March 16-31, 2019 Volume 7, Issue 18 `100
8 INTERVIEW TARUN KATIAL CEO, ZEE5 INDIA
JUST DIAL 14 What About the Rest? Will people forget other apps? 6
SURF EXCEL Passions Boil Over How brands should tackle social media bashing. 16
ADIDAS Equal Treatment The challenges of e-commerce marketing.
“WE HAVE VERY GOOD LEVI’S Shaping the World 10 RETENTION RATES” SNICKERS Playing with Words 20 Katial wants to increase the subscriber base and hopes to MOST VIEWED ADS convert free users into premium subscribers in quick time. On the Campaign Trail 21 e o l
This fortnight... Volume 7, Issue 18 f there’s one thing that amazes me about the Indian OTT segment – that EDITOR Sreekant Khandekar I comprises over 30 players, of which 10-15 have big numbers – it’s the prolificity PUBLISHER March 16-31, 2019 Volume 7, Issue 18 `100 with which new content is churned. There is just so much content being produced! Sreekant Khandekar 8 INTERVIEW Just how many shows are we to watch? EXECUTIVE EDITOR TARUN KATIAL CEO, ZEE5 Ashwini Gangal
JUST DIAL 14 What About the Rest? ZEE5, freemium digital video-on-demand platform from the house of Zee ASSOCIATE EDITOR Will people forget other apps? Sunit Roy 6 Entertainment Enterprises, one of the last to enter the VOD battleground, began by PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE announcing 90 original titles in its first year. Moreover, the platform will release 72 Andrias Kisku
SURF EXCEL Passions Boil Over new titles by April 2020. Yet, Tarun Katial, CEO, ZEE5 India, insists it’s the How brands should tackle ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES social media bashing. depth that matters. He’s on our cover this issue, as ZEE5 turns one. Shubham Garg 16 81301 66777 (M) We spoke to Tarun about the competitive OTT game – particularly, ZEE5’s Apoorv Kulshrestha ADIDAS Equal Treatment 9873824700 (M) The challenges of e-commerce marketing. audience acquisition strategy, what premium means in the OTT space, the Noida
“WE HAVE VERY GOOD LEVI’S Shaping the World 10 Nikhil Jhunjhunwala RETENTION RATES” SNICKERS importance of creating content for regional audiences, the growth of voice search, Playing with Words 20 Katial wants to increase the subscriber base and hopes to MOST VIEWED ADS 9833371393 (M) convert free users into premium subscribers in quick time. On the Campaign Trail 21 the content recommendation system he’s got in place on the platform, and most Mumbai importantly, his subscription related plans. Tarun is confident about being able to [email protected] convert his non-paying users into paying users, soon. Interestingly, he tells us there’s MARKETING OFFICE a fair amount of overlap between people who watch television and those who pay for B 3, Ground Floor, Sector 4, Noida -201301 Uttar Pradesh content on OTT. But, on the contrary, from a consumer psychology perspective, one must look at not television, but the film industry, and film marketing, very closely MUMBAI 302, Makani Center, 3rd Floor, if one is keen on understanding the online video pay space, believe media experts. Off Linking Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai - 400050 One point made by Tarun really stayed with me; it challenges the way we’ve SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES been classifying content all this while: on OTT, unlike on TV – or even in the case [email protected] of movies – how ‘new’ a show is, depends not on the release date, but on when a Owned by Banyan Netfaqs Pvt Ltd and person discovers it. By that definition, for him, an old-yet-new show is Karenjit Printed and published by Kaur - The Untold Story of Sunny Leone. Every new subscriber watches it, he Sreekant Khandekar, at 7-A/13, Ch. Ratan Singh Complex, claims. Jawala Heri Market, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi-110 063.
Printed at Artz and Printz 208 DSIDC Sheds, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi - 110020
Ashwini Gangal [email protected] CONTENTS
19 JAGUAR LAND ROVER Non-stop Action Cause-vertising to create conversations. 17 12 VIVEK SRIVATSA 10 “The Fan Parks Helped” Srivatsa is upbeat about the second year of Tata’s DAILY HUNT 18 KEDAR APTE ASHISH BHASIN association with the IPL. In this exclusive interview, he ‘Parroting’ opinions? “Influencers are Key” Home Base says he is expecting “even Create your own opinion The stories behind marketing Why Bhasin’s new role is such better results” in 2019. instead of being a ‘tota’. an engine lubricant. a big deal.
afaqs! Reporter, March 16-31, 2 0 1 9 5 e
SURF EXCEL Passions Boil Over What happened with HUL’s Holi spot for Surf Excel this week could happen to absolutely any brand campaign tomorrow. What should brands do when a simple advert is monsterised, then bashed on social media? The experts debate. By Aishwarya Ramesh and Abid Hussain Barlaskar urf Excel’s newest Holi-themed it’s a reaction from one particular ad found itself in the middle of section... If I were in their place, I’d Scontroversy. Social media erupted lay low for some time... Brands need at the brand’s attempt to promote Hindu- to be extra careful and sensitive right Muslim harmony. We spoke to industry now. We’ve seen the damage social professionals about the campaign and the media can create to brands and this perils of digital marketing. The responses: is real. die down. In the age of the internet, theme, you don’t know how it might controversies come and go, and this be misunderstood. I would say Deepika Tewari Abhishek Gupta one too shall pass. religion is a sensitive subject right Associate Vice President, Marketing, CMO, Edelweiss Tokio Life now and best to keep away from it. Jewellery Division, Titan Irrespective of the medium, you will Ravi Shankar K, Trends on Twitter are supposed to It’s not a unanimous view; it’s a always get different reactions from Senior vice president - India Online have a half-life of 24 minutes which polarised view. In that situation, your target groups. As a marketer, Business - Langoor means that half of all the impressions, wouldn’t you stand by people who it forces us to be on our toes and Given the prevalence of social media clicks and retweets your tweet are rooting for your ad? Why would makes us vigilant about the kind of usage, dealing with its marketing and receives will happen in the first 24 you succumb to the pressure of communications we’re bringing out. its downsides need to enter corporate minutes and then drop dramatically. people who are dissing your ad? Social media gives you feedback and communication playbooks. Brands So whether you issue an apology or There will always be naysayers. That the pulse of the audience, quickly. often find themselves at the receiving not, the trend is going to die. If the doesn’t mean brands have to pull This is not a case of a cause gone end of public ire when they talk company believes in what they did, down the ad. It’s not like a legal body wrong. As a brand, you need to take about sensitive issues like religion, they shouldn’t apologise. If it was a or government authority is telling up a cause and ensure that it fits with politics and regional identities. And genuine oversight and they felt it was the brand it’s anti-national or anti- your brand. Once you’ve decided on because social media gives a voice wrong, then they should. social... So does the brand need to the cause, you need to stick to it and to the masses, individual opinions take a stance by apologising or taking do something meaningful around coalesce very quickly into mass Rajasekar KS it down? I think it is in continuation it and be consistent with it. The sentiments forcing the brand to go GM - Marketing at Matrimony.com with Surf Excel’s standpoint of daag acche hai and the goodness that on the defensive. Brands, like humans, are sometimes ‘dirt is good’ (referring to the daag comes out of the stain is a narrative The brand’s reaction, ideally, vulnerable. The recent error in achhe hai communications) and is in that Surf Excel has been using for depends on their stand with respect judgement by HUL is a good case continuation of the regular thematic quite some time now. to the issue. If the brand is fully study for marketers, social media advertising it did for Eid, for example. If there’s a fair balance of positive aware of what is put out and have strategists and PR folks. On social, if and negative comments, then you their convictions in place, they may things go wrong it can be a terrible Ramanujam Sridhar should stick to it. want to stick with their stand. In downslide and spiral out of control. Founder & CEO, Brand-Comm some cases, the communication Marketing that rides on cultural I don’t see anything offensive about Rohan Mehta could be mistimed, misconstrued or sensitivities and religious sentiments the ad, but people’s views tend to be CEO - Social Kinnect, a digital a plain mistake. In such situations, is treading on dangerous waters. quite polarised - I can see that from marketing company the brand would be advised to issue a The best way out depends on the my various WhatsApp groups; these Social media has helped brands reach clarification addressing the sentiment social media quicksand that a brand are the people who are vocal on social more customers than ever before. and pull out the offending content. is caught in. If it’s about cultural media, unfortunately. However, it has also given rise to Trying to leverage the positive insensitivity, national pride, religion It’s a creative rendition of a two-way streets of communication. sentiment can potentially result in or racial bias and if the brand thinks thought. Yes, it’s about religious In the case of Surf Excel, they should the negative sentiment lingering that there’s swelling discontent, it’s unity and the brand message has leverage the positive sentiment that longer and even spiralling out of best to delete the post and lie low, a slightly different execution. I’ve the campaign has also generated. control. So, the primary question to hoping the intensity of the backlash spent my entire life in advertising These days, it’s tougher for brands ask is ‘why did we do this?’ and then fades out. Few brands are able to and I wish I’d written an ad like this to separate themselves from real- tailor a response accordingly. stand up, defend and build on their - that’s the benchmark of greatness time issues and current events in proposition; most don’t. If a brand for any advertising communication. the political and social space. Prabhakar Mundkur believes in its narrative, it should People might be objecting because With an increasingly conscious Brand strategy adviser stick to it. But if it is not what the of the time of the day - elections are and opinionated consumer base, The atmosphere in the country is a brand really intended and feels that coming up and people think they can companies should not alienate little charged right now, so I would people have been offended... a clean make an issue out of anything. If I potential customers and maybe opt typically avoid advertisements with apology - without any excuses - is were the brand manager, I wouldn’t for a neutral stance. religious connotations. With the Surf the wise thing to do, but not before be worried about it because a certain The best strategy would be to Excel ad, the emotion is a positive clearly stating its position on the level of controversy does help the remain neutral and wait for the one unlike the Red Label Kumbh ad, issue. n brand. It’s not a global reaction; controversy surrounding the ad to but once you dabble with a religious [email protected]
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JUST DIAL What about the other Apps? If you’ve been paying attention, Just Dial’s been running an ad for months, asking people to turn to one app for all their needs. Will they? By Abid Hussain Barlaskar
to a food delivery site like Swiggy, then to a cab-hailing app like Uber, we just have to tap a different icon,” he explains. “The user would move to a fourth option like Just Dial on two accounts - first, if JD is providing ten services and all of them must be better than the individual providers’. Or the commercial benefit (discount/offers) from he user interface of Just Dial As per the company’s last quarterly JD has to be significantly (JD) resembles the menu reports, 78.5 per cent of its traffic higher. In that case, users Tpage of any modern day originated on mobile platforms might compromise on smartphone. We say this because, followed by decreasing desktop and quality to save money. the interface is loaded with windows voice traffic. The total active business Otherwise, it’s not a to a wide range of services like cabs, listings stood at 24.8 million and difficult task to move doctors, restaurants, hotels, travel cumulative app downloads at the end between the individual bookings etc. - just like the app icons of the quarter stood at 22.8 million. platforms. Also, there on a phone. Impressive figures. are existing brands The platform, in its ad The brand roped in Amitabh and positionings in the communication, boasts of being the Bachchan to be its face in 2010 and consumer’s mind. It will one-stop-shop for most modern-day he has been with the brand ever be really hard to change digital needs. The brand also firmly since. Its most recent ad film features the recall to Just Dial - positions itself as an answer to the a disappointed Bachchan at an airport that’s a bigger challenge,” much-asked question - how many with his attention drawn to repeated Vaitheeswaran adds. apps are we supposed to have? app notifications of a fellow flyer. Rahul Vengalil, founder - WhatClicks, Interestingly, while Just Dial lists products double eight” part of the commercial, says, “Just Dial has evolved over Bachchan tells viewers that they can time; from the first communication from other e-commerce players in the also use Just Dial’s services by calling which was voice-calls to having a JD in. app on the phone. The platform that comparative results section on the app, the they have created is very powerful results redirect you to other platforms. SO, WHAT’S THE ANSWER? and they have been vocal about it for K Vaitheeswaran, co-founder of quite some time now. Consumers Just Dial was founded in 1996 by Bachchan rids the flyer’s phone these India’s first e-commerce company - are becoming picky and choosy VSS Mani, currently the company’s apps, the likes of grocery delivery Fabmart.com and who also recently about how many apps to have on MD and CEO. Mani, at the time, platform Grofers, food delivery app co-founded ‘Again’, a dairy-based their mobiles. The real estate/space decided to create a database of Zomato, healthcare app Practo, travel drink, says, “Although it sounds available is limited and if a single app contacts about local business listings booking app MakeMyTrip, and interesting, it may be difficult to can replace 4-5 in one go, then it is over voice calls. The platform today movie ticketing app BookMyShow execute. In the internet-tech-e- definitely beneficial to consumers.” boasts of being multi-dimensional. among others. Worth a mention commerce-digital world, the easiest “However, the success of the app It now identifies itself as “India’s is the fact that JD, unlike other thing for a consumer is to move from will depend on the user experience No. 1 Local Search Engine” that is e-comm and similar digital players, one platform to another.” which a brand can provide consumers. also a marketplace, an e-commerce has shunned the discount game. Vaitheeswaran equates Just Dial’s The question is, whether they are able platform, a price comparison site, a The brand has rarely communicated situation to that of a hypermarket. to deliver on the promise that they content aggregator, news app and also discounts or offers on the platform. “In the offline world, people go to have given, i.e. is this the best option a social platform. While it started out Interestingly, while Just Dial lists hypermarkets and destination stores or is there something better which the with voice as its forte, the platform products from other e-commerce as they would provide everything in consumer will find elsewhere. If JD underwent multiple shifts with the players in the comparative results one place. It was very successful in can address that with communication coming and rapid penetration of the section on the app, the results redirect the offline world since the customer as well as execution, then they have internet. Today, it’s betting on areas you to other platforms. did not require the physical effort a winning formula. If they don’t do like voice-based search, location- However, JD hasn’t disconnected of moving from place A to B. In the that fast, then it would be a losing based targeting, digital payments, its voice roots, yet. With the “triple online world, if we have to move battle,” Vengalil signs off. n content, and social. eight - double eight - triple eight - from a shopping site like Amazon [email protected]
8 afaqs! Reporter, March 16-31, 2 0 1 9 #miawards
SHOWDOWN: MARCH 27, 2019 | LE MERIDIEN, GURUGRAM 7:00 PM ONWARD e
ASHISH BHASIN Home Base Dentsu expands Ashish Bhasin’s role to include Southeast Asian markets. Is that a big deal? It is, if you consider the fact that he will be based in India. A look at the India as the headquarters for agency networks. By Ashwini Gangal
ore important than if not the fastest growing market, and the largest tech companies Joshi was given the reins of Dentsu Aegis Network’s in the world and is of significant (Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Google’s McCann’s Asia Pacific region Mannouncement about the scale now. So given the relative scale Sundar Pichai) in the world. Today, (including Greater China, Japan, expansion of Ashish Bhasin’s role and growth of India as a market, it we live in a world where it’s not Australia, the Philippines and several and purview - to include several wasn’t a very difficult decision to about your nationality or location, other nations), we asked him about Southeast Asian markets besides make. Personally, I feel there’s huge but about your performance and Indian talent staying put even after India, the newly-formed ‘Greater potential still to be captured in India, delivery... focus is shifting from getting regional roles. Joshi told South region’ as the network calls so it’s important to be here. And in nationality and location, for sure.” afaqs! Reporter at the time, “Well, it includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, general, geography is history. We Note that Bhasin’s remit will you don’t ask this question ‘Will you Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, have so many tools to stay connected, exclude Singapore, which will be led move or not?’ to someone living Philippines, Malaysia and Myanmar including the mobile, today...” by Masaya Nakamura, who is deputy in the US or London. Probably, - is the fact that Bhasin will Is India hub enough for the media chairman and chief growth officer of we are biased to begin with... That continue to be based in India. And and marketing industries, today? Dentsu Aegis Network APAC. is changing. You can reach India that’s the clincher. In the past, an Enough to be deemed ‘headquarter There have been other examples from anywhere in the world and elevation such as this one would material’ for the APAC region? To that are similarly symptomatic of get to anywhere in the world from entail relocation on the part of the over-simplify, is Mumbai the new the changing way in which global India. I don’t think we are lagging leader at the helm. behind in technology... Yes, it is a We spoke to the CEO, Dentsu There is a change in the way global networks changing reality. I chose to stay here Aegis Network, Greater South, and because the action is here. There’s Chairman and CEO, India. Did he are regarding Indian leadership. a throbbing sense of life you get in have to fight to stay put in India? Singapore? “That’s a presumptuous networks are regarding Indian India...” “No, it’s not that I had to fight to statement. Mumbai is the new leadership. The one most readily In the world of media, recall the stay back. I had to logically reason it Mumbai. India is a large, fast- recalled is the elevation of adman decision of The Walt Disney Co to out,” Bhasin tells afaqs!Reporter, “I growing, dynamic market. On the Piyush Pandey, who replaced give Uday Shankar the responsibility think it is possible to do a regional or other hand there are some serious Tham Khai Meng as worldwide of heading the APAC market, when even a global job based out of India. infrastructure issues here. It’s difficult chief creative officer of Ogilvy in it reorganised its structure recently. It’s difficult but not impossible. to compare,” Bhasin answers. December. He continues to work Heads of three markets – the Greater Sure, Singapore is a very convenient He goes on, “Indian talent is equal out of Mumbai. The development China, Japan and Korea teams, the country to handle the region from to or perhaps better than that in fetched headlines along the lines Australia and New Zealand cluster and yes, it is harder and more many other markets. And India has of ‘Manhattan reports to Mahim’ and the West Asia group – will report strenuous to travel out of India than been a big net exporter of talent, and ‘Shivaji Park controls Madison to Shankar. Some years ago, Vikram it is to travel from Singapore...” even in marketing companies like Avenue’. Okay, most of them were Sakhuja ran Maxus’ global ops from He adds, “In our case, India is Pepsi (former CEO Indra Nooyi), ours. Mumbai for a while. n one of the fastest-growing markets, Mastercard (Ajaypal Singh Banga) A few years back when Prasoon [email protected] LEVI’S Shaping the World The music video stars influencers from all walks of life. By Abid Hussain Barlaskar
evi’s unveiled the fifth edition of their ‘I ‘being’; there are an increasing number of stories Shape My World’ campaign. The music of women who took their chances and beat the Lvideo stars personalities like Malini Agarwal, odds. During the past 4 seasons of #ISMW, we empowerment. As part of the previous editions of Kubbra Sait, Sandhya Menon, Swara Bhaskar and drove inspiring stories of fearless women. This the #IShapeMyWorld campaign, Levi’s has also Neena Gupta; it was sung by Anushqa Sahaney season we celebrate the power of the collective celebrated figures like India’s first and youngest and features verses by rapper Hard Kaur. through women who are authentic, original and village Sarpanch with an MBA degree, Chhavi Meeta Bharvani, Director Marketing, Levi’s purposeful, all qualities that are inherent to the Rajawat, hairstylist Sapna Bhavnani, Anjali India says, “The #IShapeMyWorld campaign Levi’s brand”. Lama, India’s first transgender model, standup is driven by the insight that in a world that The video features a line-up of female comedian Mallika Dua, actor Huma Qureshi, VJ still tries to restrain women from achieving personalities from different industries such as Bani J, actress Ileana D’Cruz and contemporary their potential by fuelling insecurities about entertainment, fashion, sports, journalism and dancer Shakti Mohan. n themselves; whether it is about her ‘body’ or her social change to celebrate the spirit of women [email protected]
10 afaqs! Reporter, March 16-31, 2 0 1 9