October 16-31, 2015 Volume 4, Issue 10 `100

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BALIKA VADHU ALL GROWN UP As it crosses the 2000-episode milestone, establishes itself firmly as the torch bearer of social dramas on TV. What is the secret of its longevity?

30 10 32 PLUS

ZINDAGI Thinking Festive 14 OBITUARY J Mani 26 DISCOVERY KIDS-WWF 31 INTERVIEW ONLINE HOTEL CHAINS INTERVIEW Wild Wisdom Shashi Sinha Make Room Dinesh Gulati SONY ESPN ABC’s chairman on digital Leveraging technology the IndiaMart’s director believes 31 audience measurement. budget hotel segment way. in multimedia brand building. Sports Freaks

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This fortnight... Volume 4, Issue 10 EDITOR wo years back, when Sony’s investigative drama CID completed 1,000 Sreekant Khandekar Tepisodes, we interviewed Shivaji Satam, the actor who plays ACP Pradyuman, PUBLISHER October 16-31, 2015 Volume 4, Issue 10 100 Prasanna Singh ` star of the show. DEPUTY EDITOR Recently, Colors’ flagship fiction show Balika Vadhu hit the 2,000-episode Ashwini Gangal milestone. In fact, the daily has completed 2,025 episodes over a span of seven years. SENIOR LAYOUT ARTIST That, we felt, warranted a Cover Story. Vinay Dominic PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE 22 One of the most important ingredients of success is timing. When Rajshri Andrias Kisku Productions released Hum Aapke Hain Koun in 1994, the film became an instant ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES BALIKA VADHU blockbuster; the saccharine-drenched story of a large, happy family, offered a welcome Shubham Garg ALL GROWN UP 81301 66777 (M); 0120-4077819 (O) As it crosses the 2000-episode milestone, Balika Vadhu establishes itself firmly as the torch bearer of social dramas respite from the hero-versus-villain routine, a reigning cliché at the time. on TV. What is the secret of its longevity? Apoorv Kulshrestha 9873824700 (M); 0120-4077833 (O) 30 10 32 PLUS Similarly, when Colors launched Balika Vadhu in 2008, the saas-bahu theme ZINDAGI Noida Thinking Festive 14 OBITUARY J Mani 26 was at a mind-numbing high. The show broke the monotony on Indian television and Pradeep Hegde DISCOVERY KIDS-WWF INDIA Wild Wisdom 31 INTERVIEW ONLINE HOTEL CHAINS INTERVIEW (022) 40429702-5 Shashi Sinha Make Room Dinesh Gulati SONY ESPN gave the audience something different to watch – and discuss. Suddenly, everyone had ABC’s chairman on digital Leveraging technology the IndiaMart’s director believes Sports Freaks 31 audience measurement. budget hotel segment way. in multimedia brand building. an opinion on ’s Anandi. So loved was this character, that the show lost viewership each time the track moved away from her. [email protected] MARKETING OFFICE During the course of researching this story, we were treated to several fascinating anecdotes. For instance, did B-3, First Floor, Sector-4, Noida-201301. you know that the genesis of Balika Vadhu can be traced back to the writer’s childhood? Purnendu Shekhar, Tel: (0120) 4077800. who grew up in , saw a 16-year-old girl feeding her child, one day. It was this disturbing visual that MUMBAI sparked the idea that, years down the line, led to the show. 501-502, Makani Center, 5th Floor, Off Linking Road, Bandra (W), Here’s another behind-the-scenes snippet – Over seven years, the on-set crew of Balika Vadhu has stayed Mumbai - 400050 Tel: +91-22-40429 709 - 712 the same, including the spot boy. Sample this trivia too – During its early years, the show, counter-intuitively SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES enough, caught the attention of many a male viewer. They felt it was a lot more ‘inclusive’ than the K-serials. Akhilesh Singh (0120) 4077837 At present, the protagonist’s daughter Nimboli is, in turn, a victim of child marriage. While discussing the [email protected] future of this track and the show’s inevitable end, Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors, said, “Whenever we decide to Owned by Banyan Netfaqs Pvt Ltd and pull the curtains on the show, it will be the end of an era on Indian television.” Printed and published by Prasanna Singh, at 7-A/13, Ch. Ratan Singh Complex, Touché. Jawala Heri Market, Paschim Vihar, New -110 063.

Printed at Cirrus Graphics Private Limited B-61, Sector 67, Ashwini Gangal Noida (U.P.), 201301 [email protected] Cover Photograph Colors CONTENTS 24 8

LUFTHANSA Indian at Heart This , Lufthansa’s digital campaign hopes to connect with one million Indians worldwide

MARTIN SORRELL 6 14 26 The India I Love Why the WPP supremo is bullish on India.

POINTS OF VIEW 16 Hybrid Drinks SHAZÉ FERRERO ROCHER NICKELODEON Even as Coke introduces Against Labels Golden Lining The Next Milestone Fuze Tea, is the Indian palate Join the Labellion, says the The chocolate brand has a Nick’s third made-in-India ready for fusion drinks? lifestyle brand. new logo and packaging. animated series is ready.

afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015 5 $'9(57,6,1* SHAZÉ Against Labels opposed to select brands. Zaveri informs that the brand sources its collection mainly from Europe. “Consumers buy from all over the world as they believe in uniqueness. In order to fulfil this need for unique products, we source exclusive products depending upon the specialty and the USP of the area,” he says. Apparently, it is this belief in its products that inspired the brand to talk ‘against labels’. According to Zaveri, the model has been successful and even though Shazé does not operate in the luxury space, consumers perceive it as a luxury brand. “We create products that appeal to the major segment of the market. Today, brands are about self-expression. They are not built solely by fulfilling consumer’s need, but also by creating one. We have a positioning that appeals to consumers from around the country, such as the conscious North Indian or the aspirational West Indian,” he states. In its new campaign, titled ‘Join the Labellion’, lifestyle brand Shazé BOLD TALK? makes a bold statement by challenging political and social ethos. opa Kumar, vice president, Isobar India, By Ashee Sharma and Saumya Tewari Gfinds the execution of the campaign hey are against boys in pink, against men who love men, against privacy, freedom Tand animal lovers, and we are against people who label,” says a voice-over in a bold and unapologetic video by lifestyle brand Shazé. Conceived by Grey Group India, the campaign - titled ‘Join the Labellion’ - comes in the wake of the recent bans on porn sites, the rage against open letters and similar events, thus making it more of a rhetoric than a promotional video. Shazé - in its second year of existence - intends to make a bold statement with this video, with fashion and ourselves and stand our ground. It is a motive that “unconventional and bold” and that, he says, will lifestyle in the backdrop. is finding increasing relevance today,” he states. help in getting the brand noticed. Kumar is also On the need for such positioning, Dheeraj The campaign has been slightly tweaked for the impressed with the timing of the ad, but the one Sinha, chief strategy officer, Grey Group - South print and outdoor mediums, where the creatives thing that is missing, according to him, is the call and South East Asia, says, “The mood of our times have been designed based on the insight that to action. “The ad does evoke curiosity, but the last is such that brands need to have a point of view ‘when people label someone, they unknowingly mile is missing. What is Shazé and why are they on what’s going on in the society. This allows us label themselves’. For instance, the ad featuring taking this stand remains unanswered,” he rues. to place a fashion/luxury brand such as Shazè into celebrity hairstylist Sapna Bhavnani reads: ‘If On using the oft-repeated rebellion theme, something deeper and meaningful. The line-up of I’m manly, you’re sexist’. Others stand out with he opines that while it has been exploited by a Shazè adds to this uniqueness.” similarly irreverent statements like - ‘If I’m dark, number of brands, what matters is the execution. Clearly, the brand is leaving no stone unturned you’re racist’ and ‘If I’m a slut, you are a prude’. Rajiv Dhingra, founder and CEO, WAT to achieve this transformation. The stark visuals Shazé claims to be a premium lifestyle and Consult, believes that because the ad touches used in the video, released on the digital platform, gifting brand with stores across India. It serves as a upon the social undercurrent of bans, biases and are aimed at Shazé’s core TG which includes platform that curates creative works in the fashion cultural stereotypes that exist in the country, it will people above 25 years of age who “have a strong and lifestyle segment from all across the world, as attract viewers’ attention. However, he agrees with sense of individuality, are experimental and seek Kumar about the lack of necessary information quality.” about the brand that will make someone want to While advertising is often considered a window buy it. to the society and culture of a country, India, “I think it’s a great piece of content and it could with all its complexities, has responded to it in have been for any brand. I could easily see Cafe random and impulsive ways. Whether or not an Cuba fit into this or even a new-age clothing brand ad achieves the socio-cultural aim it sets out to, like Wrogn. It does not do anything for Shazé the ‘rebel’ formula certainly guarantees a brand its specifically,” he points out. ‘two minutes of fame’ (or notoriety). Recommending a more positive approach for Samrat Zaveri, managing director, Shazé, notes the brand, Dhingra proposes a ‘Silver Lining’ rather that while being a rebel itself may be a ‘label’, the than ‘labellion’ as the line of communication. “No brand communication goes beyond it. “Through matter what situation you are in, there is always a this campaign we want to bring to light the silver lining,” he says, explaining his idea. „ futility of labels - the growing need to stay true to Zaveri and Sinha: Plain speak [email protected]

6 afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015

',*,7$/ ONLINE HOTEL CHAINS Make Room A look at how players like Oyo, ZO Rooms and others are leveraging technology to standardise the online hotel booking category and lure the rising number of budget travellers. By Saumya Tewari

he new crop of online, branded budget hotel chains like Oyo and ZO Rooms Tare relentlessly working to standardise GENERALISTS VS SPECIALISTS the budget hotel segment. Backed by marquee “Our customers TAs such as MakeMyTrip, Stayzilla and investors like SoftBank (Oyo Rooms) and Tiger are our evangelists. OYatra list budget hotels on their platforms, Global (ZO Rooms), these players not just manage but do not manage the end-to-end operations the end-to-end operations, but also train and Having said that, for these properties. This is where the new-age, provide technological solutions to their hospitality we keep evaluating branded hotel networks come into picture. partners. media.” “Unlike a marketplace approach where the hotel These chains operate on an asset-light business once listed remains as is, we work with our hotel DHARAMVEER model, wherein the chain franchises the hotel or partners. We contribute marketing, technology, a portion of it. The owner continues to run the CHOUHAN analysis of data and ensure that the hospitality hotel. Their revenue model is similar to that of an service is of top-notch standard,” Chouhan asserts. Online Travel Agent (OTA) and they tend to take In terms of consumer convenience, an OTA in 25-30 per cent of the room revenues. tends to score over these players as it often Dharamveer Chouhan, CEO and co-founder, “I realised that provides travellers with customised packages and Hospitality, which owns ZO Rooms, says discoverability discounts on tickets and hotel combos. that they have a thorough checklist before they take hotels on board. “We have an Audit app of hotels was not ADVERTISING which has a 200-point checklist on which each a problem, but yo leads the pack in terms of advertising hotel is tested. Once the hotel goes through the Ospends in the segment. The company audit and the report is generated, we evaluate on predictability and recently rolled out its first advertising campaign, which points the hotel needs to work. Our back- trust were.” with spends to the tune of `50 crore. end team helps the hotel owner with the costing of RITESH AGARWAL Meanwhile, ZO Rooms advertises heavily on how much they have to invest in the property to out-of-home platforms, digital as well as social become a ZO Rooms partner,” he explains. media. It plans to launch a TV campaign soon. Talking about the lack of standardisation in the room, as toiletries and stationery are kept in a bag “You can give discounts, show TV and print budget hotel segment, Ritesh Agarwal, founder (Oyo bag) and given to the guest at check-in. ads, but nothing beats word of mouth. Our and CEO of Oyo Rooms, recalls that his venture “With our app, hotels can see live inventory, fix customers are our evangelists, having said that, we started as an online booking service. “I realised that consumer complaints, while consumers are able keep evaluating media,” Chouhan adds. discoverability of hotels was not a problem, but to order an extra towel or a cup of tea,” Chouhan predictability and trust were. I decided to take a informs. HERE TO STAY... single hotel in Gurgaon, standardise it and manage ith an evolving ecosystem, the branded it end-to-end. Interestingly, this hotel had 95 per THE OCCUPANTS Wbudget hotel networks will continue to cent occupancy with massive repeat rates in six and part from budget travellers, these budget hotel improve their services to lure travellers. In a bid to a half months,” he states. Anetworks target corporate travellers, both further expand its base, Oyo has launched rooms Both Oyo and ZO offer hotels starting at `999; within and outside the city. “A lot of employees catering to only women, called Oyo We. ZO however, the price can also hover between `1500- who work late avoid taking a long distance cab and Rooms has launched a traveller hostel chain, called 1700. Oyo also has a premium offering priced prefer staying at a ZO,” Chouhan says. Zostel, a concept quite popular in the West. upwards of `2000. The network claims to receive 74 per cent of Meanwhile, big players like Ibibo, which is an Agarwal claims that 60 per cent of his business, its bookings 48 hours prior and 50 per cent of its online hotel aggregator, recently launched GoStays today, comes from the budget segment and 40 per bookings come from the mobile app. on its mobile app as well as desktop. “As budgets cent from mid-market (premium). A chunk of Oyo and ZO’s bookings is driven properties are gaining prominence, hoteliers in the by travellers in the metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai category are enthusiastic about enhancing their TECH-SAVVY and Bengaluru. services and the ones listed with us on goibibo garwal says that, globally, hospitality industry are sure to keep a check on their metric services Ahas never leveraged technology and this for better customer service,” says Ashish Kashyap, leads to mismanagement and inferior consumer Operating on an asset- group CEO, Ibibo Group. experience. Stayzilla, apart from hotels, provides travellers One can book, check in and check out from light business model, these the option of home stays, much like the popular an Oyo Room and also order food through the chains franchise the hotel concept of Airbnb. Yatra plans to launch Travelguru mobile app. In an Oyo Room, Agarwal claims, Rooms. „ housekeeping takes only 12 minutes to clean the or a portion of it [email protected]

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      35(6(176 &$03$,*175$,/ New campaigns across television, print, out-of-home and digital media. TELEVISION

ASKME FORD FEVIKWIK A part of ‘Baap of all trends’ campaign, the TVC features The latest ad from Ford promoting the ‘EcoSport’ variant The new Fevikwik ‘Broken Heart’ film is a jingle based Ranbir Kapoor who encapsulates the endeavors of Askme tells consumer to ‘Go further’ explaining a host of new ad, which follows the events of a simple man, who is a making online experience an exciting experience for its features that come with the new model. hopeless romantic. The film shows how the product can fix consumers. The TVC also establishes and strengthens everything except a broken heart. Askme as a ‘new age consumer internet brand’ that provides convenience and consumer delight.

Creative Agency: J Walter Thompson Creative Agency: Blue Hive India Creative Agency: O&M PRINT VIVO SNAPDEAL ‘The new era of sound The online shopping is here’ declares platform, has brought Vivo’s recent print out a clever, full page ad as it highlights ad jacket in TOI and the sound quality and HT attacking its rivals other features in the - Amazon and Flipkart. X5Pro model of the The campaign promotes smartphone. ‘Diwali sale’ scheduled between October 13th-17th.

HAZOORILAL Hazoorilal has brought out a print advert tilted ‘A legacy of love’ where three women across age bracket can be seen wearing the brand’s jewelery. The ad aims to promote its stores located in Delhi/NCR.

reative Agency: Rediffusion-Y&R Creative Agency: FCB-Ulka CC OOH/BTL DIGITAL

TELENOR L’OREAL WOOHOO Telenor (earlier Uninor) took to outdoor advertising to L’Oréal has launched its new product, White Perfect Woohoo, a gifting app has launched ‘Aaj Kisko Happy promote its new identity. The campaign is being promoted Magic White day cream, for which a 15-day long outdoor Karein’ a campaign that highlights various scenarios for via transit media including bus stands, railway stations. campaign across Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, , gifting, implying that one does not need an occasion to Apart from that, billboards are also being installed in Chennai and Hyderabad, has been executed via front-lit gift, but only needs to create an opportunity. , Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad among other billboards on pillars and bus shelters. cities.

C Creative Agency: People Design and Communications reative Agency: Publicis Creative Agency: McCann Erickson CC C (India)

Got some great campaign that has been published recently? Upload it on afaqs! for the world to see. Visit: www.afaqs.com/advertising/creative_showcase

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      0$5.(7,1* FERRERO ROCHER ZINDAGI Golden Lining Thinking The chocolate brand has a new logo, brand descriptor and Festive packaging. By News Bureau The channel will air six errero India, part of the Ferrero Group, has telefilms, every Sunday, from launched a new brand identity, descriptor October 18. By News Bureau Fand packaging for its premium chocolate brand Ferrero Rocher. In an official statement, the company states that the visual identity, including logo design and packaging, aims to give a more up-to-date and appealing image to the brand. The new brand descriptor ‘the golden experience’ is aimed at communicating the unique taste experience that the brand provides to its consumers. The new packaging has a QR code that allows consumers to learn more about the quality ingredients and the care that goes in making every Ferrero Rocher praline. Speaking about the new identity, Emanuele Fiordalisi, vice president, marketing, Ferrero India, says, “Over the years, Ferrero Rocher has been an integral part of consumers’ special occasions. The new look is an expression to enhance consumer experience and add a sparkling touch to their special moments.” indagi, Zee Entertainment Enterprises’ Ferrero Rocher, created in 1982, is sold in ‘premium’ entertainment more than 130 countries across five continents. Zchannel, is kick-starting the festive Ferrero is an Italian manufacturer of season with ‘Teletime’. Starting October 18, chocolate and other confectionery products. this property will showcase six telefilms every With an annual turnover of over $11 billion, Sunday, till November 22, at noon, with a the company is the third largest manufacturer repeat at 9 pm. of chocolate and confectionery products in the All films have been sourced from Pakistan. world. The first telefilm is ‘Saaya’, a family drama featuring a wife trying to separate her husband from his father. The next film, to be aired on October 25, will mark the return of veteran Ferrero India has its corporate office in actress Samina Peerzada on the small screen Pune and is present across all the metros and with ‘Zindagi Ab Bhi Muskurati Hai’. mini-metros. Its other well-known brands in November 1 will see ‘Behadd’ airing for the India include Kinder Joy, Kinder Schoko-Bons second time on Zindagi. This one stars popular Crispy, Nutella and Tic Tac. actor Fawad Khan. On November 8 will be The company started its commercial aired ‘Khamosh Mohabbat’. operations in 2004 and has made India its The last two Sundays of ‘Teletime’ will have production hub for Asia and Middle East, and ‘Yeh Chand Na Sharma Jaye’ airing on November exports half its local production. „ 15 - and ‘Ishq Wala Love’ on November 22. „ [email protected] [email protected]

FRQWLQXHGIURPSDJH With the coming up of the new age while Lufthansa’s approach has Appreciating the aesthetics of the << traveller, for whom travel is all about been good so far with regard to video, Ajeet Shukla, senior creative discovery, the crests and troughs Facebook and YouTube promotions director - FCB Ulka says, “Emotion Indian at Heart... have vanished,” Sharma points out. and the campaign timing, the brand as an insight always works with To appeal to this new TG, the conversations are missing. Indians. While the idea of being along with it,” she adds. ‘Diwali Surprise’ campaign, and “It was surprising to see that with your family on festivals is not Although, the corporate and Lufthansa’s promotions in general, Lufthansa India doesn’t have a new, this commercial with its unique leisure segments form the core of include a lot of influencer-driven presence on twitter and is hence voice over and good music has the Lufthansa’s India business, the brand activities; one of the influencers missing out on engaging with the potential to stand out.” has constantly strived to reach to being popular travel writer/blogger participants directly,” he states. Shukla also points out that because out to new customers and hopes to Shivya Nath. According to Khan, the first- today most people book their tickets achieve the same with this campaign. mover advantage will help Lufthansa online, a digital campaign is the right “Until five years back, there used ALL ABOARD? in breaking through the Diwali way for an airline brand to engage its to be different seasons such as peak rif Khan, planning director - clutter, but the challenge will be to customers. „ and shoulder in the travel industry. Adigital, Cheil India notes that sustain interest for over a month. ashee.sharma @afaqs.com

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      32,1762)9,(: Is the Indian Palate Ready for Hybrid Drinks? Coca-Cola has just launched Fuze Tea, a fusion drink in the latest line of hybrid drinks to hit the Indian market. Can these beverages replace the good ol’ cuppa? By Ashee Sharma 5$$*+$99(50$ $6+,6+&+$1$1$ -$*'((3.$3225 6$85$%+8%2:(-$ Co-founder COO Brand Guru and CMD CEO and Chief Brand Strategist Chaayos Cafe Costa Coffee India Samsika Marketing Consultants Brands of Desire FOTOCORP THE INDIAN PALATE THE MARKET FOR YES, THERE IS A THE READY-TO-DRINK TODAY IS DEFINITELY PACKAGED DRINKS SIGNIFICANT MARKET BEVERAGE MARKET MORE OPEN TO IN DIFFERENT FOR HYBRID DRINKS - SPECIFICALLY THE EXPERIMENTATION THAN INDIAN MARKETS IS IN INDIA. IT EXISTS BOTTLED TEA MARKET EVER BEFORE AND IT IS GROWING BEYOND BEYOND THE 54 METROS IS ONE OF THE FOR THEM THAT SO MAY METROS, AS THERE IS IN OVER 481 CLASS ONE FASTEST GROWING INTERNATIONAL AND A NEED THAT IS TOWNS. CATEGORIES also regional cuisines are emerging from the earning class Brands can expect a good globally in the non-alcoholic being reinvented. This is true in the smaller towns as well, response because the Indian beverages market. India is just from a restaurant point of although Grab-and-Go is still at a consumer has evolved and starting up though. view and also for the packaged nascent stage. likes fusion brands in food Fuze will see a limited launch drinks category because we are Consumerism is the mantra and beverage, taste and in India initially and the Indian talking about the same set of today. Every restaurant or coffee clothes. The consumers consumer might just give it consumers. shop is now offering an alterna- may look at it as a viable thumb’s up given that Indians are The success of the brand tive to fizzy drinks. That said, alternative, not over and above traditionally tea drinkers and may will however depend on the fizzy drinks clearly hold the fort in fizzy drinks or tea and coffee lap up the modern drink, which kind of product. It has to the cold drinks category and tea though. is of assured quality and has a connect with the consumer and coffee is an integral part of All these initiatives will larger shelf life compared to hot a concept level. You cannot our daily routine. help organise the industry like tea or iced tea prepared real take a product that worked The consumption of such refrigeration did. time in cafes’, which it aims to in some other country, use it drinks will mostly be occasion- replace as a choice. as it is and expect the Indian based as people have moved Interestingly, Fuze will also consumer to become a fan of from the regular ‘sweet lime compete with its own portfolio it. The offering must always soda’. Although hybrid drinks like of fizzy drinks but as long as the be something that they funda- Lemon and Peach Iced Teas are money goes in the same kitty mentally understand. strong favourites with consum- it’s good for Coca Cola, which ers, other fruit flavours available is trying hard to transform its in more developed markets glob- image for health conscious ally have not been explored yet. consumers globally.

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BALIKA VADHU $//*52:183 $VLWFURVVHVWKHHSLVRGHPLOHVWRQH%DOLND9DGKXHVWDEOLVKHVLWVHOIÀUPO\DVWKHWRUFKEHDUHURI VRFLDOGUDPDVRQ79:KDWLVWKHVHFUHWRILWVORQJHYLW\"By Shweta Mulki

olors’ flagship daily fiction the launch on July 21, 2008 got a were handpicked by Ashvini Yardi, in rural and urban areas alike. As the show Balika Vadhu has TVR of 0.7, and towards the end of the then programming head of audiences evolve, the issues that the taken social dramas on the launch week, it had managed to Colors. show has brought to the forefront television to dizzying get enough sampling to hit a TVR of The current management recalls have also evolved, maintaining a Cheights. The show, primarily centred 1.3. In September 2008, its TVR shot that its predecessors (including then continuous audience connect.” around child marriage, planted itself up from 2.9 to 6.8. Three months CEO Rajesh Kamat) had actually Manisha Sharma, programming firmly in the ‘phenomenal success’ after its launch, Balika Vadhu hit greenlighted the show based on a head, Colors, says, “We wanted club with 2025 episodes in seven the No.1 spot with a TVR of 6.8, picture of a father taking ‘pheras’ viewers to be able to visualise years. afaqs! Reporter analyses the pipping the then blockbuster, Bidayi with his toddler daughter in his arms. their own friends and family all-conquering serial. on STAR Plus. Balika Vadhu’s GRP members through the reactions contribution was at an average of 14 A CUT APART that the characters portrayed in ONE-MEMBER CLUB per cent in the latter half of 2008 and aj Nayak, CEO of Colors, talks circumstances and stand by them as es, there are other shows that it has continued to be in the top 5 or Rabout the channel’s disruptive the show progressed. Anandi’s (the Ywill possibly join the 2000-club top 10. mantra coming into play right from child bride) character was our biggest soon. Among the long-running The genesis of ‘Balika Vadhu’ the start. Says he, “We did not want sketching board since she was the shows on Hindi GECs, ‘Yeh Rishta protagonist of the show.” Kya Kehlata Hai’ has 1,864 episodes, Experts feel that when ‘Balika while SAB TV’s ‘Tarak Mehta Ka Viewers saw Balika Vadhu as a sharply Vadhu’ was launched, viewers Ooltah Chashmah’ is at 1,886 episodes. differentiated show vis-a-vis joint family soaps and consumers saw it as a sharply Another enduring fiction show is differentiated show vis-a-vis family Sony Entertainment Television’s that dominated the GEC landscape in 2008. soaps such as Kyunkii Saas bhi Kabhi investigative drama ‘CID’, which has Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki or been running for 18 years but airs can be traced to the show’s writer to follow the bandwagon of the saas- Kasautii Zindagi Kay that dominated thrice a week and is at 1,289 (at the Purnendu Shekhar’s experience bahu dramas. A show like Balika the GEC landscape that time. time of going into print). But ‘Balika while growing up in Rajasthan. The Vadhu comes once in a lifetime. It Says Shailesh Kapoor, founder Vadhu’ is milestones ahead. sight of a ’16-year-old girl feeding communicated a pertinent message and CEO of Ormax Media, a Almost from the start of Colors’ her child’ during his college years to society without being preachy, ‘consumer knowledge’ firm,“Within journey it became that one big show triggered a wave of thoughts leading which we feel is its biggest strength.” 3-4 months of its launch, Anandi’s that would steer the success of the to the concept. Years later, he and In a twitter-defined era, seven character had become the pivot on channel. On the scheduling front too producer Sunjoy Wadhwa, founder years defines one social generation. which the show built a fan following. this one was different, airing on the of SphereOrigins, a film production How has the show tackled changing The young Anandi was seen as hitherto untried 8 pm slot, at a time company, presented it to the then audience tastes? Nayak replies, “The innocent yet resilient, mischievous when most marquee shows came on Colors team. Both Shekhar and show has also shed light on stigmas yet samajhdaar, and she gained so between 9 and 11 pm. Wadhwa had some successful shows like adult education, divorce, marital much affection that she became a As per TAM Media Research data, under their belt on other GECs and rape and remarriage, faced by people member of every viewer’s family.”

22 afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015 &29(56725<

CASTING COUP ‘rich rural family, where there was jackpot with Balika Vadhu. Vikas to send an uncle into the city who alika Vadhu revolved around opulence but not in the urban way.’ Khanchandani, director, Aidem would come back to tell someone Bthe eight-year-old Anandi, a But what made it last so long? Ventures, a media consultancy firm, who was pregnant in the family character played by Avika Gor, whom Explains Kapoor, “GEC fiction says, “Balika Vadhu has mass appeal about the policy.” the audience absolutely loved. Says has longevity if the characters have and it has been in the top 10 since its Wadhwa, “We were doing a show longevity. Also, as a housewife launch in 2008. The delivery has been CROWD FAVOURITE called ‘Rajkumar Aryan’, where Avika mentioned in a research a couple very high within CS F 25+ and also he initial advertisers were had done a few episodes. We spotted of years ago, Balika Vadhu is ‘like in CS 4+. The TVTs have shown Tfrom diverse categories with the spark in her. She was a bright a novel’. It can keep going on and a healthy trend across years (TAM a predictably FMCG focus. Those kid and good actor, and we wanted you still want to follow the story, data: TG CS 4+ & Market HSM, included ITC, Nestlè, Dabur, to take someone mature enough to because you are deeply engaged with 41.47 lakh TVTs in 2008 & 41.28 Nirma and brands like Idea, Airtel understand the character she was its characters and premises.” lakh TVTs in 2015). The stability and Nokia. Over the years, newer playing. It’s difficult to make a child in performance coupled with large categories like e-commerce such as understand what child marriage is MUST-HAVE FACTOR reach makes the show a must-have Snapdeal and Amazon have been and explain the gravity of certain espite not spending much on on media plans.” big advertisers too, but FMCGs still situations, but Avika sailed through Dpromotions, Colors hit the Ormax’s Kapoor says, “Over time, remain the top advertiser category. with her emoting, performance and body language.” The other popular character was THE SHOW HAS CHARACTERS the tough but endearing Dadisa, played by veteran actress Surekha Sikhri. Wadhwa adds that, “she was a real character, a strict yet loving grandmother, and also the head of the house. For us there is no black and white character, we prefer to be in the dark grey to light grey range. The main protagonist will, of course, be white because a child can be portrayed as pure.” Wadhwa says that the crew is exactly the same, including the spot boy from seven years ago. There were a lot of outdoor shoots in and Jaisalmer, and apart from the rural setting and the dialect, it also had unique production From left: Avika Gor & Toral Rasputra as ‘Anandi’ then and now; Surekha Sikhri as ‘Dadisa’: Stealing hearts design aesthetics, which called for a

the show has been liked more by Rajiv Dubey, head - Adbur women in the 25-44 age group than (Dabur’s in-house media buying in the 15-44. In its early period agency) says, “Initially, the name of (2008 -11), males were also actively the show sounded a bit regressive engaged with the show because they but the storyline was very progressive felt it was a lot more family-inclusive and the issues it has addressed has than the ‘K-serials’.” made us stick to it since 2008.” The Being a new channel, was it biggest thing going for Balika Vadhu difficult to sell the first show? Simran was that the story remained relevant If we believe in a A serial can’t overturn Hoon, sales head, Colors, says, “It for all these years. For Dubey, whose concept, it has the social evils, but we can was extremely challenging because core TG is 15-44 years SEC C, potential to change the seed a thought process everybody thought we were another the show delivered the audience he television landscape.” on right and wrong.” flash in the pan, but we believed in wanted. what we were doing. We valued the Chandrasekar Radhakrishnan, RAJ NAYAK PURNENDU SHEKHAR show and never compromised on head of communications - South CEO, COLORS WRITER, BALIKA VADHU that - whether it was going in with 50 Asia region, Nestlè India, says, “Our per cent inventory fill levels. Till we assessment was that Balika Vadhu got our desired rates, we were fine had the content, and style to engage with the channel just running some viewers on a sustained basis, and key advertiser campaigns.” What we are happy that we went along were the things they got right then? with our assessment.” After a six-year She adds, “One thing we focused ‘time leap’ in 2010 and a 11-year leap on doing right has been pricing. in March this year, the show now Ratings do matter, but how we get a has the grown-up Anandi’s daughter premium on that rating is something ‘Nimboli’ caught in a child marriage. that we have been working on. So, how much steam does the story The other big cornerstone of our have going further? GEC fiction has The stability in strategy is that we’ve gone beyond “In 2014,” recalls writer Shekhar, longevity if the performance and large the 30-second spot.” The show had “I felt that the story had ended, but characters have reach makes it a must- also explored embedded content for when we brought in the next time longevity.” have on media plans.” Max New York Life Insurance. Says leap with ‘Nimboli’ I had ample Hoon, “Now, the challenge was that stories to narrate - a triangle between SHAILESH KAPOOR VIKAS KHANCHANDANI Balika Vadhu has a rural setting. FOUNDER AND CEO, ORMAX MEDIA DIRECTOR, AIDEM VENTURES We had to wait for the scriptwriters FRQWLQXHGRQSDJH>>

afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015 23 ',*,7$/ SIR MARTIN SORRELL << FRQWLQXHGIURPSDJH All Grown Up... two mothers and a daughter is the fresh India Aspirations track. Anandi has evolved with time, and is a crusader against child marriage. I couldn’t WPP supremo Sir Martin Sorrell on why he is bullish on India and just bring in another child marriage, as that would be Anandi’s defeat, so we had her more. By Ashwini Gangal infant daughter kidnapped at three months, and then getting married young, enabling us to stay true to the concept of the show.” Wasn’t there the danger that the show would reiterate regressive behaviour instead of fighting it. Not really, say the creators. During the 1000-episode celebrations of Balika Vadhu, the makers highlighted the story of Lakshmi, who was from a small village in Rajasthan, and was married as a child. When she came of age, her in-laws showed up to stake their claim on her, but she stood against this. She eventually got her marriage annulled to gain her freedom. Says Shekhar, “A serial by itself can’t overturn social evils, but I believe we can seed a thought process on what WPP announced the formation of Geometry Global Encompass Network (GGEN), an experiential is right and wrong.” marketing network. In the photo - Martin Sorrell and Ranjan Kapur (extreme right) CROSS COUNTRY MAGIC? ith 50 per cent or more of its audience t an event held in South Mumbai on companies Encompass (Indian) and Geometry Wwithin rural markets and with BARC October 7, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell Global. With 400 plus employees across Mumbai deploying 30 per cent of its barometers Agave a quick round-up of the media and Delhi, the entity will offer services such as to capture the additional viewership data, scenario in this part of the globe. “India is the last shopper marketing, rural marketing, large-scale there could be a boost to monetisation. The BRIC standing,” he punned, saying the country is events/exhibitions, urban consumer marketing, expectations are that ‘Balika Vadhu’ will have followed by China, Brazil and Russia, in that order, digital activation and field marketing. a good following among the rural audiences. when it comes to growth in the media sector. The management and advisory board will Says Khanchandani, “The show’s current “We’ll grow by 10 per cent in India, this year,” comprise senior executives from JWT, Ogilvy, telecast time at 8 pm will be beneficial keeping he said in the context of WPP, “It’s a strong Encompass and Geometry Global; the business in mind the early primetime for rural viewing, picture.” The global figure is five per cent. will be aligned with JWT South Asia. thereby delivering good reach. The show’s In this market, his network’s growth is expected Second, WPP is working towards consolidating to be largely organic. Focus areas are technology, the CSR activities of all its member companies in data and content. Growth drivers include India under a single umbrella, namely, ‘WPP India New advertisers like e-commerce, shopper marketing and ‘proximity Corporate Social Responsibility Foundation’. Snapdeal and Amazon retailing’. Interestingly, he called India an “under- Third, WPP announced the foray of its data firm branded and under-advertised market.” Data Alliance into India. This is the first market in have been big spenders, Is he bullish in this market? “I remain an the Asia-Pacific region the network has expanded unabashed bull when it comes to (being bullish in) this offering to. The objective is to enhance data- but FMCG remain the top India,” he said in good humour, adding, “It would driven solutions and activate e-commerce, mobile be arrogant to believe the British or Americans and social data strategies in India. advertiser category. can produce better ad-media agencies than India Lastly, WPP and the Indian School of Design could, over the next 20-25 years.” and Innovation (ISDI) announced the launch of impact on audiences in rural markets where In fact, to illustrate his point, he went as far as to the Mumbai campus of the ISDI WPP School of C&S penetration has been poor will see a say, “It has become unfashionable to talk about the Communication. The inaugural batch comprises strong delivery of repeat telecast on Colors’ Brits, today!” He’s bullish when it comes to China 60 students. This partnership marks WPP’s foray FTA channel Rishtey too.” Not everyone is too, by the way, despite the current economic into the Indian education sector. so sure though. turmoil there. About this, Sorrell said, “At Vanita Keswani, COO, Madison Media The trend for BRIC is an upward our recent meeting with Prime Sigma says, “Going by past TAM data and one. Of that, Sorrell is very sure. Minister Modi in New York, recent BARC data, Balika Vadhu’s viewership “The West has neighbourhood organised by Rupert and James is not far higher in 0.1-1 million towns and envy,” he said, insisting that, in Murdoch, he suggested the media low class towns vis-a-vis the 1 million+ general, there’s a shift in power industry develop universities to towns. Assuming rural viewership to follow to “the East.” Moreover, 2016, he train and develop the considerable smaller town viewership trends, one does not promised, will be a better year for young talent India has. This expect Balika Vadhu to be hugely popular the advertising industry; GroupM initiative represents WPP’s initial in rural markets, but we can only wait and forecasts a four to five per cent response.” watch.” increase in ad spend. Added Ranjan Kapur, country Nayak says that the show has taught them Sorrell and his team made “I remain an manager, WPP India, “A small one big lesson: “If we believe in a concept several announcements at the unabashed bull but important step has been taken regardless of how different it might be, it event. First up, the formation of when it comes to to fill the resource gap in our has the potential to change the television experiential marketing network industry. It is a demonstration landscape. Whenever we do decide to pull Geometry Global | Encompass India.” of the collaboration between curtains on the show, we believe that it will Network (GGEN), a collaboration SIR MARTIN SORRELL ‘academia’ and ‘industry’.” „ be the end of an era on Indian television.” „ between experiential marketing [email protected] [email protected]

24 afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015

0(',$ NICK HD+ The Next Milestone ‘Shiva’, Nickelodeon’s third made-in-India animated series, falls in the high octane action-comedy genre. By Shweta Mulki

iacom 18’s kids cluster, Nickelodeon India, has new launches up its sleeve. VThis includes a new local series, a HD channel and the shift of its hit series ‘Oggy and the Viacom18’s EVP and business head, kids Cockroaches’ from Nick to sister channel Sonic. cluster, Nina Elavia Jaipuria, says, “The launch of ‘Shiva’, Nickelodeon’s third made-in-India Nick HD+ and ‘Shiva’ are significant milestones animated series, falls in the high octane action- in the category.” comedy genre. It is the story of a brave nine-year-old On ‘Shiva,’ she adds, “We have complete IP boy. Created by Maya Digital Studios, Mumbai, rights including the syndication rights of the show, the show is set to launch during Diwali. which helps create better revenue, and is also good Nickelodeon will also launch the first ever HD for free-rein audience engagements. With ‘Shiva’ channel in India for kids - Nick HD+. It will have we will be doing full-fledged 22-minute episodes, a mix of popular local and international shows, as the series needs the length to establish the story, and the team says it will soon be available on most the conflict and then the resolution.” The show is cable and DTH platforms. scheduled for an evening prime slot. Nickelodeon is currently the market leader When asked if the series has garnered any in its genre and has been doing well among its advertising yet, Jaipuria informs, “We will start primary TG (4-14 yrs) in the last year and this year with zero advertising in the initial episodes to as well (as per TAM ratings earlier, and BARC data let our audience absorb the characters and get to currently). know the show well. If you are running a kids category, you have to be patient.” There have been new categories of advertisers on the channel, the likes of Vadilal, Flipkart, “If you are Honda, Eureka Forbes and Airtel. There have running a kids also been innovations for advertisers like Colgate category, you have and Pidilite, where, for instance, the channel’s characters have been incorporated for specific to be patient.” campaigns. NINA ELAVIA Jaipuria says, “Our tie-up with Tiger biscuits JAIPURIA that had ‘Ninja Hattori’ branded bicycles as prizes was a big hit, and there was a huge demand for [email protected] FOTOCORP those bikes.” „

OBITUARY Madhukar Kamath, group CEO and MD, DDB Mudra Group, who has worked with Mani, Remembering J Mani remembers him as an excellent family man. An advertising veteran, Mani had co-founded the sonic branding agency “Mani was a very good soul. BrandMusiq, after spending two decades in advertising. News Bureau He was an advertising professional who was a passionate student of Mani, a seasoned adver- ative consultant with DDB Mudra brand building and an excellent tising professional and Group. teacher too.” J co-founder of sonic branding For Raja, who had known him We learnt that Mani has also agency BrandMusiq, is no more. for 14 years, Mani was like an been an excellent client to work He passed away on October 10 elder brother. “We met in 2001 with. from a cardiac arrest. Mani, 57, is at Bates and hit it off owing to Shavon Barua, managing part- survived by his wife and son. our common passion for brands ner, PHD Mumbai, informs that Mani started his career and music. We created memorable she first met Mani when she with Berger Paints in the sales campaigns like Tata Salt ‘Desh ka was the Bombay head for Euro department. After serving the Namak’ and KBC ‘Nau baj gaya RSCG (now Havas Worldwide). organisation for five years, he kya’, among several others. We Mani was then heading marketing entered the world of advertis- used to have music sessions in and communication for Nirmal ing with a stint in Multimedia our office, with wine and cheese Lifestyle, and was one of the cli- Aquarius. Later he worked with evenings with clients and well- ents her agency worked with. Mudra and Bates. wishers,” he recalls. “Mani was one of those rare His next destination was DDB He intends to further build on people, a thorough gentleman. He Mudra Group. It was after this the profound base that Mani cre- never forced his opinions on oth- stint that he launched BrandMusiq ated for BrandMusiq. “Now, I just ers,” she recalls. „ along with Rajeev Raja, then a cre- have to make him proud,” he adds. [email protected]

26 afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015 MY FM RADIO A GAME CHANGER

,17(59,(: AGNELLO DIAS CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, TAPROOT INDIA

Having spent two decades with top Tell us about your favourite How can a marketer leverage Radio campaign. as a medium to reach out to his agencies like JWT and Leo Burnett, the In the Radio category, the one campaign I target market? winner of key awards like India’s first really liked was the Bud Light Real Men of By creating original content for Radio for the ever Grand Prix at Cannes in 2007, Dias Genius campaign. It was Radio advertising that same brief rather than taking audio elements is the Co-Founder and CCO of one of even trumped the film campaign done on the out of the television campaign and recycling the most popular agencies in India. same theme. them for Radio. Here’s what he thinks about the versatile Which medium do you consider the Its effectiveness and ability to medium Radio. easiest to devise campaigns for? reach out to the masses in tier II Print. The execution is largely within our and III cities has always attracted control and gives the opportunity to rework. marketers towards it. Any other While conceptually all our difficult, it is at least benefits that marketers targeting easier from an execution standpoint. It lets you these areas can look at leveraging control and correct till you get it right. through Radio advertising? It is a great frequency building medium. As a scriptwriter how do you For some visceral reason Radio listeners measure the success of a Radio tend to flip stations far less than TV viewers Campaign? tend to flip channels or print readers Two of the most common and potent sense tend to turn pages. The channel surfing inlets of a human are sight and sound. In an behaviour that permeates TV viewing or the audio visual medium, one needs both. In print blind spot, see-through tendency of print only sight is locked while the reader is free consumption is glaring by its absence in to get distracted by sound. In Radio, sound is Radio listening behaviour. Even if there is locked but one could get distracted by things a Radio remote in the car, one tends to let one sees. Therefore, to hold one’s attention the station play on without flipping between through a single sense is always a challenge, stations. as there is no other sense crutch that the creator has. How does your approach change when creating advertisements for According to you, how important Radio in a particular campaign? is a good script in making a It always feels exciting to start with Radio campaign successful? because the creative mind is stimulated by Well, it’s all about the script, it true creative challenges. The fact that Radio is the only important thing in Radio. uses a single human sense to evoke feelings of touch, smell, sight and taste is a very definite start.

How do you see the growth of Radio The fact that Radio Industry in India? It can make a strong comeback if the uses a single human medium gets a powerful ambassador in the sense to evoke form of a strong, big campaign built entirely on Radio, the way Bud Light’s Real Men feelings of touch, of Genius was. If someone, somehow can show that it can be done in terms of actual smell, sight & taste performance, it can really break through is a very definite the electronic ceiling. The design industry, for example, made the big breakthrough on start. brands like Barista which got built purely on design and space with no other advertising. Radio needs an example like that. z 1(:6(9(17

KOLKATA

24 September, 2015 | The Park, Kolkata BRAND OWNERS’ SUMMIT: WHICH HALF OF THE ADVERTISING BUDGET IS WASTED? How relevant is the age-old quotation ‘Half the advertising rupee is wasted’? Experts debated and presented their views. By Aakriti Shrivastava

he Brand Owners’ Summit long-term task. "If you are going Theld on September 24, at into media, you need to have The Park, Kolkata, saw adequate spends, otherwise it is marketing and advertising pointless; scratching the surface experts share their insights doesn’t help. While reaching on brand building. The event the maximum possible people began with a session by at the least possible cost is the Bikram Dasgupta, chairman, raison d’etre of any media plan, Globsyn Group, who spoke the truth is that one needs to about the key learnings from look beyond just cost efficiency his entrepreneurial journey. This towards qualitative aspects," he was followed by a discussion on shared. brand Turtle by Amit Ladsaria, Talking about spends on its director. creatives, he said that less There were two more than 10 per cent of the total is sessions, one on ‘powering for the creative side and that the next growth curve through compromising at that level really diversity marketing’ by Rajendra jeopardises the efficacy of the Khare, SureWaves MediaTech, remaining 90 per cent. In his and another one on brand opinion, brand owners need to From left: Amit Gope, Kanchan Datta, Sandip Chaudhuri, Amitava Sinha, Mahesh Motwani and Samrat Mukherjee CenturyPly by Keshav Bhajanka. be open-fisted about the creative A panel discussion too was fees they are willing to pay. Advertising, the topic of Agreeing with Datta, he added Chaudhuri, in conclusion, said held on the topic ‘Half the The discussion was taken discussion did not make any that there is a lot of data now and that while advertising is meant advertising rupee is wasted forward by Amit Gope, group sense. He justified by saying also abundance of technology. to sell, it does more than just goes the saying. The question marketing head of CenturyPly, who that the concept was 130 "The era of spray and pray, selling. "It depends on where you is which half?’ moderated by suggested that marketing is a little years old and doesn’t hold true where we put a lot of content are, whether you are building Sandip Chaudhuri, director, CMI, beyond advertising. "My learning today. "Two changes have come around and expected that sales awareness, or a promotion who initiated the discussion has been that we haven’t really put about since - firstly, targetting and enquiries will come, has or building brand value. What by attributing the quote to in enough money in knowing our has become easier as one ended. Data can be gathered are we doing and how to put a two legendary marketers - customer and, hence, the media can identify the ‘critical mass’ from multiple touch-points, measure to it is the challenge Johnwanamaker and William wastage and the advertising and, therefore, the wastage but are marketers investing for marketers and agency guys," Lever. spill-over. We have insights, but goes down; measurability has in technology to minimise the he said. Amitava Sinha, group CEO, these are assumptive, based improved as digital invades lives. wastage?," he asked. The event also saw Genesis Advertising, shared his on secondary data. You get the At every stage, you can define Mahesh Motwani, executive discussions on real estate and thoughts, explaining that there right creative when the brief is what worked and what didn’t. vice president, BPN Money, healthcare branding and start- are two parts of the ad budget in right, which comes from a strong There is so much clarity now," shared his view by saying up culture. The Brand Owners’ the face of creative development understanding of the product, he added. that data can buy reach, but Summit Kolkata was organised - cost and the much larger media customer and the market," he Samrat Mukherjee, founder, not conversions. "50 per cent by afaqs! and The Smart CEO, budget. In media, sub-optimal stated. Crow’s Nest, on the other hand, wastage is fine, but what you and sponsored by SureWaves, spends, he said, are always a To panel member Kanchan said that it’s not ‘half waste’, are getting in the other 50 is very The Advertising Club Calcutta, waste as building a brand is a Datta, founder, Inner Circle but double the expectations. important," he stated. Moderator Big FM and The Park Hotels. „

28 afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015 KOLKATA

Amit Ladsaria on how we built a brand in the men’s apparel space and what next for Brand Turtle

On the sidelines Rajendra Khare on powering the next growth curve through diversity marketing

Bikram Dasgupta on the key learnings from my Sanjay Srinivas on managing a collection of brands Pradip Kumar Chopra on the various aspects that entrepreneurial journey and marketing know-how in the healthcare and hygiene FMCG space come together to make a brand with the benefit of hindsight

Panel discussion on emerging start-up ecosystem Keshav Bhajanka on brand CenturyPly and On the sidelines in Kolkata building a brand for the long-term

OUR SPONSORS Growth Partner Radio Partner Hospitality Partner

afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015 29 ,17(59,(: SHASHI SINHA> CHAIRMAN, ABC “It’s a bit premature to say that digital will take over”

Sinha, on his new mandate and how he plans to drive the digital audience measurement project at the ABC. By Shweta Mulki

he Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), a non-profit industry body for measuring and auditing newspaper and magazine circulation in the country, plans to Tstart measuring digital audiences. To drive this project, ABC recently announced the appointment of Shashi Sinha, CEO of IPG Mediabrands as chairman. We caught up with him to understand the road ahead for ABC. Edited excerpts: Before we talk about digital measurement, can you run us through ABC’s current mandate for print? Media Research Users Council (MRUC), the parent body of the Indian Readership Survey (IRS), and ABC have come together, and now ABC owns 50 per cent of IRS. On all measurements, including print, our desire is to have as many common metrics as possible rather than have conflicting bodies. FOTOCORP What does the revival of IRS entail? And who owns the IRS brand now? The brand name is owned by MRUC, but the at increasing the usage of ABC as the panel for mobile and desktop readership profile. partnership is 50-50. The aim is to ensure that go-to currency? The Nielsen mobile panel will say ‘who is the one industry bodies work together. We needed better Today, for print, the largest advertiser is the reading’. technology with a larger sample. We are looking at government. So, we’ve made a recommendation a 33 per cent increase in sample size at 3,30,000, to the government that it should not advertise in How will you tackle existing competition proper back-checks, and a host of other features. papers without ABC certificates. In effect, we are like comScore that is currently being asking to make ABC mandatory for government- used by most publishers? What are the changes you plan to related advertising. Print is a strong lobby and it Transparency is the big advantage of having an implement at ABC? all depends on whether the government agrees to industry body do this. In the case of comScore, Nothing in India can be foolproof, and these this. no one really knows how it works. In fact, the are indicative measures. Earlier, we used to have only reason TAM was criticised was the of lack of things like self audits and surprise audits, which The current trend is the migration of transparency. we have done away with now. To make this more readers, especially English-speaking, transparent, we’ve implemented a process where from print to digital. How will that What are the challenges in putting every audit is done by an independent third party, impact ABC’s flagship measurement? together the digital measurement system? comprising three auditors. It’s a bit premature to say that digital will In digital, the first big challenge is pricing. This take over. Regional is going strong and as for is an investment in technology where, for the There hasn’t been a standard currency in English print, they are all morphing into content first one or two years, you need to invest enough print. What’s being done to address this? producers. Be it physical or digital, the point is to upfront to make it happen. So, we have a deal with The issue remains that some planners use have quality eyeballs. The advantages here are that Nielsen where they will fund this for now, and IRS, while the government uses ABC. Some measurement can indicate content capabilities and get benefits in some years. This enables attractive people don’t subscribe and when the data is not provide credibility. pricing for our partners. favourable, some leave and then come back again. The secondary challenges include the need for Also, currently, ABC and IRS data sit separately, Your main mandate is to get the ball safeguards and issues like data being corrupt or on different websites and platforms. So what we rolling for digital measurement. What getting out from within. are recommending, and shall hopefully succeed are your plans on that front? in, is to have ABC and IRS data side-by-side on We have got Nielsen in for the technology When will you move into areas beyond the same platform, to enable a mental correlation. aspect and the starting point is to certify e-paper e-papers and print-related sites? Overall, readership is the best measure, but data alongside print-runs. We are only looking at publishing currently circulation is proof of that readership. So, you and what can be read online, and not videos, for can’t have a situation where circulation is higher Will this also include gauging reader instance. Outside my ABC mandate, in general, than readership. profiles? the industry bodies together will be looking at Yes, beyond the count of ‘hits’; we will go end-to-end web measurement. „ Are there any other initiatives aimed slightly beyond the ABC charter and set up a [email protected]

30 afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015 0(',$ DISCOVERY KIDS & WWF-INDIA Wild Wisdom To increase awareness about the importance of soil for a stable environment, a wildlife quiz competition was launched in over 10,000 schools. By News Bureau

iscovery Kids and World Wildlife Fund- India brought out the new edition of the Dnational-level wildlife quiz called Wild Wisdom Quiz. The theme for this year’s quiz is ‘Soil’, based on UN’s declaration of the year 2015 as the ‘International Year of Soils’. According to the official statement, Discovery Bangalore City Kids and WWF-India’s Wild Wisdom Quiz 2015 Winners, Wild received participation from more than 25,000 Wisdom Quiz students across India. The quiz, which is being supported by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, this year, has been held in 15 cities across India. It has reached out to more EVP and GM - South Asia, Discovery Networks than 10,000 schools and invited participation from “The quiz aims to Asia-Pacific, says, “Children are change agents. children at various levels - middle school level sensitise children The Wild Wisdom Quiz aims to sensitise them (classes 6-8); junior school quiz (classes 3-5) and towards the protection of our environment and an online version for high school students (classes towards the wildlife for a better tomorrow.” 9-12). The quiz culminated at the city level for protection of our Radhika Suri, director of environment the junior school children, whereas the middle environment and education at WWF-India, adds, “The Wild Wisdom school winning teams from 15 cities competed at Quiz strives to build children’s interest in the rich the national level, at the WWF auditorium, New wildlife.” natural legacy of this country and inspire them to Delhi, on October 7. RAHUL JOHRI work towards its conservation.” „ Commenting on the association, Rahul Johri, [email protected]

SONY ESPN Sports Freaks Under the agreement, MSM’s existing sports channel Sony Kix will be rebranded as Sony ESPN. By News Bureau

ulti Screen Media (MSM) and ESPN have come Mtogether in a long-term agreement to launch ‘Sony ESPN’ sports channels, along with a new multi-sport website and app. The collaboration between the two broadcasters is aimed to create a of cricket, football, tennis, NBA, ESPN sports will change television strong portfolio of sports rights and badminton, field hockey and more. viewing dramatically since they will a leading collection of digital sports FOTOCORP MSM’s Sony Liv will also benefit soon have access not only to more assets in India. from this, increasing its current sports content, but also the widest array of MSM’s existing sports channel “MSM’s association offerings significantly. ESPNcricinfo, sports line-up ever available.” Sony Kix will be rebranded as Sony with ESPN is holistic the digital ‘cricket destination’, will He adds, “MSM’s association ESPN, and the two companies will continue to deliver comprehensive with ESPN is holistic and embraces also launch other new channels in and embraces both coverage, and complement and cross- both television and digital formats. the coming months. television and digital promote the new digital properties Going further, both companies will In collaboration with MSM, and sports channels. also explore collaboration on the ESPN will also launch a co-branded, formats.” NP Singh, CEO, MSM, says, development of other original sports localised, multi-sport website and NP SINGH “For consumers in India and the programmes.”. „ app, which will provide coverage subcontinent, our partnership with [email protected]

afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015 31 ,17(59,(: DINESH GULATI> DIRECTOR, INDIAMART “We will never move to an app-only model”

With his eyes set on a turnover on desktops. of `365 crore in 2016, Gulati Our TG includes corporate houses where procurement or talks about the need to invest purchase managers access our in brand building through the platform through desktops. Mobile is becoming a conversion tool for use of multiple mediums. us. Almost 57 per cent of our traffic By Saumya Tewari comes from mobile. What’s your core TG? ith an aim to grow the Our core TG is corporates company 10 times by (purchase managers), businesses 2020, Dinesh Gulati, (small or big) and suppliers in the director, Indiamart, is 25-45 age group. But, today, we aW restless man. Currently a discovery are also able to handle individual platform with 2.5 crore products, requirements. ranging from a pin to big machines, Indiamart was founded in 1996. The After almost 10 years of platform has seen a sea change and operations, you launched your now boasts of having 1.9 million first TVC last year. How do suppliers and almost 1.5 crore unique you approach mass media? monthly visitors (buyers). The B2B Last year, we achieved a turnover platform claims to generate eight of `200 crore and we felt it was time million tracked business enquiries to invest in brand building. The each month with a GMV (gross campaign (titled ‘Kaam Yahin Banta merchandise value) of $4-5 billion. Hai’) helped us create awareness, The brand has an annual top-of-mind recall and business KPIs marketing budget of `40-50 crore (key performance indicators). Our (which is roughly 12 per cent of the direct search went up by 25 per total turnover), of which almost 60 cent, business enquiries went up by per cent is for TV, 25-30 per cent for 20-22 per cent and app downloads digital and 10 per cent for outdoor. “Our ‘Mission 2020’ is to become a 2000 crore company,” he declares. Almost 57 per cent Edited excerpts. SUSHIL KUMAR of our traffic comes You are one of the early The biggest game changer has has a service and sales office and from mobile. movers in the e-commerce been internet penetration. Now the objective is to explain to them space. Tell us how the larger it stands at close to 30 per cent. the concept of internet and how went up by 40 per cent. Besides, our market has changed over Mobile has aided in the increased it can solve their problems. SMEs credibility increased among SMEs. the years and how Indiamart internet user base and Facebook as face three big challenges - access to Our spends have predominantly adapted to these changes. well WhatsApp has further helped in the market, finance and technology. been on events, digital and direct The market has evolved the growth curve. Cash on delivery Three to four years back, about 70 mailing; a single medium does not dramatically over the last five to (COD) feature on B2C sites has also per cent of our customers started give an ideal ROI. We have created seven years. In 2007-08, we were a helped consumers to trust the online their internet journey with us. They properties like ground events where marketplace for exporters who did medium. would first register for free, generate we engage with SMEs directly. not have online presence. We had business and eventually become a Through a business property their catalogues, generated business That’s interesting... paid customer. called ‘Emerging Business Forum’ enquiries and sent them to exporters These factors helped in changing (executed in collaboration with Zee by fax. The categories we dealt with the way SMEs looked at online How crucial is the mobile Business) that targets Tier II cities, then were brassware, apparel and medium. Having said that, there are medium for a B2B category we’ve reached out to 60, 000 SMEs handicrafts, among others. a total of 4.5 crore SMEs and only player like Indiamart? in 40 cities. We converted Indiamart into a 25 per cent of them are online. In Mobile has become a habit even In the last two to three years, domestic marketplace in 2008, China, SMEs have 78 per cent and in for SMEs. In the mobile space, we are we started spending on online sites engaging with small and medium US 95 per cent of internet adoption. the only player in the B2B category relevant to our TG like Economic enterprises (SMEs) operating in the For almost a decade, Indiamart has to have invested in an app across Times and Yahoo. We spend only local markets. We started with one been playing the role of an evangelist. platforms. We have crossed two 3-4 per cent on outdoor. We have lakh SMEs which has now grown We set up almost 70 offices, across the million downloads in one year. But, never invested in print advertising to approximately 1.9 million, which country, close to SME clusters like we will never move to an app-only because it is predominantly a B2C range from `5 lakh to 500 crore. We Surat, Baroda, Indore and Tiruppur, model because there will always be medium. „ have 1.5 crore monthly visitors. among others. Every industrial area businesses which will be comfortable [email protected]

32 afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015 -2%6:,7&+

Post: Group Account Manager Email: [email protected]. team. Pitch the prospective clients Database and should maintain an Company: Tenet Advertising & ...... and educate them about the agency Accurate and Current Database Internal Communication Post: Graphic Designer & its services Effectively communicate with Profile: Tenet is looking for an Company: Ray Adcomm Pvt Ltd Exp: 1 to 3 yrs. clients to gain commitment to Account Manager who is ready to Profile:ÊUiÊà >ÊLiÊÀi뜘ÈLiÊvœÀÊ Location: Mumbai purchase and maintain regular take on a larger role. Ideally, you the entire designing & development Email: jobs@xpressionspixelworks. contact with Key Clients. Maintain should have experience in managing process of the Graphic Designer com a current and accurate knowledge a team of at least four. If you’re a work. He will be responsible for ...... of competitor products, be able to one-person account manager, you’ll layout and designing of Visiting Post: Visualiser /Graphic Designer highlight their disadvantages and need a very compelling story :) Cards, Brochures, Newsletter, Company: Strings Advertising promote relevant benefits Exp: 8 to 10 yrs Artworks, Posters, Digital work, Profile: Should be able to visualise Exp: 1 to 5 yrs. Location: Bengaluru Signage, Banners. ideas and create designs and layouts. Location: ,Mumbai Email: [email protected] Exp: 4 to 5 yrs Use creative thinking n computer Email: [email protected] ...... Location: Mumbai skills for creating all types of ATL ...... Post: PR Manager Email: [email protected] and BTL marketing communication Post: Content writer Company: Aim High Consulting ...... materials such as advertisement Company: Helvetica Advertising Pvt Profile: The PR Consultant would Post: Visualizer campaigns, brochures, posters, Ltd be responsible for a set of accounts, Company: Prem Associates packaging designs, POP materials Profile: The candidate should mostly startups, wherein he/she Advertising and Marketing etc.. Should be proficient in have an excellent command over would drive a dedicated team of Profile: To design advertising working with various computer English, a flair for journalistic style senior and mid-level executives to communication using the Adobe softwares and should have good of writing. She should be capable create thought leadership for the suite, Corel Draw etc. sense of design. Should have of writingresearch-based, good clients. Exp: 2 to 3 yrs. knowledge of making Artworks too. quality and original content on a Exp: 5 to 8 yrs. Location: Mumbai Should be able to grasp briefs and variety ofsubjects.To write engaging Location: Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Email: [email protected] work in Creative partnership with content for social media to gain Delhi ...... other Copy and Art team mates. traffic.To write catchy Ads for Email: [email protected] Post: Senior Executive - Business Exp: 1 to 3 yrs. adwords to attract visitors...... Development Location: Mumbai Exp: 1 to 3 yrs. Post: Sr. Media Executives Company: Krypton Integrated Email: [email protected] Location: Company: IMX Advertising Pvt. Services Pvt. Ltd...... Email: [email protected] Ltd. Profile: Identifying potential clients Post: Sr. Visualiser / Jr. Art Director Profile: Candidate should have an and building new leads Arranging Company: Sports & Leisure extensive experience of handling all meetings with key decision makers Worldwide types of media - Electronic, Print, Uncover client needs through Profile: Concept Development Outdoor et al. Good understanding conversations / meetings Follow and ability to visualise Perfect of media softwares and a rapport - up & contact management execution of the concepts Ability to with media. Presentation to Client, cost understand and deliver as per the Exp: 3 to 4 yrs. estimates and contract finalisation briefOut of the box thinker Location: Mumbai Meeting billing targets, collection Exp: 5 to 6 yrs. (9(1*22'&$1! Email: [email protected] targets and overall development Location: New Delhi,Rohini *(7%(77(5 ...... of the account Documentation & Email: [email protected] Post: Senior Visualiser Daily reporting ...... Company: Jaya Advertising Pvt. Ltd Exp: 4 to 5 yrs. Post: Digital Copy Writer Profile: Should able to ideate and Location: Mumbai Company: HR Central execute it.Should be able to Ideate Email: [email protected] Profile: We are looking for a Digital Ideas on a 360 degrees basis, design ...... Copy Writer with 2-6 years of TO ADVERTISE, CONTACT: as per trends & create memorable Post: Client Servicing Executive experience for a leading media Abhilash Singh work of art. output. Company: FreshMonk agency located in Goregaon in Ph: 09999989454 Exp: 2 to 4 yrs. Profile: Generating customers Mumbai. Email: [email protected] Location: Mumbai and business for the company and Exp: 2 to 6 yrs. Sumeet Chandiramani Email: response@jayaadvertising. also develop the existing customer Location: Mumbai (Mumbai) com relationships by developing & Email: [email protected] Ph: 09820590172 ...... proposing various services of 3D ...... Email: [email protected] Post: Visualizer (2 Openings) & 2D AnimationElectronic Visual Post: Business Development [email protected] Company : Quotient Ads, Corporate films - Planning Executive / Manager To view other jobs in Marketing, Communications Pvt. Ltd. & Executing marketing strategies Company: Bestow - A creative Media and Advertising, log on to: Profile: Ideating, conceptualising to market various services in all communication agency www.jobswitch.in and executing great creative work. verticals. Creating a seamless Profile: Professionally and Join us on : facebook.com/jobswitch Exp: 1 to 4 yrs. harmony of communication effectively employs sales skills to Location: Mumbai between clients and the design achieve targeted sales.Research and

afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015 33 3(23/(

A round up of some major people >> MOVEMENTS/APPOINTMENTS<< movements in the last fortnight ADVERTISING MEDIA

BDO India has president for the third elios Media has promoted Shrutish Bpromoted Sandeep term. HMaharaj as chief sales officer. In his new Sawant and Hemant DDB Mudra Group role, he will be responsible for spearheading the Shingry as executive has appointed Nilay Revenue and Content Marketing functions. He creative directors for Moonje as group has about 12 years of experience and has earlier Mumbai. Sawant was creative director, DDB worked with organisations such as India Today earlier creative director Mudra West. Moonje Group, HT Media, Network 18, UTV News and head of art, while joins from Ogilvy & and Times Group. Shingry was senior Mather where he was MEC, a media agency, has announced creative director. creative director. He the appointment of Debarghya Mitra as head Grey’s New Delhi VARUN GOSWAMI RAYOMAND J PATELL will work at DDB’s of its Bengaluru office. He will report to T office has roped in Mumbai office. Gangadhar, managing director, MEC. In his Varun Goswami as executive creative director. He Havas Worldwide last stint, he was heading Madison’s Platinum will lead the Delhi creative team. He joins Grey has announced the Crest, the unit that manages ITC Foods and from Cheil India where he was the senior creative appointment of other ITC businesses based in South India, as director. To further strengthen Goswami’s creative Rayomand J Patell as its general manager and senior vice president. team, the agency has appointed two new senior its executive creative Jwalant Swaroop is all set to move on from creative directors - Gautam Bhasin and Piyush director. Patell joins the his role as CEO of Jain. agency from Contract Sakal Media Group, Grey Group India has brought on board Leroy Advertising where he with effect from Alvares as president, digital services. He will be spent 11 years. He will November 1. Swaroop based at the agency’s Mumbai office and will be based in Mumbai. had joined the Pune- report to Sunil Lulla, chairman and managing RAJEEV RAKSHIT Law & Kenneth based media group in director, Grey Group India. Saatchi & Saatchi has January this year. The India Chapter of International Advertising appointed Rajeev The Indian Association (IAA), at the annual general meeting Rakshit as president, North. He will be based in Broadcasting elected Srinivasan Delhi. Rakshit has 25 years of experience and has Foundation (IBF)’s Swamy, chairman of R previously worked with HMV Saregama, Orchard board of directors K Swamy Hansa Group (Leo Burnett), Everest Y&R, Publicis, Euro RSCG, has re-elected Uday DEBARGHYA MITRA and vice president- McCann, Bates Clarion, among others. Shankar, CEO, Star development of IAA Leo Burnett India has appointed Sachin Das India, as the foundation’s President for the Asia Pacific, as its Burma as group executive creative director for second term running. The IBF Board has also president for the fourth its Delhi office. He joins from Draft FCB Ulka re-elected Punit Goenka, managing director, consecutive term. where he was group creative director. Zee Media Corp, N.P. Singh, CEO, Multi Neeraj Roy, managing Milestone Brandcom, the out-of-home agency Screen Media, Rajat Sharma, chairman, India director and CEO of of Dentsu Aegis Network, has roped in Ujjwal TV, as IBF vice presidents, and Rahul Johri, Hungama.com, was Anand as country head for its rural and experiential EVP and GM, South Asia, Discovery Networks re-elected as the vice LEROY ALVARES division, Milestone Outland. „ Asia-Pacific, as IBF treasurer. Multi Screen Media (MSM) has appointed Danish Khan as the EVP and business head for DIGITAL Sony Entertainment Television (SET). Khan, who was earlier programming head of Star Plus, ormer CCO Twitter, who is based will be replacing Nachiket Pantvaidya. Fof AirAsia and in Singapore. MSM has also appointed Anup Vishwanathan author Amisha Sethi Tonic Media has as SVP and head - marketing, Anshuman Sinha, has joined app-only roped in Ashwin Dutt as SVP and senior creative director and Ritesh marketplace Little as as creative director. Modi as VP and creative director, who will be CMO. She has more He will drive new part of Khan’s core team. than a decade of creative initiatives Network18 has appointed Rahul Joshi as consumer and brand and innovations CEO-News (a newly created position) and marketing experience. across businesses. group editor-in-chief. He was formerly Magnon\TBWA Prior to this, he was Economic Times’ editorial director. There are has appointed Joydeep AMISHA SETHI SONALI MALAVIYA creative director at also reports that Senthil Chengalvarayan, editor- Kalra as senior vice Mindshare. in-chief, Business newsroom, has decided to president. He was Housing.com has move on after a 21-year stint. „ previously serving as executive director and head announced the appointment of Keerthi Kiran as of sales and marketing at Zed Axis Technologies. the vice president for new real estate projects. Kalra will be based at the agency’s head office ShopClues, an online managed marketplace, MARKETING in Noida and will be spearheading strategy and has roped in Arun Goel as vice president, products. planning of key account services. His focus will be building and managing services iddharth Banerjee has joined Vodafone as head Twitter has roped in Sonali Malaviya to enable merchants to scale S- brand marketing and consumer insights. as India’s business marketing head. She will PubMatic, a marketing automation software Effective October 2015, he will report to director, be responsible for marketing and messaging company for publishers, has announced the consumer commercial. He has 15 years of FMCG that helps businesses understand and embrace appointment of Sudipto Das as its country experience. His joins from Unilever where he Twitter’s advertising solutions in India. She will manager for India. He will be based in New worked for 13 years. His last stint was as the be based in Delhi and will report to Frederique Delhi and report to Jason Barnes, VP, APAC, country marketing director and a member of the Covington, international marketing director, PubMatic. „ management committee at Unilever Sri Lanka. „

34 afaqs! Reporter, October 16-31, 2015