2016 seems to be exciting in terms of growth of radio industry: RJ Dilip

2015, has been an exciting year for the media industry, the radio industry witnessed the much awaited phase III with its first round of e-auctions. The radio channels are now busy in processing the launch of their new arms.

IndianMediaBook gets in the conversation with Evening Show fame RJ Dilip from Big FM to analyse the performance of the radio industry in 2015. He holds 14 years of experience in the industry and has represented Big FM in International Marathi Film Festival Awards (IMFFA) held in Europe.

How Radio industry changed over the years? What is the current position of Radio Industry in India and what are the major changes arequired in the growth of the industry?

In a span of 16 years we have seen the radio industry grow from just one radio channel, AIR, to more than 800 radio channel licenses across 227 new cities following the FM phase-III auctions.

In 2005, the launch of Phase-II auction policy fuelled private FM radio channels in the country under which the government allocated licenses for 245 channels. With the recently held Phase-3 auctions the radio industry will see a substantial boost as the radio station operators would expand and enter further in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

If private FM radio broadcasters are allowed to air news and live sports, then it will definitely boost the growth of radio industry as it would mean more variedness in programming.

What are the major challenges an RJ faces while hosting any show? How much liberty should be given to an RJ while designing a show? What is the role of an RJ in content and format of the show?

The most important challenge faced by an RJ is that the information going on air must be authentic and verified from various reliable sources, sometimes there is very less time available to research and cross check.

Thus, it becomes very challenging. RJs should be given complete liberty to design his/her show as she/ he knows the pulse of the city. RJ plays a major role in content format of the show as it depends on the personality traits of the RJ and city he/she belongs to.

How has 2015 is been? Please share your experience.

2015 was one of the most fulfilling years for me in terms of my career. My show is ranked among top 10 shows of Mumbai. Also my Marathi show on sunday mornings remained consistently number 1.

I got an opportunity to be on a cruise and represent Big FM in Europe with almost the entire Marathi film industry for International Marathi Film Festival Awards (IMFFA 2015). Also I made a brief appearance on television for Zee TV’s Saregamapa Little Champs. Overall, it was a fruitful year with the grace of God and love from my listeners.

Digitization has changed the traditional No Face image of RJ in India. What is your point of view and how digitization has changed your life?

Yes, definitely digitization is the game changer. Listeners have a platform to interact with their fav RJ and also whenever there is any celeb visiting our studios we make a point to immediately post pics and videos online.

Jock talk is one the most tried and trusted marketing option. But since it is sponsored, somewhere the objectivity of the content is lost. How do you balance your content in such situations?

RJ mentions can be handled with interesting ways of execution and many RJs do it very creatively. There should be a limit to such mentions per show and should be assigned as per the flavor of the show and RJ personality.

How do you maintain the objectivity of content with the increase in commercial pressure?

Commercial pressure in a metro like Mumbai prevails throughout the year. Yes, I agree that the time to execute content gets hampered due to this but then again crisp and to the point jock talk is my way of handling such situation.

What things do you keep in mind while choosing any campaign? How do you take forward any campaign? Please share the best campaign experience of 2015.

As per my opinion I feel that a campaign should not be done for the sake of it. It should bring in relevance to my listener. Hence something which is informative yet is fresh in its approach in tapping the listener is a big thumb up.

For example, Big Googly was one such campaign. With the cricket season at its peak we decided to integrate humor with the sport and roped in Javed Jaffery who is known for his comic timing. We also had him in the studios with the listeners for the final IPL match which was enjoyed by many.

Many RJs are appearing on reality TV shows. Do you have such plans in near future? Is there any plan to try hand at acting?

Radio is theatre of mind. I am fascinated with any medium which is creative and allows me to explore my creativity, be it theatre, TV, or stage shows, live events, films. So any opportunity to explore my creativity is welcomed by me. Yes, I definitely want to try my hand at acting.

What tips would you like to give to the youth wish to become an RJ?

Be yourself on air, know the city well where you wish to go on air, be consistent, be updated on what’s happening in and around your city/state/country/world. Listen to all RJs but don’t follow anybody’s style, develop your own style.

What are you planning for 2016? Please share your resolution

2016 seems to be exciting in terms of growth of radio industry. India’s radio industry is readying for a makeover with new radio licenses allocated through e-auction. So I will try and actively be a part of the station set up for new cities where Big FM is coming up. Personally, I’ve not thought of any resolution as of now.

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

ASCI upholds complaints against 51 out of 98 advertisements

In October 2015, ASCI’s Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld complaints against 51 out of 98 advertisements. Out of 51 advertisements against which complaints were upheld, 16 belonged to the Personal and Healthcare category, followed by 19 advertisements in the Education category, 5 in Telecommunication and Broadband category and 11 advertisements from other categories.

Among the telecommunication and broadband service providers, complaints against the advertisements such as BhartiAirtel for its Airtel 4G, Reliance Communication for its Reliance Pro3, Aircel for its Free Coupons, were upheld.

Apart from these, complaints against the advertisement of Times Global Broadcasting, Lenskart, Amazon, were also upheld.

The CCC found the following claims in health and personal care product or service advertisements of 15 advertisers to be either misleading or false or not adequately / scientifically substantiated and hence violating ASCI’s Code. Some of the health care products or services advertisements also contravened provisions of the Drug & Magic Remedies Act and Chapter 1.1 and III.4 of the ASCI Code. The complaints against the advertisements of brands such as Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive,Dabur India Patanjali Ayurved etc. were upheld.

In educational sector, the CCC found that claims in the 19 advertisements were not substantiated and, thus, violated ASCI Guidelines for Advertising of Educational Institutions. Hence complaints against these advertisements were upheld.

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

HOOQ appoints Salil Kapoor as Managing Director of India Operations

HOOQ, the video-on-demand servic announced the appointment of Salil Kapoor, former COO at Dish TV India Ltd, as the Managing Director of its India operations.  As the country manager, he will further push the company’s goals of getting India HOOQ’d by revolutionizing video-on-demand service landscape in India.

Commenting on his new role, Salil Kapoor, Managing Director, HOOQ India, said, “It is an exciting opportunity for me to be associated with HOOQ and lead its India operations since this is clearly the future of entertainment. A developing country with an interesting demographic mix, India offers several opportunities for technologies like Cable, DTH and on demand services like HOOQ to co-exist.”

Prior to HOOQ, Kapoor was the Chief Operating Officer at Dish TV for over 7 years and he was also associated with LG as the Business Head for the Air Conditioning division. Post LG, he joined Microsoft as the Consumer Marketing Lead and then went on to become the Group Product Head of the home appliances division at Samsung turning around the appliances business there. His other interests include mentoring start-ups which also motivated him to join both LG and Dish TV at a very early stage.

“With growing interest in enjoying an uninterrupted viewing experience and internet penetration on the upswing, more and more time stressed viewers prefer enjoying their daily dose of entertainment at their convenience. The freedom of enjoying premium content from anywhere and at any time clubbed with better internet connectivity and growing smartphone penetration will drive the subscriber growth for HOOQ. I look forward to taking the HOOQ brand philosophy to the next level,” added Kapoor.

Thums Up unveils Main Hoon Toofani campaign

Thums Up the soft drink brand rolled out its new campaign, Main Hoon Toofan’ that builds on the power of I, an uncompromising attitude towards achieving individual’s goals in life, and encourages its consumers to challenge themselves and unleash their true potential.

The Main Hoon Toofani campaign seeks out the new generation that has the attitude, commitment and potential to bring out any positive change. The new campaign is not restricted to the idea of bringing in a positive social change, but urges consumers to always be bold and daring and have the passion to bring out the real hero in them and succeed in life.

The TVC has been created by team Leo Burnett, led by Sachin Das Burma, Group Executive Creative Director.

Commenting on the campaign Burma, said, ‘Thums Up has always been the drink of people who have a sense of restlessness and thunder within. Restlessness to get what they want, to go beyond, to achieve what they set their hearts and minds to. This year too, the campaign reflects the attitude of the brand, and the people who have made it the numero uno cola in our country.”

Continuing with this theme of masculinity approach, the new campaign shows Salman Khan taking on a new challenge to get his bottle of Thums Up. It reiterates the uncompromising attitude of the protagonist (Salman) when he sees empty bottles of Thums Up inside the fridge and doesn’t want to settle down for any other drink and he states ‘Jo Toofani Hotey Hain, Who Kuch Aur Ka Matlab Nahin Samajhtey’. Keeping everything aside he kicked-off a dirt bike to life and starts riding it on water, which leaves everyone amazed. His search for Thums Up ends when he sees a Thums Up truck and flies over it to grab his bottle mid-air.

“The thunder within the bottle reflects the thunder within an individual, waiting to be unleashed. The narrative this year is to showcase ‘I will not settle for anything less’ and the no-compromise belief of the Thums Up drinker. This is where the ‘Main Hoon Toofani’ philosophy comes alive. With never seen visuals we have a grand spectacle, which I am sure people are going to love’,” added Burma.

This 360 degree campaign leverages mass media on larger than life OOH sites in the core markets of Thums Up. The campaign also leverages key social media platforms of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

Newspapers, periodicals in India register 5.8% growth

Print media in India recorded a 5.8 per cent growth in 2014-15, with 5,817 new publications getting registered during the year, taking the total number up to 1,05,443.

The largest number of newspapers and periodicals registered in any Indian language are in Hindi with a figure of 42,493 publications followed by English with 13,661 registered publications.

According to ‘Press in India 2014-15′ report of the Registrar of Newspapers in India (RNI) which was released by Information and Broadcasting Minister ArunJaitley today, of the total publications, 14,984 are in the newspaper category (which includes bi-tri weeklies) while, 90,459 are periodicals.

34 publications ceased during 2014-15, as per the report.

It said the state-wise analysis shows that Uttar Pradesh leads with 16,130 publications while Maharashtra (14,394 publications) and Delhi (12,177 publications) are placed second and third.

The total “claimed” circulation of publications stood at 51,05,21,445 in 2014-15 as against 45,05,86,212 copies per publishing day in 2013-14.

Circulation-wise, Hindi Publications continued to lead with 25,77,61,985 copies per publishing day followed by English with 6,26,62,670 copies and Urdu with 4,12,73,949 copies per publishing day.

The largest circulated newspaper is the Kolkata edition of the Bengali daily ‘Ananda Bazar Patrika’ with a claimed circulation of 11,78,779.

Hindustan Times Delhi edition is the second largest, as per the report.

The largest circulated Hindi Daily is ‘Punjab Kesari’ (Jallandar) with a circulation of 7,42,190.

The largest circulated multiedition daily is ‘The Times of India’ (English, with 33 editions). The second largest circulated multiedition daily is ‘Dainik Bhaskar’ (Hindi – 34 editions).

The largest circulated periodical is ‘The Sunday Times of India’ (English), Weekly edition, Delhi, as per the report. The largest circulated periodical in Hindi is ‘Sunday Navbharat Times’ weekly edition, Mumbai.

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

Shoppemore appoints The Garage as its marketing communication agency

The corporate gifting company Shoppemore announced the appointment of The Garage as its marketing communication agency. The agency will be responsible for providing integrated marketing communications solutions to strengthen brand engagement across all platforms such as ATL, BTL, OOH, Radio, Digital, PR, Events and Promotions.

Speaking on the partnership,Pawan Sharma,Founder & CEO,Shoppemore, said, “We were looking for an agency that can partner with us closely in our growth story. With Shoppemore, we wanted to create a resource that builds meaningful and engaging relationship with our target audience and helps the brand grows leaps and bounds.”

The Garage Communications has been tasked with drawing on its strategic expertise to creatively engage the customers with Shoppemore brand all over.

Commenting on this account win, Hitesh Chhabra, Co- Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, The Garage Communications, said, “We believe that corporate gifting and online shopping is an exciting category to work on and has a great potential to cultivate”.

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

Halcyon Media creates a new campaign for Badshah Masala

Halcyon Media, the content an​​d communication agency has created a campaign for Badshah Masala, showcasing popular cuisines across the country. In an effort to reach out to people from new markets, the agency has created an unconventional film presenting a slice of life from India’s food map.

Commenting on the campaign, ​Hemant Jhaveri, Managing Partner, Jhaveri Industries said, “Badshah Masala has received a lot of love and loyalty from a cross section of consumers over the years. This campaign strategically features people from multiple religious and cultural backdrops.”

The campaign features the Badshah masala jingle with a fresh perspective and a new look that addresses the brand’s need to connect with a young urban audience. Breaking away from the conventions of featuring homemakers, women, home kitchen and festival set ups – the film projects real life characters in real life backdrops across iconic food destinations of India, male cooks, street food vendors and urban Indian faces.

Speaking about the concept of the campaign, Jyotshna Kalita, Managing Director & Creative Head, Halcyon Media said, “The consumer we have at the core of this campaign is a foodie at heart, indulges in cooking, has an opinion about what spices to be used and explores popular food joints in search of authentic taste. Ours is a country where culinary business has men as a major stakeholder. We have reinterpreted our communication to reach out to them as well.”

As the campaign goes for a soft launch pan India, the brand is gearing up to expand its business into a host of new markets across the country.

Commenting on the aggressive expansion plans, ​Kailash Jhaveri, Managing Partner, Jhaveri Industries, said, “We plan to build relationships, with fresh consumers in fresh markets. We are increasing our ad spends to 18 per cent from earlier 11 per cent. Retaining the old jingle is a well thought-through move as it gives us instant brand connect. We believe this campaign will give us the desired mileage.”

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

RAM Week 49: Big FM & Fever FM leads in Mumbai & Delhi

Delhi

With 20.1 per cent of total listenership pie, Fever FM led the chart once again, followed by Radio Mirchi with 14.6 per cent shares.

Radio City climbed to third position with 12.5 per cent of total market shares, while Big FM slipped to fourth spot with 11.3 per cent shares. Red FM stood at fifth position with 10.2 per cent of listenership pie.

Fever FM occupied top three spots. Evening Drive with RJ Nitin topped the chart, followed byFull on Punjabi with RJ Avinash and Zara Si Life with RJ Rhicha Vyas.

Mumbai

Big FM stood strong at top spot with 17.8 per cent of total market shares, followed by Radio City and Fever FM with 17.3 and 15.3 per cent shares, respectively.

Radio Mirchi remained at fourth position with 13.7 per cent of listenership pie and Red FM occupied fifth spot with 10.4 per cent shares.

Radio City’s Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi with RJ Gaurav stood at top spot, followed by Big FM Suhana Safar with Anu Kapoor and Breakfast Show with RJ Siddharth.

Kolkata

Radio Mirchi maintained its lead position with 19.6 per cent of listenership pie. Fever FM stood at second spot with 14.7 per cent of total market shares, followed closely by Big FM with 14.5 per cent shares.

Oye FM and Aamar FM occupied fourth and fifth spot with 10.1 and 9.4 per cent of total market shares, respectively.

Radio Mirchi’s Kaali Kotha with RJ Jaganath and Breakfast show with RJ Mir, bagged the top two positions in the list, whereas Big FM’s Breakfast Show with RJ Khas Koushik occupied the third spot.

Bangalore

Radio City topped the chart once again with 23.5 per cent of total market shares. Big FM stood strong at second position with 21.3 per cent of listenership pie, followed by Radio City with 17.2 per cent shares.

Fever FM occupied fourth position with 13.9 per cent of total market shares, while Red FM remained at fifth spot with 5.2 per cent shares.

Big FM’s Big Coffee with RJ Shruti led the chart, followed by Radio City’s Ciy Muthu with RJ Rachna and Radio Mirchi’s Hi Bengaluru with RJ Smitha.

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

Decoding Iba’s Beauty Products Ke Dirty Secrets with Jagdish Acharya

We all are aware that cosmetic products contain harmful ingredients such as animal fat, alcohol, chemicals. But the halal cosmetic brand Iba is all set to break the clutter by revealing ‘Beauty Products Ke Dirty Secrets’ through its new radio campaign.

According to Mauli Teli, CEO & Managing Partner, Ecotrail Personal Care, revealing the secrets of cosmetic industry is a truthfully engaging way of doing so as Iba has no secrets.

Speaking about the campaign, Teli said, “Being the pioneers of Halal Cosmetics in India, we needed to educate the consumers about its scientific superiority over all other cosmetics. Consumer response has been very positive and we have seen increased footfalls at Iba store and switches from popular and premium cosmetics to Iba as a direct result of this campaign. We intend to rollout the campaign in a big way very soon”.

Conceptualised by Cut The Crap, this radio campaign is aimed at signify the absence of animal ingredients, alcohol and harmful chemicals in Iba halal cosmetics.

Speaking exclusively to IndianMediaBook, Jagdish Acharya, Founder & Creative Head, Cut The Crap, said, “It is the absence of negatives that differentiates Iba halal range from rest of the cosmetics. Negatives that the cosmetic industry has kept hidden from its consumer. Revealing the truth was the simple idea behind the campaign.”

Big bet on radio

Radio was chosen as the medium of choice to convey this difference in an engaging manner. Acharya believes that 360 does not mean all media but optimum media. Thus, radio itself is the 360 for this campaign as it offers a cost effective reach for sustainable period of time, the two requirements for creating mass disruption by a new brand.

Beauty Products Ke Dirty Secrets

During October/November, Iba the halal cosmetics brand rolled out a campaign titled Dirty Secrets in Baroda. The campaign received good response, hence the brand decide to extend the campaign and brought it to other cities as well.

The campaign comprises of 4 spots and consumer engagement program running in parallel. Each spots sheds light on a secret and ends with the brand message Koi secret nahi. The consumer engagement involves inviting listeners to share their personal experiences of harmful side-effects of using a cosmetic product. The negative endorsements created the perfect context for Iba spots.

As part of the consumer engagement program, popular RJs invited listeners to call in and talk about the negative side effects of any cosmetic product that they may have suffered from. Hundreds of people reported such incidents that were aired live. These negative endorsements created the perfect atmosphere for Iba to drive home the no-negative characteristic of halal cosmetics.

The vision

Acharya informed that response for the campaign has been tremendous, in both form of buzz that’s making consumers seek more information about halal cosmetics as well as actual brand off take.

Iba is on a rollout mode, the campaign will be carried out across all markets in a phased manner. Once begun, it will be sustained.

“It will be a continuous exercise in a given market with different consumer outreach programs. Our aim is to make Iba halal a game changer in the Indian cosmetic Industry, concluded Acharya.

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

Contract ropes in Sunil Shetty as Mumbai planning head

Contract Advertising appointed Sunil Shetty as SVP and Head, Strategic Planning of its Mumbai office.

Speaking on the appointment, Rohit Srivastava, CSO, Contract Advertising, said, “Having been on the client’s side, Sunil brings with him a larger marketing and business perspective, which will be an asset, as we plan forward and growth strategies for our clients and their brands. His wider exposure to markets beyond India ensures a fresh, outside-in thinking that we are excited about tapping into, as we forge new forms of communication and engagement to reflect the changing realities of the consumer and media landscape.”

Prior to this, Shetty was working at FCB Kuala Lumpur as Strategic Planning Director. Besides stints at Philips Lighting and ICICI Securities, Shetty has worked with Ogilvy and RK Swamy BBDO in a career spanning over 14 years.

Commenting on his appointment, Shetty said,“The breadth and depth of client engagements at Contract and a strong strategic planning focus, which equally emphasises results and creativity, made this opportunity uniquely exciting. I look forward to partnering our clients in navigating the new consumer realities.”

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

Meraj Hasan appointed as VP of Planning at L&K Saatchi

L&K Saatchi & Saatchi roped Meraj Hasan as Vice President of planning for its Mumbai office. Hasan will report to Anil S Nair, CEO & Managing Partner, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi.

Speaking on the appointment, Nair said, “Meraj’s appointment is part of a significant ramp up in our strategic planning division. Our sincere attempt is to make each and every brand at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi a Lovemark and hence give it the highest possible strategic input. Meraj comes as a leader who will drive this agenda across as many brands in the Mumbai office.”

However, Sandhya Srinivasan, Chief Strategy Officer & Managing Partner, will continue to lead planning on a separate set of clients. Prior to this, Hasan was serving at Jio Reliance Industries’ Jio.

Commenting on his appointment, Hasan said, “An opportunity to strategically steer some of the best global as well local brands in the country is what pulled me towards L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, when I wanted to do my ‘Gharwapsi’ of sorts to advertising. A few meetings with Anil and the gang and exposure to the rocking work that they are doing confirmed that this is perfect place to do so. We found our fit in each other. Today’s consumer isn’t just buying a brand, she is buying into cohesive and compelling storyline around the brand, irrespective of the platforms and Lovemarks is a fantastic way of doing so. The idea is to build an enthusiastic team of bright minds and tell such stories for our brand. I’m really looking forward to this gig.”

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

Meraj Hasan appointed as VP of Planning at L&K Saatchi

L&K Saatchi & Saatchi roped Meraj Hasan as Vice President of planning for its Mumbai office. Hasan will report to Anil S Nair, CEO & Managing Partner, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi.

Speaking on the appointment, Nair said, “Meraj’s appointment is part of a significant ramp up in our strategic planning division. Our sincere attempt is to make each and every brand at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi a Lovemark and hence give it the highest possible strategic input. Meraj comes as a leader who will drive this agenda across as many brands in the Mumbai office.”

However, Sandhya Srinivasan, Chief Strategy Officer & Managing Partner, will continue to lead planning on a separate set of clients. Prior to this, Hasan was serving at Jio Reliance Industries’ Jio.

Commenting on his appointment, Hasan said, “An opportunity to strategically steer some of the best global as well local brands in the country is what pulled me towards L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, when I wanted to do my ‘Gharwapsi’ of sorts to advertising. A few meetings with Anil and the gang and exposure to the rocking work that they are doing confirmed that this is perfect place to do so. We found our fit in each other. Today’s consumer isn’t just buying a brand, she is buying into cohesive and compelling storyline around the brand, irrespective of the platforms and Lovemarks is a fantastic way of doing so. The idea is to build an enthusiastic team of bright minds and tell such stories for our brand. I’m really looking forward to this gig.”

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

Genesis Burson-Marsteller announces leadership appointments for 2016

Genesis Burson-Marsteller announced senior leadership appointments, which will be effective from 1^st January, 2016.

Speaking on the development, Prema Sagar, Vice Chair, Burson-Marsteller, Asia Pacific & Principal/Founder said, “Over the last twelve months, the consultancy has reinvented itself into a new-age communications firm to meet the growing requirements of our clients. As the year draws to a close, I am happy about the great leaps we have taken in 2015 and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. To support the continuing growth of our firm in 2016, we are promoting our talented and experienced leaders who have demonstrated that they make a difference to our clients business. I am confident that these leaders will further strengthen our India leadership team.”

Nikhil Dey is now President, Public Relations & Public Affairs. He will continue to play a key role overseeing the firm’s client growth strategy in addition to scaling up the recently launched Centres of Expertise and will now also focus on mentoring the public affairs business.

Atul Sharma has been promoted as Chief Operating Officer and will now be a part of the India Management Team at Genesis Burson-Marsteller. Having spent over twelve years at Genesis Burson-Marsteller, Atul has counseled diverse businesses, Indian and multinational, on corporate reputation and brand reputation programmes. In his new role, Atul will focus on improving the operational excellence of the firm while continuing to serve as India Practice Chair, Telecom & Technology.

Vandana Sandhir, currently India Practice Chair, Corporate & Financial, is moving to a new leadership role in the WPP network after ten years with the firm.

Sanjay Arora, who has been with the firm for over six years, will take on the India Practice Chair role from Vandana. With a total of sixteen years of experience, Sanjay has led corporate reputation management campaigns for many of the firm’s Fortune 500 companies. As the India Practice Chair, Sanjay will be responsible for ensuring business growth of the Corporate & Financial business in line with the firm’s strategy, providing leadership and guidance to the teams to ensure high quality of service delivery and customer satisfaction.

Former journalist Ajit Sahi, who joined the firm last year as Director, Thought Leadership will now take on the mandate of Public Affair. With nearly three decades of in-depth and extensive experience in journalism, ranging from being an investigative reporter to heading newsrooms at TV news stations, newsmagazines, news agencies and newspapers, Ajit brings with him a thorough understanding of the Indian and international political environment. This experience is crucial as the requirements of clients pertaining to government relations, advocacy and stakeholder outreach continue to grow with the maturing of the regulatory and compliance environment in India.

As the firm is strengthening its focus on the Technology domain, it will now have two separate leaders driving Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) Technology domains in 2016. Piyal Banerjee and Shivaram Lakshminarayan have been appointed as the new domain leads.

Piyal will be Managing Partner with a focus on B2C Telecom & Technology Practice, nationally, as it is a fast-growing area. In addition, she also takes on the mantle of Business Leader, Step Up, a unique offering focused towards helping start-ups to take the next leap by narrating their story through creative communication campaigns. With over twelve years of experience, Piyal has brand and corporate communications experience across top Asian markets including India, China, Malaysia and Singapore. She brings strong leadership skills to this new position given her credentials in the Consumer Technology space. Piyal will continue to co-anchor the Corporate & Financial Practice for West.

An old Genesis Burson-Marsteller hand, Shivaram has been with the firm in Bengaluru for over a decade and has served as the technology lead in the southern markets. Shivaram will now be the Head of the B2B vertical of the Telecom & Technology Practice, nationally, given his strong credentials in the IT &ITeS space. In addition, Shivaram is also taking over the stewardship of the Corporate & Financial Practice for South and will be working closely with Sanjay Arora.

Commenting on these appointments, Nikhil Dey, President says, “Atul has been a trusted advisor to our clients across sectors and his proven expertise is a great asset for us, both as a Chief Operating Officer as well a key member of the India Management team. Sanjay, Shivaram and Piyal have consistently demonstrated strong leadership skills and clear vision for their clients and team. In their new roles, they will continue their contribution to the firm. We will certainly miss Vandana and wish her well as she moves onto a new chapter in her life.” He adds, “These are exciting times for the Public Affairs business and we are very optimistic as we go forward given that we have an experienced person like Ajit leading the charge.”

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

Bang in the Middle wins mandate of SH Group

Hyderabad based SH Group brought the Gurgaon based communication agency Bang in the Middle on board with the aim of creating a world-class brand of foods. The agency has won the mandate after extensive review by SH Group.

Speaking on the development, Sambit Chakraborty, CSO SH Group, said “Basic Foods is a very large category in India and as the leading breeder of chicken, we want to bring to our audience a brand of world class quality and experience. Bang in the Middle has been tasked with the creation of brand. As we prepare to launch our retail venture of chilled, processed and packaged chicken we reached out to the brightest minds in business schools to seek how the young upcoming managers will approach the issue. Response to StirFry tells us that we are on the right path”.

SH Group is a breeder of chicken. Set up in 1978, SH Group has ambitious growth plans that include setting up retail brand in the foods business. SH Group’s upcoming retail venture will start with a range of chilled, processed and packaged chicken and over a period of time will also have eggs, fresh veggies and goats.

Commenting on the win, Naresh Gupta, Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle, said, “SH Group’s new retail venture is a bold move from a home grown successful corporation to enter the retail market. We are thrilled with the mandate. We are confident that the new brand that is created will challenge the best of the brands globally and will create space for itself”.

The launch is slated towards the early part of 2016. Bang in the Middle has already started work on the identity and campaign for the launch. As a part of build-up to the launch SH Group engaged with the top B Schools of India through a case study competition called Stir Fry Challenge.0

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

SPN appointed Ashish Golwalkar as Creative Director

Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) announced the appointment of Ashish Golwalkar as Creative Director of Sony Entertainment Channel. He will report to Danish Khan, Business Head, Sony Entertainment Channel.

In his new role, Golwalkarbe the in charge of developing new shows for the channel and he will also head all format shows , included scripted and non-scripted. He will also.

Prior to this, Golwalkar was serving at Star Plus as SVP Programming.

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media

M&E sector is growing 10 per cent annually over the past five years: Deloitte

Media and Entertainment sector has evolved over a period of time and even though it has many sub segments, the industry overall is growing at a fast pace. Certain segments of this sector have grown exponentially whereas other have grown at a steady pace.

Recently Deloitte released its Media and Entertainment Sector Outlook 2016, according to the report M&E sector is growing 10 per cent annually over the past five years. If one has to list the sub segments of this sector then it would include television, advertising, social media, print, film, radio, music, gaming, animation and OOH, among other smaller sub-sectors.

Television and print media continue to shine by contributing the largest share of advertising revenue. In future the same trend is expected to continue. Digitization has helped improving the customer experience by improving the viewing quality. Digitization is also leading to segmentation of the television content. Regional channels are growing at a faster pace.

Print industry is a fragmented one, with both national and regional players in the market. Aggressive campaigns such as Make in India, Swacch Bharat etc. have heavily spent money on the print medium. Regional editions have been steadily growing.

Digital and mobile platforms are becoming preferred mediums for advertising after the television and print mediums. Internet has grown gigantically from 10 million users to 100 million in a decade and from 100 to 200 million in just three years. The stakeholders are analysing the user/customer behaviour on the web and accordingly are targeting and customizing the advertisement content.

Recently, there is a trend of using videos for advertising over the digital platform as they seem to be more effective than just words and images. Apps can do everything that websites can, but in a more intuitive and a convenient way.

Mobile advertising through various apps and mobile sites is now gaining momentum. The highest traffic on mobile platform is drawn by the social media sites. Large population of India is active on social media. It is also noted that there is an increasing trend observed for the number of people in the age group of 35 to 65 years who are downloading apps for social media.

The Indian film industry is the largest producer of films globally. Revenue from overseas market is growing and will continue to do so. Indian movies are now also available on Netflix app. Regional movies too are becoming popular. Domestic exhibitors are willing to give more screen space to regional content.

The limited shelf life of films has resulted in the film being premiered on the television within three months of its’ theatrical release. The number of screens in Tier 2 and 3 cities still remains limited as compared to urban areas.

Radio has also seen a good growth rate as well. New upcoming sectors like E-commerce have aggressively advertised to gain market and have used radio extensively in their ad campaigns. Advertisers no longer see Radio as an add-on medium but it has become an integral part of their media plans. This medium also gained attention of many as a mass medium with popularity of PM’s address to nation through his show Mann Ki Baat. The Phase 3 license auctions have also given a boost to the industry – the reach and competition, both, have increased tremendously.

India’s recorded music business will nearly double in size over the next five years. The number of music apps and streaming apps will steadily increase on the mobile platform over the next few years. The revenue business models for these will also evolve over the period. People are getting ‘hooked’ onto these apps and thus CDs too soon are on their way out. The transformation in which music is consumed will result in many iconic music stores closing shop – e.g. Rhythm house in Mumbai.

Gaming has benefited and grown, thanks to the mass availability of smart phones in the country. Android and iOS offer a low-cost alternative to expensive gaming systems. Monetisation of games is difficult as pay model for downloads is not a preferred mode. Thus Gaming will have limited growth as compared to the other sub-sectors.

Presence of VFX industry is felt in all segments i.e. films, television and advertisements. Few movies that were nominated for Oscars had the VFX work been done in India. The demand for local animation content has been rising over the past few years. Popularity of “Hanuman”, Chota Bheem, Pakdam Pakdai, is increasing amongst the younger generations.

We spend a lot of time outside our home – getting from one place to another. Therefore, outdoor advertising is still here to stay.OOH advertising such as at airports, malls, metro stations etc., has gained popularity. With digital use, digitized hoardings have changed the traditional OOH platform. Here too centralized feeds and monitoring of eyeballs etc. will help ‘specific-target’ campaigns and will help fuel the growth trend in OOH.

Source: IndianMediaBook - Media