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Tag: Sunil Lulla

  • Industry veterans gear up for Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon

    Industry veterans gear up for Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon

    MUMBAI : The city is already counting down the days to the biggest annual sporting extravaganza that Mumbaikars look forward to — the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, which is scheduled to take off in the wee hours of 17 January.

     

    Be it the health minded ones or the record breakers or even those who simply run for a cause , every year the footfall at the marathon has only seen an upward growth. Several reports say that this year the figures may go up by four – five per cent. 

     

    With Mumbai as the stage, it is inevitable that several media personalities will also be taking part in the event, apart from the big names from other industries like finance and technology. 

     

    Familiar faces from media, advertising and marketing world who are expected to continue their tradition of running for the marathon include Grey Group India chairman and managing director Sunil Lulla, Ideas@bharatkapadia.com founder Bharat Kapadia and triggerbridge managing director and co-founder S Yesudas amongst others.

     

    Yesudas confesses his life has been very hectic given his new portfolio as an entrepreneur and the launch of his new venture. Yet, he wouldn’t give Mumbai Standard Chartered Marathon a miss for the world. In fact, he recalls how he barely made it to his last year’s agency conference in Bangkok just to run for the marathon.

     

    Having said that, he adds, “I wouldn’t go all out this year unlike my previous runs for the marathon. The reason is my injured right knee.” Because of which, Yesudas hasn’t been active lately in preparing for the marathon.

     

    “I participated for the Trivandrum Marathon in November, but since then I haven’t been running much. To get good timing, practicing long runs is a must, therefore this year I will be taking it easier,” Yesudas explains.

     

    It isn’t just Yesudas whose Mumbai Marathon will be marred a bit by injury. Well known marathon runner from the industry HDFC Life senior executive vice president Sanjay Tripathy will also skip running the full marathon due to the same. Nevertheless, Tripathy can’t help count us down the reasons why one should take running up. “Running is my passion and I have a torrid love affair with it! Running for a marathon has taken me beyond my comfort zone and helped me relax, take control over my mind and stay focused on a day to day basis,” shares Tripathy.

     

    “I have been training myself since 2003 to participate in marathons all over the country. Every year I work on increasing my intensity and distance while reducing the amount of time. Unfortunately, this year, I will be unable to participate in the marathon as I had a bad fall on my knee a month back. A stress fracture in the femur of my left leg will keep me out of running for a good eight to 12 weeks. But injuries are a part and parcel of a runner’s life and I am determined to come back stronger,” he adds.

     

    Industry veteran and well known marathoner Kapadia is up for the challenge this year as well. Last year, he managed to bring down his run time to 2 hours 12 mins from 2 hours 17 mins in the previous year. He hopes to beat his own record this year as well. “This will be my ninth year running in the Mumbai Marathon. My regular practice sessions are up. I usually start three and a half months before the D-Day. Right now I am going easy on running and concentrating on the right diet. The first three days of the week was protein heavy diet, while the next three days will be carbohydrate heavy,” shares Kapadia, who adds that he stopped long runs last Sunday to give his body rest.

     

    Having said that, Kapadia doesn’t run after ranks or timings in a marathon. “I personally keep three things in mind when running a marathon. Firstly my target is to complete the entire run; secondly I make sure I have fun on the way; and lastly to keep myself injury free,” he says.

     

    Grey Group India’s Lulla too plans to enjoy the marathon with his friends rather than keeping an eye on the clock while running. “I am doing stretches and abs to keep myself flexible for the time being,” he informs. 

     

    “This year the marathon isn’t about setting goals and breaking personal record for me. Been there and done that for the last few years. This year is about enjoying the run. I have been in and out of the city the entire year and hence hardly had the time to practice and prep up for the marathon. Not that it bothers me as this year my prime motive is to have fun with my friends who run together with me. I plan to take it slow and easy, saying hello to everyone on the way and maybe even clicking several picture to commemorate the day.”

     

    In fact, to mark the day and instil the idea of running for just fun, Lulla and his group of friends will be sporting T-shirts with #quickie written on it.

     

    While few familiar names are staying off the track this year, Yesudas doesn’t expect that to effect the footfall at the marathon, nor the industry’s representation in it. “I have a feeling several new faces will be seen running this year. I know that several of my friends within the industry have been gearing up to make their debut,” he says.

  • Scope of Innovation in Print Advertising

    Scope of Innovation in Print Advertising

    On 16 April, 2000, The Times of India arrived on the doorsteps of millions of Indian households with its front page blank! It carried only the masthead, but no editorial. Blank!! That was the surprise of all surprises. It was our way of telling the world that the dot com revolution had arrived with the launch of indya.com. It took the country by shock! It hit newsreaders right between their disbelieving eyes. You couldn’t help but notice it. Unbelievable, even to us! 

    When we thought of the idea, we didn’t use fancy words like ‘innovation in print’. All we wanted to do was dominate the news! Take over everything. To shell-shock the world, to be remembered! Nobody had dared mess with the front page of Times of India until then. It took a great client like Sunil Lulla, the then CEO of Indya.com, to inspire, appreciate and see this idea right through. 

    Today we see a lot of messy stuff on the front pages of most newspapers. These are not innovations, but desperations. If we want to truly break through, we’ll have to do much better than what we currently see. More importantly, we’ll have to have the inventive fire of a madman and the inspired blessing of a visionary client. Else all we’ll get is paper pulp.

    It is getting harder for advertising to stand out in print. Because editorial is so much more exciting. And it’s being generated at the speed of life. So forget about creating print ads like we did before. We are competing with gripping news. And the only way to fight news is to make news. 

    Which explains the work many of us have seen for Benetton a few years ago. The ‘Unhate’ campaign. It dared to create news. A childlike argument for peace and reconciliation, it created huge buzz. The big pictures of world leaders kissing each other in the print ads incited strong reactions. The campaign was withdrawn but the brand’s point was made. The work won worldwide accolades and the Grand Prix at Cannes.

    To truly innovate in print advertising, it’s important to remember that we are not competing with other ads, we are competing with news. What’s your news? If you have inspired guts, you’ll find the answer. Innovation in print is not a topic of discussion. It’s not an ad… it’s an act!

    (These are purely personal views of BBDO India chairman and chief creative office Josy Paul and Indiantelevision.com does not necessarily subscribe to these views.)

  • Q2-2016: Eros revenue more than doubles; PAT up 80%

    Q2-2016: Eros revenue more than doubles; PAT up 80%

    BENGALURU: The Sunil Lulla led Eros International Media Limited (Eros) reported more than double the revenue (Consolidated Total Income from Operations or TIO) for the quarter ended 30 September, 2015 (Q2-2016, current quarter). TIO in the current quarter increased 110.5 per cent YoY to Rs 504.91 crore from Rs 239.90 crore and increased 6.9 per cent QoQ (quarter-on-quarter) from Rs 472.48 crore.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    All numbers in this are consolidated unless stated otherwise.

     

    Profit after tax (PAT) in the current quarter increased 80.1 per cent to Rs 90.30 crore (17.9 per cent margin) as compared to the Rs 50.14 crore (20.9 per cent margin) in Q2-2015 and increased 69.3 per cent from Rs 53.35 crore (11.3 per cent margin) in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    The company is its earnings presentation says that it has already collected Rs 75.76 crore of receivables between 1 October and 7 November, 2015. Eros says that as on 30 September, 2015, its total receivables stood at Rs 629.96 crore as compared to Rs 524.74 crore six months ago on 31 March, 2015. The company plans to bring this figure down to Rs 525 crore by the end of the current fiscal. Receivables over 365 days stood at Rs 34.7 crore.

     

    Further, Eros’ days sales outstanding (DSO) improved to 119 days compared to 133 days on 31 March, 2015. This includes TechZone’s debtors, which have higher DSO due to delayed payments from telecom operators.

     

    Eros International Plc Group CEO Jyoti Deshpande said, “In spite of our strong business fundamentals and material changes since our March and June results, both of which were positive, we recently became a target of an anonymous attack resulting in great volatility of our stock price. We have already responded in detail to this attack. We expect to follow the strong growth and profitability showcased in our Indian subsidiary results with positive results for Eros International soon after these results.”

     

    Lulla said, ”We are pleased announce a continued strong performance in the second quarter backed by multiple record breaker Bajrangi Bhaijaan starring Salman Khan that became one of the biggest movie in Bollywood history, laugh riot Welcome Back and Mahesh Babu starrer Telugu film Srimanthudu that registered brilliant box office performances.”

     

    “The core building blocks of business strategy continues to be to having a balanced portfolio of films, strong presales, and healthy catalogue monetisation that leads to a high degree of predictability to our business,” he added. 

     

    “In this quarter, we are excited to release the much anticipated Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Bajirao Mastani to light up your holiday season and the remainder of the fiscal has a string of high profile movies that include Tamil film, Surya’s 24; Telugu films Dictator and Pawan Kalyan’s Sardar and the much travelled film festival favourite Aligarh. We have also picked up momentum in the regional markets with releases lined up in Punjabi, Marathi, Bengali and Malayalam,” Lulla further informed.

     

     

    Revenue breakup

     

    The company says that growth in revenues was driven by a strong portfolio of films supported by a healthy contribution from theatrical, overseas, satellite and ‘others’.

     

    Eros breakup of revenue for Q2-2016: Theatrical Revenue – 59.1 per cent; Overseas Revenue – 11.8 per cent; Television and others 29.1 per cent.

     

    Release Mix

     

    Portfolio by Product

     

    Eros released a total of 20 films in Q2-2016 as compared to 21 in the corresponding year ago quarter. The mix in the current quarter comprised three each of high and medium budget films, and 14 low budget films as compared to one high budget, three medium budget and 17 low budget films in Q2-2015.

     

    Portfolio by Language

     

    In terms of language, Eros released 16 Hindi, three Tamil/Telugu and one other language films in the current quarter as compared to 15 Hindi and six Tamil/Telugu films in Q2-2015.

     

    In line with Eros’s de-risking strategy, the company says that it registered strong pre-sales from theatrical, satellite and music rights exploitation for various movies released during the quarter.

     

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Eros:

     

    Total Expenditure in the current quarter also more than doubled (went up 2.2 times) YoY to Rs 370.97 crore (73.5 per cent of TIO) as compared to Rs 168.19 (70.1 per cent of TIO), but declined 3.5 per cent QoQ from Rs 384.32 crore (81.3 per cent of TIO) in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Eros says that direct costs in the current quarter mainly increased because of increase in marketing costs due the mix of films comprised more high and medium budget films, increased amortisation charge as well overflows accrued to co-producers as a result of high performance of films.

     

    The company’s EBIT (Earnings before Interest and Taxes) increased 92.8 per cent YoY to Rs 139.01 crore (27.5 per cent margin from Rs 73.79 crore (30.7 per cent margin) and increased 44.4 per cent QoQ from Rs 96.27 crore (20.4 per cent margin).

     

    Employee Benefits Expense (EBE) in the current quarter increased 112.6 per cent YoY to Rs 14.29 crore (2.8 per cent of TIO) from Rs 6.72 crore (2.8 per cent of TIO) and increased 31.2 per cent QoQ from Rs 10.89 crore (2.3 per cent of TIO).

  • Eros to produce sports drama ‘Saat Kadam’

    Eros to produce sports drama ‘Saat Kadam’

    MUMBAI: Eros International Media is all set to produce a fictional sports film titled Saat Kadam.

     

    The movie is the directorial debut of Mohit Kumar Jha and will star Amit Sadh, Ronit Roy and Deeksha Seth.

     

    Saat Kadam revolves around the generation gap and the relationship between a father and his son.

     

    Eros International Media managing director Sunil Lulla said, “Mohit has done some great work in television and we are happy to produce his debut feature film. It promises to be an emotionally gripping film set against the backdrop of football.”

     

    Jha added, “I am absolutely thrilled to have a leading studio like Eros on board for my first feature film. Saat Kadam is an entertaining film for audiences of all ages who will be able to relate to emotional tug of war portrayed in the film. The film is based in Kolkata, which is known for its eternal love for football and as a sports loving nation, I hope the audiences will appreciate this film.”

     

    Sadh said, “Saat Kadam beautifully portrays a father-son relationship and the many facets of it.. When I heard the story I knew I had to do this film, one that will be high on emotions, drama and above all football.”

  • Eros Knowledge Partners 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival

    Eros Knowledge Partners 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival

    MUMBAI:  Eros International Media has teamed up with the 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival as knowledge partner to recognise and support new talent.

     

    With this association, Eros International aims to strengthen its content strategy of backing good cinema, identifying and rewarding new talent. Furthermore, as knowledge partner the company will also be awarding the Gold category winners at the festival.

     

    Eros International managing director  Sunil Lulla said, “As Knowledge Partner, we saw a synergy in tying up with a significant film platform like MAMI, which showcases the best of Indian and international cinema. It’s a perfect opportunity to build on our vision of being a leading content company and recognising new talent. It’s been a fantastic year with some great commercial and critically acclaimed successes like NH10, Badlapur, Tanu Weds Manu Returns andBajrangi Bhaijaan and associating with MAMI is a step forward in supporting good cinema.”

     

    The 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival director Anupama Chopra added, “We are thrilled to have Eros International as Knowledge Partner. It’s very exciting that a leading studio has joined hands with our film festival to support new talent. I hope that this opens many doors and enables new voices to emerge.”

     

    The opening of the film festival will held on 29 October.

  • Hansal Mehta’s ‘Aligarh’ to screen at 59th BFI London Film Festival

    Hansal Mehta’s ‘Aligarh’ to screen at 59th BFI London Film Festival

    MUMBAI: Hansal Mehta’s Aligarh is fast becoming a toast of international film festivals. Close on the heels of the announcement of its World Premiere at the Busan International Film Festival comes the news of its selection at the 59th BFI London Film Festival, which is scheduled to take place from 7 to 18 October.

    The film will be screened as part of the Festival’s Debate strand: Riveting films that amplify scrutinise and surprise.

    Mehta brings a sensitive, humane story from small town India with Aligarh. Co-starring Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao, the film draws from a real incident that took place in Uttar Pradesh.

     A professor was suspended by his University for being gay after he is caught on camera in a sting operation. A young journalist investigates his first breaking story. Set in the myriad dark lanes of a volatile and decadent society, the two strikes an unlikely friendship that will change them forever.

    The invite from Clare Stewart Director of 59th BFI London Film Festival states, “Our programme team found the film to be daring and strong, telling an incredibly important story that London audience will definitely respond to.”

    Mehta added, “I am touched and very grateful that BFI has positioned Aligarh in such a relevant discussion. I think the recognition that international film festivals are giving us validates our reasons for making this film.”

    Eros International Media managing director Sunil Lulla said, “At Eros, we take pride in producing films like Aligarh that tell a story with a difference. Hansal Mehta has made a relevant and beautiful film and its screenings at the BFI Film Festival & Busan prove that such films will always find an audience.”

  • Eros International to co-produce Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Sardaar Gabbar Singh’

    Eros International to co-produce Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Sardaar Gabbar Singh’

    MUMBAI: Eros International has joined hands with Pawan Kalyan Creative Works and Northstar Entertainment to co-produce Sardaar Gabbar Singh.

     

    Directed by KS Ravindra, the action film features Telugu superstar and action hero, Pawan Kalyan in the lead role. The film is currently being shot across Hyderabad, Malshej Ghats and parts of Gujarat.

     

    Eros International Media managing director Sunil Lulla said, “We are very excited to partner with one of the biggest stars of Telugu cinema, Pawan Kalyan along with Sharrath. Sardaar Gabbar Singh promises to be bigger and better with more action and entertainment, an absolute treat for Pawan Kalyan fans. The Telugu film industry is going through a remarkable phase with some of the biggest recent hits in Indian cinema like Baahubali and Srimanthudu to its credit and we are very happy to be a part of this exciting phase. We hope to continue setting new trends with Sardaar Gabbar Singh along with our partners.”

     

    Northstar Entertainment producer Sharrath Marar added, “Sardaar Gabbar Singh is shaping out to be one of the most exciting and entertaining films. We are truly delighted to be associated with a leading studio like Eros International, who undisputedly have the best global marketing and distribution infrastructure. Aligning with them will only strengthen our position by producing and releasing Telugu cinema on a global platform.”

     

  • Q1-2016: Eros International revenue doubles at Rs 480.6 crore, PAT up 49%

    Q1-2016: Eros International revenue doubles at Rs 480.6 crore, PAT up 49%

    MUMBAI: Eros International Media Limited’s revenue for the quarter ended 30 June, 2015 almost doubled at Rs 480.6 crore, which was 96.5 per cent more than Rs 244.6 crore in Q1 FY15.

     

    The company’s profit after tax (PAT) was up 48.9 per cent at Rs 53.40 crore in Q1 2016 as against Rs 35.8 crore in the same quarter previous year. The EBIT at Rs 96.3 crore went up by 60.70 per cent. 

     

    The company released a total of 16 films during the quarter as compared to nine in Q1-2015.

     

    Eros International Media executive vice chairman and managing director Sunil Lulla said, “We have had an excellent start to fiscal 2016 with the resounding success of Tanu Weds Manu Returns and our other major new releases, Uttama Villian, Masss, Dil Dhadakne Do (overseas) and Gabbar (overseas), doing well. The portfolio performance reinforces our strategy of investing in content-driven films, which are prudently budgeted and then extensively monetized across traditional and emerging platforms.”

     

    “As a strategy, we continue to diversify our presence across different film genres, budgets and languages. Further, strong pre-sales for our films remains one of the cornerstones of our strategy,” he added.  

     

    “The start to the second quarter has been exceptional with multiple-record breaker Bajrangi Bhaijaan delivering a worldwide gross of over Rs 5 billion. Last week’s Telugu release, the Mahesh Babu starrer Srimanthudu has opened to record breaking box office numbers. In addition, we have a compelling line-up for the remainder of the year featuring high-profile and promising movies such as Bajirao Mastani, Welcome Back, Hero, Gabbar Singh 2, 24 amongst a host of other Hindi and regional movies,” he said.

     

    “Our leadership position in the nascent Indian Media and Entertainment industry, which is witnessing positive structural trends, backed by an expansive library of movies should enable us to create significant value for all our stake holders going forward,” informed Lulla. 

     

    • Diversified revenue mix
      • Theatrical Revenues contributed – 51.5 per cent, Overseas Revenues – 27 per cent and Television & Others – 21.5 per cent as a percentage of Total Income.

     

    • Top 2 Hindi Box Office movies in CY2015 are Eros Films
      • Bajrangi Bhaijaan released in Q2 FY16 crossed the coveted Rs 300 crore net box office in India and the worldwide gross is over Rs 500 crore, smashing multiple records.
        • Fastest Rs 100 crore, Rs 150 crore, Rs 200 crore and Rs 250 crore movie in Bollywood history
        • Highest single day collection of Rs 38.75 crore for any film in India
        • Highest Monday figures of Rs 27.05 crore in India
      • The medium budget movie – Tanu Weds Manu Returns released in Q1 FY16 was the first film of CY2015 to cross the Rs 100 crore mark, and has set new ROI benchmarks in the industry.
  • ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’: Sober Salman, excellent Nawazuddin steal the show

    ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’: Sober Salman, excellent Nawazuddin steal the show

    MUMBAI: Salman Khan turns producer with Bajrangi Bhaijaan and, at the same time, ventures into a different genre away from his usual action films. Salman has been doing action films on a regular basis since Wanted and it has generally worked for him. But, now, especially with a bunch of new generation actors, all with chiselled muscular bodies doing the same, it’s probably time for Salman to take a much needed detour. After all, how much can one differ in every action film? Instead of countering the law of diminishing returns, this film is meant to touch hearts.

     

    Salman is a diehard Lord Hanuman devotee, is clean hearted and swears by Hanumanji that he would never do anything wrong or illegal and would never lie. So much so that people call him Bajrangi, a name he loves. Following the myth, he even bows every time he sees a monkey. His introduction scene comes through a group dance he is performing in the praise of Hanumanji at a local temple in his native town.As he sits down for a glass of water, he sees a six year old girl. Salman offers her water and she gulps it down to the last drop. Realising she could be hungry as well, he orders a paratha for her but she signals for two.

     

    The doll-like girl, Harshaali Malhotra, is speech impaired and,at an elder’s suggestion, is on a visit to the dargah of Nizamuddin Chishti in Delhi from her native town in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Her mother is told that whatever one wishes for at the dargah comes true. Having paid their visit to the dargah, mother and daughter are on their way back to Pakistan on the Samjhauta Express. The train is still on Indian territory and has taken a long halt because of a technical problem. While all others are sleeping, Harshaali spots a lamb near the train, the kind she loved to play with in her native village. She can’t resist the urge to go cuddle it and gets down from the train.

     

    While Harshaali is playing with the lamb, the train starts moving, leaving her behind. Distraught, the girl sees a goods train come to a stop there. She boards it and ends up in Salman’s town. After being fed parathas, she tags on to Salman not willing to leave him. Salman tries various ways to pass the responsibility but fails. He has to return to Delhi where he has shifted after his father passed away and where he lives with his father’s friend, Sharat Saxena. He has no alternative but to take her to Delhi with him.

     

    Sharat has a pretty daughter, Kareena Kapoor. Soon, Kareena falls for Salman’s simple ways. This romance, subtle though, and gradually finding out about where Harshaali hails from takes almost all of first half of the film. It is slow, feels like it is not going anywhere and makes one restless. Since Harshaali can’t speak, Salman reels off names of all the towns in the vicinity. After all, kids get lost in crowded places like a fair or a pilgrimage. Harshaali can’t relate with any city from the names.

     

    Salman, himself a guest in Sharat’s house, is under pressure to find Harshaali’s folks. Salman convinces him that she sould be a Brahmin like both of them looking at how fair she is. When he watches her craving for non-veg food, he assumes she is a Kshatriya.It is during an India-Pakistan one day match the family is watching on TV that they realise Harshalli is from Pakistan.

     

    Failing to find a way to send her to Pakistan on her own, through the embassy or through an agent, he decides to take her home on his own. That is when the film takes a direction and has some better moments. Nawazuddin Siddqui’s entry soon after adds some distraction and interest in the proceedings. A small-time stringer trying to sell his footage to TV channels, almost always unsuccessfully, he picks up the story that a spy, Salman, has crossed over illegally into Pakistan. He shoots Salman as he is escaping from a police station. He also starts following him and listens to Salman’s story as he narrates it to the co-travellers on the bus.

     

    Nawazuddin has had a change of heart realising that Salman is not a spy and has entered the country with noble intentions. He now becomes Salman’s escort helping him along as the police is hot on their trail.When no news channels is willing to accept Nawazuddin’s footage or version of the story, he finally takes recourse to the net, splashing the true story with videos online.

     

    India and Pakistan are uneven enemies but both share similar sentiments and the writer and director use it to come up with an emotional climax. Nawazuddin’s posts on the net spread Salman’s message: ‘Being Human’ giving the film its best moments.

     

    Direction is apt living up to standard set by Kabir Khan with his last couple of films; climax wins the battle for him. The music is not much to hum about. Editing needed to be crisper. Dialogue is claptrap atplaces. Cinematography is good.

     

    Salman Khan brings to the fore his sober side and convinces the viewers with his portrayal of a simple, honest man. Kareena Kapoor does not have a meaty role, yet manages to make her presence felt. Nawazuddin excels. The central character, Harshaali is the casting coup and she manages to deliver as expected. The supporting cast is okay.

     

    Bajrangi Bhaijaan appeals mainly to the gentry and a Salman film being inevitable for masses, also to single screen audience. Releasing worldwide on the Eid weekend with an open two week run, there is no stopping this film at the box office.

     

    Producers: Salman Khan, Kabir Khan, Sunil Lulla

    Director: Kabir Khan

    Cast: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor,Harshaali Malhotra, Nawazuddin Sidiqui, Sharat Saxena, Om Puri (guest artiste), Adnan Sami (cameo)

  • Epic Channel launches India’s first Twitter alarm to drive viewership

    Epic Channel launches India’s first Twitter alarm to drive viewership

    MUMBAI: TV channels are leaving no stone unturned to engage with the Twitter world. Now, Epic channel has executed a unique innovation for its new campaign – #EPICat10. 

     

    The channel is the first broadcaster to use the Twitter Alarm that lets followers set a reminder for the 10 pm shows. The Twitter alarm was conceptualised by Grey Group India and executed in collaboration with Twitter. 

     

    The Twitter application was created as part of Epic Channel’s ongoing campaign. The objective of the campaign is to drive viewing to the 10 pm slot.

     

    The mechanism is simple. After following the Epic Channel on Twitter, a follower can set the reminder from a specially created tweet. Once the reminder is set, the Twitter application sends the follower a reminder tweet at 9.45 pm to watch the 10 pm shows. The activity was launched on 6 July, 2015. 

     

    Epic MD Mahesh Samat said, “When Grey suggested the idea as part of the ‘Epic at 10’ campaign, we were instantly sold and excited to get it activated. We are proud to announce ‘The Epic Channel Twitter Alarm’ for the first time in India. Twitter has been excellent in facilitating the innovation. The core idea of our campaign is to drive tune-ins to the 10 pm time slot on the channel. The Twitter Alarm fits in perfectly with the campaign.”

     

    Grey Group India chairman and MD Sunil Lulla added, “At Grey Group, we are constantly looking at creating, ‘Famous & Effective’ campaigns for our clients. This makes it imperative to step beyond the boundaries and create – even if it is something as simple as a ‘Twitter Alarm’. We hope that soon enough, India will need no reminder to tune into The Epic Channel at 10 pm.”