lifestyle SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2015 OSN brings the best content for customers with latest technology By Nawara Fattahova called ‘Live More’ last year. It’s our corporate social responsibility campaign and we will KUWAIT: OSN, the leading pay TV network in continue to focus on that to create an emo- the Middle East and North Africa that offers tional bond with potential customers. international television entertainment content Reducing churn (people who leave the such as movies, sporting events and much service) is also a big focus for us. To reduce more, participated in the annual InfoConnect this, we will focus on our OSN privileges pro- exhibition held from Jan 26 to Feb 1, 2015 at gram. We established this program two and the Misref Fairground. During this event, they half years back, and it’s an amazing program had many special offers and promotions. with a strong link with our product. Many Kuwait Times met Hamad Malik, Chief organizations have loyalty programs, but they Marketing Officer of OSN, to learn more. usually give points that you can never redeem, but our focus is to give our customers experi- Kuwait Times: What is your marketing strat- ences which they can’t buy or nobody else will egy for 2015? give them. An example is if you are a WWE fan, Hamad Malik: We want to position our we give the opportunity for people to go and brand as a premium brand, and also as an watch the fights, meet the wrestlers and affordable luxury that understands clients’ spend time with them. All our subscribers can needs and provides entertainment to them. go to our website and participate in the com- This is our objective for this year. OSN has petitions that we organize, and they may win. been growing significantly in the region for the past two years. We want to continue to KT: What is the impact of marketing on the deploy initiatives of our marketing strategy. company’s activities? Malik: One of the challenges we face is that people are not aware of what the PPV industry is and why do they need to pay for TV pro- grams. In this region, there are more than 700 or 800 free-to-air channels. Here comes our objective to make people aware that OSN is different as they get more superior program compared to free-to-air. In today’s world, everyone is busy and people don’t have time, so when you come home, you want specifical- ly watch something you like for an hour or an hour and a half. If you have 400 or 500 free-to- air channels, you will just be just flipping chan- nels and you are at the mercy of the TV, while Hamad Malik, Chief Marketing Officer of OSN. —Photos by Joseph Shagra if you are a subscriber of OSN, if you like some- wanted to adopt a mechanism where in an we have a huge infrastructure here. Also we sports channels, movie channels and also a lot thing you can record it and watch it anytime entertaining way we give some information to have our sales and marketing operations and of Arabic content. We also have the largest you like. We get movies just after 2 to 3 get the point and make the change. These customer care services here. Kuwait is one of number of channels in HD - 58. So we bring months after their theatrical release. So they should be easy changes so they are sustain- the markets with appetite for good entertain- the best content for customers with the best are brand new movies. We are two years able. For instance, we say walking 30 minutes ment products like OSN. We have a great mar- technology. ahead of free-to-air channels. a day is great thing to fight obesity and other ket share here. The purchasing power of cus- OSN also has exclusive cricket rights, as we We want to communicate these kinds of diseases. Maybe they don’t go to the gym, but tomers in Kuwait is decent and they want a are ICC’s broadcast partner. We also hold one unique products to potential customers in rel- we give them a way to understand and imple- brand which understands them and gives or two activities in Kuwait for cricket, and will evant way. We also try to get consumer ment the changes. So we tell them they can them products they are looking for. We try to organize a cricket tournament where 52 teams We have various areas of focus - this year insight. Customers differ in each country. What walk for 10 minutes three times a day, they do things Kuwaiti customers are looking for, will be participating from Feb 6. We want to our main focus is on making sure that people they want to watch has to be customized for should take the stairs, park their car far from even in our content. For instance we have vari- engage cricket fans in Kuwait. Also, the cricket will experience our product, which is very them. We expose them to the features of our the office and so on. These are small changes ous Kuwaiti talent programs to appeal to the World Cup will be held from Feb 14, and our strong. Those who haven’t experienced it will company that are most relevant for them. We they can easily do. Our second campaign was local market. subscribers will be able to watch it live. find it very difficult to understand what the also try to build an emotional connection with about the importance of a good sleep, and We also need the help of the media to pro- unique selling points of this product are. We customers - we don’t want to be a brand they then on the importance of drinking 10 glasses KT: What is the roadmap of OSN’s growth? mote the fact that piracy is a very big crime, also want to make sure that people under- pay for; we want to go beyond that. of water in Kuwait’s hot summer. So people Malik: OSN has grown significantly during and creates many issues for companies like us stand why OSN is different and a premium We understand that in this region a lot of will see us a partner for life than just a brand the last 3-4 years. We have doubled the size of who are legitimately buying content, provid- product. Here I don’t mean that it will always people are suffering from obesity and dia- they pay money to get entertainment from. our company. It was an amazing period of ing jobs, building infrastructure and investing be expensive - it’s an affordable product. We betes - even young people - because of growth for OSN. There is huge potential for us in local production of content. Some people want to give a premium experience to our cus- lifestyle and eating habits. So last year we KT: What is the importance of Kuwait as a to continue to grow, as we have a very large illegally distribute the signal of various pieces tomers. We are also working to enhance our started a program to educate people on the market? bouquet of content - almost 150 channels. We of content. So we need the support from the health activities, so we started a campaign benefits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We Malik: Kuwait is very important for us as have the best content for family and children, authorities to fight the challenge of piracy.

Sundance Film Review A picture taken on January 23, 2015 shows a bildboard featuring an ad for the 65th edition of the Berlinale Film Festival on the The Chinese Mayor’ Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. This year’s edition takes place from 05 ranted remarkable access to the daily business of a high- to 15 February, 2015. — AFP ranking mainland Chinese official, Zhou Hao’s “The GChinese Mayor” offers a fascinating verite portrait of the collision between progress, politics, corruption and citizens’ rights in a rapidly changing People’s Republic. This rare peek behind the usual scrim of government image management is a natural for niche broadcasters and anyone else interested in qual- ity current-events documentary features. Fifty-four-year-old Geng Yanbo is the mayor of Datong, a metropolis of 3.4 million in Shanxi province that was long a coal- industry capital. But now that business is in decline, leaving as its major legacy the status of China’s most polluted city. Geng has made it his mission to transform Datong into a tourist-magnetiz- ing cultural center, highlighting its important role throughout central dynasties of Imperial Chinese history. But restoring and/or constructing the attractions key to that goal demands considerable sacrifice from residents, large num- bers of whom are being forced to leave their longtime (yet illegal by hitherto unenforced law) family homes so entire neighbor- hoods can be razed. Worse, the “affordable housing” these mostly poor citizens are supposed to move into isn’t actually affordable to many; “low-rent” housing that they can afford has a wait list of three years. As they’re being rendered homeless, their material losses are compensated either insufficiently or not at all. Thus, residents are raising vigorous objections, mounting public protests, even confronting riot police. (While Geng’s situa- tion may be unique, it is noted that most Chinese mayors reside in military compounds for their own safety.) Understandably, they wonder just whose interests the government represents, All-star actress roster to when their own most basic needs are considered so insignificant. Our first impression of Geng supports the substantial (if by no means universal) public antipathy toward him. He seems a sort of human bulldozer: tirelessly touring sites, taking calls while paying light up 65th Berlin film fest attending meetings and ceremonies, deferring to none. But the longer we witness him in action, the more admirable his efforts appear. Painful though the sacrifices required may be, he has a ew movies starring Juliette Binoche, Nicole Jacquot in “Diary of a Chambermaid”, based on a novel Honorary Golden Bear for his life’s work during the festi- noble vision for this city that (if pulled off) will have long-term Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Helen Mirren and Lea already adapted by cinema greats Jean Renoir and Luis val, will screen his new 3-D drama “Everything Will Be benefits for all. Seydoux will put women in the spotlight when Bunuel. British actress Mirren stars in “Woman in Gold”, Fine” featuring James Franco, Charlotte Gainsbourg and N Constantly besieged by individual citizens who are petitioning they premiere at the 65th Berlin film festival starting the true story of Holocaust survivor Maria Altmann who Rachel McAdams. for justice (and who complain they’ve been beaten for defending Thursday. The 11-day event in the frosty German capital, fought the Austrian government for nearly a decade for Andrew Haigh, director of the HBO television series their homes), Geng also deals incessantly with the corrupt the first major cinema showcase in Europe each year, restitution of valuable Klimt paintings that the Nazis “Looking” about gay friends in San Francisco, will enter bureaucracy and contractors under his purported command, who will begin with Oscar winner Binoche playing Josephine stole from her family. the competition with “45 Years” starring Charlotte cut construction-cost corners at the citizens’ expense; many proj- Peary, who accompanied her explorer husband Robert Rampling in a surreal drama about a long-married cou- ects are inexplicably far behind schedule. on treacherous Arctic expeditions, in “Nobody Wants ‘Changes in Iran’ ple. Japanese filmmaker Sabu will join the competition Geng’s public humiliations of the guilty parties result in grov- the Night”. The Berlinale, launched during the Cold War as a win- with “Chasuke’s Journey” about an angel who comes eling apologies that one doubts will lead to any real systemic The film is directed by Spain’s Isabel Coixet, only the dow on the world for embattled West Berlin, prides back to earth to rescue a woman. improvements. While we never see him at home, there is a sort of second woman in the history of the Berlinale, as the itself on ripped-from-the-headlines political relevance Vietnamese director Phan Dang Di, a European festi- running gag in the form of frequent calls from the wife who event is known, to hold the coveted opening-night slot. along with high-wattage glamour from major val favourite, will premiere his latest picture, “Big Father, berates Geng (“Are you tired of living?!?”) as she’s driven to exas- Dieter Kosslick, who has run the festival since 2001, Hollywood productions and stars. Small Father and Other Stories”. perated tears by his insomniac, health-imperiling work pace. told reporters that many of the more than 400 films that This year’s event will feature the first screening of dis- And Peter Greenaway will present “Eisenstein in What makes this frank picture of Chinese government at work will screen focused on “strong women in extreme situa- sident Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s “Taxi”, in which the Guanajuato” about the legendary Russian director of even more surprising is the story’s conclusion, in which party tions”. Kidman plays British adventurer and spy filmmaker himself presents his impressions of contem- “Battleship Potemkin” and his Mexican exile. higher-ups make an abrupt, baffling decision about Geng’s imme- Gertrude Bell opposite former “Twilight” heartthrob porary Tehran from behind the wheel of a cab. US director and screenwriter Darren Aronofsky diate future. It leaves all his work in limbo, the city in huge debt, Robert Pattinson as T.E. Lawrence, better known as Panahi was detained for a documentary he tried to (“Black Swan”) will serve as president of the jury judging and the citizens’ sacrifices possibly all for naught. Despite their pri- Lawrence of Arabia, in German veteran Werner Herzog’s make on the unrest following Iran’s disputed 2009 presi- the 19 main contenders and handing out the Golden or protestations, the latter now grieve an inexplicable catastrophe “Queen of the Desert”. dential election and officially banned from making and Silver Bear prizes on February 14. that can only further erode trust in the nation’s leadership. Blanchett joins Natalie Portman and Christian Bale in more films for 20 years. “We invited him but the Iranian He will be joined by “Mad Men” creator Matthew The film’s breathlessly on-the-run progress suggests Zhou had “Knight of Cups”, a new feature about the perils of fame state must give its permission for him to attend,” Weiner, French actress Audrey Tautou (“Amelie”), South almost unlimited access-an intimacy underlined near the close by reclusive US director Terrence Malick. Kosslick said. “We are hopeful-we have the feeling that Korean director Bong Joon-Ho (“Snowpiercer”), US pro- when Geng asks just what the director has been filming, as he’d Kosslick said he hoped Malick, who won Berlin’s pres- changes are underway in Iran.” ducer Martha De Laurentiis (“Hannibal”), Spanish- become so accustomed to the one-man crew he’d long since for- tigious Golden Bear top prize for “The Thin Red Line” in The only documentary in the race, “The Pearl Button” German actor Daniel Bruehl (“Rush”) and previous gotten he was there. 1999 and the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2011 for “The Tree by Patricio Guzman, traces an arc from the story of Golden Bear winner Claudia Llosa, the Peruvian director Compelling as both nonfiction narrative and character cap- of Life”, would attend the red-carpet premiere. Chile’s indigenous people to the more recent bloody of “The Milk of Sorrow”. Last year, Chinese director Diao ture, the pic has a laserlike focus strengthened by the lack of Seydoux, the latest Bond girl in the British spy fran- history under Augusto Pinochet. Yinan’s gritty cop thriller “Black Coal, Thin Ice” took soundtracked music or other packaging filigree. — Reuters chise, returns to Berlin with French director Benoit Germany’s Wim Wenders, who will accept an home the Golden Bear. — AFP