MUMBAI: SABGroup unveiled the first look of their latest initiative, Happii-Fi at a recent awards event organized at St. Regis Hotel, Lower Parel.
What sets SABGROUP’s digital initiative, Happii-Fi apart from other comedy content providers is the fact that its outreach is not limited. The idea is to create cutting edge comedy content and then build unprecedented digital reach via strategic partnerships with various OTT platforms, OEM’s, Teleco’s as well as digital aggregators. Some of their partnerships include those with Micromax, Hungama, FunOnGo, nexGTv, Indus, Daily Motion, Facebook, YouTube and One Digital Entertainment.
Sri Adhikari Brothers Group CEO Manav Dhanda said, “We are looking to change the trend in the way content reaches out to people with our latest initiative Happii-Fi. Happii-Fi will create cutting edge comedy content for the Indian masses which as a segment is still terribly underserved & has only catch up TV/Movies to consume online. As India touches a 1 billion online population, the first 200 million and the next 800 million who come online are starkly contrary beings. We are creating an opportunity where real India lies.”
Multiple shows that will be launched under Happii-Fi include Ghar Bar, Nayiwali Girlfriend, Kya Cheez hai India, Bro Court, Controversial Bhabhiji, Dholi&Kholi, The Rat Race and lots more. Some of the notable names associated with the shows include Shakti Kapoor who is the lead actor of Ghar Bar & Sagar Ballary(Of Bheja Fry Fame) who is the director of Ghar Bar. Also Shilpa Shinde will feature in the series of Controversial Bhabhiji.
MUMBAI: This summer Ten Sports Network (Ten Sports) has brought in a four-month long uninterrupted Cricket Festival to the cricket-crazy Indian sub-continent. Ten Sports has roped in major sponsorship deals with Micromax as the presenting sponsor, Gillette and Fogg as the co-presenters and Kent RO as the studio sponsor for Ten Sports cricket analysis show Straight Drive. The analysis show is presented pre-match, during the innings break and post-match.
The Cricket Festival started with a tri-nation series in the Caribbean between reigning World T20 champs West Indies, reigning World champs Australia and the ever-green Proteas. This was followed by India’s tour to Zimbabwe, with India winning the 3 ODIS emphatically and Zimbabwe taking the lead in the ongoing three-match T20 series. After the Zimbabwean safari, Team India will travel to the Caribbean for a four-match Test series. Simultaneously, the Aussies will be travelling to Sri Lanka for 3 Tests, 5 ODIs and 2 T20s while the New Zealand Cricket team will be in Zimbabwe to play a two-match Test series.
Speaking on the Cricket Festival, Ten Sports Global CEO Rajesh Sethi said, “The Cricket Festival is an excellent proposition as we celebrate the best of cricket this summer from across the world. Most of the matches have resulted in close encounters which have been an absolute delight to our fans. We are also happy to partner with top brands from the country who have shown keen interest in the property. We have Micromax on board as the presenting sponsor, Gillette and Fogg as the co-presenters and Kent RO as the sponsor of Straight Drive, cricket’s most popular analysis show.”
Commenting on the partnership, Micromax Informatics chief marketing officer Shubhajit Sen said, “Being a youth centric brand, Micromax has always been focused on Movies, Sports and Music. In line with this, we are happy to partner with Ten Sports Network for Micromax Cricket Festival to bring an exhilarating cricket season to the millions of passionate cricketing fans in the country. This sponsorship once again reiterates our commitment towards engaging with the youth and building a brand that echoes their interest and pulse.”
MUMBAI: This summer Ten Sports Network (Ten Sports) has brought in a four-month long uninterrupted Cricket Festival to the cricket-crazy Indian sub-continent. Ten Sports has roped in major sponsorship deals with Micromax as the presenting sponsor, Gillette and Fogg as the co-presenters and Kent RO as the studio sponsor for Ten Sports cricket analysis show Straight Drive. The analysis show is presented pre-match, during the innings break and post-match.
The Cricket Festival started with a tri-nation series in the Caribbean between reigning World T20 champs West Indies, reigning World champs Australia and the ever-green Proteas. This was followed by India’s tour to Zimbabwe, with India winning the 3 ODIS emphatically and Zimbabwe taking the lead in the ongoing three-match T20 series. After the Zimbabwean safari, Team India will travel to the Caribbean for a four-match Test series. Simultaneously, the Aussies will be travelling to Sri Lanka for 3 Tests, 5 ODIs and 2 T20s while the New Zealand Cricket team will be in Zimbabwe to play a two-match Test series.
Speaking on the Cricket Festival, Ten Sports Global CEO Rajesh Sethi said, “The Cricket Festival is an excellent proposition as we celebrate the best of cricket this summer from across the world. Most of the matches have resulted in close encounters which have been an absolute delight to our fans. We are also happy to partner with top brands from the country who have shown keen interest in the property. We have Micromax on board as the presenting sponsor, Gillette and Fogg as the co-presenters and Kent RO as the sponsor of Straight Drive, cricket’s most popular analysis show.”
Commenting on the partnership, Micromax Informatics chief marketing officer Shubhajit Sen said, “Being a youth centric brand, Micromax has always been focused on Movies, Sports and Music. In line with this, we are happy to partner with Ten Sports Network for Micromax Cricket Festival to bring an exhilarating cricket season to the millions of passionate cricketing fans in the country. This sponsorship once again reiterates our commitment towards engaging with the youth and building a brand that echoes their interest and pulse.”
MUMBAI: YU, the new age technology brand, and the fully owned subsidiary of Micromax today announced three senior level appointments, strengthening its core team responsible for future expansion and growth. The company has appointed Bharat Singh Malik as the Vice President of Service, Deepak Dahiya as Head of Sales – South and West region and Chandra Kishore as the Head of Sales – North and East region. The move is aimed at building a robust offline sales network and increasing its focus on customer service.
Commenting on the high profile appointments, Mr. Shubhodip Pal, Chief Operating Officer, YU Televentures said “In a very short span, the agility with which we moved, the products that we introduced, the way our users interacted with us and the feedback that we received from the developer community, has been defining and extraordinary. While in the first phase we focused on taking crucial steps towards consumer confidence and brand acceptability, in the second phase we will strengthening our national presence and growth potential to reach newer audience. This core team brings with them a wealth of experience, which is exceedingly valuable at this juncture of our growth story.”
Bharat is a strategic leader and bring with him a wealth of experience in strategizing and managing the service operations for some of the leading brands in the category including Samsung and Nokia. This is Bharat’s second stint with the company, as he led the same function for Micromax, the parent brand of YU. His area of expertise lies in setting up service networks, contact centers, central support warehouses regional support warehouses. Bharat will aggressively chart out a clear cut service and support strategy to help YU enhance its customer service and delight.
Commenting on his appointment Bharat Singh Malik said “It is a great opportunity for me to be working with YU, a young brand which is all set to make it big. I am proud to be a part of an organization that is dedicated to maintaining a reputation built on quality, service, and uncompromising ethics.”
Deepak Dahiya, Head of Sales- South and West said “Micromax has been a brand really close to my heart as I was one of the initial team members of the Micromax family. I went to the US to pursue an alternate career however a call from Rahul and his vision for YU, got me back. I am thrilled to take the brand to the next level and will certainly focus on two of the biggest smartphone regions in India- South and West”
Commenting on his new role Chandra Kishore said “There is immense potential in regions and consumers are adopting technology like never before. In my new role at YU, I look forward to building growth opportunities for the brand.”
Deepak and Chandra are mandated to boost the online sales while driving YU’s physical footprint across the country. With over 9 years of experience, Deepak Dahiya is a maverick who has been breaking new avenues and driving revenue growth by keeping abreast of market trends and competition moves to achieve market-share metrics. Deepak has been associated with the parent brand Micromax since 2007 in different roles. At YU, Deepak will be a key resource to accentuate its successful journey in the West and South India markets. Chandra has great experience in preparing high impact sales strategies and contributing towards enhancing business volumes and growth. He has been with the parent brand Micromax since 2008 and now in his new role he is all set to solely enhance YU’s presence in some of the largest markets in North and Eastern India.
MUMBAI: YU, the new age technology brand, and the fully owned subsidiary of Micromax today announced three senior level appointments, strengthening its core team responsible for future expansion and growth. The company has appointed Bharat Singh Malik as the Vice President of Service, Deepak Dahiya as Head of Sales – South and West region and Chandra Kishore as the Head of Sales – North and East region. The move is aimed at building a robust offline sales network and increasing its focus on customer service.
Commenting on the high profile appointments, Mr. Shubhodip Pal, Chief Operating Officer, YU Televentures said “In a very short span, the agility with which we moved, the products that we introduced, the way our users interacted with us and the feedback that we received from the developer community, has been defining and extraordinary. While in the first phase we focused on taking crucial steps towards consumer confidence and brand acceptability, in the second phase we will strengthening our national presence and growth potential to reach newer audience. This core team brings with them a wealth of experience, which is exceedingly valuable at this juncture of our growth story.”
Bharat is a strategic leader and bring with him a wealth of experience in strategizing and managing the service operations for some of the leading brands in the category including Samsung and Nokia. This is Bharat’s second stint with the company, as he led the same function for Micromax, the parent brand of YU. His area of expertise lies in setting up service networks, contact centers, central support warehouses regional support warehouses. Bharat will aggressively chart out a clear cut service and support strategy to help YU enhance its customer service and delight.
Commenting on his appointment Bharat Singh Malik said “It is a great opportunity for me to be working with YU, a young brand which is all set to make it big. I am proud to be a part of an organization that is dedicated to maintaining a reputation built on quality, service, and uncompromising ethics.”
Deepak Dahiya, Head of Sales- South and West said “Micromax has been a brand really close to my heart as I was one of the initial team members of the Micromax family. I went to the US to pursue an alternate career however a call from Rahul and his vision for YU, got me back. I am thrilled to take the brand to the next level and will certainly focus on two of the biggest smartphone regions in India- South and West”
Commenting on his new role Chandra Kishore said “There is immense potential in regions and consumers are adopting technology like never before. In my new role at YU, I look forward to building growth opportunities for the brand.”
Deepak and Chandra are mandated to boost the online sales while driving YU’s physical footprint across the country. With over 9 years of experience, Deepak Dahiya is a maverick who has been breaking new avenues and driving revenue growth by keeping abreast of market trends and competition moves to achieve market-share metrics. Deepak has been associated with the parent brand Micromax since 2007 in different roles. At YU, Deepak will be a key resource to accentuate its successful journey in the West and South India markets. Chandra has great experience in preparing high impact sales strategies and contributing towards enhancing business volumes and growth. He has been with the parent brand Micromax since 2008 and now in his new role he is all set to solely enhance YU’s presence in some of the largest markets in North and Eastern India.
New Delhi: According to International Data Corporation (IDC),Indian tablet market in CY Q12016 remained flat over previous quarter with total shipments of 0.86 million units (including slate and detachable form factors). However, shipments grew by a marginal 1.3 percent over the same period last year. Declining consumer interest in the slate tablet form factor and rapid growth of large screen smartphones (phablets) causing the tablet market to slow down.
Detachables traction continued in Q1 2016 with triple digit year-over-year growth, although it was on low base as uptake in this form factor began mainly from Q2 2016.“Windows based detachables continue to account over 70 percent share, however Apple’s recent foray into this segment has garnered them to clock decent numbers given the premium price of their products. Although, continued long-term success may prove challenging as it plays inhigher entry price pointand iOS is yet to prove its enterprise-readiness unlike Microsoft”says,Karthik J, Senior Market Analyst, IDC India.
Micromax continued to leaddetachables category accounting for more than one-third oftotal shipments in Q1 2016.“Smartphone vendors constitute more than half of detachables. Their strong understanding of mobile ecosystem and the volume achieved from their smartphone product lines would allow them to aggressively compete in this new computing segment”, adds Karthik.
Datawind: Datawind withstood its top position with 27.6 percentage share as shipment grew at a healthy 33.5 percent over previous quarter. Vendor’s shipments doubled year-on-year showing a sharp trajectory in last one year. Vendor’s television channel partners played pivotal role in this quarter’s growth through their aggressive marketing and selling during mid-quarter.
Samsung: Samsung sustained its 2nd place with vendor share of 15.2 percentage in Q1 2016. Shipments dipped marginally by 3.7 percent over previous quarter but grew 5.1 percent over Q1 2015. Entry level Galaxy Tab models continue to be volume runners for Samsung in Slate tablets. However, vendor began to face stiff competition in premium detachable segment from Apple and Microsoft in Q1 2016.
Lenovo: Lenovo being the only PC vendor in Top 5 moved up to 3rd position in Q1 2016 with a market share of 13.6 percentage. Q1 2016 shipment grew at a healthy 30.5 percent over the same period last year while dipped marginallyover Q4 2015. While commercial segment continued to drive volumes for the vendor, its new product Phab saw some healthy shipments in consumer segment.
Micromax: Micromax slipped to 4th place as shipments dip further in Q1 2016 by 27 percentover previous quarter to hold themarket share of 11.3 percentage. However, vendor managed to post 16.2 percent growth over the same period last year owing to healthy contribution from its Laptab detachable.
iBall: iBall manages to be in Top 5 with vendor share of 8.7 percentage in Q1 2016. iBall shipments dip approximately by 12 percentage both sequentially and year-on-year. While the vendor was one of the first few who introduced low cost detachables in the Indian market, it has somewhere lost out opportunity to capitalizethe growth in detachable category.
IDC India Forecast:
Tablet market in CY 2016 is expected to be stagnant in India but is likely to witnesschanging trends like healthy growth in commercial segment, migration to higher screen slate tablets and increase in adoption of 4G based tablets.
“Detachables are expected to ramp upswiftly with majority traction coming from affordable windows based devices. Also, with Apple launching iPad pro 9.7, iOS is likely to gain share in detachables category this year”, says Navkendar Singh, Senior Research Manager, IDC India.
New Delhi: According to International Data Corporation (IDC),Indian tablet market in CY Q12016 remained flat over previous quarter with total shipments of 0.86 million units (including slate and detachable form factors). However, shipments grew by a marginal 1.3 percent over the same period last year. Declining consumer interest in the slate tablet form factor and rapid growth of large screen smartphones (phablets) causing the tablet market to slow down.
Detachables traction continued in Q1 2016 with triple digit year-over-year growth, although it was on low base as uptake in this form factor began mainly from Q2 2016.“Windows based detachables continue to account over 70 percent share, however Apple’s recent foray into this segment has garnered them to clock decent numbers given the premium price of their products. Although, continued long-term success may prove challenging as it plays inhigher entry price pointand iOS is yet to prove its enterprise-readiness unlike Microsoft”says,Karthik J, Senior Market Analyst, IDC India.
Micromax continued to leaddetachables category accounting for more than one-third oftotal shipments in Q1 2016.“Smartphone vendors constitute more than half of detachables. Their strong understanding of mobile ecosystem and the volume achieved from their smartphone product lines would allow them to aggressively compete in this new computing segment”, adds Karthik.
Datawind: Datawind withstood its top position with 27.6 percentage share as shipment grew at a healthy 33.5 percent over previous quarter. Vendor’s shipments doubled year-on-year showing a sharp trajectory in last one year. Vendor’s television channel partners played pivotal role in this quarter’s growth through their aggressive marketing and selling during mid-quarter.
Samsung: Samsung sustained its 2nd place with vendor share of 15.2 percentage in Q1 2016. Shipments dipped marginally by 3.7 percent over previous quarter but grew 5.1 percent over Q1 2015. Entry level Galaxy Tab models continue to be volume runners for Samsung in Slate tablets. However, vendor began to face stiff competition in premium detachable segment from Apple and Microsoft in Q1 2016.
Lenovo: Lenovo being the only PC vendor in Top 5 moved up to 3rd position in Q1 2016 with a market share of 13.6 percentage. Q1 2016 shipment grew at a healthy 30.5 percent over the same period last year while dipped marginallyover Q4 2015. While commercial segment continued to drive volumes for the vendor, its new product Phab saw some healthy shipments in consumer segment.
Micromax: Micromax slipped to 4th place as shipments dip further in Q1 2016 by 27 percentover previous quarter to hold themarket share of 11.3 percentage. However, vendor managed to post 16.2 percent growth over the same period last year owing to healthy contribution from its Laptab detachable.
iBall: iBall manages to be in Top 5 with vendor share of 8.7 percentage in Q1 2016. iBall shipments dip approximately by 12 percentage both sequentially and year-on-year. While the vendor was one of the first few who introduced low cost detachables in the Indian market, it has somewhere lost out opportunity to capitalizethe growth in detachable category.
IDC India Forecast:
Tablet market in CY 2016 is expected to be stagnant in India but is likely to witnesschanging trends like healthy growth in commercial segment, migration to higher screen slate tablets and increase in adoption of 4G based tablets.
“Detachables are expected to ramp upswiftly with majority traction coming from affordable windows based devices. Also, with Apple launching iPad pro 9.7, iOS is likely to gain share in detachables category this year”, says Navkendar Singh, Senior Research Manager, IDC India.
MUMBAI: Between his outrageously funny jokes, bang on comic timing and ‘put-you-at-ease’ smiles, comedy king Kapil Sharma has redefined the genre on television. His quick rise to fame flummoxed several in this entertainment industry as it didn’t follow the generic tropes – a strong Bollywood background, political backing or affluent beginning, Sharma had none.
But it is this ‘guy next door’ image that drove his fandom in the country and compelled brands with big marketing budgets to turn and take notice of him back in 2014. The last two years saw Sharma’s career take some topsy-turvy turns – his heights to fame with the his show Comedy Nights With Kapil, the tiff with Colors TV, and his subsequent departure from the channel, his hiatus from the small screen and finally his re-entry through Sony with The Kapil Sharma Show – and yet brand Kapil Sharma is going strong and how!
As per the data audience research organisation Ormax shared with Indiantelevision.com, Sharma tops the non-fiction characters in Ormax Characters India Loves list. Averaging the data for six months between October 2015 to March 2016, Kapil Sharma of Comedy Nights With Kapil has bagged 36 per cent of popularity, beating Salman Khan at second place with 16 per cent, Rannvijay of the Roadies fame at third place with a 4 percent share, Rannvijay ties it with Anoop Soni from Crime Patrol; and Sushant Singh from Savdhaan India at fourth place with 3 per cent. Here percentages denote the popularity share of each person.
“Because of his ‘non starry’ appeal, his fan base is basically a family audience including women above thirty five years of age. Within the Hindi speaking market (HSM) his core strength is mostly in the northern states. What Kapil has achieved with this fan base is quite remarkable. There have been comedy shows before his, but none could become a household name such as he has,” states Ormax Media founder Shailesh Kapoor.
Kapoor also points out that even though the show went off air, Sharma remained the most popular non-fiction character in the category by quite a large margin. His popularity is evident from the anticipation in the nation for his come back to the small screen with his flagship The Kapil Sharma Show on Sony, which he is producing under his banner of K9 Productions.
Kapil Sharma fame isn’t confined to the television industry alone. His fame competes with the likes of Saif Ali Khan and Sonam Kapoor. He is the only television star who has featured in Forbes India’s top 100 Celebrities list in 2015 at rank no 27 when it comes to popularity, beating Saif Ali Khan, Ranveer Singh, Yo Yo Honey Singh, and even Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for that matter. The same list reports his net income as Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million). While that’s a jaw dropping figure for any average entertainer, Sharma has a long way to go to rank high when it comes to net income per year. But no, there is no reason to fret for Kapil fans. Judging by how brands are enamoured with him, it’s only a matter of time before he joins the prestigious Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) club.
“When it comes to brand value, Kapil Sharma is one of the few personalities who came without any established filmy baggage and made it really big. In spite of him taking a short hiatus off screen, there hasn’t been a dent in his brand value,” says multi-platform entertainment management company Exceed CEO Uday Singh. “It is amazing how the hysteria and euphoria around Kapil Sharma remains constant since Comedy Nights With Kapil became a hit. I can’t quantify whether it’s a Rs 100 crore, but the familiarity and the relativity that Kapil Sharma gives off to his audience is what makes him a good choice for brands who want to reach the masses,” Singh explains.
So far every brand that has sought Kapil’s help to boost its brand message has cast him as a middle class or upper middle class man, or a guy next door character rather than the star Kapil Sharma is. In 2014, Sharma starred in a digital campaign for Honda Mobilio in which he played a salesman. With a success story of garnering millions of views, it was a perfect fit. As per media reports Honda India paid him Rs 4.5 crore (Rs 4.5 million) for the deal.
But it was his partnership with online classifieds website OLX India that truly took off his endorsement career. OLX India signed him on for Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 25 million) approximately for the campaign. “When the deal between Kapil Sharma and OLX was inked back in 2014, several eyebrows were raised as it was considered too big for a television star like Kapil,” revealed a source who was close to the development. Back then entertainment agencies facilitated the endorsement deals for Kapil Sharma, like most of the celebrities in the industry. Now, Sharma has taken it upon
Like most celebrities, Sharma locks these endorsement deals on a daily rate basis for the number of days he needs to commit to the campaign in a year. Having said that, the norm varies from brand to brand, depending on the nature of the campaign. Being a live performer allows Sharma to be flexible with what he offers to the brands, and his contract may include live engagements and event shows. That naturally adds to the quote he gives the advertiser. As per an industry insider, Sharma demands anything between Rs 3 to 4 crore (Rs 30 to 40 million) from a brand for an endorsement.
On an average, Sharma works on eight to ten different brands at a given time. These have included TVS Tyres, Policy Bazar, Micromax, PaisaBazaar and more. The number is likely to go up once his show goes live again on Sony, on 23 April, provided it makes the mark that it promises to.
“Obviously, if he has to maintain his brand value he needs a show on air. While one or two months haven’t affected the value of brand Kapil Sharma, if he doesn’t have a show for a long time, the audience might move on. Therefore just like a movie star needs to keep coming with movies, a television stars need to have at least one show on air at a time,” Kapoor shares.
Before one-upping his past show with more gripping content remains important for Sharma, brand Kapil Sharma has more pressing matters to handle as The Kapil Sharma Show goes head to head with one of the biggest brands and events in India, the Indian Premier League. Only the coming Thursday’s BARC data will tell us if Sharma has walked out of his show’s premiere with his head held high. His fans – of which there are many – won’t really care. They were the ultimate winners as they got a chance to engage with Kapil and team and roll over with laughter over the weekend .
MUMBAI: Between his outrageously funny jokes, bang on comic timing and ‘put-you-at-ease’ smiles, comedy king Kapil Sharma has redefined the genre on television. His quick rise to fame flummoxed several in this entertainment industry as it didn’t follow the generic tropes – a strong Bollywood background, political backing or affluent beginning, Sharma had none.
But it is this ‘guy next door’ image that drove his fandom in the country and compelled brands with big marketing budgets to turn and take notice of him back in 2014. The last two years saw Sharma’s career take some topsy-turvy turns – his heights to fame with the his show Comedy Nights With Kapil, the tiff with Colors TV, and his subsequent departure from the channel, his hiatus from the small screen and finally his re-entry through Sony with The Kapil Sharma Show – and yet brand Kapil Sharma is going strong and how!
As per the data audience research organisation Ormax shared with Indiantelevision.com, Sharma tops the non-fiction characters in Ormax Characters India Loves list. Averaging the data for six months between October 2015 to March 2016, Kapil Sharma of Comedy Nights With Kapil has bagged 36 per cent of popularity, beating Salman Khan at second place with 16 per cent, Rannvijay of the Roadies fame at third place with a 4 percent share, Rannvijay ties it with Anoop Soni from Crime Patrol; and Sushant Singh from Savdhaan India at fourth place with 3 per cent. Here percentages denote the popularity share of each person.
“Because of his ‘non starry’ appeal, his fan base is basically a family audience including women above thirty five years of age. Within the Hindi speaking market (HSM) his core strength is mostly in the northern states. What Kapil has achieved with this fan base is quite remarkable. There have been comedy shows before his, but none could become a household name such as he has,” states Ormax Media founder Shailesh Kapoor.
Kapoor also points out that even though the show went off air, Sharma remained the most popular non-fiction character in the category by quite a large margin. His popularity is evident from the anticipation in the nation for his come back to the small screen with his flagship The Kapil Sharma Show on Sony, which he is producing under his banner of K9 Productions.
Kapil Sharma fame isn’t confined to the television industry alone. His fame competes with the likes of Saif Ali Khan and Sonam Kapoor. He is the only television star who has featured in Forbes India’s top 100 Celebrities list in 2015 at rank no 27 when it comes to popularity, beating Saif Ali Khan, Ranveer Singh, Yo Yo Honey Singh, and even Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for that matter. The same list reports his net income as Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million). While that’s a jaw dropping figure for any average entertainer, Sharma has a long way to go to rank high when it comes to net income per year. But no, there is no reason to fret for Kapil fans. Judging by how brands are enamoured with him, it’s only a matter of time before he joins the prestigious Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) club.
“When it comes to brand value, Kapil Sharma is one of the few personalities who came without any established filmy baggage and made it really big. In spite of him taking a short hiatus off screen, there hasn’t been a dent in his brand value,” says multi-platform entertainment management company Exceed CEO Uday Singh. “It is amazing how the hysteria and euphoria around Kapil Sharma remains constant since Comedy Nights With Kapil became a hit. I can’t quantify whether it’s a Rs 100 crore, but the familiarity and the relativity that Kapil Sharma gives off to his audience is what makes him a good choice for brands who want to reach the masses,” Singh explains.
So far every brand that has sought Kapil’s help to boost its brand message has cast him as a middle class or upper middle class man, or a guy next door character rather than the star Kapil Sharma is. In 2014, Sharma starred in a digital campaign for Honda Mobilio in which he played a salesman. With a success story of garnering millions of views, it was a perfect fit. As per media reports Honda India paid him Rs 4.5 crore (Rs 4.5 million) for the deal.
But it was his partnership with online classifieds website OLX India that truly took off his endorsement career. OLX India signed him on for Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 25 million) approximately for the campaign. “When the deal between Kapil Sharma and OLX was inked back in 2014, several eyebrows were raised as it was considered too big for a television star like Kapil,” revealed a source who was close to the development. Back then entertainment agencies facilitated the endorsement deals for Kapil Sharma, like most of the celebrities in the industry. Now, Sharma has taken it upon
Like most celebrities, Sharma locks these endorsement deals on a daily rate basis for the number of days he needs to commit to the campaign in a year. Having said that, the norm varies from brand to brand, depending on the nature of the campaign. Being a live performer allows Sharma to be flexible with what he offers to the brands, and his contract may include live engagements and event shows. That naturally adds to the quote he gives the advertiser. As per an industry insider, Sharma demands anything between Rs 3 to 4 crore (Rs 30 to 40 million) from a brand for an endorsement.
On an average, Sharma works on eight to ten different brands at a given time. These have included TVS Tyres, Policy Bazar, Micromax, PaisaBazaar and more. The number is likely to go up once his show goes live again on Sony, on 23 April, provided it makes the mark that it promises to.
“Obviously, if he has to maintain his brand value he needs a show on air. While one or two months haven’t affected the value of brand Kapil Sharma, if he doesn’t have a show for a long time, the audience might move on. Therefore just like a movie star needs to keep coming with movies, a television stars need to have at least one show on air at a time,” Kapoor shares.
Before one-upping his past show with more gripping content remains important for Sharma, brand Kapil Sharma has more pressing matters to handle as The Kapil Sharma Show goes head to head with one of the biggest brands and events in India, the Indian Premier League. Only the coming Thursday’s BARC data will tell us if Sharma has walked out of his show’s premiere with his head held high. His fans – of which there are many – won’t really care. They were the ultimate winners as they got a chance to engage with Kapil and team and roll over with laughter over the weekend .
MUMBAI: In less than three months LeEco formally entered into India, the company crossed another milestone in its journey to become top three mobile players in the market. LeEco bagged the “Most Promising Smartphone Brand” award in the TeleAnalysis Customer Satisfaction Survey on 17 March in New Delhi, India.
The award was based on an extensive nationwide survey conducted by TeleAnalysis in the last three months. Sample size was around 12,000 with 3,000 consumers from each zone -east, west, north and south.
The results of the survey proved that consumers appreciated LeEco’s brand as well as its products. And the award is a testimony of the consumers’ faith in LeEco’s products.
This is not just another feather in LeEco’s cap as the company has not only managed to pip ahead of other established brands in this cluttering market, but also been able to generate a loyal and a reasonably large clientele base within a short span of time. The brand recognition is a no mean feat considering that the mobile phone maker entered the Indian market only a couple of months ago.
The “Most Promising Smartphone Brand” award was given to LeEco by Anupam Shrivastava, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL at the TeleAnalysis Device World 2016 conference held at New Delhi on March 17.
Around 250 people from Telecom industry including high-profile speakers from various smartphone and telecom companies like Samsung, Reliance Jio, Motorola, Micromax, huawei, and Intex as well as from government agencies participated in the TeleAnalysis Device World 2016.
LeEco had recently offered an exchange offer for 2 days on E-commerce site, Flipkart, for buyers to grab on the exciting offers. Of late, LeEco days on E-commerce portal, Flipkart have become blockbusters in the mobile phone industry.
LeEco has launched two phones in India – Le 1s and Le Max. Within only February, LeEco had sold more than 200,000 Le 1s, the flagship killer device in India, making several industry records concerning flash sale quantity and time.
The company is planning to embed different types of contents to its Superphones and offer it to the phone buyers on a platter. This initial “Device+Content” strategy adopted by LeEco in the world’s second largest smartphone market has already garnered rave reviews starting from bloggers and gadgets freaks to common buyers.
