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Tag: Pandemic

  • TCH 2022: Will the 2020s decade drive an insatiable demand for content?

    TCH 2022: Will the 2020s decade drive an insatiable demand for content?

    Mumbai: The world is undergoing a fierce transformation courtesy the pandemic, streaming services, new content forms and formats and changing work and entertainment consumption habits. The excitement and expectation are palpable amongst those in content creation and distribution – TV, film, streaming, short format, audio series, games, metaverses and what have been to serve those emerging needs.

    The transformation leads to a lot of questions such as will the 2020s see a further revolution and exploitation of the opportunities the decade offers? Or will there be a cooling off? Will Indian content follow the trajectory of the Korean Wave? And how? Will the 2020s prove to be India’s roaring twenties?

    Finding and discussing the answers to these questions, the first panel of the sixth edition of Viacom18 presents Indiantelevision.com’s The Content Hub Summit 2022 saw an insightful debate on the theme ‘The Roaring Twenties: Repeating The Successful Era Of Content Explosion.’

    Moderated by Indiantelevision.com Group founder & CEO, the panel included Indian screenwriter, director and producer Alankrita Shrivastava, Indian Film Director Arif Ali, Pratilipi  head, IVM Podcasts Amit Doshi, Neela Films Productions founder and managing director Asit Kumarr Modi, Balaji Motion Pictures creative producer and executive vice president Ruchikaa Kapoor and Zee Studios chief business officer Shariq Patel.

    The industry event is co-powered by Applause Entertainment and IN10 Media Network. Aaj Tak Connected Stream is the association partner. Industry partners are Fremantle India, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, One Take Media, Pratilipi, Pocket FM and The Viral Fever. The Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association (IMPPA) is our community partner.

    A century ago, after the global pandemic known as the Spanish flu, much of the world enjoyed a boom period, later immortalised as the ‘Roaring Twenties’.Opening the discussion, ITV founder, CEO & editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari asked the panel, “Are we about to experience another Roaring Twenties?”

     Pratilipi head, IVM Podcasts Amit Doshi said, “we’ve barely scratched the surface in terms of what exactly kinds of content we’re going to see in future.”

    “Technological transformation over the last ten years has already unleashed creativity in this country and it is going to continue,” he added.

    Further, Wanvari asked Neela Films Productions founder and managing director Asit Kumarr Modi, who has successfully run over thirty-five hundred episodes of ‘Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma’, how he sees this remarkable show in the 2020s?

    “We started back in 2008 where technology was way behind than where we are today and we have seen it all changing over the years. Now, things are developing rapidly, it might be more challenging but we are more excited to create stories in the new age of technology,” answered Modi.

    Taking the discussion further, Zee Studios chief business officer Shariq Pate said, “pandemic has shown that all of us have this insatiable amount of content that all of us could consume and this prompted platforms to step up on investments.”

    “We can expect a roaring 2020s with huge amounts of content to be created which is definitely far more than what the existing platforms can digest at present,” he added.

    Sharing her outlook for the roaring 2020s, Balaji Motion Pictures creative producer and executive vice president Ruchikaa Kapoor said, “the big realization about this changing content landscape is that there’s an audience for every genre, however the size of the audience differs.”

    She added, “the content consumption has increased dramatically over the last three years. But as far as movies are concerned, the urgency of going to the theatres has come down drastically due to the growth of OTT.” Talking about the future, she said, “we expect exponential growth in the 2020s too.”

    Agreeing with what his co-panellists had said, Indian film director Arif Ali said, “being behind the doors for so many months during the pandemic has actually opened a lot of doors for content creators.”

    “Pre-pandemic there was more focus on making money, but now content creators want to have a legacy and it is going to lead to a thrilling 2020s,” he asserted.

    Further, highlighting the challenges that the transformation in the content space brings, screenwriter, director and producer Alankrita Shrivastava said, “today the major challenge is to go back to the core of storytelling and not get overwhelmed.”

    Watch the complete video of this insightful session here.

  • You can be creative and edgy, without being insensitive: Dentsu Creative India CEO

    You can be creative and edgy, without being insensitive: Dentsu Creative India CEO

    Mumbai : Exactly a year back on 22 June 2021, erstwhile Dentsu Impact president Amit Wadhwa took on the mantle of chief executive officer (CEO) to lead the Dentsu India creative service line leadership team. The newly restructured creative service line in India, brought together brands from the house of Dentsu such as Dentsu Webchutney, Taproot Dentsu, WATConsult, Perfect Relations, Isobar, Dentsu One, Dentsu India and Dentsu Impact, along with their digital & PR capabilities- all under one umbrella of Dentsu Creative India.

    The past year also witnessed major upheavals, both, at the network which saw several high-profile exits, as well as in the advertising and media landscape with the pandemic rewriting the rules for the communication industry.

    The Dentsu Creative India CEO shares with Indiantelevision.com how the past year fared for the network as well as for him, amid the tumultuous new normal, and what his priorities were since taking over the creative agency mantle.

    Wadhwa also completed over a decade at the network last year, having joined Dentsu Creative Impact (now Dentsu Impact) in November 2011. With another five-year stint at JWT (J. Walter Thompson) in his kitty before that, he has literally seen the industry evolve over the past decade and a half.

    Despite challenges due to macro-economic uncertainties and global inflationary trends, Wadhwa remains buoyant and confident that the advertising and marketing industry will grow at a good pace “crossing double digits”.

    IndianTelevision.com’s Anupama Sajeet caught up with the advertising veteran and self-confessed ‘passionate brand builder’ for a free-wheeling conversation, where he also spoke about what has changed in adland and how the creative group is ensuring it keeps pace with the emerging new tech in the space.

    Edited excerpts:

    On his focus areas since taking on the helm of the Dentsu Creative Group

    Three things. Integration was the biggest objective. Secondly, making sure that we digitise everything and so we infused digital and technology in everything we do – whether it is creative, or PR- we have digitised it all- the entire system. And the third of course, was to make sure that the cornerstone of the entire offering is “creative”, and hence up the creative product. These were the three things I kept in mind as I took on the CEO mantle. Have I done that 100 per cent? Of course not. But I think we have moved leaps and bounds on all these fronts.

    On how the past year fared for the agency amid high profile exits and the uncertainty wrought on by the pandemic

    In terms of how we have fared, I think we are working in a far more unified manner for our clients. So, we have integrated to make sure the best experts come together and deliver as one single team for a client. There are many brands where earlier erstwhile different units of Dentsu Creative are now working together as one. For eg- we recently worked at Ikea where the Dentsu MB and Dentsu Webchutney worked as a single team. Then there was another instance where Isobar and Taproot Dentsu worked together as one unit. There are many such examples. That’s from the integration point of view.

    As far as creativity is concerned, one big yardstick is the awards and I think we have done fantastically well, led by the team at Dentsu Webchutney. Having said that, we have also invested in some great talent like Ajay (Gahlaut), Arjuna, Anu Gulati, along with the creative talent which is already there in-house such as Alaap, Anupama and loads of talent below them. So, I think we have upped the game on creativity. And it’s not just awards. Some of the campaigns that we rolled out I’m absolutely proud of. For instance, the campaigns we have done for Uber, Paytm, to name a few, have been great.

    And honestly, without being digital-first there’s no possibility of a business surviving. We have ensured that right from our PR to what we used to call our traditional agencies, every one of them is digitally savvy and understands the medium.

    So, on all these fronts, we are moving in the right direction and at the right pace.

    On whether the recently released ASCI guidelines on gender stereotypes (in the wake of the recent controversy over the Layer’r Shot deo ads) will lead to curbing creativity.

    We are in the business of creativity, we need to express ourselves. But at the same time, we are all living in a society and we need to be sensitive. Does that mean that we curtail creativity? No. But is that the only way to be creative?  Absolutely not. I don’t wish to comment on that ad, as enough has been said about it being in bad taste and stuff. But the point is you do not need to go that way to be creative. I don’t think to be creative, you need to be insensitive. You can be edgy without it.

    If you look at some of the works we have done recently, such as the ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ or the Paytm creative we did on financial empowerment. These works are very edgy and creative at the same time. It also had a strong connection with people, without being insensitive. Having said that, do we put a gag on everything because of certain instances? I don’t see that happening either.

    On the evolving advertising & marketing (A&M) landscape in the past decade

    It’s absolutely true that the entire A&M landscape has changed in the last decade, from what it used to be to where we are today. I remember when I joined Dentsu (back in 2011), I was taking care of a small agency called Dentsu Creative Impact. We brought in a lot of exciting talent, and we did it at a small scale – whether it was in creative, planning or account management. And we picked up businesses like Ikea etc and made it into this exciting brand. But that was then. Digital was there, but it was a small part of mainstream media.

    Today, if I’ve to do a similar exercise for the Dentsu Creative Group (DCG), I cannot step up the game on creativity by having a good creative team alone. Of course, creativity is the key essential part of it. But what we are also trying to infuse is to ensure that we are way ahead when it comes to creative technology. And that’s the other aspect that we have invested in heavily. Led by Gurbaksh, who heads the innovation and tech team, it’s a critical part of our creative team. We also have editors and social media experts as a part of it. So, the complexity and composition of the team is very different from what it was, say, less than a decade ago.

    On any key trends or emerging category/s in the A&M industry that might dominate in the coming year

    If we talk about emerging or dominant new categories, Fintech, of course, is huge, so is gaming. Online gaming is breaking through the roof. But at the same time as all these new categories are popping up, the traditional categories like FMCG remain equally exciting. So, one can see a mix of it with everyone, including the traditional players, trying to do something different in their space, stepping away from the tried and tested.

    On how the agency is ensuring it keeps pace with the emerging new tech in the space

    There are two parts to it. One is that we need to be digitally first and technologically far ahead. But, is that good enough? Is that the only thing we need to do? Unless there’s a brilliant idea it all comes to nought. The expression of the idea could be on the digital platform or through an innovative technology but the idea is still absolutely important. We need to marry technology very strongly with creativity.

    That combination of creative and new-age tech is what gives me the confidence that we are poised for something very exciting. And that for me, honestly is the place where I always wanted to be.

  • Online shopping scam victims down to 74%: Report

    Online shopping scam victims down to 74%: Report

    Mumbai: The number of online scams and frauds drastically increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, a recent report revealed that the percentage of online shopping scam victims has come down to 74 per cent globally compared to 78 per cent in 2020.

    Online retailers came across various fraud schemes in 2021. Among all the fraud schemes, “friendly fraud” scheme was by far the most prevalent. According to Banklesstimes.com analysis, the emergence of e-commerce during the pandemic increased the possibility of fraudulent activities. “About three-quarters of online traders globally have reported a net increase in fraud attempts since 2019,” said the report.

    In a statement, Banlesstimes.com’s Jonathan Merry said, “The number of victims is reducing. The restoration of normalcy after Covid-19 might be a factor. Now, retailers are also cautious, thus making it difficult for fraudsters to pull off their scams.”

    According to the data, the highest number of online fraud activities were recorded in Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions.

    Because of the presence of online fraudsters, the need for online retailers to manage these attacks has never been greater. So far, more than nine out of ten businesses believe that combating E-commerce fraud is essential to their success.

  • Guest Column: How multi-channel marketing strategy works post pandemic

    Guest Column: How multi-channel marketing strategy works post pandemic

    MUMBAI : With Covid-19 behind us and all restrictions easing up, it is hardly surprising that things are returning to pre-pandemic levels. It is critical to recognise that businesses and organisations are prepared for such huge changes since, as we all know, we are not returning to the way we used to run our operations. Now that the market has opened up, there is enormous potential for marketers from all sectors to capitalise on these changing trends; organisations never expected to adjust into hybrid working so rapidly. According to McKinsey, firms have accelerated and been digitised in the last two years. It was expected to take it upto 2025, but they hastened it up by three years.

    The pandemic has already demonstrated the necessity of multichannel marketing, which multi-channel marketers were aware of. It has considerably increased the use of digital channels. What makes multichannel marketing so crucial in today’s market is using diverse marketing techniques and platforms to contact and engage with a wide range of customers in a number of ways. The primary goal of multichannel marketing is to guarantee that the message reaches the target audience regardless of whatever devices they use.

    The following are some strategies to consider while developing multichannel marketing strategies:

    1. Leverage Data

    Information is one of the most powerful tools accessible to marketers. Multichannel marketing generates a vast quantity of consumer data cache. Even if a message does not convert or produce an average or mediocre outcome, it nevertheless generates data. This never-ending cycle of developing and enhancing messages and content is the foundation of true multichannel marketing. Previous data and analytics may also be used to get information about what customers want at each touchpoint. Analyze the data and detect trends in your multichannel marketing initiatives to help you target customers more effectively.

    2. Hybrid channel to elevate campaign

    The most difficult problem for any multichannel marketing plan is determining the best mix for a campaign, and strategies to begin with research. Identifying the channels to produce the best outcomes in terms of client involvement. Few channels risk oversaturation and missing out on a greater number of prospective consumers, while many channels exhaust resources and create a gap in the customer experience. Multichannel marketing must be utilised to generate important and beneficial consumer experiences at every connection, rather than simply having a balanced number of channels.

    3. Real connection with clients

    The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a significant change in remote work for organisations all around the world. Working remotely has many benefits, but it has also increased isolation and digital weariness, resulting in digital overload. Savvy marketers have long recognised the significance of building genuine connections with their consumers, which means breaking through the digital clutter and reintroducing the customer to the actual world. Tangible and observable objects provide a sensory experience that digital interactions cannot provide.

    The only constant is change, and as a marketer, you should be aware of it and be prepared to adapt to new difficulties and modify on the run. Multichannel marketing is critical for every marketer aiming to connect customers in a significant way. An effective multichannel marketing strategy necessitates a focus on how channels should perform independently. The goal is to convert targeted audiences into customers through improved interactions; interacting with consumers across numerous channels at various touch points means more opportunities to engage and convert consumers into customers.

    The author is Arun Fernandes, Founder-CEO, Hotstuff Medialabs

  • Thomas Cook India posts consolidated income growth of 46% to Rs 3,573 mn

    Thomas Cook India posts consolidated income growth of 46% to Rs 3,573 mn

    Mumbai: India’s leading omnichannel travel services, Thomas Cook announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31 March 2022 reflecting a strong rebound with sustained improvement in profitability despite the third wave of Covid-19 (reducing the effective quarter to 45 days), growing geopolitical concerns and a highly delayed restart of India’s scheduled commercial flights.

    TCIL has reported consolidated operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) of Rs 239 million, a 19 per cent growth over Rs 201 million in Q3 FY22 against a previously reported loss of Rs 361 million in Q4 FY21. The consolidated income from operations for the quarter grew by 46 per cent from Rs 3,573 million for Q4 FY21 to Rs 5,221 million in Q4 FY22. The cash and bank balances of the company at a consolidated level as on 31 March 2022 are at Rs 6,399 million. The company continued its focus on cost prudence with reduced costs for Q4 FY22 at Rs 2,754 million, registering 37 percent saving at pre-pandemic levels in Q4 FY20.

    According to the reports, TCIL standalone operating Ebitda of Rs 28 million against a loss of Rs 74 million in Q3 FY22 was led by strong sales recovery by Forex 56 percent and business travel 50 percent. The trend continued in April 2022 with foreign exchange, corporate travel and domestic holidays registering a recovery of 62 percent, 81 percent and 85 percent of pre-pandemic sales respectively.

    TCIL income from operations for the quarter grew by 25 per cent from Rs 636 million in Q4 FY21 to Rs 794 million. The margins for the holiday business & foreign exchange grew by 326 bps and 29 bps, respectively.

    The company continued its focus on cost prudence with reduced costs for Q4 FY22 at Rs 767 million, registering a 51 per cent saving from pre-pandemic levels of Q4 FY20.

    The company’s sustained focus on technology delivered end-to-end digitization across its businesses, including B2C and B2B self-booking/servicing tools and dynamic customization, vendor management and automated accounting/payment solutions. The digital acceleration serves to further augment the company’s omnichannel model towards an enriched customer experience, cost and efficiency benefits.

    Thomas Cook’s managing director Madhavan Menon said, “Despite the Omicron wave reducing the quarter to 45 days and the reopening of Indian skies for scheduled international flights only on 27 March, our teams have delivered a commendable performance this quarter with an operating Ebitda of Rs 239 million. The group’s strong performance was led by foreign exchange, business travel, sterling holidays, DEI & desert Adventures. With other markets opening up, we expect the other group companies to stage quick recoveries too.”

    “Our focus on sustainable cost management balanced with a thrust on technology over the past three years is delivering results in the form of speed, productivity and improved customer experience. Recovery is accelerating continually, with our foreign exchange, corporate travel and domestic holidays businesses registering an estimated sales recovery of 57 percent, 81 percent and 99 percent of pre-pandemic levels as of the end of May 2022 and strong pipelines for the coming quarter and beyond,” Menon added.

  • Lionsgate India to release ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ in cinemas on 22 April

    Lionsgate India to release ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ in cinemas on 22 April

    Mumbai: After two years of raging pandemic and continual shutdown, Lionsgate India has announced a theatrical release for new film “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” starring Nicolas Cage. The film will be released and distributed by Cinepolis and Pen Marudhar in India on 22 April.

    The film portrays fictionalised version of the seminal award-winning actor who faces financial ruin and must accept a $ one million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan. It all takes an unexpected turn when a CIA operative recruit him to take down the superfan. He is forced to channel his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters to save himself and his loved ones, said the statement.

    The film is directed by Tom Gormican and written by Kevin Etten. “Nicolas Cage is unbelievably talented and can do any genre,” said director and co-writer Tom Gormican. “There are very few actors that can do every genre equally well, who can switch from comedy to drama – sometimes within the same project – and that’s fascinating to me.”

    “We have always been committed to bring exciting premium content for audiences,” said Lionsgate EVP Amit Dhanuka. “Watching Nicolas Cage and his supreme screen presence on a big screen is surely a treat for many of us, at least me. With its exciting narrative and a gripping action-comedy, this film is set to take you on a wild entertainment.”

    Nicholas Cage added, “This is Tom’s invented version of Nick Cage – a neurotic, high-anxiety version of Nick Cage. This film is a real head trip for me.”

  • Adex to surge 20 per cent to reach ₹89,285 crore in 2022: Pitch Madison report

    Adex to surge 20 per cent to reach ₹89,285 crore in 2022: Pitch Madison report

    Mumbai: Despite the lingering impacts of the pandemic, advertising expenditure is set to surge by 20 per cent to reach nearly Rs. 90,000 crore, according to the Pitch Madison Advertising Report 2022 (PMAR) unveiled on Wednesday.

    Launched by Pitch in partnership with Madison World, the report forecasted a robust recovery for the industry in 2022, with the traditional media, expected to grow at 15 per cent while digital to grow at 2X of traditional, and eventually overtaking Television in 2022.

    According to the report, India will continue to be the fastest-growing ad market in the world. The Indian Adex registered an unprecedented 37 per cent growth rising to almost Rs 74,000 crore – the highest growth that Adex has registered in nearly the last two decades. The AdEx figures in 2021, according to the PMAR report, surpassed those in 2020 by Rs 20,000 crore and was over Rs 6,500 crore higher than 2019, bettering it by 10 per cent.

    Television remained the only traditional medium that surpassed the pre-Covid revenues, recording a 25 per cent increase over 2020 and an 11 per cent increase over 2019. Print, the second-largest traditional medium registered a growth of 39 per cent in 2021, but could not cross its 2019 levels, having fallen short by as much as 17 per cent, as per the report. Similarly, OOH and Radio also grew significantly by 69 per cent and 36 per cent respectively, but were nowhere near the 2019 levels. Cinema, expectedly, was the only medium that could not even reach its 2020 level, with theatres shut across most states.

    TV and Digital now contribute 72 per cent of overall Adex. Digital Adex rose significantly by 50 per cent to make up for the lower than average 10 per cent growth in 2020.

    Madison World chairman and managing director Sam Balsara said advertisers should take advantage of the evolved digital infrastructure for distribution and advertising to prepare for future growth and invest in building their own D2C channels.

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    Despite a large number of viewers moving to OTT and Connected TV, TV Adex put in a spectacular performance, registering a high spend of Rs. 28,151 crore. Advertisers’ faith in TV, Covid, or No-Covid continued and the medium commanded strong loyalty amongst both large and medium-size advertisers. In fact, with its 38 per cent share in 2021, India shared the credit of one of the top TV advertising countries along with Brazil (46 per cent), Italy (42 per cent) and Japan (34 per cent), as per the report.

    Whilst Q1 started softly with a de-growth of minus six per cent over 2019, each subsequent quarter gained steam with TV Adex growing in size with Q4 of 2021 registering a sharp increase over respective quarters of 2019- thanks to IPL- which started in Q2 but got suspended and resumed in Q4.

    Emerging categories : Ecommerce and ed-tech

    Ecommerce ad spend almost doubled from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 6,000 crore taking its share up from 8.5 per cent to 13 per cent and making it the second-biggest category of Adex, as per the PMAR report. Ed-tech sector also doubled its volume on the back of brands like Byju’s, WhiteHat Jr, Vedantu and Unacademy. BFSI also increased its share from two per cent to three percent on the back of new age Fintech Companies and CryptoCurrency players. For the first time in many years, BFSI showed a massive growth of 70 per cent in TV Adex, said the report. FMCG, the most dominant sector with a share of 51 per cent in 2020, lost as much as five percentage points and was down to 46 per cent. Ecommerce increased its share from 11 per cent to 18 per cent and Education from four per cent to six per cent. Telecom dropped its share substantially from eight per cent to four per cent.

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    TV AdEx by genre

    An analysis of ad volume beamed by various genres shows that all genres have grown significantly in 2021 versus a year ago with the exception of English movies which registered a de-growth for the second consecutive year. Hindi GEC continued to be the largest segment amongst all genres followed by Sports and then News, which came a distant third Sports genre on account of IPL, T20 WC and many bilateral cricketing tournaments across the globe, is 2nd in the pack in terms of absolute revenue. Despite the absence of Barc India ratings for the News genre, it registered a high growth of 19 per cent over 2019 and 29 per cent over 2020.

    The Digital Juggernaut

    The Digital Adex juggernaut moved ahead unabated, and grew by a phenomenal 50 per cent in 2021, taking Digital Adex to Rs. 25,438 crore. It even showed growth of 10 per cent in 2020, when all other mediums showed degrowth. Digital Adex has now reached a share of 34 per cent and is within striking distance of the largest medium TV. What helped Digital Adex grow, according to the report, is that it is firing on several verticals – Ecommerce, Search, Social and Video. With online sales galloping, the intense competition now has extended to online. Ecommerce advertising on brands such as Amazon and Flipkart have spiked. Traditional brands are also adopting Ecommerce and many of these brands in addition to using the E-commerce platforms are setting up their own online systems. D2C is expected to take off in a big way in the coming years.

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    Top Advertisers in 2021

    In keeping with the technology boom, 15 new-age Companies/start-ups entered the top 50 list, altering the composition of the list. These are Dream 11 at third position, BYJU’s at five, Phone Pe at 12, Upstox at 13, My 11 Circle at 14, and many others including CRED, Netmed, MPL, Policybazaar, Unacademy, WhiteHat Jr, Swiggy, Netflix, Coin Switch Kuber and Coin DCX, coming lower in the pecking order. The report shows as many as 14 new Advertisers in the list this year compared to ten last year. Six out of the top 10 are FMCG Advertisers, Hindustan Unilever, Reckitt, P&G, Reliance, Mondelez and ITC. FMCG still dominates the list with 15 players all with high ranks, but their dominance is decreasing.

     

  • HDFC Life’s latest ad is a shoutout to ‘Covid Batch’ of students

    HDFC Life’s latest ad is a shoutout to ‘Covid Batch’ of students

    Mumbai: One of the biggest setbacks of the Covid-19 pandemic was the shutdown of educational institutions. Keeping this in mind, HDFC Life has unveiled a new brand campaign crafted by Leo Burnett, from the lens of a graduating school girl. The brand campaign is available across television, digital and DTH.

    The film ‘BounceBack Batch’ highlights the challenges faced by students as they lost out on classroom learning, interpersonal skill-building and some of the best days of their lives. With this campaign, the brand attempts to throw light on the story of every student out there during this pandemic. The film depicts how graduating in these uncertain times is a testament to their resilience which makes the current batch of students stand out from every other batch.

    “Our film takes the audience on an emotional journey of the turmoil that these champions had to go through and the resilience they have shown in the face of the worst adversity humankind has ever seen. They have persevered and bounced back stronger from this challenge,” said Leo Burnett CEO and chief creative officer – South Asia Rajdeepak Das.

    “The last two years have been difficult for everyone. But the part that stands out is the bigger story about the resilience demonstrated by these students and their families,” stated HDFC Life head of marketing, digital business, and e-commerce Vishal Subharwal. “With this campaign, we aim to drive this realisation and the importance of financial planning through a student’s lens, instilling a sense of pride in parents who have ensured that their children overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic.”

  • The ABBY’s joins hands with prestigious global award program, The One Show

    The ABBY’s joins hands with prestigious global award program, The One Show

    Mumbai: South Asia’s pre-eminent awards for Creativity, Media and Communication, ABBY’s has joined hands with The One Show, the globally prestigious award program in advertising, design and digital marketing worldwide, thereby sharing the stage with other global and regional award platforms.

    The association seeks to create a new gold standard in recognising and awarding the region’s best creativity by bringing global standards of judging, jury selection and transparency to the established Indian Awards brand.

    The One Club for Creativity CEO Kevin Swanepoel said, the One Show is committed to raising the bar on creative judging standards all over the world. “With India already a rising new global creative powerhouse, the Abby Awards will further add shine to a very respected domestic creative program,” he said.

    The One Show’s Gold Pencil, which is regarded as one of the top prizes in the international creative industry for over 40 years, has a rich legacy of honouring some of the most ground-breaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity across the globe.

    This year’s Abby’s will be a part of the Goafest in partnership with the AAAI and will mark the thirteenth Abby Award after a break of the last two years due to the pandemic.

    Elaborating on the association, The Ad Club president Partha Sinha said, “Abby’s has been India’s mainstay for 56 years when it comes to recognising creativity & innovation across the communication industry. We wanted to add more heft and give Abby’s a place on the global stage it so well deserves. The association with ‘The One Show’ will enhance our judging standards to match global best practices, help in the selection of juries and raise levels of transparency in the entire awarding process”.

    The Abby Awards will represent the South Asia region that includes India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan and has been doing so since 2004. In keeping with contemporary trends, the Abby’s will include categories such as Direct, Design, Digital, Mobile, Technology, Still Craft, Digital Craft, Radio Craft, Video Craft, Brand Activation & Promotion, Branded Content & Entertainment, PR, Broadcaster and Publisher.

    The Awards Governing Committee for ABBY’s Awards includes eminent industry names such as Havas Group India Group CEO Rana Barua, (AGC Chairman), Goafest Organising Committee chairman & Another Idea founder Jaideep Gandhi, Times of India president Partha Sinha, IPG Mediabrands CEO-India Shashi Sinha, Publicis Groupe CEO South Asia Anupriya Acharya, Madison Communications chairman and managing director Sam Balsara, GroupM Media (India) CEO-South Asia Prasanth Kumar and FCB Group India Group Chairman & CEO Rohit Ohri, among others.

    The list of international judges will be announced by One Show after the process of selection of both Indian and international jury will get initiated.

  • Microsoft Teams makes ‘Walkie Talkie feature’ available to all users

    Microsoft Teams makes ‘Walkie Talkie feature’ available to all users

    Mumbai: Microsoft Teams has made its Walkie Talkie feature launched in 2020 for frontline workers available to all its users.

    The ‘push to talk’ feature was introduced in 2020 as a way for frontline workers to communicate easily on-field when the pandemic rate was at its peak. “As the frontline faces continuous constraints from labor shortages and supply chain disruptions, they want technology that saves them time, helps them communicate more seamlessly, and maximises their efficiency when completing repetitive tasks,” the company stated.

    Walkie Talkie is now also available on all iOS mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads, in addition to Android mobile devices. It is a push-to-talk (PTT) communication feature that allows users to connect with their group members through a respective channel. No one else can interact with the people inside the channel unless they are given permission to do so. The company teamed up with Zebra mobile devices to implement the digital Walkie Talkie functionality.

    According to Microsoft, the app replaces the need for carrying bulky radios and offers a secure line of communication through Wi-Fi or cellular internet connectivity. The three mobile devices: rugged TC-series, customer-facing EC-series, and the scanning device MC-series will now include the Microsoft Teams’ push-to-talk features. All of them come with a dedicated, built-in button on the side emulating a radio walkie-talkie, that one needs to hold onto while speaking. The voice gets recorded, and then sent to the recipient.

    “With this partnership, we’re excited to be able to provide frontline workers with the ability to use these devices to seamlessly communicate, collaborate, and stay productive in any conditions,” said Zebra Technologies CEO Anders Gustafsson in a blog post.

    Currently, the feature is not pre-installed. To enable WalkieTalkie for use in Teams, organisations will have to add it to the ‘App Setup Policy’ through the admin centre. Once turned on, the feature becomes available on the app within the next 48 hour.

    According to Microsoft, the pandemic drove a 400 percent increase in Microsoft Teams usage among frontline workers from March 2020 to November 2021.