing from the sector (Apple, Amazon, Samsung, and Oracle).

    In addition, five of this year‘s Top 10 brands come from within the technology sector (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Intel, and Samsung). Apple, in particular, experienced record growth in brand value. While there is no question that products like the iPad and iPhone 5 are attractive to consumers around the world, Apple‘s values and unmistakable human touch are what set it apart from competitors in the end.

    Automotive brnds move beyond recovery: Automotive brands are becoming more attuned to the emotional connection consumers have with their cars. This has caused many automakers to develop more effective, technologically savvy ways to reach target markets and help prospective buyers better relate to car brands.

    Audi‘s (55) digital showroom, Audi City, is revolutionising the future of retailing by combining digital product presentations and personal contact with dealers. Similarly, Ford (45) is working hard to improve MyTouch, its in-car communications and entertainment system. Brands like BMW (12) and Hyundai (53) are investing in global brand campaigns and are becoming more digitally connected and tailored to narrower target groups.

    For the most part, the entire industry appears to be focused on engaging customers and prospects in a more relevant and personalised manner throughout the entire purchase cycle.

    Luxury brand prove resiliant: Despite the current economic landscape, all of the luxury brands in this year‘s report increased their brand value. As the meaning of luxury shifts, this year‘s top luxury brands reflect a changing global consciousness – with success dependent not only upon a portfolio of superior products and superb quality of service, but also a strong cohesive brand, a formidable digital presence, and reputation that is timeless, elevated, and refined. The 2012 Best Global Brand report includes seven luxury brands: Louis Vuitton (17), Gucci (38), Herm?s (63), Cartier (68), Tiffany (70), Burberry (82), and Prada (84).

    FMCG/CPG brands increase in brand value & expand product offerings

    The rise in value of several FMCG/CPG brands — Kellogg‘s (29), L‘Oréal (42), Heinz (46), Colgate (47), Danone (52), Nestlé (57), and Johnson and Johnson (79) — reflect successful growth, especially in the developing markets. Another growing trend observed this year was the increasing number of FMCG brands expanding into the healthcare space. Avon (71) and Kleenex (80) were the only two brands to lose brand value (-4 per cent and -7 per cent respectively).

    Financial Services: Financial services brands are continuing to feel the impact of 2008‘s global economic downturn. Recent events, such as the notorious Libor scandal, have tarnished the reputation of leading brands like Credit Suisse – it declined by five per cent in brand value and ranked 95. There is reason to be optimistic about the future of this sector, however: Five of the 12 financial services brands in this year‘s report increased in brand value, including American Express (24), Morgan Stanley (54), AXA (58), Allianz (62), and Visa (74). MasterCard (94) was a new entrant to this year‘s report, an indication that its “Priceless” campaign continues to succeed in building a stronger connection between the brand and its growing customer base.

  • Cheil WW expands leadership team

    MUMBAI: Cheil Worldwide SW Asia has strengthened its leadership with appointments in leadership positions across three verticals.
    The agency has appointed Vikas Khanna to the post of head – activations, while Rajesh Bhatia joins as head interactive and Manish Shukla as head of retail.

    Bhatia comes in from Euro RSCG 4D where he was president while Khanna‘s last stint was with G2Rams, a WPP group company aligned with Grey Worldwide where he was VP and branch head. Shukla joins the agency from Retailscape.

    Bhatia is a digital evangelist with over 17 years of work experience and has been driving innovative digital and integrated marketing strategies for global brands including Nokia, IBM, Max Life Insurance, Airtel, Reckitt Bencksier (Dettol, Harpic, Vanish, Veet, Mortein) and Unilever.

    Bhatia joined the world of digital and data led consumer marketing almost a decade ago and has been a part of the evolution of new age communication in India and has been helping brands transition from traditional marketing communication to effective marketing in the digital world. He has been instrumental in the creation of one of virtual community ? igenius for Max Life Insurance.

    Prior to Euro RSCG 4D, Bhatia has held senior level positions with Solutions Digitas, IDC and Onida across various digital and consumer marketing domains.

    Khanna has over 13 years of experience in the field of events, BTL and activation and has a longstanding portfolio of client relationships. Over the years he has managed brands including BlackBerry (RIM), Cisco, Audi, BMW, M3M, Genpact, Hyundai, GE, Canara HSBC, ITDC and HTC. Prior to G2Rams Khanna has worked with George P Johnson, 360 Degrees, Magnum Nexus Private Limited, Showtime Events India Pvt. Ltd. etc.

    Shukla moves from Retailscape which he set up in 1996. Prior to this he has worked with Lintas, JWT, Gillette, Coca?Cola India. He is an honorary member of POPAI, an industry body and has chaired the organization in the past. He is also on the board of advisor to Point of Purchase Magazine and In?Store Asia.

    Shukla brings with him a wide range of business expertise, experience and relationships in the area of retail marketing and management. Over the years he has consulted to a wide range of clients such as HUL?Wall‘s Ice cream ? Danone International, Evian, PepsiCo, Coca?Cola, Bacardi ? Martini, Bharat Shell, Braun, Parker, Airtel, Shaw Wallace, Samsung, LG – CDMA Phones and Barista Coffee Bars.

    Cheil WW SW Asia COO Alok Agrawal said, “The story of our growth trajectory is already known. Nima‘s joining has tripled our creative strength. Now with Vikas, Rajesh and Manish on board, our leadership team has become even stronger. This enables us to further capitalise on the demands of the marketplace and take brand Cheil to even greater heights.”

  • JWT strengthens digital and creative team

    MUMBAI: Prasanna Kulkarni and Nitin Pradhan have joined JWT as executive creative directors. This is a part of the agency‘s plan to invest in talent and build up its digital and creative capabilities.

    Kulkarni has over 14 years of experience in advertising, brand strategy, and digital media. He comes in from OgilvyOne Worldwide where he led a creative team at for over five years. He has worked for clients like Orange, IBM, Diageo, Cadbury, Lenovo, HSBC, Hindustan Unilever Ltd and British Airways.

    At JWT, Kulkarni will partner with Sushobhan Chowdhury (head of digital strategy) and Rahul Kaul (technology/UX head) to lead and mentor digital-specific core teams in New Delhi and Mumbai.

    JWT India digital head Max Hegerman said, “We are very excited about the addition of someone of Prasanna‘s calibre. As a digital native, he brings in an abundance of hands-on digital experience – and a passion for the space. Prasanna will have an immediate impact on our digital creative capabilities. I am excited to have Prasanna as a part of the core leadership team at JWT Digital.”
    Pradhan moves in from McCann Erickson. His experience in the field spans over 12 years during which he has worked with some of the leading brands across agencies like KBC, Tata Sky, Nescafe and Close-up.

    Pradhan will work closely with JWT chief creative officer Bobby Pawa on special projects, besides handling some of the key brands at JWT Delhi.

    JWT Delhi managing partner Sanjeev Bhargava said, “I am delighted to have Nitin Pradhan joining the JWT family. Over the long discussions I have had with Nitin, I have found him to belong to the brand of creative people who do not sacrifice diligence, perseverance and detailing on the altar of creative vehemence. The correct mix of all these wonderful traits is what Nitin brings to the table and I am looking forward to working closely with him.”

  • ESS ropes in 10 sponsors for Ind-NZ series

    ESS ropes in 10 sponsors for Ind-NZ series

    MUMBAI: Sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports has roped in 10 sponsors for the India-New Zealand that kicks-off Thursday in Hyderabad.

    Tata DoCoMo and Havells are co-presenting sponsors while Maruti Suzuki, Nokia, McDonalds, Asian Paints, Quikr, IBM, Samsung, and ACC have come in associate sponsors.

    Kent RO Systems and Venus Home Appliances complete the roster, sponsoring ESS’ wraparound cricket show.

    The bi-lateral series comprising two Tests and two Twenty20 matches will mark the beginning of a hectic home season for the Men in Blue which will stretch all the way till 2013 beginning November when England visit for a full-fledged series followed by Pakistan and Australia.

    The series will also be the first one after the BCCI terminated its broadcast rights agreement with Nimbus. The rights were eventually won by Star India for a whopping Rs 38.51 billion till 2018.

  • IBM study predicts 23 per cent rise in new media sales

    IBM study predicts 23 per cent rise in new media sales

    MUMBAI: The sales of media on the internet and cellphones are expected to rise 23 per cent over the next four years, according to a IBM study. The upsurge is largely driven by TV networks and film studios putting more of their content online.

    IBM researchers estimated new media sales to grow at nearly five times the rate of traditional media. The biggest surge, they claim will come from the internet syndication of professionally produced programming, which is expected to jump 33 per cent to $25 billion.

    The research cites examples of Walt Disney Co. offering episodes of hit prime-time shows “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” for free on ABC.com and Sony Corp. offering a Star Wars-themed multiplayer game on its Web site.

    The IBM report comes in the wake of Google Inc.’s stalled talks with U.S. television networks to provide TV show programming to online video service YouTube.

    Media companies like Viacom Inc. and General Electric’s NBC Universal are making their programming more widely available on the Internet, but have failed to land distribution deals with YouTube over deal terms and copyright concerns.

    Viacom in early February demanded that YouTube remove more than 100,000 video clips from the service.

    Still, the internet syndication of traditional media companies’ programming will be a small part of the estimated $655 billion of annual media revenue in 2010.

    The IBM report estimated the music industry will have lost a staggering $85 billion to $160 billion in revenue between 1999 through 2010. It also concluded that the music industry will have to sort out the legal fights regarding use of digital media.

    “Doing nothing is not an option,” according to the report’s findings.The growth rates are on a compounded annual growth basis.”We’re not moving from black and white to color TV — from one steady state to another,” said IBM’s global media and entertainment strategy leader in an interview to the media last week.”We’re moving from an era of stability to an era of constant change.”

    Growth rates are higher for new media businesses, but traditional media sales will still play the biggest role with estimated annual sales growth of 5 percent to $340 billion by 2010.

    So called “walled communities,” or networks such as cellphone and cable networks that offer viewer-created programming and revenue from cable and satellite subscriptions and advertising, will rise by 10 percent to $240 billion by 2010.

    ‘New platform aggregators’ such as YouTube and MySpace, are expected to rise by 16 percent to $50 billion.

  • IBM launches new software service

    IBM launches new software service

    MUMBAI: IBM in collaboration with Lotus unit introduces a set of social networking services that functions like a MySpace for office workers in a renewed challenge to Microsoft Corp.

    The Lotus pioneered software is a service called Connections that features the latest ways for users to share information via the Web, while giving businesses controls over who sees what data.Lotus Connections offers the business equivalent of Web meeting places like MySpace.com or Yahoo’s Facebook’s bookmark sharing site del.icio.us and blog search tools like Technorati.com — stitched together in one package. Burton Group’s collaboration software expert Peter O’Kelly said the new software from IBM Lotus promises to shake up a market dominated by Microsoft.

    “This is going to rekindle the competition between Microsoft and IBM,” said O’Kelly “I think IBM is playing offense here.”
    The new offering could chip away at Microsoft’s lead in the collaboration and e-mail messaging market, where five years ago Microsoft Outlook e-mail and its newer SharePoint collaboration software began to surge past rival IBM products, O’Kelly said.

    While exact numbers are hard to come by, last year IBM said Lotus Notes had 125 million users. Adding in collaboration software, Lotus users number around 150 million, O’Kelly said. Microsoft has 200 million Outlook users and signed up another 80 million licensed users of SharePoint software, he estimated.

    IBM officials see a shift in focus from the quest for personal productivity that characterized computer advances of the 1990s to the “team productivity” which Web-based collaborative tools have begun to enable in recent years.Connections combines five components: member profiles, activities, blogs, communities and “dogear” — IBM’s word for how users identify and share Web bookmarks with colleagues.

    Connections uses the popular Web navigation technique of “tagging” to help users track popular discussion topics and figure out who may have expertise on any subject. The software provides a way for individuals to quickly set-up ad hoc groups to collaborate on projects, storing relevant documents, e-mails and Web sites together. Each user can publish blogs to share ideas with colleagues.

    “What Web 2.0 has demonstrated is that self-defining communities often do a better job of locating relevant information,” IBM software chief Steve Mills said. “This helps with the rapid identification of expertise and experts.” Lotus Connections will be available in the first half of 2007 although pricing hasn’t been disclosed. O’Kelly said IBM’s Web software could cause many corporate buyers who stopped considering Lotus Notes a decade ago to reconsider their reliance on Microsoft’s rival software suite.

    Revenue in the Lotus division grew 30 percent during the latest quarter compared with the final quarter of 2005, IBM reported last week. The company will demonstrate the service at its annual Lotusphere customer conference in Orlando, Florida.

  • IBM files patent infringement lawsuits against Amazon.com

    IBM files patent infringement lawsuits against Amazon.com

    MUMBAI: IBM has filed two patent infringement lawsuits against online book and retail major Amazon.com for unspecified damages.

    The lawsuits come after nearly four years of attempts by IBM to resolve its concerns with Amazon.com over infringement of IBM’s patents.

    The suits were filed in two District Courts for the Eastern District of Texas: one suit in the Tyler Division and the other suit in the Lufkin Division.

    IBM Technology and Intellectual Property senior VP Dr. John E. Kelly III says, “We filed this case for a very simple reason. IBM’s property is being knowingly and unfairly exploited. IBM is one of the world’s leading creators of intellectual property and one of the most progressive in embracing new, highly collaborative ways of driving and managing innovation.

    “Everything we do is premised on the fundamental principle that IBM’s intellectual property is one of our core assets, and represents the work product of tens of thousands of scientists and engineers and billions of dollars of investment.”

    IBM said that Amazon.com has willfully infringed and continues to infringe on a number of key IBM patents.

    Dating back to September 2002, IBM says that it has notified Amazon.com numerous times of the infringement, but Amazon.com has shown no willingness to have meaningful discussions.

    “When someone takes our property, without our permission through a license, we have no option but to protect it through every means available to us,” said Kelly.

    IBM holds more than 40,000 patents worldwide and has been awarded the most US patents for 13 consecutive years. The company has a long history of licensing its patents covering e-commerce on fair terms. Over the past five decades, IBM has entered into numerous patent licensing agreements with companies that respect intellectual property rights in a broad range of industries. Many companies have licensed these five high-quality patents from IBM, as well as others, in “field of use” patent licenses.

  • Alcatel, IBM and Microsoft Collaborate to deliver Integrated Server Solutions for IPTV

    Alcatel, IBM and Microsoft Collaborate to deliver Integrated Server Solutions for IPTV

    MUMBAI: Alcatel and Microsoft Corp. announced they will harness IBM’s server systems technology to deliver solutions for carrier-class triple play/Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) deployments. This announcement, combined with the existing OEM agreement between IBM and Alcatel, solidifies IBM as a key member of the joint Alcatel-Microsoft IPTV ecosystem.

    As a result, IBM, Alcatel and Microsoft will work together to deliver these advanced systems to carriers deploying triple play service offerings.

    The optimization of IBM’s server and storage solutions will include the ability to provide superior support for the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform within Alcatel’s overall Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture (TPSDA). The companies will also cooperate on global go-to- market efforts that will include joint selling and marketing activities, states an official release.

    The combination of Alcatel’s network access experience, IBM’s proven server solutions and Microsoft’s software expertise and comprehensive IPTV Edition software platform is expected to speed time to market for IPTV services while improving system performance and architecture scalability for telecommunications service providers. In addition, with the pre-investment in performance testing and integration, the cooperation also has the potential to improve performance and lower CAPEX for service providers, the release adds.

    “As the key services integrator and partner to many of the world’s largest service providers seeking to deliver triple play offerings, our customers rely on us for guidance across all areas of their projects,” says president for Alcatel’s fixed solutions activities Monika Maurer. “By working with established leaders like IBM and Microsoft we maintain tremendous confidence in the capabilities of the ecosystem, while providing our customers with the flexibility and reliability necessary for their next-generation network deployments.”

    “IBM is pleased to be a key server platform and storage provider in delivering integrated IPTV solutions to Alcatel and Microsoft customers,” says IBM’s Systems and Technology GroupVP Jim Pertzborn. “Leveraging the breadth of IBM’s System x ™ and BladeCenter ™ technologies will enable Alcatel and Microsoft to deliver reliable, scalable and cost-effective IPTV solutions to their customers.”

    “Our joint collaboration with Alcatel and IBM is a significant validation of the growing IPTV industry,” adds Microsoft TV Division GM Marketing Christine Heckart. “By working with these industry-leading companies we can continue to strengthen the Microsoft IPTV Edition platform while enabling service providers to cost-effectively deliver exciting new TV experiences for consumers.”