ITV

Tag: WeChat

  • US imposes ban on TikTok and WeChat

    US imposes ban on TikTok and WeChat

    NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump has announced that social media apps TikTok and WeChat are barred from operating in the US starting 20 September if they are not sold by their Chinese-owned parent companies.

    The video-sharing app TikTok has come under the lens of US lawmakers over national security concerning data collection, amid intensified tension between Washington and Beijing.

    The order regarding TikTok says that after 45 days "any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd" the Chinese company that owns the social media platform is prohibited.

    The ban comes days after tech giant Microsoft was in talks to acquire the US arm of TikTok, which has over 80 million users in the country.

    However, the messaging app WeChat has a much smaller presence than TikTok in the US, where it is used mainly by members of the Chinese diaspora, and its owner Tencent.

  • Chinese apps saw drop in usage post Galwan; ban sealed fate: BARC-Nielsen

    Chinese apps saw drop in usage post Galwan; ban sealed fate: BARC-Nielsen

    NEW DELHI: India on 29 June banned 59 Chinese mobile applications amidst a border stand-off with its neighbouring country. The government cited national security for banning these apps and included popular apps like TikTok, SHAREiT, UC Browser and WeChat.

    According to the latest BARC Nielsen report, the weekly usage of Chinese apps by those having such apps installed on their phones decreased by five per cent to 77 per cent in the week ended 20 June , which further dropped to 76 per cent.

    The report said that the highest impact was among users in tier-I cities, and those aged between 15-24, adding that both the segments reported an 11 per cent drop in the percentage of users per week.

    Those who were visiting the app, did so fewer times in a day, it said, pointing to a 10 per cent decline in the average number of sessions to 5.4 per day for the week ended 27 June from 7.4 in the week ended 20 June.

    According to the data, males between the age of 15-24 led the reduction in the number of sessions as well, with an 18 per cent decline, while tier-II cities witnessed a 20 per cent decline.

    During the lockdown, the percentage of users per week had touched a peak of 80 per cent for the week ended 13 June and the average number of sessions had touched nearly eight per day, the report further said.

  • Discovery Asia partners VS Media & Tabilabo

    MUMBAI: Discovery Networks Asia Pacific has announced two new partnerships across Asia, with VS Media – a top MultiChannel Network (MCN) that super-serves digital natives in Greater China with more than 120 million subscribers and 320 million video views a month, and Tabilabo – one of the leading and rapidly growing digital media businesses in Japan.

    These initiatives are in keeping with Discovery’s ambitions to transform and accelerate its big growth across Asia Pacific, by providing access to amazing content that is being truly customised for “mobile-first” millennial audiences.

    Last August, Discovery took a minority investment in VS Media. Together, they are now launching TAN BA, a unique digital brand solution specifically targeting millennials, that make up over a quarter of the Chinese population. TAN BA aims to deliver smart entertainment through highly customised short-form video content that stimulates curiosity and new learning every day.

    Content is sourced exclusively from Discovery’s extensive global catalogue and localised by VS Media to deliver an unrivalled short-form, digital-video solution with a multi-genre focus including Health & Wellness, Science & Technology, Travel & Lifestyle, Art & Fashion, History, and Nature. These specially crafted videos will be distributed across the most popular online / social platforms in China including Bilibili, Eyepitizer, Meipai, Miaopao, Pear Video, Penguin, QQ, Toutiao, WeChat, Weibo, and Youku as well as Facebook and YouTube across other markets in Asia.

    Established in 2014, Tabilabo is a rapidly expanding digital media business, which has over nine million monthly active users and delivers high quality lifestyle-centric content. Tabilabo’s proven expertise in creating content that engages audiences across social and mobile platforms. The partnership between Discovery and Tabilabo includes a commercial agreement that will enable collaboration to bring solutions to advertisers to reach their desired audience via true 360 opportunities across linear, digital, and on social platforms leveraging Tabilabo’s innovative advertising technology and formats, and Discovery’s world-class stable of advertisers.

    “I am thrilled to officially launch the first of many exciting initiatives with Discovery. Tan Ba delivers unique, highly engaging and truly compelling content in a breakthrough format – that has been developed with our local creators and designed specifically for digital savvy, millennial audiences,” said VS Media founder & CEO Ivy Wong.

    “During beta testing, Tanba generated over 120 million unique views in less than a month with no marketing at all. The average views per video exceeded 2 million. This is exciting, especially as we look to create new engagement opportunities for audiences and our valued sponsor communities.”

    Tabilabo CEO Shotaro Kushi said, “We are thrilled to partner with Discovery Networks to launch the industry’s first premium video advertising solution across both digital and linear platforms. Through this endeavor, we will be able to drive higher engagement amongst Japanese audiences by focusing on media brands and world-class content quality that cannot be realized only with digital–targeted marketing alone.”

    “These exciting digital-first initiatives are the first steps in Discovery’s long-term strategy to accelerate our growth in Asia with digital at the core,” said Discovery Asia president & MD Arthur Bastings.

    “We are deeply committed to engaging more viewers across more screens than ever before, building our presence on new platforms and attracting young passionate communities that advertisers want to reach with unique branded content opportunities through VS Media and Tabilabo’s extensive networks and strong base of millennial audiences.”

  • Starbucks India mobile app launched

    MUMBAI: Tata Starbucks Private Limited has introduced the Starbucks® India mobile app across the country, giving customers a fast and convenient way to pay for in-store purchases and earn Stars through the loyalty program using their mobile device. The move makes Tata Starbucks the first major retailer in India to offer customers a mobile payment option linked to a loyalty program and further expands Starbucks robust global digital ecosystem.

    Available for download on iPhone® and Android™ devices, the Starbucks® India mobile app offers customers the convenience of paying for their favorite Starbucks beverages with their mobile device by scanning a barcode linked to their registered Starbucks Card. Customers can also register multiple Starbucks Cards onto their account within the mobile app.

    In addition to mobile payment, the app allows customers to register for the My Starbucks Rewardsä program, earn Stars, track and redeem their rewards, manage their accounts, and gain access to new product information and promotions, all within one convenient app.

    “We are proud to introduce the Starbucks® India mobile app to customers in India which will help us meet their needs while serving them seamlessly on our already highly-successful My Starbucks Rewards program that benefits our loyal customers,” said Tata Starbucks CEO Sumitro Ghosh. “This digital innovation underscores our continued commitment to drive innovation and provide an exceptional and convenient customer experience in our stores across the country.”

    At Starbucks, the digital experience is a foundational part of a seamless customer experience. Starbucks debuted the My Starbucks Rewardsä loyalty program in India in 2014and now has more than 250,000 members who are earning Stars and receiving benefits through the program.

    The Starbucks® India mobile app builds on a rapidly-expanding portfolio of technological innovations at Starbucks. Most recently, the company unveiled an innovative conversational ordering system in the U.S. called “My Starbucks Barista” and pioneered a new social gifting feature on WeChat, China’s leading mobile social communications service.

  • Barbie’s ‘Power Of Play’: Mattel, BBDO remind parents

    Barbie’s ‘Power Of Play’: Mattel, BBDO remind parents

    MUMBAI: Mattel Asia has launched a new video for its Barbie® brand as part of its broader initiative to empower girls. Mattel Asia, takes on the widely held belief in Asia that imaginative play is not important to a child’s development, with the release of, “The Power of Play with Barbie,” a part of the You Can Be Anything brand campaign.

    “Barbie is the only brand that allows girls to imagine anything they can be. With this campaign we wanted to build an emotional connection with Asian parents by introducing them to the wonderful benefits of imaginative play and storytelling with Barbie to promote confidence and curiosity, said APAC Marketing director Andrea Vitali.

    Unlike in the western markets where Barbie has had decades of heritage, in Asia the campaign needed to show, not tell, millennial Asian moms the positive benefits of imaginative play that their daughters could develop when the play with Barbie. The centrepiece of the campaign is an online video structured as a social experiment. In part one of the experiment, five girls from Asia and Australia were asked to tell an imaginative story on the spot: the girls stalled, hesitated, and eventually gave up. In part two, the girls unboxed one of four Barbie products and were asked to tell a story again: this time, the girls naturally expressed inspired stories using Barbie to role-play and connect with others, demonstrating creativity, improvisation and emotional intelligence.

    “Building on the global success of the Cannes Lion awarded global campaign ‘Imagine the Possibilities’ we worked with BBDO Asia to develop an engaging video that we hope will connect with moms while communicating the values of our brand,” Vitali added.

    The campaign will launch across social and video platforms across Asia, including Facebook, WeChat, YouTube, and Weibo. In addition to the core video, the campaign will be supported by social-by-design content including snackable video, animated gifs and additional images to drive to e-Commerce. The campaign goes live on 25 October 2016.

  • Barbie’s ‘Power Of Play’: Mattel, BBDO remind parents

    Barbie’s ‘Power Of Play’: Mattel, BBDO remind parents

    MUMBAI: Mattel Asia has launched a new video for its Barbie® brand as part of its broader initiative to empower girls. Mattel Asia, takes on the widely held belief in Asia that imaginative play is not important to a child’s development, with the release of, “The Power of Play with Barbie,” a part of the You Can Be Anything brand campaign.

    “Barbie is the only brand that allows girls to imagine anything they can be. With this campaign we wanted to build an emotional connection with Asian parents by introducing them to the wonderful benefits of imaginative play and storytelling with Barbie to promote confidence and curiosity, said APAC Marketing director Andrea Vitali.

    Unlike in the western markets where Barbie has had decades of heritage, in Asia the campaign needed to show, not tell, millennial Asian moms the positive benefits of imaginative play that their daughters could develop when the play with Barbie. The centrepiece of the campaign is an online video structured as a social experiment. In part one of the experiment, five girls from Asia and Australia were asked to tell an imaginative story on the spot: the girls stalled, hesitated, and eventually gave up. In part two, the girls unboxed one of four Barbie products and were asked to tell a story again: this time, the girls naturally expressed inspired stories using Barbie to role-play and connect with others, demonstrating creativity, improvisation and emotional intelligence.

    “Building on the global success of the Cannes Lion awarded global campaign ‘Imagine the Possibilities’ we worked with BBDO Asia to develop an engaging video that we hope will connect with moms while communicating the values of our brand,” Vitali added.

    The campaign will launch across social and video platforms across Asia, including Facebook, WeChat, YouTube, and Weibo. In addition to the core video, the campaign will be supported by social-by-design content including snackable video, animated gifs and additional images to drive to e-Commerce. The campaign goes live on 25 October 2016.

  • Zomato and PayTM feature in Interbrands’ ‘Breakthrough Brands’ report

    Zomato and PayTM feature in Interbrands’ ‘Breakthrough Brands’ report

    MUMBAI: A unique business model that is driven by innovation and technology is the trademark key to success among the emerging businesses in the world. Under tough competition, it is no longer enough to have hard working product or service. Smart brand building is the need of the hour. Keeping that in mind, Interbrand in partnership with Facebook, Ready Set Rocket and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has released its ‘Breakthrough Brands’ report that examines strong emerging brands.

    Of the 200 brands nominated, 60 ended up being featured in the Interbrand Breakthrough Brands report, although the list does not rank the brands.

    India- founded Zomato has been featured in the Food and Beverage category along with Deliveroo from UK, Blue Apron from US and do dem from Brazil. Zomato’s mission is to facilitate better dining experiences for food seekers all over the world. Founded in 2008, this brand’s food discovery platform is now a part of India’s biggest personal assistant app, HelpChat, which will be able to anticipate users’ food-related desires. Zomato also offers online ordering and table reservations, as well as tools that allow restaurants to manage demands, thus creating better food experiences for both its users and one million restaurants partners worldwide.

    Also, PayTM has been featured in the prestigious ‘Growing global’ category. This category celebrates the brands that have created a unique, differentiated approach which is global from day one. Breaking ground fast and too big to ignore, these brands are poised, or already on the path, to creating a significant global footprint. PayTM’s growing mission to create a one-stop, mobile shop has caused it to flourish in the population-dense country of India, where online platforms serve a growing need to get things done, quicker and more conveniently. Launched in 2010, PayTM began as mobile charging and bill payment service and has since become a full mobile commerce platform, with 20 million registered users and growing. It’s poised to break through in other Asian markets, where the one-stop-shop proposition is becoming increasingly popular. The brand has featured in the category along with Xiaomi from China, WeChat from China and DJI Global from Hong Kong.

    “In this ‘Age of You’ brands are being used by people to design better experiences in their day to day lives. That is what necessitates the conventional brands themselves to move at the Speed of Life. The Breakthrough Brands are born into the new cognitive era and are unencumbered. They can therefore create bespoke experiences per people’s needs and desire with a clear purpose to provide solutions through a sustainable business model. The task thus is not so much technology-out as much as it is solution focused. Then on, all the regular tools of running a good business need to be put in place – a scalable resource plan with internal clarity, responsiveness and governance models; external differentiation to ward –off imitability and consistency while the scale up. The stronger the solution and its focus, the better would be the earned media and buzz that are the decisive promotional vehicles for today’s breakthrough brands,” said Interbrand India MD Ashish Mishra in parting.

  • Zomato and PayTM feature in Interbrands’ ‘Breakthrough Brands’ report

    Zomato and PayTM feature in Interbrands’ ‘Breakthrough Brands’ report

    MUMBAI: A unique business model that is driven by innovation and technology is the trademark key to success among the emerging businesses in the world. Under tough competition, it is no longer enough to have hard working product or service. Smart brand building is the need of the hour. Keeping that in mind, Interbrand in partnership with Facebook, Ready Set Rocket and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has released its ‘Breakthrough Brands’ report that examines strong emerging brands.

    Of the 200 brands nominated, 60 ended up being featured in the Interbrand Breakthrough Brands report, although the list does not rank the brands.

    India- founded Zomato has been featured in the Food and Beverage category along with Deliveroo from UK, Blue Apron from US and do dem from Brazil. Zomato’s mission is to facilitate better dining experiences for food seekers all over the world. Founded in 2008, this brand’s food discovery platform is now a part of India’s biggest personal assistant app, HelpChat, which will be able to anticipate users’ food-related desires. Zomato also offers online ordering and table reservations, as well as tools that allow restaurants to manage demands, thus creating better food experiences for both its users and one million restaurants partners worldwide.

    Also, PayTM has been featured in the prestigious ‘Growing global’ category. This category celebrates the brands that have created a unique, differentiated approach which is global from day one. Breaking ground fast and too big to ignore, these brands are poised, or already on the path, to creating a significant global footprint. PayTM’s growing mission to create a one-stop, mobile shop has caused it to flourish in the population-dense country of India, where online platforms serve a growing need to get things done, quicker and more conveniently. Launched in 2010, PayTM began as mobile charging and bill payment service and has since become a full mobile commerce platform, with 20 million registered users and growing. It’s poised to break through in other Asian markets, where the one-stop-shop proposition is becoming increasingly popular. The brand has featured in the category along with Xiaomi from China, WeChat from China and DJI Global from Hong Kong.

    “In this ‘Age of You’ brands are being used by people to design better experiences in their day to day lives. That is what necessitates the conventional brands themselves to move at the Speed of Life. The Breakthrough Brands are born into the new cognitive era and are unencumbered. They can therefore create bespoke experiences per people’s needs and desire with a clear purpose to provide solutions through a sustainable business model. The task thus is not so much technology-out as much as it is solution focused. Then on, all the regular tools of running a good business need to be put in place – a scalable resource plan with internal clarity, responsiveness and governance models; external differentiation to ward –off imitability and consistency while the scale up. The stronger the solution and its focus, the better would be the earned media and buzz that are the decisive promotional vehicles for today’s breakthrough brands,” said Interbrand India MD Ashish Mishra in parting.

  • ErosNow launches its official account on WeChat

    ErosNow launches its official account on WeChat

    MUMBAI:  Entertainment consumption on mobile screens is increasing by the day. As more and more users turn to their mobile screens for viewing movies, listening music and watching videos, media and entertainment brands all over are vying to capture consumer’s attention through small screens.

     

    Owing to this growing trend, ErosNow, the dedicated online entertainment service of Eros International has announced its official account on WeChat. Through this official account, WeChat users would be able to enjoy unlimited music, movies and get sneak-peek into all the action and buzz on Bollywood. Eros is one of the first Indian film studio to take such a step on one of the most popular messaging apps amongst youth of the country.

     

    “At WeChat, we have constantly endeavored to bring to our users, content and associations which add value to their overall WeChat experience. Through WeChat’s official accounts, we have consistently evolved and innovated the kind of partnerships and associations we bring forth to our users. ErosNow is another step towards bringing engaging content and entertainment offerings for our users,” said WeChat India VP – marketing and business development Nilay Arora.

     

    WeChat users will also be able to share their favorite stuff from ErosNow official account on WeChat to friends through chats or Moments.

     

    “ErosNow’s partnership with WeChat’s innovative technology and strong youth base will further enhance the user experience and help meet the demands of today’s mobile generation,” added ErosNow COO Karan Bedi. Techzone is the platform partner for ErosNow’s channel on WeChat.

     

    To follow ErosNow official account (onAndroid/iOS), WeChat users need to search for ‘ErosNow’ in the search bar or scan the QR code below. Then follow the instructions in the welcome message to get started.

  • #fame eyes 10 mn downloads in 6 months for first live video entertainment app

    #fame eyes 10 mn downloads in 6 months for first live video entertainment app

    MUMBAI: #fame is all set to bridge the gap between entertainment and audiences by launching India’s first live video entertainment app in beta on iOS and Google Play.

     

    Through the app, performers can live beam to fans from their smart phones. What’s more, the company is targeting 10 million downloads for the app in the first six month and is expected to bring on-board more than 50,000 skilled and amateur performers with this new video-on-demand (VoD) platform.

     

    #fame CEO Saket Saurabh said, “The #fame app is pioneering not only because it is India’s first live video entertainment app, but also because it will be home to original content from the country’s hottest young digital stars. The app is a manifestation of #fame’s vision of empowering millions of emerging talent in their journey as content creators and help them reach and engage with their audiences wherever they are and whenever they want.”

     

    Since launch, the network has seen strong traction for its suite of digital shows and properties. Apart from its mobile app, #fame’s digital video network spans several digital and social platforms including YouTube, Facebook, WeChat, Daily Motion and other content publishers. #fame strategically focuses on emerging and established talent to build digital video channels and communities around them.

     

    In a bid to expand its boundaries, #fame has also identified five additional markets in South-East Asia to build local digital video businesses. These include Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines apart from India.

     

    To The New (TTN) Ventures, the parent company of #fame, has a strong strategic presence in these markets where it has built businesses in the SMACK space (Social, Mobile, Analytics, Content & Knowledge). Astro Overseas, a cross-media operator in South-East Asia, is a key strategic investor in TTN Ventures.

     

    “#fame is creating an exciting new live category in the mobile video and entertainment space. Along with its proven record of breakthrough original digital content, we are confident of #fame achieving market leadership in mobile video in India and South-East Asia in the near future,” added To The New Ventures managing director Puneet Johar.