Tag: Mumbai

FedEx Joins Forces with Café Coffee Day to Launch Rakhi Offer

MUMBAI, India, Aug 12, 2013-FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, is joining forces with the coffee shop chain Café Coffee Day (CCD) to launch the traditional Rakhi offer. The offer enables a sister to win an opportunity to meet up with her “true brother” (biological or spiritual) anywhere in the world, by just shipping a Rakhi to him using FedEx and by participating in the contest.

A “true brother” is a person who has been with his sister through good and bad times, and could be a friend or a confidant. The contest invites sisters to upload a picture of their most memorable moment spent together with her true brother along with a caption appreciating her brother on the FedEx app on Facebook. Priced at an all-inclusive flat rate of INR 1500 and INR 200 for international and domestic shipments respectively, sisters can send a Rakhi and a greeting card to more than 220 countries and territories worldwide and 880 locations within India using FedEx.

“The Rakhi deal is our attempt to offer convenience and ease to sisters in this fast-paced life. During a coffee break, sisters can connect with their brothers by sending them a Rakhi and a card through FedEx. Our relationship with Café Coffee Day is a perfect fit and will enable us to reach out to sisters through the 100 additional CCD outlets,” said Rakesh Shalia, managing director, Marketing, FedEx Express Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa.

“We are delighted to work with FedEx Express to reach out to our customers with an added service offering. This alliance will now ensure that our customers in 100 outlets experience the accessibility and reliability FedEx is known for. Additionally, brothers or sisters can purchase CCD gift coupons and ship them directly to their siblings using FedEx. The Rakhi shipments can also be booked online on the CCD website availing the prices FedEx is offering,” said Vejay Anand, president, Café Coffee Day.

Customers can take advantage of the Rakhi offer by visiting the FedEx World Service Centres (WSCs) across India and 100 Café Coffee Day (CCD) outlets in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Lucknow. To participate in the contest, sisters have to log on to facebook.com/FedExPromotions. The top 50 participants with the most number of likes on their pictures win CCD vouchers.

Additionally, the sister who has shipped the Rakhi through FedEx and has the maximum likes on her picture, wins an opportunity to meet her true brother anywhere in the world.

The Rakhis and the greeting cards are designed and created by Aseema, an NGO, for the underprivileged children working in the field of education. The offer is available before August 22, 2013. The FedEx Express offer can also be availed online on the CCD website http://www.cafecoffeeday.com/shop/gifts/rakhi

August 13, 2013
DSK Hyosung Super Bikes Rides into Kolhapur

Kolhapur: There is good news in store for bike enthusiast in Kolhapur as DSK Hyosung Motors today announced the launch of their new company owned showroom in Kolhapur. The launch of this showroom marks the launch of 27th Showroom for DSK Hyosung in the country and 4th in Maharashtra, making it the brand with the widest network of Super Bike showrooms which has further enhanced DSK Hyosung’s reach on the Indian super biking Map.

During the launch, Shirish Kulkarni, Chairman, DSK Motowheels Pvt Ltd said “It gives us immense pleasure to enter this highly lucrative market of Kolhapur and DSK Hyosung is delighted to announce the opening of our showroom for the world class products for the Superbike enthusiast in Kolhapur.”

Mr. Kulkarni further added, “It is an exciting opportunity for us as DSK Hyosung symbolizes dynamic forward moving people and is among the most coveted premium brands in India. DSK Hyosung firmly believes and is committed to offer Super Bikes of high quality to bike aficionados at affordable price. We are confident that our products and after sales services in Kolhapur will take the super bike experience to the next level.”

The showroom will showcase the entire gamut of DSK Hyosung Super Bikes: Aquila Pro (650 CC sports cruiser), GT 250 R (250 CC sports bike), New GT650R (650cc Sports bike), ST 7 (700 cc Cruiser bike) & GT 650 N (650cc Naked sports bike).

The super bikes would be available for the bike lovers in the city at an attractive prices of Rs.2,76,000 for GT250R, Rs.3,96,000 for GT650N, Rs.4,90,000 for GT650R, Rs.5,38,000 for Aquila Pro and Rs.6,12,000 for ST7 (all ex-showroom price).

For the record DSK Hyosung has a strong presence in the tier I & II markets like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Jaipur & Pune the brand also has a remarkable presence in cities like Raipur, Nagpur, Indore and Guwahati.

DSK Motowheels also offers unique 24*7 emergency services. Customers would be offered 24*7 on call breakdown service, onsite emergency repairs, battery jumpstart, Fuel delivery, lost key support, transfer/towing of vehicle and taxi drop facility.

DSK Hyosung Superbikes showroom strategically located at 343, E Ward opposite Railway Station Bus stop, Station road, Kolhapur.Maharashtra.416001. This company owned ultra-modern showroom is integrated with all after-sales services to the customer. All operations related to sales are efficiently covered from the space, which ensures comfort to the customer at the point of sales.

August 10, 2013
AFs: Mumbai switch offs begin; Kolkata quo vadis?

MUMBAI: With Delhi under control now, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is focusing increasingly on the other two metros to ensure that all the consumer application forms (CAFs) come in to the MSOs.

Following a meeting held on 2 August with MSOs operating in Mumbai and Kolkata, a decision has been taken that the time for carrots is over, now one needs to use the stick to get customers to get moving on their CAFs. And that stick is like Delhi is switching off their cable TV service, if the CAF is not yet in.

“There will be no further extensions like in the past,” says a senior TRAI official. “In fact, the switch offs have already begun from 3 August. The process for switching off the set top boxes will take at least four to five days because we are talking about a huge number.”

Hathway Cable & Datacom MD and CEO Jagdish Kumar agrees that his network has started switching off subscribers who are being tardy from 3 August. “But the process will be tedious,” he says. “So far, we have managed to collect 80 per cent of the forms duly filled.”

Indiantelevision.com spoke to another three MSOs operating in the financial capital and all of them stated that CAF collection was between 70 and 80 per cent. Going by that yardstick, it appears as if cable TV subscribers don’t seem to be too disturbed about the stick, as the numbers mentioned by MSOs to indiantelevision.com even a month ago were in that range. Could they be opting for a DTH connection? We do not know, but a media observer, says that it could be a possibility.

The TRAI official says that Kolkata should not expect to be treated with kid’s gloves. “When Delhi can meet the deadline why not Kolkata?” he questions. “We are sure that Kolkata will be able to meet the 23 August deadline as it does not have any other option.”

Well cable TV operators and subscribers in Kolkata, that’s as ominous a warning as you can get!

August 6, 2013
Nirmika & The Few Good Men Live at Hard Rock Café, Mumbai

After playing to a packed crowd at Hard Rock Café, Pune, city-based pop-rock outfit Nirmika & The Few Good Men are all set to hit the stage at Hard Rock Café, Mumbai on August 1, from 8.30 pm onwards. Known for their bilingual numbers and lyrically rich compositions, the band will perform a mix of originals from their upcoming debut album as well as covers at this gig.

WHAT: Nirmika & The Few Good Men Live in Performance
WHEN: August 1, from 8.30 pm onwards
WHERE: Hard Rock Café, Mumbai
ENTRY: Rs 150
CONTACT: 6651 1209

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Nirmika & The Few Good Men is a pop-rock, reggae and urban folk band band based in Mumbai, fronted by singer-songwriter Nirmika Singh. Besides performing their Hindi-English songs, they’ve also added regional languages like Konkani and Brij to their repertoire. In the recent past, Hungama Music’s digital music platform Artist Aloud chronicled the band’s journey by filming a rockumentary on them for their initiative – TGIF: Thank God It’s Rock On Friday-a music documentary series that has covered established acts like Parikrama, Raghu Dixit, Agnee,Something Relevant among others. Their single, Mujhko Fikar Kya had also topped the Artist Aloud indie music charts.

The band comprises Nirmika Singh (vocals), Cris Victor (bass), Jose Neil Gomes (Keyboard/sax/violin/flute), John Fernandes (guitars) and Sanjay Gupta (drums).

Recently, Nirmika was also listed as one of the most promising female artistes in Gibson Guitar’s feature on women who are rocking the indie music scene.
http://gibsonguitar.in/News-Lifestyle/Features/hi-in/The-Women-Rocking-the-Indian-Indie-Music-Scene.aspx
Currently, the band is in the process of recording its debut album, Shor Macha, which will comprise of nine multi-generic and multilingual songs.
GIGS
The band has performed at live music venues across cities such as Blue Frog (Mumbai), F Bar (Delhi), Firangi Paani (Mumbai), Howzzat (Gurgaon), QBA (Delhi), Cavala (Goa) among many others. Their corporate shows include those for Airtel, Nokia, BMW, Xerox, SAIL, Bajaj, Tuborg. As a participant on travel show, Road Diaries on UTV Bindass, Nirmika also composed the official song, Shor Macha, for the reality series. Here’s the video: http://youtu.be/hJmqubvlPsE

July 30, 2013
First IAA Knowledge Seminar on an industry specific subject on 2nd August, 2013 in Mumbai

Mumbai: Chapter of International Advertising Association (IAA) has organized an industry specific Knowledge Seminar for the realty sector on digital media. Digital has emerged as India’s 3rd largest medium and very few real estate developers have exploited its full potential. This seminar will enable an understanding and appreciation of this important medium which real estate developers can apply, and thereby benefit from, in this fast-changing communication era.

In the words of Srinivasan Swamy, President IAA India Chapter & Vice President, Development Asia/Pacific, “through this Knowledge Seminar, the Indian Real Estate industry gets a new perspective on digital as a medium, grasp global trends, and hopefully apply these for better marketing solutions. When the economy is difficult and many real estate projects are not finding ready buyers, a cost effective medium like digital can help the realty sector. I hope many will participate and benefit from it”.

Titled ‘Real Estate in a Digitized World’, this internationally aligned Seminar to be held on 2nd August, 2013 at The Trident, BKC, (Agenda Attached) will have prominent Speakers representing leading international Companies in Digital and Social Media including Group M, Google, Addikt, Wolff Olins and Panel speakers from Microsoft, Madhouse, Netcore & Magicbricks. The Guests of Honour will be Niranjan Hiranandani, Managing Director, Hiranandani Constructions & Steve Waugh, the legendary Australian cricketer.

Across the world, digital and social media have become the platform to create, impact, and foster brand experiences. The Seminar will address how marketing strategies of the real estate industry will be enhanced by this technology revolution. It will work as a practical guide to learn and apply the new world medium.

July 25, 2013
92.7 Big FM announces sixth edition of big green Ganesha campaign across eight Indian cities

Mumbai, 29 July 2013: 92.7 BIG FM, India’s No. 1 radio network, today announced the launch of the 6th edition of BIG Green Ganesha, its hugely popular and immensely successful campaign launched in 2008 as part of a vision for a better tomorrow. The initiative aims at instilling a sense of responsibility amongst citizens towards creating a better environment by celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi, one of India’s most widely followed festivals, in an eco-friendly way. This year’s campaign will be initiated in eight different cities that will involve Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mysore, Tirupati, Sholapur, Vizag and Mangalore.

The 2013 campaign is being launched by way of the brand new concept of ‘Ashta-Vinayak’, where eight unique eco-friendly paper mâché Ganesha idols will be installed at the eight locations in which the campaign will be run. In addition, the campaign will also attempt to set a record by collecting the maximum number of old newspapers from a single location and enter the prestigious ‘Limca Book of Records’. With the installation of 30 Ganesha Pandals, the campaign will be spread across 8 cities with the setting up of 48 paper mâché idols.

Drawing attention to the massive use of toxins and non-biodegradable elements for the construction of Ganesha idols, the BIG Green Ganesha Campaign comes as a fresh reminder of change for all. A massive on-ground newspaper collection drive in residential areas, offices, shops and commercial establishments will mark the beginning of the campaign. The collected newspapers will be supplied to renowned sculptors and be used to create beautiful eco-friendly paper mâché Ganesha idols. The donation drive is a significant move since it educates the community and draws their support in order to create a better environment.

The campaign will be promoted through high-decibel strategies and promotions involving an amalgamation of media networks that will include radio, print, outdoor, on-ground and digital. Apart from connecting with 1.5 crore people each year, more than 200 celebrities and 350 civic authorities will support the campaign.

Commenting on BIG Green Ganesha Campaign 2013, Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head, 92.7 BIG FM said, “We are delighted to launch the 6th successive edition of the Big Green Ganesha Campaign, which is a fundamental part of our vision and responsibility to care for the environment. We believe that respecting the earth is the need of the hour. Whilst we spend time in prayer and celebration, we also do our bit towards creating a greener tomorrow by installing biodegradable and eco-friendly idols. We extend a warm welcome to all our partners in this sustainable celebration and would like to thank the community for the support that has helped make this campaign bigger each year.”

Powered by the strong message it carries, the BIG Green Ganesha Campaign has witnessed unparalleled success and popularity, inspiring over a million people in multiple cities across India. The movement has cornered glory at prestigious global platforms including the Silver Radio Award at the New York Festivals and nine awards at the India Radio Forum 2013, proving that 92.7 BIG FM is not just about great music but passionate about creating a better world.

July 12, 2013
Luv U Soniyo team looks for the best college band across Mumbai

NEW DELHI: The Luv U Soniyo team has kick started a unique and innovative campaign to find the best college bands across Mumbai.

Spearheading a special plan is Remo, who has sung the melodious title track in Luv U Soniyo. The team has visited 50 colleges across Mumbai where Remo has auditioned various college bands.

While the final round of audition is being held today, the bands that make it to the top two will get an opportunity to perform with other celebrity singers on the Music Launch of Luv U Soniyo tomorrow in a suburban mall.

Distributed by Viacom 18 Media Private Limited, directed by Joe Rajan and produced by Harvey India Productions & Odyssey Corporation India Limited, Luv U Soniyo is all set to hit the screens on 26 July. The film features Aseem Tanuj Virwani and Neha Hinge as main characters.

July 5, 2013
CFA Institute appoints Ketchum Sampark as its PR and social media agency

NEW DELHI: CFA Institute, a global association for investment professionals, has appointed Ketchum Sampark as its PR & social media agency in India following a closely contested pitch.

The PR mandate for CFA Institute will be managed by Ketchum Sampark Mumbai office.

Ketchum Sampark will manage both traditional PR and Social Media communication programs in India for CFA Institute.

The mission of CFA Institute is to lead the investment profession globally by promoting the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society. The organisation is committed to working with members and the global investment community to achieve their mission through Ethical Champion, Global Community, Industry Knowledge, Professional Excellence and The Greater Good.

Confirming the appointment, Terry Lee, Director of Marketing and Communications, Asia Pacific, of CFA Institute said, “Ketchum Sampark’s expertise in the financial services sector and its creative ideas for a holistic communication approach for CFA Institute in India were the key differentiators in awarding the mandate. In addition to the professional programs CFA Institute has been offering, we recently launch various initiatives including the Future of Finance project and the new certification program Claritias® Investment Certificate, we look forward to working closely with the team promoting the CFA brand in India.”

Ajay Sharma, Managing Partner, Ketchum Sampark, said, “It is our proud privilege to work with CFA Institute in India. CFA Institute is the largest global association of investment professionals with more than 100,000 members in more than 130 countries. Ketchum Sampark will provide strategic counsel and work on outreach plans for CFA Institute with various stakeholders.”

July 4, 2013
Anurag Kashyap in recreating Mumbai of 1960

MUMBAI: Anurag Kashyap, the filmmaker who is known to create and recreate cinema every time through his innovate concepts and ideas, is slated to come up with a new venture ‘Bombay Velvet‘. The movie has been made on historical lines of Mumbai, where he has recreated Mumbai of 1960s and filmed the story of how the city became a metropolis. The movie starring Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma has been shot on the various locations in Sri Lanka.

According to him, "It is set in the 60s and I needed a consistent heritage look and a skyline to loyally depict the era. But, Bombay‘s skyline has transformed dramatically, most of the heritage buildings have been replaced by high-rises. So it did not fit the period we are looking to recreate. That‘s why we are shooting in Sri Lanka, starting next month," Kashyap told PTI.

He further informed, "Unfortunately, India does not have a culture of preservation, whether it is films, monuments or buildings. Cities like Bombay have not been able to preserve their architectural heritage in the race for urban growth, and hence period films will face serious challenges in India, both in terms of shooting and authentically recreating the era."

The writer-director whose movies, in the last few years, proven catalysis and brought into revolutionary changes in the Hindi cinema, including Dev D and Gang of Wasseypur, shared his challenges that he came across while researching for the film during the pre production process.

The real challenge is unavailability of evidences or blueprints as most of the heritage buildings in Indian cities have either "disappeared or have been modified beyond recognition".

As he elaborated on various challenges which he faced while researching on the topic, "Not only the buildings were missing, we did not know how an area, or the city in general looked during that period. So, we took help of not only available archival images but also approached families in Mumbai to share their old albums to help us in reimagining Bombay 50 years ago, a Bombay now largely missing in a vertically-growing Mumbai," he said.

Some parts of the film are also likely to be shot in studios in Mumbai.

The film is based on historian Gyan Prakash‘s book ‘Mumbai Fables‘. "I met Gyan before the book was published. And, when he told me about the story, I was fascinated. I never thought Bombay (Mumbai) had such a history. And, so Gyan wrote the book while simultaneously penning the script for the parallel adaptation," Kashyap told PTI.

June 10, 2013
Market leader MSLGROUP invests further to strengthen its India leadership position in social and digital communication

MUMBAI :MSLGROUP India, Publicis Groupe’s flagship strategic communications and engagement company and the largest public relations and social media network in India, today announced the launch of its global digital and social practice in the country, Social Hive.

Alongside Social Hive, MSLGROUP has also launched a new proprietary and social tool: the Social Hive Index, which can benchmark a company’s social engagement and compare it to its peers.

The Social Hive team in India is led by Senior Vice-President Parveez Modak and Vice-President Narendra Nag. The team comprises of more than 40 consultants in Mumbai and Delhi who manage 5 million people across communities.

Social Hive’s strategic storytelling approach helps brands create stronger connections and relationships with the consumer.

MSLGROUP India’s social and digital communications is the leading practice of its kind, advising clients such as Sony, Monsanto, Volkswagen, KPMG, Singapore Tourism Board, Australian High Commission (OzFest), Whirlpool and eBay. The network has also won several international awards which showcase world class, outstanding performance in digital and social media, such as the International Business Awards (Bronze, Social Media Focused Campaign 2012, Sony Mobile) and the Bees Awards (Winner, Best Social CRM 2012, eBay India).

Jaideep Shergill, CEO, MSLGROUP India, said: “While MSLGROUP India has been a leader in digital and social engagement for years, the launch of Social Hive means that we are taking the practice to a new level, with even tighter connections across the globe. Digital and social capabilities are central parts of idea -based and fully-integrated client communications solutions. Our top talent at Social Hive makes us well positioned to continue to create award-winning work for our clients across all platforms”.

Through an integrated digital approach, MSLGROUP Social Hive has seven service offerings:

· Research and insights: Social listening and monitoring through the use of specialised tools, category analysis and regular reporting, social analytics and insights
· Social media marketing: Influencer marketing, contests and activations, stakeholder outreach programmes

· Content creation: Branded content, conversation calendars, community engagement

· Digital design and build: Facebook apps, mobile apps, social application programming interfaces, websites, microsites, banner ads

· Media planning and buying: Target-oriented digital media plans for specific audiences, buying media and release of ads, monitoring performance of ads, Facebook ads, portal ads

· Social business: Social customer relationship management, social commerce, social enterprise
· Proprietary platforms: People’s Lab, an MSLGROUP proprietary platform for crowdsourcing,

analytics and insights; and Social Hive Index, a proprietary social influence measurement tool

Glenn Osaki, MSLGROUP Asia president,added: “In this fast moving industry, keeping up is not enough. We have to lead. This large investment in Social Hive might be surprising given that we are already an industry leader in the digital and social space in India. But if we want to continue to attract the best talent and create the best campaigns for our clients, we have to constantly innovate and invest. Our expanding content creation capabilities, tools and insights will drive our digital and social leadership into the future.”

To learn more about Social Hive, please visit www.india.mslgroup.com/socialhive

June 2, 2013