Tag: Indian audiences

  • Launching Pickapic.in, a platform for truly desi vectors and pictures

    Launching Pickapic.in, a platform for truly desi vectors and pictures

    MUMBAI: Increased graphic and visual content in this age of digital and social media communications leaves you engaged, entertained and sometimes even frustrated. This is true for most graphic and visual designers who cater primarily to the Indian audiences – their designs aimed at an average Indian. While there are several websites that stock images and illustrations, there are hardly any out there which stock India specific vectors.

     

    International images – with international models and depictions reduces the efficacy of a piece of communication, thereby making a fraction of the desired impact on the audience it was intended for.

     

    www. pickapic.in, launched in January 2014, addresses this inherent need. Spread over 30 categories, the platform has over a million vectors and growing, to address the ever increasing need of an Indian designer. Along with creative visuals there are some very niche categories which resonate with being Indian like Truck Art, Warli Paintings, Holi, Diwali, the Indian flag among others.

     

    Designs are available in editable formats and can be easily edited using Adobe Illustrator.

     

    Speaking about the concept of pickapic.in, the founder Sameer Shinde says, “ Working as Director and Creative Head with Nucleus Integrated Communications, I regularly encountered a lack of quality images, vectors and illustrations with Indian Designs, Indian Reference and relevant to the Indian Audience. That is where the idea of providing a platform with relevant Indian Illustrations and design cropped up”

     

    “We are looking at being the ‘go-to’ platform for all visual content for the Indian context.”

     

    Pickapic has started out by creating their own stock of vectors. This began with deploying a team in-house to create the initial stock of about 50,000 vectors. Speaking on the way forward, Sameer says, “We are looking at inviting contributions from graphic artists, designers and illustrators and host them as Rights Managed Vectors and Illustrations, as we move further”

     

    Usage of images have shown a steady growth of 5-7% worldwide, vector usage has grown by more than 60% but at the same time there is no dedicated platform that addresses the need of styled vectors and illustrations that are suited for Indian designs.

     

    “The market in India for India specific vectors and images is quite unorganised and amounts to more than 1200 cr. We are looking at creating an organised space in this niche and garner about 5-7% Market share in the next 3 years.”

     

    The pricing model of Pickapic.in is flexible. A customer doesn’t need to buy a package when he is interested in buying one single image. www.pickapic.in was officially launched on 1st Jan, 2014. In the first month of operations we have about 350 registrations. The company has plans to diversify into further visual content like Still Images, Animated Characters as well as Video Stocks in some point in time, but they intend to remain an India Specific Platform.

     

  • Big RTL Thrill to telecast I Am Bruce Lee

    Big RTL Thrill to telecast I Am Bruce Lee

    MUMBAI: Big RTL Thrill, is all set to pay tribute to Bruce Lee on his 73rd birth anniversary. The channel which caters mainly to the male audience will telecast I Am Bruce Lee exclusively for its Indian audiences. The documentary which chronicles the action-packed life of the martial arts hero will be aired on 27 November at 10:00 pm.

     

    The channel which is available in dual feeds of Hindi and English, through this offering, gives an opportunity to all the martial art enthusiasts to have an insight into the master’s life who has justified each role with perfection from being a martial art expert, and founder of Jeet Dune Do to a son, husband and legendary icon.

     

    Across the world, I Am Bruce Lee is a well applauded documentary–cum- biopic about the greatest phenomena of martial arts, Bruce Lee. The documentary not only showcases the master’s excellence but will also focus on his personal life through the lens of his family, friends etc. The biopic is an interesting mixture of the master’s personal and professional stories. It includes footage featuring Bruce Lee’s students from the past, co-actors and everybody closely involved with his life. 

  • Breaking news, the French way

    Breaking news, the French way

    MUMBAI: The French public news channel France 24 has been available on cable TV since December 2010. However, it is only now that the channel is going all out to announce its arrival to Indian audiences.

    Earlier this month, France 24 inked deals with two DTH platforms, Dish TV and DD Direct+ to increase its reach to 38 million viewers from just 7 million on cable TV.

    And soon, a slew of advertisements will appear in newspapers and out-of-home (OOH) media, with French major Gedeon as the creative agency of choice.

    The channel, which aims to offer India a glimpse of the world essentially through French eyes, has kicked-off promotional campaigns with the tagline ‘World news made in France’ in leading newspapers and magazines, including The Times of India, Hindustan Times, India Today and Time Out. Apart from this, outdoor hoardings will be seen at the Delhi Airport and Metro junctions for three months.

    Says France Monde Group CEO and chairwoman Marie-Christine Saragosse: “In terms of distribution, India represents a substantial and strategic market for us. Over the years, India has become a major player on the international scene and now it’s time for France 24 to be available to the largest possible audience across the country. That’s the reason why our long-term objective is to establish the channel as a reference and make its presence durable to Indian viewers. But to do so, we need to reach more and more TV households, increase the channel’s profile and the visibility of its programs.”

    Distributed across the country by Catvision, the FTA channel has also launched India-centric programmes to air till the end of this month.

    “France 24 is an international news channel, therefore our reports and coverage depend on the international agenda but one thing is sure, we’ll be increasing our coverage of all major news in India and in its region,” says Saragosse, adding that India has been quoted over 250 times on the website, either in articles or TV reports, since the beginning of the year.

     

    Saragosse feels that Indians will know the way the French see and present news

    “Our India-based journalists in the region are permanently on alert and covering every event related to the country live in our news bulletins and reports,” she says, informing that two teams have been operating from Delhi and Mumbai since the channel’s worldwide launch in 2006.

    The French diaspora in India is pegged at approximately 10,000 while according to the International Organization of the Francophonie, there are around 2.6 French-speaking people in India.

    So is France 24 mainly catering to this segment? “It is obviously important for us to target the French speakers and the French expatriates. Nevertheless, the biggest potential in the region remains the English-speaking market. That’s why we want to address the English speakers with our English version in India. Anyone with a connection to France is a plus, but our French perspective on news is quite universal and it is today making the difference: with 41.7 million TV viewers each week, France 24 has found its rightful place in the global news international concert. It gives a French perspective to international current events through diversity of opinions, debate, contradiction and confrontation of viewpoints,” says Saragosse.

    A media planner however pointed out that the ad campaign, while showing France 24’s POV, doesn’t really connect with Indian audiences. “It will not be easy for them to garner a mass audience. At the same time, BBC is an established brand already for international news. They might also be doing the same: building the brand name in the country,” he says.

    Another planner though felt the deals would add value to the channel by making it more visible to viewers in the country.

    Right now, France 24 isn’t earning any revenue from advertising as it is a foreign channel and an FTA. It has also burnt a hole in its pocket in carriage and advertising fees. “Discussing everything; that’s undoubtedly part of the French way of life. And I am pretty sure you’ll like it,” Saragosse signs off.