ITV

Tag: TV

  • YouTube presents new talent search platform

    YouTube presents new talent search platform

    MUMBAI: YouTube and Syco Entertainment announced the launch of a new worldwide entertainment concept named The You Generation. The concept is to provide a new internet talent search platform on YouTube.

    It is the first global audition process, giving people the chance to show off their skills and win prizes – simply by uploading a video. It will go live next month.

    The participants can be from across disciplines as diverse as singers, chefs, make-up artists and presenters. The You Generation runs over 52 weeks, across 26 countries and 15 languages. The platform is presented in partnership with Skype.

  • Mindshare introduces content marketing, strategic partnerships practice

    MUMBAI: Mindshare, a WPP strategic planning and media investment agency, has announced the establishment of a newly formed Content Marketing and Strategic Partnerships practice.

    This is Mindshare‘s most recent response to increasing client demand for a unifying content strategy across all forms and formats – paid, owned and earned. In 2005, Mindshare launched Mindshare Entertainment (MSE).

    MindShare MD- communications planning Stacy Minero has been promoted to lead this initiative for Mindshare.

    Minero will be responsible for driving a more strategic and systematic approach to content marketing from advanced planning to development, discovery, and distribution.

    Drawing from a suite of proprietary tools designed to inform strategies and evaluate opportunities, she aims to infuse more insights and analytics into content marketing.

    Minero will report to Mindshare Communications Strategy practice head Tim Elton.

    Mindshare North America CEO Antony Young said, “Technology is driving consumers to access their entertainment and information across multiple emerging channels, devices and platforms. Our clients are recognising that marketing messaging has to go beyond traditional advertising formats such as, 30 second TV ads if they are to engage consumers and communicate more persuasively. We see a major opportunity to develop content marketing strategies early in the brand communications planning process that captures wider content formats and build these into a wider brand communications effort.”

    “Stacy‘s demonstrated expertise in creating this link between brands and the often unarticulated needs and desires of their audiences. She also has exceptional digital acumen that can turn content strategies into actionable ideas and partnerships,” Young added.

    As Practice Lead, Minero will leverage a team across Mindshare‘s entertainment, digital and broadcast groups. They will also look to actively partner with external and independent technology, entertainment and content companies seeking to work with brands.

    Minero said, “Everything starts with consumer insights and a deep understanding of mindset and motivation. To create human connections, we need to understand what compels people and link those insights to content ideas that transcend traditional advertising.”

  • Trai issues notice to broadcasters to implement ad cap

    NEW DELHI: Even as it has sought clarity from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on its powers in acting against violators, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has issued notices to broadcasters to adhere to the 10+2 ad cap fixed by it in May last year.

    And even as broadcasters are unsure of Trai’s powers in implementing these regulations, the Authority has asked all broadcasters to give reasons by 10 March for not implementing the ad cap limit.

    Trai had stated that no broadcaster shall carry advertisements exceeding 12 minutes in a clock hour in a programme. The clock hour commences at 00.00 of the hour and ends at 00.60. Any shortfall of advertisement duration in a clock hour shall not be carried over. Advertisements included not only the commercials, but also the channel’s own promotions for its shows or for the channel per se.

    Broadcaster bodies had at that time opposed the suggestions citing ground realties in implementing them and the fact that the duration and number of ad breaks should be decided by market forces and not by regulating authorities. It is also felt by the broadcasters that this will hit their annual balance sheets.

    Broadcasters bodies Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and News Broadcasters Association (NBA) have been asked by the broadcasters to take a call on the issue as enforcement of the Trai rules may affect their viewership as well as their earnings, particularly in a scenario where the channels are still dependent more on commercial revenues than on subscriptions.

    A consultation paper in March 2012 had stated that there was a precedence of a Supreme Court ruling which had held that the restriction on advertising space in newspapers would lead to reduction in their revenues which was in violation of Article 19 (1)(a). The same rule should also apply to television.

    It was stated that the regulation also contradicts Trai’s own ruling of 2004, which had stated that there should be no regulation on advertisements – both on free to air and pay channels.

    Trai, upset over inaction on complaints against broadcasters, had asked the Ministry earlier this month to clarify if it is empowered to enforce rules on duration and format of TV advertisements if it wants to avoid possible “embarrassment” and litigation.

  • HBO to launch broadband streaming service in Hong Kong

    HBO to launch broadband streaming service in Hong Kong

    MUMBAI: HBO Asia has announced the Asia launch of HBO Go to now TV‘s HBO subscribers in Hong Kong.

    HBO Go, a new broadband streaming service, enables subscribers to enjoy over 1,000 hours of HBO Original content on multiple devices including PCs, MACs, tablets and mobile devices (iOS and Android) anywhere, anytime. The service includes new episodes of shows such as ‘Game of Thrones‘, ‘The Newsroom‘, ‘True Blood‘ and ‘Veep‘ 12 hours after being shown in the US.

    Winner of the Best On-Demand Solution at IBC 2012 in Amsterdam, HBO Go will make its Asian debut in Hong Kong on 28 February exclusively and free to now TV‘s HBO subscribers.

    HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink said, “HBO GO is a versatile service enabling subscribers to maximise their HBO entertainment across multiple devices, whether at home or on the move, and Hong Kong subscribers of our long-term exclusive partner, now TV, are the first to enjoy this brand new broadband streaming service. With over 1,000 hours of quality HBO Original content to choose from, HBO GO subscribers will be spoilt for choice and can also watch the latest HBO shows 12 hours after US telecast. This helps combat piracy and gives subscribers an opportunity to catch the newest episodes of their favourite shows earlier.”

    PCCW MD TV, new media Janice Lee said, “We are excited to be the first in Asia to offer HBO Go and our customers will soon be able to access HBO‘s great movies and TV series anytime and anywhere. HBO Go complements our hugely popular now Player and other mobile apps for enjoying on-the-go content. With more than 1.4 million downloads of our apps, users are able to enjoy more than 25 live channels and 80 on-demand programmes.

    HBO GO subscribers will have access to current HBO Original series as well as past series like ‘Band of Brothers‘, ‘Sex and the City‘, ‘The Sopranos‘ and ‘Rome‘ plus HBO movies, documentaries, comedies, family content, entertainment specials and more.

    “HBO Go is packed with features all giving maximum choice to the subscriber. We will continue to update HBO Go with new features, for example, in addition to streaming content on HBO GO, downloading of content will be made available in the third quarter of 2013,” added Spink.

  • eBay launches high voltage ‘Want it. Get it’ brand campaign in India

    MUMBAI: eBay India, a leading eCommerce marketplace, has unveiled its latest integrated marketing campaign under the theme ‘Want it. Get it’.

    The new campaign reinforces the Smart Shopper positioning adopted by brand eBay by portraying conversions of traditional offline shoppers into savvy online shoppers.

    eBay India’s new campaign is targeted at value-driven consumers in the age bracket of 18 – 40 years and emphasises online shopping as a smarter way to shop, backed by the fundamental promise of 100 per cent satisfaction through eBay Guarantee.

    The campaign is designed to encourage consumers to check deals on eBay India before they shop elsewhere.

    The new February campaign highlights eBay India as the destination for the widest range of brand new every-day use products, with the best deals across product categories such as apparel, accessories, fashion, personal care, gadgets, technology products, fitness, health-care among many others.

    Conceptualised in an everyday conversational format, the TVC is designed to appeal to audiences with its tongue-in-cheek style. The campaign highlights casual situations between young couples in which the protagonists evangelise advantages of online shopping to their partner by showcasing best deals on eBay India backed by eBay Guarantee.

    The TVC is being created in six languages – English, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada to cater to multiple regional demographics while having a national appeal.

    eBay India Country Manager Muralikrishnan B says, “Online shopping in India is a mainstream phenomenon with savvy online shoppers logging online for convenience, variety & deals. Our new campaign is in conjunction with our theme ‘Want it. Get it’ which plays to eBay’s core strength of unmatched deals & wide variety across categories, giving consumers a completely secure & satisfaction-guaranteed experience.”

    Scheduled for a high-voltage, nationwide launch, the campaign has been developed by Law & Kenneth. The campaign will roll out nationally, with a combination of TV, Radio, digital & social mediums to drive awareness and encourage Indians to look for fantastic deals with unmatched variety while shopping on eBay India.

    Law & Kenneth West & South Chief Creative Officer Rahul Nangia said, “These are simple stories about people & their shopping behavior, told using couples & the different dynamics between them.”

  • Abbys adds Branded Content & Entertainment category

    MUMBAI: The Branded Content & Entertainment Abby has been added as a category in this year‘s edition of The Abbys, the advertising awards that take place during the Ad Club‘s annual festival Goafest.

    Branded content and entertainment has been defined as the creation of, or natural integration into, original content by a brand. The purpose is to deliver marketing messages by engaging consumers via relevant content platforms rather than the use of traditional advertising methods. It has the following six sub categories –

    • Best fictional program, series or film where a client has successfully created a drama, comedy or miniseries around a product or brand
    • Including TV, mini-series, web series, cinema, DVD releases and online/digital
    • Best non-fiction program, series or film where a client has successfully created a reality, documentary or entertainment show around a product(s) or brand(s)
    • Including TV, mini-series, web series, cinema, DVD releases and online/digital
    • Best brand or product integration into a feature film, existing TV show and/or series
    • Including TV, mini-series, web series, cinema, DVD releases and online/digital
    • Best use or integration of experiential events 
      ” Creative positioning of a brand using events, festivals, flash mobs, installations etc.
    • Best use or integration of music
    • Including music in original branded content, brand integration into music distribution or promotion, the creation of a music-based program or platform
    • Best integrated entertainment content campaign which uses more than 2 media.

    The last date for the entries is 28 February. This year, the Abbys will be held on 5 and 6 April in Goa.

  • BBC launches a second-screen app for ‘Top Gear’

    BBC launches a second-screen app for ‘Top Gear’

    MUMBAI; When the new series of ‘Top Gear UK‘ returns to TV screens on BBC channels across the world next month – just days after UK transmission – a new second-screen app from BBC Worldwide will accompany the international broadcasts for the first time in the show‘s history.

    Top Gear Bingo! was developed using UK-based Monterosa‘s LViS platform, and encourages viewers to look out for well known phrases, cars and items synonymous with the hit motoring entertainment programme, ticking them off on their screens in a similar style to a traditional bingo game. The free-to-play web app is accessed by logging into the local BBC channel‘s site where viewers can invite friends to join them through Facebook, comparing scores while playing along with the live broadcast. A new game is available with every episode.

    BBC Worldwide commercial director of ‘Top Gear‘ Duncan Gray said, “We wanted to create a free Top Gear game that enhances our international viewers‘ enjoyment of the show‘s premiere broadcast. Top Gear Bingo! does just that, allowing fans to look out for words, phrases and items that appear, competing with their friends to see who can get the highest score each week via a leaderboard if you log in with Facebook. And we hope that the unique way we‘ve been able to integrate advertisers into the proposition will be well received.”

    Monterosa commercial director Tom McDonnell said, “LViS is our versatile platform that allows us to quickly and economically develop fantastic second-screen apps that can live anywhere and scale globally. Working with BBC Worldwide, we‘re giving fans a way to enhance their viewing experience and broadcasters a new way to activate sponsorships and to create additional advertising opportunities through the second-screen. It‘s an exciting time for second-screen and we‘re proud that LViS is becoming the best way to make and deploy global apps for mainstream TV shows.”

  • Lukup Media partners with Mediabrands Indonesia

    MUMBAI: Bangalore-based cross-platform interactive advertising company Lukup Media has signed an agreement with Mediabrands Indonesia, the media arm of the Interpublic Group to offer media mobile advertising and consumer engagement solutions to advertisers, brands and content providers.

    According to the company, Lukup Media‘s ad platform is the mobile equivalent of a fan page on a social networking site. Instead of liking a page, a customer just needs to type in the brand‘s URL on to their mobile web browser. This subscribes them to the brand and the custodian of the brand can then push media notifications to them based on their location.

    Lukup Media director Kallol Borah said, “Our platform enables advertisers to deliver their ad to the right target audience at the right time; and empower the audience to directly and immediately start interacting with the brand. We are thrilled to work with Mediabrands who have proven expertise in the media industry.”

    Mediabrands Indonesia CEO Ram Subramaniam said, “We discovered that TV, social media and mobile are working in combination to empower a new group of consumers. We have called this new group the “top 10%”. This new group is having a profound influence on brand choice across categories and we can target such influencers using this platform.”

    The features of the Lukup Mobile platform are: advertisers can push rich media notification (not just text); campaigns can be targeted to a specific location; campaigns are fully interactive (higher brand engagement); all data on the campaign‘s delivery and usage is available to the brand/advertiser and the platform is compatible with all smartphone platforms (Android, Blackberry, iOS and Windows).

    Lukup and Mediabrands will also collaborate to create a qualified database of consumers to target rich media promotions that are delivered from the Lukup Mobile system.

  • Manchester United announces sponsorship with China Construction Bank

    MUMBAI: Soccer club Manchester United has today agreed to a three-year sponsorship with one of China‘s most prominent banking groups, China Construction Bank (CCB).

    As part of the agreement, China Construction Bank will hold the rights exclusively to produce the official Manchester United branded credit card in mainland China.

    This new partnership is the Club‘s first sponsorship with a Chinese bank.

    The CCB Manchester United Credit Card is set to be popular with the Club‘s fans in China, offering them a range of exciting benefits including various Club-related benefits and incentives. CCB will be marketing the Manchester United Credit Card to its almost 102 million personal banking customers in Mainland China.

    Much like Manchester United CCB has accumulated many accolades, receiving over 30 awards from renowned local and international institutions in the first half of 2012.

    Commenting on the partnership, Manchester United‘s Commercial Director, Richard Arnold said, “We are very pleased to be partnering with China Construction Bank to bring the official Manchester United Credit Card to China. Manchester United has a huge following in China of 108 million. We know from our visits there, including to Shanghai last summer, that our Chinese followers have always been among the most supportive. Through our relationship with CCB we hope not only to give fans an excellent product, but also bring them closer to the Club they so passionately support.

    “As China‘s fiscal and industrial strength continues to grow, it is establishing itself as a leader in the global economy and the place for businesses to invest. In 80 major cities in China CCB have almost 60% of all branches, making them the ideal partner to connect with our fans.

    “Together with our TV and mobile partners, financial services products give us tangible ways of providing real benefits to our fans that enable them to establish a closer relationship with their favourite team.”

    As one of the ‘big four‘ banks in China, CCB employs over 320,000 employees and has almost 14,000 domestic branches, as well as overseas branches in Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, New York, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney.

  • Vodafone launches second leg of ‘Made for You’ campaign

    MUMBAI: Vodafone has launched the second leg of its 121 ‘Made For you‘ campaign, created by Ogilvy & Mather.

    Directed by O&M NCD Rajiv Rao, the ad film is produced by Good Morning Films.

    According to the company, the first phase established that one can get unique offers of their choice by dialling 121 from their Vodafone mobiles.

    “We now extend the campaign offering multiple products. Idea was to showcase the unique usage of certain types of people (heavy talktime, internet or STD users) to communicate the types of offers that are available when you call 121 before you recharge. Full talktime idea was developed keeping in mind a popular guy in college with a need to talk for longer durations. STD and Internet films also take a similar approach reflecting a slice from our day-to-day life and people we meet,” the company said in a statement.

    The 121 campaign positioned 121 portal as the one stop shop to get plans/offers customized (Made for You) on the basis of your current usage. The 121 extension campaign brings to life in a direct manner the product possibilities that 121 offers.

    The 121 campaign extension will be six week long with three films bringing to life the product propositions on Full talktime, STD & Data. There will be a high decibel 360 media plan using TV, Radio, Print, Outdoor, on-ground, digital and online plan.