ITV

Tag: social

  • Gutenberg appoints Neil Ashurst as UK head

    Gutenberg appoints Neil Ashurst as UK head

    MUMBAI: Award-winning global agency Gutenberg has appointed Neil Ashurst as the director and country head for UK. This follows the company’s recent rebranding which formalises their offering as an integrated communications firm providing digital, content, social, video and public relations services.

    Neil has over 15 years of experience in the communications industry, working closely with content and marketing teams both in-house and cross-agencies to deliver campaigns that focus on business impact.

    “Neil’s knowledge of the UK market coupled with his passion for communications will allow Gutenberg clients to have a great ally in creating and implementing impactful digital, PR and communications campaigns. Neil’s insights on the changing nature of customer journey for brands reflect his focus on ensuring business impact for our clients. Neil will lead our growth and expansion plans for the UK and Europe from our office in London. Additionally, he will integrate with our US and India teams on global multi-geography clients,” said Gutenberg founder and CEO Harjiv Singh.

    Neil earlier worked at Performance Communications, working on the Nissan Europe account. He has also worked at well-known UK agencies Frank, Brands2Life and 3Monkeys Zeno on brands such as Microsoft and 3 Mobile. Additionally, he was the head of UK communications for retailer – Game, working closely with Xbox, Activision and EA on the retail launches of their biggest titles.

    “Our experience as story-tellers as well as our growing capabilities across all channels means that we have a fantastic opportunity and offering here in the UK as the industry continues to evolve,” said Ashurst.

    Globally, Gutenberg services industries such as technology, retail, financial services, real estate, healthcare, education, aviation, defence, hospitality, infrastructure and not-for-profit causes.

  • Gutenberg appoints Neil Ashurst as UK head

    Gutenberg appoints Neil Ashurst as UK head

    MUMBAI: Award-winning global agency Gutenberg has appointed Neil Ashurst as the director and country head for UK. This follows the company’s recent rebranding which formalises their offering as an integrated communications firm providing digital, content, social, video and public relations services.

    Neil has over 15 years of experience in the communications industry, working closely with content and marketing teams both in-house and cross-agencies to deliver campaigns that focus on business impact.

    “Neil’s knowledge of the UK market coupled with his passion for communications will allow Gutenberg clients to have a great ally in creating and implementing impactful digital, PR and communications campaigns. Neil’s insights on the changing nature of customer journey for brands reflect his focus on ensuring business impact for our clients. Neil will lead our growth and expansion plans for the UK and Europe from our office in London. Additionally, he will integrate with our US and India teams on global multi-geography clients,” said Gutenberg founder and CEO Harjiv Singh.

    Neil earlier worked at Performance Communications, working on the Nissan Europe account. He has also worked at well-known UK agencies Frank, Brands2Life and 3Monkeys Zeno on brands such as Microsoft and 3 Mobile. Additionally, he was the head of UK communications for retailer – Game, working closely with Xbox, Activision and EA on the retail launches of their biggest titles.

    “Our experience as story-tellers as well as our growing capabilities across all channels means that we have a fantastic opportunity and offering here in the UK as the industry continues to evolve,” said Ashurst.

    Globally, Gutenberg services industries such as technology, retail, financial services, real estate, healthcare, education, aviation, defence, hospitality, infrastructure and not-for-profit causes.

  • Creative Abby Awards expands branded content & entertainment vertical

    Creative Abby Awards expands branded content & entertainment vertical

    MUMBAI: This year the Abby Award has added new verticals as well as sub-categories to become truly the complete Communications Award that it has always wanted to be.

     

    Last year Abby Awards added Branded Content and Entertainment as a new vertical with 8 sub-categories. This category attracts those projects which involve natural integration into original content by a brand. Typically here entrants can show how a brand has independently or in association with a content producer or broadcaster/publisher has created or co-created entertaining and engaging content for their audience. This can cover original content or programming for a brand by natural integration of a brand into existing formats by partnering with a publisher or media partner.

     

    Branded content integration goes beyond television and includes web, radio, print, music, user generated video, social, blogs, experiential events etc.

     

    This year more sub-categories have been added to bring this vertical on par with international festivals.

     

    Who can enter?

     

    Creative agencies who may have partnered with content producers or publishers, media agencies ,content producers who have produced the content, broadcasters who may have pioneered the concept, publishers who have worked closely with creative or media companies or even clients who may have led the initiative.

     

    What kind of work can be entered?

     

    The intelligent extension of a brand’s theme or position into the content, projects that enhance a brand’s position by integrating with content in different media or events, use of innovation in the integration.

     

    What is the material to be entered?

     

    A presentation board which is at the end of Entry Form and a 2 min audio visual that explains and gives excerpts of the entry has to be entered on DVD along with a presentation board for evaluation by the jury.

  • Google acquires Indian start-up Impermium

    Google acquires Indian start-up Impermium

    MUMBAI: The grandfather of the World Wide Web, Google, has acquired a three-year-old startup Impermium.

     

    The startup focused on building security products for websites was started by Vish Ramarao and Naveen Jamal with offices in Bengaluru and California. The third co-founder Mark Risher, who sits in California, posted on the website that the company had formally been acquired by Google with a headline ‘Impermium is joining Google’.

     

    The post read: “When we founded Impermium three years ago, our mission was to help rid the web of spam, fraud, and abuse. As sites gain in popularity, criminals and miscreants are never far behind, and Impermium has worked hard to defend some of the largest and fastest-growing sites….By joining Google, our team will merge with some of the best abuse fighters in the world. With our combined talents we’ll be able to further our mission and help make the Internet a safer place. We’re excited about the possibilities.”

     

    Some of Impermium clients include Tumblr, Pinterest, CNN, ESPN, Typepad and Washington Post.

     

    This is second acquisition of the year; the year started with Facebook acquiring Indian startup, Little Eye Labs. The company had officially announced that it had taken over earlier this month. 

  • Amuls tasteless take on Tehelka

    Amuls tasteless take on Tehelka

    MUMBAI: For a brand as big as Amul, its ads too have come to be an iconic part of the country’s social-scape.

     

    From IPL spot fixing to the allegations of corruption that once swirled around Jagmohan Dalmiya, from Laloo Prasad Yadav’s arrest in the fodder scam to Raj Babbar’s atrocious comments with respect to Rs 12 meals; Amul ads have taken an unflinching stance, driving home the point cheekily, yet responsibly while almost always leaving the reader with a smile.

     

    This time round however, even Amul’s li’l moppet, of the polka dot fame, has been unable to save the day.

     

    The latest ad – a take on the Tehelka scandal – shows a Tarun Tejpal-like figure being pecked by crows (incidentally the crow is Tehelka’s mascot) while sitting on a stool inside what looks like an elevator, while the Amul girl stands outside with her bread and butter sandwich. The tagline reads: “Kya Se Kya Kho Gaya! Tehelka Macha De!”

     

    Tejpal, the editor of Tehelka, who has made a career out of his in-your-face brand of journalism, has been in the news for allegedly sexually assaulting a junior colleague, a friend of his daughter at that, in an elevator at a fest organised by the magazine earlier this month in Goa.

     

    The Amul poster, which takes a very obvious swipe at Tejpal, hasn’t gone down well with people and social media is abuzz with comments trashing the ad for its tastelessness.

     

    Writes columnist and writer Aseem Chhabra: “I find this Amul ad outrageous and offensive! Where is the humor in a rape case?” Tweets The Oddfather @TheOddfather1014h: “Sorry guys, just my personal opinion…I don’t think it’s very smart or creative using a molestation case in your ad #justsaying”. Posts Vijay @ohVijayJoshi3h wrote: “like idiots u came up to make fun of a sensitive topic can u do a fun ad on 26/11 & Arushi as well.. U r selling butter? Pathetic”.

     

    Clearly, the ad hasn’t cut ice with a majority of people unlike its previous ones. Whether they think it trivializes a serious issue or is just not witty enough or whether rape is a matter that just doesn’t lend itself to jokes; one can’t really point out.

     

    All said, adman Rahul Dacunha, the man behind all those witty Amul posters since 1993 is disappointed with people’s reaction.   “Am disappointed that you see this as a joke – it’s a satirical comment about the fall from grace of a man,” he tweeted.

     

    Ironically, Dacunha is the same guy who, in a column in Tehelka on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Amul in 2009 wrote: “Today is Tuesday morning. Actor Shiney Ahuja makes the headlines – he may have just raped his maid. The question before the Amul creative team at Dacunha Communications is: Should Amul walk away or comment? And if we do, what angle do we take? What tone of voice? This is the dilemma we often face with Amul.”

     

    If this is what Dacunha thought four years ago, we wonder what made him change his mind this time round…

  • Karthik Srinivasan joins Ogilvy as Social@Ogilvy national lead

    Karthik Srinivasan joins Ogilvy as Social@Ogilvy national lead

    MUMBAI: Ogilvy India today announced the appointment of Karthik Srinivasan as Social@Ogilvy national lead.

    Srinivasan, who was previously Flipkart AVP corporate communications, comes with over 14 years of experience, both as a client as well as an agency professional. He has led PR, digital and social media agency mandates for brands like Intel, Lenovo, ARM, Cisco, Cricinfo, General Motors, BlackBerry, LinkedIn and Infosys, among others.

    Besides being a regular in major social media and digital events in the country, Srinivasan is also a prolific blogger, with two blogs – one on communications, branding and PR, and the other on music reviews.
    Ogilvy, as a brand, is all about bright, path-breaking ideas says Karthik Srinivasan

    Ogilvy India chief digital officer Kunal Jeswani said, “Social@Ogilvy is already India’s largest social media agency practice. Our ability to connect strong social skills with creative and content capabilities has driven dramatic growth for us over the past five years. The social landscape is constantly evolving and Karthik has the right skills to help us shape the future of Social@Ogilvy. His experience in handling large social media mandates will also help us offer truly seamless social solutions to our clients.”

    Social@Ogilvy is Ogilvy’s cross-discipline specialist social media offering which has highly skilled social media leaders collaborating with the agency’s digital, public relations and creative practices to create seamless and effective social media solutions for client businesses.

    Social@Ogilvy asia-pacific director added, “Karthik’s appointment further strengthens our market-leading position for social media in the asia-pacific region. The strength of our team is directly derived from our ability to attract leaders of Karthik’s calibre. His knowledge and experience will immediately bring great value to our clients in India and across the region.”
    Srinivasan, on his new role at Ogilvy commented, “Ogilvy, as a brand, is all about bright, path-breaking ideas. And social media, as a function, has moved its focus away from run-rate platform management to creative ideas that work at the intersection of multiple client functions – marketing, corporate reputation, customer relationship, supply chain and human resources, among others. With the kind and nature of clients Ogilvy has in India, I see tremendous potential in the use of social media to make a tangible difference to their businesses.”

  • Advisory on PMs speech should not to be used against news channels: Allahabad HC

    Advisory on PMs speech should not to be used against news channels: Allahabad HC

    NEW DELHI: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has directed the Information and Broadcasting Ministry not to use against news channels the advisory issued by it last month about comparisons drawn between the Prime Minister’s Independence Day speech with other leaders.

     

    Social activist Nutan Thakur had sought quashing of the Advisory of 21 October passed by the Ministry.

     

    The Bench of Chief Justice Dhananjay Yashwant Chandrachud and Justice Rituraj Awasthi said the Advisory whereby the electronic news channels have been notified that their licence will be cancelled in case they compare the Prime Minister with any other political leaders should be used only for compliance of rules and regulations and not beyond.

     

    The petition said that the Ministry issued this Advisory threatening penal provision in Section 20 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 because many news channels compared PM Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi for their Independence Day speech which the Ministry found “indecent” and “bad in taste”.

     

    Calling the Advisory ‘a dictatorial step to curb the independence of media’, Thakur had prayed for its immediate quashing in larger public interest.

  • Prasar Bharati and Radio-Television Slovenia sign a deal

    Prasar Bharati and Radio-Television Slovenia sign a deal

    NEW DELHI: India’s largest broadcasting network, Prasar Bharti has found a potential business partner in Radio-Television Slovenia (RTV SLO). The two got together recently and have agreed to explore further opportunities in potential projects of co-production of programmes along with significant cultural, economic, political, social and festive events in the respective countries.

     

    A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for cooperation in the field of broadcasting was signed between Prasar Bharati and RTV SLO. It aims at trading expertise of each of the broadcasters and entails exchange programmes in the fields of culture, education, science, entertainment, sports, and news on their respective networks, besides provision for personnel exchange and training of staff.

     

    To sign the deal, a high level delegation that included Slovenia led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Karl Viktor Erjavec, along with his team of ministers and officials – Mrs. Darja Bavdaz Kuret, Vlasta Vivod, International Department (RTV SLO) Head Suzana Vidas Karoli, and Boris Jelovsek visited Prasar Bharti.  

     

    The agreement was signed between Karoli and Prasar Bharati Member (Personnel) Brig (Retd.) V.A.M. Hussain.

     

    In his speech, Erjavec emphasised the importance of the MoU and said: “In today’s world, TV is the medium with the most significant impact in the life of culture, education, science, entertainment, sports, and news. And I am sure this agreement will bring additional opportunities to strengthen so important people-to-people contacts and bring better understanding of our nations. Your contribution to these strengthened people-to-people contacts and better understanding of our nations will also lead to deepening of cooperation in economic, political, scientific, educational and cultural fields. And we thank you for that.”

     

    The RTV SLO director GM Marko Filli could not attend the meeting, but he sent across a message that was read out by Karoli. He remarked: “Cooperation between media organisations is crucial for their quality work and development of programmes for the public they serve. New technologies are diminishing the distances that used to be a barrier for cooperation. The world is changing in such a way that not only small media organisations can learn and benefit from bigger ones, but also big media organisations are able to discover new ways of working and possibilities of cooperation with the small ones. At the same time the public is interested in the quality and contemporary content of the programmes and not so much of where the content is coming from.”

     

    In his message, he also emphasised that the exchange of programmes in the fields of culture, education, science, entertainment, sports and news will help us to broaden content offer and make both parties stronger and more influential in their home lands. “I must point out this cooperation is of great importance especially for Slovenian public service and therefore we look forward for this first operational exchange. As the production of programme is depending more and more on technical knowledge, exchange of programme content can be and will be upgraded with exchange of expertise between personnel and providing the training with technical staff. We can learn from each other and certainly we will benefit from each other. The ultimate goal must always be satisfaction of our public,” he said in the message.

     

    Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar pointed out that India has always given importance to friendship with Slovenia. He stressed that cooperation in exchange of programmes, participation in each other’s cultural events are far more effective tools that enrich the knowledge and perception about nations and that Prasar Bharati would strive to reach the heart of Slovenian people through heightened co-operation as envisaged in the MoU.

    This MoU is directed towards developing and strengthening friendly relations between the two countries through an increased co-operation in the field of broadcasting thus enabling the two countries to share their rich cultural heritage that includes a gamut of events and festivals.

  • Twitter has edge over Facebook in real-time TV, says report

    Twitter has edge over Facebook in real-time TV, says report

    MUMBAI: When it comes to so-called “TV talkers”, those who use social media while watching television programs, Twitter still has an edge over Facebook, a report said Thursday.

    As per the report, Twitter is still more attractive to advertisers and marketers than Facebook when it comes to real-time TV, according to eMarketer.

    “Facebook is further behind, but it has several advantages—such as its massive size—that will, over time, make it an attractive option,” said the report.

    Still, with more than a billion users, compared to Twitter’s base of more than 215 million, Facebook’s real-time TV promise is huge. A major reason is that, compared to Twitter, it has more user data for advertisers to tap.

    Twitter, the report noted, “integrated with TV shows and networks and developed ad products that align with marketers’ television advertising.” Twitter has reported that “95% of public social conversations around TV happen on its service,” the report said.

    Twitter’ strong TV potential has become more prominent as the San Francisco-based social network moves toward going public. Analysts sizing up the Twitter offering have consistently pointed to TV as one of its core strength.

    In a way, Twitter’s TV edge is based on how it quickly emerged as “a place where people have gone to discuss what they are watching on TV.”

  • Discovery Channel follows the journey of Indias holiest river in Ganga: River Divine

    Discovery Channel follows the journey of Indias holiest river in Ganga: River Divine

    India’s holiest river, Ganga, has an enigmatic story to tell, starting from its source in the mighty Garhwal Himalaya and flowing downwards to the Northern Indian plains. On the night of October 13th, Discovery Channel will exclusively feature this pious journey, showcasing incredible footage and narratives in GANGA: RIVER DIVINE. The narrative will explore not only the myths surrounding the river’s origins, but also the geological and geographical aspects of the area.

     

    GANGA: RIVER DIVINE premieres Sunday, 13th October, 9 PM only on Discovery Channel.

     

    As the leading factual entertainment network, Discovery Channel celebrates the wonders of India and brings to viewers exciting and relevant content. The film explores the many facets of river Ganges; from the spiritual, to the social and geological.

     

    The film opens at the source, where River Ganga emerges from the glacial peaks of Shivling and Bhagirathi. This region attracts believers from across India and abroad, who undertake a profound journey along the river to explore their faith and purpose. The first manifestation of the river, the Gangotri Temple, is one of four key Char Dhams or Hindu pilgrimage sites. It is located in India’s land of Gods, Devbhoomi. The narrative will flow with the river, from one Char Dham to the next. It will settle upon Badrinath, capturing rare footage of the Mata Murti Mela for viewers across India. Then, it will take a turn to reach the tributary Ramganga near the white water rapids of Devprayag.

     

    The banks of Ramganga support a massive ecotourism industry, alluring tourists and wildlife lovers to the Jim Corbett National Park. From here, the film will take us to the Northern Indian plains at Rishikesh, the world’s Yoga Capital; and ultimately land at Har Ki Pouri in Haridwar where the locals congregate for the Aarti ceremony. The footage captures the brilliance of River Ganga accentuating its ever-present holiness and sharing exquisite stories that bring to life its dramatic history.

     

    Watch GANGA – RIVER DIVINE on October 13th at 9PM, only on Discovery Channel.