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Tag: Snapdeal

  • Snapdeal acquires Exclusively to create India’s first online luxury mall

    Snapdeal acquires Exclusively to create India’s first online luxury mall

    NEW DELHI: Online marketplace, Snapdeal.com has acquired Exclusively.com (formerly Exclusively.in) – the online destination for premium and luxury fashion. With this acquisition, Snapdeal looks to further strengthen its fashion business and reaching $2 billion in GMV in the fashion category this year.

     

    Luxury products and services is a $14 billion market in India, growing at 30 per cent YoY, according to a recent KPMG-ASSOCHAM report. More than 70 per cent consumers want to shop for luxury products in India rather than abroad.

     

    Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl said, “Snapdeal has always operated ahead of the curve in the e-commerce space, especially when it comes to category leadership. We have witnessed a surge in the demand from consumers across the country for premium and luxury products, however, given that access to luxury brands is severely limited in our country, we have brought Exclusively into our family to provide our 40 million+ users the access to widest range of aspirational, high end products and services.”

     

    Under this partnership, Exclusively will complement Snapdeal’s existing ecosystem and will provide a consolidated offering for the luxury and lifestyle shopper, making it India’s first online luxury mall.

     

    Luxury and premium fashion brands from across the world can now open stores in Exclusively’s online luxury mall. Exclusively will continue to function as an independent site and all aspects of Exclusively’s online shopping experience will remain intact, with new collection and service augmentations in the pipeline.

     

    With its nationwide reach, robust technology platform and deep consumer insights, Snapdeal will help Exclusively scale up and expand its current business and reach.

     

    Exclusively co-founder Sunjay Guleria and Mohini Boparai-Guleria said, “Exclusively has built and grown a cache of leading premium Indian designers, brands and boutiques. The partnership with Snapdeal comes at the right time. With increased awareness and growing disposable incomes, premium and luxury consumption in India is seeing a significant upward trend. With the geographical limitations of the brick-and-mortar model, we strongly believe that the luxury and premium segments can only be grown by sharing access with the consumer.  With Exclusively’s fashion experience and Snapdeal’s scale of operations, we look forward to not just servicing large metros, but also the aspirational demand in smaller towns across India.”

  • Den Networks & Snapdeal ink 50:50 JV for TV Commerce channel

    Den Networks & Snapdeal ink 50:50 JV for TV Commerce channel

    MUMBAI: After inking a joint-venture with Jasper Infotech, the entity that owns and operates the digital commerce platform – Snapdeal.com, multi system operator (MSO) Den Networks has now launched a ‘TV Commerce’ channel with an aim to create a multi-nodal electronic shopping avenue for customers.

     

    The channel is currently available for viewers on channel number 132 on Den and will be extended to other cable and DTH networks over the next six months.

     

    With Den Networks’ reach into about 13 million households in over 200 cities across 13 states in the country, Snapdeal.com can leverage the robust distribution to provide customers easy access to products across home, lifestyle and electronics categories.

     

    Snapdeal.com co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl said, “Innovation lies at the heart of Snapdeal.com and with this initiative we are taking yet another step to fulfill our promise of providing accessibility to the best products at best prices to consumers across India. We are delighted to partner with a likeminded brand like Den Networks, which enjoys massive reach and brand loyalty across the entire country and especially in smaller towns of India. India is a country with many heterogeneous segments of consumers, and we believe that by reaching 150 million households with 600 million people that have a TV, we can create another revolution through 7V Commerce.”

     

    Den Snapdeal TV shop will benefit customers who have limited access to internet services particularly in tier 2 and 3 cities. 

     

    Den Networks CMD Sameer Manchanda added, “We are extremely thrilled to partner with Snapdeal.com on this game-changing initiative. By leveraging Snapdeal and Den’s nationwide distribution network will now be able to engage with a much larger audience, which is still not exposed to the benefits of online shopping and internet access. Together, we aim to offer the customers a wide assortment of products and provide them with a hassle free buying experience. The response to the pilot has been extremely encouraging and we are sure Den-Snapdeal TV Shop will be well received by our viewers.”

     

  • Hungama.com releases ‘Digital Music Trends 2014’ report

    Hungama.com releases ‘Digital Music Trends 2014’ report

    MUMBAI: The year gone by had much to take note of. Hungama.com, an on-demand digital entertainment store-front, too has released a report on the music trends of 2014.

    The report, ‘Hungama.com Digital Music Trends 2014’, analyses music trends as per usage, both downloading and streaming, pan-India; with information on the most popular music streaming platforms as well as popular devices and music choices of Indian consumers.

    Music streaming across Hungama.com’s digital properties saw over a 100 per cent increase between 2013 and 2014, as per the report, which includes statistics based on web, WAP and mobile apps consumption. In comparison, between 2013 and 2014, the Android platform witnessed an increase of close to 100 per cent with regards to access of service over Android devices alone.  In fact, during 2014, 90 per cent of the music streaming access was accounted for by mobile devices driven by the growth in mobile internet usage.

    Bollywood based music, accounting for 81 per cent, was the preferred genre of music consumed across Hungama.com’s digital platforms, followed by international music at 10 per cent. Hungama.com, which introduced a multi-lingual transliterated version of its Android app in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Punjabi in 2014, saw streams for south Indian music and Punjabi music accounting for 4 per cent and 2.2 per cent of the total streams for the year. In terms of regions, Maharashtra accounted for the largest share of streams and downloads in 2014.

    The report also gives insight into the most popular handset manufacturers and devices of 2014. While Samsung continues to be the most popular mobile brand, the second spot was taken by Sony, followed by Micromax, Motorola and HTC in the top 5 most popular device manufacturers of 2014. Among the most popular handsets used, Samsung Galaxy dominated with nine devices leaving one spot for the Motorola MOTO G (8th position) in the list of top 10 most popular devices of 2014.

    2014 was also the year that brands increased their presence and reach on digital platforms. The leading advertisers on Hungama.com’s music platforms for 2014 include leading brands Airtel, Snapdeal, Vodafone, Ford, ITC, IPhone, HP, Unilever, Bacardi, Ask Me, We Chat, OLX, Canon, Quikr, Zee, Max Life, Maruti, Mcdowells and Cadbury.

    The report also includes ‘Hungama.com Chart-toppers 2014’, which delves into the most popular music among Indian consumers during the year. Hungama.com Chart-toppers 2014 is based on trends, both streaming and downloads, along with songs’ popularity and number of likes for music released in 2014; with a vision to promote the talents behind the music. The list includes a broad mix of genres, artists, languages and composers whose music released in 2014.

    As per the report, Arijit Singh is the most popular male singer of 2014 while Priyanka Chopra is among the top 10 most popular international artists for her hit title ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’. Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Happy New Year’ and Yo Yo Honey Singh’s ‘Desi Kalakaar’ with multiple entries to their credit are the two most popular albums of 2014.

     

  • We deserve it, says Nina Jaipuria as ad sales rates hike 25-30%

    We deserve it, says Nina Jaipuria as ad sales rates hike 25-30%

    MUMBAI: Pleasing a child is a daunting task and taking the challenge head on is none other than Nickelodeon and Sonic. With the new year coming in, the channels are set to excite its viewers with surprises and celebrations. Re-enforcing its market leadership, while Nick has got back Oggy and the Cockroaches, the action packed, chase comedy Pakdam Pakdai will be seen on Sonic, starting 22 December. 

    This is in line with the channel’s strategy to bring alive the thought of “Action Ka Tevar with Comedy Ka Flavour.”

    “Nick has already established its leadership position with characters like Motu Patlu and Ninja that we have nurtured over the years. Now its time to focus on Sonic. The shift of Pakdam Pakdai to Sonic is a strategic move in that direction. The show will rest only on Sonic since we do not want to dilute the franchise and keep both our channels differentiated,” says Viacom18 EVP and business head kids cluster Nina Elavia Jaipuria.

    To back this up, it is launching the first Pakdam Pakdai movie called Pakdam Pakdai – Don v/s Billiman on 25 December at 11.30 am on Sonic. Adding to the supersonic line-up is Sci -Fi Santa and all new episodes of Power Rangers with an entertaining array of new shows like Rimba Racer, Mini Ninjas and Jungle Bunch.

    To up the entertainment quotient, Nick will be airing the fifth exclusive made for television Motu Patlu movie: Motu Patlu Aur Khazane Ki Race. “There is always room for more. The kids demand for more and hence as the year progesses you will not only see newer episodes of Motu Patlu but also many more made for television movies.”

    Talking about the next big initiative, Oggy and the Cockroaches is all set to make a come back on Nick. Premiering on 1 January 2015, the channel has already created a bank of 65 episodes. This character was made about five years ago and very quickly it became a chart topper. “What we got was a silent show, but we dubbed it and it became a runaway success.” 

     

    2014: A successful year…

    In the year, Sonic has grown almost 200 per cent in terms of ratings. “We couldn’t have asked for a better growth story for Sonic. Small and steady but we are happy the way the graph is looking now.”

    As per TAM ratings provided by the channel in All India ABC CS 4-14, Sonic’s reach has grown by 63 per cent and time spent by 93 per cent as compared to last year. “Not only we want more viewers but we want them to stick on our channel and the growth clearly shows that the content is sticky and the characters have already made their way into the hearts and minds of children. Our closest competitor Disney XD has de-grown and trails by 25 TVTs in November’14,” points out Jaipuria.

    What led to the 200 per cent viewership growth on Sonic? The holiday season did wonders for the channel where close to 1.5 million kids engaged all through summer. The channel conducted a ‘Back to School’ campaign to ‘Be the Ranger’ across 11 cities and 200 schools and grabbed eyeballs of almost 1.6 lakh kids. Moreover, it was followed by ‘Diwali Dhamaka’ campaign that reached out to over 10 million kids across the country. ‘Meet the Rangers in USA’ was an exciting mass media campaign with the ultimate thrill factor where the winner kids got a chance to meet the actual power rangers in USA.

    Power Rangers visited malls and game-plexes and challenged kids to take up the multicity gaming championship. The channel received over 15,000 entries. With Christmas nearing, the channel is conducting a sci-fi Santa contest, a month full of amazing prizes to be won every day.

    The reason behind so many campaigns and activities was to make Sonic more popular amongst its TG. “The Sonic task was very different for us because it was about creating awareness for the channel in the digitized markets given that Sonic is only available in digital markets.”

    From April 2013 to November 2013 and from April 2014 to November 2014, the kids’ category has witnessed a growth of 7 per cent. From the category, Nick tops the chart with 21 per cent growth in the ratings followed by Hungama with 9 per cent and rest all the channels have registered a drop.

    So what has worked wonders for Nick? According to Jaipuria, the three stalwarts on the channel – Motu Patlu, Pakdam Pakdai and Ninja Hattori have added to most ratings. In a very short span of time Motu Patlu managed to grab 44 per cent of the ratings, Pakdam Pakdai (9 per cent) and Ninja Hattori  (43 per cent).

    Jaipuria believes it is not just about TAM, but how the channel captures the hearts and minds of the little kids and to create the bond and relationship. “In the kids category the characters are most important to drive viewer affinity.  It is the character that forges the relationship and bond with our viewers along with engaging story-telling and great quality of animation.”

    The channel conducted ‘Be the Boss’ campaign where Nicktoons travelled to each winner’s city to hand them their ‘Appointment Letters’ to invite them to the corporate office. Over 21,000 entries participated to ‘Be the Boss’.

    Talking about the achievements, in the 11th edition of Ormax – Small Wonders Study, Nick’s Ninja Hattori, Motu Patlu and Sonic’s Power Rangers made their way amongst the top 10 characters.

    So, what made Nick stand out in the crowd? According to Jaipuria the trend in the category has not been Hollywood or Bollywood, but it is about creating movies that kids actually love. The fourth movie – Motu Patlu Kung Fu Kings was a runaway success. It was the category leader and in the week when it premiered it garnered around 777 TVTs.

    In 2014, Nick has attracted almost 20-30 new advertisers. Brands like Snapdeal, OLX, Godrej, Gionee Smartphones, Rasna etc have come on board. Talking about the entire franchise, it has attracted 105 new advertisers and 300 brands.

    With holidays coming, the channel is celebrating with consumer activations. ‘Lift your Gift’ contest, which started from 8 December and will go on for a month long, is one example.

    The channels have the advantage of being part of the network, which caters to the age group of 0-50 plus. “We have kids, youth and then general entertainment and that’s how we leverage and build on each other.”

    For instance, the characters Motu Patlu hit the highest peak of popularity when they did the jig with the stars in Jhalak Dikhlaja (JDJ).

    What seems to be the happy moment for Nick is that the ad sales category has grown by 14 per cent which is actually growing faster than the kids category (7 per cent). Jaipuria says the reason is the 12-minute ad cap which fuelled the shortage of inventory and therefore led to an automatic increase of ad rates.

    Considering the 12-minute ad cap, Jaipuria reveals that the entire network is already houseful. But talking about the other side of the story, she feels the category continues to be under indexed. “While the ad sales for the category is growing, it is still hugely under indexed.  The genre contributes about 9 per cent of viewership at a CNS 4+ but less than 2 per cent of the total TV  ad pie.  This needs to be addressed and we are sure that this disparity will soon be corrected.”

    The network has gone beyond the usual FCT and is working on innovations; from customised on-air solutions to product licensing and from in-show placements to product licensing and promotional licensing. “The non FCT pieces are one that not only helps broadcasters like us but also helps advertisers in a big way.”

    When the IP belongs to the owner, one can possibly try and create things with it. For example, Pakdam Pakdai has made it to overseas markets and is syndicated to almost seven territories outside of India like Middle East, South Asia etc and has become a small part of the revenue stream for the channel. 

    Keeping ahead of the curve and being future ready, assuming kids are consuming television on mobile, laptops and internet, the network has got its websites up and running. While Nickindia.com boasts of 3.5 million page views, sonicgang.com has 1.75 million page views. To top it all, it witnessed over 5 minutes of average time spent on each visit.

    Keeping in mind that kids won’t always be available on laptops or desktops, it has launched a Nick World app with the Nick shows and Keymon O’Fish game on iOS and Android platforms. It has got almost 30,000 downloads.

    Jaipuria feels that the challenge in the industry is to write movies in animation and there is dearth of writers in the space. “It’s the chase at the end of the day. We have handful of people in the category and for us hunting new talent is always a task. Even the production houses find it very hard.”

    On the financial side, Jaipuria reveales that the ad sales rates for the entire franchise has grown by 25-30 per cent. “We deserve it and the category also deserves it.” She further says that unlike Hindi fiction which costs around Rs 6-8 lakh per episode, animation content per episode is Rs 15-20 lakh.

    On the subscription revenue, the network has witnessed a growth of 15-18 per cent. “Thankfully the PnL’s are looking healthier, thanks to the subscription revenues.”

  • Snapdeal ties up with ‘Chaar Sahibzaade’ as an online partner

    Snapdeal ties up with ‘Chaar Sahibzaade’ as an online partner

    MUMBAI: E-commerce portal Snapdeal.com, has tied up with Harry Baweja’s latest production Chaar Sahibzaade.

    An animated film, Chaar Sahibzaade revolves around the Sikh Guru – Guru Gobind Singh and his sons. Paying tribute to the movie, the e-tailer will present an exclusive collection of interesting collectibles for fans. These include Kirpans, swords, art work, and armor sets replete with bow and arrow etc reminding audiences of Sikh heritage.

     Speaking on the occasion producer Harry Baweja said, “Chaar Sahibzaade is a movie that would give you a hangover of the rich heritage and culture that is imbibed in the Indian minds. The collection on Snapdeal.com is something that parents would feel proud to own and also buy for their kids to educate them and engrave rich Indian values.”

     The film will also features the portal. With this tie-up the brand will strengthen its antiques and collectibles segment, which has the maximum potential in the ‘hobbies’ category. In the past, the brand has associated with a number of production houses and movies such as- Transformers, Ninja Turtles and Spiderman.

    Talking about this initiative, Snapdeal.com vice president fashion Amit Maheshwari said, “We are constantly building on our existing categories as well as developing new segments, to provide consumers with a variety of choices.”

    “As a part of this endeavor we are looking at expanding our Hobbies category, which already has unique merchandise from various films, football and cricket collectibles, antiques etc. We are certain that our consumers will be delighted with the new range of merchandise from Chaar Sahibzaade,” he added.

    Consumers can buy unique merchandise such as Kirpan shaped pen-drives, rare posters from the movie, and unique memory games for children, pencil tops and key chains on the site.

     

  • Repucom eyes India’s expansion to a multi sport nation

    Repucom eyes India’s expansion to a multi sport nation

    MUMBAI: The year 2014 has been a wonderful one for sports in India. With a number of sporting leagues starting and big conglomerates putting in their money and muscles to make India a multi sport country, the brands are ready to jump on to the band wagon.

     

    To run the show, finances of a large magnitude, a sustained and reliable inflow of premium information and analytics is of crucial importance  and so is the evaluation to help clubs, teams, franchise owners or sponsors to better understand the returns of sponsorships as well as, provide a frame of reference for future projects and aids in the planning process. However, not all has been and can be evaluated. So, here comes Repucom, a sport marketing research company, which helps find a solution to this.

     

     The research company, with more than 20 offices worldwide and 1000 plus clients, conducts sponsorship evaluation, market research, consultancy, media evaluation and commercial auditing. And keeping an eye on India’s growing sport culture, Repucom is all set to cash-in on the frenzy.

     

    Repucom south Asia senior VP and India director Joseph Eapen says, “India is one of our key country of interest, from a cricket crazy country, now a truly a multi-sport country. From the past seven years, we were providing the sponsorship ROI metrics for cricket – IPL and all homes series; then came HIL, IBL, racing, and this year we are providing the same for Pro Kabaddi League, Indian Super League, running and International Premier Tennis League. So it is an important time and we are on it to quantity the investments.”

    So how is it all done?

     

    The company covers a varied amount of sports research through its various initiatives. It conducts sponsorship evaluation for TV, print and the online space. It arrives at ROI in terms of 100 per cent advertising equivalency and mainly quality index that quantifies the ROI on the basis of the quality of integration with the sport or any branded content. The quality factor it considers is size, duration, position and number of brand hits.

     

    Through social intelligence it picks up drivers of social conversations like the rights holders, the event, the sponsors, the celebrity associated with it or the promotional activities around an event, organic and  otherwise and develop a KPI score card that provides clients insights on a pre-event, weekly, monthly as well as post event basis. In the case of the Hero ISL, it was done on a daily basis.

     

    Through Bespoke Research it utilizes methodologies tailored to the individual requirements of clients. Sports DNA is a sponsorship planning and monitoring tool for clients pursuing an international strategy. According to Eapen, it is the world’s largest multi-client sports study, running consecutively since 2000, allowing high-quality market research via consistent and comparable methodology. It is built upon a twice-yearly survey of over 30 markets worldwide to deliver a wide range of insights globally.

     

    Similarly, Catalyst is a framework that analyses the effectiveness of on-site activation in the context of sponsorships which generates key insights on property engagement and attendee profiling, activation diagnosis and impacts on brands. Currently it is being done for Procam International (for their activations leading to the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon) in 30 plus locations in India.

     

    But the tool which is creating the most buzz is Celebrity DBI. It is an independent index that quantifies and qualifies consumer perceptions of celebrities. The categories of celebrities indexed include actors, athletes, film and TV stars, musical performers, business leaders etc. Subcategory examples include coaches, designers, chefs, politicians. It evaluates celebrities in 13 key markets worldwide like Germany, France, Italy, United States, China, Russia, Australia, Brazil, Japan, India etc.

     

    “It’s the only global celebrity evaluation service designed to provide superior brand-relevant insights. Brands, agencies, rights holders, teams, leagues and other marketers worldwide can measure, compare and leverage the impact of celebrities both locally and globally. The expanded database features more than 5,000,” says Eapen.

     

    In India the company has been working with IMG, Hero, Muthoot, Pepsi, Vodafone, Yes Bank, Star Sports, USL, Garnier Men, Airtel, Standard Chartered, Mahindra, Toyota, Red Bull, Johnnie Walker, Nokia and Panasonic. For branded content it has been working with Idea, L’oreal, Tata tea, Snapdeal, Vodafone, Sunfeast, Maruti, Cornetto, Lux, Oreo and Lenovo.

     

    For the ongoing ISL the company has firehose access to twitter feeds and a special tool to look at Facebook posts, plus uses Crimson Hexagon, Social Bakers and other tools are used by their in-house and global digital team.

     

    It has also been working with broadcasters for their branded content analysis it says it is proud of their association with Viacom18, especially Colors, as they have a contract to provide ROI metrics for all of their branded content.

     

    In the field of cricket the company has been conducting commercial auditing for ICC; as their compliance monitor – policing the broadcast of rights-related content through compliance monitoring helps to ensure that all events, branding and commercial stipulations are adhered to according to contract.

     

    With India now being a key market that is offering a lot of consumption potential for the business of sports, according to Eapen, besides the usual four of gate revenues, sponsorship revenues, media rights and merchandising there is another added factor- the 10+2 ad cap. “This reduction in ad inventory will force brands to look at integration and placement within the content – sport is an ideal platform for this

     

    Talking about the company’s future expansion plans in India, Eapen informs that a lot of growth will happen from the sport sponsorship consultancy services turn knowledge into action. “Our fact-based insight and recommendations allow brands, right holders and agencies to maximise the value of their investments in sport and entertainment” he concludes.

     

  • SoftBank invests $627 million in Snapdeal

    SoftBank invests $627 million in Snapdeal

    MUMBAI:  Seeking to tap into the growing e-commerce market in India, the Japanese telecom giant SoftBank announced a $627 million investment in the home-grown retailer Snapdeal, becoming the largest investor in the company.

     

    This is the largest investment made by a single investor in an e-commerce company in India.  Other existing investors have also participated in this round with a significant undisclosed investment.

     

    Through this strategic investment and partnership with Snapdeal, the telecom group aims at strengthening its presence in India and leveraging synergies with its network of Internet companies around the world, according to the press release issued by the e-tailer.

     

    While on the other hand, Snapdeal, will use the investments in expanding its chain of fulfillment centres. It will also look to make 3-4 strategic acquisitions in the coming few months specifically in the area of mobile technology and is planning to set up an incubation centre to hone and harness start-up businesses in the mobile technology space within next six months.

     

    Talking about the investment, SoftBank chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said, “Since SoftBank’s foundation, our mission has been to contribute to people’s lives through the Information Revolution. We believe India is at a turning point in its development and have confidence that India will grow strongly over the next decade. As part of this belief, we intend to deploy significant capital in India over the next few years to support development of the market.”

     

    Adding to that, SoftBank’s vice chairman Nikesh Arora reckoned, “India has the third-largest Internet user base in the world, but a relatively small online market currently. This situation means India has, with better, faster and cheaper Internet access, a big growth potential. With today’s announcement SoftBank is contributing to the development of the infrastructure for the digital future of India. We want to support the leaders and entrepreneurs of the digital future; Kunal and Rohit are two such great leaders.”

     

    Nikesh Arora will also be joining the board of Snapdeal as part of this strategic investment by the SoftBank Group.

     

    Morrison & Foerster LLP acted as legal advisor to advising SoftBank on India law matters.

     

     “Our entire team at Snapdeal is thrilled and honoured to have SoftBank as a strategic partner. With the support of Son-san and Nikesh, we are confident we will further strengthen our promise to consumers and create life changing experiences for 1 million small businesses in India,” said Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl.

     

    Founded in 2010, the company also claims to have more than 25 million registered users and more than 50,000 business sellers. Earlier this year, Snapdeal had raised $133.77 million in a round led by eBay and $105 million from institutional investors including Temasek, Myriad, Tybourne, Blackrock Inc. and Premji Invest. Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata also made a personal investment into the company. 

  • Zee Café brings all eight seasons of Desperate Housewives

    Zee Café brings all eight seasons of Desperate Housewives

    MUMBAI: Zee Café will be airing all eight seasons of the American television comedy-drama series, Desperate Housewives, and is spinning a new flavour to the show giving it the theme of Sin is In. Targeting young urban females this time around, Zee Café is promising to ensure engagement levels a notch higher.

     

    Zee Café is running a digital campaign for the promotion of the show through a website created especially for the show: www.sinisin.in . The site is created to intrigue young urban women about the show as well as give them an opportunity to engage with activities on the website which are related to the show. The site has been designed in such a way that without answering a few basic fun questions in the beginning, one cannot access the site. The site also includes pictures, trivia, and more.

     

    Speaking on the occasion Zee Niche Cluster and ZMC EVP and business head Anurag Bedi stated, “We are quite excited about the different viewer engagement activities and have been getting a great response from the viewers so far. Airing all eight seasons of the most watched show worldwide is definitely a milestone”

     

    In addition to the digital consumer engagement , Zee has also roped in radio channels for direct outreach in the metros for that will not only push for episode tune ins, but engage the viewer via hashtags, contests and RJ mentions. In an effort to connect with the audience pan India the channel will be airing promos of the show during the Diwali blockbuster movie-Happy New Year across premium multiplexes in the metros.

     

    ZEEL English entertainment head content and marketing Sharlton Menezes commented that the campaign is a very targeted one with clear mindset of reaching out to young urban women. “Therefore  we have opted for radio, social media and movies in addition to network promotions on television. Every little detail, be it the theme or the language used, everything has been created and designed as to what would appeal to young urban women.” he added.

     

    Sensodyne is the powered by sponsor with Snapdeal and Emirates is the associate sponsor for the show. Desperate Housewives starts 29 October, Monday to Friday at 9 pm on Zee Café.

  • E-commerce, the Santa Claus this Diwali

    E-commerce, the Santa Claus this Diwali

    With the festival of lights knocking at the door and gifting at its peak, the-commerce portals are raining flash sales, lucky draws, special portfolios and exclusive product launches. The season which kicked off the with the Big Billion Day by Flipkart to the week- long Diwali Dhamaka Sale from Amazon, the online buzz is getting louder each day.

    The portals, flushed with money from recent fund-raising efforts, are lining up steep discounts, exclusive merchandise, cash-back schemes, and other promotional offers for this year’s festive season, giving them an opportunity to sell more, gain market share and increase their valuations.

    According to Team Pumpkin co-founder Swati Nathani, the period of October till January is considered great for retail sales, starting with festive buying for Pujo and Diwali, to winter shopping in November, party shopping in December and then End of Season Sale in January. “The season sees an approximate 200-300 per cent increase from the average e-commerce sales. Obviously, post Diwali sales will not match to the level of Diwali, but on an average they are 20-30 per cent higher than average period sales,” said Nathani.

     

    Amazon India

    For the festive season, the e-commerce giant is offering discounts with minimum 16 per cent and maximum of up to 56 per cent discounts on products like laptops, mobiles, household items and home appliances. The e-retailer is giving up to 70 per cent discounts on home appliances, clothing & accessories, gifts, gadgets and jewellery along with an additional cash back offer on purchases made by Citibank cards.

    Talking about the Diwali, the offers and discounts, Amazon India country manager & VP Amit Agarwal said that the customers can look forward to Amazon.in as their one-stop Diwali shopping destination and that Amazon is offering its Indian customers great savings on thousands of products every hour through its discounts and offers.

    On 21 September,  Amazon.in kicked-off the 30 day online Shopping Dhamaka ahead of the peak festival season offering customers thousands of exciting new deals & offers on the hottest products; new store launches; first access to unique selections & premium brands,  exciting contests, etc.

    As part of the Online Shopping Dhamaka, Amazon.in hosted two major events including ‘Mission to Mars’ weekend between 4-6 October dedicated to the success of India’s Mangalyaan mission and the Diwali Dhamaka Week between 10-16 October.

    “We are humbled by the tremendous response from customers to the Online Shopping Dhamaka and all events hosted as part of this.  The response from customers on the first day of the Diwali Dhamaka Week went beyond our wildest expectations as we surpassed our biggest day. Traffic on that day was 200 per cent more than that on our previous biggest day. We are seeing a massive interest from all over the country including tier 2 markets like Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Surat, Vizag, Coimbatore, Patna, Bhopal, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Lucknow,” said an Amazon spokesperson.

    “Our seller clubs that have Rs 1 million+ & Rs 1 crore+ weekly sales increased by 44 per cent & 26 per cent respectively during the Diwali Dhamaka Week and sellers received orders from 868 non-metro cities,” he added.

    Electronics and Kitchen product categories grew by nearly six times during the Diwali Dhamaka week. In addition, we have received an overwhelming response from customers to all the exclusive launches that have taken place on Amazon.in during this period.

    “We have sold over 130,000 Micromax Canvas Android One smartphones, over 100,000 Coke Zero cans within two weeks of its launch, the Blackberry Passport has gone out-of-stock and we have sold hundreds of audio products of House of Marley,” the spokesperson informed.

    They also launched special festive design packaging and introduced gift boxes and gift wrapping paper in colours that match with the artwork on the gift boxes for Diwali.

     

    Flipkart-Myntra

    After offering crazy massive discounts on the Big Billion Day, raising Rs 600 crore as well as sending an apology letter to all its customers, Flipkart seems to have toned it down a bit.

    However, the industry that is currently surviving on discounts, the home-grown e-tailer is giving offers on select products. The site is hosting an electronic mela, giving massive discounts on televisions, camera, Smartphones, home appliances and others. The portal is offering 45-50 percent on home appliances like mixer grinders and induction cook-tops.

    The e-retailer is also holding an App lucky draw, where the lucky ones can win 3 days/2 nights holiday packages along with an additional cash back offer on purchases made by an SBI card.

    The e-commerce portal recently acquired the fashion portal Myntra as well as raised funds worth $1 billion.

    “Our aim is to help our sellers provide the best possible shopping options to our customers such that both sellers and customers benefit,” said a Flipkart spokesperson, talking about the Diwali sales.

    While the Bengaluru based portal is being cautious, its acquisition Myntra is giving discounts like 30 per cent off on no minimum value, up to 60 per cent off on festive collection and launching new private brands, Indian as well as international etc. Myntra has launched an exciting Diwali campaign ‘Myntra Cracker of a Sale’ from 7 -25 October.

    Myntra chief operating officer Ganesh Subramanian said, “Diwali is a period of festivity and cheer, where all of us buy new clothes, and want to ‘Look Good.’ The ‘Myntra Cracker of a Sale’ boasts of exciting brand offers from over 500 marquee brands and will also include exclusive collections from leading brands and designers which will be available only on Myntra.com.”

    “At Myntra, we are not restricting celebration only to clothes, but have also extended a personalized style service, the Style Helpline, where Myntra’s expert stylists will be available to answer everything from simple style queries to advice on getting the perfect festive look,” he added.

    Talking about the sales target, Subramanian revealed, “We expect it to be a record breaking Diwali, with over 3X growth in sales as compared to last year.”

    The fashion e-tailer also designed a ‘Made for Myntra Collection,’ which includes over 5,000 exclusive styles and collections by some of the most respected designers and brands like FCUK, UCB, Elle, SuperDry, Biba, FabIndia and Antony Moratto.

    The company is offering every shopper with assured money back with every order – minimum Rs 100 up to Rs 1 lakh and five gold vouchers from Tanishq, to be won every day.

     

    Snapdeal

    All set to lure customers to its portal, Snapdeal is offering 50 per cent off and 1+1 offer on many of its products. The Delhi-based e-tailer is also offering 60-70 per cent discount on mobile phones and gadgets.

    “The intention is to try and cater to every single consumer. Because we are trying to cater to everyone, we have products for everyone. There has been a big ensemble of celebrities, who have come on board for the same,” said Snapdeal VP-offline marketing Maneesh Goel.

    “We are aiming to double our normal sales this festive period like last year,” revealed Goel who added that the company is already seeing a 30 per cent increase in its daily order and sales average. Snapdeal recently crossed $1 billion (over Rs 6,100 crore) in sales this fiscal.

    The portal is offering up to 50 per cent discounts on home appliance, up to 40 per cent on watches, around 50 per cent on gadgets along with 1+1 offers on ethnic wears, footwear, clutches etc.

     

    Google India

    Celebrating the occasion, the search-engine giant Google has launched ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ to cash in on the festival of lights.

    Google has also set up a ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ website, which provides two activities that Indians love to indulge in: shopping and entertainment.

    The powered by sponsor for the site is Amazon India while the presented by sponsor is Lakme. Other sponsors for the site include OLX, Fiat, Line messenger, Horlicks among others. It has also partnered with Shah Rukh Khan’s Happy New Year, which is set to release on the day after Diwali.  

    It allows users from across India to try out everyday products through samples at Re 1, play games that are in sync with the cultural moment, stream movies for free and watch great content from the upcoming film Happy New Year.

    At the ‘Grand Diwali Mela,’ consumers can also experience gaming via a platform called Centerstage Hungama.com. On this online ‘zone’, consumers can stream two Bollywood films of their choice. A game called Diwali Chakri has been launched exclusively for this occasion. In association with Rummy Circle, it allows users to play with other card game enthusiasts across the country. Gaming hour will be from 9-10 pm and prizes include online offers and merchandise.

    Last month, Google stated plans of launching a virtual shopping and entertainment platform by tying up with the media buying agency GroupM. While GroupM is responsible for bringing brands onto the platform, Google provides the technical support.

    The website, which will run live till 22 October, invites patrons to try samples for products across various categories at just one rupee each, and to play and win awesome prizes and a chance to hang out with celebrities.

     

    Other sites

    Riding high on the festive season, CouponDunia, has brought together the country’s most popular e-commerce stores to give its users 30 exclusive offers over the next 15 days as part of ‘Deal-Wali Diwali’. These offers include: Rs 250 gift card on Rs 999 shopping for Amazon, Buy-1-Get-1-Free in Dominos, Flat 33 per cent off above Rs 2999 in FabFurnish, Flat 45 per cent off on Hotel Bookings at Goibibo, Flat Rs 500 off on Flights at Yatra.

    Jabong is also offering huge discounts on lifestyle products. On purchase of two products of American Swan, one can get one product of the company free. Apart from this, one can book a home with just Rs 999 under ‘Living Room Bonanza’ and will also be entitled to 20 per cent discount on total cost.

    With the massive discounts offered and customers being treated as kings, this Diwali marks the growth of the e-commerce sector in India. So, shop till the discounts last and we at Indiantelevision.com wish you a happy Diwali and a fun festive season.

     

  • Nick strengthens Motu Patlu franchise, launches new movie and merchandise

    Nick strengthens Motu Patlu franchise, launches new movie and merchandise

    MUMBAI: Nicktoons Motu Patlu are on a meteoric rise to becoming the coolest celebrities on the block. After a successful TV show, three super-hit movies, digital assets and some awesome promotional licensing deals, Nickelodeon is all set to launch the fourth action packed Motu Patlu film and trendy Motu Patlu apparel.

    This Diwali, the most popular characters of India’s number 1 kids’ channel will embark on a crazy new adventure, fighting evil for the pride of Furfurinagar, in their upcoming movie “Motu Patlu Kungfu Kings”, exclusively premiering on Thursday, 23 October at 12.15pm, only on Nickelodeon. Fans of the duo will also be able to own fashionable Motu Patlu apparel – t-shirts, sweatshirts, games & puzzles now available across leading online platforms like Snapdeal.

    The exciting new cinematic adventure ‘Motu Patlu Kungfu Kings’ will see Motu Patlu in a never before seen avatar with Motu turning into a kungfu master. All the action unfolds when Motu is challenged by an evil martial arts fighter named Tiger Chang in a competition at Furfurinagar.

    Determined to redeem the pride of Furfurinagar, Motu takes an oath to learn martial arts and defeat Tiger Chang. Will Motu succeed in mastering the challenging art of Kungfu? Will Motu Patlu defeat Tiger Chang and restore the lost pride of Furfurinagar?  The new laugh riot will answer all these question and bring alive the journey of the awesome twosome from Furfurinaar to Kungfu Land.

    Talking about the latest Motu Patlu adventure, Nina Elavia Jaipuria, EVP & Business Head, Kids Cluster said “Our dynamic duo Motu Patlu have become an intrinsic part of the daily lives of children. The franchise has grown from strength to strength, providing enhanced experiences and engaging kids across platforms like television, movies, digital assets and now consumer products. We are sure that with Motu Patlu Kungfu Kings – a movie that celebrates friendship, laughter and adventure, we will further fortify this bond between Motu Patlu, the children and their favorite channel, Nickelodeon.”

    To further increase engagement with our young viewers, Nickelodeon is now extending the Motu Patlu experience by launching an exclusive apparel line across online portals like Snapdeal.com. Motu Patlu fans can now sport cool t-shirts, shorts and sweatshirts – all in Motu Patlu’s signature dhamakedaar style.  The exclusive range, priced at Rs. 249 to Rs. 999, includes 30 different apparel options, which is now available across e-commerce platforms like Snapdeal.com.

    Speaking about the new range of merchandise, Saugato Bhowmik, Head – Consumer Products, Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd., said, “Motu Patlu have topped the charts and also conquered the hearts of children across the nation with their fun antics. We now want fans of Motu Patlu to further experience their favourite characters through interesting merchandise. Starting with the launch of the apparel line online, we are eventually looking at extending the Motu Patlu franchise to include other products categories like back to school merchandise, stationery as well.”

    The amazing Motu Patlu and their endearing comedy of errors has significantly contributed towards Nickelodeon becoming the No.1 kids’ entertainment channel in the country. After their last outing to Wonderland, Mission Moon and the Deep Sea, this new adventure to Kung Fu Land is sure to be a roller coaster of action and laughter. So don’t forget to be a part of Motu Paltu’s Himalayan Adventure as they fight evil and win hearts along the way.

    Catch  ‘Motu Patlu Kungfu Kings’ this Thursday, October 23rd at 12.15pm, only on Nickelodeon and make sure to buy a Motu Patlu t-shirt/sweatshirt to sport while watching the movie.